Snow, Diabetes Expo, Ninth Gate

Snow again, in April, in England would you believe? I understand there was quite a blanket of the stuff all over the country first thing this morning. Very unusual at this time of year. I bet our granddaughter is thrilled judging by her reaction to the few flakes which fell whilst we were there.

A friend posted pictures of where she lives and they look quite pretty although she tells me now that it has mostly gone since the sun came out. After all the snow we have had this winter, Matt kidded her it was just a heavy frost *g*. On the right is one of the pictures she took.

Well we spent the day at the Diabetes Expo yesterday, some of it was interesting some of it not so. Unfortunately knowledge of a subject does not, necessarily, ensure your ability to pass it on to others in an interesting manner. However, research is producing new medications some of which are not yet available in Canada but are in the U.S. which means they will be here soon. There were some interesting cook books but as Matt keeps saying, we have cookbooks up the kazoo, not to mention programmes on the computer and access to hundreds more, probably thousands more, recipes on the internet. They always have an exhibition of various things to do with diabetes, such as glucose monitors, insulin pens and so on and you can talk to a panel of experts on anything such as diet, medications etc. They always have experts in several fields of whom you can ask questions. Much to my surprise, there was a booth from the funeral home where I used to work so I had a chat to the girl there, she is new since my time: got myself a new pen from them. I also had a good look and demonstration of insulin pens as they are called. I had retained pictures of the old way of using a syringe and such, but no longer true. I am assured by all who know that the pen is less painful to use than the lancet I use every day to check my blood sugar. At the moment I will take it on trust although I am told that one day I may have to progress to insulin. Not too soon I trust. As one doctor quipped, we can now keep the diabetes under sufficient control that something else can kill you before the diabetes does.

I watched a good movie last night, The Ninth Gate with Johnny Depp, I really enjoyed it. The plot involved Johnny Depp, who was an antique book authority, authenticating a book which was based on another book which was supposed to have been written by the Devil. Full of mystery, sex and murder. Matt didn't watch it, not his kind of thing at all. Often advertising on TV ruins a film for me, but this time it didn't. It kept me interested from beginning to end. The end is a bit of a mystery in itself mind you.

Last night, for supper, we had a small Chateaubriand which M & M Meats are selling for roughly $11. A very good buy. A friend, locally, served them to us one time and so we finally got round to buying some for the freezer. Enjoyed it very much and it is good value for money. We have an indoor/outdoor grill and Matt cooked it on that. Took about 10 minutes. It was delicious. We had a Dancing Bull Zinfandel with it and thoroughly enjoyed our simple meal.

I always like different things to do with vegetables and this one I got from UCook.com a couple of days ago and thought would be different. I have been cooking a similar recipe for years, but the sun-dried tomato rather than fresh plus the anchovies give this recipe a different twist.

Beans with Sun-dried Tomato

1 1/2 lbs green beens, the smallest you can find
3-4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic clives, minced
2 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 Tbs minced sun-dried tomatoes
salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Snap off both ends of the beans and wash them under cold running water. Bring a medium sized saucepan half full of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add the beans and cook, uncovered, until tender but still a bit crunchy, 2 to 4 mins. depending on size. Drain and immediately plunge the beans in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and to set their green colour. Drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, anchovies and sun dried tomatoes. Stir for about 1 minute, making sure not to let the garlic turn too dark. Add the beans, season and stir just long enough to heat the beans through. 1 - 2 mins. Taste, adjust the seasoning and serve.

Served 4 to 6

Have a great day.