Seven Wonders of America, Disasters, Race for the Cure

Today it was the Corridors of Discovery, in particular showing pictures of Saturn V at the space centre in Huntsville, Alabama. They included any kind of discovery, be it underwater or in space. Sam, who was anchoring this segment, was also talking to a bunch of youngsters who were at space camp for a week and it was interesting to hear what they said about exploration and the future. One of the kids was very enthusiastic about Jacques Cousteau who was probably one of the best known underwater explorers in the world; his work is being continued by his son. Once again if you want to see all the pictures GMA is here just follow 7 Wonders of America.

What a bunch of disasters we are having lately, first the Cyclone in Burma or Myanmar, then this morning another tornado in the "corridor" of the US which has killed 20 people and the biggest this morning, the earthquake in China which has killed thousands. 900 school children buried in their schools. I hope China will accept help, I was disgusted by all the problems with getting aid to Burma, the junta obviously doesn't give a damn how many more of their people die. The reports on China are now saying a possibility of 5,000 dead. I understand it occurred in the Beijing area of central China.

On a happier note, the Race for the Cure which took place in Philadelphia yesterday was very successful according to my friend. The forecasted rain did not happen although it was pretty chilly I understand. All the participants were dressed in their pink clothes with pink caps. My friend has a cap with a pony tail which was donated to her by a friend during her loss of hair period. Her friend had used her own hair for the pony tail. If you want to see more of the official pictures click here for the rest of them. They congregate at the Art Museum which is a building made memorable from the Rocky movies. Those are the steps Rocky ran up in most of the series.

Today we start our summer bowling which only lasts until mid July. Then we are cast loose on the winds of "no bowling" for the rest of the summer. At least this league starts at 1:00 p.m. a much better time than 12:30 we think. I don't have to eat my lunch almost at breakfast time.

Yammering on about asparagus as I was on Saturday, here is one of my favourite dishes. The one below I copied from the Internet. My only argument with this recipe - I would cook the asparagus separately and add at the last minute. Also, we use a little white wine to finish off the risotto - the cooking time is given as 20 minutes, I am not sure about that, Risotto always seems to take longer to me:

Asparagus Risotto

Source: SOSCuisine

Makes: 2 servings 410 calories per serving Ingredients 1 onion(s), finely chopped 200 g 10 asparagus, average size, cut into 1 cm pieces 200 g 1 1/2 cup chicken broth 375 ml 1 tbsp butter, unsalted 14 g 1 tbsp olive oil 15 ml 3/4 cup arborio rice 150 g 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated 6 g salt to taste ground pepper to taste Method Finely chop the onion. Clean the asparagus then cut it into small pieces (about 1 cm). Heat the broth in a small saucepan on the stove or in a microwave oven. Keep it warm while cooking the risotto (about 20 min). Melt the butter in a large skillet or saucepan. Sauté the onion 2-3 min, until it becomes translucent. Add the rice and asparagus. Cook 1-2 min, with constant stirring, until the rice grains are well toasted and translucent. Cook the risotto, using the warmed broth until the rice is creamy but still al dente. Remove from the heat and let stand for 2 min. Season with salt (not much if the broth is salty) and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese then serve. Have a great day.