Blogs, Tomatoes and Dinner Parties.

I have just added another link to my page. Canada's First Solar Farm. I told you about Tim Barrie of Barrie's Asparagus, arranging to have solar panels in his fallow asparagus field, that is what his blog is about. An important issue and one I hope you will have a look at. Hey Tim, how about a few windmills, should think it would work well in your area. There is a panic on at the moment about tomatoes. They have found lots of them, from all kinds of sources, to be contaminated with salmonella. Not just on the outside, but right through the fruit. It is apparently thought to be caused by spraying liquid manure on the growing fields and the plants are absorbing the poison as they grow. The tomatoes affected are mostly the Roma and the round red organically grown ones. Cherry, Grape and vine tomatoes are supposed to be OK. If you want to read the Los Angeles Times article click here in fact it is probably a good idea to check it out in case you are in the habit of eating lots of tomatoes as I am. As far as I can tell, it is not happening in Canada although Matt is panicking about me eating tomatoes! The ones pictured on the left are presently affected, the ones pictured on the right are OK. Our dinner party went well on Saturday and everyone enjoyed themselves and the food provided. The Asparagus Phyllo Bundles, in particular, were a big hit as was the Minted Chocolate Freeze dessert. Well it was all successful. One of our guests suggested you could use the phyllo bundles as a finger food by cutting them up in small portions before cooking them, couldn't do it after, the phyllo pastry would fly everywhere. The picture shows one of our guests really enjoying dessert. I ended up with two dessert pies so I have one in the freezer for future guests which is always convenient. Today is bowling day once again so we will be off early this afternoon. It is supposed to hit 30 C today so we will likely be wearing shorts which will seem odd for bowling. We have had one or two quite big thunderstorms and even a tornado which formed in the area but luckily didn't touch down. We are not as prone to tornadoes as some areas, but they are certainly not unknown. I have never done much Thai cooking but here is a recipe I picked up from Chatelaine, a popular magazine here: Thai Basil Noodles with Tofu Servings: 4 Ingredients: 2 eggs 1/4 cup (50 mL) each granulated sugar, fish sauce and ketchup 2 tbsp (30 mL) each Worcestershire sauce and hot chili-garlic sauce 3 garlic cloves 3 green onions 3 red or green peppers 3 carrots 350- g pkg extra-firm tofu 3/4 400-g pkg rice-stick noodles, about 1/4 in. (0.5 cm) wide 3 tbsp (45 mL) vegetable oil 2 cups (500 mL) vegetable broth 1 cup (250 mL) chopped fresh basil Lime wedges (optional) Instructions: 1. Put a full kettle on to boil. In a bowl, whisk eggs with sugar, fish sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire and chili-garlic sauces. Mince garlic. Slice green onions. Slice peppers and carrots into thin bite-size strips. Cut tofu into 1-in. (2.5-cm) cubes. 2. Place noodles in a large bowl. Cover with boiling water. Following pkg directions, soak until almost tender, 8 to 10 min, stirring often to separate. Drain and set aside. 3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a wide saucepan over medium-high. Add tofu. Turn occasionally until light golden, 5 to 8 min. (Tofu may stick a little.) Remove when done to a bowl. Add more oil to pan if needed, then add peppers, carrots and garlic. Stir-fry for 3 min. 4. Add broth. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up and stir in brown bits from pan bottom. Bring to a boil. Stir egg mixture, then pour into pan. Add tofu. Stir constantly until sauce thickens slightly, 2 min. Add noodles. Pan will be very full. Gently toss until noodles are coated and hot, about 2 min. Sprinkle with onions and basil. Serve with lime wedges. Have a great day.