Carpet, Books and Asparagus

We now have a nice clean carpet, I must admit it came up a lot better than I imagined. They tried to sell me Scotchguarding (kind of mark proofing) as well, but as its not actually my carpet even though I live with it, I decided I didn't want to spend the money. They accidentally blew a fuse for the kitchen light and I could not, for the life of me, remember where we kept spare fuses. Matt was out shopping so I had to call him and ask - felt an idiot. No comments please. One of the guys also offered to help us move furniture if we ever wanted to get new carpet. Left me his phone number. Nice of him. One of the young men was in the kitchen getting water and saw my jar of pickled bell peppers. He asked me about them and was quite interested. Maybe I have a convert.

For a change, we have nothing special to do today which means by the end of it I will probably be climbing walls. This is one of the disadvantages of being retired. I love to read of course, but that doesn't hold me 24 hours a day unless it is an exceptional book - oh, just reminded myself I have an Elizabeth Moon inter-library loan to collect. It's The Legacy of Gird, a book about Paksenarrion (I think that's how its spelt). Checking the library pages I see one of my requests is still 24 of 48 holds. A very popular book. It is the latest by J.D. Robb in her Death series. Strangers in Death. Just discovered it is number 26, I had no idea I had read 25 of them. I enjoy them, especially the characters.

I am actually reading an ebook on my Palm Zire at the moment, it is called The Meq by Steve Cash. Its pretty interesting - the premise is about a race who stop aging at 12 but who live virtually forever barring accidents etc. I We shall see. Otherwise they have to keep moving because obviously people will notice if they stay 12 yrs old for ever. I am only a short distance into the story at the moment but there is some ceremony they can partake of which allows them to become adults and have children, but I gather (I don't know yet) that it then makes you mortal. The story begins in the late 1800's and I gather goes up to relatively modern times.

We need 16 asparagus spears for our Phyllo Bundles tomorrow night, so we might have to go to Barrie's Asparagus farm earlier than planned. Whenever we do go, it will be our last visit this year. I am weeping and wailing. I suppose even I couldn't eat asparagus every day for a year or so. I suppose I will just have to make do with strawberries for a while!! Then peaches I presume, maybe a nectarine or two. Its a hard life.

This recipe from the Ontario Asparagus Growers' Marketing Board sounds very much like a Quiche by any other name. Mind you, I like quiche and I like asparagus, so where could I go wrong.

Mediterranean Asparagus Tart

1	frozen 9-inch (23 cm) deep-dish pie shell
3	eggs, well beaten
1 lb (500 g)	Ontario asparagus
1/2 cup (125 mL)	crumbled feta cheese
1 cup (250 mL)	canned 2% evaporated milk
3 tbsp (50 mL)	chopped fresh Ontario dill
1/2 tsp (2 mL)	grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp (1 mL)	salt

Line pie shell with double layer of foil; bake in 450º F (230º C) oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil and brush with some of the beatn eggs; bake 5 to 7 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Break tough ends from asparagus; steam or cook stalk in large skillet of boiling water for 2 minutes or just until tender-crisp. Rinse under cold running water; drain and pat dry with towel. Cut off 3-inch (8 cm) tips; slice remaining stalks into 1/4-inch (6 mm) pieces and spring 1 cup (250 mL) into baked crust. Sprinkle cheese on top. Arrange asparagus tips pointing outward in spoke-like fashion in shell. Whisk together egg, milk, dill, lemon rind, salt and peper; pour over asparagus. Bake in 375º F (190º C) oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until puffy and set. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: Serves 6

Recipe Courtesy of Foodland Ontario

Have a great day.