Doctors

I don't know about doctors, it makes you wonder sometimes. Matt and I both had to have bloodwork done this morning. We walk into the clinic at 7:00 a.m. and the first thing they tell us, Matt has to stay for about 2 hours plus his tests will cost us around $55. No-one told him anything about this. When I finally go in to have mine done, they say "no urine sample required" I always have a urinalysis which means the doctor forgot to tick it. She screwed up on my last blood tests for diabetes too and missed out most of the stuff I normally have. I came home to have my breakfast and will have to pick Matt up later. Poor Matt stuck there for two hours.

We went to get some asparagus yesterday, after bowling, I had to live a whole day without any!! Tim Barrie tells me he has a recipe for pickled asparagus on his blog (see this page) so I must check it out. I was talking to him about tinned or canned asparagus - he doesn't have a high opinion of it either and says its mostly the stems they can't sell fresh. Turns out Tim isn't too keen on tomatoes, however, considering the tomatoes we get round here these days, I am not that surprised. Tonight I am finally going to try Asparagus in Bed which I posted on Saturday. I just checked Tim's recipe for pickled asparagus, its really easy. His mom's soup sounds pretty good too.

This is just a short blog today as I have to go out again. Plus I'm out of eggs for supper tonight.

Nearly forgot, those of you who were interested in the fly masks for horses. I phoned a local stable and they assured me that the horses can see very well through the masks. Once I thought about it, I figured they would have to be.

Here is another recipe from the Ontario Asparagus Grower's Marketing web page. I have always loved Aioli sauce, here is a lemon version.

Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Aioli

1	head garlic, cloves separated and peeled
pinch	saffron (optional)
2 to 3 tbsp	freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp	finely grated lemon zest
1 cup	mayonnaise
	salt and pepper
1 lb	Ontario asparagus, trimmed
2 tbsp	extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 tbsp	balsamic vinegar
	salt and pepper

Lemon Aioli: In a small saucepan, cover garlic with water; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook until very soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Drain and pat dry. If using, stir saffron into lemon juice; set aside to dissolve, about 5 minutes. In food processor, process garlic and lemon zest; to form puree. Add mayonnaise and lemon juice mixture; process until well blended. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Grilled Asparagus: Preheat barbecue or grill on high for about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high. Place asparagus in shallow pan; add oil and toss to coat well. Grill until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Brush with vinegar; season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with Lemon Aioli as a dip or as a drizzle.

Yield: 4 to 8 servings

Have a great day.