Waterfalls

This morning New York City turned on four waterfalls built alongside the river. If you go to the GMA website you can see the pictures. However, these pictures appear to have been taken before this morning, we saw the film on TV and they are really just a bunch of scaffolding with water pouring down. Very uninteresting to look at, not a bit beautiful which is what they are meant to be. Surely they could have done something with the scaffolding to make it look prettier somehow. In this picture you don't really see the scaffolding, but one certainly saw it on TV. The water is pumped up from the river and they have a dam in front so that fish can't get caught up in the pumped water.

Another story on GMA today was about an illegal migrant worker who used to pick tomatoes as a young Mexican and is, today, one of the top brain surgeons at John's Hopkins an eminent hospital in the States. There is a programme about it tonight I gather. That is quite a change in status for him, achieved over some 20 years I gather. If you would like to read the article it is here and maybe the programme on TV will be worth watching tonight.

Right now, I am waiting for carpet cleaners to come. Our living/dining room is showing all kinds of marks we didn't make. It isn't our carpet of course and in some respects I resent having to have it cleaned, I would actually like to get new carpet, but I don't think that is very likely. Even if the landlords agreed to it, we would have to move all the furniture ourselves and that is next to impossible. We need some strong young men to do it for us. Ru, do you want to come to Canada? We have four grandsons who could help, but they are in the UK as well. Even if we could move everything, where the heck do you put it all. We have moved a lot now, but still have a sofa, two armchairs, a dining table and the TV console and stereo set with all our CDs, and we have quite a few of those let me tell you. It nearly killed me moving what we did move.

We went to a local store on our way home yesterday and bought some sausages, they have the best. The store is predominantly European and they have some great food in there, including stuffed pickled bell peppers. They are stuffed with sauerkraut and absolutely delicious. Where Matt used to work years ago, there was a cook who gave him a case of these pickles because we loved them so much, but she would never give us the recipe. Funnily enough I was looking for a picture of these (I took my own in the end) and found a couple of recipes for these pickles, however, these days I don't think I would bother, just buy them, they are very good.

Yet another recipe from the Ontario Asparagus Growers' Marketing Board, they do have some good ones. I would like to think some of you are trying these out. They are really worth it. By minced sushi ginger, I am assuming they mean the thinly sliced pickled ginger always served with sushi. Delicious stuff, I often buy it anyway.

Ginger Asparagus Salad

1 lb	Ontario asparagus, trimmed
1/3 cup	unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tbsp	granulated sugar
3 cloves	garlic, minced
3 tbsp	minced sushi ginger
2 tbsp	sesame oil
2 tbsp	canola oil
1 tbsp	soy sauce
3 tbsp	finely chopped fresh coriander
2 oz	mesclun salad mix
1	small head radicchio, separated
1 tbsp	sesame seeds, toasted

Steam or simmer asparagus until tender-crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Place in colander and refresh under cold running water; drain well and pat dry with paper towels. (Asparagus may be cooked several hours in advance.) Arrange in shallow dish large enough to hold it in single layer. In small bowl, whisk together vinegar and sugar until sugar dissolves. Add garlic and ginger; combine well. Slowly whisk in sesame and canola oils and soy sauce; whisk in coriander. (Dressing may be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days.) Pour over the asparagus and turn gently to coat well. Line serving platter with mesclun; arrange radicchio leaves round edge. Pile asparagus over top. Drizzle with any dressing left in dish. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve within 30 minutes or asparagus will discolour.

Yield: Serves 4

Have a great day.