Thursday, March 5, 2009

Daylight Savings and Earth Hour, White Tigers,

I was staggered to realise it is time to change the clocks again this weekend. Spring forward, so we lose an hour on Sunday night. It would be nice to think Spring was really on its way, but I'm afraid it is still a little early for us in Canada. We are supposed to get warmer temps later this week, but things can still happen to give us a few cold blasts before winter really lets go. Look at the Nor' Easter the other day. My friend in New Jersey said they had 13 inches of the white stuff and posted pictures of her snow covered yard. You may remember last year I was promoting Earth Hour strongly. Well it is planned to take place again on March 28 between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. so I really hope you will turn off your lights at that time. It was a pretty successful undertaking last year and hopefully it will be again this year. You can sign up to let them know you will be participating and you can also sign up for a trip to Churchill, Manitoba, to see the Polar Bears. I should be so luck to win that trip. I have always wanted to visit the area and see the bears there. You can sign up by clicking here and enter for the trip as well once you have signed up. On GMA this morning there was a segment about Siegfried and Roy. Do you remember them? They performed with white tigers. About 5 years ago Roy was attacked in the throat by one of the animals and wasn't expected to walk or talk again. He now does both. They have done a final show, in Las Vegas, as a charity event. Guess what, the tiger, Montecore, that attacked Roy was also part of the performance, Roy believes the tiger was actually trying to drag him to safety (from what?) by picking him up at the neck like carrying a baby tiger. Bearing in mind that hunting animals usually pick out lame or sick prey, I am surprised the tigers didn't "go" for Roy because he is not very fit even today. If you are interested, there is an article in the Los Angeles Times telling the story of their final show. It does somewhat appear that maybe a lot of it was illusion. What I am wondering, what happens to the tigers now, do they get put in a zoo or what? Having Googled I now discover that Siegfried and Roy actually breed tigers on their property which is very much under dispute, here is a link to a PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) story click here which gives an insight into the problem. In the comments section yesterday, a friend asked me for the recipe for the following dish. It used to be a great favourite of mine and I have no idea why I haven't made it in ages. The book it came from is all microwave recipes and I bought it because we had our first microwave and I knew little or nothing about using one. I have a pasta recipe that I used to love to make too which I will share with you tomorrow. Barley Casserole Source: Microwave Magic Yield: 6 servings 1 cup pearl barley 1/2 cup butter 1 lge onion, chopped 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced 3 cups beef broth 1 cup water 1 cup unblanched sliced almonds 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste. Combine all ingredients in a 3-quart casserole. Cover. Cook on high (600-700 watts) 45 to 55 minutes, until barley is just tender. Check for moisture during last 15 minutes of cooking; if necessary add 1/2 cup hot water. Allow to stand, covered, for 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and serve. Have a great day.

3 comments:

  1. Ooh, that sounds nice! And I can make it without a blender and cook in the microwave! There should be more such recipes!

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  2. There are, the one I am posting on Friday is mostly made in the microwave.

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  3. Thanks for promoting Earth Hour! Another way you can recruit people to the cause is by creating a Earth Hour group on Commit21.com. Simply create a group about one action that you will commit to do for Earth Hour and recruit your friends, family, and co-workers to get involved in that action as well. When it comes to climate change, simple actions can make huge differences and Commit21 leverages social media to influence networks of friends, family, and co-workers. Check it out at www.commit21.com

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