Asparagus, Cinco de Mayo, Bowling, Brain Bucket.

Toot the flute, bang the drums, Barrie's Asparagus farm is open - woo hooo, guess where I am going later on. I have been waiting patiently for 12 months, well maybe not that patiently. My first helping will be nicely cooked and dripping with butter. I will worry about calories etc. later. Apologies Tim, I stole your picture. It seems, if you read Tim's Blog, they are selling some other items as well. I will certainly pick up some rhubarb tomorrow. You can also find Tim's mom's recipe for asparagus soup on his blog. You can order this soup from Tim or use the recipe to make your own. Today is also Cinco de Mayo which is a celebration in Mexico. It apparently celebrates their defeat of the French at the Battle of Puebla and is not, as often reported, their Independence Day. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in some odd places, in Canada they have a sky diving celebration and even in Malta people are encouraged to drink Mexican beer. It sounds to me as though the Mexicans celebrate in much the same way as the Spanish celebrate their fiestas which are great fun. I've told you before, when my parents lived in Spain we were invited to celebrate with a local family and it was great fun. Spanish communities contribute all year long to a fund which is used to set up baracas (no idea how this is spelt) where everyone from the community can go and get free drinks and dance on fiesta day. The one we went to served the most lethal sangria I have ever come across. My mother was OK they were giving her brandy. I just came across a sangria recipe made with gin, what a very odd liquor to add to wine. Our bowling yesterday was fun, we had a game of Scotch Pairs which is just each matched pair trying to outdo the rest. Then a normal game with our regular team and finally bowling bingo which our team actually finished although not in time to win, unfortunately. We were then given prize money which was either earned that day or over the year. Matt and I both did quite well here. The caterers were setting up by now so we played a few games of silly things like Matt having to sit on a chair at the end of the alley and bowl, I had to put on oven mitts to bowl, what a fiasco that was, bowling with the wrong hand and so on. Then we all started on the food. We had salads as I had supposed, roast beef (somewhat overdone to our taste but it wasn't bad) and rolled ribs again with mashed potatoes which Matt said were good, I didn't have any, sauerkraut, very sweet baby carrots and gravy plus a selection of desserts. We both took cheesecakes. I decided to treat myself to a glass of wine which went down with the meal very well. By the time I had finished, I was well and truly full. When we came home it was a delightful afternoon and I sat on the balcony in the sun for a while - first time this year although Matt has done so a couple of times. Yesterday there was a segment on GMA about the Brain Bucket, wonderful name, but it is an advancement on MRI and can do a much better and more comprehensive read of our brains. You can see their article at this site and see what this marvellous advance can achieve. It is hoped that it will help with all kinds of brain problems, Alzheimer's (which is my bête noir) being one of them. Today they had another medical segment about robot arms but I can't find the information yet, maybe I can write about it tomorrow. I know one of my readers won't be too happy by the amount of asparagus recipes I will now be publishing. Sorry, but its that time of year. Asparagus with Curry Butter 2 tsp butter, melted 1 tsp curry powder (see Tip) 1/2 tsp lemon juice 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil 1 shallot, finely diced 1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces 1 Combine butter, curry powder, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl. 2 Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add asparagus and cook, stirring, until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir the curry butter into the asparagus; toss to coat. Servings: 4 Yield: 1/2 cup each Tip: Check the ingredient label on your brand of curry powder: if it has added salt (as some do), you may omit the salt in the recipe or salt to taste. Source: Eating Well Have a great day.