Saturday, May 23, 2009

Mandarin, Tournament, Ribs

Well I ate Chinese food like a starving child yesterday, funnily enough I didn't end up feeling stuffed to the gills as one often does with Chinese food, possibly because we were chatting between servings as it were so I wasn't up and down filling my plate at speed. Me, being me, started with Hot and Sour Soup, yummy. Then I had some salmon and some mussels which wasn't particularly Chinese but quite delicious nevertheless. From there I went into the noodles, beef dishes, chicken dishes etc. I also ate Tempura veggies (no I know, not Chinese, but there) I then decided to go to the sushi counter and tried some - original - sweet potato sushi? Different. Finally I ended up with rice pudding and crème caramel and a tiny carrot cake (not great that one). The picture shows their dessert buffet. One of our friends had found some chicken dumplings so I grabbed a small plate and put some on it before I ate dessert. They were delicious. Where they were served, I saw a couple of other things I'd like to try so I will remember next time, I don't usually go to that counter as its amongst the roast beef and pizza and I didn't realise there was anything else there. They did want proof of our age, I'm surprised but maybe they figure they have been conned a couple of times. I don't think there is a lot of doubt about Matt and I. There is a kind of competition taking place - they issue with passports and you have to get 5 stamps on a page and then hand it in. There is more than one stamp page in the passport. The prize is a trip for 2 to Japan. Wouldn't that be nice? Yesterday I received the registration for us to bowl in competition in New Hamburg for the Wilmot Senior Games. We are bowling at 9:30 a.m. which means getting up real early as I imagine we have to be there at 9 and its a fair drive away. I am trying to persuade Matt that we should go to the Waterlot in New Hamburg for dinner and stay the night there. At the moment its not working. If you would like to check them out click here their food is excellent. We've never stayed there, so don't know about the rest of it. Its quite close to the alley, one could almost walk. Dumb thing on GMA Weekend, I thought; one of their people has been checking barbecued ribs around the country and had brought back four finalists. I must admit they looked pretty good. There is a video on their page here which will show you the selections. However, they asked the TV audience to vote on the ribs. How on earth can we, we haven't tried them. I have no doubt thousands of people voted. That is one thing I have never cooked as Matt doesn't like chewing bones. However, he did try some ribs a friend cooked which he discovered had a lot of meat on them, so he enjoyed them more. So long as he can pull the meat off with a knife and fork, he hates to eat with his fingers!!! Now me, I get stuck right in there. We went to Tim Barrie's Asparagus farm yesterday for my weekly fix of asparagus. I am buying a $7 bag full this year which seems to last me about a week, Matt doesn't eat it daily like I do during the season. Tim gave me yet another raw stalk to try, I had never realised how delicious they are raw. I went to Eating Well again for the following recipe. Shrimp, Asparagus & Pesto Pasta Makes 6 servings, 1 1/2 cups each 8 ounces whole-wheat fettuccine 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups) ½ cup sliced jarred roasted red peppers ¼ cup prepared pesto 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 pound raw shrimp (21-25 per pound), peeled and deveined 1 cup dry white wine Freshly ground pepper to taste 1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook for 3 minutes less than the package directions specify. Add asparagus and continue cooking until the pasta and asparagus are just tender, about 3 minutes more. Reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water, drain the fettuccine and asparagus and return to the pot. Stir in peppers and pesto. Cover to keep warm. 2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 3 minutes. Add wine, increase heat to high and continue cooking until the shrimp are curled and the wine is reduced, about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and the reserved cooking water to the pasta; toss to coat. Season with pepper and serve immediately. Have a great weekend and, to those of you in the US, have a great Memorial Day.

2 comments:

  1. Yummy! The food all sounds yummy today!

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  2. I like to think the food is yummy every day LOL.

    The Chinese was certainly good and I am now inspired to attempt to cook ribs in the near future. I've always enjoyed them although admittedly you need a bib and a washcloth to enjoy them properly.

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