Jackson, An Ideal Husband, Dinner.

The news is full of Michael Jackson and it now appears that there is something odd about his death. He was definitely addicted to pain killers and it is being said that his doctor gave him an injection of Demerol which on top of everything else would have killed him. However, the doctor then fled in someone else's car, leaving his own behind. The speculation is that it might have been an assisted suicide. I wonder if it might not have been an accident. I guess it will take forever to find out. They haven't even got the toxicology report yet so I'm not sure just what is known. He had three children and there is lots of speculation about who will care for them. He was also millions of dollars in debt (how on earth can that be?) but his music has been selling like hot cakes in the last couple of days which help to defray his debts. All very odd. Odd life, odd death. Look at the picture, he was once such a good looking young man. On TV I watched An Ideal Husband with Cate Blanchett playing Getrude. I thought the part of Lord Goring was particularly well done by Rupert Everett. The play is by Oscar Wilde. I thoroughly enjoyed it - Matt disappeared - and found it a very good play and very well done. It tickled me that when guests were being annoounced at a party, one couple were Lord and Lady Windemere, a nod to his other play called Lady Windemere's Fan, perhaps. I was in that once many years ago not sure what role now. Nothing major of that I am sure. Tonight we are going to friends for dinner which makes a nice break. Looking forward to it. They have a grandson teaching English in Korea who plans to get married in December so they are flying out there to attend the wedding. Matt commented "be careful not to cross the border". Last night we had one of our favourite dishes, Picadillo. There are as many recipes as there are South American cooks, I do believe each has a different one. My favourite is a combination of a few different recipes we have in different cookbooks. This is the basic one we use with a couple of additions. Picadillo Betty Crocker's International Cookbook. Mexican Picadillo is a colourful mélange of ground beef, green pepper, tomato and pimiento-stuffed olive. It is seasoned with garlic and perfumed with cinnamon and cloves. Raisins and almonds are added treats to this minced meat hash, which often fills tortillas, pies and whole peppers. 1 lb ground beef 1 medium onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 2 medium tomatoes, chopped 1 medium green pepper, chopped 1/4 cup raisins 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp. ground cloves 1/4 cup slivered almonds 1/4 cup sliced pimiento stuffed olives Hot cooked rice. To this we like to add the following adapted from other South American recipes. 2 1/2 tsp. chopped chilies 1 1/4 Tbs white vinegar Some recipes call for yoghurt to be added to the final dish when serving. Cook and stir beef, onion and garlic in 10 inch skillet until beef is light brown; drain. Add tomatoes, green pepper, raisins, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Also chilies if using. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Cook and stir almonds over medium heat until golden, 2 - 3 mins. Stir almonds and olives into beef mixture. Add vinegar and stir well. Serve with rice and if desired, top meat with a spoonful of yoghurt. 4 servings. Have a great wwekend.