Matt, Things Sent to Try Us, Supper,

We had a lovely day yesterday, we spent from around 2:45 til 8 p.m. in St. Mary's Hospital. I have spoken about Matt's foot problems and the fact that through friction his second toe on his right foot was wounded. Yesterday morning when he got up, the wound looked worse and the toe was both swollen and red. I immediately thought 'cellulitis' and spent the rest of the morning until after lunch nagging him about going to emergency. Matt tends to keep saying "yes doctor" in the most sarcastic way possible, but guess what, when he finally saw the doc I was right. He had cellulitis once in NC must be 12-15 years ago and I read up all about it at the time. Its not funny and can lead to quite serious consequences. He now has a 10 day course of antibiotics but if things don't improve in a couple of days he will have to go back. Last time, in NC he ended up with shots in his rear end on a daily basis for a while. If you can't stand nasty pictures, don't look up cellulitis on Google. Just to add to our woes, they really couldn't read the doc's signature at the pharmacy so they had to fax and ask what it was. Neither of us remembered what his name was. He looked too young to me to be a doctor anyway. They say you know when you are old when cops look like kids, its the doctors that seem too young to me. This waiting business is ridiculous, St. Mary's is supposed to be faster than Grand River which is the other hospital with an emergency room in town. I know we have waited 8 hours or more there on occasion. It used to be this bad in Britain, but I was talking to a couple of holiday makers from Britain when we were in Grand River and they said it wasn't like that in the UK any more. Anyway, when we got home the super had replaced the light in the bedroom and we now have power in there. So the answering machine, having been off for four days, decided it wanted a new battery which of course we don't have. For supper we decided to grab a Melton Mowbray Pie for Matt and a couple of Samosas for me from the grocery store whilst waiting for the prescription. The Melton Mowbray Pies are originally an English recipe (pork) and the ones in our store aren't bad at all. Their Samosas weren't bad either although I think they would have been better heated. If you don't know Samosas, they are kind of Indian turnovers filled with all kinds of things, I had beef and spicy vegetable tonight, they were pretty spicy too. We just wanted something quick as it was getting late. It occurred to me you might like a recipe for samosas, I think they are fairly easy to make although I haven't tried to do so myself, I'm afraid I have always bought them. In the UK there are many Indian shops where you can do so. This is the first time I have bought them locally. Here is one from Food TV, Canadian Living Cooks. Vegetable Samosas Yield: 20 Pastry * 2 cup flour * 1/2 tsp salt * 1 tbsp vegetable oil * 3/4 cup water, (approximately) Filling * 4 medium boiling potato, (about 1 pound) * 1 tsp black mustard seeds * 1 tsp vegetable oil * 1 onion, chopped * 2 tsp minced ginger * 2 tsp mild curry paste * 3/4 cup vegetable stock * 1/2 tsp salt * 1 tbsp lemon, juice * 1/2 cup frozen peas * 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander Pastry 1. In large bowl, stir together flour and salt. Add oil and stir until well blended. Gradually add enough of the water, stirring with fork, to make a firm dough. Turn out onto floured surface. Knead 5 minutes until smooth; cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Filling 1. Peel and cut potatoes into 1/4 inch (5 mm) cubes; set aside. 2. Heat large skillet over medium heat. Add mustard seeds to pan and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until seeds turn gray and start to pop. Remove and set aside. 3. Heat oil in pan and add onions, ginger and curry paste; cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add potatoes and cook for 2 minutes. 4. Pour in stock, salt and lemon juice; bring to boil reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender and liquid is almost absorbed. 5. Stir in peas and chopped coriander; remove from heat; set aside. Samosa Preparation 1. Divide pastry into 10 balls. Working with one at a time and keeping the remaining covered, roll each into a 7-inch circle. Cut the circle in half and brush edge with water. Add a rounded tablespoonful (15 mL) filling and fold the pastry to form a cone. Press the straight edges to seal. Fold the rounded edges together and crimp to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. 2. In large shallow saucepan, heat oil to 350°F or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Cook 2 to 3 samosas at a time for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until golden. Drain on paper towels. Have a great day.