Young Daredevils, Another Disaster, Walk on By, Recipes

I was staggered to hear of a 14 yr old girl, Katie Brice, racing in Nascar. I’m sorry, but how ridiculous. I cannot imagine a parent, particularly a mother, permitting it, but her father is a racer too and Saturday was in the same race. She can’t drive herself to the mall or even to the race track, but she is being allowed to race. If you want to read the article or see a video clip go to http://tinyurl.com/2wtsam5

Sadly, young Abby Sutherland who has been attempting a round the world sailing trip has got to put into port at Cape Town this week due to a faulty auto pilot. She is going to continue her trip, but it will no longer be a non-stop voyage. She is one of the two 16yr olds who are out there right now, I think Jessica must be nearly home to Australia, they changed their web site and I haven’t been keeping up so regularly. However, in my book, sailing in a well designed yacht which is virtually unsinkable (mind you so was the Titanic) and racing a Nascar vehicle are two extremely different things.

A major disaster story this weekend was the twister in Mississippi which killed 12 people and wrecked the towns it passed through, particularly Yazoo City. From the video shown on TV it was a big one. This is now tornado season which, the reporters say, got off to a slow start. I am sure the residents of tornado alley wish it had never started at all.

An incredible story, and by no means the first such event, a homeless man went to the rescue of a woman who was being mugged. He was stabbed and there are camera views of him lying on the sidewalk bleeding to death for about an hour and not one person helped him, finally someone did call for help – he eventually died. A psychiatrist says this is caused by several things, the major one being that we are inured to violence; because of the games we play and the movies we watch, etc. our brains are becoming hardwired and unable to differentiate between the real and the imaginary. There is a video on the ABC news GMA/weekend page http://abcnews.go.com/gma/weekend

Matt was watching a golf game from New Orleans on Saturday. I am not sure exactly where, but right by water and there was an alligator cruising around too close to the spectators and golfers alike. A grounds keeper or someone came along with a fishing rod accompanied by a guy with a noose and managed to hook the gator and draw him in, however the gator shook himself free and went further out but still hovering. What I couldn't figure was what they planned to do with the gator once they caught it??? Not something you can tuck under your arm and move somewhere else. They didn't try again. On Sunday it, or its brother, was back again. I guess it figures food is available, they can run very fast for short bursts too. Later we discovered the alligator is known as Tripod as it only has 3 legs. I still wouldn't want to try racing it.

I have started reading The Third Craft by James T. Harris http://tinyurl.com/28787ze wlihich has been loaned to me by a friend at the Friday seniors bowling. James T. Harris is his son. How wonderful to have your son as a published author. Only trouble is, the book says it's a trilogy and I am not sure if the other two books are going to be published or even written.

This is not exactly a recipe, but there is a sauce we used to make years ago which I figured would be wonderful on asparagus. Basically you make a white sauce, add a pinch or maybe two of nutmeg and then add a couple of chopped hard boiled eggs to the white sauce. You can also chop up the egg whites and add to the sauce then sieve the egg yolks over top of the whole dish, makes it look prettier. I haven’t tried this yet, but having thought of it, I will.

Saturday we made a Weight Watcher’s recipe we haven’t done for a long time. It is one of our favourites. This comes from Weight Watchers’ New Complete Cookbook. I should warn you not to breathe too deeply when cooking the pork with the hot paprika on or adding the vinegar. You can choke on the fumes. I actually posted this recipe before, but having enjoyed it the other night, I thought I would remind you of it. Sunday we made a cauliflower recipe which I got on Real Age's web site and it is from YOU: On a Diet by Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen. Cauliflower tends to be a somewhat bland vegetable unless you add a cheese sauce, but this was very good.

Mediterranean Cauliflower Salad 4 servings.

1 head of cauliflower, blanched for 5 minutes

1 small can of anchovies, drained, chopped (otpional)

1Tbs drained capers1 Tbs fresh lemon juice

1 TBS olive oil

1 clove garlic, pressed or minced

1 Tbs chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried

Drain cauliflower and break into small pieces. Combine cauliflower, anchovies if desired and capers in a medium bowl. Combine remaining ingredients; toss with cauliflower mixture.

I know lots of people will say they don't like anchovies, most of whom have only had an anchovy straight from the can or jar which is very strong and very salt, but when added to a dish like this, makes for a wonderful salty flavour. Go on, be adventurous and try this with anchovies in.

Pork and Black Beans If you like, use turnkey breast instead of pork 4 servings 2 garlic cloves 1/2 tsp hot paprika 1/4 tsp ground cumin 1/4 tsp salt 5 ounces lean pork tenderloin 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil 2 Tbs white vinegar One 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained 1/2 carrot, finely diced (we prefer shredded) 1/2 tomato diced 1 red onion, chopped 2 Tbs chopped cilantro

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, paprika, cumin and salt; rub into the pork.

In a medium nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Sauté the pork until browned, 2-3 minutes on each side. Reduce the heat and cook, covered, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a place. Halve the pork lengthwise, then cut crosswise into thin slices.

Add the vinegar to the pan drippings and simmer, stirring, until the acidity cooks off, about 2 minutes. Add the beans, carrot and lime juice; cook, tossing about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add the pork, tomato, onion and cilantro, toss to combine.

Points per serving 3.

Have a great day.