Balloons, Lamb, Talking about Me

Thursday morning I was sitting at the dining table at 6:30 a.m. eating my breakfast and two balloons came floating by. No wonder I hadn’t seen any lately, I am not normally up at 6 in the morning. However, it made me think, I am sitting there moaning to myself about having to be up so early, what on earth time did the passengers on those balloons have to get up? Actually the balloons were whizzing by, for balloons that is, must have been a pretty good breeze up high. I often thought I would like to do a balloon trip but I am not sure I wouldn’t get vertigo, plus once you land, maybe the basket will fall over, and you are expected to help pack everything up, no thank you.

Terrible thing happened this week *g*, we went to Costco to stock up on meats only to find they had no legs of lamb or lamb chops. What a disaster!! Main thing we went for after all. They did have lamb racks, but in my opinion those are an expensive way of getting rid of cheaper cuts of lamb. Yes, they can be made pretty tasty, but have you ever compared prices? Lamb costs enough in this neck of the woods anyway.

I haven’t time to write this morning, I have a new toy to play with, my cell phone arrived yesterday and is now fully charged up, so ready to be loaded with phone numbers and all that!!!

Yesterday I went to have an ultra sound, basically on my femoral artery which stretches down both legs. They are even more ‘bunged up’ than they used to be and I am only getting 70% blood flow to my legs. Once again the doc. said unless it is interfering with my life, they wouldn’t do anything. Er, excuse me, I can’t go grocery shopping, I have trouble walking to the car in the garage, sometimes even from the bedroom to the living room. I think it is interfering with my life don’t you? It then turns out that this doctor is semi retired so doesn’t operate any more and I have to see someone else from Guelph hospital – I can actually consult with them locally, but if and when I have to have an operation, Guelph is where I have to go. A good half hour’s drive away, possibly a bit more. They always seem to want you there at the crack of dawn as well. Our local hospital does not do these ops any more apparently, but there are two doctors in Guelph who do.

On the news this morning, BP are about to try a new cap for the Gulf oil leak which they hope will make a better seal. Its now something like 81 days since this happened and although some oil has been contained, the wild life and ocean damage is unconscionable.

There is a lot of brou ha ha in the States at the moment about Lebron James (I don’t really know if the spelling is right) a basketball player, who has moved from Cleveland to somewhere in Florida. I have never heard so much nonsense about a ball player, people in Cleveland burning his shirt, crying and screaming he has betrayed them and so on. What a lot of nonsense. To us, its unbelievable.

Eating Well sent an email about meatless main meals recently and here is one which appealed to me and may well appear on our table in the near future, especially as I couldn’t get any lamb LOL

Greek Orzo Stuffed Peppers

From EatingWell: March/April 2009

We steam brightly colored bell peppers in the microwave to save time and then stuff them with orzo, spinach and feta. This basic recipe will work with almost any filling—try substituting different types of cheese, herbs or beans. Serve with whole-wheat pita bread and cucumber salad.

4 servings

Ingredients

4 yellow, orange and/or red bell peppers

1/2 cup whole-wheat orzo

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

6 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 tsp dried

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, (not oil-packed), chopped

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, or red-wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Halve peppers lengthwise through the stems, leaving the stems attached. Remove the seeds and white membrane. Place the peppers cut-side down in a large microwave-safe dish. Add 1/2 inch water, cover and microwave on High until the peppers are just softened, 7 to 9 minutes. Let cool slightly, drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add orzo and cook until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
3. Mash chickpeas into a chunky paste with a fork, leaving some whole.
4. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add spinach and oregano and cook, stirring, until the spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Stir in the orzo, chickpeas, 1/2 cup feta, tomatoes, vinegar and salt; cook until heated though, about 1 minute. Divide the filling among the pepper halves and sprinkle each pepper with some of the remaining 1/4 cup feta.

Have a great weekend