Blog Interview, Bugs and Critters.

Had a fun time yesterday and running into today, with Glenda Larke being interviewed and then answering all kinds of questions on Sia McKye’s blog – Sia McKye’s Thoughts – Over Coffee http://siamckye.blogspot.com – they made me bring my own coffee though!!! I learned a few more things about Glenda that I didn’t know, like some of her rainforest experiences. I envied her recent Borneo trip where she saw Pygmy Elephants and Pigmy Squirrels, but after reading what she wrote yesterday, I think she can keep her job after all. I will not compete. I’m not really into King Cobras and much as I push saving tigers, I don’t want one up close and personal stalking me.

One thing we did talk about was cockroaches – not very nice critters at all. I have been having a hate relationship with them for many years. When my parents took their boat, Pamara, to Malta to live. they were moored by old wooden docks which had probably been there from time immemorial and which were crawling with huge cockroaches. There were of great interest to the cat who would catch them and bring them on board and then, in the way of all cats, play with them and sometimes lose them. Delightful. Now we had big buggers on board. Not only that, my father reckoned a lot of eggs actually came aboard with shopping, particularly vegetables. Later when Matt and I lived in North Carolina we had the same problem although the Carolinians call them Palmetto bugs and don’t admit they are cockroaches. (In fact nobody in Malta had cockroaches in their homes, certainly not my parents). I personally can’t stand the things but Matt doesn’t worry about them so much. In fact we used to spray inside our home every couple of weeks and outside about once a month and we rarely had problems. Friends who were not so careful had plenty of roaches in their lives. To quote one friend “when I got home, I opened the door and the roaches were jumping up and down saying goody, goody, daddy’s back”.

Its nice to live without such critters, in fact its nice to live in a country which doesn’t have a lot of nasty wildlife. We do have Mississauga Rattlers, but I don’t think they are widely distributed and certainly not around the towns as far as I know. Of course we have bears, Polar, Grizzly and Black to name a few, in Canada and a whole plethora of different animals, but we certainly don’t have to deal with roaches round here.

Today is the first of our Travel League Bowling for this winter season. In fact we are bowling at our local alley and some of us will be lunching at the My Thai across the road. The way both of us have been bowling, we are going for the exercise!!!

I had a friend who loved Stilton and pears or maybe Gorgonzola. The following recipe doesn’t specify what kind of blue cheese, but those are two of the best. This would make a nice lunch or even a quick and easy supper.

Pear & Blue Cheese Flatbread

From EatingWell:  January/February 2008

The classic combination of pears, walnuts and blue cheese isn't just for salad. Toss the same ingredients onto purchased whole-wheat pizza dough and make your own gourmet flatbread at home. Any type of ripe, firm pear will work—red pears look great.

6 servings 

Ingredients

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 cups thinly sliced onions

20 ounces prepared whole-wheat pizza dough

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 ripe but firm pears, sliced

1/2 cup finely crumbled blue cheese

Preparation

1. Place oven rack in the lowest position; preheat to 450°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown, about 6 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and golden, 5 to 8 minutes more.
3. Meanwhile, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to the size of the baking sheet. Transfer to the baking sheet. Bake until puffed and lightly crisped on the bottom, 8 to 10 minutes. Toast walnuts in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring, until lightly browned and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Stir vinegar, sage and pepper into the onions. Spread on the crust and top with pears, walnuts and cheese. Bake on the bottom rack until the crust is crispy and golden and the cheese is melted, 11 to 13 minutes. Slice and serve.

Have a great day