Gliese, Bowling, CDs, Governor General

Where have I been? A new planet Gliese 581g has been found and I heard nothing about it until last night. It is, apparently, possible for it to sustain life, although it doesn’t have a day and night as we do, but perpetual light one side and perpetual dark the other. It is also 20 light years away, so we will not be able to pop over and have a look, nor will they (if there is a they) be able to pop over to us either. I gather scientists are pretty excited to have discovered a planet in the Goldilocks system which does at least have the possibility of extra terrestrial life.

I am pleased to report I had two excellent games at bowling yesterday, we won’t talk about the first game!! I actually think the 10-pin helped me a bit. I have been looking into a local 10-pin alley and they have senior leagues on Wednesday which we could join: will we? I don’t know at the moment. I have taken to walking with a cane again at the moment, everyone thought I was nuts walking into a bowling alley with a cane although there is one bowler on Mondays who carries his cane out onto the lane with him. I hope my cane is not permanent, hopefully the surgeons will get a move on and I can get my legs repaired toute suite.

I have just learnt something from Worldstart who send out a very helpful newsletter full of tips. Apparently a CD is vulnerable to damage on BOTH sides. If you damage the label side slightly, you can chuck the CD whereas if you damage the shiny side slightly you can often repair it. You can read the whole tip here http://tinyurl.com/37f93uu it is certainly something I never realised. I always would have put the CD label side down although I do tend to try and put it back in its case straight away, I will, in future, be a lot more particular about this.

We now have a new Governor General in Canada, he was president and vice chancellor of the local University of Waterloo, his name David Johnston. Everyone has been very complimentary about the job done by our previous Governor General Michaëlle Jean – hopefully Mr. Johnston will do as well. More details about the new governor’s life can be read here http://tiny.cc/v5b8w

Here’s a favourite recipe of ours which we haven’t done for a long time and plan to do next week. We still have fresh tarragon on our balcony so we will be using that instead of dried.

Tarragon Turkey Loaf

Reader’s Digest Great Recipes for Good Health

2 teaspoons unsalted margarine

1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped fine

1 large stalk celery, chopped fine

1 pound ground turkey

1/3 cup chopped parsley

¼ cup fine dry bread

¼ cup skim milk

1 large egg white

½ teaspoon dried tarragon, crumbled

1/4 teaspoon each black pepper and nutmeg

Nonstick cooking spray

For the Mushroom Sauce:

2 teaspoons unsalted margarine

1 cup chopped mushrooms

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/8 teaspoon each ground nutmeg, salt, black pepper, and dried tarragon, crumbled

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a heavy 7-inch nonstick skillet or medium-sized saucepan, melt the margarine over moderate heat; add the onion and celery, and cook, uncovered, until the onion is soft—about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the turkey, parsley, bread crumbs, milk, egg white, tarragon, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the onion and celery and mix well.

3. Lightly coat a 7½”x 3¾”x 2” loaf pan with the cooking spray. Press the turkey mixture into the pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until lightly browned and firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Using 2 spatulas, transfer the loaf to a heated platter.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In the same skillet or saucepan, melt the margarine over moderate heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Remove from the heat and blend in the flour, chicken broth, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and tarragon; return to the heat and cook about 5 minutes, stirring, until thick.

6. Ladle some sauce over the loaf and serve the rest at the table.

Serves 4.

Have a great weekend.