Health, Bowling and Poetry.

And still the crud hangs on and on. I keep thinking I am better and then I get worse again. Finally, yesterday morning, I went to the doctor and she gave me some antibiotics, trouble is, apparently, they are not the best thing to give anyone on Plavix. Didn’t know that before. When I was at the doc’s I didn’t wheeze or cough once, she listened to my chest which was the quietest its been for over two weeks. Isn’t that just bloody typical. I have almost forgotten what bowling is all about, I just haven’t felt up to it with all the coughing and snuffling. Also, it turns out that our bowling banquet is on the same day as the Federal Election and as we are both working in the polling booths, we won’t be taking part, damn.

I just saw Caroline Kennedy interviewed on Good Morning America, she has published a book of favourite poems called She Walks in Beauty: A woman's Journey Through Poems. Apparently it was a tradition started by her mother, Jackie Kennedy, and her family, to give poetry to one another for presents at festive occasions. I think that is a wonderful idea. People don’t seem to appreciate poetry any more but I grew up with it as my father introduced me to poetry and bought me The Oxford Book of English Verse which I read from cover to cover, and still have in my possession although today I confess I would be hard pressed to remember much of what was there. We used to be taught poetry in school (do they still do that?) and as a youngster I used to write reams of the stuff. I can’t say I enjoy a lot of the poetry which is written today, it doesn’t sound like poetry to me, I am very much a traditionalist. I have just remembered I wrote poems for Matt before we were married and he actually wrote a poem for me – very impressive for a non literary person like he is. Right now, sadly, I don’t remember where that poem is, I will have to go hunt. One of the things I used to do was to take a name and use each letter to start a line of poetry. I remember, when I was living in Sussex, UK, a friend lived in a delightful old thatched cottage by the name of Smuggler’s Cottage and I wrote a poem about that.

Smuggler’s Cottage

Surely its name

Must Give us a clue

Under the shadows

Gone from the blue

Gone are the shanties

Long past are the kegs

Eased up the Downs

Returned with the dregs

Secretly now.

Cutters were flying

Over the sea

The Revenue men

Trundling over the lea

Avast there you smugglers

Get ye gone from the sea

England is free.

So if you take the first letter of each line you will see it spells the name. I present this as a humble gift to you, my readers.

I am currently getting a recipe a day from WebMD in order to assist with dieting. This was the one I got yesterday and I thought it looked pretty good. When we go shopping on Wednesday we will have to see if we can find the whole wheat pizza dough.

Caramelized Onion & White Bean Flatbread

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Here we top pizza with herbed mashed beans, sliced plum tomatoes, sweet caramelized onions and some shredded Gouda for a tasty flatbread that will have you rethinking pizza toppings.

Servings: 6

Recipe Ingredients:

1. 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2. 1 large onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
3. 1/4 teaspoon salt
4. 20 ounces prepared whole-wheat pizza dough (see Note), thawed if frozen
5. 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried
6. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
7. 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed (see Note)
8. 3 tablespoons water
9. 2 teaspoons white-wine vinegar
10. 2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
11. 1 cup finely shredded smoked Gouda or Cheddar cheese
12. 2 tablespoons pepitas (see Note), optional

Recipe Steps:

1. Place oven rack in the lowest position; preheat to 450°F. Coat a large noninsulated baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Combine oil, onion and salt in a medium saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, uncover 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.
4. Stir oregano and pepper into the onion. Transfer half the onion to a small bowl. Add beans to the remaining onion; cook over medium heat, stirring often, until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the bean mixture to a food processor, add water and vinegar and pulse until a coarse paste forms.
5. Spread the bean paste over the pizza crust. Top with the reserved onion, tomatoes, cheese and pepitas, if using. Bake on the bottom rack until the crust is crispy and golden and the cheese is melted, 11 to 13 minutes. Slice and serve.

Recipe Tips & Notes:

1. Notes: Look for whole-wheat pizza-dough balls at your supermarket. Check the ingredient list to make sure the dough doesn’t contain any hydrogenated oils. Or visit eatingwell.com for an easy pizza-dough recipe.
2. While we love the convenience of canned beans, they tend to be high in sodium. Give them a good rinse before adding to a recipe to rid them of some of their sodium (up to 35 percent) or opt for low-sodium or no-salt-added varieties. (Our recipes are analyzed with rinsed, regular canned beans.) Or, if you have the time, cook your own beans from scratch. You’ll find our Bean Cooking Guide at eatingwell.com/guides.
3. Hulled pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, are dusky green and have a delicate nutty flavor. They can be found in the natural-food or bulk sections of many supermarkets.

Have a great day