Tornadoes, Sandwiches, Movies

When I got up on Thursday morning it was blowing a gale and the wind whips around our nine storey building howling like a banshee which makes one feel cold just listening to it. Then I turn on the TV and see they had 150 tornadoes in the States on Wednesday night with lots of destruction and quite a few deaths, I couldn’t help wondering if they were headed here with all this wind? The States has certainly been pounded with tornados lately, the pictures on yesterday’s TV were horrifying. The last count I heard was 290 deaths from tornados recently.

As I mentioned, we went to Benny’s for lunch yesterday. Everyone seemed to be OK with what was being served, I ordered a sandwich called Lox, Stock and Bagel. Not a good choice, in the first place a good bagel doesn’t seem to be available round her, secondly the lox was overpowered by a mayonnaise, tomato, onion and lettuce combination. The mayo itself was a big mistake for a start. But that is how North Americans make sandwiches, they don’t use butter but slather the bread with mayonnaise which neither of us have taken to. Mayonnaise certainly does not go with smoked salmon – it wasn’t particularly good mayonnaise either. Ah well, if we go there again, I will not be choosing that. It was actually on the breakfast menu which several of us used for our selections. One person had a Benny’s Benedict which I thought looked pretty good. Matt had his good ol’ standby of BLT which he enjoyed. I had thought of soup and salad, the the soup of the day was broccoli and it didn’t appeal to me at the time.

We had fun at the bowling alley, I even bowled two good games although the third one was terrible. Matt didn’t bowl well at all, he gets up tight which doesn’t help it I guess. We have started playing poker (used to do it years ago) you are dealt a 5 card hand then if you hit the head pin you change one card, if you bowl a strike you can change two cards. In the second game I started with a flush and didn’t want to change any of them. I ended up with a load of rubbish Ah well, only a quarter (25 ¢) a time so I didn’t exactly lose much.

Much to my delight the DVDs I had ordered, The King’s Speech and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, both arrived in the mail yesterday so we played The King’s Speech last night and Matt thoroughly enjoyed it. Well it is a wonderful movie. I was so glad it got so many Oscars although I was sorry Geoffrey Rush didn’t get one. I won’t play the Narnia movie for Matt, not his scene at all, but I will be watching it again. The first time I saw it in the theatre it was in 3D, will be interesting to see if it makes much difference.

I didn't intend to get up this morning for the wedding, but nature called at 5:45 a.m. so I figured I might as well stay up and turn on the TV. I very much liked the dress, pretty simple but elegant and beautiful. I saw the ceremony right through and loved every minute of it.

This is a possible clone of the cake which Prince William has requested as one of the wedding cakes today. Apparently this particular cake recipe originated in Denmark. The Palace cake is supposed to be a secret but I imagine there is a lot of similarity. I like the look of this because it doesn’t need cooking.

Nick Watt's Mum's Chocolate Biscuit Cake

Give This Royal Favorite a Try

From the kitchen of Carol Watt

Servings: 8

Prince William's childhood favorite treat is the same as ABC News' very own Nick Watt, but Nick has a secret weapon that even the Royal Family can't match: his mum Carol. She shares a generations-old Watt family recipe here.

Ingredients

8 oz. good-quality dark chocolate, chopped

8 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 large eggs

½ cup sugar

8 oz. Rich Tea biscuits or Graham Crackers, broken into almond-sized pieces

Zest of 1 orange

½ cup chopped hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds

¼ cup raisins, soaked in 2 tablespoons of sherry (omit if making for children)

Cooking Directions

1. Melt chocolate in a mixing bowl placed over a saucepan of gently simmering water. In another saucepan (or microwave-safe bowl) melt butter.

2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the eggs and sugar until mixed well. Add melted butter and chocolate. Add orange zest, raisins, and nuts to the chocolate mixture. Gradually fold in the crushed biscuits (or graham crackers), until biscuits are evenly distributed throughout the chocolate.

3. In a 2-pound loaf pan lined with plastic wrap, spread the chocolate mixture and smooth out evenly. Cover entire pan with plastic wrap.

3. Refrigerate overnight. Cut into slices.

Cook's Note: This cake is quite rich—a small piece is all you need.

Have a great day