Il Volo, Heat,

I mentioned this group of young men a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday their CD Il Volo arrived and we played it immediately. They really are an incredible trio of kids, yes kids, two at 16 one at 17. Here is the link to the video which was sent to me and where I first discovered them http://tinyurl.com/3jr9xqm

As usual, spring zipped by without even being noticed and the last couple of days we have had high temps and lots of humidity. It was 31°C today and that is warm I promise you (well unless you are some of my Australian friends). We actually had to pop into our garage because the a/c wasn’t doing its job properly and we turned on the a/c in the apartment as well. I heard one woman say she loved this weather and could take it all year, not me mama. I like some warmth but when we get the high humidity as well, no thank you. At least its going to be cooler for the rest of the week.

Today I had to get up at the crack of dawn to go have my diabetic bloodwork done. I cannot eat until after, so I like to go as soon as they open. Wednesday is generally shopping day too. So, busy morning.

I watched a movie again, on TV, which I had seen not too long ago, I enjoyed it. It was called A Good Year and starred Albert Finney and Russell Crowe. It is an excellent movie if you get the chance to see it, mostly set in the South of France on a French vineyard or winery about a guy who is described as an English Prick, who finally turns into Mr. Nice Guy after all. What fascinated me, both times, was the visitation of scorpions into the house, I had no idea scorpions lived in the South of France, I have since Googled and found that they do although their venom is not terribly potent I understand. I have visited several places in southern France and had never heard of them nor, thankfully, ever come across any. They mentioned lavender, I was not quite sure if the lavender was supposed to keep them away or attract them. I think the former.

Quinoa is becoming more and more popular lately, must confess though, that I have never tried it. Here is a recipe using it so now is my opportunity.

Cold Quinoa Salad with Chicken and Feta

By The Nourished Kitchen WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

A nutrient-dense, filling winter salad, quinoa combines with faintly bitter radicchio, chicken and salty feta cheese.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa, chilled 1 small head radicchio, chopped 1 cup cooked chicken, cut in bite-sized pieces 1/2 cup cubed feta cheese 1 small red onion, chopped fine 2 tbsp pine nuts 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley Olive oil and vinegar dressing, to serve

Instructions

Toss cooked quinoa, chopped radicchio, cooked chicken, cubed feta cheese, chopped red onion, pine nuts and parsley together until all ingredients are well distributed.

Dress the salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar

Total Servings: 4

Have a great day