Lobster Heaven, Beans, Wine, Kindle Cover

I should have been in St. John, New Brunswick yesterday, a large truck was in an accident and carrying 16,000 kilos of lobsters a lot of which spilled out onto the road. I can’t bear the thought of all that waste. If you would like to read the whole article click here, there is another picture which shows the truck lying on its side split open. The driver, his wife and child were all taken to the hospital but appear to have only scratches and bruises. Oh how I wish I’d been there.

Still, one good piece of news for us – foodwise that is – Matt had to pop into the grocery store yesterday afternoon and just happened to spot flat beans. They are also known as pole beans although in England we call them runner beans. We both love them and rarely see them so when we do we grab a bundle. I will be French cutting them later and we will have them for dinner tonight. I came across a picture for French cut beans, the picture was from nepalicooks.blogspot.com so I have borrowed it in order to show you what I am talking about. I very rarely meet anyone who knows what I am talking about. I have tried to  teach people how to prepare the beans this way, without much success. Maybe I am not a very good teacher. I get so sick of the regular round beans, their flavour is not very inspiring. I guess I could get sick of flat beans too if I could get hold of them more often. In case you are wondering, I boil them in salted water until they are crisp tender. They are delicious served with a knob of butter.

I forgot to tell you about a bottle of wine we opened last night. It  was the Cabernet Sauvignon which we bought at Chateau de Charmes when our friend from South Africa was here. I took a mouthful and it was horrid, it was corked (means the cork didn’t stop the air getting to the wine). I emailed Chateau de Charmes who explained that 5% of corks can fail and they were sorry I was in that 5% bracket. The upshot is that they are sending me a coupon for a VIP tour and tasting next time I go to their winery. Not sure what that includes or if it is only for one person. I shall no doubt see when it arrives in the mail.

That reminds me, I have been fascinated by the saga of my Kindle case. Following its journey on line, it made two stops in California, one in Indiana, one in Ohio and as of yesterday it was in Windsor, Ontario which isn’t that far from here so I kind of hoped UPS would deliver it yesterday, sadly it didn’t arrive and I don’t think they work Saturday so I wonder what the chance is I will get it on Monday? It left Windsor at 9 p.m. last night.

Lemon Bars are very popular and I received this recipe today, I would love to try them, but guess who will end up eating 99% of them? I should persuade someone else to make them and then I could have just one.

Lemon Bars

By Dana Treat
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

First let me say that I LOVE lemon bars. For a chocolate and caramel lover that is saying something. My go-to recipes is this one that I adapted from one of my favourite Betty Crocker cookbooks. It goes to show that the good, old standards like this little sweetie stand the test of time. It is totally no frills and for that reason it is perfect.

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, butter, and powdered sugar in an electric mixer until the dough starts to come together. Press into an ungreased 8 x 8 inch pan, building up an edge. Bake 20 minutes, until light brown.

Wipe out bowl. Beat remaining ingredients for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Pour over hot crust. Bake another 25 minutes longer, or just until no imprint remains when touched lightly in center. Allow to cool completely, then sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into squares.

Total Servings: 16

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Calories: 143
Carbohydrates: 20.6g
Cholesterol: 39mg
Fat: 6.4g
Saturated Fat: 3.8g
Fiber: 0g
Sodium: 84mg
Protein: 1.6g

Have a great weekend