Hearing, Dougherty’s, Killer T-Cells, Fresh Corn.

I finally got to see the new office of our doctor, from what Matt said I was expecting a much bigger place, not that large after all. Mainly we went for an audio check up. We were about due for that anyway. Turns out our hearing is slightly impaired due to our ages, but nothing major although we would do less well in crowds. If we were often in public situations we might need hearing assistance, but when we are predominantly at home, nothing necessary at the moment. I enquired and they showed me a current hearing aid, boy are they ever tiny, completely disappear into the ear. The audiologist’s assistant was wearing one as a demo and one could hardly see it. Odd how much on a par our hearing is as a couple.

On our way home from the doctors I spotted a truck selling fresh corn so we stopped and I bought myself a couple – Matt prefers his cooked on the barbecue but of course we don’t have one. I ate them for supper and they were delicious. I hope the truck is there again for a while, I will be going back if he is there. They were really sweet although I have never had corn as sweet as once when I was in NC on vacation and there was a type called How Sweet it Is, it surely was. If you are local and interested, the truck was on the corner of King and River.

By the way, I don’t know if you saw, the Dougherty brothers and sister were finally caught. They were found in Colorado and were chased by the  cops;  firing their guns back at the cop cars they finally wrecked their car, the two boys were caught quickly but the girl ran off firing an AK47 at the cops. If you are interested click on the Dougherty Gang to read more about them.

An optimistic report in the fight against cancer. Researchers have done a small test, three people, with T-cells, basically they remove  some cells from your body, change them to killer cells and then reintroduce them to your system. They had trouble getting funding to try this out, but managed to raise enough for this small trial and as the results were so spectacular they feel they may be able to raise more money to do extensive testing. Read more here at Killer T-Cells.

I like healthy vegetable stews like this one below and will certainly try it, maybe later in the year though.

Chickpea, Lentil and Vegetable Stew

By Dana Treat
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Adapted from Bon Appétit recipe

I served this with brown rice but it is also good with white rice (I would use basmati) and also with steamed quinoa. If you are going to make this ahead of time, wait to add the spinach until you reheat it so it retains the lovely green color.

Ingredients

Olive Oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. caraway seeds
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
2 cups light vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 cup dried lentils
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced ¼-inch thick
1 cup frozen lima beans or edamame
½ cup chopped parsley
10 oz. fresh baby spinach
lemon wedges for garnish and seasoning

Instructions

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom and then add the onions. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the garlic. Cook another 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and all the spices; stir 1 minute. Stir in broth, water, and lentils. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Add chickpeas, carrots, lima beans, and half the parsley. Cover; simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes. This dish can be made one day ahead of time. Cover and chill. Bring to a simmer before continuing. Refrigerate remaining parsley for garnish.

Stir spinach into stew in batches until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls with rice. Garnish each bowl with remaining parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Total Servings: 4

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Calories: 342.8
Carbohydrates: 61.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Fat: 2.5 g
Saturated Fat: 0.4 g
Fibre: 24.6 g
Sodium: 313.1 mg
Protein: 22.3 g

Have a great day