Tournament

Well we didn’t win our tournament, in fact not one of us was playing very well. I personally was hurting, I have sprained my knee and bowling yesterday hardly helped. Afterwards I was having trouble walking and when I got home Matt wrapped some ice around it. We didn’t stay for the banquet either, the whole thing was so badly organised. I had made adverse comments about their ability to organise several weeks back, yesterday confirmed it. It turned out that we had at least 3 hours with nothing to do before the banquet although they were supposed to be setting up information booths for people to look at, this was to be open at 3, by 2:45 hardly anything was set up, and didn’t look as though it was going to be any time soon. The temperatures were soaring and we were both getting more and more teed off by the minute so we decided to cut our losses and go home even though we had already bought our tickets. I was not a happy camper. The bowling tournament itself started late and didn’t finish until about 2, everything was taking them so long. Grrrr. There were teams of 6 as well which takes forever. They didn’t have enough room for everyone to play, we had the individual competitors tacked onto the teams and then they were running the 10 pin elsewhere in the same alley, ridiculous. I will not be entering this tournament again. Sorry about the griping but I was not happy. We were not happy.

We stopped at the Mandarin for supper on the way home, I had trouble making it into the restaurant. I’ve mentioned the Mandarin before, its a Chinese chain and their food is very good. Neither of us wanted to start thinking about cooking or anything. The Mandarin is buffet style and you can go up as often as you wish. They also have sushi, pizza and some western style foods. Mostly its all Chinese though. Their hot and sour soup is the first thing I go for, its excellent. They have a good dessert bar although of course that is all westernised. Matt had some tiramisu which he enjoyed, I had some crème caramel – enjoyed that too.

We had one hell of a thunderstorm on Wednesday night with lots of  rain, I hope we got some here, I haven’t spoken to anyone to ask them yet, it sounded like a real drencher Where we were in Chatham but that’s 2 hrs. drive away so it could have missed us here altogether.

I love risotto so here is the latest offering from Mushrooms Canada. This will certainly be in my repertoire.
Baked Mushroom & Leek Risotto
Watch the "How-To" Cooking Video
1 leek
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup arborio rice
1/3 cup dry white wine or broth
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
8 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup table cream (18%)
2 tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 oz. Parmesan cheese, shaved (about 1/3 cup).
Cut dark green tops and root off leek; halve lengthways, wash and thinly slice. Heat 1 tbsp.(15 mL) oil in a large, deep skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add leek and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the leeks are soft. Meanwhile, bring the broth to boil in a medium saucepan over high heat or in microwave. Stir rice into the leek mixture; cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Stir in wine, salt and pepper; cook about 1-2 minutes. Transfer mixture to covered 2 qt. (2 L) oven –proof casserole or baking dish. Stir hot broth into rice mixture; cover and bake in 400ºF (200ºC) oven for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove stems from mushrooms. Wipe caps with a damp cloth and slice. Heat remaining1 tbsp (15 mL) oil in same skillet or saucepan over medium- high heat. Add mushrooms, cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until just lightly browned. Set aside and cover to keep warm.
Remove risotto from the oven; stir in cream, mushrooms and parsley. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Spoon into serving bowls and serve immediately garnished with shaved Parmesan cheese.
Makes 2 main course or 4 side servings
Tips:
• Arborio rice is a short-grain rice imported form Italy used specially for risotto.
• A mixture of shiitake, oyster and Crimini mushrooms may be used if desired.
• Trimmed stems may be reserved and simmered in broth for soups or stews.
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 333, Sodium: 731 mg, Protein: 8.7 g, Fat: 12.0 g, Carbohydrates: 45.3 g, Dietary Fibre: 1.6 g
Have a great day