Reading, Rain, and Road Works. Bolt.

I have just finished reading Snake Skin by C.J. Lyons, a Lucy Guardino FBI thriller, and absolutely loved it. I have no idea who recommended it to me, but I cannot recommend it highly enough to those of you who like thrillers. I am just bought the second one, Blood Stained, for my Kindle. I’m not sure why I haven’t been writing about what I have been reading lately, some of the stuff has been a bit mediocre, but some have been excellent. Two that come to mind are Cassa Star and Cassa Fire by Alex J. Cavanaugh both of which are sci fi and set in a space world of the future, right up my street. I am now waiting for the third in the series with anticipation.

Hey, how about that, its been raining. We are supposed to get about a foot of rain before its all over, cannot but hope. Had my annual visit to the optometrist yesterday morning and we discussed the drought and then the Olympics. He ended up saying that if you poured enough money into your athletes you could virtually buy yourself gold medals. Guess Canada hasn’t been spending enough, we only have one. He said the UK had poured a lot of money into their athletes in the last 9 years since they won the bid to host the Games. They have certainly accumulated a few golds. 24 last time I looked.

Driving to the optometrists we got lost, yes really, there are road works on the street leading directly to them and the detour signs are not very good at all, then we tried to go ways we knew although obviously we didn’t know them as well as we thought. We got there about 1 minute to the appointment. There is a joke in Canada that we have 7 months winter and 5 months road works, certainly seems to be true at the moment. Yesterday morning was a right fiasco for us; not only that, we knew about the roads and could have started off a different way, but neither of us remembered. Don’t go that way very often.

Finally managed to see film of Usain Bolt winning the 200 metre. The Jamaicans must be very proud that all three medals were won by Jamaicans. Bolt doesn’t seem to worry about records, when he knows he is winning, he slows down.

These crêpes appealed to me when I saw them, I am trying to eat a bit more healthily at the moment.

Summer Vegetable Crêpes

From EatingWell: July/August 2008

Crêpes aren't just for dessert—they make a quick and savory weeknight dinner. Here they're filled with ricotta cheese, green beans, zucchini and corn and topped with a chive-cream sauce. Don't skip the step of placing a piece of parchment or wax paper under each crêpe as you fill it—without it, the crêpes are tricky to roll. Serve with: A tossed salad.

4 servings Ingredients

• 1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives, divided, plus more for garnish
• 3 tablespoons low-fat milk
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups chopped zucchini
• 1 1/4 cups chopped green beans
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels, (from 1 large ear; see Tip)
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 4 9-inch “ready-to-use” crêpes, (see Tip)

Preparation

1. Stir sour cream, 1/4 cup chives, milk, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl until combined. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, green beans and corn and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low; stir in ricotta, Monterey Jack, the remaining 1/4 cup chives, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook, stirring gently, until the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. To roll crêpes, place one on a piece of parchment or wax paper (or leave it on the piece of plastic separating the crêpes in the package). Spoon one-fourth of the vegetable-cheese mixture (about 3/4 cup) down the center of the crêpe. Use the paper (or plastic) to help you gently roll the crêpe around the filling. Place the crêpe seam-side down on a dinner plate. Repeat with the remaining crêpes and filling. Serve each crêpe topped with 2 tablespoons of the reserved sauce and more chives, if desired.

Nutrition

Per serving :302 Calories; 17 g Fat; 8 g Sat; 6 g Mono; 46 mg Cholesterol; 25 g Carbohydrates; 15 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 687 mg Sodium; 485 mg Potassium

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 1/2 medium-fat meat, 1 fat

Tips & Notes

• Tips: To remove kernels, stand a cob on its stem end in a bowl and slice them off with a sharp, thin-bladed knife.
• “Ready-to-use” crêpes are fast and convenient. Look for them in the produce section of the market or near refrigerated tortillas.

Have a great day