Cyclone, Fukushima, Bowling Butt,

Poor Philippines. The world’s strongest cyclone (this year), Typhoon Haiyan, has slammed into them. Apparently they have sustained winds of 314 Km h (195.11 mph) with gusts up to 379 Km h (235.49 mph). That is terribly strong.  Lots of people have evacuated coastal villages and anywhere expected to be in the path of the storm, but typhoons (hurricanes) cut a large swath through an area. I have a friend there and am hoping she and her family will be OK. I think she is out of the danger area. Of course I hope everyone will be OK. We have been through a few of these things, but nothing this powerful. A U.S. Forecaster predicts there will be catastrophic damage.

Talking of this, the Fukushima reactor in Japan which was damaged a couple of years ago, is having work done on it to extract 1,534 nuclear fuel rods, which could be a long job and very dangerous if some of them have been damaged. There is a video with detailed information on the procedure. It all sounds extremely dangerous to me.

Bowling was so so yesterday, although we both had one very good game each. There was a guy bowling next to us with his girlfriend and I was offended at seeing his butt every time he bowled so I asked him, politely, to pull his pants up. He got very nasty with me but later apologised and fixed his belt. My husband and our friends said I shouldn’t have said anything. Why not, if I found it offensive? In fact I think the proprietors should say something.

This is a recipe from the Christmas edition of Food and Drink from our liquor board.


Horseradish and Smoked Trout Paté on Rye Croutons
Holiday 2013

By: Lucy Waverman

For a more luxurious dish, top the trout mixture with a little salmon caviar.

10 slices rye bread
3 tbsp (45 mL) melted butter
½ cup (125 mL) sour cream
¼ cup (60 mL) unsalted butter, softened
3 tbsp (45 mL) prepared horseradish, drained
2 tbsp (30 mL) finely chopped red onions
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 oz (250 g) smoked trout, skin removed
½ English cucumber, thinly sliced
GARNISH
½ cup (125 mL) radish sprouts

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
2 Cut crusts off bread. Brush both sides with butter. Cut into triangles or squares. Bake for 8 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until golden and toasted. Reserve.
3 In a bowl, stir together sour cream, butter, horseradish and onions. Season with salt and pepper.
4 Flake trout into sour cream mixture and stir gently.
5 Place a slice of cucumber on toast. Top with about 2 tsp (10 mL) trout mixture and garnish with radish sprouts.

Serves 6 to 8

Have a great day.