Monday, March 17, 2014

A to Z, Blogger, Bowling, Weather.

I have finally finished my 26 posts for the A to Z Challenge in April – in my case it is something of an extra challenge as I chose a subject red squirrelbeginning with the letter of the day and also a recipe beginning with the same letter, you might be surprised at the difficulty of finding recipes beginning with certain letters. I generally avoid Mary’s something or other or Xavier’s favourite, that is kind of cheating in my book. I kind of ended up with a wildlife or nature theme although I didn’t, as Alex J. Cavenaugh suggested, talk about an animal and then tell you how to cook it. Not a bad idea though but not sure one could sustain that for 26 posts. As for my minion duties for Tina’s Terrific Team, we have started those now and I have read a few new blogs lately. If you want to know any more about the A to Z or would like to join in, click on the badge and it will take you to a sign up page.

Talking of pages, I can’t believe how incredibly dumb I am, I have Bloggerbeen writing a blog for a number of years and yet I have only just discovered Blogger offers me the chance to use other pages. I don’t know why I never realised it before particularly as I wondered how other bloggers did it. I feel such a dimwit for not seeing the option before. Not sure what I would use the extra pages for although one blogger I know uses them for all the awards.

Friday’s  bowling wasn’t as good as the previous Monday but I beat my average which is always good.

We have certainly lost a lot of our snow in the last few days. We can actually see stretches of grass from our windows. Matt even went out without a coat the other day. It has been mostly very sunny but I don’t think it’s quite that warm yet.

I thought this sounded like a tasty and very easy hors d’oeuvres – certainly something I would like to eat. Don’t be afraid of the anchovies, they give a lovely salty flavour to a dish. Never, but never, eat them on their own. This recipe from Food and Wine.

Potted Ham with Cabbage and Pickles

Contributed by Kay Chun
  • TOTAL TIME: 20 MIN
  • SERVINGS: 2 cups
While this tasty little potted ham can be eaten right away, it's also an excellent make-ahead party dish that can sit out for a few hours and still taste great.
Potted Ham
  1. 2 oil-packed anchovy fillets
  2. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  3. 1/2 pound smoked ham, shredded
  4. 1 cup finely chopped green cabbage
  5. 1 small dill pickle, chopped (1/3 cup)
  6. 2 tablespoons chopped dill, plus more for garnish
  7. Salt
  8. Freshly ground pepper
  9. Toasted country bread and mustard, for serving
  1. In a small saucepan, melt the anchovies in the olive oil over moderate heat, stirring. Scrape the anchovy oil into a medium bowl. Add the ham, cabbage, pickle and chopped dill, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Pack the ham mixture into a 3-cup ramekin and garnish with dill. Serve at room temperature with the bread and mustard.
Make Ahead The potted ham can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Have a great day
Jo

12 comments:

  1. I am going to have to 'cheat' for a couple of letters on A to Z. Call it creative spelling.

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    Replies
    1. You won't be the first to use creative spelling.

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  2. I had initially planned on participating but now my schedule is just all over the place! Also I found out I can't display the badge on my blog (I'm using a blogger template that doesn't allow pictures in the sidebar), so maybe I'll participate next year. Best of luck to everyone who is doing this fun challenge :D

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    1. Thank you for letting us know. I will pass the word.

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  3. Hi Jo - why not .. I eat anchovies on their own .. not so often now, but I do occasionally get the craving!

    Well done that you've written all the A-Z posts .. I've yet to start .. could be a mild panic attack .. cheers Hilary

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    Replies
    1. Yes, some of us do, but I come across lots of people who have tried them on their own and disliked them intensely so won't eat them in or cook them in anything. Such a pity it's a wonderful flavour.

      Actually now they have produced all the daily letters, I am having to go back and add them.

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  4. Don't berate yourself, Jo. I don't even know what you mean by the fact that blogger offers extra pages. You're not the only non-tech-savvy one around. There are folks like me who are further behind. We're still nice, smart and good people. Gosh darnit!

    That's one recipe I'm good with passing on. Irish food doesn't do it for me.

    Happy St. Patrick's Day.
    xoRobyn

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    Replies
    1. If you look at the part where it shows templates and layouts, there is also a heading for pages.

      Today's recipe isn't Irish, just sounds good. I am a bit the same about Mexican food

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  5. Replies
    1. Are you doing the theme reveal on Friday?

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  6. Great to know that you're going into the A to Z so well prepared. Your themes sound challenging for sure.

    Lee
    Wrote By Rote
    An A to Z Co-host blog

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