Bowling, Ebola, Norwegian Money.

We went bowling on Monday but as it was Thanksgiving we didn’t have a full complement of members. In fact all of our team were there. I am pleased to say I bowled pretty well again, last game was a bit pathetic but… My average has gone up another point. Matt had a bad day I’m afraid.

After writing about ebola yesterday, it seems there are now patients in Canada, one was tested and cleared, another is awaiting blood test results. Enough to frighten one to death except they say it is only through body fluids that the disease can be passed. However, they haven’t solved the mystery of how the Texas nurse contracted the disease yet. One minute they say she followed protocol, the next they say she can’t have. One item of good news, Canada is beginning human tests of an ebola vaccine.

Norwegian banknotes are stimulating lots of admiration for their pixel artwork. There are a lot of different pictures shown in the article featuring different designs. The banknotes won’t be released until 2017 though but they are attractive. These are a couple of the designs which appealed to me particularly. Beats the usual humdrum style of most banknotes.  I like our new Canadian money but I gather a lot of people don’t.

This is a Cooking Light recipe which turned up on My Recipes. I happen to like tofu so would cook this as is but it says you can use chicken in you prefer. I see the ingredients talk about bottle ginger. We buy fresh ginger and keep it in the freezer until wanted. It keeps really well.

Szechuan-Style Tofu with Peanuts

Spice up your supper with this Asian-flavoured vegetarian dish. For meat-lovers, feel free to substitute chicken for tofu.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup rice, about 3/4 cup tofu mixture, and 1 tablespoon peanuts)

Ingredients

• 2 (3 1/2-ounce) bags boil-in-bag jasmine rice
• 1 (14-ounce) package water-packed firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch pieces
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)
• 1 tablespoon less-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons black bean garlic sauce
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup matchstick-cut carrots
• 1 tablespoon bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, chopped

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat broiler.
2. 2. Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
3. 3. Arrange tofu in a single layer on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray; broil 14 minutes or until golden.
4. 4. While tofu cooks, combine broth and next 4 ingredients (through black bean sauce), stirring with a whisk; set aside.
5. 5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add salt and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes or until mushrooms begin to release liquid, stirring occasionally. Stir in carrots and ginger; cook 1 minute. Add broth mixture; cook 30 seconds or until sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat; stir in tofu and onions. Serve over rice; sprinkle with peanuts.

Have a great day