Hespeler Library, Trivia, Jeopardy.

Having read Hilary Melton Butcher's blog about the Birmingham Library yesterday, it put me in mind of the Hespeler library which is in a small town  which has been incorported into a bigger town called Cambridge, Cambridge actually is comprised of Hespeler, Galt and Preston. Hespeler is quite small and yet they have this very elaborate library building. I have never been inside but I consider it excessively ornate for such a small area. There are lots more pictures of the building here. Hespeler itself is an older town with lots of gorgeous stone buildings along the riverside. Originally these were mills and factories but are gradually being converted into living areas. We have friends who live in an attractive stone house with a huge back yard which slopes down to the river. Luckily she is a keen gardener. She has also taken photos of a bald eagle sitting in one of their  trees close to the river. I didn't even realise they spread this far.

I don't know if any of you get the How to Geek newsletter. I do every day and they often have interesting bits of trivia. This was the trivia for Tuesday The sound of a whip cracking is a mini sonic boom; the loop traveling along the whip continues to gain speed until it reaches the speed of sound and breaks the sound barrier.

As you may recall we watch Jeopardy every night without fail. People generally know not to call us whilst it's on. Right now we have a 13 day champion, Matt Jackson. He has just passed a 12 day champion, Arthur Chu, He has a couple of others to catch. Of course Ken Jennings was the longest running champion with 74 games. Nobody thinks he will ever be beaten. We shall see.I was stunned to realise Matt Jackson is only 23. He really is a brilliant young man. Ken Jennings was about 30 when he did his long run in 2004. The money shown in the picture is out of date now, Tuesday night he clocked up over $411,000.


I found this recipe on Yummly. It is apparently gluten free and if served with brown rice, it remains so.

Slow Cooker Thai Beef Stew

Cooking and Beer



Yield 8 servings
Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 1/2 pound boneless beef roast, cubed and trimmed of fat (prepackaged beef stew meat may be substituted)
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger paste
• 1 cup bamboo shoots
• 2 cups Almond Breeze Almondmilk Coconutmilk Vanilla Unsweetened
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• 4 ounces tomato paste
• 4 ounces Thai red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon tamari
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 cups broccoli florets
• 2 cups julienned carrots
• fresh cilantro, for garnish
• brown rice, for serving (optional)
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Instructions
• In a large nonstick skillet, add the coconut oil. Melt over medium-high heat. Add the beef and brown evenly, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat with a slotted spoon and transfer to the bowl of your slow cooker.
• In the same skillet, left over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and fresh ginger. Cook for an additional minute. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker with the beef.
• Stir in the Almond Breeze Almondmilk Coconutmilk Vanilla Unsweetened, bamboo shoots, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, curry paste, fish sauce, tamari and salt. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
• When you have about 30 minutes left, stir in the broccoli and carrots.
• When finished, served the Thai beef stew over brown rice or a gluten-free option of your choice. Garnish with fresh cilantro and enjoy!
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Have a great day