Thanksgiving, Bowling, Exercise Class,

Today is Thanksgiving, so to all my Canadian friends, I hope you have a happy one. As many of you know, we celebrated on Saturday. Inviting a friend to join us. As a nod to everyone's expectation of having pumpkin pie, which, sorry, we don't like, I served home made Pumpkin Soup as a starter. It was then followed by the turkey breast with Bread Sauce, the Spanish stuffing I mentioned the other day, Brussels Sprouts (I decided to boil them as I usually do) French cut flat or runner beans, mushroom gravy and English roast potatoes. As dessert, I cheated and bought a Tira Misu from the

local grocery store. It was pretty good. No liquor in it, but as our guest was driving, a glass of wine is all she allowed herself. It was an enjoyable evening. I don't know if I have ever mentioned it, but I always use a cooking bag (oven bag) for my turkey breasts. A 4 lb breast took 1 1/2 hrs at 350°F. and no messy roasting pan.

The only problem, for me, is that after I have been in the kitchen for a while, my back starts to kill me and I have to keep taking breaks. Oh the joys of aging. I wanted a picture for this section and came across the above with an article giving some tips on reducing such pain.

Being a Monday today we are bowling in our league, and our team just has to do something about getting off the bottom rung of the ladder. Although, as it was pointed out to me, amassing points is difficult when not all the team is there, or not all bowling as Matt wasn't last Monday. We are not doing frantically well anyway I'm afraid.

I went to our exercise class on Friday for the first time in a while, partly because of all the construction and partly because of Matt's operation. He, by the way, is doing fine and his leg would is healing up beautifully. His head wound you can hardly see any more. Anyway, I was expecting to find it difficult after not doing exercises for so long and my legs were aching a few times. However, unexpectedly, I didn't feel it the next day so I guess I was fitter than I thought.

I love noodles so this is right up my street. Of course, I don't eat them as often as I would like to, my waist line would suffer.

Spicy Pan-Fried Noodles

Melissa Clark: New York Times

• Yield 2 servings

Garlicky, gingery and as spicy as you dare to make it, this Asian-influenced pan-fried noodle dish comes together in minutes. Most of the ingredients are pantry staples, which means you can make it whenever you need a comforting noodle dish that comes with a bite. If you can’t find the Chinese egg noodles (also called Hong Kong-stylenoodles), you can make this with rice noodles or soba. The key is to only boil them until they are halfway done. (They should be pliable but still firm in the center.) They will finish cooking when you pan-fry them.

Ingredients

• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions (about a bunch; use both whites and greens)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, more to taste
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons rice wine or sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed
• 6 ounces Chinese (also called Hong Kong) egg noodles, soba noodles or rice noodles
• 2 ½ tablespoons peanut, grapeseed, safflower or vegetable oil, more as needed
• 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 large eggs, beaten with a fork
• 2 cups washed baby spinach or 1/2 cup thawed edamame (optional)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sriracha or other hot sauce, or to taste
• Juice of 1/2 lime, or to taste
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds or chopped roasted peanuts, optional

Preparation

1. In a small bowl, combine the scallions, soy sauce, ginger, rice wine or vinegar, sesame oil and salt. Let stand while you prepare the noodles.
2. In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles until they are halfway done according to package instructions. (They should still be quite firm.) Drain well and toss with 1/2 tablespoon of the peanut oil to keep them from sticking, and spread them out on a plate or baking sheet.
3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of peanut oil. Add the garlic and cook until crisp and golden around the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Add half the scallion mixture and stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add noodles; stir-fry until noodles are hot and lightly coated with sauce, about 30 seconds. Add eggs, spinach or edamame if using, sriracha, and remaining scallion mixture and continue to stir-fry until the eggs are cooked, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice. Garnish with cilantro and sesame seeds or peanuts.

Have a great day