Worldwide Food Production, Bowling, Gas,

On Monday I was sent this article on Food production worldwide. The article is full of maps which are self explanatory. It is absolutely fascinating and extremely worrying. I think it is something everyone should read. It talks about what and where meats of all kind are produced and the effect such vast food production has on the rest of the world. I had heard about methane gas produced by cows, but this article talks about a lot more than just that. We are, once again, doing things to damage our environment. Most of us are totally unaware of this. I certainly was and thanks Hilary of Positive Letters - Inspirational Stories for sending me the link.

For once, our team actually took all 7 points at bowling today. One of our team had two excellent games. Matt had one excellent game which helped in the third game. I had 3 mediocre games and our other bowler had an excellent game in the third as well. I had a 206 on Thursday, why oh why can't I get a score like that on Monday? Nobody commented on my teeth. I would like to think they didn't notice but they may well have been too polite to say anything. One of the players had a birthday yesterday and brought in 4 dozen donuts. Nice of him. I took one so had to rethink the rest of my day.

Funny we left home and the gas was $1.9 a litre. On our return home it was $0.99 so Matt went back to fill up. I don't really think the price should jump about like it does, but not much we can do about it. Just take advantage when it seems to be in our favour.

Here's a nice, easy and vegetarian dish for supper.

Broccoli and Wild Mushroom Casserole

Photographer and Alabamian Robert Rausch grew up eating vegetable casseroles—he and his mother are both vegetarians. The broccoli casserole his family ate is a step up from the standard church cookbook recipe, which calls for using canned mushroom soup: In place of that, he uses wild

mushrooms. He still relies on Ritz crackers, though, for the crispy, buttery topping.

3/4 lb mixed wild mushrooms, such as cremini and shiitake, stemmed and quartered
1 stick unsalted butter, plus 1 tablespoon melted
1 large onion, minced
4 large celery ribs, finely diced
3 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1/4 cup milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
2 1/2 lbs broccoli—heads cut into 1-inch florets, stems peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 1/2 cups coarsely shredded sharp cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
1 1/3 cups crumbled Ritz crackers (from 1 sleeve, about 35 crackers)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, pulse the mushrooms until coarsely chopped. In a large saucepan, melt the stick of butter. Add the onion and celery and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until their liquid evaporates and they begin to brown, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and cook, scraping up any bits stuck to the pan, until the mixture is very thick, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl to let cool, then stir in the mayonnaise.

2. Arrange the broccoli florets and stems in a large steamer basket and steam until barely crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add the broccoli to the mushroom mixture and season with salt and pepper.

3. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Pour in the broccoli-mushroom mixture, smoothing the surface. Sprinkle the cheese on top. In a small bowl, toss the cracker crumbs with the melted butter and scatter them over the casserole. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes, until bubbling. Remove the foil and bake for about 40 minutes longer, until the topping is golden and crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Servings: 12

MAKE AHEAD

The baked casserole can be refrigerated overnight. Reheat before serving.

Source: Food and Wine

Have a great day