Coffee Theft, Bowling, Weather, Chris Hadfield,

Bowling was pretty bad again today. My legs still giving me trouble plus they were cramping all night. Poor me!!! Funny, there were a number of mentally handicapped bowlers on our floor today - they normally bowl downstairs because upstairs is full. I was just sitting there watching Matt bowl and an arm suddenly appears over my shoulder and grabs my coffee. At first I thought it was the alley owner, but it turned out to be one of the handicapped people. He just stole my coffee and took it away to drink it!! The "handlers" were really upset and apologised to me profusely. It was actually quite funny. I yelled at him that it was my coffee but he took no notice and I just watched him walk away with it. Not a problem, got a new mug etc. but it took me aback somewhat LOL.

Much to my surprise - our team is 1st in the summer league. Mind you we are tied with 4 or 5 other teams LOL. Oddly the max points you can get in any game is 7, every one of us (in the first position) got 5 and nobody got more. We are actually at the head of the list because we are team #1 anyway. Until things change.

The weather is pretty warm here now although this evening it is raining. Supposed to get a major storm, not sure if that will happen. It was blowing a gale earlier but the wind seems to have died down.

Did you hear about the King Willem-Alexander from Holland, who has been co-piloting commercial airliners for some 20 years? Nobody knew. I guess in fact somebody did, but what an amazing man. Just went on Facebook to comment to a Dutch friend and there is a picture from Barrie's Asparagus farm with their visitor today, Chris Hadfield, who commanded the International Space Station - wish I had been there. I would love to have met him, he made lots of videos whilst up there and played his guitar for us too.

This is a new dish to me, I like Pancetta but haven't had it for quite a long time, not sure why. Of course, being me, I would probably use extra asparagus.

Creamy Asparagus and Pancetta Penne

This vibrantly colorful dish is chock full of amazing veggies. In taking advantage of produce that is

in season, this pasta dish truly shines.

2 Tbs all-purpose flour
2 Tbs butter, softened
1 tsp olive oil
2 oz chopped pancetta
1 (8-ounce) package sliced cremini mushrooms
1/4 cup white wine or 2 tablespoons each lemon juice and water
1 tsp salt, divided
4 cups unsalted chicken stock
3 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
12 oz uncooked whole-wheat penne (such as Barilla)
1 bay leaf
1 cup frozen green peas
12 oz asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
3 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp grated lemon rind
3/4 tsp black pepper

1. Combine flour and butter in a bowl until a paste forms.

2. Place a large high-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pancetta; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms; sauté 5 minutes or until browned and liquid evaporates. Add wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, stirring to loosen browned bits. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt. Transfer mixture to a plate.

3. Add stock, 2 cups milk, penne, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in peas, asparagus, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1 cup milk, and thyme; cook 2 minutes. Add butter-flour paste, in pieces, stirring constantly to combine and thicken. Remove from heat; stir in mushroom mixture, parsley, rind, and black pepper.

Servings: 6

Source: COOKING LIGHT

Have a great day