Monday Morning, Books, Bowling, Cauliflower Rice,

I occasionally have a bad night and can't get to sleep. Sunday night I was still tossing and turning at 2:30 a.m. - finally got to sleep. At 7:30 am I was awoken by a friggin' lawnmower. 7:30 for goodness sake. This is a residential building with a lot of older folks living here, why do they have to come and wake us up that early. To say I was teed off was to put it mildly.

As most of you know, Matt watches Good Morning America. I sort of watch it peripherally whilst I am doing other things. This morning I heard a book promotion for Into the Water by Paula Hawkins and was so intrigued, immediately went to my library's web page to order it. Much to my surprise, there were already 103 people waiting for it. However, they do have 25 copies so it may not take too long, I hope. It looks as though she has already got a best seller, The Girl on the Train, maybe I should try that first whilst I am waiting. I have just finished reading Echoes in Death by J.D. Robb, the stories with Eve Dallas as the cop. I love this series of books. Having written this, I checked on the first Paula Hawkins novel and it is available so have ordered it. Made me start thinking - what exactly makes a best seller? I have friends who have written excellent books some of which have sold a bit and others have kind of stagnated. These authors put their heart and souls into these books and it is such a shame if they don't get read by many people. (Later) I now have The Girl on the Train to read.

Bowling was pretty awful Monday, I only got one strike all afternoon. Matt got two or three and managed to beat me at every game. Turns out our friends, whom we met originally on Thursday bowling, haven't had a strike in the last two weeks!!!

Monday evening I made the Cooking Light version of Kung Pao Chicken so I decided to try it with

Cauliflower Rice. I tried to grind up a whole cauliflower at once, I learned that didn't work, will not make that mistake again. Anyway, once you have the cauliflower you can cook it easily in the microwave. You put it in a microwave safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap, heat for 2 minutes, stir and heat another 2 minutes. It is 10 calories a cup as opposed to rice which is 108. It is not exactly the same as rice obviously, but not bad at all. We both enjoyed it although it really retains its heat. You have to be careful.

Now, this recipe is, without doubt, one of my very favourite asparagus recipes. Although I got this from Closet Cooking it seems there are many sources for this recipe. You can serve it as is or use dipping sauces with the crispy spears.

Crispy Baked Asparagus Fries

1 lb asparagus, trimmed
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
salt and pepper to taste
Alternatively used chopped almonds instead of parmesan

1. Dredge the asparagus in the flour, dip them in the egg and then into a mixture of the panko breadcrumbs, parmesan, salt and pepper.

2. Place the asparagus on a wire rack on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 425F oven until golden brown, about 7-13 minutes.

Servings: 2

Source: Closet Cooking

Author Notes
Asparagus coated in panko bread crumbs and parmesan and baked until golden brown and crispy.

Have a great day