Saturday, September 30, 2017

Travel League, Creepy Crawlies,

Sorry I was missing in action yesterday, not really sure why. It was a Travel League day and we
joined the group at the Red Lobster for lunch. I had a Caesar Salad with shrimp which was pretty good. Then to the bowling alley and once we got going it was fun if not terribly great scores. The second game we played was Bowling Bingo which I enjoy but Matt doesn't. He isn't alone. I am not sure why because I think it is fun. You get a bingo card up on the computer and you have to try and get all the scores on the card, be it strikes, spares, 2s or so on. The card we had yesterday had three of each requirement - never counted but about 25 squares. It is on a timer so you usually have to move it to play the game.

The other day I learned a new word and I don't think I mentioned it. (I hope I am not boiling my cabbages twice). Once in a while I feel as if there is something crawling over my skin. Just like a bunch of ants or something. I thought maybe it was psychological because we have ants again at the moment (although I think they are beginning to disappear) and I wondered if this was a "condition" so I Googled, and lo and behold it is called formication after the Latin word formica for ant. It is, apparently related to diabetic nerve pain although not exclusive to diabetics. Pins and needles is also related. I notice, checking for the link, Wiki says "not to be confused with fornication" LOL. I haven't checked, but I wonder why the material they used on kitchen counters, etc. is called formica? No, not my hand!!!

I keep looking up recipes for shrimp in the fond hope that I will find some decent shrimp one of these days. One of the problems of being so far from an ocean.

Indian Shrimp Curry (Jhinga Kari)

Although many traditional Indian dishes are fiery hot by Western standards, they can all be tamed to suit palates accustomed to milder fare. This dish is an example of how the spiciness can be adjusted
to the taste of the cook.

1 lb (450 g) jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbs (15 ml) cider vinegar
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
4 Tbs (60 ml) vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 Tbs (15 ml) finely chopped ginger
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp (5 ml) turmeric
1/2 tsp (2 ml) ground cumin
Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cups (250 ml) unsweetened coconut milk
Chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) for garnish

1. Combine the shrimp, vinegar, and salt in a bowl and marinate at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over high heat until it is very hot. Saute the onion, ginger, and garlic until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the turmeric, cumin, cayenne, and pepper and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the shrimp along with the marinade and cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are pink, about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat and simmer covered for until the shrimp are firm, about 3 minutes. Serve garnished with chopped cilantro.

Servings: 4

Source: World Wide Recipes

Have a great day
 

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Travel League, Movie, Canadian Thanksgiving,

Today is the first of our Travel League bowling meets. Lunch at the Red Lobster and then bowling at our home bowling alley. We have decided only to participate on the months when the bowling is in a local alley. Victoria or our usual alley, Towne. We are not going to the out of town ones at all.

Finally I got Guardians of the Galaxy 2 from the library. Not Matt's cuppa tea so I will probably watch it on my laptop. For some reason when I play movies on our DVD player we have to turn up the sound drastically to be able to hear anything at all. I really am not sure why.

Wednesday afternoon I went to exercise class and didn't have a twitch in my rear end although in the morning it was pretty painful. We will see what happens. I said to our instructor I had a PITA and she said, oh no, your husband? It was quite funny at the time.

When we went shopping on Tuesday afternoon, they had a deal going on frozen turkeys. I suddenly realised why. Canadian Thanksgiving is on October 9. I had completely forgotten. I am not sure what I will do, probably  buy a turkey breast just for the two of us. I came across this side dish which is recommended for Thanksgiving.

Company Cabbage

This is especially pretty prepared with Savoy cabbage! Be sure not to overcook the greens so they
don’t turn mushy

2 tsp (10 mL) chicken bouillon
4 cups (1 L) coarsely shredded green or Savoy cabbage
½ cup (125 mL) shredded carrots
¼ cup (60 mL) chopped celery root or celery
¼ cup (60 mL) sliced green onions or chopped shallots
½ tsp (2 mL) dried dillweed (or 1 ½ tsp/7 mL fresh)
3 Tbs (45 mL) chopped pecans
1 Tbs (15 mL) melted butter
½ tsp (2 mL) prepared mustard
1/4 tsp (0.5 mL) pepper

1. In large saucepan, heat 1/2 cup/75 mL water over medium-high; add chicken bouillon, stirring until dissolved. Add cabbage, carrots, celery root, green onions and dillweed, stirring to combine. Cook, covered, for about 5 minutes, stirring slightly, until tender.

2. Stir together pecans, butter, mustard and pepper. Pour over cabbage mixture; tossing to combine.

Servings: 6

Source: Great Canadian Cookbook

Have a great day
 

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Pain in the Ass, Mandarin, Weather,

Since last writing, life has been a bit of a pain in the ass for me, literally, my self diagnosis is that my
piriformis muscle is possibly compressing my sciatic muscle. Suffice to say it has been pretty painful. I did go bowling but it hurt. I only had one good game. Tuesday it was a tad easier and hopefully it will continue to improve. I read up on all this a bit and saw video of some exercises. Only trouble is, the girl doing them was a good 50 years younger than I and she was on the floor, sitting on a rolling pin and moving back and forth on it to massage the muscle. Yeah, right. Matt figured out a couple of stretches I could do which is why things have improved, no doubt. Wednesday afternoon is exercise class which should also help.

 Not only that but my laptop is playing me up as well.  My email programme, Windows Live Mail, isn't working. Luckily it still works on the desktop. I can get my email from the IP website, but that is a nuisance, IMHOP.


We did go to Mandarin for our anniversary supper and I did have their roast lamb as I said. It was absolutely delicious. Better than I have ever cooked for myself. I wondered if it was locally grown lamb rather than imported. Too expensive for my budget unfortunately. I hope we manage to go back some evening before the end of the Moon Festival celebration. I wondered if they would have mint sauce, they didn't, but they had mint jelly and I quite enjoyed that too. Been turning my nose up at that for years. I always have hot and sour soup but my friend pointed out it was really too hot for soup. True, so I went to their starters bar and found some delicious mussels, some shrimp (prepared with Chinese sauces and some scrumptious seaweed. I love seaweed. They had lots of more Westernised  things like beets and potato salad, but I figured the lamb was enough Westernising for one evening. After the lamb I had some Chinese foods of course. There were specials for the Moon Festival of course. I then had moon cake and some ginger ice cream which was good too.

Talking of too hot, our weather has been incredible with temps up in the 30°C - most of September has been wonderful weather. However, I understand it is going to come down with a whoomp at the end of this week. Would have been nice to have a balcony!!!

Having published a somewhat decadent crepe recipe the other day, I came across this one and couldn't resist sharing it.

Crèpe Cake With Whipped Cream

Make sure to cook the first side only until it’s very light golden. Essentially, a dark crepe is a tough crepe, and you’re aiming for a super-delicate texture.

Custard
4 ½ cups whole milk
2 ½ cups heavy cream
5 Tbs unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Zest of 1 medium orange
¾ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
10 large egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cornstarch

Crèpes And Assembly
4 large eggs, room temperature
4 cups whole milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp kosher salt, plus more
4 Tbs unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
3 Tbs powdered sugar
2 tsp orange sanding sugar (optional)

1. Custard

2. Combine milk, cream, butter, orange zest, cardamom, and salt in a large saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean and add pod. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, and cook until butter is melted and mixture is warm.

3. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and granulated sugar in a medium bowl until light and very pale, about 3 minutes. Add cornstarch and whisk until no dry spots remain. Whisking constantly, gradually add warm milk mixture. Pour mixture back into saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until custard is thick and pudding-like in consistency and just beginning to boil, 5–7 minutes.

4. Strain custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean medium bowl, using a heatproof rubber spatula to help press it through; discard solids. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto surface, and chill until cold, at least 2 hours.

5. Do Ahead: Custard can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

6. Crepes and Assembly

7. Blend eggs, milk, granulated sugar, and vanilla in a blender until smooth and frothy. Add flour and ½ tsp. salt and blend just to combine. Transfer to a large measuring cup, cover, and chill at least 1 hour.

8. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium, then brush lightly with some butter. Whisk batter to reincorporate and ladle ¼-cupful into skillet. Working quickly, swirl pan to evenly coat and cook crepe, reducing heat if browning too quickly, until bubbles form on surface and edges are light golden, about 2 minutes. Slide a spatula underneath to loosen and carefully flip. Cook on other side until a few brown spots appear, 15–30 seconds; transfer to a flat plate. Repeat with remaining butter and batter, stacking crepes on plate as you go (you should have 25 total). Let crepes cool.

9. Place 1 crepe in the center of a flat plate or cake platter. Dollop a scant ? cup custard over. Using a small offset spatula, carefully spread custard across entire surface of crepe. Repeat process with remaining custard and all but 1 crepe. Place remaining crepe on top, then lightly cover cake with plastic. Chill 2 hours.

10. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl until medium peaks form. Pile whipped cream on top of crepe cake, making decorative swooshes with a spoon. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired.

11. Do Ahead: Batter can be made 2 days ahead; keep chilled. Crepes can be cooked 1 day ahead; cover and chill. Cake (without whipped cream and sanding sugar) can be assembled 1 day ahead; keep chilled. Top with whipped cream and sanding sugar, if using, just before serving.

Servings: 16

Author: Amelia Rampe
Source: Bon Appétit

Have a great day
 

Monday, September 25, 2017

Harvey the Hurricane Hawk, Anniversary,

Many of you may have heard the story of Harvey the Hurricane Hawk. I hadn't until I got an email from National Geographic and one of their topics was the hawk's release. I then had to find the story and it turns out it went viral.



To me it is an incredible story. Obviously it happened at the beginning of Hurricane Harvey. The hawk even allows people to handle him without too much fuss which made me wonder if he was a falconer's bird but then if he had been, surely he would have been ringed? A great story nevertheless.

Today Matt and I have been putting up with each other for 45 years. Thought we would go to supper at Mandarin, particularly as  they are still celebrating the Moon Festival and one of their evening items is roast lamb. Yes, I have a roast of lamb in the freezer, but this way I don't have to cook it myself. The picture of us, 45 years ago, I was wearing a pale lilac coloured dress, looks white but wasn't. We had a reception at home with just a few people and guess who made the food - yes, we did. I remember Matt made a Spanish orange dessert which contained quite a lot of alcohol and unnoticed by us, his two daughters were sitting at the table supping up the juice. When he took them home to their mom, she wasn't too pleased as they were quite tiddley. I think they were about 5 and 9 years old as I recall. These days the 5 year old doesn't drink at all and hasn't done so for many a long year. Just went through some other old photos of that time and Matt's comment was, what a difference having dark hair makes - not that his hair was ever that dark but it sure wasn't white like it is today.

Isn't that nice, I received a thank you email from Justin Trudeau, our Prime Minister, not sure what for mind you, I didn't read it. But as far as I know, I have done nothing to earn the thanks of Justin.

I love Portobello mushrooms so I liked the look of this recipe. But, if I make it - me being me - I would not use low fat cheeses.  However, as this is supposed to be a diabetic recipe, that is probably why they use such ingredients. This diabetic doesn't believe in it though. I remembered a story when, quite a few years ago, we were living in the States but we came back for a while to visit friends and stay with them. I discovered Portobello mushrooms in a local grocery store which I had never seen in Canada before. They were pretty expensive so I bought 4, one each for our hosts and for us. Our hostess refused to eat anything so expensive so guess who chomped it down instead?

Lasagna Bella

This lightened-up lasagna is big on flavor, thanks to roasted portobello mushrooms and fresh basil.

8 large fresh portobello mushrooms
1/8 tsp salt
2 (14.1 ounce) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
½ cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1 tsp salt-free tomato-basil-garlic seasoning blend, such as Mrs. Dash brand
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
¾ cup low-fat (1%) cottage cheese
2 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
5 fresh basil leaves, snipped

Preheat oven to 425°F. Remove stems and gills from mushrooms. Place mushroom caps, gill sides up, on an unheated foil-lined broiler pan; sprinkle with salt. Roast for 13 to 26 minutes or until tender, turning once halfway through roasting time. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine tomatoes, onion, and tomato-basil-garlic seasoning blend. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a medium bowl combine mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese. Spoon one-third of the tomato mixture onto the bottom of a 2-quart square baking dish. Arrange four of the mushroom caps, gill sides up, on top of the tomato mixture. Spoon one-fourth of the cheese mixture over each mushroom cap. Spoon another one-third of the tomato mixture over the cheese-stuffed mushroom caps. Arrange one of the remaining four mushroom caps, gill side down, on top of each cheese-stuffed mushroom cap in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining tomato mixture evenly over the mushrooms. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Bake in the 350°F oven for 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with fresh basil.

Servings: 4

Source: Diabetic Living Magazine

Have a great day
 

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Saturday Recipe

This is a recipe I made quite a few times when we lived in North Carolina. I also made them for at least one customer when we were trying to set up a catering service. Since that time I haven't made them once. Of course they are very rich and I have no idea what the calorie count would be which has certainly become important to me in recent times. Gundel's is a restaurant in Budapest, Hungary. I don't remember where I got this recipe from but I can promise you it is absolutely delicious. The crepes I always made in advance, they keep for a good while and even longer if you freeze them. Of course you need to layer them with waxed paper.

Gundel's Crepes

For the crepes:
2 large eggs
1/2 cup cold milk
1/2 cup cold sparkling water; more as needed
1/2 tsp salt
6 3/4 oz (1-1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
Melted butter for frying the crepes

For the filling:
1/2 cup dark rum
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1- 1/4 cups walnut halves, coarsely chopped
2 Tbs chopped candied orange peel or 1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbs cocoa powder
pinch salt

For the sauce:
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp all-purpose flour
pinch salt
1 cup milk
3 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. To make the crepes: Whisk the eggs with the cold milk, sparkling water, and salt. Whisking  steadily, sift the flour over the egg mixture in a gradual but steady "rain" to make a smooth batter. Let sit for 20 min. and then add more sparkling water if necessary to get the consistency of heavy cream.

2. Heat a 6- to 8-inch crepe or omelet pan (nonstick is fine but not necessary). Brush the pan with melted butter. Tilting and turning the pan with one hand, pour in just enough batter to cover the pan's surface, about Tbs. Let the crepe cook until golden on the underside, 1 to 2 min. (don't undercook them) and then flip or turn the crepe with a small spatula or your fingers to cook the other side until just set, about 30 seconds more. The side cooked first will be prettier and should be the outer side when filling the crepes.

3. Adjust the heat so you get a definite sizzle when adding the batter, and thin the batter if the crepes are too thick and flabby. Stack the finished crepes on a plate as you go. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until using, up to three days ahead. You can also wrap the crepes tightly and freeze them (put a piece of waxed paper between each one for easier separation).

4. To make the filling: Heat the rum and soak the raisins in it while assembling the other ingredients. In a small saucepan, bring the cream and sugar to a boil, stirring, and add the walnuts, candied orange peel (or zest), cinnamon, cocoa powder, and salt. Bring back to a boil, stirring, and cook until the liquid has reduced almost completely but the nuts are still well coated and glossy, about 3 min. Stir in the raisins and rum and cool. You can make this filling a day or two ahead and refrigerate it until time to use.

5. For the chocolate sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine the cocoa powder, sugar, flour, and salt. Whisking steadily, slowly pour in the milk to make a smooth paste. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook about 30 seconds to cook off the raw floury taste, and then remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth, cover loosely with plastic, and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to help it cool and prevent a skin from forming. Just before serving the crepes, whip the cream until it just forms soft peaks. Stir about one-quarter of the whipped cream into the chocolate to lighten it, and then carefully fold the rest of the whipped cream into the sauce until well blended.

6. To finish: Spread about 2 Tbs. of the filling on the underside of a crepe (reheat the filling slightly if it's cold from the refrigerator). Fold the crepe in half, and then in half again to make a quarter circle. Repeat with the remaining crepes, dividing the filling evenly. You can do this early on the day of serving and just keep the filled crepes covered at room temperature.

7. In a large frying pan, heat 2 Tbs. of butter over medium heat until sizzling. Add the filled crepes to the pan without crowding them (do this in batches if you need to). Cook the crepes until warmed through and browned on each side, about 1 min. per side. Add more butter if necessary to the pan during cooking.

8. Arrange 3 crepes on each plate and drizzle a generous ribbon of chocolate sauce on top, passing more sauce at the table. Serve immediately.

9. Yield: about 20 crepes, with filling for 18, and 2 cups sauce

Servings: 6

Have a great weekend

Friday, September 22, 2017

Grousing,

As you know, right now we have no balconies (and it's gorgeous weather), it takes me 4 minutes minimum to get hot water in our taps, most of our carpets are older than the hills and if we want replacements we have to move furniture ourselves!!!!! a) we are not fit youngsters and b) where on earth would we put it? Our stove doesn't fit into its slot properly, not major, but an inconvenience and today we got a rent increase of $24 a month. Our pensions haven't coughed up yet but I imagine if we get $2 a month we will be lucky. Not to mention the price of groceries and gas going through the roof. I am not a happy camper.

Just to add to my misery I couldn't bowl worth a damn either. Matt thrashed me today. I didn't know whether my aches and pains were a reason or an excuse LOL. I just could not get anything going today.

Having said all that last night, today I am thinking I really shouldn't complain, what about the people in the path of hurricanes lately who haven't even got homes to pay for, the same with Mexico and the earthquake and the monsoon floods in India and Pakistan. I really have nothing to grouse about do I?

I am not sure what you would use instead of Becel which is a heart healthy margarine, but for what it's worth this sounds pretty good.

Chana Masala

3 Tbs (45 mL) Becel® Buttery Taste margarine*
2 zucchini, halved lenghtwise and sliced
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp (10 mL) ground chili powder
2 tsp (10 mL) ground cumin
1 1/4 tsp (6 mL) ground coriander
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground ginger
1/2 tsp (2 mL) curry powder
1 can (240 mL.) no salt added tomato sauce
1 Tbs (15 mL) firmly packed brown sugar
2 cans (470 g. ea.) chick peas or garbanzos, rinsed and drained
2 tsp (10 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) nonfat plain Greek yogurt

1. Melt Becel® Buttery Taste margarine in medium saucepan and cook onion and zucchini until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in spices and cook 1 minute. Stir in tomato sauce and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat.

2. Reduce heat to low and stir in chick peas. Simmer covered until heated through, about 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Serve dolloped with Greek yogurt.

Servings: 6

Source: Becel

Have a great day
 

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Earthquake, Hurricanes,Library, Arsenic.

I don't know how, but I totally missed the news about the earthquake in Mexico on Tuesday. It seems like it was a pretty big one. At least 200 people killed. Exactly on the anniversary of the really bad 1985 earthquake I am told. Several schools collapsed which means that some of the children were also killed. The epicentre was some distance from Mexico City but a friend tells me it was still pretty bad there too. This year is going to be remembered for its disasters I think. Puerto Rico is suffering another hurricane at the moment - Maria - then there is another one on the way, Otis. Not sure what happened  to the N hurricane maybe it was a flash in the pan. Neither Jose nor Maria look set to hit the mainland but the devastation on the islands is terrible. I have said it before, but I am so sorry for the islanders because there is nowhere to run to.

I have discovered something recently. If I order a book from my library and there is a large print version, I order that one because they come through much more quickly.

A friend got me worrying this morning because she told me there is arsenic in rice. I googled, she is
right, but then I went further and it turns out that there is arsenic in a lot of the food we eat. For instance the dish I am making for supper includes several items with arsenic.  Water and rice being part of it. Then I thought, I am pushing 80 and Matt is over 80 if we are poisoning ourselves, we've been doing it for a very long time without any adverse effects so I figured I would carry on as usual and stop worrying about it. For you Brussels Sprouts haters, they are quite high in arsenic so you can make that your excuse for not eating them. I will continue to do so however. After all, think of the countries like China where rice is their staple diet and many folk are lucky if they get anything to add to it. By the way, brown rice (which is supposed to be so healthy) has more arsenic than white because the husks are removed. I learned is school that once upon a time rich Chinese were getting rickets because they were eating the white polished rice whereas the poor who couldn't afford anything but brown rice were safe from that illness.

Mongolian Beef

Forget the fast food--this take on Mongolian Beef delivers all the flavor without the insane sodium and fat levels. This vibrant, Asian-inspired dish brings just the right amount of spice to the plate. But to make it a bit more kid-friendly and eliminate the heat altogether, just leave out the chile paste. Serve this bold beef favorite over wide rice noodles to catch all the garlic- and ginger-laced sauce. To
add a little more green to the plate, add a side of steamed or roasted broccoli.

2 Tbs lower-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp dry sherry
2 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp peanut oil
1 Tbs minced peeled fresh ginger
1 Tbs minced fresh garlic
1 lb sirloin steak, thinly sliced across the grain
16 medium green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces

1. Combine first 8 ingredients, stirring until smooth.

2. Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced ginger, minced garlic, and beef; sauté for 2 minutes or until beef is browned. Add green onion pieces; sauté 30 seconds. Add soy sauce mixture; cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Servings: 4

Source: COOKING LIGHT

Have a great day

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Sabine Women, Road Works,

Not a lot on TV on Tuesday night, PBS is doing a programme about the Viet Nam War. I wonder what kind of audience they are getting. It started at the weekend and is continuing, I don't know how long. So, we watched one of Matt's favourites, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. It is a very enjoyable film - total romance of course. But some of the story is based on the story of the Abduction of the Sabine Women which I have just discovered was a myth. However, I had forgotten that one  thing stated in the movie is that the tradition of carrying a bride over the threshold began with that story. Now I wonder how true that is. The incident is usually referred to as The Rape of the Sabine Women but Wikipedia says that is a mis-translation of the Roman word Rapta which is more like abduction than rape. Amazing what you learn just picking up things from a movie. Anyway, we love the music and as a young woman I always loved Howard Keel who had a magnificent voice as did Jane Powell, his co-star.

Tuesday is grocery shopping for us and they have kindly pulled up all the roads and left only one way into the store. Because of this people were going through a gas station to get to the other side of the road works. I would imagine the owners of the station would be totally teed off by that. I can't believe they totally blocked off a fairly busy road rather than doing one side and then the other. I cannot imagine what all these road works are costing the city. What with the LRT (Light Rail Transport) which still isn't completed although lots of the roads are now open again.

I know lots of people out there don't like Brussels Sprouts. Never really understood why except for a short period before I realised that the water in my building distorted the taste and I started using distilled water to cook them. However, I came across this recipe and thought maybe this would help. They are, after all, so good for you.

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Brussels Sprouts

These perfectly crispy garlic parmesan roasted brussels sprouts are easy and quick to put together and only calls for a few ingredients.

1 lb brussels sprouts trimmed
2 Tbs olive oil extra virgin
1 Tbs garlic powder or to taste
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper ground
1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.

2. Clean the brussels sprouts by rinsing in cold water, cutting off the end of the stem, and discarding it.

3. Place in a bowl and mix Brussels sprouts together with the olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

4. Transfer to a baking sheet and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

5. Sprinkle with more parmesan cheese if preferred and serve warm.

Servings: 4

Source: Jo Cooks
Author: Joanna Cismaru

Have a great day
 

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Bowling, Dieting, Subway.

Bowling went pretty well although unfortunately we were three and our opposing team was five. We had to "Vacancy Scores" which are 175 per game, but the opposing team mostly beat those anyway. I am not sure about the last game which was a good one for us but we had to leave before they finished. My average went up 2 points. I don't know why I am suddenly bowling like I used to but I am not complaining as I am sure you realise. Will find out if we gained any points on Thursday. Won't be more than 2 if any at all. I forgot, one of our team brought me a Black Forest birthday cake today which I shared as far as I could. It was somewhat messy and crumbly but a delicious cake He even brought a little candle to go on it LOL.

We were both getting low on a prescription for an analgesic so went to our doctor's walk-in clinic. We were then told that as the prescription had been written by the Physician's Assistant we had to take it to the pharmacy right there so that the Doctor herself could sign the scrips tomorrow. Bit of a nuisance because we are known and registered at our usual pharmacy. However, whilst picking up the pills I saw a sign about a weight loss programme. I enquired about it and a young woman came to talk to me about it all. Turned out that the first week(s) would cost $250 - sorry but no thanks. She explained it was really healthy food that we would be making bought from the pharmacy I gather. I assured her I cook really healthy food anyway. Plus Matt does NOT need to lose weight and although she told us he could eat it too, unless he supplemented, he might end up losing too and he is quite skinny enough these days. I then gave her my card for this blog - mostly the recipes I publish are healthy food anyway. I basically do not believe in using substitutes such as "low fat" or diet foods of any kind. I believe in eating everything and anything in moderation.

As it was gone 6 when we left the pharmacy, dropped down to Subway to get something to eat. We can feed the pair of us for $7.67 which is pretty good value.

I often eat small egg foo yong at Mandarin so I thought this would be interesting to try.

Egg Foo Yong with Mushroom Sauce

Think of egg foo yong as a cross between an American-style omelet and a crispy Chinese pancake, loaded with vegetables and topped with a savory mushroom “gravy.” It’s a superspeedy meal thanks to packaged broccoli slaw, matchstick-cut carrots, and microwaveable brown rice. A smaller (8- to
10-inch) skillet will make for a taller, fluffier pancake. Tamari sauce is slightly thicker than soy sauce with a more robust flavor (many brands are also gluten-free). Use anywhere you’d use soy sauce, especially in meat marinades.

2 Tbs sesame oil, divided
3/4 cup matchstick-cut carrot
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, white and green parts divided
2 cups packaged broccoli slaw
1 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, grated
1 Tbs unseasoned rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tbs tamari sauce or reduced-sodium soy sauce, divided
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup unsalted vegetable stock
1 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 (8-oz.) pkg. presliced cremini mushrooms
2 (8.8-oz.) pkg. precooked brown rice (such as Uncle Ben's)
1 Tbs toasted sesame seeds

1. Preheat broiler; place rack in upper middle position.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 10-inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high. Add carrot and white parts of green onions; sauté 3 minutes. Add slaw, ginger, and garlic; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar; cook 1 minute or until liquid evaporates.

3. Combine 1 1/2 teaspoons tamari, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and eggs in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add egg mixture to slaw mixture in pan, tilting pan to spread mixture evenly. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until egg is set on the bottom. Place pan in oven; broil 2 minutes or until top is set and golden. Cut into quarters.

4. Combine stock and flour in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high. Add mushrooms; cook 5 minutes or until browned. Add flour mixture; bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute or until mixture is slightly thickened. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon tamari and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

5. Heat rice according to package directions; divide evenly among 4 plates. Top each serving with 1 wedge of the pancake and 1/4 cup mushroom mixture; top evenly with green parts of onions, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and sesame seeds.

Servings: 4

Author: Deb Wise
Source: Cooking Light

Have a great day
 

Monday, September 18, 2017

Card, Books,

This was my birthday card from Matt

But the owls jumped off

and ended on my freezer door. Turns out Matt didn't even know they were magnets LOL.

Had a quiet weekend - lots of cooking of course. Today we are league bowling of course. We have lost one member of our team so not sure what will happen. For a while we will be playing three and a vacancy. The vacancies count as 175 points per game. Keep your fingers crossed for us please.

I am well into a series of books by Daniel Silva which were recommended to me by Denise Hammond of My Life in Retirement. One slight problem there are quite a few of this series so when the hero goes into a likely death situation, I know perfectly well he won't die 'cos he has to be there for the next books. Not that it makes them any less exciting.

I thought this looked good.

Pork Medallions with Fennel-Apple Slaw

1 6 oz    sweet potato, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 1 lb  pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-in.-thick slices
1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup hard apple cider or regular cider
2 Tbs grainy mustard
2 Tbs Dijon mustard
2 Tbs unsalted butter
2 cups thinly sliced apple
1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb, plus fennel fronds for garnish
2 Tbs sliced shallot
2 Tbs minced parsley
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.

2. Combine potato slices and 1 tablespoon oil on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes or until tender.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high. Top pork slices with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add to pan; cook 5 minutes on one side. Remove from pan; add cider, and cook 1 minute. Stir in mustards. Remove pan from heat; stir in butter. Add pork to pan; let stand 3 minutes.

4. Combine potatoes, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, apple, fennel bulb, and remaining ingredients in a bowl. Serve slaw with pork and pan sauce. Garnish with fennel fronds.

Servings: 4

Author: Mark Driskill
Source: Cooking Light

Have a great day
 

Friday, September 15, 2017

My Birthday Week

I have groused about it before, but on the weekend Bon Appétit came up with 75 weeknight dinners. Do they really think people are going to plough through 75 suggestions unless, like me, they are searching for recipes to share. Another email I got contained snacks for football weekends, there were dozens of them. I never did get to the end any more than I got through the 75 recipes. Maybe I am just lazy, but I can't imagine anyone, with a busy life, work, kids etc. etc. would bother to go through so many recipes. 24 hours after writing this, I get another email offering 100 lunches!!!!

My first bowling for the league went pretty well. Had two good games and one moderate. I was quite pleased. Being the first day, I won't find out how many points we gained until we go in on Thursday. Update: We are lying 2nd. I hope we can stay up there. Thursday bowling went well too and the alley owner gave me a bunch of rhubarb from his garden as a birthday present. Yum. Tonight we go to the Red Lobster which I understand has a Shrimp Fest running. More yum although the shrimp here is not as tasty as the ones we got straight from the sea in North Carolina.

Tuesday was my free lunch at Mandarin. It also coincides with the Moon Festival this month which is celebrated mid Autumn during a time of moon watching. Of course, this means Moon Cake which I really love and which nobody else seems to enjoy.  The bit in the middle of the cake represents the moon. The cakes are predominantly made with lotus seed paste and are very sweet. I am giving you a recipe but I know I would never make it, and I don't suppose any of you would either. I ate plenty of it for lunch together with a lot of other specials just prepared for the Moon Festival. They had some Korean chicken which was delicious.

Wednesday morning I felt absolutely lousy. Ended up going to bed for the rest of the morning but by lunchtime was starting to feel OK. No idea what the problem was.

So we went to the Red Lobster for supper and I ordered the Seaport Lobster and Shrimp, but I
couldn't get the local pic so ended up with the US pic. The only difference, I didn't get broccoli, I did get rice. Matt had Blackened Arctic Char. I had been very tempted to have the Arctic Char myself as it is one of my favourite fish. I forgot, being a creature of decision I decided to get some Chocolate Wave Cake to go home. However, Matt got some to eat there so I changed my mind. Ate a lot of it and then changed my mind and took the rest home. It is so delicious. Not only that I ate two of their biscuits too - really a birthday is no excuse.

I have been writing this email in bits and pieces all week, so if the timings seem a tad off, sorry about that.

Moon Cake

A step by step guide for making mooncake, a traditional Chinese dessert typically eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival for good luck.

For the dough
100 g all purpose-flour
60 g Golden Syrup
1/2 tsp Alkaline water available at Asian grocers
18 g Vegetable oil

For the filling
420 g Lotus seed paste
6 Egg yolks salted
1 Tbs Rose-flavoured cooking wine available at Asian grocers

For the egg wash
1 Egg yolk
2 Tbs Egg white

1. FOR THE DOUGH
2. To prepare the Chinese mooncake dough use a large bowl, mix the golden syrup, alkaline water and oil well. Sift in the flour. Use a spatula to combine all the ingredients. Don’t over–stir. Knead into a dough. Cover with film wrap and rest for 40 minutes.

3. Mix egg yolks with wine. If the salted egg yolks are homemade and freshly broken from the shells, you’ll see the egg whites turn opaque after mixing with the wine a few minutes later. Wipe the yolks dry with kitchen paper. Cut each into two halves. Set aside. Roll the lotus paste into a long tube.

4. Cut into 12 equal portions of 35 grams.

5. Roll each portion into a ball shape. Set aside and preheat the oven to 180°C.

6. FOR THE EGG WASH
7. Whisk the egg yolk with the egg white. Sift through a fine sieve.

8. FOR THE FILLING
9. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into a small ball shape. Cover a dough portion with a plastic film and roll into a thin disc. Then take a lotus paste ball and poke a hole in the middle with your finger.

10. Place the egg yolk inside and roll and shape into a ball. Wrap and seal the lotus paste ball with the dough disc.

11. Spray the mooncake mould and place the stuffed mooncake into the mould. Lightly press the mould handle, then remove the mooncake from the mould. Transfer the stuffed mooncake onto a lined baking tray.

12. Repeat this step to finish the remaining dough and lotus paste.

13. Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 to 12 minutes. Brush the mooncakes with egg wash, at about five minutes, before removing from the oven. Continue to bake until the pastry turns golden brown. Remove from oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. Store in an air–tight container. The pastry will become soft and shiny in one or two days: the mooncake recipe is ready to be enjoyed.

Source:  Fine Dining Lovers

Have a great day
 

Monday, September 11, 2017

Monday Recipe

As this is my birthday week, I have decided to take it easy on blogging so don't be surprised if you don't see much from me for the rest of the week. Of course, today we start our Winter League bowling as well.

I am always looking for salmon recipes and I thought this looked good.

Slow-Roasted Salmon With Fennel, Citrus, And Chiles

Don’t bother trying to divide this fillet into tidy portions. Instead, use a spoon to break it into
perfectly imperfect pieces.

1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 blood or navel orange, very thinly sliced, seeds removed
1 Meyer or regular lemon, very thinly sliced, seeds removed
1 red Fresno chile or jalapeño, with seeds, thinly sliced
4 sprigs dill, plus more for serving
Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
1 2-lb. skinless salmon fillet, preferably center-cut
¾ cup olive oil
Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)

1. Instructions

2. Preheat oven to 275°F. Toss fennel, orange slices, lemon slices, chile, and 4 dill sprigs in a shallow 3-qt. baking dish; season with kosher salt and pepper. Season salmon with kosher salt and place on top of fennel mixture. Pour oil over.

3. Roast until salmon is just cooked through (the tip of a knife will slide through easily and flesh will be slightly opaque), 30–40 minutes for medium-rare.

4. Transfer salmon to a platter, breaking it into large pieces as you go. Spoon fennel mixture and oil from baking dish over; discard dill sprigs. Season with sea salt and pepper and top with fresh dill sprigs.

Servings: 6

Source: Bon Appétit

Author Notes
Also Try it With: Cod, halibut, John Dory, or turbot fillets

Have a great day
 

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Saturday Recipe

Here's something a bit different.

Tomato Tulips

This is a great recipe found on gastrobasket,wordpress.com. Who said, "This idea will definitely make you a popular party host! Simple but stylish party food in 30 minutes. Tasty and stylish tomato
tulips!" So adorable- had to share.

4 cups mashed potatoes
1/3 cup celery with leaves,finely chopped
1/3 cup sweet pickle relish, drained well
1/3 cup dairy sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup half and half cream
2 Tbs wine vinegar
2 tsp yellow mustard-to taste
3 large hard boiled eggs, separate yolks from white part
salt, pepper, oval tomatoes,green onion tops

1. Separate cooked yolks from egg whites;refrigerate yolks for later in recipe. --- In a large bowl, combine the first nine(9) ingredients and the chopped egg whites only.

2. Mix thoroughly to blend. Add additional mayonnaise and half and half , only if needed. Mixture should be moldable. --- Spray mixing bowl lightly with cooking spray , sized just large enough to hold filling completely to the top. Place potato mixture into bowl, making sure to pack firmly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to fill the tomatoes.

3. Making tulips: Use elongated (oval shape) large grape tomatoes. Cut a tomato crosswise, but not to the very bottom. Remove the flesh out of each tomato and put some salad inside. Sprinkle a little grated egg yolk in center tops. Make the tulip stems out of green onion tops. Add some dill as greenery. Put a bow around your bouquet.

Servings: 6

Author: Pat Duran
Yummly


Have a great weekend
 

Friday, September 8, 2017

Africa, Bowling, Hurricanes,

Thursday morning I received an email suggesting I should go where the wild things are and including details of all kinds of trips. Look at the price of this one. It suddenly hit me that these people who go to Africa to shoot animals have to start off paying this kind of money to get there in the first place and they then pay a small fortune to legally shoot animals (I am not talking poachers here) but people like the dentist who shot Cecil the lion. I then proceeded to think why would anyone, however rich, want to spend all that money just to shoot a beautiful wild animal? What bugs me too, I couldn't even begin to think of getting there for financial reasons and yet they squander all this money to go on a killing spree. I must admit, thinking of the dentist, I didn't know they made that kind of money. I do know, from recent experience, that dentistry is expensive, but.....

Bowling went pretty well today even though I was beaten twice. Matt decided to bowl really well today too. I just hope I can keep this up when we start our league play next Monday. There was one point this afternoon that we were the only people in the alley apart from the owner. Seemed very odd. The Thursday league (which I call The Ladies from Ayr) doesn't start til next week. Sept. 14 which is the birthday of someone I know quite well.

Irma still seems to be heading for Miami or a bit south. I am so glad we are not there any more. It occurred to me that Matt's granddaughter who has been cruising up and down from New Jersey to the Bahamas (I think) must be pleased to be back in the UK right now. Things are really in a mess in that part of  the world with the Texas coast having been devastated and now the Florida coast  about to be ravaged. Nobody has even mentioned the hurricane which has just gone in to Mexico - this was Katia and I haven't really heard much it.

This recipe is from Mushrooms Canada and is well worth taking note of.

Caprese Baked Egg Cups

Butter, for greasing
12 eggs
½ cup button mushrooms, sliced
½ cup cherry tomatoes, sliced into quarters
½ cup bocconcini cheese pearls, cut in half
½ cup fresh chopped basil
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Prepare veggies, and grease muffin tins with a generous amount of butter so that egg cups don’t stick. Crack eggs into each muffin cup.

3. Divide veggies evenly among muffin tins, then season with salt and pepper.

4. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until yolks are just set. Cook closer to the 15 minute mark if you like your yolks semi-hard.

5. Serve and enjoy! To re-heat, microwave two at a time for 1 minute.

Author: The Girl on Bloor
Source: Mushrooms Canada

Have a great day
 

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Hurricanes, Supper, Costco

I am writing this on Wednesday morning and all I am hearing is about Irma and what a really bad storm it is. Now a Category 5. But - there's another one behind it, Jose. However, from the storm track it looks as though it will miss the mainland. Hurricanes happen every year of course, but they don't always visit the States. I would also point out that they are getting stronger due to global warming which I am informed doesn't exist.

Wednesday night I cooked Chicken and Mushroom Skillet in a Creamy Asiago and Mustard Sauce which I posted the other day. It was delicious, but I did think I should have cooked a green vegetable with it. I also had trouble getting the chicken cooked right through, probably because I think my chicken was bigger than the 6 oz specified. It turns out the calories for the actual dish as posted are 384 per serving so not as bad as I feared.

We went to Costco in the afternoon after my exercise class (wish I could say our class) and bought chicken, just as well or I wouldn't have had enough for the chicken skillet above. We bought lamb chops and some fillet steaks which are absolutely huge and plenty in one steak for both of us. I do like Costco's meat. Actually I am quite pleased with myself, Costco is known as the $300 store round here - I came out at $125 so that was good. Repacking all the meat for the freezer was not so good.

This recipe comes from an article called Healthyish Cheese Dishes. Several of them looked really good including one with roasted plums. However, this one I thought I would try. I really enjoy endive.

Endive With Tart Apple Dressing And Blue Cheese

The dressing has virtually no oil in it, balancing acidity with the sweetness of apple juice and
fattiness of the cheese and nuts

Nut Salsa
½ cup pecans
½ cup finely crumbled Bayley Hazen Blue or other firm blue cheese
3 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp honey
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
¾ tsp gray sea salt or other coarse sea salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Dressing And Assembly
? cup apple juice
2 Tbs Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
¼ tsp fresh lemon zest, plus more for serving
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tsp olive oil
4 endive, preferably red, leaves separated

1. Nut Salsa

2. Preheat oven to 300°. Toast pecans on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until slightly darkened and fragrant, 12–15 minutes. Let cool. Toss in a medium bowl with blue cheese, oil, honey, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

3. Dressing and Assembly

4. Whisk apple juice, vinegar, lemon juice, oil, and ¼ tsp. lemon zest in a small bowl; season dressing with salt.

5. Toss endive in a large bowl with half of dressing; season with salt.

6. Divide nut salsa among plates and arrange salad on top. Spoon remaining dressing onto endive and grate some lemon zest over top to finish.

Servings: 4

Author: Flora Bar in NYC
Source: Bon Appétit

Have a great day

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Asian Flooding, Bowling, Irma,

I am ashamed to say that I had completely missed the news about dreadful flooding in Asia and the loss of 1,000 lives. Apparently the major deaths occur in shanty towns which are not able to withstand such waters. There are many pictures if you follow the link I found. We tend to concentrate on the disasters at home and forget about the rest of the world.


Bowling went pretty well again today, not as great as the games I had at the other bowling alley, but our home alley has nice refinished floors so balls run well on them. We don't start our senior's league til next Monday of course, but we will, as usual, bowl on Thursday.

A friend lives in Florida, I think in the Keys, and I messaged him on Facebook to get the hell out of there. Irma is going to do a number on Florida I think Last I heard it was a Category 5 hurricane. NOT funny. I would certainly be running. Getting off the Keys at the last moment won't be a good idea either as there is only one road as I understand it. The world is certainly full of disasters at the moment.God help all those in Texas, India and Pakistan, and now Florida.

I love dishes like this - maybe there is some Slav in me or something. This is a Ukraine version but there are many other takes on this recipe.

Noodles with Cabbage (Lokshyna z Kapustiou)

Cabbage and noodle dishes are found all over Eastern Europe, and this is a common variation found
in Ukraine.

4 Tbs (60 ml) butter or vegetable oil
1 small head cabbage, cored and shredded
1 onion, chopped
1 cup (250 ml) drained sauerkraut (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 lb (225 g) dried egg noodles, cooked according to
the package directions and drained
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry bread crumbs toasted in
1 Tbs (15 ml) butter

1. Heat the butter in a large skillet over moderate heat and sauté the cabbage and onion until tender but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add the optional sauerkraut and season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked noodles and stir to combine. Serve garnished with the toasted bread crumbs.

Servings: 4 to 6


Source: WW Recipes

Have a great day
 

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Nuclear Threat, Hurricanes, Bowling

Yesterday it was sand, today it is Kim Jong-Un. A comment was made yesterday that the dredgers should take the sand from North Korea and maybe it would disappear. It seems to me the US has got enough disasters to cope with at the moment without having threats from that idiot. Not sure who said it, but they said he was "begging for war". Seems like it doesn't it?  If we end up with a nuclear war we may not have to bother with the shortage of sand or anything else. Is he really such a fool?

I got a message today asking me to pray for Texas. I don't think that will help much now. It's donations they need. And there is another hurricane likely to hit Florida and/or the east coast of the US. Irma is already a Category 4. The emergency services will be stretched to the limit if this one hits. God help America.

Today we go back to our 'home' alley and I am wondering how I will do on the wooden lanes, albeit totally redone, after the synthetics where I bowled so well. Our senior's league doesn't start til the 11th as being a Monday league, we have to miss Labour Day.

I saw this recipe  over the weekend and liked the look of it so will try it out tonight I think. I have to buy a few things, I'm out of mushrooms and have no asiago cheese although I do have Parmesan. Kevin Lynch comes up with some excellent recipes, but I am not sure he ever worries about calorie content on any of them,

Chicken and Mushroom Skillet in a Creamy Asiago and Mustard Sauce

Quick and easy chicken and mushrooms in a creamy asiago and dijon mustard sauce.

2 Tbs oil or butter
4 (6 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp thyme, chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream
1 Tbs grainy mustard
1 Tbs dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup asiago cheese, grated

1. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium-hight heat, season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste, add them to the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 4-6 minutes per side, before setting aside.

2. Add the mushrooms and onion and cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid and it has evaporated, about 10 minutes.

3. Mix in the garlic and thyme and cook, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

4. Add the wine and deglaze the pan.

5. Add the broth and cream, mix in the mustards, season with salt and pepper to taste, add the chicken, bring to a boil and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.

6. Mix in the asiago and let it melt, remove from heat and enjoy!

7. Option: For One-Pan: Make this a one-pan meal by adding 8 ounces of pasta and 2 1/4 cups broth or water (or 1 cup of rice and 2 cups broth or water) to the sauce in step 5 and simmer, covered, until cooked, about 12 minutes (or 20 minutes for rice).

8. Option: Cook the mushrooms longer, until the start to caramelize, for even more flavour.

9. Option: Add 1 tablespoon white miso paste by mixing some of the hot pan sauce into the miso in a bowl before mixing it back into the pan sauce just after you remove it from the heat.

10. Option: Season with soy sauce instead of salt or miso.

Servings: 4

Author: Kevin Lynch
Source: Closet Cooking

Have a great day