Watches and Cell Phones, Fracture Clinic, CT Scan

I must say, it never occurred to me that people would use their cell phones instead of watches which is, apparently, what most of you do. My cell phone is a flip top and would be a pain to carry around all the time although I do have it in my purse when I go out. Hardly anyone knows the number anyway, I mostly have it for emergencies anyway or to take the occasional picture.

Well Matt's fracture surgeon said he could take the boot off and do what he liked, i.e. bowling, shopping, etc. etc. I am not sure how closely Matt is going to follow this mind you! He has agreed to go bowling tomorrow to try it out. We will see what happens. He keeps saying his injured foot is his take off foot for bowling. He will not consider doing it any other way even if temporarily. One of the best women bowlers always goes up to the foul line and throws her ball. NEXT DAY: at 4 a.m. I started thinking about Matt's visit to the Fracture Clinic - I realised that the surgeon had only been looking at Matt's toe which was a secondary, and less serious, injury but had not mentioned his ankle bone once. Also, the X ray which had been on view in the clinic was not the one I saw in Emergency which showed his ankle injury. From this I conclude that the Doctor knows nothing about that particular injury and has never been informed of it. If Matt starts running around on it and doing what he likes, he may exacerbate the ankle fracture.

I had my CT scan and it didn't take long thank goodness because lying on my back with my arms flat out behind me was damned uncomfortable to say the least. I have an appointment with my family doc. in a week or so to find out the results.

Also, I booked Matt's free lunch at Mandarin on Jan 30th. We get a week either side of the actual date. It is dumpling festival too, whoopee.

I have had this recipe for a long time but never tried it. Sounds good.

Yu Sheng

1/4 lb smoked salmon or abalone or marinated lobster, sliced into small thin strips
1 finely shredded iceberg lettuce or Chinese white radish
4 finely shredded carrots
4 fl oz ozs plum sauce*
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp five-spice powder
Juice of 1/2 lemon and salt to taste
2 inches fresh ginger, shredded paper thin
6 fresh kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
2 spring onions, finely shredded
Bunch of finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Small coin-sized pieces of very crisp golden crackers for garnish

1. Before I get to the nitty-gritty of the ingredients, I must explain the setting. Wishing for luck, abundance and prosperity is always a feature of CNY activities. The invocation of these comes with the tossing of this raw fish salad. The higher you toss, the better your luck and prosperity for the coming year. If you have a large round dining-table, it's easier. You need a large round, flat serving-dish and chopsticks for everybody. When the dish is brought to the table, always at the beginning of the meal, everybody stands and all together dig to the bottom and toss the salad as high as possible for about a minute, shouting "Lo Hei" (pronounced 'low hay') many times. I mean HIGH - chest-level is usual. Yes, it makes a bit of a mess, so forget the best damask tablecloth (it's quite acceptable to use a clear plastic covering). Then all sit down to enjoy.

2. The amounts I have given here are purely suggestive and can be adapted as wished, as long as the key ingredients of raw fish and colourful vegetables are present (red/orange/gold colours are imperatively auspicious). Mix the lettuce/radish with the carrots and arrange in a mound on the plate. Scatter the pieces of raw fish over the top and down the sides. Sprinkle the ginger, lime leaves, spring onions, coriander, sesame seeds and crackers over it. Drizzle the Plum Sauce over and all toss as high as possible. Serve on individual plates to eat.

3. *Plum Sauce: What I use here is basically a thin, pouring consistency, plum-flavoured salad-dressing made like a vinaigrette but substituting pureed plums for the vinegar and adding the pepper, salt and five-spice powder. It should be sweetish, not tart.

Servings: 6

Have a great day