Cassa Star, Mail, Dermatologist, Birthday, Loblaws,

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I went down for the mail late on Thursday. I had one letter, addressed to me, from Prostate Cancer, Canada. We thought that was funny. Yes, I know, they want money.

Today we have to get up before the crack of dawn to go to the Dermatologist as Matt has more skin cancers which have to be treated. Trouble is, he is in the next town. My fault we go to him as his office is over the Scottish store where I buy Cornish Pasties and we haven't had any for a looooong time.

Sunday Matt becomes 83 so we are going with a couple of friends to the Red Lobster. Better for Matt, he won't have to hobble around with a plate as he would have (or I would have) had to at Mandarin.

I have talked about PC Points at our grocery store. They have changed this to PC Optimum and we were all requested to change our cards. I dropped in on the way back from bowling and got my new card. I was told to register it on line. Ever since I got home, the site has been crashed. I guess everyone and his mother wanted to register today. It doesn't really matter I suppose, I don't normally shop til Tuesday.

We had our last Pea and Lovage Soup on Thursday night. Delicious. Lovage isn't available until about the same time as asparagus. Pity.

I love Cannoli and I thought this recipe looked pretty good.

Almond Cannoli with Lemon-Basil Ricotta Cream Filling

Homemade cannoli shells are filled with a creamy lemon and ricotta cheese filling with a hint of fresh basil for a gourmet dessert. For a shortcut, you can substitute purchased cannoli shells (8 full-size or 16 mini).

Almond Cannoli
2 egg whites
1/3 cup sugar (see Tips)
3 Tbs all-purpose flour
3 Tbs ground almonds
? tsp salt
2 Tbs olive oil or almond oil
½ tsp vanilla

Lemon-Basil Ricotta Cream Filling
3 oz reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened
2 Tbs honey
2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
1 ¼ cups light or part-skim ricotta cheese
2 Tbs snipped fresh basil

Garnish
Lemon peel strips (optional)
Small fresh basil

1. To prepare cannoli: Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a medium mixing bowl use a rotary beater to beat egg whites until foamy. Add sugar and beat for 1 minute. Sprinkle with flour, almonds and salt. Fold together gently. Drizzle with oil and vanilla. Fold together gently. Drop batter evenly into 8 mounds, putting 4 mounds on each cookie sheet and separating the mounds by about 4 inches. Spread each mound to a 6-inch circle. Bake one cookie sheet for 5 to 6 minutes or until bottoms of cookies are lightly browned. Immediately loosen cookies from cookie sheet. Turn over and wrap around metal cannoli cones or the straight metal handle of a whisk. Cool slightly and remove from cones or whisk handle while still slightly warm. Cool on a wire rack, seam side down. (If cookies become too stiff to roll, return briefly to the oven to soften.) Repeat with remaining cookie sheet. To prepare filling: In a medium bowl beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in honey and lemon peel until smooth. Stir in ricotta cheese and basil. To serve, pipe or spoon cheese mixture into cooled cannoli shells. Garnish tops of shells with lemon peel strips and/or basil leaves if desired. Serve immediately.

2. Test Kitchen Tip: We do not recommend using a sugar substitute for this recipe.

3. Make Ahead Tip: Prepare cannoli shells and filling as directed. Place shells in an airtight container and store at room temperature up to 3 days. Place filling in an airtight container and chill up to 3 days. To serve, let filling stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to soften slightly. Fill and garnish shells as directed.

Source: Diabetic Living Magazine

Have a great day