Stephen Hawking, Bowling and Exercise, Parking Lot,

I don't know what you call it when someone makes a film autobiography of their own lives, but Stephen Hawking did such a thing when he was 71 and we watched, and thoroughly enjoyed it on PBS the other night. I have the movie The Theory of Everything which Matt would never watch, so Thursday night he agreed to watch it. Waste of time, he thought it was boring and yet he had really enjoyed the programme the other day. Oh well. I would love to get a copy of the film autobiography, I should investigate whether that's possible. I have also just ordered A Brief History of Time, which he wrote some years ago, from the library. He has been a man I admired for many years now and I was sorry we lost him although the fact that he survived 50 years after being told he had only 2 to live was a miracle in itself.

Bowling both yesterday and today. Sometimes I won sometimes Matt did. Neither of us bowling particularly well. Before I went on Wednesday I went to exercise class. As I said the other day, we are trying to think of ways to attract people to the classes. They are not strenuous exercises but designed for older people (this building is full of them) although perfectly suitable for younger people too. I have felt much better since I started doing them and I know lots of others would benefit too. I tried putting a business card through the slot in our mail boxes and this can be done, maybe we could design something suitable to attract people.

As for Spring, it was beautifully sunny again, today, but when we went to collect our car from the outside parking lot, there was such a cold wind I had to put the hood of my jacket up over my ears. Bit worried about that parking lot too, great dips in it which makes me think it is going to collapse into the parking garage underneath. It used not to be that bad when we first came here about 17 years ago.

I found this recipe today which I thought looked pretty good. Don't think I have all the herbs and spices so would have to purchase a few. I would use English or seedless cucumber as they are so  much easier.

Tahini-Marinated Chicken Thighs with Cucumber-and-Tomato Salad

If you thought tahini functioned mainly as a condiment, you’ll love it in a marinade—it makes the chicken buttery tender without an overwhelming amount of sesame flavor in the finished dish. It also helps the chicken char nicely on the grill. The chopped salad is inspired by the Israeli original, usually stuffed into pita pockets with shawarma (slow-grilled meat) and drizzled with tahini sauce.

We reserve some of the tahini mixture from the marinade for topping the finished dish. You can also substitute couscous, cooked bulgur, or toasted whole-wheat pita wedges for the rice.

Chicken:
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste), well stirred
3 Tbs finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs water
1 Tbs finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp grated lemon rind
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1 small shallot, finely grated
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 lb.)
Cooking spray
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Salad:
1 1/2 cups chopped cucumber
1 1/2 cups chopped tomato
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 cups hot cooked brown rice

1. To prepare chicken, combine first 10 ingredients in a bowl. Place 1/4 cup tahini mixture in a small bowl; reserve. Place remaining tahini mixture and chicken in a large ziplock plastic bag; seal, turning to coat chicken. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat grill to medium (350°F to 450°F). Coat grill grate with cooking spray. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken with salt. Arrange chicken on grill grate; cover and cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Arrange chicken on a platter; drizzle with reserved 1/4 cup tahini mixture.

3. To prepare the salad, combine cucumber and next 6 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon salt) in a bowl; toss gently to combine. Serve cucumber salad with chicken and rice.

Servings: 4

Source: Cooking Light





Have a great day