Butterflies, Doctors, Asparagus, Online Shopping,

Our son-in-law, Mike Woodcock, the artist, took this photo and posted it on Facebook this morning (Friday) and I thought it was so beautiful it cheered me up tremendously. It is an Adonis Blue and is fairly rare apparently. The picture was taken in England. I don't know how widespread a butterfly this is. Funnily enough we watched a fascinating programme the other night all about butterflies. Did you know they are millions of years old and all the different varieties stemmed from one, fairly plain, brown butterfly. Apparently the migration of the Monarch butterfly is NOT the longest one - this record is held by Painted Ladies which, they have recently discovered, begin their return journey at heights of 3,000 ft. which is why, until picked up by radar, they had never been seen returning before.

As for the doctors, despite all these tests they seem to be somewhat inconclusive. My hip is still bad (well I never!) and they think my leg pain is probably referred pain from my arthritic back. I'm not too happy but then, not really surprising. I am not too convinced about my legs either. I think I will pursue it perhaps. I still have to go for a bone density test next week.  Matt has to go for an ultrasound at 6 p.m. (right on supper time, do we have it earlier or later?) but I guess it's better than having to get up at 6 in the morning which I hate. Not so much getting up as having to rush around to get ready to leave.

Being so busy, I bought some asparagus in the local store yesterday. Matt complained about my travelling so far to buy asparagus, but when I brought the store bought he said it looked horrible. Can't win!! It is definitely local grown, but not as local as Barrie's farm where I normally buy it. I actually had a long chat with their Produce Manager who told me he had bought what were supposed to be 2 yr old asparagus crowns last year, but which yielded very little this year. He said he had problems buying from Barrie's. How odd, I have been buying from them for years and never had any problems.

Not used my air fryer much yet, just not had time. Also, this week had problems with my online order. The person who packed it (I think I know who) didn't read the additional notes which one can add to the order. I ended up with Prosciutto so thin I have problems removing it from the paper and I could certainly read a newspaper through it. I always specify NOT too thin. Never had a problem before, then Matt didn't need much milk so I ordered 1 L and got 2 L. There were several other things like that. I couldn't get hold of the Click and Collect Manager so I complained to the company on line. I ended up with a $20 credit to use next week so that's OK by me.

I don't think I have posted this recipe recently, apologies if I have. I really have to try this, simple but delicious sounding.

Asparagus Shandong-Style (Liang Ban Lu-Sun)

1 ½ lbs asparagus, trimmed and cut crosswise on the diagonal into 2" pieces
1 Tbs Japanese reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
2 drops red chile oil
½ tsp toasted sesame seeds

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add asparagus to pot and cook until tender-crisp and bright green, 1½–2 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain, then immediately plunge into a large bowl of ice water; set aside to cool, 2–3 minutes. Drain again, then transfer to paper towels, pat dry, and set aside.

2. Whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, and chile oil in a medium bowl. Add asparagus and toss. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with sesame seeds.

Servings: 2

Source: Saveur

Author Notes
A specialty of Shandong province, this dish is traditionally reserved for banquets because asparagus is so expensive in China. But in the United States, when the price comes down in summer, take advantage of this flavorful dish.


Have a great day