Wednesday, Nature, Otavango, LHIN.

Quite a busy day today, started with our cleaner arriving at 8:30, shortly after I went and collected the shopping and she helped bring it upstairs for me. I still end up with aching legs even though I am not pulling the cart upstairs. Unpacking I found I was short several items so the cleaner went down to the car and found the missing bag. Bananas in it, I hadn't even realised they were missing. Thank goodness she was here, I couldn't have made that trip(to our parking spot) a second time this morning. Eventually, we had lunch and I went downstairs to exercise class. There were only two of us today. Unusual. However, we did our stuff. The room where we do this is quite a walk for me too, even with my walker. Back upstairs, and I decided to go to Costco. Meant to go yesterday, been meaning to go for a while, so off we went, Matt came for the drive. Once there, I had to sit down and rest a couple of times walking back and forth from the meat dept. which is right at the back of the store. I had taken my walker luckily, thought I might need it. One woman said I had the right idea. I mainly went for the lamb and that is usually in the fridges at the back of the store. I walked right along them and then back, thought I had missed the lamb, couldn't find any, then I spotted some other meat counters, phew, thought I had wasted my journey. Talking to another woman about it and she spotted them at the same time as I. I found my lamb roasts, I got two for less than they wanted at Victoria St. Market, mind you, theirs was probably fresh Ontario lamb. I also bought some chicken breasts, and some beef patties which I assume were for burgers, but which I guessed were just about half a pound each which was just the amount I wanted for my stuffed peppers. I was right. So, plus the Co-Q-10 pills I bought, it mounted up to $160. Still under $200. For Costco  that is an achievement. Of course when I got home, I had to repack all the stuff for the freezer except for t he ground beef I wanted for peppers tomorrow. By the time I had done all this, I was knackered. I fell asleep for a half hour in my chair.

Luckily I didn't have to do much for supper as we had leftover Butter Chicken from last night, so just cooked some rice. Later I cooked 2 cups of rice for use with the peppers. So easy in the Instant Pot.

After watching Jeopardy, watched a Nature programme on PBS about the Otavango River basin and its animals. Fascinating but it needed a part 2 I think. We were following the story of a lioness who was gored by a water buffalo and eventually left for dead by her pride. Meanwhile, she began to recover and next thing we knew, she had two cups which of course she had to feed. She had a broken ankle on her front leg. She was doing pretty well, but at the end, two males were entering her territory which could either be good or bad news for her, if they accepted the cubs, good. But we never heard the end of that story. Grrrr.

Tomorrow we have a visit scheduled from the LHIN (Local  Health Integration Network) to discover just what help we are entitled to. I suspect not a lot at this time, we shall see.

I used to enjoy brisket but don't remember when I last cooked it. When I saw this recipe I immediately thought, must try it. I am sure I can get brisket at Victoria St. Market.

Brisket with Onion-and-Chile Jam

Letting the brisket rest in the pan juices for a half hour makes it especially moist.

2 Tbs pure olive oil
11 medium onions—7 minced, 4 coarsely chopped
2 Thai chiles, with some seeds, minced
Salt
5 large carrots, coarsely chopped
1 bunch of celery, coarsely chopped
Freshly ground pepper
One 5-pound beef brisket, fat trimmed to a thin layer
2 quarts hot chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1/2 tsp soy sauce

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the minced onions and the Thai chiles and season with salt. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft, about 25 minutes. Increase the heat to moderately low and cook, stirring, until the onions are deeply browned, about 10 minutes longer.

2. Preheat the oven to 325°. Spread the carrots, celery and coarsely chopped onions in an even layer in a roasting pan and season them with salt and pepper. Season the brisket with salt and pepper and set it on top of the vegetables, fat side up. Spread the onion-and-chile jam in an even layer over the top of the brisket and pour the hot stock into the pan around the meat. Cover the roasting pan and braise the brisket for about 4 1/2 hours, or until it is very tender, basting every 30 minutes.

3. Let the brisket rest in the pan juices for 30 minutes, then transfer it to a carving board. Strain the pan juices into a saucepan, pressing on the vegetables, then skim off the fat. Add the soy sauce, season with pepper and bring to a simmer. Thinly slice the brisket across the grain and serve with the pan juices.

Make Ahead

The recipe can be prepared through Step 2 and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Reheat before proceeding. Serve with noodles.

Source: Food & Wine

Have a great day