Almost Human, Tattoo Removal.

I don’t watch very much TV so when the Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavenaugh, recommended a programme called Almost Human I thought I would try and see it. Didn’t appear to be on TV in this part of Canada, so I got the episodes from iTunes. I ended up having the whole of season 1. Now I am looking for season 2 and it isn’t happening. Fox decided they didn’t want to take up an option. Although there is a buzz that the option may still be taken up. I do hope so as I loved the show. There is an article about Karl Urban, the human cop, where he says he will be relieved not to do any more TV as he saw so little of his family during the filming and would certainly not take any more TV roles if he could help it. If you have never seen the series, I highly recommend it. The show is set in the future (actually I think they should have dated it further ahead) where technology is so advanced police are having trouble keeping up so they have adopted the use of robots to act as partners. However, Urban’s character Kennex can’t stand the regular robots and ends up with a DRN (Dorian), they were all decommissioned but were built with a synthetic soul which his Captain feels would be a good match for Kennex as he is “almost human”. I also think Karl Urban is a good looking guy. Dishy - is that word used any more?

An amusing, to me, headline that the tattoo removal business is booming. All the kids who went and got cool tattoos are now finding, years later, that they are no longer cool. Personally I have never liked them and always figure the people that have them are nuts. I understand it is pretty painful to have them removed too. I guess these people who cover themselves in tattoos wouldn’t want to go through the pain. I once met a woman who was covered in them, it turned out she was a daughter-in-law of a friend. She ended up at a pig pickin’ we did. She was heard complaining that all the people locally stared at her – none of us were surprised. I just cannot comprehend anyone doing this to themselves.

I have one bugaboo here, this sounds like a good dish, but everyone seems to think if you add feta to a dish that makes it Greek. It doesn’t. I have spent a lot of time in Greece and their food is delicious but does not include feta all the time. In fact, not even frequently. However, in this case, I love shrimp, I love risotto so what more can I ask.

Greek Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto

Sweet onion, rich feta cheese, and fresh dill provide dynamic flavor in this easy weeknight meal. The hardest part about making risotto is the constant stirring, so grab a magazine or plan to call out homework while you let this dish simmer, about 30 minutes. Balance the plate with a lively fennel salad.

Cooking Light MAY 2009

• Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups risotto)

Ingredients

• 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 3/4 cups chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion (about 2 medium)
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 3/4 cups (1/2-inch) slices asparagus (about 8 ounces)

• 1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Bring broth and 1 cup water to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in rice and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 30 minutes total).
3. Stir in asparagus and shrimp; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in cheese and remaining ingredients.
Fennel salad: Combine 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds, and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl. Add 6 cups torn romaine lettuce and 1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb; toss well to coat.

Have a great day

Wednesday, Wikimedia, TV Show

For some reason, Tuesday night I didn’t sleep worth a damn, maybe knowing I had to get up particularly early and not being 100% sure I had set the alarm on my CPAP machine correctly. Anyway, we were out most of the morning at the hospital, then I was cooking in the afternoon and finally napping a long time. With the result I didn’t achieve much, and certainly didn’t read anyone else’s blogs, so I have to do some catching up. Not today though, as I said yesterday, doctor’s again this morning, then bowling this afternoon. I’d better be out of the doctor’s in time to go bowling.

I made a small donation to Wikimedia Wednesday too, I believe they are doing a good job providing us with free, advertising free, information. They have a relatively small staff and yet their information is in almost 300 languages spread across the world which is pretty good I think. Most of their information is accurate and they do provide us with a way of correcting any information which we ourselves know to be incorrect. If you use Wikimedia as often as I do, I urge you to support them with a donation to ensure they keep up their good work
.
I picked up some episodes of Almost Human on iTunes the other night, so am hoping to watch them soon. At least there are no ads to spoil the flow of the show.

This is a recipe from Kraft, but it sounded like a good one for the season.

Bri Emery’s Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

photo by: Kraft

What You Need 

3 pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup  sugar
1 tsp.  vanilla
1/2 tsp.  lemon zest
2 eggs
3/4 cup  sliced strawberries
16 honey graham crackers, finely crushed
3 tubs  (7 oz. each) BAKER'S Dark Semi-Sweet Dipping Chocolate

Make It

HEAT oven to 325ºF.
LINE 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended; pour into prepared pan.
BAKE 1 hour or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 2 hours.
USE foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan. Crumble cheesecake into large bowl. Add strawberries; mix well. Shape into 48 balls, using about 1 Tbsp. for each. Roll in graham crumbs until evenly coated. Place on parchment-covered rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate 1 hour.
MELT chocolate as directed on package. Dip cheesecake balls, 1 at a time, in chocolate; return to baking sheet. Sprinkle with any remaining graham crumbs. Refrigerate 1 hour or until chocolate is firm.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Special Extra
Cut 4 additional strawberries into wedges. Use to garnish chocolate-dipped balls before sprinkling with any remaining graham crumbs and refrigerating as directed.
How to Soften Cream Cheese
Place completely unwrapped package of cream cheese in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 10 sec. or just until softened. Add 15 sec. for each additional package of cream cheese.

Have a great day

Almost Human. Palaces. Cleaning.

The Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavenaugh, recommended Almost Human so last night I watched it. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it hadn’t been full of advertising. It was an hour long programme and if I got a full half hour of actual programme I will be very surprised. However, what I watched, I enjoyed. So thanks Alex, and maybe I will struggle through the ads and watch it again. I thought Karl Urban as Detective John Kennex was positively dishy. Don’t tell Matt.

Afterwards we both watched another episode of “The Queen’s Castles” which was about Holyroodhouse Palace. A palace about which I knew very little. A lot of its history was centred around Mary Queen of Scots and her tragic existence. It centred very much in the continuous battle between the Scots and the English which was finally resolved after the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Although the Scots still clung to the Stuart cause for many a long year and I think deep down, there are Scots today who would welcome a Stuart on the throne. The name of the palace came from the Abbey, now in ruins, which is close by and Holyrood means Holy Cross.

In passing I will mention my bowling was mostly disastrous although Matt’s was not.

My cleaning lady problem is causing me a headache. Monday my original girl came in to clean bringing a friend with her who has been her support for a while. But, I still don’t know if she is ready to come back to work or not, so I still don’t know what to do about the couple who are coming to me on the 6th. If they do come it’s gonna  be a pretty pricey couple of weeks for me as far as cleaning goes. I don’t want to tell them not to come at the last minute though. I really don’t know what to do. I would rather keep our original girl, she is very good, we are friends, and I don’t have to explain what I want done any more. She promised she would drop in later in the week. I’ve got bald patches from tearing out my hair.

We used to do a recipe similar to this years ago, always delicious, when I saw this one on Cooking.com, I thought it was an ideal appetiser for the season.

Bacon-Wrapped Water Chestnuts

Contributed By: Diana,

Make these simple appetizers and they'll be the first to run out at a gathering. Just 5 ingredients make these delicious treats!

INGREDIENTS
2 cans whole water chestnuts
12 oz bacon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chilli sauce
1/4 cup mayonnaise

DIRECTIONS
Wrap drained chestnuts in 1/3 piece of bacon and fasten with a toothpick. Place in two foil lined pie plates or cake pans. Mix brown sugar, chilli sauce and mayonnaise.Pour over chestnuts and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until bacon is crisp.

Have a great day