Anniversary, TEACH,

Ladydog just took this Anniversary picture of us. If you look closely, there is a glass of fizz on the right hand side.

I think it's quite funny having Subs and a glass of fizz. Enjoyed it though.

Later we went to a restaurant we hadn't been to for years. Almost forgotten it. The Golf Steakhouse. I was determined to have a restaurant fillet. There are a lot of stairs at this restaurant. Having got to the top I was then told they have a service elevator they use for people with problems. I didn't know that. We were shown to our table and I ordered my fillet, Matt had the same. When we first got there it was pretty noisy and there was some kid down the other end of the room screaming. Just what I enjoy when I go out. We both had a chicken vegetable soup. Not bad and then I went to the salad bar. Matt of course didn't walk that far. He didn't want me to get him anything. Eventually the steak came, it was delicious. However, they also put the ubiquitous broccoli on our plates which put Matt right off, especially as it was - as so often - too crisp. He then told me at least four times that he was never coming back. We both had dessert and then headed home being taken downstairs in the elevator. I guess he won't remember he doesn't want to go there again, but it is a bit offputting. I did think seriously of the Red Lobster but, as I said, we are lunching there tomorrow with a bowling group. Wish now I had gone there.

I don't perfectly understand why restaurants can produce much better steaks that I can buy. I can spend a small fortune on them but they are never the same quality.

Driving home was a bit of a nightmare as it was getting pretty dark  - I am obviously now in the "can't drive at night" brigade. It seemed to me everyone had their headlights on full beam.

Anyway, so here's to another 47 years LOL. Forgot, we had a lovely card from ladydog together with some flowers and fresh corn. Yummy, thanks. Maybe I'll have some corn for breakfast.

Nearly forgot to write that I had been to my TEACH session at the Alzheimer Society this morning. Today we were talking about resources. I seem to have already made use of many of them. However, I was advised to call the LHIN to see what I was entitled to. Local Health Integrated Network, I think. They are always around when you come out of hospital or something, but not too sure of the other services they can offer me.

Kevin Lynch always comes up with some good recipes. I don't like to keep swiping them, but they are so delicious looking.

Thai Peanut Pumpkin Turkey Curry

A fall harvest themed Thai style turkey curry with pumpkin, apple and cranberries!

1 Tbs oil
1/4 cup red curry paste*
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup pureed apple (or apple sauce)
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 Tbs lime juice (~1 lime)
2 Tbs fish sauce
2 Tbs palm or brown sugar
1 lb turkey (or chicken), cut into bite sized pieces
4 cups pumpkin, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 red pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup peas
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup peanuts, coarsely chopped

1. Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the curry paste and cook until fragrant, about a minute.

2. Add the coconut milk, chicken broth, pumpkin puree, peanut butter, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, pumpkin and turkey and simmer until the pumpkin is tender and the turkey is cooked, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Add the red pepper and cranberries and simmer until the pepper is tender, about 5 minutes before mixing in the peas and cilantro and removing from the heat.

4. Option: For One-Pan: Make this a one-pan meal by adding 1 cup of rice and 2 cups broth or water (or 8 ounces of pasta and 2 1/4 cups broth or water) to the sauce in step 2 and simmer, covered, until cooked, about 20 minutes (or 12 minutes for pasta).

5. Note: Different curry pastes have different concentrations so use what yours recommends as a starting place.

6. Option: Instead of browning the turkey, simmer it with the pumpkin to cook it and save some time.

7. Option: Use leftover cooked turkey!

8. Option: Replace the peanut butter and peanuts with pecan butter and pecans to make it more festive!

Servings: 6

Author: Kevin Lynch
Source: Closet Cooking

Have a great day
 

Time, Bowling, Laptop, Anniversary, Fried Veg.

Seem to be having a time problem lately. I have emails I haven't replied to yet, blogs I haven't yet read, Spanish lessons I haven't done. Oy vey. However, we did get to the bowling alley this afternoon and much to my surprise, Matt bowled all three games. He even beat me on the second game. Mind you I was bowling appallingly badly until the last game. However, despite getting a pretty good score on that game, my average dropped a point. Frustrating to say the least. For those of you who know bowling, I got 5 spares in 6 frames in my last game. Helped my score considerably.

I have been spending some time trying to sort out stuff on my new laptop. I was a tad annoyed, I could not get my mouse touch pad turned off (easy to do on my last laptop) so talked to Hewlett Packard. They ended up taking over the machine and then having done a few things, they decided to reset the laptop. I gave them permission knowing I would lose some programmes. They still haven't really finished and last night I was up late with the Intuit people trying to install Quicken again. I also needed to install Dropbox but that won't talk to my PC now. No idea why. I will be getting on to HP so they can finish whatever they left undone. I am not a very happy camper.

Dithering about where to go for our Anniversary Dinner on Wednesday (47 years). I was a bit put off by the Charcoal Steakhouse because of the parking debacle. We have never been to Mandarin in the evening and we also thought of going to Red Lobster 'cos I do love crab. However, we are going to RL for lunch with the bowling travel league on Thursday. Decisions, decisions.

Having eaten Dragon Broccoli at Red Lobster I have been looking into battered vegetables and found a couple. This one appealed to me, might try it for tomorrow. A lot simpler than some of the recipes I found. Although I did find a broccoli recipe which is stirred into Aunt Jemima Batter. Didn't sound bad.

Air-Fried Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

1 head (large) Cauliflower, Cut Into 1 1/2-inch Florets
8 Tbs Melted Butter
1/2 cup Cayenne Pepper Sauce (Like Frank's Wing Sauce), Plus More For Dipping
1-1/2 cup Almond Flour Or Bread Crumbs
2 tsp No-salt Seasoning (optional)
1 cup Ranch Dressing, Or As Needed, For Dipping

1. Turn oven to a “keep warm” setting or preheat it to the lowest temperature and then turn the oven off.

2. Put cauliflower florets in a large bowl.

3. Mix melted butter and cayenne pepper sauce in a small bowl and pour it over the cauliflower. Mix everything together well.

4. Combine almond flour or bread crumbs and seasoning (if using) in another large bowl or a large resealable plastic bag. Transfer cauliflower into the bowl (or bag) with the breading. Use tongs or a slotted spoon so you don’t end up pouring the remaining sauce from the bottom of the cauliflower bowl. Toss (or shake) the cauliflower to coat it in the breading.

5. Transfer half of the coated cauliflower to your air fryer, putting them both on the bottom and upper rack.

6. Set air fryer to 350ºF and cook for 12–15 minutes, until cauliflower has golden brown spots and is cooked through, but not mushy.

7. Put the cooked cauliflower in a warm oven to keep warm. Cook the rest of the prepped cauliflower the same way.

8. Make the buffalo ranch dipping sauce by adding a desired amount of wing sauce to the ranch dressing, to taste. Serve the buffalo cauliflower with the dipping sauce.

Servings: 5

Source: Pioneer Woman

Have a great day
 

Water Shutoff, Pickles, Anniversary, Bowling,

Matt is due for a severe thumping, having got up at the crack of dawn (well it seemed like it) and showered well before the water was supposed to be shut off, we eventually left to go bowling and I saw the notice that he had read two or three days ago - it said 12 - 4 pm. Grrrrr. We were both hanging around Monday morning with nothing much to do waiting to go bowling. I did pickle some cucumber slices but that didn't take too long.

The pickles I have been making lately involve reheating the pickling fluid and adding fresh spices to the jar then whatever I want to pickle is stuffed in as full as I can get. Boiling juice is poured over, lid is put on tight and when cool put in fridge. This stuff would not last like pickles done in a hot water bath, but they suit me down to the ground and I am the only one who eats them.

I had almost forgotten that today, Sept. 25th, is our wedding anniversary - 46 years - unbelievable really. So I booked a table at the Red Lobster again, guess what, they sent free dessert coupons because it was our anniversary. We'll be there for lunch again on Thursday with the travel league crowd.

There were only 3 of us on our team today so it went a bit quicker than usual which is not good for me. I ended up bowling the first game, terrible, sitting out and using a bowl ahead for my second game and then bowling fairly well for my third game. Don't know if we won any points at all as we left before the other team had finished.

Having posted a fairly complicated recipe for French (Canadian) Onion Soup yesterday, here is a much simpler recipe which I got from my mother many years ago.

French Onion Soup

1 tbs butter                                                                      1 2 lbs onions, chopped

1 sm tsp curry powder                                                     2 pints chicken stock (5 cups)

1 tbs Marmite (or beef extract which can be                  Salt and pepper to taste

found in the US)                                                              Croutons

Cheddar cheese

Melt the butter and soften the onions in it, adding the curry powder. Add the chicken stock, marmite and seasonings. Simmer 20 mins. To serve, sprinkle croutons over soup in bowls and grate cheese over the top. You can pop the bowls under the broiler to brown the cheese if you wish.

Have a great day

Hip, Bowling, Anniversary,

I didn't write a post yesterday as I really had nothing to write about other than whining about my hip. This morning, Friday, I am going to the orthopaedic surgeon at 8:45 a.m. (what a time!!!) for an injection which, hopefully will get rid of my problems. I did think of just posting a recipe like I do on Saturdays, but obviously didn't do so in the end.

Not much has changed. I tried bowling on Thursday afternoon. I played the first game, it hurt, and not only that I didn't bowl very well. Matt didn't bowl very well for all three games so he wasn't very happy.

The TV is full of the US elections which, of course, doesn't interest me very much of course. We Canadians are all waiting for the influx of Americans after the November election LOL.

I was thinking of cooking pork chops on Saturday and this recipe makes me decide to do so. It will be an anniversary meal although our anniversary is actually on Sunday.

Pork Chops and Couscous with Tomato-Caper Sauce

My Recipes

2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 3/4 cups unsalted chicken stock, divided
1 cup uncooked whole-wheat Israeli couscous
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
3/4 tsp kosher salt, divided
2 Tbs chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
5 tsp unsalted butter
4 (4-oz.) boneless, center-cut pork chops
1/4 cup sliced shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 thyme sprigs
3/4 cup chopped ripe tomatoes
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 1/2 Tbs drained capers

1. Heat oil and turmeric in a medium saucepan over medium-high for 2 minutes or until turmeric begins to bubble. Add 1 1/2 cups stock, couscous, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in parsley.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Sprinkle pork with remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add pork, shallots, garlic, and thyme to pan; cook 4 minutes. Turn pork; add tomatoes, wine, and capers. Cook 2 minutes.Place pork on a plate.

3. Add remaining 1/4 cup stock to pan; cook 1 minute. Discard thyme sprigs. Serve sauce with pork and couscous.

Servings: 4


Have a great day
 

Anniversary, Recipe Trial.

As you will have read, it was our 43rd wedding anniversary on Friday. We basically don't like to go out at the weekend, we figure the service is not as good and the restaurants more crowded. Not always true I know, but very often. So, we decided to have a kind of grazing meal so I didn't really have to cook. We ended up with 10 minute Risotto, Smoked Salmon dressed with thinly sliced onions and capers followed by Brie with crackers, the whole accompanied by a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

Having posted the 10 minute Risotto recipe the other day, I decided

I would try it. But then I thought I had bitten off more than I wanted to chew. Eventually it turned out to be good though, but it needed at least another 4 minutes in the microwave and a couple of tablespoons more stock than called for in the recipe. At one point I thought the rice was never going to cook, It was very crisp for the whole time specified. Luckily the extra 4 minutes did the trick. Not even sure, if I make it again, I might add yet another minute. I decided to add mushrooms and prosciutto which were good too. We both enjoyed it. I love asparagus risotto (surprise, surprise) and want to try the recipe with that in the future, but the mushroom and Prosciutto was a good combination. It was better than standing stirring for a long time which is the object of the exercise.

Here is a nice simple, but tasty, way of cooking chicken. I keep home made herbes de Provence in my stores.

Roast Provençal Chicken

Bon Apétit - Mary Frances Heck

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup herbes de Provence
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 3 1/2–4-pound chicken
• Lemon wedges (for serving)

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 475°. Mix garlic, herbes de Provence, oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub mixture all over inside and outside of chicken. Place on a wire rack set inside a roasting pan.
• Roast chicken until skin begins to brown, 25–30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thigh registers 165°, 25–30 minutes longer. Let rest 10 minutes before carving. Serve with lemon wedges.
• DO AHEAD: Chicken can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool. Cover and chill; bring to room temperature before serving.

Have a great weekend.
 

Anniversary, Fall.

Today Matt and I have been married for 42 years. Who knew it would last so long or we’d even still be alive and kicking. I guess our celebration will be lunch at the Red Lobster before going bowling with our Travel League. I think we will have eaten enough for lunch that we won’t want a big supper. Talking of lunch I have just discovered that our favourite Chinese, the Mandarin, is offering 50% off for seniors on October 1. Guess what?

Wednesday morning I looked out of our bedroom window and thought this tree was gorgeous so went on the balcony to take a picture. In the sunlight it almost twinkled with a bronze tinge. I guess my itty bitty camera can’t catch that properly.

Been thinking that we should take a couple of days and head up north to see the Fall colours. Haven’t done that in a while. Last time we arrived and all was great, then it rained heavily overnight and all the leaves ended on the ground.

I love Pho, this is an interesting version of it, they are usually made with beef I believe, I am no expert. I decided to leave in all the cooking times and nutrition information. Star anise I have, but some of the vegetables I will have to buy specially. I really ought to learn how to make Hot and Sour Soup too, it is my very favourite Chinese soup. Mind you if I could make it I guess it wouldn’t be so special when we go to the restaurant.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Pho

From EatingWell

Chicken Pho, a classic Vietnamese soup, is a perfect recipe for a slow cooker. The chicken and seasonings of star anise, cloves and ginger simmer all day in the crock pot, welcoming you home with an alluring aroma. Serve with the essential garnishes for pho soup—fresh herbs, bean sprouts, chiles and lime—and let everyone top their own. Serve chile-garlic sauce for those who want more heat.

6 servings, about 2 cups each | Active Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 4 1/2 or 8 1/2 hours

Ingredients

• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth (two 32-ounce boxes)
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 10 whole star anise (see Tip)
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bone-in chicken breasts (about 2 1/2 pounds total), skin removed, trimmed
• 6 ounces wide rice noodles
• 6 cups chopped bok choy
• 2 cups mung bean sprouts
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 fresh Thai chile or serrano, thinly sliced
• 1 lime, cut into 6 wedges

Preparation

1. Combine broth, brown sugar, fish sauce, star anise, cloves, ginger and cinnamon stick in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add chicken breasts, meat-side down. Cover and cook on High for 4 hours (or on Low for 8 hours).
2. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Remove spices and discard. Add noodles and bok choy to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on High for 30 minutes.
3. Remove the chicken from the bone and shred with two forks. When the noodles are tender, stir in the shredded chicken. Serve bowls of soup with bean sprouts, basil, mint, cilantro, sliced chile and lime wedges on the side so everyone can add their own toppings.

Nutrition

Per serving : 362 Calories; 6 g Fat; 2 g Sat; 2 g Mono; 75 mg Cholesterol; 40 g Carbohydrates; 39 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 645 mg Sodium; 998 mg Potassium
 

• To prep ahead: Combine seasonings with broth; prep chicken; cover and refrigerate separately for up to 1 day. | Equipment: 5- to 6-quart slow cooker
• Tip: Add star anise, named for its star-shaped pods, to Asian-inspired dishes to lend distinctive licorice-like flavor. Look for it with other bulk spices in natural-foods stores.

Have a great day

Grouse, Anniversary, Vincenzo’s.

Well after all my grousing yesterday, I do feel better today. What an odd word grouse is, do Grouse grouse? I just did some Googling and Wiki tells me the grouse with which I am familiar is the Red Grouse which is considered a game bird and as every Britisher of my age group knows, is hunted from August 12th or The Glorious Twelfth. I have never eaten a grouse and understand it is a similar bird to the Ptarmigan and the only thing I know about that is that in The Clan of the Cave Bear, it was a favourite of their Mog Ur when cooked stuffed with its own eggs. I imagine Red Grouse are very good eating from all I have heard and the amount which are shot each year. However, I still haven’t found a connection between the bird and grousing or complaining.

Today the old man and I celebrate 41 years of wedded bliss, or something, and have decided to go to the Boa Nova Rodizio Grill which calls itself a Portuguese restaurant with a Brazilian twist; in Kitchener. You know; where they bring the skewers of fire roasted meats to your table and carve off what you require. Delicious. There is an hors d’oeuvres bar and then when you are ready you eat the barbecued meats and if you wish you can finish with barbecued pineapple. I just realised today that in fact the pineapple isn’t considered dessert and they have desserts as well. They gave Matt a cheesecake with a candle for his birthday some years ago, so I guess I should have known. Our anniversary is yet another of those celebrations where I drink fizz, or wines made by the methode champenoise. Sparkling wine anyway.

This is getting like being on vacation because Thursday we will be eating at the Red Lobster prior to our first Travel League outing this season. Now where can we go Friday? I gained a few pounds whilst away so I actually have to work at losing them again. Restaurants don’t help.

Think I mentioned I brought back some Kimchi from NC. Meant to get more. Matt doesn’t like it but I adore it. I guess I could make my own, but don’t really have room in an apartment for storage of such things. I decided to call my favourite deli store, Vincenzo’s and lo and behold, they have it. Not only that, I thought I would ask about horseradish and they assure me they have one which brings tears to the eyes. They are a good place to shop so I believe them and will try it out. Now we have a different bowling alley, we don’t pass them each week so have to make a special trip.

This recipe comes from Kevin at Closet Cooking who is also a fan of Kimchi and does make his own. Actually, re-reading it, maybe I will have a go at making my own. Not sure if I can get gochugaru, maybe I should check in Vincenzo’s for that too.

Kimchi

Ingredients:
1 medium napa cabbage (about 2-3 pounds)
1/2 cup salt
1 bunch green onions (sliced into 1 inch pieces)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 inch ginger (grated)
1 cup gochugaru (Korean red chili flakes)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce for a vegetarian version)

Directions:
1. Cut the napa cabbage in half, remove the core and slice the cabbage into 1 inch wide strips.
2. Place a layer of cabbage into a large bowl and sprinkle some salt onto the cabbage. Repeat until all of the cabbage is in the bowl and salted.
3. Let the cabbage sit in the salt for a few hours.
4. Rinse the salt from the cabbage.
5. Mix the cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, gochugaru and fish sauce in the large bowl.
6. Place the cabbage mixture into a sealable container, leave a couple of inches at the top.
7. Seal the container and let ferment at room temperature for 2-3 days.
8. Place the container in the fridge and let ferment for a couple more days.

Have a great day

Anniversary Day and Dinner.

Sorry didn’t post a blog earlier, but didn’t get home til pretty late last night and spent most of the day celebrating in one way or the other. After all, its not often one reaches 40 years of marriage.
The first thing that happened yesterday, the young woman who is a receptionist at our doctor’s turned up to collect the things I brought her from North Carolina which were boiled peanuts and grits. Think I mentioned Matt tried boiled peanuts for the first time ever last weekend and thought they were the most disgusting thing he had ever put in his mouth. Funny. Not my favourite thing to eat, but certainly not that bad. The receptionist hails from Georgia so was almost born and bred eating them. I was concerned about how they would travel, hope they were alright, guess I will find out, going to the doc on Friday and she will be working that day she says.

Then, as our apartment was freezing, well I was, the apartment wasn’t helping. Called in the super (actually he is the assistant, we don’t have a super at the moment as our last one left in a bang the day we left for NC) he says the zone valve, whatever that is, isn’t opening properly so has to call in a repair man. So I carried on freezing. Shortly after the Rogers Cable guy came in to change our ‘box’ which had been causing the TV to freeze and pixillate. By this time we were sitting drinking champagne (for me) and beer (for Matt who isn’t that keen on the bubbly). Matt was worried the cable guy would think we were alcoholics so we had to explain what it was about.

In the afternoon we managed to relax for a while until it was time to get ready to go out. Went to our friend’s home in Cambridge and had a quick glass of wine before we went to the restaurant. As you will see, I was originally worried about the steps, but in fact they have wheel chair access (no I don’t have one) and an elevator round the back to the left. We were shown into a private room and were staggered to discover not a couple of friends but 6 people waiting for us. It was so nice to see all of them and that they had joined us for our celebration which one friend had thought was 25 not 40 years. She has been teased unmercifully for this. We chatted for a while and had an excellent waitress who was prepared to do whatever we required. Eventually we ordered and Matt chose a calamari dish which surprised me, I have never known him eat calamari. It was served in a tagine which was most impressive, especially when three were brought in at once. I had a parsnip and pear soup which was delicious. Matt then chose a chicken breast dish which is not shown on the menu with soft egg potatoes. Difficult to describe, but they came with quail eggs. I had boneless rack of lamb over white beans and ordered a side of golden beets which were also delicious. I would mention that there was a decent pause between courses, they were not slammed down in front of you almost before you had finished your current course. Eventually the most gorgeous looking carrot cake decorated with all kinds of fruits, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries etc. etc., was brought in with a large chocolate disk perched on top. Of course I didn’t have a camera. Several people did and I am hoping to get some pictures. I have the chocolate disk at home as well as the remaining chunk of cake (about 2 servings). We were also all given a glass of champagne, courtesy of the management which I thought was very nice of them.

I nearly forgot to mention that the cake was the gift of one couple of friends, the others all gave us wonderful certificates for local restaurants which we will certainly enjoy over the next month or two.

I want to get this posted, so hopefully I will have some pictures to share tomorrow.

To me, dumplings are such an English thing to make and eat. I can remember many meals my mother made which included dumplings and I have made a few myself over the years. Traditionally dumplings were made with suet, but in many places this is not available any more plus it isn’t the healthiest option in the world!!

Pesto Chicken Stew with Cheesy Dumplings
BBC Good Food

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 12-15 chicken thighs , skin removed, bone in
• 200g smoked bacon lardons or chopped bacon
• 1 large onion , chopped
• 4 celery sticks, chopped
• 3 leeks , chopped
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• 200ml white wine
• 1l chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 200g frozen peas
• 140g sundried tomatoes
• 140g fresh pesto
• small bunch basil , chopped

FOR THE DUMPLINGS

• 140g butter
• 250g self-raising flour
• 100g Parmesan , grated
• 50g pine nuts

1. Heat the oil in a large casserole dish. Brown the chicken until golden on all sides - you might have to do this in batches - remove the chicken from the pan as you go and set aside.
2. Add the lardons to the pan and sizzle for a few mins, then add the onion, celery and leeks, and cook over a medium heat for 8-10 mins until the vegetables have softened. Stir in the flour, season and cook for a further 2 mins.
3. Gradually stir in the wine and allow it to bubble away, then stir in the stock. Return the chicken to the pan with the bay leaves and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1½ hrs or until the chicken is tender. The stew can now be cooled and frozen if you're making ahead. Just defrost thoroughly, then gently warm through back in the pan before continuing.
4. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Add the peas, sundried tomatoes, pesto and basil to the stew.
5. To make the dumplings, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the grated cheese and add 150ml water, mixing with a cutlery knife to bring the crumbs together to form a light and sticky dough. Break off walnut-sized lumps and shape into small balls. Roll the tops of the dumplings in the pine nuts so a few stick to the outside, then place the dumplings on top of the stew and scatter with any remaining nuts. Put the dish in the oven and bake for 25 mins until the dumplings are golden brown and cooked through. Serve with mashed potato and extra veg if you like.

Matthew, Restaurants and Wedding Anniversary

There is a new storm in the offing, down below Cancun, which is called Matthew, people are already telling my Matthew to stay away. There have been two storms named Josephine over the years, but I don’t recall a Matthew before.

I got up pretty early this morning in the hope of seeing all the birds again, but no luck, I am thinking I looked too intrusive so they stayed away. I think I caught a glimpse of a Fox Sparrow and I could certainly hear lots of birds  never of all kinds but didn’t see any closely enough to try and take a picture.

This afternoon we are going bowling again and I hope I do better than last week. This evening we are going to The Olive Garden which is new in Morehead City. It is part of a big chain of Italian restaurants although we have never eaten in one before. http://tinyurl.com/24gdq2v  

We tend to chose more family style Italian restaurants when we are going out to eat.

Tomorrow we are travelling for a while to go for lunch at The Country Squire to which we have also never been but a couple of friends are very enthusiastic and really want us to go there with them. It will be our Anniversary celebration. 38 years tomorrow.  You can see their page at http://www.countrysquireinn.com/ and check out the menus.