Coincidences, Car, Sleepy, Supper, Knee pain,

We watched a Pavarotti DVD the other night. I started wondering how old he was when he died. Discovered he was born the same year as Matt and he was about 72 when he died. Then I realised, I had forgotten, that he died of pancreatic cancer which is the same thing as suffered by Alex Trebek of Jeopardy fame.

The tow truck came good and early this morning. I went down and he took my walker and put it on the back then I tried to get into the truck. Talk about a high step. Got my foot on the running board and my knee collapsed. Ouch. Managed to sort myself out and used the other leg to step onto. Then we had to drive into the underground garage with lots of bumps and clanks. Finally got there and he had to push the car out of the parking spot and then attach it to the truck. What a palaver. Then he had to get both truck and car out of the garage and up the ramp to the exit. Took forever with lots of manoeuvering and him jumping out to check stuff every few minutes. Eventually he got it and out we went. He then had to get out of people's way. Finally I paid him the family jewels ($169 apparently one pays more for a small tow truck, although it was very difficult for him to get the car out, I sure couldn't have done it ) and got out. Off he went with my poor little car. The garage said they couldn't do it straight away, which I expected, and so there wasn't much point me going there.

Got back into the apartment and Matt was right out of it. I had to end up yelling at him to wake him. I honestly started to wonder if he was still with me. I am beginning to think that is how he will go, asleep and never wake up.

I got out some bean soup for supper so I don't have to worry about it. Thank goodness for freezers. I ended up serving it with Red Lobster biscuits which I had left over. I heat them in the air fryer and they come out very well.

I have been in a fair amount of pain this afternoon and evening, it's at the back of the knee which collapsed on me this morning. I am wondering what damage I did. It hurt at the time. I tried putting some Cannabis salve on it which helped, but I am a bit concerned.

Phoned the garage near closing time and they said they had managed to start the car but once they turned it off they couldn't re-start it. Don't yet know what's wrong. We have run out of family jewels!!

This is a delicious salad.

Asparagus Salad with Hearts of Palm and Cherry Tomatoes

1 bunch of asparagus, steamed
1 can of hearts of palm
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 green onions, sliced
1 small shallot, diced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1.5 Tbs red wine vinegar
1.5 Tbs white wine vinegar
1 tsp gluten free dijon mustard
6 Tbs olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

1. Cook asparagus til al dente. Chil in ice bath or cold water. Chop into bite sized pieces cut diagonally. Place in large bowl. Cut each stalk of hearts of palm into 4 pieces and then each into 1 inch pieces at a diagonal.  Add to bowl.  Add your halved cherry tomatoes.  Add in sliced green onions.  Add in chopped shallots.

2. In a separate bowl, add in vinegars, mustard and a pinch of salt. Slowly pour in olive oil and whisk to emulsify.  Add in pepper and adjust ingredients to desired taste. Pour dressing over salad and mix.  Add lemon juice as desired.

3. Serve into bowls and enjoy!

4. This recipe would go great with some anchovies on top!  Also, if you can find jarred hearts of palm, please use those instead of canned!  Unless labeled, cans can be lined with BPA (toxic!!).  But some brands, like Native Forest, guarantee that their cans are BPA free so do some research before buying your canned foods.  Can also substitute hearts of palm with artichoke hearts!

Servings: 3

Source: Food for Rabbits

Have a great day, stay well, stay safe.
 

Air Fryer. Asparagus, Steamer Basket,

I started off trying to find who exactly makes the Toastmaster Air Fryer. I haven't managed to solve the problem yet because I was being picked up to go to Mandarin. Matt said he couldn't manage it so our friends took me instead. I took Matt some Egg Rolls and Spring Rolls which was just as well as he had slept right through lunch!! He then ate them, a granola bar, an apple and a banana. He sure can eat and he never gains an ounce.

Next I went and picked up the car and went to the grocery store to pick up our order for the day. Whilst waiting I phoned the asparagus farm.  They had some for me and I had to be there before 6. Took the shopping home and lugged it upstairs. Discovered that my new steamer basket had arrived, then went over to Barrie's Asparagus Farm and bought a bag of the lovely green stuff and two gorgeous tomatoes - great for making salads with. I also have a can of Hearts of Palm and a good recipe for a salad with asparagus..We had some with our supper tonight but tomorrow, I will have time to do them properly.

So, busy day. Still got to find out who makes/repairs air fryer as it is cutting off at about 3 minutes for some reason, and not every time. Eventually opened my new basket too, checked it for size and it fits OK. Not terribly big of course, but then I have a 3 qt. On the comments page when I bought it, someone said the legs weren't long enough. Actually it doesn't have legs, has a rim all round it so I inserted it and chucked in a cup of water. Its fine. Stays below the basket. Yesterday, without the basket, I cooked up a load of chicken bones and veg and the result is a gorgeous jelly which I still have to deal with. I was glad to have leftovers to use for supper.

Now I'm not sure whether to use the large tomatoes or the grape. Decisions, decisions. I also only use white wine vinegar, don't keep the red.

Asparagus Salad with Hearts of Palm and Cherry Tomatoes

1 bunch of asparagus, steamed
1 can of hearts of palm
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 green onions, sliced
1 small shallot, diced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1.5 Tbs red wine vinegar
1.5 Tbs white wine vinegar
1 tsp gluten free dijon mustard
6 Tbs olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

1. Cook asparagus til al dente. Chil in ice bath or cold water. Chop into bite sized pieces cut diagonally. Place in large bowl. Cut each stalk of hearts of palm into 4 pieces and then each into 1 inch pieces at a diagonal.  Add to bowl.  Add your halved cherry tomatoes.  Add in sliced green onions.  Add in chopped shallots.

2. In a separate bowl, add in vinegars, mustard and a pinch of salt. Slowly pour in olive oil and whisk to emulsify.  Add in pepper and adjust ingredients to desired taste. Pour dressing over salad and mix.  Add lemon juice as desired.

3. Serve into bowls and enjoy!

4. This recipe would go great with some anchovies on top!  Also, if you can find jarred hearts of palm, please use those instead of canned!  Unless labeled, cans can be lined with BPA (toxic!!).  But some brands, like Native Forest, guarantee that their cans are BPA free so do some research before buying your canned foods.  Can also substitute hearts of palm with artichoke hearts!

Servings: 3

Source: Food for Rabbits



Have a great day
 

Einstein the Parrot, Steaks, Bowling, Road Works,

Sorry no blog yesterday, life caught up with me.

One of the bowling alley owners breeds birds and he recommended this to me. I hope you enjoy it too.



We had our expensive steaks for dinner on Saturday. I didn't do anything special to them and I got no complaints about the meat being tough so I guess if we want a good fillet, I will have to go to the Victoria St. Market. Actually, it wasn't a whole heap more expensive I decided.

About the only thing good you could say about my bowling on Monday was that I broke 100 on every game and gradually went up each time but never got a very high score. I don't think I have ever bowled so many gutter balls. Matt had a really good game at the end. Last time we will be able to bowl on a Monday until September. From now on it is Wednesday and Thursday. Even thought the league finishes in August, Matt and I will still bowl on a Wednesday and Thursday until the Winter league begins again.

After bowling on Monday we went to the asparagus farm. Had to try yet another route. Our original route, they have a bridge up for 2 years, now the new route we tried for a couple of weeks or so they have closed part of to put in a roundabout. They have gone nuts about roundabouts in this area lately. Used not to be any when we first came here, now they seem to be all over the place.  Persuaded a bowling friend to try farm fresh asparagus so got some for her. She won't get it til Thursday but it will still be better than the stuff from the store.

I know I am fanatical about asparagus, but I am almost as fanatical about Hearts of Palm. I love them although they are not cheap to buy. This is a delicious salad and having recalled it I think I will get some Hearts of Palm when shopping today and make it for supper tonight. I am also getting a rotisserie chicken to have tonight and then to turn the rest into Leftover Chicken Pie filling.

Asparagus Salad with Hearts of Palm and Cherry Tomatoes

1 bunch of asparagus, steamed
1 can of hearts of palm
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 green onions, sliced
1 small shallot, diced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1.5 Tbs red wine vinegar
1.5 Tbs white wine vinegar
1 tsp gluten free Dijon mustard
6 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook asparagus til al dente. Chill in ice bath or cold water. Chop into bite sized pieces cut diagonally. Place in large bowl. Cut each stalk of hearts of palm into 4 pieces and then each into 1 inch pieces at a diagonal.  Add to bowl.  Add your halved cherry tomatoes.  Add in sliced green onions.  Add in chopped shallots.

2. In a separate bowl, add in vinegars, mustard and a pinch of salt. Slowly pour in olive oil and whisk to emulsify.  Add in pepper and adjust ingredients to desired taste. Pour dressing over salad and mix.  Add lemon juice as desired.

3. Serve into bowls and enjoy!

Note: This recipe would go great with some anchovies on top!  Also, if you can find jarred hearts of palm, please use those instead of canned!  Unless labeled, cans can be lined with BPA (toxic!!).  But some brands, like Native Forest, guarantee that their cans are BPA free so do some research before buying your canned foods.  Can also substitute hearts of palm with artichoke hearts!

Servings: 3

Source: Food for Rabbits

Have a great day
 

Teeth, Larding, Cloud Eggs, Grandma Dragon Day, Charles III

Hey, I get my new teeth today, hurrah. I will be going to the dentist at 9:30 and will be flashing my gnashers at everyone later on LOL. I have heard so many stories from people who's dentures or partials hurt so they don't wear them. I mentioned that to the receptionist when she phoned to remind me about my appointment, she told me not to listen to such stories - easier said than done. I firmly believe that waiting to allow one's gums to heal properly and the jaw to adjust before one gets the plate is a good thing. One doesn't look very pretty, but it's worth it I think.

Reading Hilary Melton-Butcher's latest post - Answer to some queries re Aspects of British County

Rare Breeds I was thinking about her comment that people preferred their meat and therefore their animals to have less fat which made me realise that this is a lot to do with the lack of tenderness in meats today. Once upon a  time we could deal with

this by 'larding' but this is something very few people know anything about today. The following is a Google quote Larding is the cooking technique of inserting strips or pieces of fat into a piece of meat that doesn't have much fat of its own. Fat is important in cooking, as it melts and keeps the meat from drying out. It's a myth that braising or even boiling meat will keep meat moist which then made me think, maybe I should start larding meat for Matt who finds meats very tough these days. I then figured I would, of course, need a larding needle. No, I have never done this before, but it does seem to me that it is becoming more and more necessary. Especially when even fillet steak can seem tough. Admittedly I did see some well marbled steaks at the store the other day which is unusual these days. In case you are unfamiliar with the term, marbled meats have streaks of fat running through them which helps the meat to remain tender as well as moist. We have become so worried about overweight that we have been spoiling some of our foods - not only does fat improve the texture, it also improves the taste. It may also be that store bought meat is not as well hung as from a farm or a specialty store. I still haven't bought meat at the local specialty store who advertising dry aging for their meat (other than fillet which they wet age). No not sure what that is, but dry aging you lose too much meat for it to be a good system to use on a fillet. OK I just read up on it and have added a link.

Have you heard of Cloud Eggs. I hadn't and came across them the other day and thought great, easy, I will try it. Basically you whip up egg whites as if you were making meringue. No problem, then you add some salt and some Parmesan, my beautifully fluffy egg whites became flat egg whites - in the end they became scrambled eggs. I did what the recipes said so I don't know why they died on me. I will have to do some research - I was terribly disappointed especially as the recipe looks so easy.

I hope you all had a great Mother's Day, well particularly the mothers of course. I normally don't get anything because I am only a step mother, but I am also a Grandmother to Dragons and I was thrilled to receive the following along with a delightful message.

Did any of you see Charles III on PBS Masterpiece Theatre Sunday night? Pretty powerful stuff and very well done. I do hope the family isn't like that though. Shades of Shakespeare in the dialogue.

Asparagus Salad with Hearts of Palm and Cherry Tomatoes

1 bunch of asparagus, steamed
1 can of hearts of palm
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 green onions, sliced
1 small shallot, diced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1.5 Tbs red wine vinegar
1.5 Tbs white wine vinegar
1 tsp gluten free Dijon mustard
6 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook asparagus til al dente. Chill in ice bath or cold water. Chop into bite sized pieces cut diagonally. Place in large bowl. Cut each stalk of hearts of palm into 4 pieces and then each into 1 inch pieces at a diagonal.  Add to bowl.  Add your halved cherry tomatoes.  Add in sliced green onions.  Add in chopped shallots.

2. In a separate bowl, add in vinegars, mustard and a pinch of salt. Slowly pour in olive oil and whisk to emulsify.  Add in pepper and adjust ingredients to desired taste. Pour dressing over salad and mix.  Add lemon juice as desired.

3. Serve into bowls and enjoy!

4. This recipe would go great with some anchovies on top!  Also, if you can find jarred hearts of palm, please use those instead of canned!  Unless labeled, cans can be lined with BPA (toxic!!).  But some brands, like Native Forest, guarantee that their cans are BPA free so do some research before buying your canned foods.  Can also substitute hearts of palm with artichoke hearts!

Servings: 3

Source: Food for Rabbits



Have a great day