New Book, Ultra Sound, Exercise Class, Supper,

I should mention my friend Elizabeth Seckman has just released her latest book, Hoosier Dad. I am proud to say I helped with the proofing and quite a bit of encouragement, but it is a very good book. She writes excellent romances and this one is no exception. I think I have read all her books and I certainly have copies of several of them. So, do check this new one out. If you enjoy romances I am sure you will enjoy this one.

This morning (Monday) I was awake at 5:30 and seriously considered getting up and having an Ensure before 6 but decided to get back to sleep. I eventually toddled off for my ultra sound and was extremely hungry by lunchtime. I noticed the gas prices were down this morning and thought about filling up on the way home. In the end I did it later in the day.

After filling myself up with fuel, I went downstairs to exercise class. First time since I was in hospital. I did a lot better than I expected. Almost as well as I used to. Big surprise. Different instructor these days, she certainly kept us moving. A reasonable sized class too for this building. When they first started they had two classes three times a week but not enough people took part. Pity really. Once you get into the swing of things you feel so much better.

Also went to the asparagus farm this afternoon having totally run out. I still haven't had any today, horrors. Normally I eat it every day without fail during the season. Dunno about your neck of the woods but it has been pretty chilly round here. Tim Barrie, the farmer, was saying how much they needed the sun to produce more asparagus. I thought it was cold in our apartment but one of my friends at exercise said her place was less than 70°F this afternoon. Ours was about 74°F. Felt pretty chilly.

I had a cauliflower in the fridge which I wanted to use up. Had leftover pork loin to finish up. Having checked for IP recipes, I discovered that to make a cauliflower cheese is basically the same as making it in a saucepan, so I did just that. Made some cheese sauce, cooked the cauliflower and put them in a dish. I then covered the top with Panko crumbs mixed with a little more cheese and some Paprika and shoved it all under the broiler. Delicious. Simple enough. It looked very much like this when it was finished. Didn't think to take a picture.  No recipe as I assume you all know how to do this. If not, don't hesitate to ask how to make it.

Have to be up early again as Matt has to go to the anaesthetist on Tuesday morning. Next week he has to have his kidney stone zapped.

Asparagus with Anchovies and Garlic

4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs minced garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 bunches asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbs water
2 tsp anchovy paste or 1 anchovy fillet, minced

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add asparagus, water and anchovy; cook, stirring often, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, 5 to 6 minutes

Servings: 4
Yield: about 3/4 cup each

Source: Eating Well

Have a great day
 

Bees, Bowling Again.

A very worrying report on Thursday morning. Bees are already in crisis with great losses in their numbers and now, just in the last year, there has been a 40% loss of colonies in the US. No bees, no pollination. No pollination, no food. If man doesn’t stop using toxic chemicals, there will soon be no bees left anywhere. The badge I display at the side is not a joke.  If bees die out so will we.

Thursday was our third bowling session this week. Wasn’t sure about it, but realising that an 87 yr. old friend had bowled that many times this week, I thought I should be able to do it too. I am pretty sure the 90 yr. old, who bowls in our leagues, bowls at least twice a week. Compared to them I am a spring chicken. Later: Having now done this, it wasn’t too bad. Legs a tad tired at the end of the day. Maybe my bowling arm was tired the whole time – it didn’t seem to be working very well!!! Matt did OK again though. We were joking about one friend who’s daughter said you didn’t get much exercise at bowling. We said we should challenge her to come and play three games.

This is a very tasty and very simple way to prepare asparagus. Must admit I had forgotten about it myself. Guess what I am going to do tomorrow with my asparagus ration. Yes, I eat it every day.

Asparagus with Anchovies and Garlic

Source: Eating Well

4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs minced garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 bunches asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbs water
2 tsp anchovy paste or 1 anchovy fillet, minced

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add asparagus, water and anchovy; cook, stirring often, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, 5 to 6 minutes.

Note: Farm fresh asparagus only takes 2-3 minutes to cook.

Servings: 4
Yield: about 3/4 cup each

Have a great day

Friday

Oops, what a dingbat, I completely forgot to post this blog today, I even forgot to write it. I had the recipe ready to go but that was it. Went to the Asparagus farm in the afternoon to stock up and so far have spent the morning making asparagus soup (recipe will be coming) and Potage Parmentier (potato and leek).
Meanwhile Matt was out getting the suspension repaired – I thought the rear end was falling off. Another hole in our budget. It’s an old car so I guess it is to be expected.

Here’s another asparagus recipe for you to enjoy. Don’t be afraid of the anchovy – the taste it gives is salty and delicious. People often make the mistake of trying to eat anchovy plain, big mistake, but used in something, it adds a wonderful flavour to the food.


Asparagus with Anchovies and Garlic
Source: Eating Well


Serves: 4

4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs minced garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 bunches asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbs water
2 tsp anchovy paste or 1 anchovy fillet, minced

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add asparagus, water and anchovy; cook, stirring often, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, 5 to 6 minutes

Have a great day

Splatter Cloth, Book, Fireworks, Movie

For my birthday last year I was given the gift of a microwave splatter cloth which, I might say, is a very handy little item. However, it has a secondary use which was not intended by the makers, it is great for covering an opened wine bottle to ensure those pesky little fruit flies don’t get into it. It is a mesh cloth with little weights round the edges (the red dots). Researching it I discover Amazon.com sell them.

I have now finished Ricochet by Sandra Brown and thoroughly enjoyed it. Its not a new book, not sure where my friend got his copy but I got mine from the library. If you like detective/crime stories this fits the bill. I did guess some of it but not all. There was a pretty good twist at the end. Only trouble its left me with no desire to start anything else at the moment so I am at a loose end. Maybe I’ll go watch a movie.

You know I never thought of this before, but in Canada this last weekend it was Victoria Day when we celebrate our Royal connections by letting off lots of bangers and rockets, etc. Many of us have pets, or had them, who were absolutely terrified of all the bangs and hisses. But apparently nobody thinks of the poor wild animals who may be equally terrified of what is happening. How very inconsiderate we humans are. I even condemn myself for never having thought of it before and I am unaware of anyone else who has. Unfortunately there are a large percentage of people who, even if it was brought to their attention, probably wouldn’t give a damn anyway. Especially those who are lighting fireworks well into the small hours.

Tomorrow night a friend and I are going to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel which I have been looking forward to seeing for a while. Dame Judi Dench and Maggie Smith are in the movie and from the clips I have seen it should be a good film, unless, as has happened before, all the best bits were shown in the clips and the rest isn’t much cop. I do hope this isn’t the case. Its about a bunch of people who decide to take the inadequate pensions to a newly refurbished and considerably cheaper hotel in India. I honestly don’t see how a movie with those two ladies in it can possibly fail, I have always loved any performances they have previously given, so here’s hoping. I will obviously tell you all about it. My main post tomorrow will be as a guest post on Blogging A to Z. I hope you will check it out.

I am thinking I will make some potted shrimp this week, haven’t done so in a while, I really like them. I gave the recipe in my P is for Potted on the 18th of April. Matt and I both enjoy it. Unfortunately we can no longer get the little brown shrimp which were plentiful in England and the coasts of the Channel, they added a much better flavour. But regular shrimp work pretty well. I also need to make some more asparagus soup, we are supposed to have frozen it for later, but we have been eating it. Well its good. I need to go buy some more asparagus although I understand that is suffering from lack of rain.

Here is another asparagus recipe, simple to do, delightful to eat. The anchovies just give it a pleasant salty taste which is better than just using salt. Try it, you’ll like it. Just don’t try anchovies on their own, they are not very pleasant to eat like that.

Asparagus with Anchovies and Garlic

4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs minced garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 bunches asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbs water
2 tsp anchovy paste or 1 anchovy fillet, minced

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add asparagus, water and anchovy; cook, stirring often, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, 5 to 6 minutes

Servings: 4
Source: Eating Well

Have a great day

Cooks, Pet Door Safety, GMA Olympics.

Last night I went to deliver some Avon to a new customer who mentioned she was going up north. When I enquired where, it turns out she is going to work in a Lodge north of Thunder Bay which can only be reached by air, so then I asked "doing what", "cooking", she said. It turned out that not only did she cook but her friend, who was visiting, owns a restaurant and her mother used to cook for a restaurant in the area. Obviously, I felt right at home in this nest of cooks. Of course I had to give them my blog address. The product I delivered was Avon's Skin So Soft bath oil which has a fantastic reputation as a bug repellant and there tend to be a lot of bugs up north, particularly black fly which have a fearsome reputation and which, thankfully, I have never encountered. Skin So Soft is useful for a lot of other things they claim, if you are interested click here where there is a long list of its uses. You can even use it as a bath oil! Just caught a segment on GMA about the dangers of doggie doors to children. Apparently over 100 children have been killed because they could get through the doors. Sorry, didn't you know your child was about the same size as your dog? Don't you know children will explore and try out anything they possible can? Now the makers of the pet doors are being sued and knowing the courts, the manufacturers will probably lose. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a terrible tragedy that these children have died, but I don't think it is the manufacturer's fault but rather the parent's. If you have small children you should NOT have a doggie door and you should NOT blame the manufacturer for the lack of warning. If you want to read the article click here. Look at the picture. A German Shepherd is bigger than a lot of toddlers and owners are claiming they didn't know their children would crawl through the door putting the kid in danger. Kids can disappear in seconds, you just have to turn your back, putting a big hole in your door is, in my opinion, just asking for trouble. Why don't people take responsibility for their own stupidity or thoughtlessness. It makes me mad. Its like the case of the hot coffee some woman spilled on herself. Why should MacDonald's have to pay because she burned herself by spilling hot coffee? I have burnt myself on my stove, maybe I should sue the manufacturers of the stove - hey I never thought of that, I could make money!!!! I once broke a finger between a dinghy and the quay, now who should I sue, the boat builder or the town who owned the quay? Not my fault I was stupid enough to have my hand there. There is a challenge on with the GMA anchors this week. They are working towards a mini Olympics on Friday. Yesterday they were learning to use a trampoline, today they were limbo dancing, not too successfully I might add, not sure what the rest of the week will bring. Its pretty funny to watch the four of them. This picture shows all of them watching a professional show them the tricks of jumping. As you can see, Dianne is doubled up with laughter. They all did pretty well on the trampoline, today Robin Roberts did very well on the limbo, Sam they lifted the bar for!! Didn't see the other two. If you don't know the anchors click here to see photos of the all at the top right of the page. With this recipe, it includes anchovy paste or an anchovy fillet. Please don't say you don't like anchovies. When used in a sauce or cooked into a dish, you can hardly discern their flavour although it gives a subtle something, or as the French would say "je ne sais quoi" to whatever you are making with them. I know people who have eaten a whole anchovy before now, big mistake, that is generally not how they are supposed to be eaten and won't taste very good. Don't leave them out of this recipe, it really will spoil it. If you don't want to try it in case, come on over and I will make it for you. Asparagus with Anchovies & Garlic Source: Eating Well 4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 Tbs minced garlic 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper 2 bunches asparagus, tough ends* trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 Tbs water 2 tsp anchovy paste or 1 anchovy fillet, minced Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add asparagus, water and anchovy; cook, stirring often, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, 5 to 6 minutes Servings: 4 Yield: about 3/4 cup each * If you buy it directly from Tim Barrie's Asparagus farm (or a farm near you), you will not have any tough ends. The ends don't toughen up until the spears have been hanging around for several days. Have a great day.