Carpet, Bowling, Supper,

Was supposed to get the carpet cleaned today (Monday) but around 8:30 I realised it was impossible from the time point of view so I was just about to phone and cancel when they phoned me to confirm. They are now coming on Friday morning when I am not so much under time pressure. So we have to live with the tomato juice a little longer.

Went bowling and bowled pretty well. My average improved very slightly and I believe my rivals may have gone down very slightly. I was impressed, I bowled 175, 180 and 140. Not too shabby. We won all 7 points from the other team as well. Matt is talking about trying again on Thursday so hopefully he feels up to it.

I did the Pasta with Mushroom Garlic Sauce for Monday supper. It is so quick and easy to do and so tasty. I think it will be a regular on our table. It calls for dried Basil so tonight I used some fresh and some dried as I didn't have a lot of fresh leaves to use having robbed the plant the other day to make tomato soup. Still tasted good. No parsley. Rarely keep it and dried parsley is totally useless, no taste at all IMHOP. A lot of dishes call for chopped green onions to garnish. I don't normally have those on hand either so just chop some regular sweet onion instead. Doesn't look as good but tastes fine.

Kevin Lynch came up with yet another excellent recipe today. It has a history behind it which you can read here if you are interested. Apparently the red garnish is beni shoga, a red pickled ginger. Not heard of that before. Kevin also says you can use sliced chicken breast for this dish if you prefer, but he likes to use boneless, skin on, chicken thighs and cook the skin crispy plus dark meat has more flavour.

Oyakodon (Japanese Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl)

A Japanese style rice bowl with tender chicken and egg in a sweet and savoury onion broth!

1 Tbs oil
4 chicken thighs, skin-on and boneless
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups dashi or chicken broth
2 onions, sliced
4 Tbs low sodium soy sauce
4 Tbs mirin
4 tsp sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups cooked short grain rice
2 green onions, sliced

1. Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper, skin side down, and cook until the skin is browned and crispy, flip and cook the other side before setting aside.

2. Add the broth, onions, soy sauce, mirin and sugar to the pan and simmer until the onions are tender.

3. Pour the eggs over the onions and broth, top with the chicken, and let sit until the eggs are just cooked, about 1-2 minutes.

4. Divide the rice between four bowls, top with the chicken and egg mixture and sprinkle on the green onions before enjoying!

Servings: 4

Tips: Add some extras like sliced shiitake mushrooms!

Author: Kevin Lynch
Source: Closet Kitchen



Have a great day
 

Bits and Pieces Day,

Well carpet's in and it didn't take long plus I got the carpet layer to fix the carpet/wiring area between the kitchen and dining area. My ISP wouldn't touch it although their person laid it underneath the carpet when we first came here 15 or so years ago. It's been a potential tripping hazard since they re-did the wiring a few months ago.Then I showed our new neighbour where the exercise classes took place and afterwards in the mail I had my new copper infused socks in the mail. They actually came from China. Or mine did. If they do all they say they will, I shall be very pleased. Our neighbour helped restore the furniture to the bedroom although Matt had tried to do some of it on his own. I wish he would remember he is NOT 40 any more.

Later in the day I picked up my laptop and had no wifi. Then I went to use my tablet, guess what, no wifi there either. I got on the phone and told them I was absolutely sick of this. The tech I was talking to reckons he made adjustments to the modem his end and I won't have the problem again. However, I still have no wifi for my tablet. They say that is the tablet's fault. Yesterday it was my laptop's fault. Grrr. Crossing my fingers, at least I seem to have had wifi on my laptop ever since. But, boy am I teed off about this whole business.

Last but not least we received a nice cheque,  unexpected, from the Electric Membership Corporation from who we obtained our power in NC. They accumulated money in a membership account for the customers and have sent us dribs and drabs over the years as we are "retired members". The last couple of times were more than dribs and drabs though.

I had an email saying it was International Chocolate Day. When I googled, it seems to have actually been in September. I didn't even realise there was such a thing. I didn't celebrate it at the time, but being a chocoholic, I will certainly celebrate it now.

Millionaires’ Cupcakes

Chocolate cake

100 g self-raising flour
115 g caster sugar
20 g cocoa powder
50 g milk chocolate
2 large eggs
115 g soft butter/margarine
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp milk

Caramel buttercream

150 g soft butter
150 g caramel sauce (I use a double batch of my homemade caramel sauce)
150 g icing sugar

For the hidden centre

2 shortbread biscuits (you can use this recipe if you’d like to make your own)
2 Tbs caramel sauce

1. Chocolate cake

2. Pre-heat your oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan.

3. Line a 6-hole muffin tin with cupcake cases.

4. Grate the milk chocolate (50g).

5. Put all of the ingredients into a large bowl (100g self-raising flour, 20g cocoa powder, 115g caster sugar, 2 large eggs, 115g soft margarine, ¼ tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp milk and the grated chocolate) mix on a low speed until fully combined.

6. Divide the mixture evenly between the cupcake cases.

7. Put the tin in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

8. Once cooked, remove the cakes from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack while you make the caramel buttercream.

9. Caramel buttercream

10. Put the buttercream ingredients into a large bowl (150g butter, 150g caramel sauce, 150g icing sugar) and beat on a low speed until fully combined and smooth.

11. Build the cupcakes

12. Use a pestle and mortar or rolling pin to crush the shortbread biscuits.

13. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the centre of each cupcake.

14. Add 1tsp of caramel sauce and then 1 tsp of crushed shortbread into the centre of each cupcake.

15. Put the caramel buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe the buttercream on top of each cupcake.

16. To finish sprinkle each cupcake with a little of the crushed shortbread.

17. Enjoy

Yield: Makes 6 cupcakes

Source: Gharlotte's Lively Kitchen


Have a great day
 

Balcony Construction, Debate, Colonising Mars.

Hurrah, we lost the beeping crane today. It has moved round the front of  the building so for a few months we will have some peace and quiet. There is still one crane, but it doesn't make that dreadful noise. (Just discovered they are not cranes, they are boom lifts) Of course, when they finally get round to doing our balconies, sometime next year? we will have to put up with it again. For the first time since we came here 16 years ago, I regret that we don't have blind instead of sheers. We will be having guys working on our balcony who will be able to see into our apartment. Oh well, we will just have to be careful, or I will I guess. Don't want to frighten them right off the balcony.

Talking of our apartment, we had a rent increase yesterday, effective January 1. I immediately

emailed the office about the really threadbare carpet in one of the bedrooms. I submitted a request to get it replaced about a month ago or a bit more, and had no response. Couldn't do much before as we had a treadmill in there as well as a bed so would have been difficult moving stuff out of the way. We keep speculating on just how much this construction work is going to cost the owner in the end. I'm glad I don't have to foot the bill although I guess we are helping, indirectly.

I see Donald Trump is complaining about his microphone after the debate and wondering if it was screwed up deliberately. Trusting guy Mr. Trump. Hilary looks relieved though.

I also heard today that Elon Musk is scheduling to begin the colonisation of Mars in 2024. Incredible man. He just might do it. Not only that, I might still be around to see it happen.

It is coming in to soup weather. In fact round here I found it pretty chilly the last couple of days. So here is a nice warming dish.

Black Bean Soup

This is a zippy Southwestern-flavored black bean soup. We make it with canned beans so it comes

together in minutes. If you have leftovers, pack them up in individual serving containers for lunch the next day.

1 Tbs canola oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
3 cups water
1/2 cup prepared salsa
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs lime juice
4 Tbs reduced-fat sour cream, optional
2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro, optional

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Add beans, water, salsa and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in lime juice.

2. Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree (use caution when pureeing hot liquids). Stir the puree back into the saucepan. Serve garnished with sour cream and cilantro, if desired.

Servings: 4

Source: WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Have a great day