Weather, Sleep, Isolation, Sully,

Last night it was blowing half a gale and the tree tops we could see from our windows were whipping around like they were dancing. The forecast is talking about rain and snow, had neither so far, fingers crossed however it was cold in bed last night - I'd just got to sleep when around 1:20 Matt went bumping (walker) along to the bathroom. Next thing I know, he is in his slippers and dressing gown and thinks it is morning. I had to persuade him it was in the middle of the night and then to get back into bed. Of course when I got back to bed I just lay there wide awake for a while. It was 3 ish  before I went back to sleep so I didn't get a lot of shuteye. Right now I am pretty cold too and am about to go have a nap.

Chris Hadfield spent a year on the International Space Station - he is Canadian - and has since retired. He has made a video for us all about self isolation. He makes it sound so easy.



I/we just watched the movie Sully about Captain Chesley Sullenberger who landed his plane in the Hudson. I cannot believe how officialdom excoriated him and accused him of making a mistake. He saved 155 passengers along with the crew and that is how they repaid him, until the end, when they finally exonerated him and congratulated him. He and his second were a pair of wonderful guys. The crew too apparently. We had a friend who was a stewardess for many years - she always said who, in their right minds, in a crash - would stand back and say "please go first". I have wanted to see the film for a while and am so glad I found it on the TV.

If it's got shrimp, I like it. Does it ever occur to you I have too many damn recipes to try?

Air Fryer Shrimp Fajitas

Shrimp fajitas made simple in the air fryer. Garnish with guacamole and cilantro if desired.

1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 red onion, sliced into thin strips
1 lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 (1.12 ounce) package fajita seasoning mix, divided
3 Tbs olive oil, divided
4 (10 inch) flour tortillas, toasted

1. Preheat the air fryer to 400° F (200° C).

2. Place bell peppers and onion in a large bowl. Place shrimp in a separate bowl. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the fajita seasoning over the shrimp. Sprinkle the rest of the seasoning over the vegetables. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over the vegetables and stir until evenly combined. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the shrimp and stir until combined.

3. Place vegetables in the basket of the preheated air fryer and cook for 12 minutes, shaking halfway through cook time. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.

4. Place shrimp in the basket of the air fryer and cook for 5 minutes. Flip and cook for 3 minutes more. Divide vegetables among tortillas and top with shrimp.

Servings: 4

Author: Soup Loving Nicole

Have a great day - stay well, stay safe and stay home.

Coffee Theft, Bowling, Weather, Chris Hadfield,

Bowling was pretty bad again today. My legs still giving me trouble plus they were cramping all night. Poor me!!! Funny, there were a number of mentally handicapped bowlers on our floor today - they normally bowl downstairs because upstairs is full. I was just sitting there watching Matt bowl and an arm suddenly appears over my shoulder and grabs my coffee. At first I thought it was the alley owner, but it turned out to be one of the handicapped people. He just stole my coffee and took it away to drink it!! The "handlers" were really upset and apologised to me profusely. It was actually quite funny. I yelled at him that it was my coffee but he took no notice and I just watched him walk away with it. Not a problem, got a new mug etc. but it took me aback somewhat LOL.

Much to my surprise - our team is 1st in the summer league. Mind you we are tied with 4 or 5 other teams LOL. Oddly the max points you can get in any game is 7, every one of us (in the first position) got 5 and nobody got more. We are actually at the head of the list because we are team #1 anyway. Until things change.

The weather is pretty warm here now although this evening it is raining. Supposed to get a major storm, not sure if that will happen. It was blowing a gale earlier but the wind seems to have died down.

Did you hear about the King Willem-Alexander from Holland, who has been co-piloting commercial airliners for some 20 years? Nobody knew. I guess in fact somebody did, but what an amazing man. Just went on Facebook to comment to a Dutch friend and there is a picture from Barrie's Asparagus farm with their visitor today, Chris Hadfield, who commanded the International Space Station - wish I had been there. I would love to have met him, he made lots of videos whilst up there and played his guitar for us too.

This is a new dish to me, I like Pancetta but haven't had it for quite a long time, not sure why. Of course, being me, I would probably use extra asparagus.

Creamy Asparagus and Pancetta Penne

This vibrantly colorful dish is chock full of amazing veggies. In taking advantage of produce that is

in season, this pasta dish truly shines.

2 Tbs all-purpose flour
2 Tbs butter, softened
1 tsp olive oil
2 oz chopped pancetta
1 (8-ounce) package sliced cremini mushrooms
1/4 cup white wine or 2 tablespoons each lemon juice and water
1 tsp salt, divided
4 cups unsalted chicken stock
3 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
12 oz uncooked whole-wheat penne (such as Barilla)
1 bay leaf
1 cup frozen green peas
12 oz asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
3 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp grated lemon rind
3/4 tsp black pepper

1. Combine flour and butter in a bowl until a paste forms.

2. Place a large high-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pancetta; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms; sauté 5 minutes or until browned and liquid evaporates. Add wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, stirring to loosen browned bits. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt. Transfer mixture to a plate.

3. Add stock, 2 cups milk, penne, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in peas, asparagus, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1 cup milk, and thyme; cook 2 minutes. Add butter-flour paste, in pieces, stirring constantly to combine and thicken. Remove from heat; stir in mushroom mixture, parsley, rind, and black pepper.

Servings: 6

Source: COOKING LIGHT

Have a great day

Space History, Cooking Tourtières.

We have just watched A Year in Space about Scott Kelly's stay on the International Space Station. A very interesting programme. I cannot imagine what it would be like to spend a year there. It is not, as I had always thought, one bit like the Enterprise. There is no artificial gravity and there is very little space. It is a series of long tubes all of which are stuffed with supplies and equipment. We watched the programme recorded by the Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield, so I knew what to expect when watching tonight. I have often thought I would like to go into space, but I cannot imagine spending all that time away from earth, friends and family living in such an uncomfortable environment. I wouldn't have a problem with the space ships in the Enterprise movies. They never get to sit down or lie flat on a bed. They are floating all the time in 0 gee. They are working almost constantly, either carrying out experiments or possibly effecting repairs in the station. Of course on this mission, two of the supply ships didn't arrive so they were getting very low on supplies. Eventually a Japanese ship got there. Not sure I would like to be a wife either knowing my husband was floating round in space. Or  a mother I guess. There is now a programme about Neil Armstrong.

I told you I had made the filling for my tourtières yesterday. I had only enough pastry to make two pies and it snowed pretty hard last night meaning that Matt did not do his usual early morning stint of going to the grocery store at 7 a.m., the roads being too bad. However, by 10:30 the roads weren't too bad so we both went and amongst other things, I had now got the rest of my pie shells. Then later I realised that I didn't have big enough cookie sheets. I had not long bought new ones. In the end I made the pies and had to cook only 2 at a time. We cut into one for supper, it was very good if I do say so myself. It was a lot easier to do it this way, making the filling one day and then making the pies the next day. Much less tiring. So, as promised, here is the recipe again.

Tourtière

As a change, you can use frozen puff pastry for your pies.

Filling

2 Tbs olive oil
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground veal
2 cups finely chopped onion
¾ cup finely chopped carrot
1¼ cup chopped fennel
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
1½ tsp dry mustard
1½ tsp allspice
1 1/4 cup beef stock (or less) this time I used a lot less and the pies were better.
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbs rolled oats
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley per pie
1 Tbs dried breadcrumbs or ½ Tbs semolina per pie
Egg wash
1 egg beaten
1 Tbs whipping cream
4 boxes of frozen pastry - defrosted (2 shells in each) I use 4 deep dish and four regular for the top of the pies.

1. Heat oil in a heavy pot over high heat. Add ground meat and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the pinkness disappears. Drain off fat.

2. Stir in the onion, carrots, fennel, bay leaf, dried thyme, dry mustard, all-spice, cinnamon, rolled oats and salt and pepper. Add enough stock to just cover the top of the meat. Lower the heat to low, cover and cook slowly for about 45 minutes, or until the onions disappear. Check and stir after 30 minutes. Re-season if needed. Cool, remove and discard bay leaf and stir in parsley.

3. Preheat oven to 450°F/230°C.

4. Take out four pastry shells to use as bottoms and sprinkle with breadcrumbs or semolina to absorb any fat. Pile meat mixture onto each pastry crust, leaving a 1 inch border. Brush edge of pastry with water. Top with remaining crusts and press edges together to seal, crimping decoratively if desired.

5. Combine beaten egg with cream and brush over pastry. Cut steam vents into the top crusts.

6. Bake for 15 minutes in lower half of the oven. Reduce heat to 400°F/200°C and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crusts are golden. Cooking four pies it is necessary to rotate their positions in the oven.

Servings: 6

Source: Food and Drink Holiday 2006

Have a great day

Trivia, Space, Dinner, Sunday Lunch.

Here’s a piece of trivia for you that we learnt over the weekend, did you know the Statue of Liberty’s nose was 4 1/2 ft long? That is one heck of a large nose.

For my scientifically minded friends, here is the Canadian, Chris Hadfield, who was Commander of the International Space Station for a while, giving a demonstration of what happens when you wring out a wet cloth.  Something which I had never thought about. I was also fascinated by the face cloths with which they are provided. Tickled me too, that the microphone was floating in front of his face whilst he was talking. We don’t really comprehend what happens in space even though we are told, nothing can take the place of experiencing it.

Saturday Matt cooked the Sichuan-Style Chicken with Peanuts dish that I posted last week. It was very good although we didn’t have any peanuts so we used pine nuts. I actually prefer those anyway. It could have done with a spot more heat for my taste, Sichuan food is very often mouth burning, this had a tingle but that was it. However, I can thoroughly recommend it. We have leftovers as it was for 4 people. It is certainly one we will make again.

Our Sunday lunch turned out to be very successful. The roast lamb and roast potatoes were delicious we were told. So many people in North America don’t like lamb it’s nice to find people who do. Unfortunately I shot the bolt when it came to my diet, they brought some Brie and crackers as a gift and I couldn’t resist. Oh well, tomorrow (today I guess) is another day.

Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Pine Nut-Kasha Granola and Ricotta

Contributed by Justin Smillie
8 first-course servings

© Christina Holmes

“Everyone adds nuts to salad, but I wanted to do something different,” says Justin Smillie. He tops crisp snap peas with a savory granola that includes pine nuts and kasha. Ricotta adds another layer of texture; Smillie makes his own cheese at the restaurant, but good-quality store-bought fresh ricotta is also delicious.

Granola

1. 2 1/4 cups rolled oats
2. 2/3 cup kasha (roasted buckwheat groats)
3. 1/2 cup flaxseeds
4. 1/2 cup pine nuts
5. 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6. 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
7. 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
8. 2 teaspoons kosher salt
9. 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Salad

1. 1 pound sugar snap peas
2. 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3. 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4. Maldon sea salt
5. Kosher salt
6. Freshly ground pepper
7. 1 pound fresh ricotta cheese
8. Chopped mint, for garnish

1. MAKE THE GRANOLA Preheat the oven to 325° and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss the oats with the kasha, flaxseeds and pine nuts. Add the remaining granola ingredients and toss until thoroughly coated, then spread on the prepared baking sheet.
2. Bake the granola in the center of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden and nearly dry. Turn off the oven and prop the door open halfway; let the granola cool in the oven, stirring occasionally.
3. MAKE THE SALAD In a medium saucepan of salted boiling water, simmer the snap peas until bright green and crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Drain and cool the snap peas under running water, pat dry and halve them lengthwise. In a medium bowl, toss the snap peas with the lemon juice and 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, then season with Maldon sea salt and pepper.
4. In another medium bowl, whisk the ricotta until smooth and season with kosher salt and pepper. Spoon the ricotta onto plates and top with the snap peas. Sprinkle some of the granola on the peas and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and chopped mint. Serve right away.

Make Ahead This recipe makes 5 cups of granola, which can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Have a great day

Our New Windows, Hadfield Retires, Apps.

At long last the weather was warm enough to open the bedroom windows. I opened one and after a couple of inches or so it wouldn’t budge. On examination, it is impossible to open any of the new windows more than that. They are blocked. I am not a happy camper. I cannot imagine why this should be. I have since found out that, because we are on the 5th floor, it is for safety reasons??? I don’t understand, if we wanted to chuck ourselves out we have a balcony which would be much easier to jump from. I have never heard of such a thing before.

In the news yesterday, Chris Hadfield, who recently spent 5 months as the commander of the International Space Station announced his retirement from the Canadian Space Agency effective July 3. He says he has been an astronaut for 21 years and is the last of the team he trained with. One thing which staggers me, it is going to take him until Labour Day to fully recover from his 5 months weightlessness. I hadn’t realised it took so long. He also says he had promised his wife, some 30 years ago, that they would return to Canada, so now they can do so.

Been playing around with my new android and seeing what apps, if any, I wanted. I have used Quicken on my computers for years to manage my finances but was teed off to find out that although there is an app for the US version of Quicken there isn’t one for the Canadian version. Bummer. I was hoping not to have to travel with my laptop, but looks as though I will have to after all. I can keep in touch with the bank OK, but not run a Quicken financial app on my android. They need to pull their fingers out. I have a Kindle app on there although my Kindle itself is better because of the paperwhite technology. You can read in bright sunlight which is not possible on the tablet.

I thought this sounded great. I had never heard of carnaroli rice but I have linked it to Wikipedia. It is an Italian rice better than the usual arborio for risottos apparently.

Gorgonzola, asparagus and hazelnut risotto

Bocca by Jacob Kenedy (Bloomsbury) The Guardian.

This risotto is one that tastes best without the additional flavour of stock. These three ingredients are a wonderful trinity and need only the plainest of backdrops to sing.

Serves 2
 
½ medium onion, chopped
75g butter
160g carnaroli rice
120ml white wine
400ml water
350g fine asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-2cm strips
150g gorgonzola
60g hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
Salt

1 Fry the onion in 50g butter with a pinch of salt over a moderate heat for 10 minutes until tender.
2 Add the rice, fry for 2 minutes more, then pour in the wine and simmer until absorbed.
3 Add the water a little at a time, waiting for it to be mostly absorbed between additions. Taste for seasoning all the time. About 5 minutes before the end (about 10 minutes after you started adding water), add the asparagus.
4 When the rice is still a touch too al dente for you, crumble in three-quarters of the gorgonzola (you can use or lose the rind as you like) and the remaining 25g butter. Stir until you are satisfied. Serve with the hazelnuts and the remaining gorgonzola scattered on top.

Have a great day

Trilliums, ISS, Canadian Commander.

I am not sure how many years I have been going to Barrie’s Asparagus Farm, but every year when we start going there, we pass some wooded areas which are full of Trilliums which is the Provincial Flower of Ontario. I keep meaning to take my camera with me in order to take some pictures, but every year I forget, yesterday was no exception. I strongly suspect that by my next visit they will be gone. They don’t have a very long life. One is not allowed to pick Trilliums although I believe you can transfer the whole plant. They are more numerous in the picture than they are on the road where we pass by them.

Monday the Canadian Commander of the ISS, Chris Hadfield, started his trip back to earth having been Tweeting for the 5 months he was up there and making a video of playing the guitar and singing a farewell song. This is the last video he made just before leaving the ISS and boarding the Soyuz capsule which will bring him back to earth. Canada is justifiably proud to have had a Canadian commanding the ISS for the last 5 months, he is the first Canadian to do so.

Today I go back to the sleep clinic for my assessment. It has taken long enough and I will be very interested to hear what the doctor says.

This is a recipe from Mario Batali who is one of my favourite TV chefs. I am not familiar with vin santo but there are many lightly sweet dessert wines which would fill the bill.


Grilled Asparagus with Pepper Zabaglione

3 large egg yolks
1 large egg
3 Tbs vin santo or other lightly sweet dessert wine
2 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbs heavy cream
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
Kosher salt
2 lbs large asparagus
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbs freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Light a grill or heat a grill pan. In a heatproof medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the egg and vin santo. Set the bowl over a medium saucepan of simmering water and vigorously whisk the eggs over moderate heat until the sauce holds firm peaks, about 5 minutes. Remove the bowl of sauce from the heat.

2. In a small bowl, mix the butter with the heavy cream and pepper. Whisk the cream mixture into the sauce, 1 tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Season the zabaglione with salt and keep warm.

3. In a large bowl, toss the asparagus with the olive oil and season with salt. Grill the asparagus over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until charred all over and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer the asparagus to plates.

4. Set the bowl of sauce over the saucepan of simmering water and whisk over low heat until thick and just heated through, about 1 minute. Spoon the sauce over the asparagus, sprinkle with the Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve.

Servings: 6
Author: Mario Batali

Have a great day

Higgs Boson, ISS Commander

It was announced yesterday that scientists think they have confirmed the discovery of the Higgs Boson popularly known as the God particle. Here is an article about the latest discovery from the large Hadron Collider close to the Swiss-Italian border. Although scientists are excited, they are still not prepared to commit 100% apparently, they need to prove it several times over. Apparently this particular Hadron Collider is not up to full strength so they expect to get more definitive results later on. There is a very good video explaining what the Higgs Boson is all about. The original announcement of a possible discovery came last year. I blogged about it on July 6, 2012 and included another link there to information about the event. The speaker in the video admits there is no present link to anything which might benefit mankind at this time, but gives examples of what could happen should this all be confirmed.

We now have a Canadian, Chris Hadfield, in command of the space station – he received congratulatory messages from the Queen and the Prime Minister. He is the first Canadian in charge of the ISS and that is a feather in our caps. He apparently plays guitar which should please one of my blogging friends. Unusual kind of guitar, you can see through it.
Here’s a good recipe, but be warned, single cream in the UK, where this recipe originated, is a lot thicker than here, I would use whipping cream.

Homemade Irish cream 

Homemade Irish cream is a real treat, served it chilled with plenty of ice or sneak a drop into your coffee.

Ingredients

• 250ml/9fl oz single cream
  
• 1x 397g/14oz tin condensed milk
  
• 350ml/12fl oz Irish whiskey
  
• 1 tsp coffee essence
  
• 3 tsp chocolate sauce
  
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
  
• 1 tsp almond essence
  

Preparation method

1. Sterilise the bottles for the liqueur: wash in very hot water or on the hot cycle of a dishwasher. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3. Place the bottles on a baking tray and dry in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Leave to cool.
   
2. Pour all the ingredients into a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds. Add extra Camp or chocolate to taste.
   
3. Pour into sterilised bottles and store in the fridge. (The liqueur will keep for up to two months.) Shake well before using.
   

Have a great day