Post Christmas, Colds, Deliveries, Recipes,

Well I hope you all had a good holiday and enjoyed all the celebrations and the food you ate. Most of my pigging out was Christmas Eve with the result that Christmas morning I was not feeling too good, no, not the alcohol, although I did have egg nog which was very rich, the quantity and types of food. I was somewhat more restrained on Christmas Day. I had my ham and champagne fizz, Matt just had the ham, he has now decided he doesn't like English mustard which he has been eating for years. Oh well. Later I cooked the stuffed turkey breast which I had bought from my grocery store. Had them before, they are good and just right for the pair of us. Traditionally, in my family, we had Brussels Sprouts and I decided at almost the last minute to make bread sauce. Found an easier recipe than the one I normally use. Made it, it was delicious, and then I put it in the microwave to heat it later on, and forgot it!!! The Christmas Pudding which I bought at the Scottish store and which originated from Marks and Spencer's (UK store) was good too. Now there I was lucky, found some Rum Butter in the freezer.

I am getting concerned about Matt's cough. Nothing seems to be helping it at the moment. Might have to take him to the doctor. He is sneezing as well. I wrote this Boxing Night (26th) and he was coughing all night. Today he has hardly coughed at all. I, on the other hand, have started to do so.

As both Sunday and New Years was on the horizon, I was totally out of fizz. I was tired and really couldn't be bothered to walk all the way to the car, so, delivery company. Figured $10 or $12 was worth it. Having placed my order online I agreed to pay Interac. So, once I had my bill I did so on line. The guy arrived much sooner than expected and they hadn't received the payment. Turns out what I thought was their email, wasn't. Someone called me to say the driver would be back. I then called them and explained I had got the wrong email and had now cancelled the transfer. She was rather unpleasant and didn't give me the correct email telling me the driver was coming back to "grab the stuff". Later another woman called and gave me the correct email and all was resolved so easily.

This is what we had for supper on Friday. You know, every cook seems to think you have fresh herbs on tap the whole time, or maybe lots of lemons to use. As for the saffron, I happen to have some, but I bet not many do and it is sufficiently expensive I would think most people wouldn't buy it anyway. I didn't think it made any difference but I did use it. I didn't have loads of crusty bread either so I used cauliflower rice. Not sure how many calories would have been in the bread, delicious as it might have been. After all that, it was good but needed more salt in my opinion. Each to his own there I guess. I used to grow fresh herbs on our balcony, but now it is too much for us to clamber outside and water them all the time, so, dried herbs it is. If you have fresh herbs, way to go, use them.

Venetian Shrimp and Scallops

1 lb sea scallops
1/4 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 Tbs (1 turn around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth or stock
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1/4 tsp saffron threads
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
12 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn
1 lemon, zested
Hot, crusty bread, for plate mopping

1. Lightly coat the sea scallops in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Discard remaining flour.

2. Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil (1 turn around the pan) and butter. When butter melts into oil, add scallops. Brown scallops 2 minutes on each side, then remove from pan.

3. Add an additional drizzle of olive oil to the pan and add the garlic, shallots, and crushed red pepper flakes. Reduce heat a little and saute garlic and shallots 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add wine to the pan and free up any pan drippings. Reduce wine 1 minute, then add stock, tomatoes and saffron threads. When liquids come to a bubble, add shrimp and cook 3 minutes. Return scallops to the pan and cook shrimp and scallops 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer shrimp and scallops to a warm serving dish and top with basil and lemon zest. Pass plenty of bread to enjoy the juices.

Servings: 4

Source: Rachel Ray



Have a great day
 

Medical Stuff, Christmas, Toilet Problems,

I had yet another visitor from LHIN (Local Health Integration Network) today and she gave me a

cognitive test - exactly the same test as someone gave me before. I didn't realise I was supposed to be artistic so got criticised for drawing a clock with the hands too high from the middle!! Then, my own fault, I whipped through identification of animals and said it was a hippo instead of a rhino, duuh. This means I was 1 point below normal which means I am suspect of not being able to handle my medications. However, I am OK because the pharmacy make up blister packs for us!!! Tees me off actually, I have been handle medications for year, both mine and Matt's now, for one point, they think I am unable to do so. I hate the blister packs too, I don't know where to put the damned things. They end up being quite large and certainly don't fit into the medicine cupboard in our bathroom. We get them delivered every two weeks. I duno, the government classifies me as a drug addict and now I am classified as being below normal cognitive standards. Oh well. I won't have to take another test. She isn't coming back unless I call her and I don't see any reason why I would.

The physiotherapist wanted me to try going back to exercise classes, legs too painful today, sorry. Plus expecting the people to install a new modem. Have tried climbing stairs a couple of times plus I do the exercises she left me so I'm not too concerned.

Our cleaner came today and, knowing she likes white wine, I had bought a bottle for her. While she was dusting, a box of truffles suddenly appeared on the coffee table. Also a card with a delightful message in it. As I said, she isn't supposed to give us presents. We get on very well with her, she is a very nice person.

Forgot to mention something, funny in retrospect, having lunch in the restaurant, I needed to visit the loo on the way out. I didn't even think about it and off I went. Having done what I wanted, I tried to get up and couldn't - never even thought about it, but my knees are still a bit weak. At home I have a grab bar on the bath I can use. Luckily I could use the toilet roll holder to help lever myself up, otherwise not sure what I would have done, waited for my friend to come in I guess. One is so used to doing certain things, you don't even think about not being able to do them. Been practicing since.

This sounds absolutely delicious. Not sure I will make it this year, it would be too spicy for me at the moment, but maybe soon. For the sugar, caster sugar is the same as our regular sugar here.

Asian cured salmon with prawns pickled salad and dill lime crème fraîche

550 g salmon fillet, skin on
2 sticks lemongrass, roughly chopped
125 g caster or granulated sugar, plus 2 tsp and another 2 tbsp
150 g coarse sea salt
2 limes, zested, 1 juiced
5 Tbs Japanese rice vinegar, plus a dash
2 garlic cloves, crushed
28 g pack coriander
20 g pack dill
2 fresh red Thai chillies, sliced (deseeded if you don’t like it too hot)
140 g baby turnips, skin on
1 small red onion, peeled
6 Tbs full-fat crème fraîche
12 large cooked peeled prawns

1. Check the fish for bones and, if needed, remove with tweezers. To make the cure, put the lemongrass, 125g sugar, the salt, lime juice, zest of 1 lime, 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 garlic clove, half of the coriander and dill, including stems, into a food processor. Blitz until the lemongrass is finely chopped, then stir in a quarter of the sliced chillies.

2. Cross two large pieces of cling film in a roasting tin and spoon on a third of the cure, then top with the fish. Cover the fish with the rest of the cure. Wrap tightly and leave for 36-48 hrs, then scrape off the cure, rinse the fish in cold water and pat dry. The fillet will feel firm.

3. On the day of serving, start the other elements of the recipe. Shave the turnips into very thin slices using a mandoline, then plunge them into iced water with a dash of the vinegar. Leave for an hour, then drain well. Thinly slice the onion and mix with the turnip slices, 2 tbsp vinegar, 2 tsp sugar and a pinch of salt. Cover and steep for at least 1 hr, or chill for a few hrs.

4. Finely chop the remaining dill leaves and stir most of them into the crème fraîche with the remaining lime zest and a little seasoning, then chill.

5. For the dressing, stir together the remaining 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp vinegar, another quarter of the sliced chillies and the crushed garlic and leave until the sugar dissolves.

6. Slice the fish into approx 20 slices, taking the knife down to the skin, then easing the blade underneath each piece to remove it.

7. When ready to serve, spoon and swoosh the dill crème fraîche down the middle of each plate, then top with overlapping salmon slices. Add 3 prawns per serving. Lift the salad from its juices and mound to one side. Scatter with a little extra dill and the remaining sliced chillies, then drizzle the dressing over the fish and prawns (or let your guests do that bit at the table).

Servings: 4-6

Source: BBC Good Food

Have a great day
 

Family News, Christmas, Fall.

Whoopee, Matt is going to be a great-grandfather in August. Making me a step-great-grandmother.

Christmas went very well all round. We went to Bingeman's for our Christmas meal. It was good but not as good as the Waterloo Inn which has now closed down I think. One thing I was disappointed about, they said Christmas Pudding on the menu, not a Christmas pudding in sight. They did have bread pudding which was pretty good with an excellent caramel sauce. Another thing which was available, a stir fry. I got one, you can choose what you want included then they add noodles, I chose rice noodles it was good. Boxing Day we cooked a large lump of pork together with English style roast potatoes, a dish of sprouts (disappointing sauce) and a carrot/parsnip dish I posted recently.   I was pleased with it although it was quite sweet, as carrots and parsnips can be. That is why I never understand people adding some kind of sweetening to such dishes, of course I also made gravy.   For desserts we had Mississippi Mud Pie which I bought a while back and a Mince Meat tart I made the other day with thick cream. It all went down very well. For a starter I decided to do the Convent Eggs posted a few days ago.

Unfortunately, I have not been doing so well. It all started on Wednesday morning (4 am) when a chair in the bedroom jumped out in front of me causing me to fall. When I returned to bed I eventually managed to get back to sleep, however, the next morning I had quite a violent reaction. Later in the day I was better and on Christmas Eve I was able to bowl. Bruised and sore in many places, I was basically OK. Boxing Day morning my outer hip started to ache and has done so since although today, Sunday, I have been resting it most of the day and the pain has eased somewhat. Bowling on Monday? I don't know, we will have to see. I have been in the wars lately haven't I?

I have never made biscuits although I have made scones which are very similar. These looked good to me today.

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

MELISSA CLARK - New York Times

10 to 12 biscuits

To make theses biscuits into shortcakes, just split the biscuits, spoon on your favorite fruit (either sugared or plain), and dollop with whipped cream. Or just eat the biscuits for breakfast with butter. Classic and quick to bake; you can’t go wrong.

INGREDIENTS

230 grams (about 2 cups) all-purpose flour
50 grams (about 1/2 cup) cake flour
15 grams (about 1 tablespoon)baking powder
8 grams (about 2 teaspoons) sugar
6 grams (about 1 1/4 teaspoon)fine sea salt
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 cup buttermilk, chilled

PREPARATION

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
In a bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter or fork, quickly cut in 8 tablespoons butter until it forms pea-size crumbs and is uniformly mixed it (for flaky biscuits you want the butter to remain cold). Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in buttermilk. Stir together until it just forms a moist, slightly tacky dough.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 2 or 3 times, then pat out into a 3/4-inch-thick round. Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut the biscuits. Twisting the cutter prevents proper rising; to prevent sticking, dip the cutter lightly in flour between biscuits. Do not re-roll the scraps, but pat them together and cut into rounds. Transfer biscuits to the baking sheet.
Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Brush butter lightly over the tops of biscuits. Bake until puffed and golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving

Have a great day

Bowling, Christmas Lunches, Electricity Refund,

I bowled on Thursday, whooppee. I played one game and hurt a little bit but then eventually it faded and it was fine. I attribute my cure to Elizabeth Seckman, thanks Liz. From comments received from sinlaw in the UK, his daughter is a dancer, ballet dancers (and other forms of dance) get shin splints too. Sinlaw wondered if I had taken up ballet. He figured I couldn't do the Grand Jete with a shin splint. Er, I couldn't do the move without a shin splint. A jump in which a dancer springs from one foot to land on the other with one leg forward of their body and the other stretched backward while in the air. When I felt the pain at the bowling alley I just flexed the shin muscle which helped it disappear, of course I had a great game today - after all it's Thursday.

The league that are normally there on Thursday had their Christmas luncheon today and kindly

offered some to us. Matt never has anything, but I took some cheese and a few other bits plus a glass of wine. Very kind of them. Today was their last day before Christmas. We have our Christmas lunch next week. Normally, the Christmas shindig is sandwiches and desserts made by the wives of the owners. However, one wife is still recovering from major back surgery and the other wife is working so I gather they are going to Costco for the sandwiches. From the pictures they make all kinds of good stuff so I guess we will be OK.

I was pleased this week, to finally receive a cheque from the Electric company in North Carolina. They are a membership corporation and when you leave them, there are often monies in your account. We had $500 (this was about 15 years ago) but they won't give it to you in a lump sum, but have been paying it to us in dribs and drabs every year. I had forgotten about it until something reminded me so I phoned and made enquiries. Turned out that they had sent cheques but they were still floating in limbo uncashed. However, they said they would send them to me again. It turned out to be a decent sized cheque after being delayed a couple of years or so. Not only that, the exchange rate is very much in our favour. Mind you, if Matt shuffles off his mortal coil, they will then pay out the remainder.

Pork Chops can be so boring. This helps I think. Might try it Friday night.

Saucy Mushroom Marsala Pork Chop Casserole

Recipe4Living.

Upgrade to this tasty dish! These pork chops are simmered in a mushroom and wine sauce and then baked with a

coating of crispy Parmesan.

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb. pork loin chops
• 1/3 C. flour
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. oregano
• ½ stick butter
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 C. mushrooms, sliced
• 1 C. Marsala wine
• ¼ C. Parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Coat pork chops with flour mixture and transfer to a skillet with butter and oil. Cook until brown, add in mushrooms, and sauté briefly. Pour in wine, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes as sauce thickens. Transfer contents to a greased baking dish, top with Parmesan, and bake for 15 minutes.

Have a great day
 

Christmas Week

I am not sure how often I will be blogging this week.  It’s for sure many of you won’t be bothering to read them this week. It looks like we will be getting a green Christmas. I’m not too disappointed because the friend who is coming to have dinner is going to be in Stratford on Christmas Day and would have trouble getting home again in time to come here for Boxing Day (Dec 26.).

Today the bowling alley provides us with a Christmas lunch which will be sandwiches of all kinds and sweets. Last year it was excellent, the sandwiches are made by the two owners’ wives and they really did a great job last year. We then waddle over to the alleys to play our usual three games one of which might be bowling Bingo which I think is great fun and some people don’t enjoy. We shall see. If you are wondering, the electronic scoreboard shows a whole bunch of scores you have to get, strikes, spares, 4, 3, and so on, usually 2 of each. The team has to throw for those and only those scores. It isn't as easy as it may seam. I remember one year throwing for a 3 and I kept getting strikes which were no use as we already had them. Mind you next time I played a regular game I decided to throw for threes on the principal I would get a strike, needless to say, it didn't work.

This is  a dessert suggested for Christmas. It certainly looks delicious. I’m not sure about the 16 servings. Seems to me it would be a very small serving.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cheesecake

Kraft Kitchens.
Two classic desserts—pineapple upside-down cake and cheesecake—combine to make the ultimate sweet treat.
16 servings

What You Need

2 Tbsp.  brown sugar
5 Tbsp.  butter, melted, divided
2 cans  (8 oz. each) pineapple slices in juice, well drained
7 maraschino cherries, well drained, stemmed
1 cup  graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup   plus 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar, divided
3 pkg.   (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup  BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
2 tsp.  vanilla
3 eggs

Make It

HEAT oven to 325ºF.
MIX brown sugar and 2 Tbsp. butter in 9-inch round pan; spread to evenly cover bottom of pan. Top with pineapple slices, cutting if necessary to make even layer. Place cherries in centers of pineapple slices.
MIX graham crumbs, 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar and remaining butter until blended. Press gently into tops of pineapple slices.
BEAT cream cheese and remaining granulated sugar with mixer until blended. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each just until blended; pour over pineapple.
BAKE 55 min. to 1 hour or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool 40 min. Invert cheesecake onto plate; remove pan. Refrigerate cheesecake 3 hours.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Note
If using a dark baking pan, reduce oven temperature to 300ºF.
Substitute
Prepare using PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese.
Note
For best results, the pineapple slices and cherries should be well drained and patted dry before using as directed.

Have a great day

Paying it Forward, Poinsettia, Spam.

I have never had an opportunity to do this, but today I was in the grocery store and the person in front of me couldn’t afford some sliced meat they had in their cart, before the cashier could deduct it I said “add it to my bill”. It was not a big amount by the way, less than $1.50 and I am not trying to boast about this, it was so little, but later in the afternoon, an Avon customer who owed me $12.20 gave me $15 and said keep the rest. Less than 2 hours after I had paid for the meat. Just struck me as a good example of how pay it forward really works. I wasn’t even going to mention this at first until my customer “tipped” me. Isn’t it terrible people cannot afford something so inexpensive? She had some kind of one time payment card which didn’t cover everything.

We had just come back from bowling and I had to pick up a prescription then wanted a Poinsettia for our dining table which is why I was in the grocery store. Obviously they have a florist there. We always have a Poinsettia for our Christmas decorations on the dining table. I thought of choosing a pinkish one but Matt thought they looked washed out, neither one thing or the other, so red it was and red we got. Trouble is, I seem to be able to keep them alive for ever and end up chucking them out in late spring. I often think of an apartment several of us rented on the island of Malta when my parents lived there (they didn’t have room for all of us) and outside the bathroom window there was a huge Poinsettia bush in full flower. It was lovely to look at. Nice view for men in particular.

Saw this cartoon today on How to Geek and couldn’t resist sharing.


Everybody is so busy at this time of year that it seems a quick and easy meal for the family would be welcome.

"Classic" Skillet Lasagna

Kraft Kitchens
 

We swapped out the lasagna noodles for bow-tie pasta to make this simple skillet version of an Italian favourite.
prep: 15 min
total: 30 min
6 servings

What You Need

3 cups  farfalle (bow-tie pasta), uncooked
1 lb.  Italian sausage
1 small  onion, chopped
2 cans  (14.5 oz. each) HUNT'S® Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic & Oregano, undrained
1 can  (6 oz.) HUNT'S® Tomato Paste
1-1/2 cups  KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1 cup  POLLY-O Natural Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
1/4 cup  KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp.  water
1/4 tsp.  black pepper

Make It

COOK pasta as directed on package, omitting salt.
MEANWHILE, brown sausage in large skillet on medium heat; drain. Add onions; cook 3 min. or until tender, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese; mix well.
MIX ricotta, Parmesan, water and pepper. Drain pasta; add to skillet; mix well. Top with cheese mixture; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Cover; cook on low heat 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted.
Hunt's® is a registered trademark of ConAgra Foods, Inc.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Serving Suggestion
For added color and texture, serve with a mixed green salad tossed with your favourite KRAFT Lite Dressing.
Substitute
Substitute mafalda or penne pasta for the farfalle (bow-tie pasta).

Have a great day

Christmas, Ice Storm, Bowling.

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends and readers. Not sure if I will post over Christmas, probably not.

As I mentioned yesterday, we had a storm and a half on Sunday with the result that a lot of Ontario is in a mess. Monday morning there were still 300,000 people without power in Toronto alone, not to mention other areas. Some of these people will probably not get power again until after Christmas. I am so sorry for them, what a time for it too happen. We were really on the fringe of the storm and very lucky; however, driving to the bowling alley on Monday afternoon, I have never seen anything like it. It looked more like a hurricane had blown through. There were large tree limbs as well as dozens of smaller ones, down all over the place. Everything is still covered in ice, very pretty, but the weight of the ice is pulling trees apart like ripped cardboard. Never seen such extreme results from freezing rain before. We lost power for about 12 hours and we were really lucky that’s all that happened to us.

I took a few photos of our tree and some ornaments. Our tree which is covered in ornaments. I missed the top. Not much of a cameraman me.
We have two of these Santa boots, hope his feet don’t get too cold.





I love this big red bird, saw it in a store a few years ago and couldn’t resist. I have quite a few birds on the tree including a poor looking bird which might have been a partridge and has lost a lot of feathers, but my mother bought it years ago. Here’s a white dove and I also have a robin. Once upon a time we had two, but it went the way of lots of things and didn’t survive many years.



I do hope you all have a Merry Christmas, we intend to. A friend in England commented that she always knew it was Christmas because of all the emails she got about how to cook turkeys or to feed 6 people on the day. Her comment was, “what do they think people do for the rest of the year?”.

For me, bowling was rough, Matt did well. However, I was somewhat touched that one of the owners had gone to the trouble of buying doughnuts for us and in particular the special ones he knew I liked. Two of them for me. Won’t do my weight much good but…. can’t very well say no, especially when he had gone to the trouble of visiting two Tim Horton’s coffee shops just to get me my favourites.

Most of you will already have your menu planned for Christmas, but here’s a Brussels Sprouts recipe from Cooking.com which I may very well try this year.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Shallots

Source: © EatingWell Magazine
Active Time:  40 Minutes
Total Time:  1 Hour 40 Minutes
12 servings, 1/2 cup each

This easy side dish combines the natural sweetness of caramelized shallots with the earthiness of Brussels sprouts, a fall favourite.

INGREDIENTS
24 small shallots
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 pounds Brussels sprouts, preferably small
1 teaspoon kosher salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Peel shallots, leaving the root ends intact so they'll hold together. Place on a large sheet of foil; sprinkle 1 tablespoon oil over the top. Seal the packet and bake until the shallots are tender, about 45 minutes. Remove from foil and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, remove the outer leaves from Brussels sprouts and trim the stems. Cut the small sprouts in half and quarter the larger ones. Place the shallots and Brussels sprouts in a roasting pan. Toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and salt.
Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Roast, tossing twice during cooking, until the Brussels sprouts are tender and lightly browned, 25 to 35 minutes.

Merry Christmas to all.

Christmas, Turrón, Cheese, Travel Insurance, Doctor Arrested.

Well, Thanksgiving is over in the States, Thursday I got my first Christmas card, Friday they started playing Christmas songs and carols on the radio. I guess its Christmas. The season starts so early nowadays, we used to put our decorations up about a week before although admittedly we had to mail cards early to make sure they didn’t get lost in the Christmas rush. I have mailed all my US and overseas cards but I am holding my Canadian ones for a while yet. Mind you we are still dithering about our own decorations, I expect we will be putting them up though. As I am writing this I can hear a carol being sung on the radio – I do wish people would remember this is supposed to a joyful occasion and not sing these carols like dirges. The singer is singing “Rejoice, rejoice” and sounds as miserable as sin.

Oooh, I hurt. Not bowling for a while and then bowling two days in a row. I guess I should start using my treadmill again, I think my legs will take it now. I will, of course, start small.

After bowling we stopped at Vincenzo’s which, in my opinion, is the best deli store I have ever been to. I would like to spend hours in there seeing just what they do have. I went because they now have Spanish Turrón and as they had phoned and let me know, I wanted to be sure to get some for Christmas (well that’s my intention anyway). My friend in Portugal had mentioned Chocolate Turrón and damned if they didn’t have some, so of course I bought some. The store had several varieties, but I brought the crunchy one as shown in the picture as well as the chocolate. They also had one with fruit in it which I didn’t like the look of. To me it would spoil it. Of course we couldn’t just stop there, we bought some Brie and some ‘real’ Mascarpone. By real I mean the genuine Italian Mascarpone which doesn’t have any ‘gums’ as a preservative which sweeten the cheese. I also bought one pomegranate. I haven’t tried one since I was a child, but the description written by Michelle of Smothered in Butter made me think I should try it again. Later: I did try the alias as they are called, the taste is great but I am not impressed with having to chew them, they are a tad gritty to say the least.

An item in the news last night, our doctor was interviewed on TV about a doctor who has been arrested for kiddie porn. She says he has been removed from their staff. Obviously. She must be pretty horrified about the whole business. She is trying to build up a clinic with lots of doctors for the community, this must be something of a blow.

I have to say I am very impressed with CSA Travel Insurance, we insure with them when we rent the cottage in North Carolina. Our friends who were unable to come with us on vacation got back practically the whole amount of their share of the rent and today we got back the cost of the blood test Matt had to have done. Great service. They took quite a hit this year too because of Hurricane Irene.

Here’s a simple little recipe which sounds pretty good. It is also a good recipe for those with diabetes.

Chocolate Spice Pudding

Source: dLife
Smooth and creamy chocolate treat flavored with ginger, allspice, and cinnamon.

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup sweetener (sugar substitute) (granular)
1 tbsp cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cup evaporated skim milk
1 raw egg yolks , slightly beaten
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup Cream, light

Directions

1 In a saucepan, mix together the cocoa powder, sweetener cornstarch, ginger, allspice, and cinnamon.
2 Slowly stir in the milk, cream, and egg yolk.
3 Cook the mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens.
4 Remove the saucepan from the heat source and add vanilla.
5 Take the mixture and pour it into 8 custard dishes
6 Refrigerate, chill and then serve.

Have a great weekend.

Christmas, Books, Rolled Ribs and Flu Shots

Right, that’s Christmas sorted. We are going with friends to Rushes – a local restaurant – for their Christmas buffet. We went once before and it was very good. They do not, in fact, hold it in the dining room but in a hall as they get such a large number of bookings. I was fascinated last time because they had so very much food including what seemed to be a continuous stream of turkey, beef and ham. All of which is beautifully cooked. They also have masses of starters and desserts up the kazoo. One dessert they had last time was a bread pudding with ginger sauce which I tried, delicious. Prior to that I hadn’t had bread pudding in years although I have several recipes for different versions. I don’t make that many desserts, especially when we are alone, I would be like the side of a mountain if I did although Matt would continue to be his slim self, no doubt.

Exchanging emails yesterday with Andy Hayler, whom I mentioned in my blog, he recommended a some books I might enjoy because I am enjoying the Millenium series (Stieg Larsson). The Wallander stories; apparently there is a TV series in the UK from these books. I have ordered the first one from the library. Thanks Andy.

Tomorrow Matt gets rid of his loop monitor, he will not be sorry. We are also going to get our flu shots, that means I will have a sore arm for a week, Matt doesn’t get any reaction at all. I was going to divorce Matt years ago, for cruelty, he never needs anything done to his teeth, he never gains weight, he never gets hangovers and these days he doesn’t get a sore arm from a flu shot. If that’s not cruelty, I don’t know what is. Actually I don’t really believe in flu shots for us, we haven’t had flu or a cold in years.

My friend just sent me her recipe for rolled ribs: when she serves these she also serves a gravy which certainly goes with the ribs although she tells me she would have gravy on everything. Its funny to me how some people love gravy, a friend of ours in the States used to particularly love white gravy – a real southern food. Personally I have never been that fond of gravy of any kind although I do eat it now and again an if any I prefer the one I make. Matt calls it jungle juice and if he runs out of meat will eat it on bread.

Rolled Ribs

Serves 4

4 small strips of back ribs (beef)

salt pepper garlic - I put lots on as I like it 1 cup of Stove Top Stuffing ( Turkey) I do not cook it just put hot water on it

Take the skin off the ribs ( I find if you don't do that they get tough) I always put some garlic on the inside too. Spread the stuffing on the ribs and roll them up make sure you don`t put too much in it or you will have a hard time rolling it Stick one toothpick in it and put string around it or they fall apart when you cook them Cook on 350°F for about 1 1/2 hours turn them once or twice I do not put water in the dish right way but when I check them I put some in or you can use beef broth but not too much, you don’t want to boil them.

La France, Shrimp, Decorations, Google Chrome.

I just was checking out the countries reading my blog. I was surprised so many were in France - I know a lot of French people are fluent in English, but nevertheless its surprising. Personally j'adore la France. I miss you France and wish I could visit you once more but I am an awfully long way away. I spent many hours in France, most of them, but by no means all, in Paris which despite a lack of paint, is still a great lady. I am now referring to 40 years ago of course. Things have probably changed. I have visited many areas of France and always enjoyed being there. I never had a bad meal anywhere, be it south, north or in the middle although I never went east. The food was always superb. I very much envy Marilyn of French Marilyn's blog (see link this page) who lives in Paris. In those days, we lived pretty close to France (the pink bit at the top of the map is England) so it was never very far to go. Saturday I made the Shrimp Saltimbocca with Polenta (see blog from Nov. 24), it was great, we both enjoyed it very much. Its very simple and easy to cook. I have to confess I scorched the polenta a tad, I had an Avon phone call right in the middle of cooking. However, it was OK when we ate. We drank a nice white Mouton Cadet Bordeaux with it which really complemented the dish. The decorations are up. Hoorah. We got through it once again without murder and mayhem. Matt is saying never again will we put up a tree, but it does look good once it is up. We vaguely thought about buying one which has lights on it already, but a size big enough for our room would cost a small fortune I think, plus, I wonder how long the lights actually last. If its anything like the tree lights, we usually end up buying those every year. Have you investigated Google Chrome? I started to the other day. Apart from anything else, they have books on line. I am reading Little Lord Fontleroy by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson - an old classic which had never come my way and which I had always wanted to read.. But they have all kinds of other books too. There is another section where you can write notes which can then be posted to your blog. It has access to the calendar too which I am using more and more these days as I can pick it up on my laptop if needed. We buy pork tenderloins at our local Costco (a retail warehouse chain) and find they are excellent. This recipe from Eating Well is one we will definitely try in the near future. Almond-Crusted Pork with Honey-Mustard Dipping Sauce From EatingWell: March/April 2009 Sliced almonds add a delectable, almost-like-fried-chicken crunch to the breading for these tender pieces of pork. We slice the pork thinly to keep the cooking time quick. The resulting pork “fingers” are great dipped in this surprisingly simple, delicious honey, soy and mustard sauce. 4 servings Ingredients * 1 cup coarse dry breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat (see Note) * 1/2 cup sliced almonds * 1 teaspoon garlic powder * 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt * 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper * 1 large egg white, beaten * 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices Dipping Sauce * 1/4 cup honey * 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce * 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Set a wire rack on a baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray. 2. Place breadcrumbs, almonds, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a food processor; pulse until the almonds are coarsely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish. 3. Place egg white in another shallow dish. Dip both sides of each pork slice in egg white, then evenly coat with the almond mixture. (Discard any remaining egg white and almond mixture.) Place the pork on the prepared rack and coat on both sides with cooking spray. 4. Bake the pork until golden brown and no longer pink in the center, 16 to 18 minutes. 5. Meanwhile, whisk honey, soy sauce and mustard in a small bowl. Serve the pork with the honey-mustard sauce. Tips & Notes * Note: We like Ian's brand of coarse dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs, labeled “Panko breadcrumbs.” Find them in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets. To make your own breadcrumbs, trim crusts from firm sandwich bread. Tear the bread into pieces and process in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Spread the breadcrumbs on a baking sheet and bake at 250°F until dry and crispy, about 15 minutes. One slice of bread makes about 1/3 cup dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs. Have a great day.

Christmas,

A lot of my e-friends have shut down their blogs for Christmas, they have gone away in some cases. I have no doubt a lot of people won't have much time to read blogs anyway, so I am thinking of taking a break as well. At least it is going to be hit and miss for a day or so. Just in case, I wish you all a very merry Christmas, or if you are celebrating it, a happy Hannukah with many blessings to come for the year 2009. Yesterday, we had our Christmas lunch at the bowling alley - we received a number of small gifts including a mug with all the fixings for hot chocolate from our team captain, really nice of her. A number of draws were held and small prizes given out. We eventually came home laden with goodies, I had to get a shopping bag from the alley to carry everything home with us. We will not be bowling again until January 2 for our Friday league or the following Monday for the other group. We will miss it. In the middle of that, on January 4, I am bowling in a tournament, so wish me luck. We actually went shopping around 4:30 a.m. last night and much to my surprise, the store was not that crowded. We picked up our turkey breast. It turns out to be about 4 lbs. I was offered a breast weighing about 8 lbs but as they wanted $42 we were somewhat horrified and settled for a smaller one. In North Carolina I used to buy them at 7 lbs for about $10. Not sure if I still can, but certainly not that expensive. I will be popping it in brine tomorrow. We have friends coming for dinner tonight so have a bit of preparation to do. It now appears I won't be volunteering this afternoon, so that allows me more time to cook, Matt won't have to do the bulk of it. He has to go have his ears lowered (haircut) this afternoon and to pick up a couple of things we forgot. Silly us. I sometimes think we would forget our heads etc. etc. To complement all the fattening and rich foods a lot of us are going to be eating in the next few days, here is a Citrus Salad from Best Ever Christmas. Citrus Salad 2 large oranges 2 large grapefruit 2 large tangelos 12 radishes, sliced 1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced 1 telegraph (? English, seedless) cucumber, sliced 1/2 cup coriander leaves Dressing 1/2 cup olive oil 1 tbs rice wine vinegar 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp sambal oelek Peel rind and pith from oranges, grapefruit and tangelos, cut fruit into 3 mm slices, remove seeds. Combine fruit slices in a large bowl with radish, onion, cucumber and coriander. To make dressing, place oil, vinegar, soy sauce and sambal oelek in a small jar. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds, or until combined. Pour over salad before serving. Have a great day.

Books, Christmas, Siam

Having highly recommended one of the books Glenda Larke (Tropic Temper see link this page) talked about, I started and am well into, another one she told us about. It is called Shadowgate by Gregory Frost. I wasn't too sure about it at first, but am thoroughly enjoying it now. It is a very unusual concept set in a world of spiralling bridges full of odd gods and various spirit creatures. I already have the second book, Lord Tophet and will look forward to reading that next. It is full of different stories but they are all linked together. Many of the stories being told by a shadow puppeteer. Glenda is so right, a book is a wonderful gift and I wish I had someone to buy books for, unfortunately Matt is not a reader although he will read really interesting non-fiction if he finds any he likes. However, he never even searches the library any more to see if they have anything he would like. He is perfectly content with the goggle box. Yesterday I was bemoaning the fact that we might get a green Christmas until it was pointed out to me that in Australia they often get a brown Christmas. I have never been able to imagine a searingly hot Christmas where you can swim at the beach or play volleyball. Where cooking and eating a turkey would probably be a nightmare on a scorchingly hot day. My Australian friends tell me a lot of people don't bother with traditional Christmas fare any more and eat more summer foods on that day. Sensible. Bit like the English (and others no doubt) when they went exploring a couple of centuries or so ago and ended up in hot countries like India or Hong Kong and still wore their serges and corsets whilst the locals wore cool saris and cheongsams made out of silks and other cool materials. If you ever read Tai Pan by James Clavell, that is part of the background and highlights how silly the people were in those days, or maybe hidebound is a better way of expressing it. Another good example was Anna Leonowens who was made famous by Anna and the King of Siam or later by The King and I. If you read her actual memoirs she was very scathing of the Siamese royalty and certainly wouldn't have dreamt of laying aside her Victorian corsets for the clothes worn by the people of Siam. I was Googling Anna Leonowens and just read the Wikipedia article about her, absolutely fascinating click here to read the article. I had never heard that she ended up in Canada having travelled and lived in many countries and is buried in Quebec. I read the early book by Margaret Landon, but hadn't read very much more about her. I knew the movies were somewhat like fairy tales and I always loved Yul Brynner as the king but apparently the Siamese or Thai people as they are known today, have banned the movies as they say the King was nothing like that and has been portrayed as a polka dancing clown. In a later film, they say he was more like a cowboy. Do read the article, its interesting. I was going to give you a recipe for Pad Thai having been talking about Siam or Thailand. However, I have just found a page which purports to give you the authentic recipe together with instructions for making it. Rather than trying to copy and paste all the information, I will just link you to the The Thai Table where you can see for yourselves. Have a great day.