Grouse, Anniversary, Vincenzo’s.

Well after all my grousing yesterday, I do feel better today. What an odd word grouse is, do Grouse grouse? I just did some Googling and Wiki tells me the grouse with which I am familiar is the Red Grouse which is considered a game bird and as every Britisher of my age group knows, is hunted from August 12th or The Glorious Twelfth. I have never eaten a grouse and understand it is a similar bird to the Ptarmigan and the only thing I know about that is that in The Clan of the Cave Bear, it was a favourite of their Mog Ur when cooked stuffed with its own eggs. I imagine Red Grouse are very good eating from all I have heard and the amount which are shot each year. However, I still haven’t found a connection between the bird and grousing or complaining.

Today the old man and I celebrate 41 years of wedded bliss, or something, and have decided to go to the Boa Nova Rodizio Grill which calls itself a Portuguese restaurant with a Brazilian twist; in Kitchener. You know; where they bring the skewers of fire roasted meats to your table and carve off what you require. Delicious. There is an hors d’oeuvres bar and then when you are ready you eat the barbecued meats and if you wish you can finish with barbecued pineapple. I just realised today that in fact the pineapple isn’t considered dessert and they have desserts as well. They gave Matt a cheesecake with a candle for his birthday some years ago, so I guess I should have known. Our anniversary is yet another of those celebrations where I drink fizz, or wines made by the methode champenoise. Sparkling wine anyway.

This is getting like being on vacation because Thursday we will be eating at the Red Lobster prior to our first Travel League outing this season. Now where can we go Friday? I gained a few pounds whilst away so I actually have to work at losing them again. Restaurants don’t help.

Think I mentioned I brought back some Kimchi from NC. Meant to get more. Matt doesn’t like it but I adore it. I guess I could make my own, but don’t really have room in an apartment for storage of such things. I decided to call my favourite deli store, Vincenzo’s and lo and behold, they have it. Not only that, I thought I would ask about horseradish and they assure me they have one which brings tears to the eyes. They are a good place to shop so I believe them and will try it out. Now we have a different bowling alley, we don’t pass them each week so have to make a special trip.

This recipe comes from Kevin at Closet Cooking who is also a fan of Kimchi and does make his own. Actually, re-reading it, maybe I will have a go at making my own. Not sure if I can get gochugaru, maybe I should check in Vincenzo’s for that too.

Kimchi

Ingredients:
1 medium napa cabbage (about 2-3 pounds)
1/2 cup salt
1 bunch green onions (sliced into 1 inch pieces)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 inch ginger (grated)
1 cup gochugaru (Korean red chili flakes)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce for a vegetarian version)

Directions:
1. Cut the napa cabbage in half, remove the core and slice the cabbage into 1 inch wide strips.
2. Place a layer of cabbage into a large bowl and sprinkle some salt onto the cabbage. Repeat until all of the cabbage is in the bowl and salted.
3. Let the cabbage sit in the salt for a few hours.
4. Rinse the salt from the cabbage.
5. Mix the cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, gochugaru and fish sauce in the large bowl.
6. Place the cabbage mixture into a sealable container, leave a couple of inches at the top.
7. Seal the container and let ferment at room temperature for 2-3 days.
8. Place the container in the fridge and let ferment for a couple more days.

Have a great day

PC Probs, Books, Blind Vaulting.

I seem to be having some kind of computer problems, I have written a post and then it disappeared into cyber space. The next time I tried, half of it was missing, then I couldn’t type any more on the page. So I have no idea whether this one will work or not.

I started by telling you that I am overloaded with actual books at the moment, either loaned by friends or from the library. I am reading Calculated in Death by J.D. Robb at the moment – I have enjoyed all her books in this series so far and this one appears to be up to standard. Then I have two huge Ken Follett novels to read, one from the library, The Fall of Giants and the second a loaner from a friend, Winter of the World, the first two books in the Century Trilogy.  I have been reading Ken Follett books over the years and have always enjoyed them too, particularly one of the first which was the Eye of the Needle. There is at least one more book to read and then of course, the Kindle.

Saw an incredible piece on the ABC World News yesterday about a 15 yr. old pole vaulter who is not only the best in her school but the best in Texas too. She has jumped 11’6” which is quite some height. However, the most incredible thing about this young woman, Charlotte Brown, is that she is legally blind and cannot see what she is jumping.  She can distinguish light and dark so they line side of the run up in a contrasting colour so she can make out where it is. If you check the link you will see Diane Sawyer in the link from the TV segment.

I regularly receive a blog called Closet Cooking by Kevin Lynch. He produces some very good recipes and lots of great photos. Today, funnily enough, he produced a recipe for asparagus which I have linked you to. Baked Asparagus Fries. To titillate your taste buds, here is one of his pictures.

Don’t they look delicious. I will certainly be trying these. I have found a couple of other recipes, one of which uses almonds instead of Parmesan which would be good for my vegan friends. I have seen a number of different dips suggested too or you could just use mayonnaise if you wanted to.

Have a great day