Exercise Class, Barrie's Farm, English Mustard.

I went to exercise class today, Monday, not having made it last week because of my back, sciatica, whatever. This week I need to go 3 times as there is no bowling and next Monday is a holiday so no exercise class. I did OK n the class but my back has been giving me hell ever since.

Then we went to the asparagus farm. No, not for asparagus, for honey. I was nearly out so we headed over there. Whilst there I got a punnet of blueberries which hopefully Matt will enjoy. He has been saying the blueberries he has tried lately are tasteless. I got myself some sweet corn too. Just two cobs as Matt doesn't eat it. Instead of my usual afternoon snack, I ate my corn, deeeelicious. I would love to eat more of it, but I don't want to put back the weight I lost and I could easily do this. I did NOT use butter - to me they taste delicious without. Talking of corn, have you tried microwaving it? I leave it in it's husk and nuke it for 4 minutes. Then removing it wearing an oven glove I cut off the end where the stalk is. Technically they say you can then just hold the end with the silk, shake it and everything comes off clean, never worked for me, but if you hold onto the silk at the end and then shuck the leaves, the silk comes off with the leaves. OK, in the picture I didn't do it that way, but I did on Monday.

Because my back was killing me we had a simple supper of devilled eggs and salad. I have mentioned before that I use English Mustard to make my eggs. The classic mustard is Colman's although it is marketed as Keene's in Canada. In England it is mixed into a paste and often eaten with roast beef or ham. A restaurateur we used to know always boasted he was so busy he had 6 men in the cellar making Colman's mustard. We used to always serve champagne cocktails, a good ham and Colman's mustard on Christmas morning. People tended to assume that the mustard was the same as the wimpy stuff found on this continent, we would warn them, but they took no notice and it would make us laugh to see the pain on their faces and the tears coming out of their eyes. We did warn them first. We tried to start this tradition in Canada but it never worked for various reasons. Pity.

I love chilled soups in the summer and this is a very unusual sound recipe. I found it in Food & Wine who send me a regular email.

Chilled Beet and Green Apple Bisque

Contributed by Justin Chapple

• SERVINGS: 4 to 6

Shredding the beets and apples for this deep fuchsia soup cuts down on the cooking time and keeps

the sweet-tart flavors fresh.

Ingredients

1.  1 1/2 pounds medium beets, peeled and cut into wedges
2. 2 Granny Smith apples—peeled, cored and cut into wedges
3. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4. 2 shallots, thinly sliced
5. 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
6. 2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
7. 1/4 cup apple juice
8. Salt
9. 1/2 cup sour cream mixed with 1 tablespoon water
10. Shaved or julienned beets and small beet greens, for garnish

1. In a food processor fitted with the shredding disk or using a box grater, shred the beets and apples.
2. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the shallots and garlic and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the shredded beets and apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until just starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and 3 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the beets are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
3. In a blender, puree the soup with the apple juice until very smooth. Transfer to a bowl; refrigerate until chilled, 45 minutes.
4. Stir tablespoons of water into the soup if it gets too thick, then season with salt. Ladle the soup into bowls and swirl in the 
sour cream. Garnish with shaved or julienned beets and beet greens and serve.

Make Ahead

The soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. 

Have a great day
 

Polling, Mustard, Christmas Drink. In the News.

This is Wednesday night. Sandwiches are made and in the fridge, fruit washed and ready, plus a few cookies, just a bit of salad to prepare and we are all set for election day. Our Returning Office phoned us this afternoon and will do so again at 7 a.m. in the morning just to be sure nothing is stopping us from turning up. We have to be at the station at 8 a.m. and will probably not leave til 9 p.m. We don’t try for the more senior jobs as we don’t wish to be involved in counting votes and possibly having to stay quite a bit later, especially if there is a problem.

 

We had a call from our friends in North Carolina they had received the Colman’s mustard which they thought was a great joke, only trouble was they wanted the ham to go with it. We buy a good quality ready cooked ham and then slice it thinly and serve it with the Colman’s Mustard, not forgetting the champagne cocktails of course. This is a very hot mustard, and really brings out the taste of a good ham.

 

Just before posting this I caught a couple of news items, one that Apple co-founder has just died at the age of 56, very young. There is an obituary at http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/10/05/apple-jobs-death.html. The second item was that Sarah Palin is not going to run for President. Matt said he wasn't surprised, she just likes to make a noise that's all. I really thought she would go for it. Anyone who voted for her would have been nuts in my opinion, she didn't even complete the job of being Governor of Alaska.

The weather was absolutely delightful today, we sat out on our balcony in the sun for a while and it was really quite hot. It is supposed to be the same tomorrow so we may get a good turnout at the polls.

Not sure if I have ever given a recipe for our champagne cocktails. The picture looks like it could be the same, but the basics are there.

In a glass put:
1/2 shot of brandy
1 cube or 1 tsp sugar
Twist of orange peel (no zest)
Fill up with champagne.
Drink with caution. They are pretty lethal.

Of course there a dozens of recipes for champagne cocktails but this is what we always serve on Christmas morning for brunch. My family tradition was always just champagne, but Matt is not that keen on straight champagne so he changed the tradition to cocktails.

That’s it for today, and if you live in Ontario, don’t forget to vote. Have a great day.

Books, Mustard, Transferring Videos.

Oops, I didn’t go to bed til gone 2 a.m. last night reading The Land of the Painted Caves, yup its that good, only trouble is I am tired this morning, serves me right. This is the best book Jean M. Auel has written in a while, not a patch on the first book, The Clan of the Cave Bear, but still very good. She still is a bit repetitive about some things, but generally I have enjoyed it very much. If you have been following the series, you will not be disappointed in this one. I still haven’t finished it, but not much further to go. Of course I will then be disappointed I have finished it.

I have sent a “giggle” present to friends in NC with whom we spent a lot of time. Several years ago, when we lived there still, they came to our Christmas morning ham and champagne sessions and the husband absolutely loved our ham and Colman’s Powdered Mustard. Having discovered Google.com sell it, I sent him a can of the mustard. He can provide his own ham. Actually, we are out of this mustard ourselves and there is only one store around town that sells it, as far as I know that is, and that is Vincenzo’s which is a fantastic place, I have talked about it before. We have to go get some before Wednesday when I will be making some ham sandwiches, amongst others, to take to the polling station the next day. We have to take both lunch and supper plus anything we want to drink. Yesterday I phoned the local area office as they had mis-spelled Matt’s name with only one T. If we had been working where we vote, I could have done the change myself. By the way, if you are wondering about Colman’s, it is, in my opinion, the only hot mustard. Nothing to do with Dijon, although you can make a good substitute mixing Colman’s and wine vinegar.

Dunno whether I am daft or not, but I have ordered a little gadget which plugs into one’s VCR and into the computer and can be used to transfer videos to the computer in order to either save them or put them on DVDs. I certainly have some stuff I would definitely like to save. The gadget is called an EasyCAP USB 2.0 Video Capture Box w/Audio. We’ll see how it works.

Just had to add this from How-to-Geek

Its been pretty chilly round here this week which makes me start thinking of warm winter dishes although in fact I understand it is going to warm up this weekend.

Slow-Cooked Brisket in Onion Gravy

Source: © EatingWell Magazine

14 servings

This brisket is cooked with beef broth and loads of onions that melt down into a luscious gravy. Serve the brisket and gravy over a mound of steaming mashed potatoes with a side of green beans or sliced carrots for a perfect Sunday dinner.

Make Ahead Tip: Prepare onion mixture (Step 2) using 2 tablespoons oil (instead of 1) to cook the onions. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. To finish, complete Step 1, bring the onion mixture to a simmer and finish with Steps 3-5. The cooked brisket and gravy can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

INGREDIENTS
5 pounds flat-cut beef brisket (see Note), trimmed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 large onions, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

: Cook the brisket for the shorter amount of time suggested if you prefer firmer, sliceable meat. If you like it to be falling apart, for shredding rather than slicing, set your timer for the longer time. Note: Brisket cuts are notoriously fatty, but the flat “first-cut” is much leaner than the fattier “point cut.” It may be worth calling ahead to make sure your supermarket or butcher has one on hand.

DIRECTIONS
Cut brisket into two or three pieces small enough to fit into a Dutch oven; pat dry. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and brown the brisket one piece at a time, about 2 minutes per side, adding an extra tablespoon of oil if necessary to prevent sticking. Transfer the brisket to a 5-quart (or larger) slow cooker.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 6 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and pepper and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste. Add beef broth and salt; bring to a boil.
Transfer the onion mixture to the slow cooker. Cover and cook until the brisket reaches desired tenderness (see Timing Tip, above), 4 to 5 hours on High or 8 to 10 hours on Low.
Transfer the brisket to a cutting board and slice or shred. Place in a serving dish; cover to keep warm. Transfer the gravy to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil rapidly for 5 minutes to reduce slightly.

Meanwhile, mix butter and flour in a small bowl until smooth and creamy. Once the gravy has reduced, lower the heat to maintain a simmer. Stir in Worcestershire sauce. Whisk half the butter mixture into the gravy and return to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until it thickens slightly, 1 to 3 minutes. If the gravy does not thicken enough (it should have the consistency of a cream soup), add the rest of the butter mixture and repeat. Do not overcook. Serve the brisket with the gravy.

Variation: Use 3 cups leftover brisket and 2 cups gravy to make Brisket Sloppy Joes. Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 seeded and diced green bell pepper and 1 seeded and minced jalapeño pepper (optional) and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1 drained 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, 2 teaspoons chili powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add 3 cups chopped Slow-Cooked Brisket, 2 cups Onion Gravy, 2 tablespoons molasses and 2 tablespoons brown sugar; stir well. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes to meld flavors. Serve on warm whole-wheat or onion buns.

Per serving: 461 calories; 15 g fat (4 g sat, 8 g mono); 63 mg cholesterol; 48 g carbohydrate; 34 g added sugars; 34 g protein; 6 g fiber; 855 mg sodium; 864 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Zinc (73% daily value), Vitamin C (63% dv), Magnesium (25% dv), Potassium (22% dv), Vitamin A (20% dv). 2 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 2 vegetable, 1 carbohydrate (other), 4 lean meat, 1 fat

Have a great day

Cartoon, Rambling, Vincenzo’s.

A friend posted a bunch of cartoons on Facebook yesterday, this one, in particular, appealed to me.

Matt thinks I have an odd sense of humour anyway, but I return the compliment.

We are a pair of dummies, no you don’t have to agree; at the weekend we were wondering why Matt hadn’t received Father’s Day cards from his daughters, guess what, we are in the middle of a postal strike. It just didn’t occur to either of us.

I didn’t go bowling yesterday, decided to wait til next week before stressing my puncture site. I am supposed to be allowing the dressing to “fall off” naturally, it certainly shows no sign of doing so, maybe it will be a permanent fixture and my skin will rot out underneath LOL. I must say I am most impressed with this dressing, it adheres extremely well, I wish we could get Band Aids which stuck as well as this thing does.

Having said I prefer my strawberries plain with a dollop of good cream, I got a recipe this morning which I think I will share tomorrow. It does look pretty good, it’s a kind of strawberry cheesecake although not quite like the ones we normally see over here. It is a BBC version.

Today we are going on a store hunt. There is a shop called Vincenzo’s which is wonderful for all kinds of deli items, great cheese selections, breads, cakes, you name it they have it. They moved last year and we have never actually found where they are although we think they have a pretty good idea. So today we are going to check it out, in particular as we have discovered that the store where we always bought Borgonzola doesn’t stock it any more and Vincenzo’s do, according to Tre Stelle who market it. I mentioned Borgonzola a few years back, it is a creamy blue cheese which is a Canadian version of Cambazola (German) and to our taste buds, better. I have heard it described as a copy of Gorgonzola, not really the same at all. Vincenzo’s are also the only place I know of which sells Colman’s dry mustard powder. Once again, there is only one mustard to me. Of course I was brought up with Colman’s mustard. There is nothing better than a really good slice of ham with some Colman’s mustard, yummy. We always used to serve that on Christmas morning with champagne cocktails. We still do, but just for us these days. Everyone else is too busy.

We both like cooked pears and these look good to me. We do another recipe where they are cooked in red wine which is delicious.

Honey Roasted Pears

By The Sprouted Kitchen
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Inspired by Joy the Baker

I used three pears, because that is what fit perfectly into my cast iron skillet. You could probably adjust more or less depending on what type of pan you use, just be certain it is heavy bottomed and oven proof. I don’t often push an organic agenda, but since this is a short list of ingredients, I’d suggest using organic dairy products for best flavor results.

Ingredients

3 Ripe Pears (Bosc worked beautifully)
2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
½ Cup Honey
1 tsp. Real Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp. Muscavado or Brown Sugar
½ Cup Thyme Sprigs
Salt
8 oz. Whipping Cream
1 tsp. Cinnamon
2 Tbsp. Honey
¾ Cup Plain Greek Yogurt

Instructions

Heat oven to 450′

Cut the pears in half length wise, use a small spoon or melon baller to remove the tough seeded center.

In a cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet, add the butter, honey, vanilla, muscavado or brown sugar, thyme sprigs and a generous sprinkle of salt. Let everything come to a gentle boil and stir continuously, about 2 minutes.

Add the halved pears to the pan, cut side down. Give it a shake and let them simmer on the stove about 2 minutes. Turn the pears over so they are now cut side up and transfer the pan to the oven, middle rack. Bake for 12 minutes until the pears are soft and the sauce has caramelized.

While the pears are baking, beat the cold whipping cream with an electric mixer until stiff. Add the honey, pinch of salt, cinnamon and beat another minute to combine. Gently fold in the Greek yogurt, this will make it a bit thinner, but that’s ok, it still tastes lovely, I promise.

Put one or two pears on a plate, drizzle with a hefty spoonful of sauce with a sprig of thyme for garnish, and a generous dollop or yogurt cream

Total Servings: 3

Have a great day