Angry Dad, Fish Pie, Books, Snow.

On Facebook yesterday there was a video from a pissed off dad who had accessed his daughter’s Facebook page where she had been carrying on about all the chores she had to do and what a terrible life she had. The video was his response, at the end of it all, he shot her laptop! Bit extreme I thought, and then I wondered if in fact it was a current laptop or an obsolete one. The dad is in IT so he would possibly have access to such things. If you haven’t seen the video you can do so here.

I recently read a recipe which was based on a Fish Pie as frequently made in the UK. I suddenly realised I hadn’t made one since we left North Carolina. Probably because of the lack of fresh fish, however, I figured I could make one with frozen haddock and some of the shrimp we brought back from NC. I guess that will be on the books for one day next week, quite looking forward to it as I haven’t had one in so long. I will share my recipe with you on Monday perhaps, once I have reminded myself how I go about making one. I still haven’t got round to making the lamb hot pot I planned ages ago, but I really haven’t been up to doing too much lately. I had planned to go bowling yesterday, but changed my mind in the end.

After my little rant yesterday about sexy books, I have actually come across one or two excellent stories which included explicit sexual descriptions but nevertheless I enjoyed them very much. Yesterday I had just put down a book which I really considered somewhat obscene and this is what prompted my outburst. Right now I am reading a book by one of my favourite authors, Dave Duncan, and its called Against the Light. Not sure if it’s a series, will find out at the end I guess, I downloaded it from Amazon.com for my Kindle and as all of his books, I am enjoying it very much. If you like fantasy his are excellent.

It looks a lot like Canada again now, we have had a heavy snowfall. Everyone was hoping our mild winter would last,  but…. I wonder what happens to all the rising sap and budding trees. Well, if there are buds, they will no doubt be damaged. So will any spring flowers which raised their heads. Ah well, that’s Mother Nature for you.

I haven’t made stuffed peppers in a while, not sure why, I enjoy them. I did lose one recipe I liked so maybe that has something to do with it. Anyway, WebMD came up with a healthy version which I thought looked and sounded pretty good.

Smoky Stuffed Peppers

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Turkey sausage and smoked cheese give a flavorful boost to this versatile, somewhat retro dinner. We've speeded it up by microwave-blanching the peppers and using instant brown rice. If possible, choose peppers that will stand upright.

Servings: 6

To Make Ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Recipe Ingredients:

1. 6 large bell peppers, tops cut off, seeded
2. 12 ounces hot Italian turkey sausage links, removed from casings
3. 1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
4. 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
5. 2 cups instant brown rice
6. 1 cup chopped fresh basil
7. 1 cup finely shredded smoked cheese, such as mozzarella, Cheddar or Gouda, divided

Recipe Steps:

1. Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler.
2. Place peppers cut-side down in a large microwave-safe dish. Fill the dish with 1/2 inch of water, cover and microwave on High until the peppers are just softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain the water and transfer the peppers to a roasting pan.
3. Meanwhile, cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes and rice; increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the rice is softened but still moist, 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, until the rice absorbs the remaining liquid, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir basil and half the cheese into the rice mixture. Divide the filling among the peppers, then top with the remaining cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 294 calories; 11 g fat (5 g saturated fat, 0 g mono unsaturated fat); 45 mg cholesterol; 32 g carbohydrates; 19 g protein; 5 g fiber; 533 mg sodium; 418 mg potassium

I hope you have a wonderful weekend

Mushrooms, Reading, Overgenerous Tipping, Cat Poop Coffee.

I said we hadn’t had Portobello mushrooms for a while, well we did on Saturday evening. Just gently sautéed in butter. They were delicious. We had a simple dinner of a fillet steak and the mushrooms together with a glass or two of wine. Can’t be easily beaten.

I also started Pock’s World over the weekend. It is by Dave Duncan who is one of my favourite authors. I see on Amazon.com they are promising to get it to you by Christmas if your order straight away. It is a very different story from anything I have read written by Dave Duncan before. I haven’t got very far into it, but it takes place on a planet which is about to be cauterized because of the possible existence of non human look alikes. That means the death of over 6 million people.

On Sunday morning I heard someone on GMA talking about tipping. She was giving advice on who should be tipped at this time of the year. Maybe she had a lot of money, but I certainly couldn’t afford, even when I was working, to hand out tips to all the people she recommended. Go to http://tinyurl.com/36w3wd2 although this is not the same source, these women have very big ideas on what and who and how much to tip. As a pensioner I certainly couldn’t all the tips they talk about. Absolute nonsense. They talk about economic problems, but these people obviously have NOT been affected by the current economy or they have more money than sense.

Talk about coincidences. Last night we watched The Bucket List what a fantastic movie with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, if you have never seen it, I can highly recommend it. Jack Nicholson, being a very rich man in the movie, was drinking Kopi Luwak which is the most expensive coffee in the world, however, Morgan Freeman who knew everything (he was a whiz at Jeopardy) convinced Jack that in fact the coffee berries are eaten by civet cats, excreted and then the natives roast them and make coffee. Jack Nicholson said "are you shitting me" and Morgan Freeman said "no the cats beat me to it". Damn me if an hour after the movie there was a segment on the news about Kopi Luwak - it costs about $25 a cup or $500 a pound. The picture shows the source of the pre-digested coffee beans. One cannot imagine how it came about that anyone tried this in the first place. Nor can I imagine why anyone would pay through the nose to drink it.

Bianna Golodryga is one of the hosts of the weekend edition of Good Morning America. All the programme hosts have been sharing recipes which they eat at Christmas and this was her contribution. I never look at chocolate pie recipes without thinking of Matt’s youngest when she came to visit us in Canada some 20 years ago. She went absolutely nuts on chocolate pie and we had to buy frozen pies by the dozen for her, every restaurant we went into, she ordered chocolate pie for dessert.

Bianna Golodryga's Favorite Chocolate Pie

Recipe Courtesy Bianna Golodryga

Servings: 6-8

Are you looking for a chocolate fix? Bianna's pie is just the right combination of rich chocolate, crispy crust and crunchy toasted nuts.

Ingredients

1 graham cracker pie crust 1 8oz package light Philadelphia cream cheese ¾ cup of sugar 1/8th teaspoon vanilla powder 4 tablespoons Hershey's cocoa 2 1/2 cartons (8 oz) Kraft light cool whip Toasted pecan, almond, or walnut chips

Directions

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and cocoa and mix with a hand mixer on medium speed until the mixture is smooth.

Add cool whip and continue mixing until all of cool whip is blended with the filling and the mixture becomes thick. Pour filling into the pie crust. Sprinkle with toasted nuts, if desired.

Have a great day

How Big is Africa, More on Books.

A friend posted the link to this map on Facebook the other day and I found it fascinating. I had never realised the African continent was quite so large. http://tinyurl.com/2vj3cjj She commented that Canada wasn’t included in the comparisons, and I wonder just how much space it would take when compared to Africa, it’s a pretty big country, but….. I hadn’t realised the States would take up so little room either. It reminds me of The King and I when the Siamese kids are shown a world map and cannot believe their country is just a dot compared to the rest of the world.

I’ve just started a new Dave Duncan book Speak to the Devil where magic is considered to be evil and swordsmen are no longer so useful in the new age of firearms. I have always enjoyed Dave Duncan’s books, in particular the King’s Blade series which I have in ebook form and love every one of them. Just checking his web page I see there are a few books I haven’t kept up on, so must do so in the near future.

Have to go see my foot nurse this morning so not much time to write. I have always loved rice dishes and most of those which come from Spain. This is fairly unusual and one which I will certainly try quite soon.

Baked Rice with Currants and Chickpeas

Source: The Heritage of Spanish Cooking

Serves 4

While coastal areas have seafood risottos based on fish broth, inland villages use cocido broth as a basis for countless rice dishes. INGREDIENTS

5 oz currants

1/3 cup olive oil

1 head garlic, rinsed and dried

1 tomato, peeled and finely chopped

1 teaspoon paprika

6 1/2 oz chickpeas, cooked

3 1/3 cups cocido or meat broth, hot

Salt

2 1/2 cups medium-grain rice

DIRECTIONS

Soak the currants in warm water for 3-4 hours. Drain. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a 14 in. shallow casserole. When it is hot, add the head of garlic and half the currants and fry gently. Add the tomato and then the paprika. Stir, then add the chickpeas and broth.

Check the seasoning. When the broth comes to a boil, add the rice and spread out evenly. The head of garlic should be in the center. Sprinkle the remaining currants on top, then bake for 15-18 minutes.

Taste a few grains to check that the rice is cooked, then remove from the oven and serve immediately straight from the casserole.

Have a great day