My Thursday, Movies,

As I was planning to go to Costco on Thursday afternoon, I figured I should defrost the freezer to make more room and to check exactly what I had of what, so, when I got up, I started the process and unloaded all the food into cool boxes plus a few things went in the fridge freezer and so on. Was well under way and came to the computer when the phone rang, it was my driver asking if she could pick me up at 11:45 instead of 3:35.  Wasn't sure about leaving the freezer, but decided it was OK so I agreed and then had to rush around a tad.

Went to Costco and ended up buying a roast of lamb, some lamb chops, fillet steaks and a heap of skinless, boneless chicken thighs. A lot of the Instant Pot recipes I have been making call for chicken thighs. Tammy, my driver, pushed the shopping cart and I used my walker and managed to get to the back of the store but had to sit for a few minutes once there. (Didn't see any motorized carts, might have missed them). Tammy was extremely helpful putting my purchases in plastic bags and such. I ended up with one large shopping bag full which was great. I said to the cashier that at least I hadn't spent $300, her response was "well we'll see you tomorrow, you only bought meat, you need the vegetables". I must say my legs were pretty sorry for themselves by the time we had finished. We were lucky though, got through the checkout quickly despite the hundreds of people there. Never seen it so crowded. We were also lucky to get the closest wheelchair spot in the parking lot.

When I got home, the freezer was well and truly defrosted so I dried off any dampness and turned it back on again. Of course, I ended up with quite a few soggy towels which I had used to catch the wet. Shoved everything back in and endeavoured to update my freezer list at the same time. Then came the fun part of unpacking the chops, steaks and chicken and repacking them in the freezer. At least the roast could go straight in. I do hate having to repack things like that, got Matt to help me with the chicken. He held open the plastic bags and I shoved the thighs in. That way I didn't have to wash my hands every time.

I saw a very nice looking carrot cake (thought it was meringue at first) but I resisted. Spent quite enough as it was. By the time everything was done, I was knackered but didn't have time for a nap as it was getting on for supper time.

There is a theatre in Niagara on the Lake which celebrates the summer season with the Shaw Festival. They do have Shaw plays, but other stuff as well. This year they are doing Brigadoon which is one of my favourite shows. Would love to go and see it but not likely. Anyway, I thought "why don't I have that movie?" well, I do now. Haven't opened it yet, but next time there is an uninteresting TV night we will watch it. Gene Kelly, Van Johnson and Cyd Charisse are the stars. Long time since I last saw it so I am looking forward to it. I've always loved Cyd Charisse. I am not 100% sure if I prefer Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire. Love to watch both of them. In fact watched Astaire the other night - don't remember the name of the film right now but it is the one where he dances on the walls and ceiling of his room.

We had leftovers for supper so I shoved some rice in the Instant Pot to go with them. I always used to end up with a boil over when making rice, not any more. Thanks Ivy.

I had kind of forgotten about this recipe which I enjoyed very much last year. Must make it again. Got to get some endive of course. Because they are so involved in installing a Starbucks in my grocery store, it is not always possible to get what I want. What on earth we want a Starbucks here for I don't know, especially as we have a Tim Horton's close by and that is a very Canadian coffee chain.

Asparagus and Endive Salad

1 lb fresh asparagus , trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 tsp grated orange peel
1 Tbs Juice, orange, fresh
2 Tbs seasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs small shallots , minced
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp black pepper
8 oz Belgian endive, fresh, head, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch strips (2 heads)

1. Place 1/2 inch of water at the bottom of a 12 inch pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add in asparagus and cook until tender yet crisp, about 2 minutes. Place in strainer, rinse under cold water, drain, and pat dry with paper towels.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the orange peel, orange juice, vinegar, oil, shallots, sugar, salt, mustard, and pepper until well combined.

3. Add the asparagus and endive to the bowl with the dressing. Mix well to evenly coat and serve.

Servings: 4

Source: dLife

Have a great day
 

Space Dragons, New Species, Freezer, Losing Weight, Chia.

Happy Memorial Day to all my friends in the US. I hope you don't have too much that is sad to remember and can recall all the good things this day can also mean to you.

Fascinating article over the weekend about the privately funded Dragon supply ship taking supplies to the space station. Glenda Larke commented that sci fi and science were coming together. You can look at that two ways, Dragons (as in creatures) and space stations, or the subjects written by sci fi writers now coming true. Nasa having backed off a lot of space research and technology, private companies were very much needed to fill the gap. There was a recent report on one company which is planning to mine asteroids for their abundance of materials. All of this is very much what sci fi writers have been writing about for years. I just wish some of them were still around to see what is happening today, especially one of my favourites, Isaac Asimov. The picture shows the Canadarm2 pulling the unmanned SpaceX Dragon to the space station. There are some fascinating shots accompanying the article. This picture is from NASA.

Another fascinating series about the top 10 new species discovered in 2011. One of which is a monkey called the Sneezing Monkey because of its tendency to sneeze when it rains!!! This animal was found in Burma and is believed to be a highly endangered species. Then there is the fruity smelling mushroom which they have called Spongebob Square Pants which was found in Malaysia. The picture is apparently a photo reconstruction of the monkey. There are more photos on the site which can be seen here including, of course, the Spongebob mushroom. It is always incredible to me that we are still discovering new species after all the scientific exploration which has been taking place for so long. I am surprised there is anything left to discover. Another discovery is the Meconopsis autumnalis which is a yellow poppy which grows in the high mountain regions of Nepal in areas which are seldom visited. The pictures are from Arizona State University.

Saturday – one of my least favourite jobs, defrosting the freezer. Actually it wasn’t too bad this time thanks goodness. Used to be easy when living in NC, the freezer was in the shed – we unloaded it and just turned it off and left the door open, defrosted in no time at all – in summer of course. We have to use a lot of towels in an apartment otherwise water would get everywhere. What I don’t understand, if they can make a fridge with a freezer on top that is frost free, why on earth can’t they make a whole freezer frost free? Not that I would ever let our freezer get this frozen up. In the first place, you lose most of the room and in the second place the appliance has to work twice as hard to keep things frozen.
 
I have a blogger friend who has just won a dieting book. I am receiving inspirational emails from a losing weight source, several people I know have gone to the extremes of having lap bands or tummy tucks or whatever in an effort to become slimmer. There are hundreds of diet plans, diet foods, exercise places, you name it; after struggling with my weight since I was a child, I have come to the conclusion that none of these things work, or at least, not forever. At least one girl I know decided to have a second operation and nearly died this time. Today she is the same large size as she ever was. I forgot about the friend who had lipo suction. She looked good - for a while. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, there is really and truly only one way to do it. Get your head in gear and start eating sensibly. DO NOT eat more than your body uses on a daily basis. If you are eating a sensible balance of all the food groups, and you are not losing weight, you need to cut back a little, not a lot, but enough to encourage your system not to store the excess. YOU and only YOU can control your weight. I hasten to point out that this is purely and simply MY opinion and only based on observation and experience not on medical fact.


I have been seeing a lot about Chia seeds lately and how good they are for you, better than Flax apparently. Yes, the very same Chia seeds that you spread all over your Chia Pets. One and the same. Who knew? I’ve linked to an article on the top ten benefits of Chia Seeds, think I will have to get myself some. They help control hunger and balance blood sugar apparently. No, I’ve never heard of Pinole, but they say you can use cornmeal and that is easily obtained.

Vegan Pinole-Chia Waffles
ByThe No Meat Athlete
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

These aren’t just any vegan waffle -- they’re based on the diet of the Tarahumara, a Mexican tribe of super-athlete ultra-marathoners. Even if you’re not out to run the marathon in record time, these are super tasty, great for a sweet tooth, and dense with nutrients and foods lacking in junk.

Ingredients

3/4 cup medium to finely ground cornmeal or pinole
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup oats, ground
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup hemp milk
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

If starting with cornmeal instead of pinole, toast it lightly in a pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until it is lightly browned and fragrant. If you are using real pinole, grind in a coffee grinder to make into a fine-textured flour.
Preheat waffle iron.
Stir together the cornmeal, chia, ground oats, salt, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, mix together the applesauce, hemp milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. (The coconut oil needs to be at warm temperature or warmer to mix, so you may need to microwave it to get it to a liquid state.)
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry to combine into a smooth batter. Spray the waffle iron with baking spray even if it is nonstick, and pour batter into hot iron. Follow the directions of your waffle iron, or wait until the iron stops steaming.
Carefully remove waffles from iron, re-spray the waffle iron with cooking spray, and repeat. This was enough batter to fill my waffle iron two and a half times, making 5 small waffles.
To enjoy immediately, top with maple syrup and the fruits of your choice. Alternatively, slice into bars, freeze and take on your next run.
Total Servings: 4

Have a great day,