Lunch, Movie, Diabetes, Bulbs,

Guess where I am going to lunch today - yes, Mandarin. I wanted to get in one more visit whilst the New Year's dumpling festival was still taking place. I do love dumplings.

Just watched High Noon, Gary Cooper, I have known that song forever, can virtually sing it word for word, but I don't think I ever saw the film before. They talked a lot about politics before and after and the Black List. Politics and theatre should never mix in my opinion. They are supposed to be entertaining us.

Have an appointment to see the endocrinologist on Thursday. My diabetes is basically non existent any more as she knows. Except whilst I was in hospital when they pushed my sugars up to 28, I think that's around 500 in US measurements. It was all due to the stuff they were feeding me by tube. Then they dropped it so low dosing me with insulin, 2.8 (about 50) I was quite frightened both times. I have a medic alert bracelet which, when I got it, said diabetes was my main problem. I meant to get it changed and never did. I will now. Only trouble is, I can't take the bracelet off myself and Matt isn't able to either.

Our kitchen light went out Monday morning, we are no longer able to stand on step stools or such so called in the super. He is so tall, he just reached up and changed the bulb. Amazing. We have been using CFL bulbs but he tells us the LEDs are much better. Have ordered one from the store as we didn't have the right strength bulb anyway. Now I have to dispose of the dud one properly. Understand Canadian Tire may take them. I do hope so as they contain mercury I read. Otherwise I am not sure where we dispose of them locally. I couldn't get hold of the super this morning, I hadn't even realised it had snowed enough overnight for him to be out dealing with the white stuff. Poor man.

Being a chocoholic, this recipe looked so good when I saw it. The comment in red is from me.

Ultimate Chocolate Mousse

The key to this recipe is to use the very best semisweet dark chocolate you can find—we like

Valrhona. The better the chocolate, the better the mousse.

8 oz semisweet dark chocolate, broken into
1/2-inch pieces
6 large eggs, separated
3 Tbs water
1/4 cup sweet liqueur (such as Chartreuse, amaretto, mandarin, or Grand Marnier)
2 cups heavy cream
6 Tbs granulated sugar, divided
Whipped cream and grated chocolate, for garnish

1. Place chocolate in top of a double boiler over simmering water, and cook over low, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat, and set aside. These days you can melt chocolate in the microwave so long as you know what you're doing.

2. Place egg yolks and 3 tablespoons water in a heavy saucepan; cook over very low, whisking vigorously and constantly, until yolks begin to foam and thicken, about 6 minutes. Whisk in liqueur, and cook, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. (The sauce should achieve the consistency of a hollandaise or sabayon.) Remove from heat. Pour through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a bowl; discard solids.

3. Fold melted chocolate into sauce. Transfer chocolate mixture to a large bowl, and set aside.

4. Beat cream with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes, beating in 2 tablespoons sugar toward the end. Fold into chocolate mixture.

5. Using electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks start to form, about 1 minute. Beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and continue beating until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Fold into chocolate-cream mixture.

6. Spoon mousse into a bowl, and chill until ready to serve, 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Garnish servings with whipped cream and grated chocolate.

Source: Food and Wine

Author Notes
In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best: To celebrate chocolate in its most delectable guises, we asked some of the best cooks—Julia Child, James Beard, Maida Heatter, and more—to share their favorite chocolate recipes. Craig Claiborne, who was the New York Times restaurant critic and one of the top food journalists at the time, shared his remarkable chocolate mousse, which could be reliably whipped up without tremendous effort. In his original headnote for the recipe, Claiborne says, “once in a rare while, I discover a formula for a dish that seems the ultimate, the definitive, the ne plus ultra. I am convinced that the finest chocolate mousse creation ever whipped up in my kitchen is the one printed here. As if you didn’t know, mousse means foam in French. This mousse is the foamiest.” The key to this recipe is to use the very best semisweet dark chocolate you can find—we like Valrhona. The better the chocolate, the better the mousse.

Have a great day
 

It's War, Diabetes.

Everything has been neglected whilst I went to war. On Sunday we stripped Matt's bed, covered it in Diatomaceous Earth and killed every bug we saw. I then covered the very holey bug protector the exterminators had place on the box spring, with strips of duct tape on every hole I could find and scrubbed at areas where I could see the bed bugs had been. Having washed all the bed linen, we re-made the bed. Tuesday afternoon we upended the mattress and box spring once again and found one lonely little bug who died instantly. After much diligent searching, spraying with bug spray, patching up a couple more small holes, I think we have beaten the little suckers. At this point in time, we haven't yet put the bed back together to allow the spray to dry. The picture shows the bug proof mattress cover I bought from Amazon.ca - I bought it because the  Pest Control didn't put a cover on my mattress only my box spring although the covered both on Matt's bed. It is of much better quality that the ones provided. I was thinking I should buy another one for Matt's box spring but Matt says we have spent such a lot and, providing the duct tape works, it may not be necessary. They are $60 before tax after all. The bug control people charge nearly $100 for theirs if you buy them separately from their service.

I wrote to the Pest Control people and copied it to the Landlords. Guess what, total silence. Unbelievable. Matt says give it to the end of the week. I also asked my cleaners who were due in Tuesday morning if they could come help with the mattress and box spring as a pair of oldsters like us find it a bit difficult. Although they came last time, they wouldn't do so this time. I can see their point, but they are not that easy to pick up if you are careful and they are/were only in one room.

So, I hope this is basically all over bar shouting.

Went to our doctor's for a diabetes clinic and she has now said we don't have diabetes. Matt never did,

he was classified as pre-diabetic. She has given me the go ahead to stop taking Lipitor for 3 months to see what happens. It causes me the most dreadful cramps which I then have to deal with by taking quinine pills and such. A doctor in the States, several years ago, told me every diabetic ends up on insulin. I really would like to go back and give him the bird. I thought it was nonsense at the time.

I tried out a new dish, to us, on Monday night which was an Italian mix of sausage, onions and peppers. It was pretty good. Had to adapt it slightly didn't have any white wine so used red. (I usually keep small bottles of white wine {no not cooking wine} for cooking, but I had run out). It will be replaced this week but we haven't done so yet. Of course I continue to eat asparagus every day and probably will until after the sale closes which will be around July 1. It amuses me in this recipe that they show a whole sausage whereas one actually has to slice it.


Italian Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

All Recipes

Gigi

"My family has been using this very simple and delicious recipe for sausage, peppers, and

onions for years and years now. For an extra kick, try using half sweet sausage and half hot sausage!"

Ingredients

• 6 (4 ounce) links sweet Italian sausage
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 large red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 cup white wine

Directions

1. Place the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown on all sides. Remove from skillet, and slice.
2. Melt butter in the skillet. Stir in the yellow onion, red onion, and garlic, and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in red bell pepper and green bell pepper. Season with basil, and oregano. Stir in white wine. Continue to cook and stir until peppers and onions are tender.
3. Return sausage slices to skillet with the vegetables. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, or until sausage is heated through.

Have a great day

Diabetes, Meat, Downton Abbey.

What an idiot. I have been working a week ahead of myself. Telling everyone we were so busy this week with doctors etc. and then I finally woke up and realised it was next week. I  have therefore been able to make arrangements with the foot nurse to call on Friday which will be something of a relief. Having diabetes (or even pre diabetes as in Matt's case) you really need to take care of your feet. One of the things I really had a horror of was losing my foot/feet because of diabetes. Mind you I think it is a lot more because people don't take care of the whole body and aren't careful what they eat or know what their blood sugar readings are. I have always been very careful about everything to do with having the disease. Of course losing 46 lbs helped too. In fact now I am more inclined to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) these days and having to take steps to correct or prevent it. I met someone recently who was prone to the same thing and hated to take sugars of any kind. The result being she was prone to being faint and dizzy amongst other things. Luckily I don't have an aversion to candies or orange juice or anything like that.  This picture shows US measurements, Canada's are different. However, this is something I do every morning and prior to going to bed. Sometimes during the day if I have cause to suspect my sugars are low. If I have a glass of wine at a friend's in the afternoon, this can bring on a low. Most people don't realise that lows can make you act as if you were drunk and so they assume the person is drunk which can be a problem. My mother also had diabetes and basically ignored it in her later life. Considering she ended up as an alcoholic, I don't know how she survived at all.

Tuesday, a friend and I are going to Costco to share a membership. Neither of us go there sufficiently

often to justify the cost of a full membership each. Whilst there I will be purchasing my lamb for Easter together, no doubt, with some lamb chops for the freezer. Talking of chops, I made a casserole with pork chops and mushrooms etc. on Saturday night. Tasted pretty good, but the pork was tough as old boots. Well maybe not quite that bad, but bad enough. A friend lived in BC for a while and tells me Ontario pork is so much better than there. I cannot imagine how bad BC pork must be. One of the problems, at least in Canada, is that they don't age meat very long and meat does need to age to become more tender. I don't remember pork being tough in North Carolina which is a State which grows pigs. I have a recipe for aging meat. I should find it and use it perhaps.

Well, that's the end of an era. Downton Abbey's last show was tonight (Sunday) and I am very sad to see them go, it really was a wonderful programme. The last show went on a lot longer than usual. But mostly, of course, everything ended happily ever after even if one knows the Second World War was just around the corner.

Here's a very simple one pot meal which I picked up from the South Beach Diet email on Sunday. I think I will get some chicken breasts at Costco too so I can make this and save some.

Chicken Cacciatore

This recipe makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 4 whole chicken, breast, boneless, skinless (6 ounces each)
• salt to taste
• pepper, black ground to taste
• 4 teaspoon oil, olive, extra-virgin divided
• 10 ounce(s) mushrooms, fresh small button trimmed and quartered (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 8 tablespoon broth, chicken, fat-free, less sodium
• 1 medium onion(s) chopped
• 1 stalk(s) celery sliced
• 1 medium pepper(s), green, bell seeded and cut into thin strips
• 2 clove(s) garlic minced
• 1 can(s) tomatoes, diced (14 1/2-ounce)
• 1 teaspoon oregano, fresh chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

• Trim excess fat from chicken; season with salt and pepper. Heat 3 teaspoons of the oil in a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown chicken, 3 minutes per side; transfer to a plate. Reduce heat to medium; add mushrooms and 2 tablespoons of the broth. Cook 4 minutes, stirring often to prevent scorching; transfer to a plate.
• Heat remaining 1 teaspoon of the oil in the same pan; add onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, and oregano. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Return chicken and accumulated juices, mushrooms, and remaining 6 tablespoons of the broth to the pan, nestling chicken under vegetables. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat until just simmering; cover and cook, about 6 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon juices over chicken before serving.

For even cooking, place the chicken breasts between wax paper and pound with a meat mallet or heavy skillet to about 1/2" thickness.

Have a great day
 

Diabetes, Bowling,

Well that's a bummer. I get regular eletters from the Canadian Diabetes Association. This morning I wrote to them saying that I figured my diabetes was cured and that I was no longer on my Metformin medication. They replied that it wasn't cured, it was in remission. Once you have diabetes, that's yer 'oppin' pot as they say in the UK. If I am stupid enough to go crazy with my food choices or gain back the weight I have lost, or as I get older, I could find my sugar levels bouncing sky high again. I responded that I already was older!!

It would appear that our bowling alley was hit by lightening over the weekend as all the computers were out, or at least the scoring part was. We had to score manually and not that many people know how to in the first place, or, like me, have trouble remembering how it's done. I am the world's worst mathematician so adding up is a bit of a strain for me. However I am the team captain (I wonder why?) so I took on the job. Matt hasn't a clue but actually the other two women on our team probably know how to do it too. However, I felt it was my responsibility. Trouble is, it affected my bowling (well that's my story anyway), I had three of the worst games for a long time. Also we had to remember to push a button to reset the pins after bowling (assuming we had left any standing) and I was so busy trying to remember my scores to write down I kept forgetting and somebody, who shall be nameless, kept on at me about it. The owners are concerned that the computerised scoring systems, in particular the monitors, are shot. I suggested they were insured but they seemed to feel it might be classed as "an act of God". The blue screens in the picture are scoring monitors. The big black one is just a regular TV. Their actual computer is OK, but not the connection to the scoring system.

I wanted to mention that I don't, generally, read the ISWG posts because I am not a writer (other than my blog) so have no insecurities, nor can I offer help to those who do.

This is a recipe right up my alley. with all the highly flavoured ingredients. Yummy. No cook sauce too, should be good.

Spaghetti with Peppery No-Cook Tomato Sauce

Cooking Light

Pungent cheese, sharp olives, fruity olive oil, and briny capers give this no-cook pasta sauce tons of flavor.

• Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 1/3 cups)
  
   

Ingredients

• 1 pound uncooked spaghetti
• 2 cups chopped seeded peeled tomato (about 5 medium tomatoes)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled ricotta salata or feta cheese
• 1/3 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup capers
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, minced

Preparation

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.
Combine tomato and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add pasta, and toss well to combine. Serve immediately.

Tip: Quickly peel tomatoes by plunging them into the boiling pasta water (before adding the pasta) for 20 seconds; remove with a slotted spoon, and quickly rinse under cold water. The skins will slip right off.

Have a great day
 

Bowling and Diabetes

Thursday saw us at lunch with friends from our bowling Travel League. Went to the Red Lobster. In my opinion, Red Lobsters don’t really work in Ontario because we are too far from an ocean. Most of the fish we get has been frozen and a lot of the flavour gets leached out. That being said, I had haddock and chips which wasn’t bad. We then went to the bowling alley where I proceeded to do a moderately good job of bowling, but only moderate.

Later in the day I couldn’t eat anything for supper although forced a few things down my throat, however, I still ended up with hypoglycemia and for a while felt pretty lousy, with the result that this blog is short and sweet today. Sorry about that.

If you are into Hallowe’en and have kids to please, here is a fabulous recipe, when I first saw this picture, I thought it was real.

Broken Finger Cookies

Food Network

“Fingernails” made from almonds or banana chips add a realistic touch. But avoid the nuts if allergy is an issue.
Courtesy of Jennifer Low

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 17 minutes
Yield: 20

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch salt
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons red cake-decorating sugar
• 20 whole blanched almonds OR 20 pieces banana chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In bowl, using electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat until mixture is no longer “scratchy” sounding against bowl. Beat in egg, vanilla and salt.
4. In separate bowl, mix together flour and baking powder (tip for measuring flour: stir flour, spoon into measuring cup, then level).
5. Gradually beat flour mixture into butter mixture.
6. Switch to working in flour mixture with hands when dough gets too stiff to beat.
7. Knead into smooth dough. Roll into 3/4-inch thick “ropes”. Break ropes into 3-inch sections. Pat one end smooth. Dip tip of other end of each piece into milk then red sugar.
8. Place on lined baking sheet. Pressing in sides of rope to prevent flattening, insert almond or piece of banana chip into rounded end. Repeat process to make 20 fingers.
9. Bake on middle rack of oven 17 minutes, or until dough is lightly golden.

Have a great day

Fog, Deen & Diabetes, Purse Safety.

Tuesday morning, thick fog again. Its all very well having a light winter with no snow and lots of sunshine, but it has been producing a lot of fog and many school buses were cancelled. I must admit I’m not sure why, it wasn’t that thick – they should have grown up with the London pea soupers I lived with for a number of years. Not only were they very thick, visibility almost nil, but the smog was yellowy and extremely unhealthy. I used to drive with my head hanging out of the window to try and see where I was. Which reminds me of one time when I commuted to London by train daily and there was fog on the way home so the train was extremely late, I think I got to the station around 10 p.m. I then had to drive a fair distance along country lanes which were not really marked with white lines. Extremely difficult. But that was at night. During the day I never found fog that difficult.

I completely forgot, the other morning when I came into the living room Matt was watching GMA as usual and he immediately said “Paula Deen has diabetes”. I was sorry for her, but at the same time I can’t say I was unduly surprised. We went to her restaurant, Lady and Sons, in Savannah, Georgia many years ago and met her there at the time, her featured buffet was all very much Southern cooking which, let’s face it, has no connection to Weight Watchers or any other diet system. We, in fact ordered a la carte and had a fillet steak. That was a few years before she became so well known with her TV programmes and cookbooks, now I understand you will rarely see her at Lady and Sons as she is so busy. The sons now have their own restaurant too, they will have to be careful about diabetes as well if they cook like mama. If somebody like Matt can have borderline diabetes, when his diet is so healthy, I guess anyone can have it. All the diabetes web sites tell people to get it checked no matter what you think. It’s a simple blood test. You do NOT have to be carrying the pounds to get diabetes.

Heard a report on the radio about a woman losing her purse/wallet in Zehrs, a local supermarket and then her credit cards were used. This doesn’t surprise me one bit. Women are so stupid with their purses, they leave them in the cart and then walk away to look at items on the shelves. I have seen unattended bags and purses so often it makes me mad. Matt has even pointed it out to people and been told to mind his own business. Searching for a suitable picture, I actually came across a good tip, use the child safety straps and lock them through the handles of your purse. Personally I use an over the shoulder wallet which I find is pretty safe and I don’t have to walk away from it ever but then I don’t carry much these days unlike these women who practically carry their whole household with them. For the people who don’t live in this part of the world, I had problems when I first got here, but a purse is generally what a handbag is called.

Saw a recording of an interview with the Italian cruise ship captain, what an idiot and what a coward, he was scared and left the ship before all the passengers had been accounted for and in the end they found some of them in life vests waiting for rescue which came too late. He was ordered back on the ship by the coastguard and refused to go, he was needed to coordinate the evacuation. There is a recording of this on the internet which has been verified by the coastguard.

Watching what you eat? These cookies appeared in my inbox and are purported to be Weight Watcher cookies at one point or 100 calories a piece. Small but delicious I am told.

Lower Fat Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (Ww)

Photo and Recipe By Marg (CaymanDesigns) on May 14, 2008

Serves: 40, Yield: 40 cookies

About This Recipe

"I needed to make some cookies that wouldn't interfere with my trying to cut back on my fat intake. A friend passed on this recipe which she said was from Weight Watchers. If you make 40 cookies, it is 1 point each. And yes, they are small cookies, but very fudgy and delicious!"

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon table salt

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

2 large egg whites

1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. (Do not pack flour when measuring).
3. Beat butter and brown sugar with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating well. Add cocoa and egg whites, beating well. Gradually beat in flour mixture until blended. Stir in chocolate mini chips.
4. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls (about 3/4-inch balls to get 40 cookies) onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Have a great day

Religion, Sugar Levels, Movie

Dunno why, particularly, but yesterday, in the shower, I started thinking about how much people complain because to be politically correct we are not supposed to say Merry Christmas, but Happy Holidays to ensure that other religions in our country are not offended by harping on a Christian festival. I was also of the same mind, we are a Christian country etc. etc. Then I got to thinking about it, when the white man first came here, the Indian or Inuit races were not Christian either and had to be “converted” by the ravaging white hordes. Apart from which we have a lot of different versions of what a Christian is, be it Catholic, Protestant, Methodist, Baptist and so on and so on. All kinds of Christian religions are now accepted, but we expect everyone to conform to Christianity. Now we have other people being accepted into our communities who are not Christians (well of course the Jews have been among us forever) and who do not wish us to push Christianity down their throats at every turn. If we allow them to immigrate to our world, should we not also treat their religious beliefs with respect? OK I know there are fanatical Muslims out there causing all kinds of havoc, but fanatical Christians have done some extremely questionable things through the years, not least of which was the Spanish Auto da fé and the English crusades, have you read what the Christians did to the Saracens in those wars, absolutely horrific. Fanatics are not exclusive to any religious community and Christians have produced some of the worst in their time.

So whatever religion you follow, accept the Merry Christmas, the Happy Hannukah, the good wishes for Ramadan, or Kwanzaa and lets all practise religious tolerance.

Back to more mundane matters, I lost my two teeth yesterday, was totally numb in jaw, tongue and most of my lower face for several hours and then in some pain for several more. I bought myself some hot and sour soup from a local Chinese restaurant and ate that for supper then managed a couple of bits of chocolate later. Finally around bedtime I decided to check my blood sugars which were way too low for going to bed. I had to start stuffing myself with things like scrambled eggs, milk, cheese, orange juice and honey. It took me quite a while to bring my sugar levels back up to where they should be.

I watched a delightful movie last night called The Nativity. It was beautifully done, the story of Mary and Joseph starting a year before the birth of Jesus. I cannot find any information on the version I saw, but I really enjoyed it.

No recipe today, not feeling up to much at the moment, so I wish you a Happy Christmas Eve and I do hope you don’t have to go shopping today, its murder out there at the moment.

Hey Down South! Diabetes, Snow in Paris.

Don’t Americans know we’re here? I get so fed up with all kinds of stores saying they are running a wonderful sweepstakes and then finding I can’t enter, I just tried to download an MP3 song from Amazon.com, can’t, because I am not in the States. This keeps occurring again and again. Wheel of Fortune is another example I remembered, they have a prize puzzle and if you are a member, an American member that is, you can win too, but there is a big, bold sign which says “open to US residents only”. Yoohoo, we are here guys, part of the same continent of North America. We have even been described as America’s Hat!! You market your products to us so we should be able to take advantage of your marketing ploys.

I am not sure if I will be home when this publishes, have to go have my regular diabetes blood tests this morning, a very important aspect of diabetes management. I have been hearing a lot, lately, about people who have not been managing their diabetes properly, scary. I have heard for years about people losing feet and/or legs because of diabetes which terrified me long before I had the disease and I cannot imagine anyone being stupid enough to ignore the problem. Actually my mother more or less did, once upon a time she did take medication, but by the end of her life she wasn’t taking it – she was lucky, she never had to have any amputations. In those days I didn’t realise how serious it was. This week, Eating Well are promoting Kraft’s Living With Diabetes which include lots of diabetes friendly recipes using Kraft products.

Just heard the Eiffel Tower was shut down yesterday due to snow, how funny, especially as we have little snow here at all. Matt said the weather map showed a circular area which included us and which was not getting snow. They are saying we shall be joining the rest of the world at the end of this week though. I just looked at a weather map and the snow seems to be heading right for us.

You can click and enlarge that map if you wish. We live among the Great Lakes which are not terribly visible. The large expanse of blue is Hudson Bay, I had never registered how huge it is. The Great Lakes are enormous inland seas and look at the comparison! But, as you will see, this is from last night, and the snow is definitely about to hit us.

The following came from Mushrooms Canada who have lots of good recipes to share.

Mushroom Pita Pockets

Serves 8

12 oz medium mushrooms, thinly sliced 375 g
1/2 cup each diced red pepper, cucumber 125 mL
and green onion 125 mL
1/3 cup grated old Cheddar cheese (optional) 375 mL
3/4 cup no fat herb or Italian dressing 175 mL
4 pita (6-7 “/15-17 cm) halved 4
8 small lettuce leaves 8

Fresh herb sprigs (optional) dill, coriander, basil, or
oregano

In large bowl, combine mushrooms, red pepper, cucumber, onion, cheese (if using) and dressing. Toss to mix well. Open pita halves and place lettuce leaf in each pita half. Spoon filling evenly into the pita
halves. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired.

Variation: Spread 1tbsp (15 mL) low fat mayonnaise inside each pita half.

Have a great day

Fantasy, A1C, Diabetes. Butter.

On Glenda Larke’s blog, Tropic Temper (see link this page) we were discussing when people started reading fantasy. I said I had come to it later in life because it was a genre which was frowned upon. However, I just remembered a book by Elizabeth Goudge called The Little White Horse which I had as a child and loved very much. It was certainly full of magic so would come under the fantasy genre heading. I suppose despite the general opinion on fantasy, it was alright for children. I lost my original book somewhere over the years, a pity, I bought another, but it isn’t the same as the book where I had coloured all the pictures and such. Henrietta’s House was another book I have by Elizabeth Goudge, not quite so magical as the other. Last, but not least, I have The White Witch. All of these books can still be bought at Amazon which somewhat surprises me. However, doing some research they appear to be a popular books still. The picture shows the cover I have now but I am not sure if its the original cover, I seem to remember a plain blue cloth binding.

I was pretty pleased yesterday – I went to my diabetes seminar (one on one for half an hour) and she took my A1C which turned out to be 5.7 which she assured me was lower than some people who didn’t have diabetes. If you don’t know what an A1C is, you are obviously not suffering from diabetes and don’t need to worry about it, but suffice to say 7 is considered a good number. I was also talking to one of the staff at Canadian Diabetes about an upcoming seminar they are holding. The subject being the kidneys. She asked me what would attract me, or others, to such a seminar. I have been thinking about it and d’you know I cannot think of a good way of attracting people with diabetes to such a seminar. I tend to go to most things to keep myself informed. There are people who do not look after their disease and end up in all kinds of trouble, hell you can get into trouble even if you do take care of yourself. I do know I was frightened by diabetes years ago - hearing of people losing feet or limbs because of the disease. Of course since getting it, I have heard more about all the other problems which can occur. Just today I discovered that it can delay healing; Matt could never understand why my hip operation scar took so long to heal, I guess that’s why. It is also why I take care to stay as informed as possible.

I love French butter, the taste is totally different to either the butter we get here or in the UK. So when I heard there was a Normandy culture butter available I got all excited and we bought some. Big disappointment, it doesn’t taste the same as the butter in North America, but nor does it taste like the French butter in France (or Martinique). In fact the last time I had real French butter was when we were on our one and only cruise and we docked in Martinique. The next morning and for a few days, we had French butter and I was in heaven. Matt swears I ate all the smoked salmon on the ship, I did a number on the butter too.

Eating Well have sent me their latest ezine with farm fresh ingredients packed with anti-oxidants. One recipe particularly appealed to me and will be being added to our future menus.

Thai-Style Melon & Beef Salad

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/thai_style_melon_beef_salad.html

From EatingWell: July/August 2009

We give this Thai-style beef salad a sweet twist by adding thin matchsticks of melon to the mix. Firm orange- or pale green-fleshed melon is equally good. The saltiness of the fish sauce helps to balance the sweetness of the melon.

6 servings,

Ingredients

12 ounces beef sirloin, or other boneless steak, about 1 inch thick, trimmed

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup lime juice

3 tablespoons fish sauce, (see Shopping Tip)

2 teaspoons sugar

1 clove garlic, grated or minced

1/2-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 medium-to-large firm ripe melon

1 small green bell pepper

1 small red bell pepper

6 cups lightly packed torn Boston lettuce, (about 1 head)

1/2 cup slivered red onion

1/2 cup thin cucumber slices, halved

1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves

1/2 cup lightly packed torn fresh mint leaves

Preparation

1. Preheat grill to medium.
2. Sprinkle both sides of steak with salt and pepper. Grill the steak about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare and 6 minutes per side for medium. Transfer the steak to a clean cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before thinly slicing crosswise.
3. Meanwhile, whisk lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, garlic and crushed red pepper to taste in a small bowl. Cut melon into enough 5-inch-long matchsticks to make 4 cups. (Reserve any remaining melon for another use.) Cut bell peppers into 2-inch-long matchsticks. Combine the melon and peppers in a large bowl along with lettuce, onion, cucumber, cilantro and mint.
4. Add the sliced beef to the salad. Whisk the dressing, pour it over the salad and gently toss to combine.

Nutrition

Per serving : 150 Calories; 3 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 1 g Mono; 21 mg Cholesterol; 18 g Carbohydrates; 15 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 690 mg Sodium; 721 mg Potassium

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 fruit, 1 vegetable, 1 1/2 lean meat

Tips & Notes

• Shopping Tip: Fish sauce is a pungent condiment made from salted, fermented fish. Find it in the Asian section of large supermarkets and in Asian specialty markets. We use Thai Kitchen fish sauce, lower in sodium than other brands (1,190 mg per tablespoon), in our nutritional analyses.

Have a great day

Bowling, Diabetes,

I was tickled pink yesterday, I bowled really well. I actually had a 200 game which is definitely not usual for me. Our new team is a fun group which helps. The team I was on last year were too busy talking family and not interested in the bowling per se which I found unencouraging (is there such a word?) to say the least. I ended up with an average of 170 which is very high for me. I know it is unlikely to stay that high and I hope it won't because I don't need such a high average if I enter for any of the bowling tournaments this winter. Of course with a high average like that, I am unlikely to get "most improved bowler" at the end of the season too although we joked that she (woman who runs the alley) could come up with a booby prize. Now we have a few errands to run before going away. I have cancelled the newspaper, don't want that piling up outside our door, have to license the car this month, its registered in my name so has to be done for my birthday. Also have to have my three monthly blood tests done for diabetes. Bit of a pain, I have to get up at the crack of dawn get a urine sample and then dash down to the clinic which luckily is quite close. They then take 5 or 6 tubes of my blood after which I can come home and finally have breakfast. I have been hearing a lot lately about people who don't take proper care of themselves although they have diabetes. There is no reason why you shouldn't live a long and healthy life with diabetes providing you do everything you are told and having an A1C test every 3 months is one of the things to do. I personally am terrified of all the complications which can occur from diabetes. One of the things which particularly scares me is amputation often necessitated by artery blockages and subsequent lack of blood to the feet. I also recently found out that apart from all the complications we are normally warned about, i.e. kidney, liver, limb functions, heart attacks, one can have trouble with the skin, muscles and exoskeleton. Less prevalent I gather, but it can still happen. We just discovered that Johnny Cash, the singer, died from diabetes. We hadn't realised that before. I am supposed to go to CDA today but they phoned and asked me to come in tomorrow. The weather isn't being too kind to us at the moment. Pretty cool, seems like someone shut off the heat once September started. I do hope it will brighten up for our trip next week. We are taking shorts but are not sure if we will need them. Oh yes, we saw Canada Geese in our park yesterday, from the window, something we have never seen there before. They didn't visit for very long, Matt thought they might be on their migration and just stopped in for a nosh. You can just about see them, amazing how small they look when they are quite big birds. There were lots more behind the bushes on the left. You have to have a permit to shoot them and you certainly can't do so in a city park, but we ate one once and it was good. A friend we used to have was hunting mad. He also knew how to cook them properly. They are a problem in a lot of parks where there is water, they are such messy things and the parks get covered in goose poop. People with back yards which slope down to the water have the same problem. The friends' in Hespeler where we are partying on Saturday have that disadvantage in their back yard. I know the chilled soups weren't too popular so here is a Chicken Satay recipe from the same source - Home Basics. I love Satays, and this is a quick and easy way of doing it. Grilled Peanut Chicken Satays Source Home Basics Serves 6 1 pouch onion soup 1/4 Cup olive oil 2 tbs firmly packed brown sugar 2 Tbs creamy peanut butter 1 lb boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, pounded thin and cut into strips 12 wooden skewers (I actually have metal ones) In a large, resealable plastic bag, combine the soup mix, olive oil, brown sugar and peanut butter. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Seal and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade. Thread the chicken onto the wooden skewers (which should have been soaked in water prior to this). Grill or broil until the chicken is cooked through. Have a great day.

Dominican to Diabetes and Healthy Eating

My blog yesterday produced an ad on my blog page, which some may have seen, for dating Dominican girls. I don't know whether this is straight or otherwise, but one thing I do know, except for baseball greats like Tommy Lesotho, most Dominicans are not allowed to leave the island. When we were there, we were chatting to our tour operator who is French Canadian but lives in the Dominican, she is married to a Dominican man who has his own business and owns land there too, but he is not allowed to visit Canada with her no matter what!!! I was given to understand that this is generally the case. I am not having a good computer day, if I have re-booted once I've done so half a dozen times. It appears that Microsoft's newest update for my computer reacts badly with my Zone Alarm security system and doesn't allow me to go on the Internet at all. When I got to my computer this morning, it had updated all on its own without my permission. So not only did I have to delete the update once again and re-boot) then I had to go through ways of removing the icon so it wouldn't do it again. Zone Alarm are working on a way to fix this, but at the moment its a flipping nuisance and that's a polite way of putting it. Good Morning America had a segment on the increase of diabetes in the US. Elsewhere in the world of course, but it is an American programme. It is quite shocking how many children are at risk. One thing the doctor said today, was not to drink diet sodas (pop) or artificial sweeteners generally as they have discovered one can of pop a day can significantly increase the risk of diabetes. If you are interested in reading the article click here. One complaint I have is the US is still using non-metric systems so it is difficult to compare with what the rest of us count. The doctor was saying if your blood sugar is between 100-126 your are pre-diabetic, to me that is around 5.5 to 6.5. They don't even talk of pre-diabetes in Canada any more, either you are diabetic or you aren't. There is another good article called The Ten Best Foods You Aren't Eating read here which gives a list of different foods for health, some of them I am OK with some of them I rarely eat. I have grown Purslane as a flower, but I didn't know you could eat it, the leaves that is it doesn't mention the flowers. This article is not directed to people with diabetes, but to everyone. This is another of those recipes I have saved, but not actually cooked yet. Re-reading it, I think it will be on my menu very soon. It came from Sunset Campari tomatoes. I don't know if you have come across Campari tomatoes, but they are some of the sweetest tomatoes I have had in years. Sunset Campari Tomato Chicken Creole Serves 6 2 tbs olive oil 1 lge onion chopped 2 stalks celery chopped 1 red pepper diced 1/2 C chopped flat leaf parsley 2 cloves garlic chopped 3/4 C chicken stock 3 tbs red wine vinegar 1 lb Campari tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped 2 tbs tomato puree 1 tbs brown sugar 1 tsp Tabasco 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper 1/2 C dry red wine Instructions: Heat olive oil in large heavy casserole over medium heat. Add onion, celery, bell pepper and parsley. Cook for 5 mins. Add garlic and cook for 2 mins. Add chicken stock, vinegar, tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, pepper sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to simmer for 10 mins. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large frying pan over med. heat. Add chicken breasts and cook til golden, 5 mins. Add wine and tomato sauce to chicken. Simmer until chicken is cooked. 10 minutes. Season. Serve Have a great day.

Diets and Diabetes, Foreclosure

This morning on GMA, Chris Cuomo was talking about diets and exercise. Also about cutting carbs. This is fine if you are fit and healthy in the first place, but if you have diabetes, you should check with your dietitian and doctor first. At the moment all dietitians say you should eat 2 or 3 carb points at every meal and NOT cut them out. You can do this by eating vegetables rich in carbs such as carrots and peas, or by adding whole wheat products to your meal. The key to all weight loss is to eat a healthy, balanced diet and be moderate about what you are eating. MODERATION in everything. A glass or two of red wine is OK a bottle or two is not. They also showed some simple exercises which anyone can do at home including the proper way to do push ups. I have never, in my life, been able to do a push up. However, I have watched people do them and they do not keep their torso absolutely straight which is what was demonstrated. Resistance exercise is highly recommended. You can do it at home or join Curves if you are female, there is a similar place for men but I can't for the life of me remember the name.

Isometrics are resistance exercises and Matt has been doing those since the year dot, so much so that he doesn't even know when he is doing them, sitting watching TV or something. This is why we recently had to change our love seat for a new chair for him as he had totally worn the nap off the material due to his incessant moving. Of course he is slim and has absolutely no extra pounds. People have been telling him for years that he will gain weight when he is older, he is now 73 and still more or less the same weight he has been all his life. I hate him. I have threatened to divorce him for cruelty for years. He never gains an ounce, never needs his teeth filled and never has a hangover. If that's not cruelty, what is?

Another item on Good Morning America today was about all the foreclosure scams which are taking place during this difficult financial climate in the States. Their advice is to go to your current lender and talk to them before you do anything or commit to anything. Seems sensible to me. One woman thought she was being helped to re-finance and ended up losing her house altogether due to a scam.

Today I thought I would give you another shrimp dish. This comes from Betty Crocker's New International Cookbook which, in this home, is known as Dottie's Book. She lent me this book many years ago and never did get it back. Last time I tried to return it she refused it and said she knew where it was if she wanted to read it. Trouble is, I have now moved 1,000 miles away.

Marinated Gingered Shrimp

This is a simple Japanese preparation that can be prettily arranged on a serving plate. Sweet sake is widely available, but the same quantity of sweet sherry may be substituted if sake is not to be found.

1 1/2 lbs shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/2 C soy sauce
3 oz. giverroot, chopped
1/3 C Vinegar (we use white wine vinegar)
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs sweet sake
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 to 3 Tbs thinly sliced green onion.

Cook shrimp until pink and still tender; arrange in a single layer in a glass or plastic container 12 x 7 1/2 x 2 inches. Heat soy sauce to boiling; add gingerroot. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 5 mins. Stir in the vinegar, sugar, sake and salt; pour over shrimp. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Remove shrimp from marinade with slotted spoon; arrange on serving plate. Garnish with green onion. Actually we never do this last step and we find the bits of ginger are delicious with the shrimp, obviously its your choice.

Have a great day.

Labelling and Obesity.

I just saw a segment on Good Morning America about food labels. Apparently they are not always very accurate. They hired a lab to do some testing for them. I already knew that when a label says 0 fat it could have up to .5 mg in it and still be within the legal limits. The upshot of their studies seemed to be stick to the advertised serving size. Now this is fine if its something like cookies, but have you seen the serving sizes on some cans and packages, not enough to keep a flea alive. Very unrealistic, so you end up eating more than you should - according to the label - and then you have a problem. They used a very prevalent statement about chocolate cookies "who can eat just one" I must say I can. I find just a taste of chocolate satisfies me and I can stop at one quite easily.

I have seen some really huge people lately and wonder why they don't do something about it, their doctors should be able to give them some assistance. I saw one woman who's rear end would have covered three chairs, I saw her overflowing one. At least she was still ambulatory, I saw others who were huge and in wheelchairs. There is a tendency to blame glands on such problems, but its amazing how many of these grossly obese problems can disappear once they are under medical supervision. The horrifying cases are those who live in their beds permanently because they can no longer move, how can anyone let themselves get this morbidly obese. Its not like I don't sympathise, I have been fighting obesity all my life, but self discipline has to come into this somewhere. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, diabetes is costing Canada something like $13 billion a year, in the States it is over $100 billion and a lot of that cost could be alleviated by people losing weight. Even covering the cost of bypass or lap band surgeries would help. A friend of mine who was very overweight had a procedure done and has now lost over 50 lbs. Before she had the procedure she was showing high blood sugar counts, now she is no longer bordering on diabetes. That is simplistic and would not happen for everyone perhaps, but the doctor at the expo said even a 10 lb weight loss helps. Sorry about the rant.

Bowling again today so Matt was polishing his bowling balls yesterday. I bought him some for a birthday present a few years ago. He then didn't get a lot of use out of them for a while, but they have now come back into use. We found out the other day where he can get them engraved quickly and will get them done, probably at the end of this season. I never realised how much care these bowling balls need. Matt was given instruction by the owner of the alley where we started our interest in the game. You have to buy special polish which also has an abrasive in it. I don't have any bowling balls and don't think I want any.

The following recipe is one Matt has made for finger foods at parties. We had a period in North Carolina of having such parties and these disappeared very fast.

Oriental Pot Stickers

Source: Cooking Light - Jan/Feb 94

1/2 lb mixed scallop/shrimp (cod)
1-1/2 tsp veg oil
1 tsp peeled, grated gingerroot
1 clove garlic minced
3/4 C finely chopped leek
3/4 C finely chopped water chestnuts
2 Tbs finely shredded carrot
1 Tbs dry sherry
1 Egg white
30 Wonton wrappers
2 Tsp cornstarch
Veg cooking spray
2 tsp veg oil
1/2 C water

Ginger Soy Sauce

1/2 cup plus
2 tbs water
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tbs thinly sliced green onions
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp peeled grated ginger
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp dry sherry
Instructions: Coarsely chop seafood by hand or processor. Set aside.

Heat 1 1/2 tsp oil in skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic, saute 30 secs. Add leek, sauté 3 mins til tender. Combine fish, leek mixture, water chestnuts and next three ingredients in a bowl, stir well, set aside.

Work with 1 wrapper at a time (cover rest) spoon about 2 tsp of mixture in each wrapper. Moisten edges with water bring opposing corners to centre, pinch, repeat with other corners. Place on baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch and set aside.

Coat a nonstick skillet with spray, add 2 tsp oil heat over medium. Arrange potsticker in skillet, cook 3 mins until bottoms lightly browned. Add 1/2 C water, cover and cook 1 min til bottoms are crisp. Serve with warm Ginger-soy sauce.

Sauce:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl; stir well. Yield about 1 cup. Serving size about 3 tbs.

Have a great day.