Phew!! Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Liona Boyd,

I ended up cancelling lots of appointments this week  but I still seem to be running in circles. I was going to take the car in for service this morning, but as we have to wait for it, I just didn't have time. Then last night I was online til gone midnight talking to Amazon and saying I hadn't had my earrings even though it said they were delivered. What I hadn't realised was that the mailman had come late in the evening and just put the parcel in our mail box. However, before I discovered that I was on the phone with Canada Post this morning for quite a while too. Like I have nothing else to do. Anyway, I do now have my earrings and they are pretty. Even Matt likes them.

Not only that, I am making cards for the guys at the bowling alley and trying to reconcile bank statements (for November would you believe) and altering and printing phone lists and, and, and...Matt has been nittering me about getting our ears lowered (think mine are fine) and the hairdresser told us not to go in at the beginning of the week so we will have to do so on Friday maybe.

So, that is why I didn't write a blog last night. Didn't do my Spanish either, first time I have missed it since I started.

Last night we watched the Mormon Tabernacle Choir which was super - Matt thought he had never seen them before but we catch their performance most years. The main singer was Kristin Chenoweth whom I had never heard of but she was excellent. Afterwards saw Liona Boyd who is a premier guitarist. She had people with her including one young man playing various wind instruments. One of which I now have to try and find, neither of us had ever seen it before. I have just gone through dozens of pictures of wind instruments but I cannot find the one we saw.

I love meringues but have never been particularly successful when making them. The ingredients in these appealed to me. Especially as I now know I posted this before. Oh well.

Spiced Italian Pecan Meringues

“Don’t judge the taste of these cookies by the crags and cracks,” says sous-chef Merrin Mae Gray of

L.A.’s Rossoblu. (Their Italian name is brutti ma buoni, “ugly but good.”) The pecans and potent grappa are unexpectedly elegant, and the crisp outsides and chewy centers make these meringues seriously addictive.

3/4 cup shelled pecans
3 large egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp grappa
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves

1. Preheat the oven to 300°. Spread the pecans on a small rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing them halfway through, for about 20 minutes, until browned. Transfer to a work surface and let cool, then coarsely chop.

2. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Beat in the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until the whites are stiff and glossy, 5 to 7 minutes. Beat in the grappa, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the chopped pecans.

3. Spoon heaping tablespoons of the meringue onto the prepared baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 200° and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the meringues are firm on the outside but still chewy in the center. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let cool completely.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen

Source: Food and Wine

Author Notes
The meringues can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Have a great day
 

Health Card, Coffee Meeting, Exercise Class, Cards, VCR and Earrings, Zoey,

One of the first things I did on Wednesday morning was to phone the government office, Service Ontario, about Matt's health card. They don't open til 9 a.m. Silly me. When if phoned them at 9:15 I was told that it take 8 weeks to get the card ??? He already got his id card wonder why the health card takes so long.

Then went to the Starbucks in my local grocery store and for a few moments I thought I was going to be all alone, however, in the end, the two friends who haven't  made it before turned up but the other two didn't (one his wife was sick, don't know about the other). We had an enjoyable hour chatting about our spouses and mentioning how we managed. It was so nice to see them, but I was sorry that the other two couldn't make it because it would have been the first time we had all been together at the coffee bar.

Went home and almost threw my lunch down my throat and then dashed down to the exercise class. Unusually there were several of us there today which was nice for a Wednesday. I seem to be improving again, glad I have been able to go and partake again. Checked the mail and was delighted to find 4 Christmas cards. Makes me a feel a mite guilty but I just can't manage the dozens of cards I used to send which is why I send electronic cards these day.

I can't remember whether I mentioned that having bought a new TV some months ago, we were

unable to connect the VCR. I finally found the cable I needed at Amazon (of course) and it will be here tomorrow (today now I guess). One of  the bowling alley owners has agreed to come help me plug it in as I can't manage all the bending and twisting necessitated to do the connection. I got cracking with the cable so I can play Miracle on 34th St. which is a VHS tape. I also bought myself some snowflake earrings. I have wanted some ever since I saw someone in the bowling alley with a pair several years ago. I hope they are as pretty as they look. Will tell Matt that is what he bought me for Christmas. They had some in blue too but decided silver was best.

Thursday, Zoey is coming to see Matt bringing ladydog who is picking up some Thai food for lunch - nice change from Subways.

I know many of you don't like tofu although I do. I always make sure to get plenty of it when I have my Hot and Sour soup at Mandarin. When I saw this recipe I thought it sounded good. I guess you could leave it out if you wanted. I thought it was vegetarian at first but then saw the pork belly in the ingredients.

Spicy Kimchi Tofu Stew

Stop at a Korean market on the way home from work, and you can have this soothing, vibrant dish on

the table in 30 minutes.

1/2 lb pork belly, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1 lb jar kimchi, drained, 1/4 cup liquid reserved
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
4 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 Tbs gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
1 Tbs gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
Kosher salt
1 14 oz container silken tofu, cut into large pieces
Steamed short-grain rice, for serving

1. In a medium-size nonreactive pot, cook the pork belly pieces over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the fat is sizzling and the pork is light golden, about 8 minutes. Add the kimchi and the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the reserved kimchi liquid, mushrooms, gochujang, gochugaru, and 4 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook over moderately low heat for 10 minutes.

3. Season the stew with salt. Stir in the tofu, breaking it up slightly with the spoon, and bring to a boil; remove from the heat. Serve the stew hot with steamed rice.

Servings: 4

Author: LAURA REGE
Source: Food and Wine

Have a great day
 

Emails, Earrings, Cream, Leftover chicken,

I don't like getting dozens of emails from advertising sources, but it annoys the heck out of me to get lots of emails from Walgrens. As far as I know, they are not even in Canada. Certainly not round here. Also, since our last election, I get regular emails from both the Liberal Party, in power, and the Conservatives. I am totally uninterested, but I can't seem to stop them. I mark them as junk, spam, etc. etc., but nothing seems to work. However, I did get an email from Shop.CA which I really didn't want either although I have shopped with them before now, and I did so this time. I really didn't need another pair of earrings but...... so that's probably another good reason for not getting advertising emails.

Doing some cooking this weekend and realised I hadn't got any cream. However, I did have whipped

cream frozen in the freezer. Never thought of using it for cooking before, but it works fine. Of course you have to make sure you don't sweeten the cream before you freeze it. For those of you who don't remember me writing about this before, all you need to do is whip some cream, whipping cream of course, and then either dollop (easier) or pipe the cream onto waxed or parchment paper as shown and then put it in the freezer. When frozen I bag it and it seems to keep forever. You can either use it with a dessert or as I am now doing, by adding it to a casserole. or a cream of mushroom sauce for fillet steak.

Last week, feeling sorry for myself (the tooth saga) I bought a rotisserie chicken and we had chicken sandwiches and salad for supper for a couple of nights. Then I de-boned the rest of the meat and Sunday I finely sliced a leek, chopped up half an onion, chopped up a carrot and some celery then sautéed them in butter. After a while I added 3 tbs sherry and a cup of chicken stock. I thickened it with cornstarch and let it cook for a while. Once it had thickened I stirred in the chicken and 2 Tbs of cream. We ate it with noodles and it was delicious. I got the idea from a recipe for leftover turkey and ham which I posted at Christmas, but I adapted it.

When I saw the picture of this White Chocolate Butter Cream, I started drooling LOL. I simply had to share it.

White Chocolate Buttercream

Creamy, sweet, and perfect for any treat, you'll want to make this frosting for all of your favorite cakes.

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
12 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Beat in the melted white chocolate. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat at low speed, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, until light and fluffy.

Yield: 2 3/4 CUPS

Source: Food and Wine



Have a great day
 

New Blender, Earrings, Cell Phone, Hip

Monday was really not my day, apart from my hip woes, in the evening I wanted to blend something with my Moulinex hand blender and it fell apart. I have had it for over 40 years so I guess I can't complain. I discovered I could order a replacement on line to pick up from a local store so I did that. Quite a snazzy version after the one I did have. My old one did not have the extra chopper attachment.  Matt picked it up from the store for me Tuesday morning and now I am busting to use the chopper part. But for what? Can't think of anything right now.

I think I mentioned that I had ordered some earrings for Matt to
give me for Christmas. They arrived the other day, Friday I think, and are very pretty. Quite long. I guess I am a sucker for earrings and I couldn't think of anything else I wanted - well not within our price range anyway. Lots of things, like electronics, outside our price range of course. A new, up to date, computer would be nice for a start, then a new laptop, then..... The list goes on. Once one is into this kind of thing it becomes an expensive hobby. I don't have a smart phone either. Honestly don't need it and although I had a more up to date cell phone before, Matt hadn't a clue how to use it. Not a technology person, my husband. We have a very simple cell phone which he can manage. I like him to carry it whenever he goes out alone  because of all the TIAs he had a year or two back.

To all of you who have been nagging urging me to see the doctor about my hip, I did so on Tuesday afternoon and she sent me for an Xray which I also did so now all I have to do is wait for results. I still forgot to take a pic of the damned snowman though. Wish I hadn't mentioned it.

Now this one is quick and easy and looks different.

Deep Fried Poached Egg Over Heirloom Tomato

Recipe courtesy of Claire Robinson

Serves 4


Ingredients

4 large eggs, whole, plus 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cups panko breadcrumbs
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
7 to 8 cups vegetable oil
1 large heirloom tomato, cut into 4 thick slices

Directions

Prepare a bowl with ice and water. Line a sheet pan with paper towels.

In a 5-quart pot, bring 6 cups water to a boil over moderately-high heat. After the water has reached a boil, turn off the heat. Crack each egg into a ramekin and quickly add to the water. Once you have added all the eggs, cover the pot and set aside for 3 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, very carefully lift the eggs out of the water and directly into the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Remove from the ice water and place on the prepared sheet pan.

Spread the flour on a plate and put the beaten eggs in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, stir the panko with salt and pepper.

Carefully dust 1 poached egg in the flour, dusting off any excess. Transfer the poached egg to the beaten eggs, and then transfer with a slotted spoon to the panko. Coat with the panko and carefully place on a plate. Repeat with the remaining eggs.

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over high heat until a candy thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Using a slotted spoon, place 1 panko-coated egg into the oil and fry until golden brown, 10 to 15 seconds. Transfer the fried egg to paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining eggs.

Season the tomato with salt and pepper. Place 1 tomato slice on each plate and top each slice with an egg.

BYOC: Try this in early spring over some steamed asparagus. You can always add some fresh spinach to this for a crunch. Add the whole thing over a nice thick piece of crusty bread or English muffin for a fun brunch item.



Have a great day
 

New Year's Day, Snow, Bowling, Present.

I was busy watching a movie and then a fascinating programme about the earth and all the changes caused by both nature and man. Then of course it was midnight so we had to watch the ball drop in New York City as well as in Buffalo. I drank my bubbly and Matt had his beer. I answered a few blog comments and went to bed, so didn't do my blog for this morning. When I got up, everywhere was good and white again and it is still snowing pretty hard. Not planning to go anywhere today so that's OK by us.

We went bowling as usual yesterday afternoon and my scores were appalling. I didn't achieve 100 in any one of the three games. Never bowled that badly. My excuse was the pain in my hip. Next week I will have to seek some medical help I'm thinking.

One thing, when we got the mail, my earrings which I had ordered as my Christmas present from Matt (I know, complicated) arrived. They are really pretty. I will try and post a picture of them soon.

Enjoy your day and your New Year.

I thought these looked delicious. I have no doubt that many of you will say no to anchovies, well you can choose pimento stuffed instead.  Aioli is delicious  too.   

FRIED OLIVES WITH AIOLI

A bowl of olives is bar food 101. And since Julep, Alba Huerta’s gorgeous Houston bar, is a next-level kind of place, it makes sense they take things a few steps further.

Plump green Manzanilla olives are stuffed with anchovy fillets, pebbled with bread crumbs and then fried

until golden brown. Swiped through some garlicky aioli they’re every bit as irresistible as the bar’s namesake cocktail.

Makes 4 servings

• 1 Egg yolk
• ⅔ cup Grapeseed oil (or a blend of canola and mild olive oil)
• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 clove Garlic
• ½ teaspoon Red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons All-purpose flour
• 1 Egg, beaten well
• ½ cup Panko bread crumbs
• 30 Anchovy‐stuffed Manzanilla olives (one 350g can, drained)
• Canola or peanut oil, for frying

Make the aioli: Set a medium bowl on a kitchen towel (this will prevent the bowl from moving as you whisk). Put the egg yolk in the bowl and whisk to break up. Pour the oil into a measuring cup. Whisking continuously, add the oil, drop by drop at first, until the mixture begins to thicken noticeably. Take care to add the oil very slowly at first to prevent the mixture from separating. When the mixture begins tothicken, add the remaining oil in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly. If the mixture gets too thick to easily whisk, add a teaspoon (or more) of warm water to smooth out the consistency. In a mortar and pestle, combine the salt and garlic and crush to a paste. Stir the garlic paste into the mayonnaise, then add the vinegar and stir to combine.  The aioli will keep, refrigerated, for up to three days.

Put the flour in one bowl, the beaten egg in a second and the breadcrumbs in a third. Working in batches, dip the olives in the flour, turning to coat, then shake off any excess flour and transfer to the bowl containing the beaten egg. Roll the olives in the egg until coated, letting any excess egg drip off, then transfer to the bowl containing the bread crumbs and roll to coat. Put on a plate and repeat with remaining olives.

Heat a 2-inch depth of oil until it registers 350 degrees on a deep-frying thermometer and set a paper towel‐lined plate nearby. When the oil is hot, add half of the olives and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from the oil with a spider or slotted spoon and transfer to the paper towel‐lined plate to drain. Repeat with the remaining olives, letting the oil return to temperature between batches.

Serve warm, accompanied by the aioli.

Have a great day
 

Hulling Strawberries. Bowling, New Earrings.

I saw a video on the internet a couple of days ago about hulling strawberries with a plastic straw. I had tried it once without any luck. However, it showed taking off the greenery, then inserting the straw at the bottom end and pushing through. So I thought I would try again. Now done it for two batches, bit difficult at first but now I have the hang of it, it's easy peasy. Mind you if you are not careful the hulls go right through the straw and drop in unwanted places. Strawberry can stain so you don't want it dropping on clothes or carpets. Hm, this isn't the same video and the guy doesn't even remove the greenery. I have another punnet to do for tomorrow so I can try it without removing the leaves..


I am so glad it works as it looks so easy when they do it and I think I was trying to do it the wrong way round. I believe people do this with cherries too. Tried that but couldn't get it to work. Supposed to work with olives too. Guess I should persevere.

Would you believe I had another super bowling day again on Wednesday. Dunno what's got into me

but I'm glad it has. Poor Matt is still in the doldrums I'm afraid. Mind you I nearly didn't get my cup of hot chocolate because of it. The alley owner said it might spoil my game (usually we figure it helps) but I had done so well in the first. However, I was already into the second game and not doing well so the hot chocolate didn't make any difference when it arrive. I got a mediocre score but then for the third game I bowled really well again. I am thrilled to bits about this but it doesn't necessarily last I'm afraid.

I just received a pair of earrings from Amazon.ca which I ordered for Matt to give me as a birthday present. Well part of anyway, he doesn't know that yet though LOL.  They are silver, set with amethysts. I wasn't quite sure they wouldn't be too small, but they appear to be fine. I haven't tried them on yet. Officially I shouldn't even have them until September mind you. Matt thinks I have too many pairs of earrings as it is, but I enjoy wearing them.

This recipe was sent to me by a friend in Australia. Whilst she herself doesn't particularly like asparagus, unless it's extremely thin, she knows I do. I assume everyone that knows me is aware of my love for asparagus.

Asparagus ribbon tart

• Joel Callen

Combining delicate ribbons of fresh asparagus with a delicious cheesy tart filling, this puff pastry delight will win your heart as well as your tastebuds.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 105ml milk
• 75g grated cheese (cheddar or similar)
• 200g asparagus, trimmed and sliced into ribbons
• 1 sheet of puff pastry

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C and grease a loose-bottomed tart tin (shape doesn’t really matter, just ensure it’s about four to six-cm deep).
2. In a bowl or jug, whisk the eggs together. Add the milk and whisk again.
3. Line the tin with your puff pastry and sprinkle a little grated cheese over the base.
4. Lay the asparagus into the tin and pour the egg mixture over the top along with the remaining cheese (do this slowly – depending on the size of your tin, you may not need all of the mixture).
5. Bake the tart for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden, and the egg mixture is set.

Have a great day
 

Presents and Bowling

Here’s a picture of my new earrings, as I promised yesterday.

The ones on the left are sapphires and opals, the ones on the right are freshwater pearls and aquamarines. None are the colours one normally associates with these stones, but of course all stones come in many colours, something that a lot of people don’t realise.

Yesterday we went 10 pin bowling as we did last year. We went to MacDaddy’s and met a friend for lunch, then we bowled. As it turned out Mac, who is the owner, was there and we chatted to him too. Matt won one game, our friend won the other two, and poor little me didn’t even make a 100. I did exactly the same as last year and ripped my thumbnail off, this time it didn’t bleed but was damned painful. Maybe next year I will remember to cut the nail right back beforehand. It really is incredible the difference between 5 pin and 10 pin. Not just the size of the ball – like 3 lbs to 9 lbs for me – heavier for the guys – but also the method of throwing which I do find Pretty difficult as the ball is so heavy and we only play once a year LOL. If you compare the two pictures you can see the difference in the sizes of the balls in the first place. Plus the delivery method is quite different and not easy to adjust from one game to another.

No recipe today, I wasn’t sure I would be blogging at all.