Bowling, Ebola, Gas Prices.

I was delighted how well I bowled again yesterday. I just wish Matt could have bowled as well. He had some good frames but wasn’t able to turn them into really good scores. Last year I nearly got to an average of 160 and would really like to achieve that this winter.

It appears that in the Texas hospital where the two nurses caught Ebola had given no training to anyone to deal with this and from pictures it turns out that the nurses necks were uncovered!! I hope hospitals will be given training ASAP because you just never know who is going to land on your doorstep.

Passing our regular gas bar on the way to bowling we saw the price was $1.12 per litre. That’s the lowest we’ve seen in a very long time. However, in the headlines they are saying falling gas prices are hurting Alberta. Much of their gas is sold to the States anyway, although I heard a report the other day that the States were now producing as much gas as the middle east. 

Having a Hallowe’en party? How about this for your table? By the way, I am going to be sharing this on my local radio station next Tuesday.

Black Widow Goat Cheese Log

Food and Wine - Contributed by Grace Parisi

• SERVINGS: 12 servings
• 
  

Sautéed shallots and feta cheese flavour this simple spread, which is a delicious hors d'oeuvre at any time of year. Here, it's formed into a spooky spider.

1. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2. 4 very large shallots, thinly sliced (2 cups)
3. 10 ounces fresh goat cheese, softened
4. 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
5. 6 ounces Greek feta cheese, at room temperature
6. Black sesame seeds, for garnish
7. 1 piquillo pepper, for garnish
8. 6-inch painted twigs, for spider legs
9. Crackers, flat breads and bread sticks

1. In a medium skillet, melt the butter. Add the shallots and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Scrape the shallots into a food processor and let cool. Add the goat cheese, cream cheese and feta and puree until smooth. Scrape the cheese into a bowl and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
2. Shape one third of the cheese mixture into a ball and roll in black sesame seeds to coat; shape the remaining two-thirds into a larger ball and coat with black sesame seeds. On a serving board, press the balls together to form the head and body of a spider. Cut the piquillo pepper into 2 small triangles and place them on the body in an hourglass shape. Serve with crackers, flat breads or bread sticks.

Make Ahead The unformed cheese mixture can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Have a great day’'

Bowling, Ebola, Norwegian Money.

We went bowling on Monday but as it was Thanksgiving we didn’t have a full complement of members. In fact all of our team were there. I am pleased to say I bowled pretty well again, last game was a bit pathetic but… My average has gone up another point. Matt had a bad day I’m afraid.

After writing about ebola yesterday, it seems there are now patients in Canada, one was tested and cleared, another is awaiting blood test results. Enough to frighten one to death except they say it is only through body fluids that the disease can be passed. However, they haven’t solved the mystery of how the Texas nurse contracted the disease yet. One minute they say she followed protocol, the next they say she can’t have. One item of good news, Canada is beginning human tests of an ebola vaccine.

Norwegian banknotes are stimulating lots of admiration for their pixel artwork. There are a lot of different pictures shown in the article featuring different designs. The banknotes won’t be released until 2017 though but they are attractive. These are a couple of the designs which appealed to me particularly. Beats the usual humdrum style of most banknotes.  I like our new Canadian money but I gather a lot of people don’t.

This is a Cooking Light recipe which turned up on My Recipes. I happen to like tofu so would cook this as is but it says you can use chicken in you prefer. I see the ingredients talk about bottle ginger. We buy fresh ginger and keep it in the freezer until wanted. It keeps really well.

Szechuan-Style Tofu with Peanuts

Spice up your supper with this Asian-flavoured vegetarian dish. For meat-lovers, feel free to substitute chicken for tofu.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup rice, about 3/4 cup tofu mixture, and 1 tablespoon peanuts)

Ingredients

• 2 (3 1/2-ounce) bags boil-in-bag jasmine rice
• 1 (14-ounce) package water-packed firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch pieces
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)
• 1 tablespoon less-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons black bean garlic sauce
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup matchstick-cut carrots
• 1 tablespoon bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, chopped

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat broiler.
2. 2. Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
3. 3. Arrange tofu in a single layer on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray; broil 14 minutes or until golden.
4. 4. While tofu cooks, combine broth and next 4 ingredients (through black bean sauce), stirring with a whisk; set aside.
5. 5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add salt and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes or until mushrooms begin to release liquid, stirring occasionally. Stir in carrots and ginger; cook 1 minute. Add broth mixture; cook 30 seconds or until sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat; stir in tofu and onions. Serve over rice; sprinkle with peanuts.

Have a great day

Email Ads, Turkey Meal, Ebola.

This morning (Sunday) I received an email with specials including a deal on Vapor Pens. I had no idea what a vapor pen was so I googled, they are for dispensing  marijuana. I cannot believe such things are being offered to the general public. I read they are for getting high secretly!!!! I am absolutely staggered to receive such an offer in my inbox. Since I first wrote this I have had this offer at least half a dozen times.

Although we ate our turkey meal on Saturday, Thanksgiving in Canada is actually today, Monday 13th October. This morning there will be a parade down King Street – main street in town – and then I understand a hockey game this afternoon. We drive past the arena on our way to bowling but hopefully the crowds will not affect us at the times we go and return. This picture shows my plate for dinner. We had roasted carrots, Mediterranean Snow Peas, roast potatoes, turkey with mushroom gravy and bread sauce. I was a bit disappointed in the carrots, they tasted OK, but the recipe was not much good especially as far as the time given, I had to cook them a heck of a lot longer and ended up giving them time in the microwave. They tasted OK in the end but were not the prettiest item by any manner of means. I wasn’t planning on desert, but in the end I took out some chocolate cups, crumbled chocolate chip cookies into them, poured a little coffee and a little brandy on them and topped it off with a dollop of cream. It was good. No pix of course, didn’t think of it. Sunday night we had cold turkey and probably have enough for a couple more meals.

I did a questionnaire about ebola on Sunday and have found lots of information about the disease. I feel a little less scared of it now. It can only be passed through body fluids (same as AIDS) – it’s not airborne or anything like that. Hearing that one of the medical staff in a Texas hospital had caught it made me somewhat nervous of the possibility of a widespread problem, but reading this article or answering the questions, assuaged my fears somewhat. Now I have just read an article about the Texas event and it turns out that she was properly covered the whole time and that they have another suspected patient in the same hospital. A Spanish nurse in Madrid has caught Ebola after treating a priest who returned with the disease.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Canada.

It seems like everybody likes cupcakes so I thought these would be a good recipe to share.

Apple Cupcakes With Cinnamon-Marshmallow Frosting

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com
Shredded apple replaces some of the oil and keeps the cake moist in these cinnamon-spiked cupcakes. There is a generous amount of fluffy marshmallow frosting to mound or pipe on top for a festive look. Be sure to frost them right after you make the frosting—it stiffens as it stands and becomes more difficult to spread.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups apples, shredded peeled
1/2 cup dried apples, diced
3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed light, plus 3/4 cup, divided
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
1/3 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup water
4 teaspoons dried egg whites, reconstituted according to package directions; equivalent to 2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for garnish

Instructions

1. To prepare cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups with cupcake liners or coat with cooking spray.
2. Combine shredded and dried apples in a bowl with 3 tablespoons brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside. Beat oil and the remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Beat in eggs one at a time until combined. Add vanilla, increase speed to high and beat for 1 minute.
3. Whisk whole-wheat flour, cake flour, baking soda, salt and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl.
4. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the batter, starting and ending with dry ingredients and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, until just combined. Stir in the reserved apple mixture until just combined. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. (The cups will be full.)
5. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before frosting.
6. To prepare frosting: Bring 2 inches of water to a simmer in the bottom of a double boiler. Combine 1 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup water in the top of the double boiler. Heat over the simmering water, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Add reconstituted egg whites, cream of tartar and pinch of salt. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed until the mixture is glossy and thick, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the top pan from the heat and continue beating for 1 minute more to cool. Add vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and beat on low just to combine. Spread or pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle cinnamon on top, if desired.

Have a great day