New Year’s Eve, TV Remote, Snow, Supper.

If you are partying tonight, I hope you have a good one, if you are staying at home, enjoy the evening. As I mentioned before, we are staying in. I wish you all a wonderful 2013 and especially good health.

I had a very frustrating morning yesterday, having had a complete breakdown on our TV, Internet and Home Phone services, on Saturday night we decided to watch a DVD which we had done very successfully on Friday without any services. Nothing I did allowed me to switch over to enable us to watch a DVD. I phoned with no joy, they told me it was the DVD player. Having thought about that overnight, I phoned again on Sunday morning, this time I am told its our TV that’s wrong. Then I phoned yet again and finally got someone to whom I explained the situation really carefully and who then told me what to do to get the TV to talk to the DVD player. Finally. OK I am not an electronic genius, I had tried pressing all kinds of buttons but I guess I had just not pressed the right ones. But boy was I frustrated. Especially when the provider kept telling me it was my machines when all I had to do was press the correct combination of buttons on their remote, which, I might say, is NOT what I used to do. Every time they have to come and do something, something else changes.

It certainly looks like winter now. We had some more snow Saturday night so everywhere in the park looks lovely. Of course the people with driveways have all been shovelling like mad, or snow blowing in some cases. I am so glad we don’t have to do that, we would have to probably pay someone to do it for us these days. I saw a snow plow in our grounds the other day so it looks as though our new super is not using the tractor which was bought for a previous super. We had so many this year. So I guess the snow plow will sit there rotting although it was wet the other day so maybe he is just plowing at the front and clearing the large parking lot at the back is being hired out. Every so often they have to get people to move out so they can clear the whole lot, by that time though, a lot of the snow has packed down and become icy. In a shopping mall parking lot they can do it before the customers come, but in an apartment building lot, there are cars there all day.

We are having roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for our New Year’s Eve dinner which will give us a couple more suppers in the New Year.  After all this rich food we have been having, maybe a fish soup would be an excellent idea. I was thinking about a fish pie too, haven’t made one in a long time, you really need a strong flavour like smoked haddock and that’s not easy to obtain here. Will have to put my thinking cap on.

This struck me as a somewhat unusual recipe and one I certainly would try myself.

Fragrant Fish Soup

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Lemony rice, delicately flavored broth and gently poached tilapia are topped with a colorful blend of vegetables and herbs. The aromatic mint provides fresh and complex flavor.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 zest and juice of lemon
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1 pound tilapia fillets or other firm white fish
• 4 cups bite-size pieces arugula or watercress, tough stems removed (about 1 bunch)
• 1 cup finely shredded carrots
• 1/4 cup very thinly sliced fresh mint
• 2  scallions, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Combine rice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; cover and cook until the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir in lemon zest and juice.
2. Meanwhile, bring broth to a simmer in another medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat so the broth remains steaming, but not simmering. Add fish and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove and break into bite-size chunks.
3. Divide the lemony rice among 4 bowls. Top with equal portions of the fish, arugula (or watercress), carrot, mint and scallions. Ladle 1 cup of the warm broth into each bowl and serve

My very best wishes for a Happy New Year.

Angry Dad, Fish Pie, Books, Snow.

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

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

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

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

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

Smoky Stuffed Peppers

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

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

Servings: 6

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

Recipe Ingredients:

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

Recipe Steps:

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

Recipe Nutrition:

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

I hope you have a wonderful weekend