Octomom, Not the Right Wreckage, Sunshine Please.

The notorious Octomom as she has been christened, is now telling the world she screwed up!! Read here she is saying she did it to get closer to the father and that all the kids have the same dad (she had 6 others before giving birth to the octuplets). I could have told her she screwed up when we first heard about it all. This morning they announced from Brazil that the wreckage they have been finding was not Air France Flight 447 after all so now they have no idea where the flight went down, the whole thing is a total mystery although there was something about warning all pilots of the same plane to make sure they follow exact procedure if they suspect their speed indicator to be malfunctioning. These are all guesses, no-one knows what happened and if they don't find wreckage, they never will know. I wonder how long they will keep looking. I am sick of this weather, it has been a bit warmer the last couple of days, but not really summery. One does see people wearing shorts, but in the temps we are having, I think they are nuts. On Monday, for instance, people were bowling in sweat shirts. I think I will start a sun worship cult to try and persuade it to shine on us all so if you see me pouring libations, don't cry that I am wasting alcohol, I am sunworshipping. I just got another Eating Well email and it included this salad which I might try for lunch today. The asparagus I get from Tim Barrie's farm is certainly good for salads without cooking, he often hands me a spear to eat whilst he is serving me and it is delicious. Green Salad with Asparagus & Peas Makes 8 servings, about 2 cups each 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest ¼ cup lemon juice ¼ cup canola oil or extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper 2 heads Boston or Bibb lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces 2 cups very thinly sliced fresh asparagus (about 1 bunch) 2 cups shelled fresh peas (about 3 pounds unshelled) 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives or scallion greens Combine lemon zest and juice, oil, sugar, salt and pepper in a large salad bowl. Add lettuce, asparagus, peas, tomatoes and chives (or scallion greens); toss to coat. Have a great day.

Riverside Lanes, Soup, Flight 447.

Unfortunately we didn't win yesterday. At one point we were lying second, but in the last game none of us were really bowling up to our averages. In our first two games the total was well over our average which was good. Matt and I both had a 200 game which - lately - is unusual for us. Our top bowler had one good game but unfortunately she too didn't have a good day otherwise. Oh well, there is always next year. We all went out for lunch after and enjoyed ourselves - well the whole morning was fun. We enjoyed chatting to Eric who is the proprietor of the alley and was telling us he was off to England in July to attend his daughter's wedding which is taking place in Matt's home town area so that produced much conversation. We were both tired having risen so early and ended up doing absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. For supper I had made some leek and tomato soup which turned out to be pretty good - I basically just sautéed the leeks in some butter, added some finely chopped garlic, a large can of Italian tomatoes, a can of tomato purée and 2 cups of chicken stock. I threw in some fresh basil and some basil pesto for a little extra flavour. Yummy. I had enough left for two more servings which are now in the freezer. An interesting question on GMA this morning about whether families should split up to fly. Apparently a couple were flying to France with their children to attend a wedding. The husband went with the 3yr old and the wife followed with the son on Air France Flight 447. What a tragedy, but, as someone interviewed this morning, pointed out, you are statistically at much more risk driving a car so should you travel in different cars? Today we are going to get our ears lowered and also to do our weekly shopping. Seems to be a big list today. I had my Hershey's email yesterday and came across this rather unusual appetizer. Obviously you can substitute any brickle type toffee if you cannot get the Heath brand. Ranch Style Shrimp and Bacon Appetizers Ingredients: * RANCH STYLE BARBEQUE SAUCE(recipe follows) * 30 large peeled, deveined shrimp * 1/2 pound thick-cut bacon * 10 wooden skewers* Directions: 1. Prepare RANCH STYLE BARBEQUE SAUCE. 2. Wrap each shrimp with 1/2 bacon strip. Thread 3 wrapped shrimp onto each wooden skewer. 3. Grill or broil shrimp skewers until bacon is cooked and shrimp is no longer translucent, but has turned pink. Baste with barbeque sauce. Return to heat to warm sauce. Serve with additional barbeque sauce, if desired. 10 shrimp skewers. RANCH STYLE BARBEQUE SAUCE: 1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil 1/2 cup minced onion 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce 1/2 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 cups ketchup 1 cup HEATH BITS 'O BRICKLE Toffee Bits 1/4 cup cider vinegar 3 tablespoons sugar 1-1/2 tablespoons HERSHEY'S Cocoa 1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat; add onion and garlic. Cook until tender. Stir in lemon juice, black pepper, mustard, paprika, hot pepper sauce and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes; reduce heat. 2. Stir in ketchup, toffee bits, vinegar, sugar and cocoa. Simmer 15 minutes. Refrigerate leftovers. About 3 cups sauce. *To prevent wooden skeweers from burning while grilling or broiling, soak in water about 10 minutes before using. Have a great day.

Tournament, Reality TV, Flight 447,

I am not sure, but there may not be a blog from me in the morning as we are bowling in New Hamburg at 9:30 a.m. in the Senior Summer Games tournament (a good distance away) we have to check in about 9 a.m. which means we will be getting up pretty early for us. Not that we are slugabeds but even so, we don't usually get up at 6 a.m. Keep your fingers crossed for us. Maybe, despite our recent record of not bowling very well, we will be able to pull something out of the bag tomorrow morning. There seems to be a lot of controversy, particularly in Britain, about Susan Boyle and whether or not she should have been allowed to perform at the finals - I think that would really have upset the poor woman. Not to mention whether the show producers gave her enough emotional support. Marilyn of French Marilyn's Blog (see link this page) steered me to an article in Britain's Daily Mail on line click here to read which details the whole situation. I don't think its the fault of the show that their participants can't handle the pressure it is more the fault of the media in general for applying such unbearable pressure. As I said a couple of days ago, they already killed a princess. I personally feel very sorry for Susan Boyle who, coming from a small Scottish village, would never have been exposed to anything remotely like this. I do hope she manages to feel well enough to go on and make her record deals. I guess we are all contributing to the pressure by writing about her although somehow, I don't think Susan will be reading my little blog. Coincidentally, or maybe not, there was a programme on TV last night about Paul Potts who won a couple of years ago and went through the same kind of pressures. He appears to have handled it OK, but maybe he was better adjusted. Since he won, he has met the Queen and Britain's Prime Minister who presented him with a 2 million record plaque and gave him a cuppa. He has travelled all over the world and been #1 on the charts of many countries. It may help that he has the support of a wife although Susan Boyle does have brothers to support her. On the programme we saw, I got the impression Paul is thoroughly enjoying his fame and fortune although he has some very strong opponents in the opera critic field who say he wouldn't get past the first interview with Covent Garden or La Scala. Maybe not but he is still introducing operatic songs to the masses much as Russell Watson did a year or two ago. A lot of people are listening to music which would never have come their way without people like these two. Not much news on the missing plane today, I am not sure how they are going to find out what happened as where they think it went down it is extremely deep water - I don't know if they will go as far as sending down deep diving machines to try and locate the wreckage. Some of it will eventually float of course. There are all kinds of people with all kinds of theories as to what may have happened but no-one really knows. I must say, some of the speculations as to what happened make you wonder about flying again. Nobody, so far, has thought there could have been a bomb. I wonder why this has not come into the equations so far. If they do find any wreckage, it will take a year or two before they can piece together any kind of a result. I don't know if you realise, but I like chocolate *g* I also like meringues, so when I saw the following recipe in Eating Well, I couldn't resist it. I haven't made these yet, but I will. They are not to high in calories either although they do, of course, contain sugar. Dark Chocolate Meringue Drops Makes about 40 (2-inch) cookies 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (60-75% cacao), divided 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process), sifted after measuring if lumpy 3 tablespoons cocoa nibs (see Shopping Tip), optional ⅓ cup egg whites (about 3 large), at room temperature ½ teaspoon cream of tartar ½ cup sugar, divided (use 1 ½ teaspoons less if cocoa nibs are omitted) ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 1. Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and coat the paper with cooking spray. 2. Coarsely chop 3 ounces of chocolate and place it in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on Medium for 1 minute. Stir, then continue microwaving on Medium, stirring every 20 seconds, until mostly melted. Stir until the remaining chocolate melts completely. 3. Chop the remaining 2 ounces chocolate into pieces the size of mini chocolate chips. Combine in a small bowl with cocoa and cocoa nibs (if using). 4. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in a clean medium mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds, then at medium speed until soft peaks start to form. Immediately add about 2 tablespoons sugar; beat for 1 minute. Slowly, about a tablespoon at a time, add the remaining sugar, then vanilla, continuing to beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth, opaque, glossy and thickened, about 2 minutes longer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, raise the speed to high, and beat for 30 seconds more. Lightly fold in the chocolate-cocoa mixture and the melted chocolate just until evenly incorporated and no streaks remain; do not overmix. Immediately drop the batter by rounded teaspoonfuls about 1 inch apart onto the prepared baking sheets. 5. Bake the cookies, switching the pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through, until just firm when gently pressed on top but still soft inside, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let stand for 1 to 2 minutes. Then slide the paper from the pans to a flat surface and let the cookies cool completely, about 15 minutes. Gently lift the cookies from the parchment paper using a wide-bladed spatula. Tips These are best enjoyed fresh, but can be stored flat with wax paper between layers in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. Thaw before serving. Tip: If you add the optional cocoa nibs to the batter, the flavor-texture combination will be even more interesting and complex. Nibs, which are bits of roasted and hulled cocoa beans, are crunchy and have a pure (unsweetened) chocolate taste. Some brands of nibs are coarser than others. For these cookies, the nibs should be the size of finely chopped nuts. If necessary, simply chop them to obtain the right consistency. Have a great day.