Tomatoes, Garage, Grocery Store, LCBO,

I forgot to mention yesterday that I had tried the Oven Roasted Tomatoes Stuffed with Goat Cheese last night. I used about 6 oz. cheese for 2 tomatoes and, because I was in a rush, made a couple of mistakes. I cooked them in the Air Fryer and they turned out well, except I couldn't lift them out of the fryer so tipped them out. Didn't look pretty but they tasted very good.

Slow morning today, but then after lunch we went to the garage. Bob laughed at the card I had made for them. I sat on one of their comfy couches and went to sleep again. Had a lousy night last night, I could not get cool. Our A/C is in the living room and it doesn't always manage to get to the bedroom. I finally got to sleep around 2:30 and then awoke around 6. Infuriating.

Eventually, the car was ready and Bob said he had "done some magic", he sure had, he quoted $240 yesterday, he charged me $186 today. Great. Headed off to the store because I had forgotten to order Matt some luncheon meat. Think I have mentioned what a mess the place is because they are installing a Starbucks which I believe is a waste of time. Things are not where they should be and the shelves are not as full as they were. Enough to put you off shopping there all together. Thank goodness for PC Express which enables me to let someone else do my shopping.

Then went to the LCBO or liquor store and after that home. Not a sound from the car so this time what was wrong is definitely fixed.

When we got home I fixed salmon in foil for supper which we ate later on with a pea relish. I have posted both recipes previously.

Here is a simple recipe from Kevin Lynch of Closet Kitchen. Now I am off to bed.

Dakkochi (Korean Skewered Chicken)

Servings: 4

ingredients

• 1 pound chicken breast (cut into bite sized pieces)
• 3 cloves garlic (grated)
• 1 inch ginger (grated)
• 1/2 small onion (grated)
• 1/2 Asian pear (grated)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 green onions (chopped)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

directions

1. Mix everything in a freezer bag and marinate for at least an hour.
2. Skewer the chicken on wet skewers and set aside.
3. Strain the solids from the marinade and simmer the marinade until it thickens and becomes saucy, about 5-10 minutes.
4. Grill the chicken until cooked, about 5 minutes per side basting it with the marinade as you go.

Have a great day
 

Emergency Brake Saga, Red Lobster, Car, Notre Dame,

Took the car in on Thursday morning, appointment at 11. ladydog picked us up shortly after 11 and we went to the Red Lobster. Mind you they hadn't started on the car. Eventually, once we had had lunch, I phoned the garage. They were going to be starting on it in about 20 minutes!!!! Apparently they had had some kind of hold up. OK I guess. So, to kill time, ladydog took us to Victoria St. Market as she wanted to go there anyway. We then came back and she dropped us off at the garage. Our car was already up in the air. After maybe half an hour, I hear them calling their supplier saying they had been sent a right hand brake cable instead of a left hand!!! I don't believe it. Won't be there before tomorrow so they put the car back together and we went home. In fact we have arranged for it next Tuesday. My lucky day or what?

I did have a great crab lunch though, three kinds of crab legs and claws. Yummy. Matt complained about the time I was taking but ladydog was being very supportive about it. Eventually I shut Matt up with an ice cream whilst I was still eating. Got two pieces of Chocolate Wave Cake to take home as well. Saturday dessert.

Because they have been cleaning the garage, I parked outside. Just this minute remembered (11:00) I forgot to go get the car. Not going down now. Dark out there. Matt wants a haircut tomorrow so will leave it til then.

I am sad to learn, although not terribly surprised from what I have been hearing about old cathedrals, that Notre Dame's arches are in danger of collapsing. Unfortunately this is the case with so many ancient cathedrals, many of which they have managed to save by shoring up the arches. I have linked to the article which is about a report from the chief architect in charge of the restoration. No doubt we will hear more in due course. I am referring to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, of course.

I have never had Banh Mi although I have seen different recipes for it, decided to try this one in the near future.

Grilled-Pork Banh Mi

Luke Nguyen grew up in Australia and learned to cook at his Vietnamese parents’ restaurant. He later

opened his own restaurant, The Red Lantern, in Sydney. On his first visit to Saigon 11 years ago, he had this simple sandwich filled with peppery pork and hoisin sauce.

1/4 cup Asian fish sauce
1 Tbs honey
2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
6 scallions, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
6 8-inch-long rolls or 2 baguettes, cut into 8-inch lengths and split
Hoisin sauce and Sriracha chile sauce
Vegetable oil, for grilling
1/2 seedless cucumber, cut into 2-by-1/2-inch matchsticks
1 1/2 loosely packed cups cilantro sprigs

1. In a blender, puree the fish sauce with the honey, sugar, pepper, scallions and garlic. Transfer the marinade to a bowl, add the pork and toss. Refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours. Thread the pork through the top and bottom of each slice onto 12 bamboo skewers.

2. Spread the rolls with hoisin and Sriracha. Light a grill and oil the grates. Brush the pork with oil and grill over high heat, turning, until just cooked, 4 minutes. Place 2 skewers in each roll, close and pull out the skewers. Top with the cucumber and cilantro and serve.

Servings: 6

Source: FOOD & WINE

Have a great day
 

Hair Salon, Red Lobster, Bowling, Headlamp,

So, both of us needing our ears lowered, we headed off to the hairdressing salon Wednesday morning. Matt went first and I was given a cup of coffee. Then a man with mental problems came in so he had

his buzz cut. I got my hair done after that. She ended up cutting my hair very short. Matt says it looks good, I'm not convinced, however, it will be a long time before I need another cut. The hairdresser had asked if we were going out to lunch and I said no, but on the way home I thought "why not?" so headed for the Red Lobster. It was bitterly cold today and I made the mistake of requesting our usual booth which turned out to be in the path of the wind coming in from the opening door. Won't do that again. We both had Island Jumbo Coconut Shrimp which was absolutely delicious. Didn't bother with a side again, can get all our veggies at home. I then ordered two Chocolate Wave cakes to take home, we had the ice cream part in the restaurant. We ate the cake for supper.

I phoned the bowling alley but they had no room for us after lunch so we thought we had better go get our dead headlamp bulb replaced. Had a hilarious story from the guy who does the booking in. Apparently he is deathly afraid of planes but Meineke finally insisted he had to go to some convention or other. He started drinking early in the morning and the rest of the story was very funny. My first husband was like that, terrified of flying so he tried to deal with it by drinking. Eventually, when he had to fly for business (after we were divorced) the doctor gave him some pills which he labelled "happy pills". Not sure what they were but apparently they helped.

We drove into the bowling alley parking lot at one point and there was nowhere to park so decided to go back later. Got home and in the end decided not to go. Only trouble is, we forgot the cakes in the car so Matt had to go get them and park the car underground. Decided to go early Thursday afternoon.

Having had a lot of lunch, I just did tomato soup for supper plus the cake. Now I am out of tomato soup so looked for an instapot one online. Lots of the recipes called for all kinds of veg as well as tomato. No thanks, I want just tomato. Finally found one which was pretty close to what I normally make, so, with a couple of adjustments, this is the recipe I will use. For a start, I will have to downsize it as my Instapot isn't big enough for this amount. I don't usually use pepper flakes but might just do that for a change.

Instant Pot Easy Tomato Soup

1 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs Butter
1 Onion, chopped
4 cloves of Garlic, pressed or minced
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
3 15 oz Cans of Diced or Crushed Tomatoes, with juice
4 cups Broth, chicken or vegetable
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 Tbs Fresh Basil, (chopped) or 1 tsp dried
 
To finish (Optional, To but really makes this soup extra special!)

1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (or more to taste)
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
Garnish
Croutons
Fresh Basil
Parmesan Cheese

1. Press the Sauté button on the Instant Pot. When the display reads "Hot" add the oil and butter.

2. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 7 minutes (let the onion brown a little for better flavor). Stir occasionally.

3. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes (if using) and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

4. Add the tomatoes, broth, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and basil. Stir and close the lid of the pot and lock it into place. Set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.

5. Cancel the Sauté mode. Press the Manual (or Pressure Cook) button and then the + or - button to choose 5 minutes.

6. When the cook cycle ends, let the pot naturally release pressure for 15 minutes. Then turn the steam release knob to Venting and manually release the remaining pressure.

7. When the pin in the lid drops, open the lid and stir the soup.

8. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to a creamy consistency. Or transfer to a blender and carefully blend the soup in batches. Please use caution!

9. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and let it melt into the soup.

10. Stir in the heavy cream.

11. Taste and adjust salt, if desired.

12. Garnish as desired and serve.

Yield: 8 cups

Source: Simply Happy Foodie

Have a great day
 

Car and Lunch

Matt has taken the car in this morning, ostensibly for service, but there is a knocking noise plus I think the brake liners need doing in the front. This makes me verrrrry nervous. We never seem to be able to take the car in for service without ending up spending a bunch of money. The joys of motoring I guess. Luckily the garage we are using is just down the road from us, so we don't have to go very far. So cross your fingers for us that by the time you read this, we aren't in the poor house. Matt's cousin confirmed she has printed off a Google map and will be here at 11 as scheduled. Lunch should all be ready by then. I haven't made my Caesar dressing yet but it doesn't take too long. I use one which is something of a cheat, but which I got from a friend some 25 years ago and which we very much like the taste of. I make my own croutons but oddly enough, I don't like croutons any more, I have no idea why. In a restaurant I usually get them to "hold" the croutons on my salad. I will be serving them separately for lunch. Making croutons is pretty easy by the way, just lightly toast some bread, then cut it into small cubes and fry them in olive oil in small batches until they are golden brown, two slices of bread at a time (too many and you will end up burning them) then dry on paper towel. You can then use straight away or freeze them. I usually make up a batch for freezing when I do make them. You can, of course, season them with garlic if you wish, I personally prefer them without the garlic. This is the recipe I use for Caesar Salad which I got from my friend Barbara who, sadly, is no longer with us. Quick and Easy Caesar Salad 1/3 c olive oil 1/3 c italian dressing 1 egg yolk 2 tsp lemon juice 6 dashes tabasco 2 tsp wine vinegar 4 tsp parmesan dash pepper & salt 2 crushed garlic cloves 1/2 tsp dry mustard 1 Tsp anchovy paste Mix all ingredients in a bowl - store in fridge if required. Tear up Romaine, add dressing, croutons and bacon bits. Toss and serve. Have a great day.