Wimbledon, HST, More on Gulf, Soccer Rivalry,

The longest tennis match in history finally finished up with John Isner beating Nicolas Mahut 70-68. The match took 11 hours and 5 minutes. Sadly, we couldn’t find it on TV yesterday; we would love to have seen the finish. Here is a picture from Voice of America showing the pair of them beside the final score board. Isner from the US is the taller of the two. Mahut is from France. He sure has nothing to be ashamed of, it was a stupendous exhibition of skill and stamina. Oh if only!!!! I cannot imagine how the pair of them felt, especially on Wednesday when they had been playing for so long.

I mentioned HST or Harmony Sales Tax before, today we got a notice of just what is going to happen. There are two items which will affect us personally, one being gasoline which is going from a 5% tax to 13% and the other is ISP services – same increase. Maybe I can’t afford to write blogs any more!!! Home heating is also going up which may mean a rent increase. I’ve been saying I don’t care because we have to pay it anyway, but of course I do care that it is going to make a bigger hole in our not very deep pockets.

There was mention on the news about how much money BP had already spent on the Gulf disaster which made their stocks plummet again. They still haven’t stopped the leak though. In fact I understand the cap they are presently using shifted the other day and allowed the leak to flow fully for a few hours until they got it in place again. I saw a video the other day of a youngster with a proposal on dealing with the leak. His idea is that a robot should undo a few nuts and then insert an iron plate. His dad is an engineer and says its feasible. There was a video demonstration which I cannot find any more, showing him stop a water leak from a similar device to a well head. The family have informed BP of the idea but they have thousands of ideas being sent to them all the time.

I don’t actually follow soccer even at the level of the World Cup, however, there has been a bit of joking between Matt and a German friend as there is a match between our two birth countries on Sunday, not only that, there was a headline that the British PM and the German leader would avoid one another on Sunday at the G20 conference.

In yesterday’s World Wide Recipes written by Joe Barkson there was a Canadian Bacon recipe which appealed to me. I, in fact, only buy Canadian bacon which I sometimes eat for breakfast. It is the nearest thing to English back bacon although it isn’t quite the same, processing I imagine. Its so long since I have eaten back bacon in the UK that I don’t really remember the differences properly.

Canadian Bacon in Sherry Sauce
World Wide Recipes

1 Tbs (15 ml) vegetable oil
1 Tbs (15 ml) all-purpose flour
1 cup (250 ml) beef stock
2 Tbs (30 ml) sherry
1/2 tsp (2 ml) dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 - 1 1/2 lbs (425 - 675 g) Canadian bacon, sliced

Heat the oil in a saucepan over moderate heat and stir in the flour. Cook until medium brown in color, stirring frequently. Stir in the beef stock, sherry, thyme, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, broil the Canadian bacon
until lightly browned around the edges and heated through. Spoon the sauce over the meat and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

Have a great day

Walking the Amazon, Sunshine, Oil Leak,

The Good Morning America series on inspirations finished today with Bill Weir in the Amazon. Apparently even in this day and age, no-one has ever walked the Amazon river from start to finish. There is a young Brit named Ed Stafford who is attempting to do just that. He started by setting aside a year, he has now been walking for two years and still isn't at the end. He has been video blogging as he travelled and Bill Weir joined him for a couple of days or so. http://tinyurl.com/295aqso to read the article and see the film clip from Bill Weir's visit. I wish I had been following Ed Stafford's video blog but this is the first I have heard of it. There is a link to his video blog in the article which I will check out later. He apparently had sponsors who ended up backing out and is now managing with small subscriptions from private donors, he refused to let his mother sell her home. He has been in some pretty stick situations in his two years. This is certainly something that inspires me, not that I would ever want to emulate this particular trip. The weather has decided to be kind to us the last couple of days, however, this weekend is a holiday weekend so it is supposed to rain. Matt tells me we are supposed to get more good weather next week. It certainly isn't before time. It makes one feel so much better to see lots of sun and warm temps. When we were out and about yesterday, people were in summer clothing which is such a change from all the dark winter stuff. I wonder why we dress so drably in winter? Of course the Gulf Oil leak is still one of the major headlines at the moment. Now BP are admitting a lot more oil was gushing out than they originally said. That was obvious the minute we saw the pictures. Despite millions in money, time and effort, they still seem no nearer to finally stopping the problem and the oil continues to spread. I don't know but would have thought they could use bathyspheres of some kind to work on the pipes - however I assume there is a reason they haven't done so. It really is too depressing for words. Just how far is this going to spread before they ever stop it, and will it ever get stopped. I am feeling very pessimistic about the whole thing this morning. There is a video clip from one of BP's officials on GMA again this morning. GMA started their summer concert series, held in the park, with the Jonas Bros. today. Talk about screaming. I don't know how any of them stand it. They were trying to talk to them on stage and no-one could hear anyone else. Bit of a waste of time.

I found this recipe on BBC Good Food and thought it would make a change. Of course, me being me, I would probably have a side of fresh asparagus *g* West Indian Chicken Curry This punchy dish is under 500 calories, but you won't notice you're being healthy Recipe by Jennifer Joyce Serves 4 1 large onion , chopped 2 garlic cloves , chopped 2 tbsp curry powder 1 large sweet potato , peeled and cut into small chunks 4 skinless boneless chicken breast fillets , cut into chunks 400g tin coconut milk 100g whole cherry tomatoes fresh coriander , to serve 1.Cook the onion and garlic in a tsp of oil for 5 minutes. Season, then stir in the curry powder. Cook for another minute, then add the potatoes and chicken. 2.Pour in the coconut milk. Simmer for 10-12 minutes, then add the tomatoes and simmer for 2 minutes. 3.Serve sprinkled with fresh coriander. Have a great day

Painting, Gulf Oil, Autism,

I had a miserable day yesterday, I woke up with allergy symptoms and could not get rid of them so spent the day sniffing and blowing. Saturday I spent most of the day loading Windows 7 and then re-loading all the programmes I had on my laptop. Gynie of Once Upon a Time in France has now started a new blog about her painting called Daily Way of Painting. I will check in on her, but it is not totally my scene. I can appreciate the end result and I enjoy most of her pictures, but the way of getting there is not a thing of major interest to me I'm afraid. Sorry Mike and Gynie. It seems that the latest method of plugging the oil leak has been partially successful but is not apparently the final solution. There is an article here http://tiny.cc/6h3q7 which is interesting to read and also says that the oil may have, already, reached the loop current in the gulf which could eventually take the oil into the Atlantic and on up the coasts of eastern America. This would really mess with the fishing industry not to mention all the wetlands and aquatic animals which would be affected. BP are reiterating that they will pay for everything, as I understand their costs so far are equivalent to something like 6 day's profits, I guess they aren't going to run out of money any time soon despite the millions of dollars this is costing. The picture of the oil gushing out of the broken pipe is a really scary one in my book. I have just seen a headline saying Offshore spill won't happen to Canada, huh!!! Our prime minister says it couldn't happen because of the federal government's strong offshore drilling rules. I just hope he is right, but sounds a tad cocksure to me. GMA has a good picture of the pipe insertion too by the way. Talking of GMA they are doing segments on who inspired them (the hosts that is) and this morning, Sam Champion talked about his sister who has an autistic son and has been working hard all his life to raise money to assist with autistic children. However, the main problem there seems to be that at a certain age, all the programmes cease and older people with autism are not looked after - there are no programmes in place for them. Apparently autism is on the rise, a lot because of improvements in detection, they are not yet sure if there is an actual rise in the disease. There is some talk of heavy metals, pesticides and childhood vaccines, but at the moment there is no definite answer as to why autism occurs. Such discussion reminds me of a lovely book by Elizabeth Moon called The Speed of Dark which is about people with autism. She knows, as she has an autistic son. There was also the wonderful movie Rainman with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. I have to go to Barrie Bros. Farm today as I am out of asparagus. That will never do. Here is yet another recipe I have found. But as usual from this source, no pictures. Asparagus Almandine Asparagus Recipes 2 lb of fresh asparagus. ¼ cup of slivered almonds. ¼ cup of butter. 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook the asparagus; then drain. Melt the butter in a skillet. Cook the almonds over a low heat, stirring frequently, until they turn golden brown (takes about five mins). Remove from heat. Add the lemon juice and the salt.P our over hot asparagus. Serve. Have a great day

La Cage aux Folles, Gulf Oil Leak,

I keep thinking today is Saturday which of course, it isn't. Makes life very confusing. I couldn't understand why Good Morning America was on so early (weekends they don't start til 8). They had a segment about La Cage aux Folles, apparently there is a new version with Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge playing the leads. I still think the film version, The Bird Cage, with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane was one of the best versions of this I have ever seen however they did an excerpt of a song and dance which was good and quite funny. It has apparently been nominated for 11 Tony awards, so they are doing very well. There are a couple of video clips on http://www.gma.com/ including the song and dance.

Oil is still pouring into the Gulf of Mexico although it seems the news has kind of dropped the story although you can find updates. Reports are saying there is more oil than we know, it has been referred to as an oil spill, it isn't, that makes it finite. This is a well we are talking about and unless it is plugged it will continue to gush oil into the Gulf until the well runs out and God knows how long that would take. There are pictures on http://www.gma.com/ showing the oil gushing out under water. In fact there are two videos there which are really worth watching. I gather the latest idea is to insert a smaller pipe, with a stopper around it, into the larger one to try and siphon the oil onto a tanker that way. It is now some 25 days this has been going on, I hope and pray something is going to be successful soon. Experts are quarrelling about the amount of oil which is flowing into the seas. At the moment, that seems somewhat unimportant, stopping it is what should be the primary focus although it is a fact that experts say there has been more oil than 4 Exxon Valdize spills put together and that was a major disaster in itself.

Last night I made the quick Alfredo recipe which I gave you a few days back, it came from Kraft, and added chopped, par boiled asparagus to the sauce. It was really good. We served it over Barrie Bros. asparagus pasta and it made a good meal. The recipe calls for Parmesan which I have run out of, so I used grated cheddar cheese instead. In case you don't remember, here is the recipe again. Do not add the par boiled asparagus til almost the last minute or it will end up very overcooked. I forgot to take a picture, so I am using the original recipe picture.

Philly Alfredo with Asparagus

based on a recipe by Kraft Kitchens

1 tub (250 g) Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spread

1 cup milk

1 cup Kraft 100% Parmesan Grated Cheese (I used cheddar)

pinch of ground nutmeg

salt and pepper

12 - 14 asparagus spears

HEAT 1 tub (250g) Philadelphia Spreadable Cream Cheese with 1 cup each milk and Kraft Grated Parmesan in a nonstick pot. Bring to a boil. Season with a dash of ground nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile cook the asparagus until just tender. Drain and allow to cool enough to handle. Chop into bite sized pieces. Add to the sauce just before serving to reheat.

POUR over hot cooked pasta and top with additional Kraft Grated Parmesan.

Servings: 8

Have a great day

Tournament, Barrie Bros., Oil, Lena and Barbara,

Probably there will be no blog from me tomorrow as I have to leave early to get to Oshawa (about 2 hrs drive) for my bowling tournament. I have to check in at 10 a.m. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Mind you, if I bowl anything like I did yesterday I might as well not bother going although I have been told the lunch is very good. Long way to go for lunch though, right?

Barrie Bros. farm suffered from the frost the other night, however, when we went over yesterday, I bought some very nice asparagus. I was thinking of getting some rhubarb too, but didn’t. Just as well as I don’t really have time to cook it this week. There are other things they sell which I have been wanting to try, but somehow I don’t get round to it. Apparently on Mother’s Day they had customers up the kazoo which is great for them, but not so good for the customers, they had one hell of a line up apparently. Glad I didn’t try going there.

Going back to bowling, we were setting our averages yesterday so I guess I will have given myself a good start with about 130. That’s pretty low for me. I was kidding everyone I was doing it on purpose. I don’t know what happens when one bowls so badly. I have seen some of the pros do dumb things, so I am not the only one to mess up.

Apparently the companies with connections to the Mexican Gulf oil disaster are now arguing about who's fault it is. Right now, who cares, get it fixed. You can aportion blame later. The American government is busy drafting new safety laws for drilling platforms, stop wasting time, you can do that later too, move heaven and earth to get the leak plugged. Something just reminded me of the Great Barrier Reef oil spill, I have never heard what happened to that, but unlike this Gulf situation, that was one vessel, this is a whole bloody oil field pouring into the gulf.Apparently Barbara Walters who is one of the US's top interviewers is about to have a heart operation. They are now sending out warnings to women to look after your heart and pay attention, but then we are told that we don't have the same symptoms as men but anything I have read seems not to be definitive about what constitutes heart attack conditions in a woman. One reads about fatigue, dizziness, similar things, but these are things that can and do happen frequently anyway. How on earth do you tell? Apparently the problem Barbara Walters is suffering from requires a routine operation and they mentioned that Robin Williams had had the same operation. It is replacement of the aortic valve in the heart which I gather tends to atrophy somewhat during normal living so that in later life it doesn't work as well as it did pumping blood to the whole body.

I didn't mention the death of Lena Horne this weekend either, she was one of Matt's favourites he thought she was a wonderful woman and a good looker right to the end. She certainly lived through some of the worst times of prejudice when, as said in a biography last night, she could sing in the top hotels but she couldn't sleep in them. She was 92 when she died.

Oriental Asparagus and Beef Asparagusrecipes.net 1 tablespoon of Fermented black beans, (Chinese). 1 ½ lb Asparagus, diagonally sliced. (In ½-inch pieces) 1 x Garlic clove. ¼ cup of Oil. 2 cups of Boiling water. ½ cup of Chicken stock. ½ teaspoon of Sugar. 1 ½ teaspoon of Salt. 1 tablespoon of Water. 1 tablespoon of Cornstarch.

Firstly soak the black beans in warm water a few minutes before draining and mashing them with garlic clove. Drop the asparagus into boiling water and continue to boil for 2 minutes, drain off water immediately. Next heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or skillet until very hot. Add the beef steak, stir quickly and remove from pan. Pour in the remaining oil to skillet and heat, then add the bean mixture which was made earlier and stir over high heat for a few seconds. Add salt and asparagus. Stir-fry for 1 minute then add the chicken stock, cover and cook for 2 minutes. Mix the cornstarch, sugar and water and stir into meat mixture until sauce is smooth and thick. Add the beef and blend quickly.

Have a great day,

Mother's Day, Oil Leak, Expo,

I forgot to wish everyone Happy Mother's Day for yesterday, although in the UK at least that was in March. So please take my belated good wishes for all you mothers out there.

It appears that the "big box" didn't work to cover up the oil leak. Because of the combination of oil and seawater under pressure, crystals formed inside the box and made it too buoyant so it would not stay over the leak. Considering the weight of the thing, that is pretty incredible. Now they are talking shooting debris into the hole and plugging it up that way??? This will take about 3 weeks to accomplish. I believe the total gallons leaked out is somewhere in the millions. The Gulf is going to be dysfunctional for years and many of the people living around the area making their livings by fishing will not be able to do so. I wonder if BP will be paying them compensation. They certainly should. Meanwhile, despite this catastrophe, another deep well is being drilled off the coast of Nova Scotia. I know this was the first major disaster with an oil well, but surely they should pause for consideration before sinking more wells.

I quite enjoyed my volunteering over the weekend. I got to wander around the expo on Saturday and spent even longer doing so on Sunday. There were some very interesting stands at which I would have liked to spend more time. The focus was on health and wellness so my favourites, Let It Heal, were there giving people free Bowen treatments. Shannon, who is the local owner these days, gave a talk on Bowen therapy too which I attended and said how great I thought the treatment was. There was a stand quite close to where I was sitting guarding the entry door where they were telling you about iridology (strudy of the iris) and if you wanted to cough up $20 they would take a picture of your eye and then talk to you about what your eye disclosed about your health and what you could do about it. Another stand was all about spa treatments and I had a dollop of salted oil put on my hands which I had to wash as though in water. Then water was poured over my hands to rid them of the salt which had the effect of exfoliating them. My hands felt pretty good after. I meant to go back on Sunday but didn't get a chance. There was a Celiac stand so I picked up some recipes for my friend who's son is allergic to gluten. Another stand was Jeunique bras (I have two) so I entered to win another. They are pretty damned expensive bras, I thought I was rich when I bought mine. However they have been very good. Of course Canadian Diabetes had a stand although I didn't get to see much of it. Another booth had pots and pans which I would have liked to investigate more but didn't have a chance. There was an incredible amount of stuff. Even my local grocery store, Zehrs, was there and if you donated to a charity you could get some groceries from them. Another place was giving out apples and one saw people muching on them all over the place. Someone was giving out carnations too as I saw many women carrying them. There were a number of different treatments which one could try out, one quite close to me was apparently some kind of acupuncture without the needles, he had a couple of joined metal rods. Not sure what it was precisely, but it was very popular although the participants seemed to think it hurt quite a bit during treatment: they were apparently pleased with the results when it was finished. I wanted to try it but it was always so very busy.

A first for me yesterday was trying pickled asparagus. Its absolutely delicious. There is a hot and spicy version available as well. Not sure I would like that, I am a tad tired of hot and spicy, practically everything you see these days is hot and spicy. The recipe is on Barrie Bros. website and I givit to you here. Unfortunately I don't have access to a hot water bath any more - I used to borrow a friend's in NC - however if you do have canning equipment I highly recommend this recipe. I am looking forward to eating more today. I just phone the farm as there was quite a lot of frost tonight. He told me they had picked like mad over the weekend as they knew there would be frost so I am OK to get some today.

Pickled Asparagus

Barrie Bros.

Using 5 lbs of Ontario asparagus, wash well and soak in ice water whilst preparing 6 pint jars. Place 1/2 clove of garlic, 1 tsp dill seed, 1 tsp mustard seed and 6 peppercorns in the bottom of each jar. Place asparagus, tips up, in the jars. Don't waste tender ends, can them also for bite sized treats. Bring 8 cups of water, 2 1/2 cups of white vinegar, 3 tbs pickling salt and 1/2 cup white sugar to a boil. Pour over asparagus. Process in hot bath for 5 to 6 minutes.

Have a great day

GMA Weekend, Oil Spill,

Just watching Good Morning America Weekend, in particular, The News You Missed. There really are some dumb things out there. One man has taken a welding helmet and re-designed it with a humming bird feeder included. The only thing is you have to stand still for hours waiting for the bird to come feed. Another weird story was people hunting an emu which was rampaging through the streets. Then a cockpit door was banged and someone announced he was an alien and wanted to fly the plane.  That was just a few of the weird things Bill Moyer talked about this morning, probably my favourite segment of the programme.

They also had an exposé on psychics this morning. Apparently there are many people who practically won’t move without consulting a phone pshychic first. One woman even got divorced because of what a psychic told her and also changed jobs. They had staged conversations which repeated accurately what had been said on a real phone call and the generality of the replies was so obvious I couldn’t believe anyone would fall for it. Bill Moyer was giving the psychic the information to make a statement without realising he was doing so, at least that’s what we were told. In the end they said a lot of people called because they had no-one to talk to. A very expensive way of chatting to someone, over $3 a minute.

The 114 tonne containment “box” has now been lowered over the oil league in the Gulf and is settling into the mud of the seabed.  This is a picture of it being lowered courtesy of CBC News. We can only hope and pray this will work. There is an article here http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/05/07/gulf-of-mexico-0507.html if you would like to read it. They now say that the explosion which sank the oil rig was caused by a bubble of methane gas in the pipes.

As I said yesterday, I am off to do some volunteering at the Open Up Health and Living Expo this afternoon. There will be lots of diabetic information available as well as other health related topics.

I found this recipe on Oprah Winfrey’s recipes. Never been there for recipes before. I like goat cheese so I think this would be a good combination, also a pretty simple recipe.

Roasted Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese and Bread Crumbs
Recipe created by Susan Spungen
Oprah.com

Servings: Serves 4

1 thick slice crusty bread or 3 thick slices baguette cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 pound asparagus spears , trimmed

4 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

3 ounces fresh goat cheese , crumbled

Zest of 1 lemon , removed in long, thin strips

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°. Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast, tossing halfway through, until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove, cool, and chop into coarse crumbs; set aside. Wipe sheet clean.
Arrange asparagus on sheet. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil, and season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast, rolling asparagus over once or twice, until just tender, 12 to 14 minutes; transfer to a large platter.
Sprinkle lemon juice over asparagus, then scatter bread crumbs on top. Drizzle remaining olive oil; top with goat cheese and lemon zest. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Extra idea: These flavors would also work together harmoniously as a canapé—the goat cheese spread thin on crustless bread, the asparagus steamed and sliced thin, the lemon zest curled on top.

 

 

 

Have a great weekend

Oil Leak, European Finance, Who is your Buyer?

I find it very frustrating that I see all kinds of diagrams showing the proposed methods of controlling the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, but I can’t find one of these diagrams on the Internet. However, I have found the above picture which shows the metal box which BP are proposing to use to cap the leaks. The box is about 4 storeys high and weighs several tons. The article linked here http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10558496 explains that it isn’t just the oil one can see, but there is a lot of a “tar” like substance which is at different levels in the gulf and causing problems to the bottom of the sea and to the plankton which are a major source of food in the oceans. I just hope this box works or that something does soon because the disaster is getting worse on a daily basis. Whilst BP is dithering, animals, birds and sea creatures are dying. People are losing, or have lost, their livelihood, the wetlands are about to be destroyed and there is a possibility the tidal streams will carry the oil up the east coast having the same effect there.

Then we have the economic situation in Greece accompanied by the riots. In a report this morning they said that Greece’s economic collapse could have a domino effect throughout Europe affecting what are known as the PIIGS (new one) this means Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain. As they are specifically talking about the Euro, I am not quite sure why the rest of Europe isn’t involved. France, for instance, also uses the Euro. This will affect the US markets because so much is sold to Europe. The oil crisis won’t help: a report this morning said China is ready to step in with clean energy solutions at any time. I know we personally are already feeling the economic effects with the British pound having fallen considerably. Maybe the fact that they don’t use the Euro will help, I am insufficiently genned up on world finance to talk about this with authority. I just know how it is affecting my pocket.

Horrid story this morning about a man trying to sell a diamond ring on Craig’s List – I’ve heard of this list but never visited the site – a couple came to his home ostensibly to look at the ring and ended by tying the family up and finally shot and killed the husband because he was trying to defend his family. They are advising people to be very careful selling online and not to let strangers into your home but to meet them in a more public place. Don’t give your phone number or your address online either.

I have mentioned before that one of my favourite TV chefs is Wolfgang Puck who has restaurants all over the States including the famous Spago’s in California. This was a recipe I saw him make the other day and I thought I would share. I think plain asparagus with a touch of melted butter  would make an excellent accompaniment to this dish.

Pan-Roasted Chicken With Whole-Grain Mustard and Port

 

Wolfgang Puck’s Kitchens.

Serves 4

1 whole organic frying chicken, about 4 pounds (2 kg)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup (125 ml) port wine

1/2 cup (125 ml) store-bought organic chicken broth

1/3 cup (85 ml) heavy cream

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon Meaux (whole-grain) mustard

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. (200°C).

Meanwhile, butterfly the chicken. With poultry shears or a sharp knife, very carefully cut along the ribs on both sides of the backbone to remove it. Spread out the chicken, skin up, on a clean work surface and press down firmly with the heel of your hand to flatten the chicken.

Over high heat, preheat a heavy ovenproof skillet large enough to hold the flattened chicken. Add the olive oil and swirl it in the skillet. As soon as you begin to see slight wisps of smoke, carefully place the chicken skin side down in the skillet. Sear the chicken, undisturbed, while reducing the heat little by little to medium, until its skin has turned golden brown and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. With tongs or a large fork, carefully turn the chicken skin side up.

Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until the chicken is deep golden brown and the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer, 10 to 15 minutes. When the chicken is done, transfer it to a carving board, and cover with aluminum foil to keep it warm.

Pour off all but a thin layer of fat from the skillet. Add the port, put the skillet over high heat, and boil until the port has reduced by half, about 5 minutes, stirring and scraping with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan deposits. Add the broth and continue boiling until the liquid has reduced by half again, about 7 minutes.

Stir in the cream, bring the liquid back to a boil, and cook for about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, stir in the Dijon and Meaux mustards, and adjust the seasonings to taste with salt and pepper.

With a heavy knife, cut the chicken into serving pieces. Return the chicken pieces to the skillet, spoon some of the sauce over them, and sprinkle with parsley and tarragon before serving.

Have a great day.

Virtual Choir, Gulf of Mexico, Missing Keys,

I heard about this on the news last night, a virtual choir from 12 different countries with 185 singers participating. To see this incredible achievement follow this YouTube link http://tinyurl.com/yd8owys To me it is a very impressive work of art, each singer had their own music to sing with the conductor on their computer to make sure they sang correctly and then everyone sang (I'm not sure if they all sang at the same time or the sound and pictures were put together later, I imagine because of the time constraints all round the different countries, it would have to have been later). OK I have just found a web page which tells more about the whole thing http://ericwhitacre.com/blog/the-virtual-choir-how-we-did-it apparently all the singers were inteviewed through YouTube first of all, that must have been quite an undertaking in itself. It makes fascinating reading. The Americans are now asking for ideas from anyone who can come up with some way of helping them deal with the oil in the Gulf of Mexico. This is a major ecological and economical disaster and it appears the Americans are stymied. Matt, who is/was a qualified diver, says it is possible for divers to descend to such depths but they would need special suits and special equipment which may not be available in the US, if anywhere these days. Although I would have thought some countries would have this equipment. The British Navy used to have such things but whether they do any more I have no idea. There is now talk of a cover up by British Petroleum regarding the safety of such oil rigs. I guess this whole thing will make the world think very seriously about the advisability of oil from the seabed although I have no doubt we will continue to drill for it. Man cannot, or will not, do without oil. Meanwhile all the fishing grounds in the Gulf of Mexico have been closed and pictures of oil covered birds are being shown on the TV. It makes me cry to think of the animals, birds and sea creatures which are going to be damaged by man's carelessness and thoughtlessness. Well we have now bowled our last game of the season and just have the banquet and a couple of fun games to finish up on Monday. There is a summer league which we have signed up for. When we were ready to leave yesterday, Matt went to get his jacket only to find it had disappeared. His car keys were in it. We did figure out who must have taken it but, unfortunately, we knew he had gone to some meeting or other. We could get into the car, we have door keys, but the ignition key has a special resistor chip which is coded and cannot easily be duplicated unless you go to a GM dealer. We ended up taking a cab home and constantly calling the home of the guy who had Matt's jacket. He finally called us back at 5:30 and said he had just taken the jacket and thrown it in the car, not even put it on which might have made him realise what he had done. He didn't know he had two jackets until he got home and even then didn't know it was Matt's until he spoke to his wife. He came and picked Matt up and took him to the alley to get our car. He is now shaking in his shoes because he will be facing me on Monday, Matt was much more phlegmatic about the whole thing. Actually we have a fun adversarial relationship so I will have to give him heck on Monday. We don't have to cook today as we are going to a friend's home for dinner this evening which makes a very pleasant change. Its not so much the cooking as cleaning up, oh for a dishwasher. Here is another recipe from the Ontario Asparagus Marketing Board but once again, no picture: this does look as though it will be delicious. By the sound of things, if you are going to cook shrimp with anything, you had better get a move on because there is going to a big shortage - the biggest percentage of the US shrimp supply comes from the Gulf. Asparagus, Shrimp and Shell Pasta Salad

pinch cayenne pepper 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper 2 tsp lemon juice 2 tbsp white wine vinegar 1 cup mayonnaise 1/2 lb large shell pasta* 1 lb Ontario asparagus 1 lb cooked shrimp** 2 green onions thinly sliced 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill Cut asparagus diagonally into 2-inch lengths. Cook in lightly salted boiling water until tender crisp. Drain well, set aside. Cook pasta shells in large amount of lightly salted boiling water, drain well and transfer to large bowl. Combine mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, pepper and cayenne well. Toss the warm pasta with the mayonnaise mixture. Place in refrigerator for a few minutes to chill. Add asparagus, shrimp and onions, toss lightly to combine with pasta. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

* If large shell pasta is not available use medium

** If desired a combination of shrimps and scallops may be used. Yield: 6 servings Have a great day

Blue Dragon, Oil Leak News

I keep forgetting, so much going on lately, that Gynie sent me a dragon. Gynie used to write a blog, but if I think I am busy, she is much more so. However, she knows I love dragons so when she painted one she sent it to me.

She is a very talented young artist and has posted many of her paintings on her blogs, I am only sorry that she hasn’t been writing one lately, but at least she is still painting. I assume she is still doing her martial arts training and she also moved recently. Lots going on in her life.

The oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is assuming major proportions as one of the worst disasters ever. They keep referring to it as an oil spill, it isn’t, it is a leak and will presumably keep pouring forth until they manage to cap the well head – if they can ever do that, they haven’t had much luck so far. The disaster is going to affect the fishing industry, particularly shrimp and also the wetlands which are full of protected birds and animals. They talk about the cost to BP (British Petroleum) but the cost to the ecosystem is unmeasurable and it will take years if not centuries to recover unless they have some success now. Apparently there are a lot of oil rigs out in the Gulf and no-one seems to know what caused the explosion on this one.

We picked up a copy of Food and Drink from the LCBO yesterday. I haven’t read it fully yet, but guess what, there was an asparagus recipe.

Green and White Asparagus Salad

Green and white asparagus makes a pretty mixture on the plate. The secret to cooking white asparagus so that it is not bitter is to peel it and add sugar to the boiling water. Here a robust salsa gives the asparagus a different taste and look. Use asparagus of the same thickness for the best presentation.

1 lb green asparagus

1 lb white asparagus

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

MEDITERRANEAN SALSA 1/2 cup chopped shallots

'1/2 cup chopped green olives

14 cup chopped roasted red pepper

1 Tbs chopped capers

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 Tbs lime juice

2 Tbs orange juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper.

Peel green asparagus if stalks are thick. Peel white asparagus.

Bring a large skillet of salted water to boil. Add green asparagus and boil for 2 to 3 minutes or until still slightly crisp. Remove with tongs and run under cold water until cool. Pat Dry

Add sugar to boiling water and add white asparagus. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly crisp. Drain and run under cold water until cool. Pat dry. Place green and white asparagus on a platter.

Combine shallots, olives, red pepper, capers and parsley in a bowl. Stir in lime juice, orange juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, spoon salsa over asparagus across the centre.

Serves 4.

Have a great day.