ISP, Dragon of the Stars, A to Z.

For the last few days, I have been having a problem with my ISP. It seems to be partly cleared up as far as my laptop is concerned, but the desktop is still having some problems and sometimes I can post and sometimes I can’t. I was concerned whether I would be able to do my blogs this week or not.  I certainly had trouble with emails.  Luckily my A to Z posts are all finished and about half of them have been scheduled so they would publish no matter what, unless Blogger decided to have a hissy fit of course.

On my F blog, April 7, I am helping Alex J. Cavenaugh launch his latest book Dragon of the Stars. I do hope you visit me that day as there is a way of winning prizes, good ones, by locating Mini Alex over several blogs. Mine included of course. A scavenger hunt. As a regular reader you will know that I have been lucky enough to read this book already, I won it, so I know what the Kargrandes are. Alex has had to bribe to keep quiet though. Although I have to confess his offered bribes have not yet arrived on my doorstep so I might have to blow the gaff anyway. Actually, I can recommend it as a very good story with a very big surprise at the end.

Of course the A to Z Challenge starts on Wednesday, April 1, 2015. This is always a fun challenge to do. For those of you not in the know, you have to write a blog every day (except Sunday) beginning with the letter of the day, i.e. A on Wednesday, B on Thursday etc. It is also expected that you will visit 5 new blogs each day if possible. This is a great thing to do because you find lots of new blogs and make new friends doing so. This will be my fourth time of participating. The blog is run by several co hosts These are:

Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
Nicole Ayers @ The Madlab Post
Author Stephen Tremp
Heather M. Gardner
AJ Lauer
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Matthew MacNish @ The QQQE
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
S. L. Hennessy @ Pensuasion
C. Lee McKenzie @ The Write Game
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
Susan Gourley @ Susan Says
John  Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing
Lisa Buie-Collard, Author

There is such a lot to do being a host that they all have minions and I have been a minion twice. This year I declined. Even being a helper or minion is a lot of work so I don’t know how the hosts manage it. I should mention that this Challenge was the brain child of Arlee Bird – thanks Lee.

This is a good recipe for fish. I love sea Bass and it has lovely solid white flesh which is delicious.

Sea Bass with Dried Fruit Salsa

WebMD Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 5-6 ounce sea bass fillets, (1 inch thick)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup of each dried fruit, mango, papaya, cherry, and pineapple
• 1/3 cup apple juice, or cider
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons apricot jam
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Instructions

Step 1

Rub fish with olive oil.

Step 2

Combine coriander, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper; mix well. Set aside 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture for the fruit salsa. Add salt to remaining mixture.

Step 3

Rub seasonings over both sides of fish.

Step 4

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat until hot.

Step 5

Add fish. Reduce heat to medium, cook 3-5 minutes or until fish is browned and seared. Turn fish over; cook about 5 minutes or until fish is slightly firm and flaky.

Step 6

Combine dried fruit, juice, vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon reserved seasoning mixture in a small saucepan or microwave-safe dish. Bring to a boil. Stir in jam. Let stand 5 minutes.

Step 7

Transfer fish to serving plates. Top with fruit salsa and sprinkle with cilantro.

Have a great day

Beginnings Blogfest, Internet, Dieting.

I’m a day late but I hope not a dollar short. I began my blogging journey in October 2007 with the fond hope that I could make a few bucks out of it. I had been to a seminar which had given me a few ideas so I thought I would put them into practice. Needless to say, it didn’t work. Although I had Adsense for a while, they eventually abandoned me, they obviously didn’t like what I did. I don’t know what happens because another friend who had been publishing an ezine for years with ads by Adsense was also suddenly dropped – he didn’t know why either. In his case his ezine was his only source of income, so he wasn’t too happy. I still carry ads, Amazon for instance, but I have never earned a penny from them.

It turned out, though, that I like writing a blog. I have written one almost every day since I started although I stopped posting on Sundays. I have astonished myself by how much I have written in the last few years and how many recipes I have found and tried in that time as well. Of course my first blog was about me. I thought about writing more about me, but I would imagine anyone who has been with my blog for a while knows as much about me as I do myself. Not only that if you were to follow the link on my profile, you would find out a lot of stuff.

Right now I am wasting my time writing anything as I cannot get on the internet, once again. At least we still have phone service. Now, though, when I call the ISP I get “we’re sorry all circuits are busy now” earlier, before Jeopardy! which I watch no matter what, I was waiting for half an hour. Once again they seem to be having phone problems at their end as well. Its enough to drive one gaga. I can’t do anything, let alone post a blog. Finally the internet came back on around 11:15. I was just about to pack it in and go to bed.
Having decided to try and lose a few pounds, although I need to lose more than a few, I signed up with FitDay where you can enter what you eat every day to keep track of the calories you consume. You can also add foods that they don’t have on their lists. I’ve been using it for a couple of days now. It is quite comprehensive, you can add your moods and your exercise amongst other things you can do on the site. Still got lots to explore. I got a bit fed up with all the ads on the free page so I upgraded for $4 something a month. I might say Weight Watchers used to charge $22 a month for their online membership. May well be more these days. WebMD offer a similar programme, but I entered a load of stuff, didn’t use it for a while and when I went back it was all gone so I was a bit teed off.

Talking of Weight Watchers this is a favourite recipe of theirs which we enjoy now and again. Another recipe with beans. No picture, but this is a nice one of a pork tenderloin.

Pork and Black Beans
Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook
If you like, use turkey breast instead of the pork
Makes 4 servings

2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp hot paprika
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
5 oz. lean pork tenderloin
1 tsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
2 Tbs white vinegar
One 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 carrot, finely diced (we shred it)
2 tbs fresh lime juice
1/2 tomato, diced
1 red onion, chopped
2 tbs chopped cilantro

In a small bowl, combined the garlic, paprika, cumin and salt; rub into the pork.
In a medium nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Sauté the pork until browned, 2-3 minutes on each side. Reduce the heat and cook, covered, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Halve the pork lengthwise, then cut crosswise into thin slices.

Add the vinegar to the pan drippings and simmer, stirring*, until the acidity cooks off, about 2 minutes. Add the beans, carrot and lime juice; cook, tossing, about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add the pork, tomato, onion and cilantro; toss to combine.

* If you aren’t careful and breathe in the fumes, it can knock your head off.

Have a great day