Letting Go, Inspiration Liebster

Yesterday Father Dragon was talking about Emptying the Cup before you Filled it. Or letting go of the old before you adopted the new. Later in the day I started thinking about computer systems. In the 80’s we had DOS and then Microsoft introduced Windows which I hated and hung on to as long as I could. It occurred to me that this is something like he was talking about. One is reluctant to get rid of the things with which we are familiar and to venture into something new without the support of the old.




I was reminded, today, also by Father Dragon, that as yet I hadn’t responded to the Inspiration Liebster Award which was given to me by Yolanda Renèe of Defending the Pen. I was asked to answer some questions and to refer to and thank the person who sent me the award as well as tell a few things about me and pass on to some other blogger. Thank you so much Yolanda.

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Cheshire, England
WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?
Ontario, Canada
IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Blue
LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Three Coins in a Fountain on TV the other night
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Strands of Pattern – JEff Hargett
The Tollgate – Georgette Heyer
Fable (The Lorn Prophecy) – Lisa Fender
THE POWER GOES OUT.  IT WILL BE OUT FOR SEVERAL HOURS. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOURSELF?
Listen to music on a battery powered radio and if it was daylight and warm enough, I would go outside to read. In the evening we would probably go out to eat.
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Albatross by Fleetwood Mac
GREATEST STRUGGLE AS A WRITER?
Blogger, not writer.
WHAT IS THE ONE BOOK YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD READ?
Shogun by James Clavell
IF YOU COULD BE ONE OF THE GREEK GODS WHO WOULD YOU BE AND WHY?
Hera, the power behind the throne
WEIRDEST THING YOU'VE EVER BEEN TOLD BY A FORTUNE COOKIE?
Can’t remember anything weird. Can’t remember what they said anyway.

SEVEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:
I have just lost 18 lbs but can’t move any better.
I used to write poetry
I went to 10 different schools
I lived on a boat for a large part of my life
I’ve been blogging for 6 years and married for 41.
My favourite dogs are German Shepherds
I speak rusty French, a smattering of Spanish and a very little Greek and would love to be able to afford Rosetta Stone language courses.

My nominees are
Loverofwords at Of Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax
Tina at Life is Good
Elise Fallson at Elise Fallson
Baked Beans is a perennial favourite at picnics, and as July 1 (Canada Day) and July 4 (Independence day) are coming up, I thought this twist on the old favourite might be acceptable.

Spicy Baked Beans

Source: bestdressedmeals.com
Yields 8 servings
 
Here's a spicy version of a North American classic for your next picnic.
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 tablespoon molasses
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Crosse & Blackwell Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
10 slices bacon (about 8 oz.)
1 small onion, chopped
1 large stalk celery, chopped
2 cans (16 oz.) pork and beans

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine sugar, ketchup, mustard, molasses, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper in small bowl.
Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon; drain, reserving 3 tablespoons bacon fat. Cook onion and celery in reserved bacon fat for 4 to 6 minutes or until tender. Crumble bacon in 2-quart casserole; stir in pork and beans, onion mixture and sauce mixture.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Have a great weekend, happy Canada Day to all Canadian readers.

Summer Produce. Award

Monday I was out of fresh asparagus so obviously we had to go and get some. Whilst there I mentioned to Tim Barrie that the chive flowers on their plants were delicious, and pretty, in salads so he said I should help myself. I did take a few. Actually – not that I am much of a gardener – but if you do have chives you are supposed to pick off the flowers anyway and really they do look great in a salad plus adding an oniony tang. These weren’t really fresh enough, but I was popping them into my mouth anyway. In between eating spears of raw asparagus of course. This was my latest asparagus haul and of course I had some, so did Matt, for supper last night. Forgot I also bought some strawberries so they too were consumed. With Double Devon Cream although I had to be very careful not to eat too much of that, it is not exactly low in calories and I am on a diet after all. They were pretty good berries, but the best I have ever had in North America were at one particular farm in Morehead City, North Carolina. I showed my purchases to a neighbour in the elevator and she said her husband wouldn’t eat asparagus, he said he used to have asparagus in his back yard and used to spray it to kill it. Horrors. However, I found that one of the sales girls at the farm eats as much asparagus as I do.

I was sent an Inspiration Liebster Award today, but its going to take me a bit to sort it all out and answer the questions.

I love Strawberries Romanoff but I have had trouble finding a genuine recipe. A lot of them add ice cream, definitely not original. Sour cream is also not original. Even this is not quite right but sounds as though it would be good and close to the real thing. Obtain the thickest cream you can find, if you are able to buy Double Devon Cream nothing could be better - I would blend it with whipping cream prior to whipping it. I then found I had posted a recipe two years ago.

Strawberries Romanoff

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

2 pints fresh strawberries or 2 pints sliced strawberries
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 cup Grand Marnier (orange liqueur)
1/4 cup orange juice, no pulp
2 cups thick cream

Directions

Mix the sugar, liqueur and orange juice together and marinate (actually I think the correct term is macerate) the berries . Meanwhile whip up the cream. Just prior to service, fold the marinated berries into the cream.

Have a great day