Headaches, Book, Bowling,

One learns things from the most surprising sources. Wednesday morning our cleaner came and later in the morning, when she turned on the vacuum cleaner, I realised I had a headache. I joshed her and said she made so much noise etc. then she said maybe it was the pressure (i.e. barometric pressure). That had never occurred to me before. Thursday morning I had another slight headache and decided to do some Googling. Apparently if you are prone to migraines (which I certainly was although not so much now) apparently barometric pressure changes are thought to cause you headaches and even migraines. I've only been having them since I was a kid and had never heard that before. My mother used to have them and she called them "sick headaches". I think she got them for longer than I because I remember once  they went to some friends for the weekend and she had a migraine all the time. If you have never had one, you are very lucky although it does seem that when you are older they get less frequent and, in my case, pretty rare. There are times I felt I could have cheerfully cut the top of my head off.  Now I find a lot of it could have been triggered by the pressure.

Just finished J.D. Robb's Dark in Death, I really love this series of books although I am not sure I haven't missed one or two. Thinking about going back to the beginning, maybe. There are actually about 46 of them and it would be a lot of re-reading. Not only are they excellent books about the future, great Homicide Stories and a marvellous love story all intertwined. The author, J.D. Robb is a nom de plume of Norah Lofts who's stories I have not followed much, read one or two, not a patch on the J.D. Robb books. I really think I will read them again, from the library of course, would cost a fortune to buy them all.

Bowling again today, none of it very good. I got a tad annoyed with Matt, there were a group of four with whom I had become friends whilst he was recuperating from his broken ankle. They are somewhat handicapped mentally, but not badly, but he was complaining because they made too much noise. It was actually just one of them. He is a whizz bowler mind you and was telling me how well he had done in competitive bowling lately. We used to compete, but not any more. For some reason our bowling alley doesn't hold any competitions other than for Junior Bowlers. The other local alley does so though. However, at our time in life, I don't suppose we would compete now anyway.

Being a nut about asparagus, I am always on the lookout for new recipes. This is one I came across the other day. Only problem is I just ran out of Orzo and couldn't find any in the store the other day.

Grilled Asparagus Pasta Salad

1 cup orzo
1 bunch asparagus
3 roma tomatoes sliced
1 inch sliced red onion
2 Tbs drained caper berries
2 Tbs lemon juce
2 tsp Dijon
1 Tbs maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil plus more for grilling
1/2 tsp salt/pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 Tbs mint
1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles - optional

1. Heat grill pan or grill on medium heat

2. Cook orzo in large pot of boiling salted water. Drain and put in a bowl.

3. Grill asparagus spears, halved roma tomatoes and onions until tender with a few char/grill marks. Remove from heat and chop asparagus into 1 inch pieces, tomatoes into bite size and chop onion.

4. Add veg to bowl with orzo. Whisk together capers, lemon juice, Dijon, syrup. Gradually add olive oil. Toss veg and orzo in the dressing then add herbs and/or cheese and toss again before serving.

Source: The Everyday Chef

Have a great day
 

PC Probs, Books, Blind Vaulting.

I seem to be having some kind of computer problems, I have written a post and then it disappeared into cyber space. The next time I tried, half of it was missing, then I couldn’t type any more on the page. So I have no idea whether this one will work or not.

I started by telling you that I am overloaded with actual books at the moment, either loaned by friends or from the library. I am reading Calculated in Death by J.D. Robb at the moment – I have enjoyed all her books in this series so far and this one appears to be up to standard. Then I have two huge Ken Follett novels to read, one from the library, The Fall of Giants and the second a loaner from a friend, Winter of the World, the first two books in the Century Trilogy.  I have been reading Ken Follett books over the years and have always enjoyed them too, particularly one of the first which was the Eye of the Needle. There is at least one more book to read and then of course, the Kindle.

Saw an incredible piece on the ABC World News yesterday about a 15 yr. old pole vaulter who is not only the best in her school but the best in Texas too. She has jumped 11’6” which is quite some height. However, the most incredible thing about this young woman, Charlotte Brown, is that she is legally blind and cannot see what she is jumping.  She can distinguish light and dark so they line side of the run up in a contrasting colour so she can make out where it is. If you check the link you will see Diane Sawyer in the link from the TV segment.

I regularly receive a blog called Closet Cooking by Kevin Lynch. He produces some very good recipes and lots of great photos. Today, funnily enough, he produced a recipe for asparagus which I have linked you to. Baked Asparagus Fries. To titillate your taste buds, here is one of his pictures.

Don’t they look delicious. I will certainly be trying these. I have found a couple of other recipes, one of which uses almonds instead of Parmesan which would be good for my vegan friends. I have seen a number of different dips suggested too or you could just use mayonnaise if you wanted to.

Have a great day

Gershwin Award, Nuclear Medicine, Books

Last night we watched the Public Television broadcast of the first Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song which was awarded to Paul Simon in 2007. They talked of his incredible body of work for close on 50 years. He was singing and playing and towards the end Art Garfunkel joined him for Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Amazingly they can still put on a very good performance although they are no longer spring chickens. This year the prize was apparently awarded to Stevie Wonder. The injection they gave me yesterday was radioactive and if I had intended to travel outside Canada I would have needed a paper to allow me to pass me through the customs checks etc. I had pictures taken of my whole body (the pain is in my left hip, why photograph my head?) and then some extra hip pictures. I checked, the gamma camera equipment cost around $600,000, makes my $200 camera a nothing doesn't it? This picture isn't quite the same set up but almost. The cameras were both above and below me apparently. Took around 30 minutes or a bit longer to take all the shots they wanted. As we were planning to bowl we decided to go to lunch across the road from the hospital to the Galt View restaurant which has been there for over 30 years to our knowledge. Its a very good business, they attract so many people toing and froing from the hospital. I was surprised to learn the present owners haven't been there long, about 6 years and they didn't actually know how long the restaurant had been there. We then went to Waterloo Lanes where I bowled really well, quite well and moderately well. Matt had one excellent game too. He had one excellent game last week as well. I have just discovered there is a new J.D. Robb book out called Promises in Death so have reserved it at the library. It will take forever by the look of it. Very popular series. Another series I enjoy is Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and the latest one of these is called Turn Coat so that too is on order. Gone are the days when I can afford to buy every book I wish to read. The way I devour books it would cost a fortune anyway. At the moment I am working my way though Jennifer Fallon novels which I am enjoying. Browsing the Microwave Magic Book I came across another recipe I once prepared, again, a few years ago. I just might make this tonight. I do recall I found the peanuts a bit too much as they were so hard and I might substitute a different nut this time. I think this recipe is a nod to Thai cooking. Hot and Spicy Chicken with Peanuts 2 Tbs light soy sauce 3 Tbs dry sherry 1 tsp cornstarch 1 tsp sesame oil 2 whole chicken breasts, skinned, boned, and cut into 1 inch pieces 3/4 cup raw shelled, hulled peanuts 4 Tbs vegetable oil 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 2 thin slices fresh ginger, pared and finely minced 1 to 3 dried red chillies, halved and seeded (number of chillies depends on taste) 1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut in chunks 1 large red pepper (optional) cored, seeded and cut in chunks 3 scallions (green and white parts), cut diagonally into 1/2" lengths (here I made a note - could use Leeks) Chicken broth (optional) 1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbs water (optional) Combine soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch and sesame oil in a bowl. Stir until cornstarch is dissolved. Mix chicken with marinade and let sit at least 30 minutes. Please peanuts in a 2 cup glass measure. Add 2 Tbs of the vegetable oil and stir to coat. Cook on high (600-700 watts) 1 minute. Set aside Place 3 remaining Tbs vegetable oil in a shallow oval au gratin dish or round baking dish. Heat on high (600-700 watts) 1 minute. Stir in chicken and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in garlic, ginger, dried chillies, green and red peppers, and scallions. Cover with microwave paper towel. Continue to cook until chicken is tender, 4 to 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add peanuts at first stirring. If more liquid is desired, add small amounts of chicken broth. For a thicker sauce, add cornstarch-water mixture to dish, cooking 1 minute longer. Serve immediately. Have a great day.

Irish Polar Bears?

Here's an odd report, green polar bears in a Japanese Zoo. Apparently to conserve water, they haven't been changing the water as much as usual and it developed an algae which has turned the polar bear fur to green. They say it doesn't harm the bears who will return to their natural colour around about November. Read the article here and see another picture. They do look rather peculiar don't they? Picture from the Washington Post. As they point out, it is difficult to wash the colour out of the fur. Something that fascinates me with blogging is the comments one does, or does not, receive. Not just mine but on the other blogs I read. Some can go on for ever and frequently end up talking about something which has nothing to do with the original blog. It is all part of the wonder of the internet and making friends with people from all over. Glenda Larke (see link this page) recently wrote about language and the words people knew. This eventually produced more words we were unfamiliar with. She was wondering what readers do when they come across an unfamiliar word, do they immediately look it up or guess the meaning and carry on. I tend to be a "guess the meaning" type of person although if I find it totally incomprehensible, I might look it up straight away. This picture is from avoidinglife.typepad.com Talking of reading, I have had three books on order from the library for weeks and weeks, Monday we go away and I don't take books on vacation so, guess what, they are all ready for me to pick up. If only they could have come in two weeks later. I have just finished reading The Siege of Arrandin which I very much enjoyed. I have discovered a wonderful way to die, you kind of fade away and become part of a magical dragon. Right up my street, 'cos I love dragons. There are two more books in the trilogy so obviously the siege is not yet over. The three books I have from the library are Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb and two more in the series by Katherine Kerr which I have been following. I have been thoroughly enjoying J.D. Robb's books too they are very fast paced cop stories set in the future. The characters build up over the course of the books all centred around one cop, Eve Dallas. Cauliflowers are pretty plentiful at the moment so here is a recipe for a baked one. Baked Cauliflower and Mushrooms Servings: 6 3 cups cauliflowerets (about 1 pound) 1 cup chopped mushrooms (about 4 ounces) 1/2 cup chopped red onion (about 1/2 medium) 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil 2 teaspoons lemon juice 2 teaspoons cider vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped, (about 1 teaspoon) 1/3 cup chopped green onions, (about 5 medium) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9-inch square baking dish, with nonstick cooking spray. Mix all ingredients except green onions. Spread evenly in baking dish. Bake uncovered 40 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and golden brown. Sprinkle with green onions. 6 servings. Have a great day.