Cardiologist,, Jamie Oliver, Commputers, Subs,

This afternoon, went to see the cardiologist who seems to think I am pretty healthy and doesn't want to do anything about an angiogram until I see the vascular surgeon. Basically, since I had the 2 units of blood my legs have been a lot better, don't think I need the vascular surgeon but another couple of pints LOL.

I was staggered to see headlines about the collapse of Jamie Oliver's empire. TV cook and restaurateur - never thought that would happen. Hilary, if you are reading this, I would love to hear what you know about this. I always liked his programmes plus he worked with kids at schools etc. some of whom didn't know the difference between a stick of celery and a cucumber.

I think I am going to be forced into buying a new laptop - not only does this one have the cursor problems but it takes forever for the browser to open. Plus, I have just typed the last two sentences with nothing appearing on the screen for a while.

My appointment was at 3 and it was gone 4 before we left for home. I was hungry although so early in the day. I took a different route to avoid the pothole where I burst my tire and ended up at a one way roadworks where we were held up for a while. In the end it was close on 5 by the time we got near Subway and I suddenly wanted a sub. Haven't had one since Matt lost his license. He used to pop down and get one now and again. I went in and got a couple of 6" ones and saw they had a hot sauce so decided to have it on mine. It was good. Nice to have a sub after so long and also saved me having to cook late in the day.

Have a great day
 

Havenstar. Pink Slime.

To my Canadian friends, I hope you are enjoying Civic Holiday today.

An author friend, Glenda Larke, sent me a hard back copy of her newly reissued book Havenstar which was a gift because I had done some proof reading of her electronic version of this same book. She had written some nice words in it for me and then, much to my surprise and excitement, I was also mentioned in the dedications. I was so excited. That has never happened to me before. Havenstar was Glenda’s first book and shortly after it was published, the publisher went belly up so the book went out of print fast. I was very lucky that a friend in the UK had kindly sent me a paperback and it soon became a favourite book. Don’t get me wrong I love all of Glenda’s books, but something about Havenstar resonates with me and with many others too apparently, Glenda has written that she wished she knew what it was so she could do it again. If you’ve never read it, I can’t recommend it highly enough, it is available both electronically at Smashwords (believe it will also be available at Amazon) and in both paperback and hardback at Amazon and other places where books are sold. I understand some of her other books will soon be available as ebooks.

In 2011 I wrote about pink slime for the first time which is what Jamie Oliver, British chef, calls meat products which are basically inedible but which are ‘washed’ in ammonium hydroxide and used to make burger meat. I read, over the weekend, that now MacDonald’s who were one of the biggest users of this product, have decided to not do so any more although they swear it is nothing to do with Jamie Oliver who has been ceaselessly campaigning against this for several years now. This is the article I read:

Hamburger chef Jamie Oliver has just won a battle against one of the largest fast food chains in the world. After Oliver showed how McDonald’s hamburgers are ma...de, the franchise announced it will change its recipe.
According to Oliver, the fatty parts of beef are “washed” in ammonium hydroxide and used in the filling of the burger. Before this process, according to the presenter, the food is deemed unfit for human consumption.
According to the chef and presenter, Jamie Oliver, who has undertaken a war against the fast food industry: “Basically, we’re taking a product that would be sold in the cheapest way for dogs, and after this process, is being given to human beings.”
Besides the low quality of the meat, the ammonium hydroxide is harmful to health. Oliver calls it “the pink slime process.”
“Why would any sensible human being put meat filled with ammonia in the mouths of their children?” asked the chef, who wages a war against the fast food industry.
In one of his initiatives, Oliver demonstrates to children how nuggets are made. After selecting the best parts of the chicken, the remains (fat, skin and internal organs) are processed for these fried foods.
The company, Arcos Dorados, the franchise manager in Latin America, said such a procedure is not practiced in the region. The same applies to the product in Ireland and the UK, where they use meat from local suppliers.
In the United States, Burger King and Taco Bell had already abandoned the use of ammonia in their products. The food industry uses ammonium hydroxide as an anti-microbial agent in meats, which has allowed McDonald’s to use otherwise “inedible meat.”
Even more disturbing is that because ammonium hydroxide is considered part of the “component in a production procedure” by the USDA, consumers may not know when the chemical is in their food.
On the official website of McDonald’s, the company claims that their meat is cheap because, while serving many people every day, they are able to buy from their suppliers at a lower price, and offer the best quality products.
In addition, the franchise denied that the decision to change the recipe is related to Jamie Oliver’s campaign. On the site, McDonald’s has admitted that they have abandoned the beef filler from its burger patties.

I’m not sure why, I have never eaten one of these, but this cake really appealed to my taste buds and it would appear to be very easy to make. It was in an email from Food and Wine so thought I would share it. Because I am trying to lose weight, I won’t be making it any time soon, but I will put it aside to be made at a later date.

Ligurian Olive Oil Cake

Contributed by Anne Quatrano
SERVINGS: one 10-inch cake

Ligurian olive oil is ideal in this lovely, light cake, because it’s more delicate and buttery than many other Italian oils.

1. 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing
2. 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3. 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
4. 1/4 teaspoon salt
5. 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6. 3 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature
7. 4 large eggs, at room temperature
8. 1 cup sugar
9. Finely grated zest of 2 lemons or tangerines

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 10-inch round cake pan.
2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the 1 3/4 cups of flour, baking powder and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk the melted butter with the olive oil and milk.
3. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar and citrus zest until pale and thickened, about 3 minutes. Alternately beat in the dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and the side pulls away from the pan. Transfer the cake to a rack and let cool before serving.

Make Ahead The cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Have a great day

Pink Slime, Voting.

We watched Jamie Oliver’s new Food Revolution programme from LA where so far he basically says it’s a programme showing how people in LA don’t give a shit. What worried me in particular was his demonstration on what is known as Pink Slime there is an article here http://tinyurl.com/3kefvgf
describing the use of pink slime. Basically meat remnants which are only fit for dogs (who have much better digestive systems) which has been processed in a centrifuge and then treated with ammonia to get rid of the possible salmonella or ecoli contamination, after that, it is ground and sold. Around 70% of the ground beef Americans buy in their stores or eat in burgers from fast food joints is, apparently, Pink Slime. Jamie did a very good demonstration on his programme and it is enough to turn your stomach. The answer is don’t buy any ground meat you haven’t seen made. You can also get some chuck and cut it in chunks then grind it in small quantities yourself. We have some ground beef in our freezer, I am seriously thinking we should chuck it out – we don’t eat much ground beef, but I think it will be a lot less now unless I find a butcher to grind it for me. There is an article about the first episode of the programme here http://tinyurl.com/3gxlk9d – we will certainly be glued to the TV on Tuesdays to see what success Jamie achieves.

I have just emailed Health Canada to ask them what the policy is in this country with regard to Pink Slime. I phone a local butcher department who was excessively vague about the whole business. Not sure if he didn’t know or didn’t want to give me answers. He didn’t even know the name of Health Canada.
We got our voting cards in the mail yesterday – we are not allowed to vote at the polling booth where we are working so we will be voting ahead of time at an Advance Voting centre which is open for three days. I am not very ‘up’ on politics of any kind, but it appears there is some kind of election taking place in the States too as we are being inundated with negative ads from both Canada and the US. Luckily ours will stop on May 2, but from experience the US ones will carry on for months yet.

As you know I am always looking for something different to do with vegetables. Here is one I got from WebMD yesterday.

Chinese Style Brussels Sprouts with Hoisin Glaze

By The Food Gal
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Ingredients

2 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 pounds small Brussels sprouts, washed, ends trimmed, then bulbs cut into halves
3 tablespoons mirin (Japanese rice wine)
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
7 to 8 tablespoons hoisin sauce
Toasted sesame oil

Instructions

In a large wok or frying pan on medium-high heat, add peanut oil. When oil is hot, add ginger and onion. Stir, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add garlic, stirring to prevent burning, about 1 minute more. Add Brussels sprouts and mirin. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until Brussels sprouts start to become tender. Stir in hoisin sauce. Continue to cook for about 2-3 minutes more. Drizzle with a little sesame oil, and serve.
Total Servings: 6

Have a great day

Blog, Spring, Food Revolution, Quakes and Volcanoes.

A friend posted a link to a blog by Allie called Hyperbole and a Half - it was about internet grammar and one of the funniest things I have read in a long time. http://tinyurl.com/y42zurt She is, of course so right about the way people use grammar or any kinds of phrases. The one which bugs me most is 'like' a lot of the young people of today are totally incapable of talking without using that word continuously. Or do I mean Alot (read Allie's blog). I don't know who drew her pictures, they were great. One can sympathise with people who use iPods to send messages, it must be difficult with two thumbs to have to spell everything correctly, but lots of people do it when typing on a computer keyboard and then there is no excuse.

The Icelandic volcano is still spewing ash and ice all over the place and European flights are still grounded. It occurred to me this morning that Glenda Larke (Tropic Temper) is in England at the moment and will probably not be able to get back. Another friend's sister is honeymooning in Barbados and is stuck there, I feel sorry for her, fancy being stuck in Barbados, I should be so lucky. Of course this is affecting planes from Canada and the US which cannot head into Europe either, making a bit of a mess of things. Mother Nature does cause us problems, or should that be Mother Earth.

Here it is spring and absolutely beautiful. The trees are mostly covered in that delicate green shade which is spring's herald and blossom is showing everywhere with tulip trees flowering their heads off (I call them tulip trees because that's what the flowers look like) then Matt looked out of the window this morning and said "its snowing hard", hunh? It was too; sheeting across the park so you could hardly see. Quite incredible although it has stopped now and didn't settle on the ground, however, the clouds still look as though they could contain more. I do think spring is the prettiest time of year, although I often say the same about autumn or fall. The colours are always so magnificent and nature spreads such a wonderful bouquet for us to enjoy, and enjoy it I do. I just hope we don't get too much cold which will spoil the blossoms and in the case of fruit trees, impede the growth of the fruit.

Watched Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution again last night. I received an email from Jamie's website which asked me to pass on the following "I have joined the Food Revolution and you should too! We need your help to change the way America eats. Every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food. Sign the petition to save America's cooking skills and improve school food. http://bit.ly/JOfoodrev Thanks and please pass this message on." As I very much believe in what Jamie is doing even if he is not doing it in Canada, I think this message applies. He has done a similar job in England where he met with considerable success and seems to be meeting more success in the States. I am not sure when this programme was filmed, certainly in the fall because of the tree colours, but which fall I don't know. If you are in the States or Canada do pass the message on to others.

There has been a bad earthquake in a remote town in the mountains of China (my geography isn't too good, but that may be in Tibet or certainly close to) where the death toll has already reached 1,000. I haven't heard of anyone asking for donations but I am thinking, if China didn't donate anything to help Haiti and others, maybe the rest of the world will say nuts to you China. Maybe China has enough money and resources to cope which Haiti certainly didn't, other than maybe in the pockets of its crooked presidents. A friend in Australia commented on Facebook that they had recently had tremors in her area (Adelaide). Another friend, at bowling, said he figured we lived in a pretty safe place, however, I have felt tremors here. I am not too sure anywhere is safe from everything if its not quakes and volcanoes, its hurricanes and tornadoes.

OK, I have been promoting Jamie's Food Revolution, so I thought one of Jamie's recipes would be a good idea this morning. I really like the look and sound of this one.

Aawesome Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni Jamie's Dinners

serves 4

This is such a wonderfully light and super-tasty cannelloni, and again I've avoided making the frustrating, painstaking béchamel sauce and given you a much tastier and simpler version. All you need to make sure of is that you fill the cannelloni well with the ricotta and spinach mix, so it's not all full of air. And the lovely thing about it is that it goes crispy and golden on top, but remains soft and moist at the bottom. You'll love it! • 2 knobs of butter olive oil • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced • a large handful of fresh marjoram or oregano, roughly chopped • ¼ of a nutmeg, grated • 8 large handfuls of spinach, thoroughly washed • a handful of fresh basil, stalks chopped, leaves ripped • 2 x 400g tins of good-quality plum tomatoes, chopped • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper • a pinch of sugar 400g crumbly ricotta cheese • 2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese • 16 cannelloni tubes 200g mozzarella, broken up for the white sauce • 1 x 500ml tub of crème fraîche • 3 anchovies, finely chopped • 2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Then find a metal baking tray or ovenproof dish that will fit the cannelloni in one layer so it's nice and snug. This way you'll get the right cover of sauce and the right amount of crispiness on top. When I cook this at home I just use one pan to cut down on lots of washing up! Take your metal tray or a saucepan, put it on a high heat and add your butter, a drizzle of olive oil, one of the sliced garlic cloves, a handful of marjoram or oregano and the grated nutmeg. By the time the pan is hot the garlic should be soft. Put as much spinach as will fit into the pan. Keep turning it over; it will wilt quickly so you will be able to keep adding more spinach until it's all in. Moisture will cook out of the spinach, which is fine. By cooking it this way you don't lose any of the nutrients that you would if boiling it in water. After 5 minutes, put the spinach into a large bowl and leave to cool. Place the pan back on the heat, add a little olive oil, the other clove of sliced garlic, your basil stalks and the tomatoes, then fill one of the empty tomato tins with cold water and add this too. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down, add a pinch of salt and pepper and the sugar, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until you get a loose tomato sauce consistency. Then take the pan off the heat and add the basil leaves. By now the spinach will have cooled down, so squeeze any excess liquid out of it and pour this back into the bowl. Finely chop the spinach and put it back into the bowl. Mix it with the liquid, add the ricotta and a handful of the Parmesan, and then use a piping bag to squeeze the mixture into the cannelloni. You can make your own piping bag by getting a sandwich bag and putting the spinach mix into the corner of it. Then twist the bag up and cut the corner off. Carefully squeeze the filling into the cannelloni tubes so each one is filled right up – really easy. Lay the cannelloni over the tomato sauce in the pan. Or you can pour the tomato sauce into your ovenproof dish and lay the cannelloni on top. To make the white sauce, mix together the crème fraîche, anchovies and the 2 handfuls of Parmesan with a little salt and pepper, then loosen with a little water until you can spoon it over the cannelloni. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and the mozzarella pieces, and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until golden and bubbling

Have a great weekend

Disasters and Bad News, Food Revolution, Dinner.

And still the disasters go on; the plane crash in Russia killing a bunch of high ranking Polish officials, including their President, which happened last night, sending shock waves throughout Poland. There are questions about the safety standards of this particular plane and also the pilot landed when he was told to divert. The mining disaster which took place last week in West Virginia - the governor has now declared that there were no survivors at all. The news is really not good to listen to these days. One of the major headlines in the last 24 hours has been about the American woman who returned her adopted Russian son to Russia stating she no longer wished to be his mother and had not been informed of his emotional problems when she adopted him. What puzzles me is why so many Russian children are being put up for adoption and come to that, why are Americans adopting Russians instead of American kids, I am sure there are hundreds to be adopted. Maybe the requirements are not so stringent - this case being a perfect example of why they should be so.

Mentioning West Virginia's governor, we saw him last night on Jamie Oliver's programme where Jamie is working hard to promote a food revolution in West Virginia. Last night the programme showed Jamie having a bet with a local radio host who was very down on the whole programme and figured WV did not need an irritating, jumped up English cook telling them what to eat. The bet was that Jamie could get 1,000 to pass through his cooking store in 5 days. As part of the effort, Jamie took the radio host to a local funeral home to show him a casket which is frequently used these days. It was huge. I worked in a funeral home and we had to order extra sized caskets periodicially, but I have never seen one this big. The directors said they were ordering more and more of them. Jamie also introduced them to his cookery group from West Virginia who talked about overweight and bad health. One morbidly obese young woman having been told she could die in about 5 years if she didn't do something about it. Finally the radio announcer was converted and helped Jamie get his last few hundred potential cooks through the door. The announcer himself was the 1,000th cook. I have just discovered that if you go to http://www.jamieoliver.com/ you can sign a petition supporting his efforts. If you are not from the US you can change the petition to support him world wide. You can also make a donation to the effort. The picture shows supersized caskets in Batesville's production plant, but not one of them is as big as the one on Jamie's show last night which looked square because it was virtually as wide as it was long. It shook both Jamie and the radio host.

Tonight we have friends coming to dinner, daughter and son in law of some close friends of ours. So we will be cooking up our usual storm today. Our main dish is a pork loin stuffed with apples, nuts and celery which came from a Reader's Digest book I bought in the UK some 40 years ago and still use a lot. It is called Cookery Year and is an excellent source of many good recipes. I just scanned the picture and it came out a tad yellow in places.

Roast Pork with Apple and Nut Stuffing

Source: RD Cookery Year

Servings 6

3.5 lb. Loin of Pork original recipe called for Blade of Pork.

1 Sml onion

2 oz pecans

2 oz white crustless bread

1 cooking apple

1 stick celery

1 Desertspoon chopped parsley

1 oz butter

Salt & pepper

1/2 tsp dried summer savory

Lemon Juice

3 Tbs veg oil

1/4 UK pint dry cider (about 5 fl. oz.)

1. Peel and finely chop the onion and roughly chop the nuts. Dice the bread; peel, core and dice the apple. Wash and finely chop celery and parsley. 2. Melt the butter in a small pan over moderate heat and fry the onion and nuts until they are just turning color. Add the bread, apple, celery and parsley and continue cooking until apple softened. Season to taste with salt, pepper, summer savory and lemon juice. 3. Open up the pocket of the roast and spread stuffing evenly. Roll up and tie with string. Roast in a 400 F oven for 20-30 mins then reduce to 350 and cook for a further 1 1/2 hrs or until juice comes out amber coloured when meat pricked. 4. Remove roast and keep warm. Skim off fat in roasting dish. Add the cider and deglaze pan. Season to taste and put in sauce boat to serve.

Have a great day

Golfers, 50th Anniversaries, L'Hermitage, Food Revolution.

Tiger Woods played his first tournament yesterday after 144 days and actually played an excellent game although in fact Fred Couples won the day. Everyone was speculating that Tiger would not play well after such a long break - I imagine that no matter what, he has been playing golf regularly to keep himself up to par. There were a number of scathing things said about him by people in authority in Augusta, but the fans let him know that he was still tops in their books. Freddie Couples or Boom Boom as he is nicknamed, has always been one of Matt's favourites and he has now hit his 50s so is a member of the senior tour which he started off by winning the first three tournaments. I so wish I could still play, but I sold my clubs last year as a) I lost my game and b) I lost my health. I used to love the game although I don't watch it on TV. More a thing I wanted to do not see. Once when I was laid off, I used to play every morning regularly at 7 a.m. most often with a Scotsman who, to me, was pretty elderly as he was in his 80s but I had trouble keeping up with him even so. Yet another friend is celebrating 50 years of marriage today, which, in these days is a pretty good achievement. I don't know what it is, but these days people just don't work at it at all. Admittedly both Matt and I were married before, but we have been together 38 years this year, another number which seems to be impossible for so very many. As a cousin once said, divorce is America's favourite passtime. Not that it's limited to America by any means. This morning on GMA, George Stephanopoulos is in Russia with President Obama, he did an interview with him (long way to go to interview his own president!!) however, he has also done an interview with the Russian president. I would have enjoyed a job like that where I could have been sent around the world in the train of some VIP. I have always wanted to go to Russia because they have such beautiful palaces and museums there. Having read a novel about the amber room in the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, I always wanted to see it although my friends who did see it were not unduly impressed. Russia has been spending a lot of money restoring the various buildings which were damaged by the revolution and then neglected for a number of years. The picture is of the Winter Palace where they have the Hermitage Museum. I must remember Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution is on tonight. I would hate to miss it. I am very strongly in favour of what he is trying to do for Americans and what he has already done in Britain. Which also reminds me, a German friend commented that she was surprised to see how well we cooked because we were English. Its very true, England has had a terrible reputation for many years and although, thanks to Delia Smith, this has changed considerably, there are still many areas which have a preponderence of either lousy cooks or people who don't cook at all which is something of what Jamie is trying to correct. Eating Well are promoting the $3 diet at the moment and I thought the following pizza recipe looked pretty interesting. Green Pizza http://tinyurl.com/y5mwe49 From EatingWell: September/October 2009

Why not use cooler-weather vegetables like broccoli and arugula as an unconventional pizza topping? The arugula adds a slightly bitter, peppery taste—for a milder flavor, use spinach instead. Serve with wedges of fresh tomato tossed with vinegar, olive oil, basil and freshly ground pepper. 6 servings Ingredients •1 pound prepared pizza dough, preferably whole-wheat •2 cups chopped broccoli florets •1/4 cup water •5 ounces arugula ,any tough stems removed, chopped (about 6 cups) •Pinch of salt •Freshly ground pepper to taste •1/2 cup prepared pesto •1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preparation 1.Position oven rack in the lowest position; preheat to 450°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. 2.Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about the size of the baking sheet. Transfer to the baking sheet. Bake until puffed and lightly crisped on the bottom, 8 to 10 minutes. 3.Meanwhile, cook broccoli and water in a large skillet over medium heat, covered, until the broccoli is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in arugula and cook, stirring, until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. 4.Spread pesto evenly over the crust, top with the broccoli mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until crispy and golden and the cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes. Nutrition Per serving : 323 Calories; 13 g Fat; 4 g Sat; 7 g Mono; 19 mg Cholesterol; 33 g Carbohydrates; 15 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 511 mg Sodium; 241 mg Potassium 2 Carbohydrate Serving Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 medium fat meat, 1 1/2 fat Have a great day

Scandal, Food Revolution,

This whole Catholic priest sexual abuse scandal is going from bad to worse. Yesterday the Pope didn't say anything at the Easter mass, but his personal priest equates the scandal with the persecution of the Jews - what a stretch of the imagination. Anyone not a priest who was convicted of pedophelia would suffer the full penalties of the law, what excuses priests? Marilyn (French Marilyn's blog) talked about a recent episode in Rouen, the city where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake - maybe that's what should happen to these priests. If I were a Roman Catholic, I would certainly consider changing my church. I realise that not all priests are guilty, but how do you know who is? The church has been covering up and back pedalling as fast as it can.

We bowled badly yesterday, don't really know why. I finally saved my bacon in the last game by bowling a turkey (three strikes in a row) in the last frame. That really makes your score improve by leaps and bounds.

I mentioned we have a friend coming to dinner tonight so I have to get cracking with a few things like making gravy and prepping the lamb. That reminds me, we saw Jamie Oliver's programme on changing the school food for American children. We missed the first episode somehow, but last night's programme was really interesting. The director of food services told him the kids were supposed to have a cup and a fourth of fruit and veg; to Jamie's horror french fries counted as a veg. Jamie had made a pasta dish which was loaded with vegetables but she said that wasn't enough. He eventually ended up getting rid of all the French fries and even taking them from people's plates. As he said, nothing wrong with fries per se, but if you eat them every day and nothing else, you are heading for an unhealthy life. The director said she needed more money so Jamie invited 80 local movers and shakers to dinner in a restaurant. They all thought he was cooking, in fact he had a team of seniors, none of whom had really cooked before, who produced an excellent meal with a lot of work. The youngsters then spoke to the adults and told them help was needed. Apparently a lot opened their pockets, but Jamie certainly didn't get $80,000 which was what he needed. I am very impressed with the work Jamie Oliver has been doing to improve the food being eaten by today's kids, he started the job in the UK and has now brought it to Huntington, Virginia where I do hope he has success. There is a video clip here http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution but do watch the programme if you can and get involved. He has a support group on Facebook apparently.

I haven't made any kind of chutney in years although there is one recipe I absolutely loved to prepare. This one, which came in an email from Splenda this morning, sounded like a really good and flavourful addition to various meats and I am definitely planning to make it.

Apple Mint Chutney (Andrew Keen) Splenda Prep Time: 45 Minutes Ingredients • 2 cups (500 mL) fresh mint, roughly chopped • 1/2 cup (125 mL) Italian parsley, roughly chopped • 3 cups (750 mL) Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced • 1 cup (250 mL) red onion, diced • 1/2 cup (125 mL) sultanas (white, seedless grape), diced • 1 cup (250 mL) SPLENDA® Brand Brown Sugar Blend • 2 cups (500 mL) apple cider vinegar • 1 tbsp (15 mL) whole mustard seed • 1 tbsp (15 mL) coriander seed • 1 cinnamon stick • 1 tbsp (15 mL) coarse salt • 3 2 oz (57 g) packages of pectin crystals Directions • Combine all of the ingredients, except for pectin, in a large stainless steel pot. • Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, stirring often for approximately 1 hour. • Add three 2 oz (57 g) packages of pectin crystals. Simmer for another 20 minutes. • Pour into sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) head space; seal. • To sterilize jars, place both lids and jars in boiling water for 15 minutes before filling. • This chutney is best paired with lamb, pork, cured meats and pungent cheeses. Store chutney unopened for 6-8 months in a cool, dark place. After opening, chutney can be refrigerated for up to 1 month. Have a great Easter weekend

Earth Hour, Bowling, Warning, Jaime Oliver.

I was delighted to see an Earth Hour poster on the door of the liquor store yesterday, however, it is the only one I have seen. Earth Hour is on Saturday, March 27, between 8:30 and 9:30 when you should turn your lights out to support this international recognition of climate awareness. World Wildlife Canada has a web page about it all here http://earthhourcanada.org/earthhour/ and they are hoping more and more of you will join in. This has been happening for the last three or four years and the numbers of people, businesses and cities participating has been increasing greatly. The more aware we are, the more we will do something about it and the more governments will take notice. Today we go on our travel league bowling in New Hamburg with lunch first. I think there will only be one more of these this season. Pity they are a fun get together. One thing I discovered, I have been taking my blood pressure regularly (three times twice a day) since seeing the specialist, luckily I have just been using my left arm and the muscle is now quite sore (I assume that's what's doing it) so I am pleased I didn't use my right arm otherwise I would have a problem bowling. Of course, some people might say I have a problem bowling anyway LOL. Not that it really matters a damn on travel league days, its all for fun. That is often when you bowl best - the first time I ever had a 600 game was when I was bowling for charity and it wouldn't have mattered if I had bowled really badly. There was a warning on GMA about telling everyone on Facebook that you are off on a trip from now til then. This also applies to Twitter and any other social networking groups on the internet. You are not just informing your friends, you are telling thieves and such people as well. Also there is a device on modern gadgets which will (if you turn it on) display a map of where you are, be it at home or in the mall, if you forget to turn it off, you are giving the world access to your home information and there are people out there you don't want to have such information. There is an article on their web page detailing a lot of the things we are doing wrong with the technology available today http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/ConsumerNews/social-media-careful-share-twitter-facebook/story?id=10194977 Jamie Oliver was on GMA too today, introducing his new Food Revolution programme where he is trying to do for the States what he did for the UK by changing the food schools serve for lunches, pressuring the government to upgrade the financial allocation. He said they are considering adding $4 billion to the programme and its not enough. They are spending $7 billion a day in Afghanistan and the kids deserve it more. I do so agree. His programme starts tomorrow night at 8 p.m. I for one will be watching. I have a lot of respect for Jamie and what he is trying to do for the children of England and North America so, if you have kids, I hope you too will be watching. Here is one of Jamie's recipes with Prosciutto and chicken or as the name says, posh ham. Looks pretty good and will soon be appearing on our menu. Jaime Oliver's Parmesan Chicken Breasts With Crispy Posh Ham From the kitchen of Jaime Oliver Servings: 2 Difficulty: Easy Cook Time: 1-30 min This is a great way to prepare chicken breasts. The texture of the crisp cooked prosciutto goes brilliantly with the tender chicken. Bashing the chicken out thinly before you start cooking means it cooks much faster than a regular chicken breast. If you can't get hold of prosciutto, then any kind of thin ham, such as Parma ham, or even smoked streaky bacon, will work just as well. Ingredients 2 sprigs of fresh thyme 2 skinless chicken breast fillets, preferably free-range or organic Freshly ground black pepper 1 lemon 1 1/4 ounces grated Parmesan 6 slices of prosciutto Olive oil Cooking Directions Grate your Parmesan. Pick the thyme leaves off the stalks. Carefully score the underside of the chicken breasts in a criss-cross fashion with a small knife. Season with a little pepper (you don't need salt as the prosciutto is quite salty). Lay your breasts next to each other and sprinkle over most of the thyme leaves. Grate a little lemon zest over them, then sprinkle with the Parmesan. Lay 3 prosciutto slices on each chicken breast, overlapping them slightly. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining thyme leaves. Put a square of plastic wrap over each breast and give them a few really good bashes with the bottom of a saucepan until they're about 1/2 inch thick. Put a frying pan over medium heat. Remove plastic wrap and carefully transfer the chicken breast, prosciutto side down, into the pan. Drizzle over some olive oil. Cook for 3 minutes on each side, turning halfway through, giving the ham side an extra 30 seconds to crisp up. Either serve the chicken breasts whole or cut them into thick slices and pile them on a plate. Serve with some lemon wedges for squeezing over, and a good drizzle of olive oil. Lovely with mashed potatoes and green veggies or a crunchy salad! Have a great day

Wine Cups, Jamie Again, Jacksons Again

Our dinner party went very well on Saturday evening. Everything tasted good. Our guests brought a huge carrot cake and some fruit salad for dessert, I now have lots of carrot cake in the freezer. They also brought us an interesting present. Earthenware Wine Cups made by Barbara Taylor of Earth Works Pottery for more of her pottery the principle of these wine cups is that they smooth out the wine by absorbing the acidity. As pointed out on the blurb, wine was always stored in earthenware originally, that was all they had. A suggested taste test is to pour wine into a glass and some into the cups and then after 10 seconds compare the wine in the glass and then in the cups. There was a noticeable improvement.

 This is about Eat to Save Your Life which is part of the Food Fights series by Jamie Oliver. Last night we watched and saw 18 volunteers have their food choices explained to them one girl was bathed in oil to first show her how much fat she ate over a given period and then how much fat some of the others ate. Some of the volunteers were put on treadmills. They were put through MRIs and all kinds of other tests. Jamie had a doctor and a nutritionist on hand as part of the programme. One man, obviously overweight, was shown that his liver was highly fatty and told he was at risk for heart disease. Jamie then demonstrated with a regular goose liver and a 'foie gras' which is the liver of a goose which has been force fed to become fatty. Seeing the two livers together I was quite shocked. Jamie then cut off a piece and sautéed it in a pan with no oil or anything. In a short space of time it was producing its own oil. He then showed another pan where the piece of liver had shrunk right down, but there was masses fat in the pan. I like foie gras when I can get hold of it. Jamie says he never serves it, maybe I should never eat it again even if doing so is very rare. I just came across an article in an English paper which said Chicago had banned goose liver. It didn't say why.

I see Joe Jackson, Michaell Jackson's father and his sister Latoya are now saying that Michael was murdered in order to get hold of his money!! Not sure what they are basing this story on. Still no toxicology report, it will be awhile I suppose. To me Joe Jackson looks like a Mafioso, maybe he is studying to achieve that look. There is an interview with him on TV tonight, I will NOT be watching it.

 Shortly after the following recipe was posted in Food and Drink, I asked a friend at work who was really good at cake making, to make this recipe for herself and family or friends (she entertains a lot) with the request that she bring me one slice. Much to my horror she brought me the whole cake which I of course really couldn't shouldn't eat. Luckily the rest of my colleagues had no such inhibitions and I could enjoy my slice without too many feelings of guilt. It really is a fabulous carrot cake.

Honey Butter Carrot Cake With Toasted Pecans and Citrus Cream Cheese Icing

Spring 2003 By: Marilyn Bentz-Crowley and Joan Mackie

This classic carrot cake is simply the best. See Carrot Bundt Cake variation below.

Cake 
Butter or nonstick spray
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) baking powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground clove or allspice
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
3/4 cup (175 mL) butter, softened
1/2 cup (125 mL) honey
2 eggs
1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla
3 cups (750 mL) finely grated carrot
1 apple, peeled and grated
1 cup (250 mL) toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

 Icing 
One 250 g package regular cream cheese
1/2 cup (125 mL) butter, softened
2 tbsp (25 mL) honey
2 tbsp (25 mL) finely grated orange, lemon or lime zest (or a mixture of all three)
2 tsp (10 mL) lemon juice
4 to 5 cups (1 to 1.25 L) sifted icing sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Butter two 9-inch (23-cm) layer pans or coat with nonstick spray; line bottom with circle of parchment or waxed paper. Stir flour with baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.
3. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter until lighter in colour and slightly fluffy. Slowly beat in honey, then eggs, one at a time. Beat in sugar and vanilla.
4. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, stirring until just absorbed. Stir in carrots, apple and pecans.
5. Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake in oven centre for 35 to 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into cake centre comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes; then turn out to finish cooling on rack.
6. To make icing, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually beat in butter, then honey, zest and lemon juice. Gradually add icing sugar until thick enough for spreading. Spread between stacked layers, then over sides and top. Sprinkle with any extra zest or chopped pecans. Serves 8 to 12

Variation: Bundt Carrot Cake
 Make cake batter. Butter a 10-inch (3-L) bundt pan or coat with cooking spray. Evenly spoon in batter and smooth top. Bake in oven centre for 55 to 60 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into cake centre comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes; then turn out to finish cooling on rack. Make only a half recipe of icing. Spread over cooled cake. Sprinkle with extra zest or chopped pecans.

Have a great day.

Fans, etc., Father's Day, Ministry of Food, Foodscapes.

Poor Matt has spent the greater part of the last four days trying to install a ceiling fan. The first fan we bought he got as far as installing the paddles and discovered the fan housing was bent. That was Friday. Saturday he went back and exchanged it and then installed the new fan successfully although with great difficulty. It was not well built and there were screws in such inaccessible spots that he needed a magnetic screwdriver. In the end, he gouged a piece of soap with the screw head and that worked. He also had to re-wire one part which was not threaded through a hole. (He was an electrician many years ago, so knows what he's doing) after all that, it didn't work. Sunday morning he returned it and got a tower fan. Originally there was a light in the bedroom, we saved everything when we put up the first fan, unfortunately that was close to 10 years ago and Matt is not a fit 30 yr old any more - I think he was pretty exhausted by the time he got to the light and so didn't manage it. He has given up and is going to get the super to do it. Some Father's Day. This did not help his feet problems either so today he is in even more pain. However, on Saturday at dinner, Matt gave me a delightfully romantic card with pictures by a Dutch artist Marjolein Bastin, I thought she might be English because one of the pictures includes an English Robin. Question for Mike, are Robins only in the UK or do they spread over Europe? The card was for no special reason, just to say he loved me. Aaaaah. He also called both his daughters so was really happy to talk to them. If you are a dad, I hope you had a good day yesterday. We watched Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food series last night, I am very impressed with that young man, it's all be costing him a pretty penny. In last night's programme they ended up with his first 10 students learning another recipe then passing it on to 5 more students each who then "passed it on" to more students, this went on all day with workers from different companies around Rotherham ending up with 1,000 people being taught the same recipe. Once they had cooked they got to eat the results and everyone seemed very enthusiastic. Unfortunately, not all the companies ended up backing Jamie's ideas. He has opened a Food Centre in Rotherham which he is hoping the town will take over once he has gone - from what I have read on his web site, these Food Centres seem to be working. If you are interested go to Jamie's Ministry of Food where you can also get some of his "Pass It On" recipes. Another interesting website this morning is Foodscapes by Carl Warner, there is a Daily Telegraph (UK) site with 14 of his pictures made from all kinds of foodstuffs. I am particularly fascinated with this one where the sea is made from salmon click here. Do go look at the other pictures, they are quite incredible. Mind you it does seem a bit of a waste of food. I thought I would share Blueberry Ginger Pie with you from Food and Drink (LCBO) it looks absolutely delicious to me and would make a lovely dessert for my next dinner party perhaps. Blueberry Ginger Pie Ginger goes well with blueberries and this easy pie is a great summer standby. If you do not like ginger, substitute a cookie you prefer or use all shortbread. Pastry 1 cup ginger cookie crumbs 1 cup shortbread cookie crumbs 1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes 2 oz chopped white chocolate melted. Filling 5 cups wild blueberries 1/2 cup granulated sugar (in the UK use caster sugar) 1/2 cup water 1 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind 1/4 cup lemon juice 2 tbs cornstarch (cornflour) 1 tbs water 1 tbs butter 2 tbs crème de cassis Garnish 1 cup shaved white chocolate Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Place cookie crumbs and butter in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Press crumbs into a 9 inch pie or tart pan. Freeze 15 minutes or until firm. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until sides are lightly browned and bottom is not quite set. It sets as it cools. Brush melted white chocolate over cooled crumbs. Combine 2 cups blueberries, sugar, water, lemon rind and juice in a pot over medium heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until blueberries are cooked and liquidy. Combine cornstarch and water. Add this and the buter to the pot and bring to boil, stirring. Remove from heat. Add cassis and cool to lukewarm. Fold in remaining blueberries, pile into pie shell. Refrigerate until serving time. Garnish tart with white chocolate shavings before serving. Serves 6. Have a great day.

The Weekend - Jamie's Ministry of Food

Matt was telling me that for a golf tournament this weekend, Jack Nicklaus hosted all the golfers and their wives to a lobster dinner. Can you imagine how much that must have cost. Bit extravagant for the current financial situation I thought. Mind you I wish Matt was a professional golfer, I would have made a nasty mess of that meal. As I have mentioned before, I sell Avon products and this last campaign I bought myself some corn on the cob holders. I never have much success with such things, the pins always break off or something. However, these may well be better, they screw in to the cobs. You do that before you cook them - I cook mine in the microwave anyway - otherwise you would burn yourself trying to screw them into the ends. I just checked the catalogue, they are OK in boiling water too. There is corn in the stores, but its not local yet, so I won't be bothering just yet. I enjoyed my visit to the theatre on Saturday. Turned out to be a lovely day, warm enough to be without coats for a change. The show was very well done, they usually are. I had a couple of criticisms: if you know the film or the show or saw the series on TV, Oscar was a total slob. In the theatre he wore bright, white, brand new sneakers. Struck an odd note. The other was that the two English sisters couldn't/didn't maintain their English accents very long. Neither item really detracted from the show though. If you don't know the movie and get a chance to see it, it really is funny. Of course if you live in Ontario, you should go see the show. Last night for supper we had lamb's kidneys in sherry sauce. Haven't had it for a long time, but a dish we are very fond of. I know lots of people hate offal or organ meats, but we are not amongst them. I posted the recipe on May 30th if anyone is remotely interested. Now we are out of kidneys so I will have to go to market again. Luckily, because so many people don't eat them, they are very inexpensive, so thank you. Last night we watched a programme by Jamie Oliver the English chef. It was called Jamie's Ministry of Food. I was horrified. I knew the English generally were not good cooks (some of them are wonderful cooks of course) but Jamie has started a campaign beginning in Rotherham in the Midlands of England to teach people to cook. Until we watched the programme I had no idea how bad things had become. Women who literally don't know what boiling water looks like. If you would like to read more about it, Jamie has a website Ministry of Food where you can watch video and get simple recipes. The idea he started with was to teach 8 people ten recipes and for them to teach two more people each and then those two to teach two more - kind of pyramid system. I gather there are problems - we shall try and remember to follow the programme for the next week or two. One of his pupils turned out to have the knack of food handling and Jamie was most impressed with her, unfortunately she also has no money and is at the stage of "food or housing". She says she has pawned all her jewellery (she was wearing a necklace and earrings) and is at her wits end how to pay the bills. I felt sorry for her until she lit up. We didn't see a husband, just kids, but we figured if there is one, he is probably a smoker too. She used to feed her kids on 'take-out', I know I can cook a meal cheaper than a take-out. Once upon a time mothers passed down cooking techniques to their daughters, I don't know what happened, but hundreds of people don't know how to cook in England. I think Jamie started this programme when he discovered what rubbish was being fed to kids for school dinners, stuff which he said he wouldn't give his dog. He began a campaign to teach both kids and school cooks how to prepare and enjoy decent meals - you cannot imagine the opposition he got - he did manage to get some backing for that, I don't know if he still does. It is, of course, affecting the health of these children, some of whom cannot identify the most ordinary vegetables. He said on the programme last night that he had been Soweto and found the poor ate better than English families. I wondered how bad it is over on this side of the pond and whether families cook here. I saw one kid cover his food with ketchup and I have definitely seen that done here. I know I have English readers - can't you bug your government to start cooking schools or something or at least to support Jamie. Looking for a recipe last night, I came across a reference to Monkey Dishes.I had never heard of them before. Googling this morning I find generally it is a restaurant term used for small dishes in which vegetables might be served. I have never worked in a restaurant which I guess accounts for the fact I have never heard the expression but I found it in an Ontario Asparagus leaflet in a recipe for Asparagus Butter. Asparagus Sukiyaki Ontario Asparagus Growers Marketing Board 1/2 lb round or sirloin steak 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 clove garlic, smashed 1 tsp soy sauce 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup water 1 medium green pepper 1/4 cup celery 1 small onion 1 lb fresh asparagus Cut beef into diagonal strips with a sharp knife. Brown in hot oil with garlic for 10 minutes. Remove garlic. Add soy sauce, salt and water. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut green pepper into strips, cut celery in diagonal slices about 1/4 in. thick and chop onion. Add to meat and cook 10 minutes. Wash and break off woody ends of asparagus stalks. Cut asparagus in 2 inch diagonal pieces. Add, after the other vegetables have cooked 10 minutes and continue cooking 5 to 8 minutes, or until asparagus pieces are just tender. If the liquid is too thin, thicken with a teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with water. Cook until clear. Makes 4 to 5 servings. Serve with rice or Chinese noodles. Have a great day.

Hip, Natasha Richardson, Fruit and Food

After my bone scan a couple of weeks ago, I spoke to the surgeon yesterday and he told me that there didn't seem to be much wrong looking at the new pictures either. He now thinks its probably bursitis and wants me to have an injection (cortisone I assume) next Wednesday - not something I am looking forward to as I had a similar injection in my hand once, many years ago and it was excessively painful and I do mean EXCESSIVELY. Just to add insult to injury I have to be at the hospital at 8 a.m. and as it is a good 3/4 of an hour away, that means I will be up before the crack of dawn. Sigh. What a tragedy - the death of Natasha Richardson. On the news report last night they explained that a doctor might have been able to recognise the symptoms right away. Apparently she laughed off her fall at the beginning and only later complained of a headache. One thing that puzzles me, the accident took place in Québec, I am not sure why she was flown to an American hospital. There was quite a segment about wearing protective helmets, in particular they talked to skate boarders who do the most dangerous things without wearing them. Heads are so fragile. Even if an accident doesn't kill you, you can have severe mental illnesses caused by trauma to the head. Today we were tossing up about going to bowl or not because the bowling alley is likely to be very crowded with people on holiday this week, particularly kids, who tend to be somewhat noisy and inconsiderate. I think we have decided to go. Monday was better as we bowled in the morning for the same reasons. This may surprise you, but I have discovered mangoes. It is not a fruit I was familiar with in the UK although my father used to talk about eating them when he was in, what was then, Rhodesia and I have been eating Mango Chutney for years. However, recently a friend, who had received fruit baskets, had more fruit than they could manage and kindly shared some with us, including a mango. I have seen mangoes in the stores but was never sure what to do with them. Some seemed to be green skinned with a touch of blush and others were orange. This was an orange one, so I decided to give it a go. I peeled it and ate it, I wasn't sure about peeling but after much Googling, I discover the skin can be an irritant and should NOT be eaten. Bliss, nectar, you name it, what a delicious fruit. I am now crazy about mangoes and bought some more when shopping this week. I just came across a video how to cut a mango on YouTube. I also discovered that, like peaches, there are cling free and clingstone varieties. However, I am still not sure about the green fruit. In the grocery store, they have Dragon Fruit or Pitaya which is another exotic I am interested to try. I hear they are somewhat similar to pears to taste. There was a very interesting programme on TV in The Doc Zone last night about food and marketing in grocery stores. I learned a lot I didn't know. It was partly a dissertation on how people (North Americans anyway) had progressed from meat and potatoes to more exotic food. Dragon Fruit was mentioned incidentally. One thing I didn't know, companies pay grocery stores for shelf space and the amount is a closely guarded secret. I had never heard that before. I knew the profit margin on groceries was very small, around 2%, which I was told many years ago, it makes you wonder why they bother. Of course it is a trade that never runs out of customers, people always have to buy food. Apparently it is an extremely competitive trade. There was a fascinating section on our local food company Loblaws (owners of many well known grocery chains) and how they devise new foods to be sold under their own label. Another section showed the awarding of Michelin stars to a Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong. There was a lot about chefs and their training in various ways and it mentioned a lot of TV stars such as Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and others. There is supposed to be another episode, I shall be sure to watch. Grilled Shrimp and Mango Salad By Diana Rattray, About.com Serve this grilled shrimp salad on a bed of mixed greens. Ingredients: * 2 large firm mangoes, peeled & shredded * 3 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions * 1/3 cup lime juice * 2 tablespoons fish sauce, or use soy sauce if necessary * 1 teaspoon sugar * 1 small clove garlic, minced * 1 small hot chile, such as serrano, seeded, minced * 1 pound shrimp, (25 to 30 per pound) * 2 cups greens * lime slices, for garnish Preparation: Combine green onions, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, and chile in a bowl. Mix in shredded mango. Chill while preparing shrimp. Shell and devein shrimp and rinse well; divide into 4 portions. Thread 1 portion onto a slender metal skewer. Run a second skewer through shrimp 1/2 to 1 inch from the first skewer, to keep them flat. Repeat with remaining shrimp. Grill shrimp on a medium hot grill, covered, for about 3 minutes on each side, or until opaque but still a bit moist in the center of thickest parts. Place greens on a platter; mound mango mixture onto the greens using a slotted spoon. Place shrimp over the mango salad and garnish with lime slices, if desired. Serves 4. Have a great day.