US Cut Backs, Child Dancers, Jessica Did It, Geezer Bandit,

I am disgusted with US politicians at the moment. First the New York bunch who are cutting back on school programmes and laying off people one day a week, now Governor Schwartzenegger has announced cut backs in California including school programmes and mentally handicapped. The reports say this is likely to happen across the rest of the States. Excuse me, you are not going to educate your kids properly? This is bullwhipple. These are tomorrow's leaders we are talking about, they need money to provide a good education which is more important than financing wars. Get out of the Middle East, let them sort out their own problems and teach your children as well as providing for your poor and sick. Bring the troops home. I think Canada should bring their troops home too, we have no business being in Afghanistan. Right now there is a row going on in the States about some kids in a dancing competition who are only 8 yrs. old and were dancing like adults in skimpy costumes. I gather someone posted video of them on UTube and it has now been all over the air waves. I don't think most 8 yr. olds care about being sexy, just about being good dancers. However, GMA got 1,000 emails about the subject, the majority saying it was totally inappropriate for young kids to perform such a dance. Others saying people are imposing adult views on children. If you want to see what I am talking about there is a video on http://www.gma.com/ Actually I found their dancing to be pretty good and if anything, somewhat athletic. I don't personally find there is anything remotely sexy about it. So Jessica, on Pink Lady, made it; sailed round the world from Sydney, Australia and back again. How wonderful: she was greeted like a heroine. I am so sorry Abby didn't make it and is still held up in Cape Town although she intends to carry on once repairs are effected. There are detractors now saying that Jessica didn't really sail round the world as she was too far south, hunh??? She sailed through some of the worst weather areas in the world - if she had gone north she would have had to go through canals and locks and also some of the worst areas politically. Some people are never satisfied. A somewhat amusing story this morning, there is a guy in California known as The Geezer Bandit. He has held up 9 banks (Jay Leno says he will go on until he finds one that has money in it). He looks to be in his 70s and points a gun at the tellers. However, there is some suspicion that he may be a younger person disguised. Either way, as pointe out, he is a dangerous criminal, he points a gun at people and if apprehended will be sent to the same jail no matter how old he is. He has become extremely popular on Facebook according to reports. There is a surveillance video shown on GMA as well, Matt says his hands look old, I can't tell. Eating Well are promoting foods that are good for one's vision, avocados being one of them. I love avocados and they are good for many other things including cholesterol problems ao I never feel I shouldn't eat them even though they are not a slimming food. I couldn't figure out a way of using asparagus as well although I might serve pickled asparagus on the side *g*. Avocado-Corn Salsa From EatingWell: April/May 2006, EatingWell for a Healthy Heart Cookbook, EatingWell Serves Two A fresh salsa of avocado and corn is great with simple sautéed fish or just about anything Mexican-inspired—huevos rancheros, a quick quesadilla or atop rice and beans. 4 servings Ingredients •1 medium avocado, diced •3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed •1/2 cup quartered grape tomatoes •1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro •2 teaspoons lime juice •1/4 teaspoon kosher salt Preparation 1.Toss avocado, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice and salt in a medium bowl. Have a great weekend.

Trillions, Sailing Teens and Computers.

Governments toss around billions and trillions when talking money, it has become kind of commonplace and most of us don't really know how much that is. However, in Recipe du Jour yesterday there was a link to a visualisation which shows you comaprisons of what these figures really mean. The one that struck me was the visualisation of the US National Debt in March 2009 - it is shown in $1 bills and is absolutely mind boggling. And that is a year ago, a lot has happened since then to send the figures soaring. If you would like to see the rest of the visualisations, go to http://www.cnbc.com/id/30108264/?slide=1 and look at the slide show. Funnily enough, last night I watched Brewster's Millions starring Richard Pryor and John Candy. He had to dispose of $30 million in one month in order to inherit another $300 million. Seemed coincidental talking about the trillions governments spend without batting an eye.

Yesterday I wrote about Australian Jessica Watson planning to sail around the world and be the youngest to do so, a friend in Oz pointed out to me that there are actually two 16 yr. olds trying to gain that title, the other being a young American girl Abby Sunderland. I wish them luck, but I think their parents are nuts. I had had no idea there were two youngsters trying to do the same thing. Both young women have blog pages although Abby doesn't seem to have written anything since she set sail www.jessicawatson.com.au/ where you will find a link to Jessica's blog and http://soloround.blogspot.com/ for Abby's. Seems I got it all wrong, Jessica set sail in October whereas Abby has only recently left the States. There are some interesting pages on Jessica's blog with pictures of Cape Horn which can and did produce very violent storms and has sunk lots of ships - it can also produce total calms which can be a big problem for a sailing ship. Jessica apparently went through a pretty violent storm and makes for interesting reading. She must have been pretty shaken I would think.

Tickled me today, shades of modern life, our granddaughter was complaining she couldn't finish her homework because the printer wasn't working. In the days when I was doing homework, computers weren't available at all. I was going to say they hadn't been invented, but in fact the binary system was invented hundreds of years ago. The computer as we know it today was not invented though. I remember my first encounter with a computer was at work where everything was programmed with punch cards and such (don't ask me the details, I don't know them) and one of the staff assured me that I would never be able to use a computer because my math was no good. I am glad they changed them because he was probably right then. Now I spend a great deal of time on a computer.

I got my newsletter from Mushrooms Canada yesterday and I am surprised to discover that mushrooms are full of Vitamin D. They contain about 9% of an adult's required intake per day. I know Vitamin D is provided by sunshine, but a lot of people are too scared to spend time exposing their skin to sunlight so alternate sources are required. Mushrooms are apparently one of them.

Mushroom Stuffed Pizza Pockets Mushrooms Canada

A larger version of this Italian recipe is often called a calzone. Vary the fillings to your families liking and you will win raves at the table.

Ingredients 5-6 medium fresh white Mushrooms (about 3 oz/90g pre-sliced) 1/2 cup diced green pepper 125 mL 1/4 cup pre-cooked bacon pieces or pepperoni 50 mL 1/2 cup pizza or spaghetti sauce 125 mL 3/4 cup pre-shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese blend 175 mL 1 pkg (10 oz/283 g) refrigerated pizza dough 1 tbsp milk 15 mL 1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese 15 mL Method 1. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel or mushroom brush. On the cutting board with the sharp knife trim bottom of stems; coarsely chop the mushrooms to fill 1¼ cups (300 mL). 2. Place the mushrooms, diced green pepper, bacon, pizza sauce and cheese in the bowl; stir to mix well. Preheat oven to 425ºF (220ºC). 3. On a lightly floured counter or cutting board unroll the pizza dough according to package directions. Roll or press out to 12”(30 cm) x10” (25 cm) rectangle. With sharp knife cut into 4 equal pieces. 4. Using a pastry brush moisten edges of each piece of dough with water. Mound ¼ of mixture onto half of each piece of dough leaving a ½”(1 cm) border. Pull and stretch the other half of dough over the filling and press edges firmly together. 5. Lightly spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray and place pizza pockets about 2”(5 cm) apart on it. With the tines of a fork press edges firmly again to seal and prick a few holes in the top to allow steam to escape. 6. Brush top of pockets with milk and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. 7. Place baking sheet in middle of oven and bake for 13 –15 min until lightly browned and crisp on top. 8. Using oven mitts remove baking sheet from oven and place on cooling rack for 5 minutes. 9. With sharp knife cut in half diagonally to serve if desired. Makes 4 pizza pockets Tip: If rolling dough on a cutting board, place a damp dishcloth under the board to prevent it from moving around. Variations: Substitute broccoli for green pepper and ham for bacon.

Have a great day

Sleep Talking, Sailing Round the World, Books,

Over the weekend I heard about a woman who's husband talks in his sleep and says the wierdest things - she has made a blog out of it all and has had over a million hits. It seems quite incredible to me. Some people are wondering just how true it is, I know Matt doesn't believe it. He now tells me I talk in my sleep although he has never really understood what I said. I had no idea although I do remember once my first husband, John, saying I shot bolt upright in bed one night saying "I'll have a gin and crusho" as I don't drink gin and we have no idea what a crusho is, it seemed somewhat odd. I am disappointed that Matt doesn't know what I am saying although I do remember, now I am writing about it, I was once told I gabbled in an invented language when asleep. I think that was in my much younger days. I had forgotten all about it.

Another story in the news is about the 16 yr. old, Jessica Watson, who has set off to sail around the world single handedly. There is a lot of fierce argument about the whole thing. She says she feels she understands the ocean - at 16, I don't think so. Matt and I have lived on the water most of our lives and wouldn't say we understood it. I wish her all the best now she is under way, but I personally think its a damn fool thing for a 16 yr. old to do. I know what the oceans can throw at you. I have lived through hurricanes (admittedly not at sea), I have been at sea during a force 8 gale when we were all scared silly and hoping to survive and if any of you saw The Perfect Storm, there is no saying that she couldn't run into something like that. I wouldn't want a youngster of mine attempting such a thing. If you would like to read more about it go to http://yachtpals.com/jessica-watson-7047 where I believe there will be regular reports of her trip. Her yacht is supposed to be virtually unsinkable - now where have I heard that before?

I am, by the way, using my treadmill regularly and gradually building up the time I spend on it. I got hold of a book on CD (I was surprised how many CDs) and listen to it whilst walking. Its one of the Cat Who series by Lillian Jackson Braun, The Cat Who Turned On and Off, I read one, about a year ago I believe, they are quite fun. Sunday I also finished the Suicide Kings by George R.R. Martin. Turned out to be a good story but it jumped around a great deal going to several different characters in one chapter. Multiple points of view I guess is the term. It certainly wasn't a book I could read quickly. I am not sure if I want to read any more of the series or not. Had I done so before, I would have latched on to what the heck was happening a lot quicker. At first I found it all really wierd. I have now got A Darkness Forged in Fire to read plus the sequel The Light of Burning Shadows by Chris Evans. I know nothing about these two at the moment so we shall see what transpires.

On the 17th I published a recipe from What's Cooking called Catalina Cranberry Chicken. I cooked it last night and we have leftovers for tonight. It was absolutely delicious. I was very pleased with it. I can highly recommend it and it was so simple to do, you just mix the ingredients, dollop it over some chicken and cook for 50 minutes, what could be simpler. The result was really, really good, so do try it. I had thought of cooking it at the weekend for guests, but I didn't really know what it was going to be like. I am generally not an advocate of cooking with packets of this or cans of that, but this was certainly a worthwhile exception. Now we don't really want to eat it again that soon so we have to put our thinking caps on. I am definitely planning a dessert from the same magazine for Saturday, but the main course is still up in the air.

OK, so I was so impressed with our chicken dish tonight I thought I would share this dessert with you. It says 16 servings, I am not too sure about that, I guess it depends on who is eating these servings, right?

Caramel-Nut Cheesecake

What's Cooking by Kraft

16 servings

1-1/4 cups HONEY MAID Graham Crumbs

1/4 cup butter, melted

3 pkg. (250 g each) PHILADELPHIA Brick Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup sour cream 3 eggs

1/2 cup peanuts, chopped

3 Tbsp. caramel ice cream topping

HEAT oven to 350ºF. MIX crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake 10 min. MEANWHILE, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each just until blended. Pour over crust. BAKE 40 to 45 min. or until centre is almost set; cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours. Top with nuts and caramel topping just before serving. Have a great day