Cassa Star on Sale, Bowling and Alleys, Another Book.

I have just heard that our Ninja Captain and famous blogger, Alex J. Cavenaugh, the Kindle version of  his book Cassa Star on sale this week. It's on Amazon for 99¢

I have read this, a very exciting and enjoyable story. Not only that, I have read all three books in this series. I thoroughly recommend them.

Today there were just two people on our bowling team. Matt and I. Matt had a very good game with his last one being 212. Nuff said. Our team has been reduced to four people now because one member doesn't have transport and felt awkward, guilty, embarrassed, to have either of the other two pick her up although they were both willing to do so. They neither of them lived very close to her. Such a pity, a really nice woman. There is one other bowling alley in our town and we were told last week, which I had forgotten, that the other alley, Victoria Lanes, has just been sold. We are supposed to bowl there with the winter league in January so the person who organises this will have to get in touch with the new owners. Everyone was surprised at the sale, even the alley owners apparently.

Many of you will know Jim Butcher's books, particularly The Dresden Files. I am presently reading his first book in a new series. It is called The Aeronaut's Windlass. I can recommend that too, wholeheartedly. A good start to The Cinder Spires series. Someone described it as futuristic, dystopian, steam punk.

This sounds like an interesting recipe. I have only just learnt, after all these years, that one can eat radish greens. Mind you, I didn't know you could eat beet greens til I came to Canada. They taste a bit like spinach. Had never heard of eating them in England 40 odd  years ago.

Spaghetti with Radish-Greens Pesto

Food and Wine

Radish greens make a superfresh, flavorful pesto. You can also use beet or turnip greens.

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• Greens from 1 big bunch of radishes (8 loosely packed cups), chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley leaves
• 3/4 cup roasted salted pumpkin seeds (3 ounces), plus more for garnish
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• 12 ounces spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. In a food processor, combine the garlic, greens, parsley leaves and the 3/4 cup of pumpkin seeds; pulse until finely chopped. With the machine on, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Stir in the 1 cup of cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. Return the pasta to the pot. Add the pesto, lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Season with salt and pepper and toss over low heat until coated, about 2 minutes; add more pasta water if a thinner consistency is desired.

3. Transfer the pasta to bowls and garnish with pumpkin 

Have a great day
 

Language, Water, Books.

Churchill said it best, he described England and America as being two nations divided by a common language. This does tend to apply to Canada as well. Yet in some places, and in some areas, the same words are used. What made me think of this was in my blog yesterday the recipe included reference to a Dutch Oven. An English friend enquired what that was. I never even thought of it having lived on this continent for 37 years, it didn’t strike me at all.  I guess the original Dutch Ovens were suspended over open fires. According to Wikipedia, in England we called them casseroles. According to Wikipedia as well, they should mostly be cast iron, but very few are any more I think, just basically a large saucepan with a lid and handles either side. I used to have cast iron ones years ago. Did you know if you drop cast iron, it breaks? Guess how I found out?

We had a lot of snow on Tuesday and by the time we got up on Wednesday the roads were pretty well covered. However, we live on a bus route so they help deal with the snow and Matt headed off for his usual weekly shop at 7 a.m. He said the roads weren’t too bad. I would have preferred him to go later, but……. When he drove home he couldn’t use the route he normally takes, one road was shut. We discovered later that a water main had bust which meant we had no water in the building for a while. I managed to get enough water to make coffee and to have a wash, but not a shower. Matt showered earlier of course.

Later in the morning he surgeon looked at Matt’s eye operation and is apparently very happy with it. Didn’t take out the stitches yet though, we thought he would. Would you believe we don’t have any kind of medical appointment for the rest of the week.

I am just about to start Cold Days by Jim Butcher, a Harry Dresden novel. I have enjoyed every one of his Dresden novels, very well written and extremely funny in places. Harry Dresden is a working wizard in Chicago and gets up to all kinds of things fighting all the things which go bump in the night. Although right now, he has got himself caught up working for bad Queen Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness. He is her Winter Knight which he doesn’t really wish to be. Forgot to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my last book, Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold. A very good Miles Vorkosigan story. I think I just might go back and reread some of those books as well as some of the Dresden files. Like I haven’t got hundreds of books to read which I haven’t even opened yet!!

This is a different way of using rhubarb although its not in season round here at the moment. I’ve always enjoyed lemon meringue pie.

Rhubarb and Ginger Queen of Puddings

A grand traditional dessert of poached fruit, cake and light meringue peaks - serve hot from the oven

Ingredients

• 140g shop-bought Madeira cake or breadcrumbs
• 4 eggs , separated
• 400ml milk
• ½ tsp grated nutmeg
• 250g golden caster sugar (light brown sugar)
• 500g rhubarb , cut into 4cm batons
• 4 balls stem ginger, chopped, plus 2 tbs syrup

1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Break the cake into fine crumbs or place in a food processor and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs. Place the crumbs in the bottom of a 22cm round ovenproof baking dish. In a jug, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, nutmeg and 50g of the sugar. Pour the custard mixture over the crumbs and leave to soak for 10 mins. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 45 mins, until the custard is set but still has a little wobble.
2. Meanwhile, make the filling. Place the rhubarb in a saucepan with 100g of the remaining sugar, stem ginger, syrup and 2 tbs water. Set over a medium heat and cook for 15-20 mins until the rhubarb is tender. Leave to cool. Can be done up to this point the day before.
3. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Place the egg whites in a large clean bowl and, using an electric whisk, whisk the whites until soft peaks form. At this stage, begin to slowly add the remaining 100g sugar, beating well between each addition, until all the sugar is incorporated and the meringue is stiff and glossy.
4. Drain the rhubarb, keeping the syrup, then spoon onto the baked custard. Spoon or pipe the meringue on top and bake for 15-20 mins until the meringue is browned. Serve hot with the rhubarb syrup.

Have a great day

Heat, Luscious Corn and New Books.

The heat wave continues, its bad enough here, but according to reports, places on the US east coast, such as New York and Philadelphia, are having a really bad time of it. So far I have only heard a report of one heat related death, a woman of 92, but it is something the elderly particularly need to be careful of. If you haven’t got air conditioning, there are lots of stores and hotels that do and there are shelters listed on local web sites. Personally I find this heat makes me reluctant to eat which surprises me, nothing has ever done that to me before, I could always eat. We do have air conditioning, but it is not central air. Does a pretty good job though. We also have a fan blowing the cold air down the corridor towards our bedroom.

Corn is in, I had a message from Tim Barrie that they now have it. I really need to get over there as I know they have so me delicious raspberries too. I tried some at my friend’s lunch on Sunday. There is nothing to beat really fresh corn straight off the plant, however, one doesn’t often get a chance to get it that fresh, however, picked that day is pretty good. The picture here from Recipezaar.com makes me really hungry for grilled corn. Asparagus season is now over unfortunately, I had my last mouthful yesterday.

As you know I get all kinds of informative emails and yesterday I got one from Amazon telling me that part 3 of the Void Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton is shortly to be released. This is a series I have been enjoying and the last one is called The Evolutionary Void and the date is set for August 24. If you like sci fi these are really worth reading. Also, Glenda Larke announced that book 2 of her Watergivers Trilogy would be available in the UK and North America at the end of this month, it is Stormlord Rising. Someone commented they wished they hadn't already read it as it would be something to look forward to, ditto. So far I have thoroughly enjoyed both books in this trilogy and am anxiously awaiting the next one. Also, I just finished Changes another Harry Dresden book by Jim Butcher. However, I am very worried about the ending. Read it, and you will know what I mean.

From my usual Mushrooms Canada email I found this recipe which is certainly going to be on my to try list.

Grilled Oriental Mushroom Salad

Mushrooms Canada

Assorted fresh mushrooms and a zesty oriental style dressing are the stars in this warm zippy salad - perfect for lunch or to accompany grilled meat.

3 tbsp each vegetable oil and soy sauce 45 mL 1/3 cup rice vinegar 75 mL 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 15 mL 2 green onions, chopped 2 1 tbsp finely minced gingerroot 15 mL 1 lb. assorted sliced fresh Mushrooms (white 500 g button, crimini, portabella, shiitake, oyster) 3 tbsp teriyaki sauce 45 mL 16 cups mixed salad greens or baby spinach 4 L 1 tbsp sesame seeds 15 mL

In small saucepan, mix oil, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, mustard, onions and gingerroot; set aside. Pile mushrooms in centre of large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Drizzle with teriyaki sauce. Fold edges and ends to seal well. Barbeque on high heat about 5-6 minutes or until steaming. Heat dressing on barbecue or stovetop just until boiling. Divide salad greens evenly among 4 large salad plates. Top with warm mushroom slices and drizzle with hot dressing. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Serve immediately. Makes 4 main course servings. Tips: • Prepare dressing in microwave proof bowl or glass measuring cup and heat in microwave until boiling. • Mushrooms could be cooked in 425º F (220 ºC) oven instead of barbeque. Variation: Substitute roasted garlic teriyaki sauce for plain teriyaki sauce. Nutritional Information: Calories: 193, Sodium: 1310 mg, Protein: 8.3 g, Fat: 12.6 g, Carbohydrates: 16.6 g, Dietary Fibre: 5.4 g

Have a great day

Aging Gene, Glorious Fourth

To my US friends, Happy Independence Day for tomorrow, I hope you have a good day.

The other day, on TV, there was an interesting segment on aging. They are now saying that people who make it to the 100s have a particular gene which others don’t have. It was also stated that this gene seemed to prevent a lot of age related problems such as senility and Alzheimer’s. Obviously they are now working with this gene to see if they can reproduce it and/or introduce it into people who are not born with it. They can also now tell if a person is going to live to a very ripe old age by checking on the presence of this gene in their makeup.

We are expecting pretty hot temps this weekend, but I understand that in some places in the south, particularly Philadelphia, it is going to be sweltering. In Philly they will be very much involved in celebrations for the 4th of July, according to an interview with the major on GMA today, the celebrations last all week. They had Benjamin Franklin and Martha Washington on TV this morning too!!

Tomorrow we are going to a friend’s for a barbecue at lunchtime. Not particularly to do with the US holiday or even a belated Canada Day celebration. Just the date when we were all free.

I have finally got hold of a copy of Jim Butcher’s latest Dresden Files book Changes. I love these books, full of ghosts and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night. Harry Dresden is a wizard and his job is protecting his part of the US (Chicago) which of course he does very well. The books are written in an almost tongue in cheek style and can be very funny and great reads. I remember one book in which they needed transport and ended running around on a T Rex skeleton from a museum which had been bespelled to convey Harry to where he had to go. He has a half brother who is a white vampire too. Do read them if you never have.

Another email I receive is called Ten Thousand Villages and they have some fascinating information and pictures. This time they also came up with this recipe which I also found very interesting and somewhat different from the usual potato cake. I have also come across one for a Pumpkin Chocolate Chili.

Llapingachos (Ecuador)

Llapingachos (Potato Cakes with Peanut Sauce) (Ecuador)

Serves 6

Sample recipe from Vegetarian Main Dishes From Around the World. Visit your nearest Ten Thousand Villages store or shop online to purchase your own copy. (Photo by Kam & Co, Denmark.)

Ingredients:

2 onions, finely chopped

2 pounds (1kg) potatoes, mashed

2 Tbsp fresh parsely, chopped

2 cups (200g) cheddar or monterrey jack cheese, grated

1/2 cup (110g) peanut butter

1/2 cup (120ml) stock or water

6 eggs

lemon juice

a few lettuce leaves

2 Tbsp margarine

oil

salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Melt the margarine and cook the onions until they are soft.
2. Transfer them to a bowl when ready and combine them with the mashed potatoes, parsley and cheese, adding salt and pepper to taste.
3. Now shape this potato mixture into cakes about 1 inch (2.5cm) thick. Heat a little oil in a frying pan or use a griddle. When it is very hot, cook the cakes until they are golden on one side and then turn them over to brown the other side. Keep the potato cakes warm.
4. Spoon the peanut butter into a small saucepan and add the stock, stirring well so that it is evenly absorbed. Heat gently.
5. Now poach the eggs in a little water. To serve, place the potato cakes on a dish lined with lettuce leaves, slide the eggs on top and pass the peanut sauce round separately.

Have a great weekend

Books, Library, Roast Beef and Lapland.

Not having the best memory in the world any more, I can't remember if I told you about the short story I read the other day by Tanya Huff called Nothing Better to Do which was one of the funniest tales I have read in a long time. I had previously not read anything by this author so I am busy getting hold of her books. I just finished one called Stealing Magic which was a collection of tales about a wizard and a thief. The wizard stories were priceless with a young woman, Magdalene, who is the "best wizard in the world" just living quite casually and refusing to wear wizard robes but nevertheless doing all kinds of incredible things as well as taking to bed all the handsome men she comes across in her many years of living. I loved these stories. The ones about the thief, Terazin, were also enjoyable but I loved Magdalene more. I just saw a review which called the stories charming and funny which is a very apt description. Turns out Tanya Huff is a Canadian author, I wonder why I haven't come across her before?

For my treadmill walking, I have a new set of CDs from The Cat Who series, this time The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern and I have just started book six of the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. I have been very much enjoying these stories along with his Harry Dresden tales. The book I am now reading is called First Lord's Fury and from what I have read so far, appears to be up to par with all his previous books in this series. I am glad I started writing about this because I have just discovered another Harry Dresden book I haven't read, Changes. I am now on the list to get it from the library.

I having nothing but praise for the local library system. They really do make a terrific effort to get what I am asking for if they don't happen to have it in house. They do inter-library loans and will occasionally buy a book for me if they don't happen to have it although mostly they can get it from another library system.

I cooked a roast of beef (English style) on Saturday evening which made a nice change, we don't have roast beef very often. However, I discovered my gravy doesn't freeze, unfortunately it separated. Maybe we could have whisked it back into the correct emulsion, but I didn't know until it was too late. The beef was great though. We followed it with some Borgonzola cheese which is a favourite of ours. I have talked about it before, it is kind of an amalgum between Brie and blue cheese. The original was a German cheese called Cambazola but this is a Canadian copy and we like it better. The picture doesn't pick up the blue that well - it is not heavily veined, but enough to give it a good flavour. Sunday night was cold roast beef and more Borgonzola which has now all gone sadly although I think we have another meal of beef yet.

An English friend just posted pictures of their trip to Lapland, looks like they had a great time, however, I thought you could have transposed a lot of the pictures to Canadian ones (well normally, we haven't had much snow this winter) but I was fascinated by the huskies pulling their sleds, they don't look a bit like the dogs we have in North America and I'm not talking about Malamuts. We used to have a dog, Chinook, who was part husky and looked just like the dogs from up north. My friends got to 'mush' in other words drive their own sleds. Must be great fun although I think I would prefer to sit there all wrapped up whilst someone else did the work. Lazy? Me??

I had never really heard of cheese soups before I came to Canada, now I have come across one called Dutch Cheese Soup so maybe the Dutch were making them and I just didn't know.

Dutch Cheese Soup Source: Burt Wolf's Table

Published by Doubleday

Makes 8 servings INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons butter 1 cup sliced leeks 2 cups peeled, cubed new potatoes 1 bunch broccoli, stalks sliced and florets kept separate from the stalks 6 cups chicken stock or broth 1 cup milk 1 cup grated Gouda cheese or Edam cheese, plus extra grated cheese, for garnish DIRECTIONS In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks, potatoes, broccoli stalks, and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the broccoli florets and cook for 3 minutes. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender or food processor. Return the soup to the saucepan. Add the milk and reheat the soup until hot. Add the cheese and stir until the cheese melts, about 1 minute. Serve hot, garnished with extra cheese.

Have a great day

Wimbledon, Latest Reads

Matt was so pleased when Roger Federer won the men's (sorry gentlemen's) singles yesterday - he is Matt's hero in the tennis world and he had everything crossed that he would win. I didn't watch, I don't really know why, I used to enjoy watching Wimbledon when I lived in the UK, but haven't really watched it since. Apparently no British male has won since the early 30's, so this last couple of weeks the British were cheering for the Scottish player Andy Murray. The Williams sisters did it again too, they swap the title between them. Matt was also happy Tiger Woods performed up to standard in a golf tournament he hosted this weekend. Meanwhile, I was reading, how unusual you might say. I read Turn Coat by Jim Butcher which is the latest in his Dresden File series, I absolutely love these books, all about vampires and wizards and things that go bump in the night with a terrific overtone of humour. If you have never read any of these novels, this is the 11th, they are really good, I don't find them a bit scary. Harry Dresden is a wizard living in Chicago and very much looked down upon by the White Council (more wizards) as a rebel. He has a great big carpet of a dog (Mouse) who sits on people to keep them from doing stupid things and is totally intelligent. Then there is a cat (Misty) as well as a skull called Bob who reads trashy romance novels. Harry has to drive an old Beetle as anything modern with lots of technology is affected by magic. He only has candles in his apartment, no electricity. (He lights them all at once by saying flicus bicus!! Flying is out of the question, I would hate to be on a plane with Harry!! I highly recommend them for good reads. The other book I read was New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. This is the second of her Twilight series which seems to consist of four books. The first one having been turned into a movie. More vampires and werewolves in this one. I have enjoyed both the books I have read and am eagerly anticipating the next one, Eclipse. Again, it isn't really scary - the books are basically a love story between a human girl and a vampire male. Quite a poignant story. You should read the excerpt at this site where you can also read the first chapter. I now have a short story to finish - its a love story by Marilyn of French Marilyn's blog. I also have been re-reading some short stories about Valdemar - don't know when I last read these stories, but they were quite fresh to read again and I mostly didn't remember their plots. The original Valdemar series was written by Mercedes Lackey, but this book of short stories only includes one novella by her. I love the Valdemar stories the idea of the "Companions" who choose their riders in the most magical ways and become their closest friends for life, are a wonderful concept. Her characters are marvellous too and make you want to get to know them. Going back to Food and Drink for a recipe today, I came across this one with Orzo which is a pasta I very much enjoy. I don't have any shrimp at the moment although I plan to rectify that when we go to North Carolina in September. Food and Drink recommend serving this with a Sauvignon Blanc or a Pilsner beer. Orzo Salad with Grilled Vegetables and Shrimp There's a lot of colour and flavour in this yummy salad which can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Use jumbo shrimp for added appeal for guests. Serve as is or, for a twist, on a leaf of Boston lettuce. Bringing this dish to the next family reunion will make a big impression. 1 red onion 2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise 1 red pepper, quartered 1 yellow pepper, quartered 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 cup orzo pasta 1 lb jumbo (21-25 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined 3 Tbs chopped fresh Italian parsley 1 clove garlic minced Pinch hot pepper flakes 3 Tbs white wine vinegar 1 Tbs each, chopped fresh mint and basil Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Cut onion into 6 wedges, place in a large bowl. Add zucchini, red and yellow peppers and 2 Tbs of the oil. Toss. Place vegetables on greased grill over medium high heat and grill, turning once, for about 10 mins. or until golden and tender-crisp. Remove to cutting board and when cool enough, chop into bite sized pieces and place in large serving bowl. Meanwhile, in a pot of boiling salted water, cook orzo for about 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain well and add to grilled vegetables. Toss shrimp in 1 Tbs oil, 1 Tbs parsley, garlic and hot pepper flakes. Place on greased grill over medium high heat and grill, turning once, for about 5 minutes or until firm and pink. Add to bowl. Whisk together remaining oil and parsley, white wine vinegar, mint, basil, salt and pepper to taste. Pour over salad, toss to combine. Serves 4. 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.