Dollywood, Statins, Movies and Books.

This morning, on Good Morning America, one of their guests was Dolly Parton. I have always liked her, she is a very clever woman apart from being a big singing star and making successful movies. She is celebrating 25 years of Dollywood which has turned out to be as successful as she predicted. She is also celebrating 44 years of marriage which in her world is pretty incredible. I had to look it up and she herself was 64 last January. She sure doesn’t look it. She sang a new song, Celebrate, in honour of the 25th anniversary of Dollywood, she also sang Jolene which is one of her all time favourites. There are three video links on the GMA website at HTTP://abcnews.go.com/GMA/

I now learn doctors have been giving cholesterol busting drugs to people without high cholesterol. Seems daft to me, but there is a study out which says they are probably not a good idea – the following URL from GMA shows an interview with Dr. Besser who talks about this latest study. http://tinyurl.com/2bzsjwu You can also contact the doctor on the GMA website and ask for information on reducing cholesterol without taking statins or similar drugs Our doctor says reducing cholesterol any other way is like walking somewhere instead of taking the car, you will get there eventually but its pretty slow.

Last night I watched a movie which used to be a great favourite of mine Desirée which was a romantic version of a story about Napoleon Bonaparte’s old love who eventually became Queen of Sweden having ended up marrying Field Marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte. The actors were Jean Simmons playing Desirée, Marlon Brando as Napoleon and Michael Rennie as Jean Baptiste. It is still a good movie to watch and still ranks as one of my favourites. Brando played Napoleon a couple of times I believe and always does a good job.

I have also now finished the remaining Deverry books by Katherine Kerr, The Shadow Isle and The Silver Mage both of which were excellent. I am now reading a collection of short stories called Irresistible Forces which are romantic sci fi stories. Included are stories by Lois McMaster Bujold set in her Miles Vorkosigan world and Catherine Asaro set in her Skolean Empire.

Whilst looking at the GMA website this morning, I came across the following recipe for depudged pigs in a blanket. I have a feeling that being “pigs” they should be pork but I suppose that is more fatty than beef.

De Pudged Pigs in a Blanket

Recipe Courtesy of Hungry Girl

Servings: 8

Ingredients

8 fat-free or nearly fat-free franks about 45 calories each (like Hebrew National 97% Fat Free Beef Franks or Hoffy Extra Lean Beef Franks or your favorite hot dog brand)

1 package Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent refrigerated dough

Cooking Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut each hot dog into 4 even pieces. Set aside.

Take one of the eight triangle-shaped portions of the dough and stretch or roll it out slightly, making it into a larger triangle.

Then, cut this piece of dough into four long, narrow triangles.

Beginning at the base of each of these triangles, roll one hot dog piece up in each until the point of the triangle wraps around the center. Place your blanketed pigs on a large, ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ingredients, so that you have 32 pigs in a blanket. Be sure to evenly space them, as the dough will expand while baking.

Place sheet in the oven, and cook for about 12 minutes, until dough appears slightly browned and crispy. Enjoy!

Per serving (4 pigs in a blanket): 134 calories, 5g fat, 652mg sodium, 16g carbs, 0g fiber, 3g sugars, 8g protein

Makes 8 servings

Have a great day

Health, Montenegro, Books,

Having shot off to the therapists yesterday for Matt, and yes I sat in the car, much comfier and although a beautiful day, not too warm with the windows open, I then went to our family doc for my regular diabetes check which is all lovely with lots of good numbers. I am now told I have to have a pneumonia shot once every 10 years and to see an opthalmologist periodically, just because I have diabetes which isn’t, I am glad to say, a very major problem in my life, whether because I am pretty careful or because I really don’t have a serious diabetic condition, I don’t know. At the moment I pop pills and watch what I eat.

Lying in bed last night I thought about something I wanted to write today; now I cannot for the life of me think what it was. A friend reminded me of Bette Davis’ quote, “Growing Old Ain’t for Sissies”, that is so very true, memory is something which suffers a big hit. One of these days I will remember to have a pad and pencil by the bed. Of course, the minute I post this blog, I will recall what it was.

On Sunday Matt told me the treadmill wasn’t working properly and he couldn’t fix it. After spending an age on the phone with Tempo, we ended up getting in a repair man who sorted it all out for us. Here again, a lot of the problem is old age, we can’t bend and go down on our knees with ease like this young man could. Turned out he was born the year we came to Canada and I assure you that makes us feel old. He was born in Montenegro so we talked a bit about my visit to the area in the late 60’s. He wasn’t even a twinkle in anyone’s eye in those years. He did say the communists killed his grandfather. I wonder if that was in recent years or not, we didn’t ask at the time. They have had so much strife in that part of the world. When I was there it was all relatively peaceful with Tito in charge. It, Yugoslavia to me, is a beautiful country with lots of wonderful castles built by the Franks. However, the power kept going out at all kinds of odd times of the day, and the service at that time was likely to be pretty poor although this young man told me the service situation hadn’t changed a lot in some areas. I said I had been to Budva on the Adriatic coast and he told us that was a place for singles these days, very crowded and certainly not a place to take your family. I do remember the beach there and the snake we saw on it. Kind of sticks in your memory. My cousin trod on a sea urchin too but that can happen anywhere in the world. So, I suppose, can the snake, just I have never seen one on a beach before. It was a lovely beach though.

By the way, no sign of those missing animals. I think I would be talking to the truck driver if I were the cops.

I have been reading some Katharine Kerr books lately, I have read most of her Deverry series before and in fact I have also read the four I have got now (I am not certain about the last one) but I am enjoying them. I have finished The Gold Falcon and have nearly finished The Spirit Stone, with two more to go. If you like fantasy, I can recommend the Deverry series, especially now its all finished so you don’t have to hang around for the next book.

In an email from Cooking.com they had several shrimp recipes – the following one came from Eating Well and looks delicious. Shrimp being one of my favourites. Apologies if you live on the Gulf coast where shrimp is now expensive and in short supply.

Grilled Shrimp with Melon & Pineapple Salsa Eating Well Yield: 4 servings Grilled shrimp is perfectly accented by this light, summery pineapple-melon salsa. The flavors are bright and fresh, just right for a hot day. Use just one melon or any combination of melons—including watermelon—for the versatile salsa. For best flavor marinate the shrimp overnight.

Make Ahead Tip: Marinate the shrimp (Step 1) for up to 24 hours. Cover and refrigerate the salsa (Step 2) for up to 4 hours. | Equipment: Four 8- to 10-inch skewers

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

1 pound raw shrimp (16-20 per pound), peeled and deveined (see Note)

2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger, divided

2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño, divided 2 cups finely diced firm ripe melon 1 cup finely diced fresh pineapple 1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper 1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper 1/4 cup finely diced red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint, plus 4 sprigs for garnish 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 4 large lettuce leaves, such as Boston, romaine or iceberg 4 lime wedges

Note: To devein shrimp, use a paring knife to make a slit along the length of the shrimp. Under running water, remove the tract with the knife tip.

DIRECTIONS

Combine shrimp, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon jalapeño in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

Combine melon, pineapple, red and green bell pepper, onion, vinegar, chopped mint and salt in a large bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon jalapeño. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

About 20 minutes before serving, preheat grill to high.

Thread the shrimp onto skewers, piercing each twice, once through the tail end and once near the head end. Grill the shrimp until pink and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. When cool enough to handle, slide the shrimp off the skewers.

To serve, arrange one large lettuce leaf on each dinner plate. Spoon salsa onto the lettuce and top with shrimp. Garnish each serving with a lime wedge and a mint sprig, if using.

Have a great day.