Railways, London Food Markets, Asparagus,

Watching a programme on Saturday night on TV Ontario, it was all about how trains changed Britain in particular in the transportation of food all over the country and particularly to London. The people doing the narration ended up in a big London market where they bought the most beautiful lamb chops I have seen in over 40 years. I wanted to go 'home'. These in the picture look pretty good, but not as good as the ones I saw on TV. The food they showed in the markets, in particular Billingsgate which is a fish market in London, made me long for the foods which were so readily available there. They even visited a guy who smokes herrings to make them into kippers (I drooled) and another man who runs a genuine fish and chip shop. Unfortunately, I understand the old fish and chippers are giving way to the corner Indian takeaway. On this side of the pond there is too much emphasis on production for the masses and not enough on quality and taste. I have talked before about aging meat which is not done long enough in North America as a whole. One can get meat well aged, but as it is a specialty item instead of the norm, the price is astronomical. Another thing they did, was herd some sheep to the station and load them onto the train. There was a sheep dog so I don't think they were totally on their own. I was surprised, the sheep were being transported in an open carriage and didn't seem to be a bit worried at all.

Not a lot going on this weekend. We've been cleaning silver and glassware which is a bind but looks so nice once it's done. Taking it by easy stages, a shelf at a time. We had quite a lot of rain over the weekend and Sunday it was somewhat foggy. They keep mentioning snow on the weather forecast but so far, nothing has materialised round here.

I have just found a site on Cooking Light with lots and lots of asparagus recipes. So I won't have  to

repeat the same 'ol same 'ol although some I will repeat because they are so good. We had asparagus soup tonight, need to use it up as I will soon be making more, I hope. A lot of the recipes I found called for roasting the asparagus. Not my favourite way of cooking it as steamed or boiled it is such a succulent vegetable. A couple I saw were roasted and then a sauce added. Those I would definitely boil for preference. Looking at this picture, hadn't noticed before, the ends are white which shows the asparagus is NOT farm fresh. You never have to snap off the ends with farm fresh asparagus. You can eat the whole stalk.

If you are like me and love carrot cake and pancakes, this is the perfect brunch dish for you - or breakfast or any meal.

Carrot Cake Pancakes

Want to have your cake and eat it too? You can (and for breakfast!!!) with these incredible Carrot Cake Pancakes. Drizzled with a cream cheese topping and sprinkled with a vanilla wafer crumble,

these decadent and fluffy pancakes are the perfectly delicious and tasty way to eat dessert for breakfast.

Carrot Cake Pancakes
2 ¼ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 ¾ cups buttermilk
¼ cup butter, melted
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups finely grated carrots, pat dry on paper towel

Cream Cheese Topping
4 oz cream cheese
6 Tbs icing sugar
3 Tbs whole milk
½ tsp vanilla extract

Crumble Topping
½ cup vanilla wafer crumbs
½ cup brown sugar
2 Tbs butter, melted

1. For the pancakes, in a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk buttermilk, butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Stir milk mixture and grated carrots into the dry ingredients. Do not over-mix (lumps are okay in the batter). Let the batter rest while the skillet heats up.

2. Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Coat the skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon ¼ cup pancake batter into the hot skillet. Cook until bubbles form, then flip over and cook on the other side until golden. Keep warm in 200ºF oven or serve immediately. To serve, stack pancakes, drizzle with cream cheese topping and sprinkle vanilla wafer crumble over top.

3. For the cream cheese topping, using an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese, icing sugar, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Can be refrigerated until ready to use over pancakes.

4. For the crumble topping, preheat oven to 350ºF. In a small bowl, combine vanilla wafer crumbs, brown sugar and melted butter. Place mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 6 minutes and then remove from oven and let cool. Crumble over pancakes.

Yield: 15 pancakes

Source: Zoomer Weekend

Have a great day
 

Is it Really Alzheimer's, First Dog

There was a segment on Good Morning America about health and misdiagnosis of Alzheimer's. Apparently there is something called NPH or Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (basically water on the brain) which gives similar symptoms to Alzheimer's but can be treated. If you would like to read more about it click here for the GMA website plus a link to another site. This is something useful to know if you have aging parents or are aging yourself. Another segment was about the White House Dog, apparently Obama promised his children they could have a puppy now they are off to the White House. The Americans are now all putting in their two pence about what kind of dog should be chosen. Apparently one of the most popular First Dogs over the years has been a Scottie. I've never owned one, but they always seem like a cute little dog. Yesterday we went to Costco which a friend calls the $300 store because one always spends a lot there. We didn't spend quite that much but... We bought lots of meat, ground beef, stewing beef, chicken on and off the bone and so on as well as some lamb chops. They have really good lamb chops there. We had some for supper last night and have another meal in the freezer. Its not that easy to get really good lamb chops here as lamb is not the most popular meat. As with any food which I get rarely, I don't mess about with them, we just broil (grill) them and eat them as is although I do like a little mint sauce with mine. One of the friends who is coming to dinner on Saturday can't stand lamb so I always assure him that is what I am cooking for him. On that note I thought I would share a recipe for lamb steaks or gigot which is in my Three and Four Ingredient cookbook. Gigot of lamb is something we certainly don't see very much round here. There is a butcher at the market who specialises in lamb, I have never checked there, but his lamb is all fresh and consequently very expensive. I buy lamb's kidneys from him which are, conversely, very cheap and sometimes I buy stewing lamb which is quite expensive. Lamb Steaks with Redcurrant Glaze This classic, simple dish is absolutely delicious and is an excellent, quick recipe for cooking on the barbecue. The tangy flavour of redcurrants is a traditional accompaniment to lamb. It is good with new potatoes and fresh garden peas tossind in butter. 4 large rosemary sprigs 4 lamb leg steaks 5 Tbs readcurrant jelly 2 Tbs raspberry or red wine vinegar From the storecupboard Salt and ground black pepper. Remove the tips of the rosemary and chop the remaining leaves. Rub the chopped rosemary, salt and pepper all over the lamb. Preheat the grill (broiler). Heat the reducurrant jelly gently in a small pan with 2 Tbs water. Stir in the vinegar. Place the steaks on a foil lined grill rack and brush with a little of the redcurrant glaze. Cook for about 5 mionutes on each side, until deep golden, brushing with more glaze. Transfer the lamb to warmed plates. Tip any juices from the foil into the remaining glaze and heat through. Poor the glaze over the lamb and serve, garnished with the reserved rosemary. Have a great day.