Weather and Shopping. Eating and Bowling.

So far, we have had wonderful weather on our vacation. Not really been too hot most of the time. Then Monday afternoon the heavens decided to open. We were driving and about to cross one of the bridges from Emerald Isle to the mainland and ended up having to pull over as we just couldn’t see to proceed. We were in a chain of cars pulled over, not for very long, but boy did it ever pour, buckets full. Once it eased off we went to Lowes Grocery store, first time this trip, they really do have a lot of things which one doesn’t see elsewhere. I found a jar of Kimchee which I couldn’t resist buying, haven’t eaten it in years and I used to love it. When we got back I realised it was Mild, not what I wanted. Maybe I will try it and then go back for a hot version. They have lots of unusual things as well as every day groceries of course. I also managed to find my Butter Bud sprinkles which I use a lot instead of dolloping stuff with butter. Like asparagus!!!! One cannot buy it in Canada. Saw some horseradish, but how do I know if its really hot? Buy it, try it, if it’s no good chuck it? Not very efficient and certainly wasteful.
 
I mentioned Sammy’s Seafood here recently. Finally got round to driving the 20 odd miles into Morehead City and arrived at the restaurant only to find that on Tuesdays they don’t open til 4 p.m. Every other day they appear to open at 11 a.m. So I guess that’s it again for this year. However, we went to the Sanitary Fish Market and Restaurant where we haven’t eaten in years. We were pleasantly surprised, it has changed quite a bit. They also have a liquor license which when I last was there they didn’t have. I wondered how long it had been open, 1938 or 75 years ago. That did surprise me. I also noticed all the lunch customers were seniors which also surprised me; there must be some young people working in the area or travelling. For our lunch we had a seafood lasagne which came with a salad. It was delicious. Very little pasta, mostly seafood (shrimps and scallops, not sure what else) and spinach. Lots of cheese sauce too. I highly recommend it. I will certainly go back for that again one day although it’s not on their regular menu.

Wednesday night we went with friends to Snapperz Steam Bar and Grill in Morehead City. Went there last year with the same friends. Same as last year, two of us shared their Steam Pot which is a specialty. Meanwhile Matt had a huge plateful of flounder which he said was delicious. The steam pot consists of crab legs, shrimp, clams, andouille sausage, corn cobs and potatoes. Absolutely great. They serve drawn butter too, plus give you tools to crack and then pick at your crab legs. Once we had finished this, they asked about dessert. At first no-one was interested, but they mentioned plain NY cheesecake and Matt was sold then lava cakes which peaked my interest. Our friends had a lava cake and ice cream between them. I didn’t bother with the ice cream but the lava cake was one of the best I have ever had. Matt makes them, but this was even better, lusciously scrumptious. I am still dreaming of it. No picture of theirs, but there was a dollop of cream and chocolate swirls on the plate.

Thursday saw us back at MacDaddy’s where I was tempted by the Reuben Sandwich special, Matt too, but made sure to have their homemade kettle chips too, they are sooooo good. We then went in to bowl and I did much better this week than last. I might have won the dwarf tossing contest. Admittedly I didn’t beat Matt over all three games. Talking of dwarf tossing, I was concerned about Mexico and Father Dragon’s home cave. Having emailed him he replied that so far his cave was doing fine.  Thursday night I made some Jambalaya for supper which turned out very well. There will be leftovers for lunch.

So now it’s Friday, our last day, washing, packing, buying boiled peanuts, yes, for an American friend living in Ontario. Then tomorrow heading home.  We’ve had a great couple of weeks even though we haven’t managed to see everyone or to see as much of others as we would have liked. Not sure when I will start regular blogging again, probably not til Tuesday.

I thought this recipe looked interesting.

Grilled Vegetable Focaccia

Source: Casual Cuisines of the World - Country Inn
Serves 4

Combining the taste and texture of Italy’s famed rustic flat bread with grilled seasonal vegetables yields a wealth of flavour from simple ingredients. The wholesome sandwich is wonderful served hot from the grill, but it is also excellent eaten cold, making it an ideal choice to be included in a patio menu.

INGREDIENTS
For Oil:
1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic
5 fresh rosemary sprigs
For Vegetables:
1 red bell pepper
4 thin slices fennel, cut through the stem end
4 slices eggplant, cut crosswise
1 zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise
12 asparagus spears, tough ends removed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 fresh portobello mushroom, brushed clean
4 slices red (Spanish) onion
4 sandwich-sized focaccias
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups lightly packed inner yellow frisée leaves

DIRECTIONS
FOR OIL: In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the oil, garlic cloves and 3 of the rosemary sprigs and heat until the oil is too hot to touch comfortably, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Re-move and discard the rosemary sprigs. Add the remaining 2 rosemary sprigs to the oil and set aside.
FOR VEGETABLES: Prepare a fire in a charcoal grill using hardwood charcoal such as mesquite or hickory. While the coals are still glowing red, place the bell pepper on the grill rack and grill, turning as necessary, until charred on all sides. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes, then, using your fingers or a small knife, peel off the charred skin. Cut in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and ribs. Cut each half in half again. Set aside.
Bring a saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil. Add the fennel, boil for 1 minute and drain. In a large bowl, toss together the fennel, eggplant, zucchini, asparagus, salt, pepper, thyme and garlic. Drizzle on just enough of the rosemary oil to coat everything lightly and toss again. Brush the mushroom and the onion slices with some of the remaining rosemary oil.
When the coals have burned down to a gray ash, place all the vegetables on the grill rack and grill until they begin to appear translucent. Turn the vegetables as needed and move them around on the grill to prevent burning. The fennel and eggplant will take 3 minutes on each side; the mushroom 2-3 minutes on each side; the asparagus and zucchini about 2 minutes on each side.
TO ASSEMBLE: Split the focaccias in half horizontally. Brush the cut sides lightly with the remaining rosemary oil and place, cut sides down, over the coals to toast lightly. Place the bottoms, cut sides up, on 4 plates. Divide the grilled vegetables evenly among the focaccia bottoms. Cut the mushroom into 4 slices and place a mushroom slice and a piece of roasted pepper atop each stack of vegetables. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar evenly over the tops, then cover with equal amounts of the frisée and finally the focaccia tops.

Have a great weekend.

Vacation, Bloggers Meet.

On our journey south, we stopped at Angola’s rest station in New York State and had lunch. I wanted a coffee so went to a coffee bar there and asked for a large decaf. $3.58. I nearly flipped. A ridiculous price, I still paid it, I wanted a drink for the next part of our trip.
I am not sure how far along, I could see what I thought were a couple of dogs crossing the hiway. Turned out it was a mother deer and her baby. I had never realised they were so small. Bit later I was looking at a flock of hawks in the sky, couldn’t believe there were so many then I noticed some parachutes in the same area, there were quite a few of them. We figured there was some kind of air show in the area. Then we saw a bi-plane doing loops etc. Not sure where the show was. A few minutes later, saw a large hawk at the side of the road enjoying a meal. He really was a big bird. It all made the trip more interesting.

Friday night we spent at a Super 8 in Winchester, VA. we went next door to the Chinese restaurant where we had eaten before. The food was still as good, but the ambience was gone. Matt didn’t like the place at all this time. I had some Hot and Sour soup, very good. Then garden rolls which were shrimp and veg wrapped in rice paper, and some dumplings. Deeeelicious. I forgot to take my camera of course. I really am a lousy photographer. Our second day on the road was pretty uneventful. Once we had unloaded the car we went to a nearby restaurant and had a lovely fresh flounder. Afterwards we headed for the grocery store

On Monday afternoon on we went for a walk along Bogue Pier, one of our favourite places to be. Nobody was catching much but pinfish and the odd blue. Blues are delicious to eat, but pinfish are all bones and best used for bait. I took a few pix which somehow didn’t register in my camera, I have no idea what happened. Pity because we came across a game on the beach which was being played by four guys tossing bags at a board with a hole in it, a bit like horseshoes. They had a board either end. I took some shots of it from the pier and then someone asked if we had ever seen the game before, we said no and so she explained it to us. It is apparently called Cornhole. Looks fun, I was never any good at horseshoes as the shoes were too heavy. These were like small bean bags. Maybe everyone knows the game, but we had certainly never seen it before. I am not sure what was wrong with my camera, but when I checked it out the date wasn’t set, I don’t know if that makes a difference. I took a pic and that seemed to come out OK so I am puzzled.

Monday evening we had dinner with friends we hadn’t seen in 12 years which was a fun event. So nice to see them both.

Tuesday was the great day, we went to MacDaddy’s in Cape Carteret and there we met Jeff Hargett. I had so been looking forward to this meeting.  Much to my delight all three of us seemed to get on so well. I don’t think Jeff and I ever stopped talking. We had lunch and then went in to bowl. Father Dragon had declared that the winner would be awarded the dwarf tossing championship due to the lack of dwarves in this area of North Carolina. To our shame, Matt beat the pair of us making him the new champion. Part of the way through the first game a woman came up to us – I looked at her and said I know you, but who are you. She looked at me as though she thought I had gone bonkers. I had, it was L. Diane Wolfe – idiot that I was, I had assumed she wasn’t going to make it and didn’t click when she arrived. I was delighted to meet her as well. Her husband hadn’t been very keen on her coming because not being internet savvy, he had thought we were murderers and rapists. Diane took photos of us to prove we weren’t like that at all. I didn’t get any pictures myself, camera in the car this time.  Diane was unable to stay very long, so we carried on bowling and it turned out that Matt won, I couldn’t bowl at all, worst I have ever done at 10-pin. Bowling again on Thursday, hope I do better.

We then decided to go to the Golfin’ Dolphin which is part of the same complex, and play miniature Golf. Matt and I have played there a number of times over the years. It was there quite a long time before the MacDaddy’s building was erected. This time Jeff won, Matt came second, and there I was, last again. Not my day at all. We then decided to take Jeff over to Bogue Inlet Pier which is one of our favourite spots. He agreed and found it very peaceful sitting there in the sun. Sadly it was getting latish and Jeff wanted to be back at his rental before it got dark so we said our goodbyes and off he went. Such a pity we couldn’t have met up one more time, but he is only at the coast for a week. By the way, the fishing was still bad at the pier as there were still sharks swimming around.

It was really great meeting these two blogging friends and I’m only sorry it wasn’t possible for us to have more bloggers there. I am only waiting for them to post their pictures.

I love crèpes or what we English call pancakes, I would eat them a lot more but…. I am doing enough damage to my weight now I think. I’m not sure what classifies these as Swedish, they are the same as the pancakes I have been making all my life. Never eaten lingonberries, but I imagine any berries would be equally delicious. I, by the way, would use cream.

Swedish Pancakes

Source: Taste of Home
20 pancakes

Served with lingonberries, these super-thin pancakes are truly elegant.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups milk
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Lingonberries or raspberries
Seedless raspberry jam or fruit spread, warmed
Whipped topping

DIRECTIONS
In a blender, combine the first six ingredients. Cover and process until blended. Heat a lightly greased 8-in. nonstick skillet; pour 1/4 cup batter into center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Repeat with remaining batter, adding oil to skillet as needed. Stack pancakes with waxed paper or paper towels in between. Reheat in the microwave if desired.
Fold pancakes into quarters; serve with berries, raspberry jam and whipped topping.

Have a great day.

Barrie’s, Bowling,

Didn’t make it to Costco after all yesterday, will have to be next week now. What did happen though, Tim Barrie said, on Facebook, that Mother Nature had been kind and he had asparagus to sell so off we trotted to get some. This time I got a lot and I am going to try freezing it. A friend did so last year and she was very pleased with it. Won’t have time today, bowling, but not doing anything tomorrow. I said to Tim had he ever sold asparagus as late in the season before and he assured me that he never had. I was hoping they would have some blueberries, they didn’t, but they had raspberries which I bought for our supper.

Today is virtually our last of our summer bowling league, we have a wrap up and maybe some pizza next week and that’s it although we will probably continue to bowl on Wednesdays and some of the others may very well join us. The winter league starts early in September but of course, as usual, we will be in the Carolinas, 10-pin bowling too. In fact we are meeting up with Jeff Hargett from Strands of Pattern and his wife Myra for a bowling session one day.  We’re not very good at 10-pin so I hope Jeff and Myra are not too practised. We’re not very good at 5-pin come to that.

I thought the picture of this pasta looked delicious and then discovered it has potatoes in it. Not sure why you would want potatoes in a pasta dish, but it is apparently a traditional recipe. In case you don’t have any prepared pesto, I have provided a link. I keep some ready in my freezer.

 

Spaghetti Genovese

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Traditionally, this Italian pasta recipe combines pasta and pesto with potatoes and green beans. In our recipe for Spaghetti Genovese we give pesto a nutritional boost by adding spinach and toss it all together with fiber-rich whole-wheat pasta for a warm, comforting weeknight meal. Serve with escarole and radicchio salad.

Ingredients

2 cups packed baby spinach

8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti

1 cup thinly sliced new or baby potatoes, (about 4 ounces)

1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup prepared pesto

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook just until wilted, about 45 seconds. Use a slotted spoon or fine sieve to transfer the spinach to a blender. Return the water to a boil and add spaghetti and potatoes. Cook, stirring once or twice, until almost tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Add green beans and cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes more.
2. When the spaghetti and vegetables are almost done, carefully scoop out 1 cup of the cooking liquid from the pot. Pour 1/2 cup of the liquid into the blender and add pesto, pepper and salt. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.
3. Drain the spaghetti and vegetables and return to the pot; stir in the pesto mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring gently, until the sauce is thickened and the pasta is hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Add more of the cooking liquid, as desired, for a thinner sauce.

Have a great day

Bowling, Alleys, New Tricks, Supper.

Yesterday was our last bowling for the summer league, we then have our banquet next Tuesday (I do hope I will be eating normally by then) and then we don’t bowl again until the end of August. We start early because at the beginning of September there is Labour Day and the woman who runs the alley always takes that weekend off. All the other holiday weekends she is there, but never for that one. Personally, I have not bowled particularly well for the whole of the summer league. Matt hasn’t bowled until the last two and has done pretty well considering how long since he took part. Of course two of the September weeks we will be away in North Carolina.

In the area where we live there are three alleys, one I don’t know too much about, but the other two are sadly neglected. Nobody seems prepared to spend any money on refurbishing and repairing. If somebody came along and invested a bundle to bring one of the alleys up to scratch, they could make a killing. I am sure all the bowlers would want to go there instead of their own worn out alleys. I just wish I knew someone I could persuade to do such a thing. When I think of the place, MacDaddy’s in North Carolina where we 10 pin bowl during our holiday, I just wish they would come and invest in bowling up here.

I very much like an English TV programme called New Tricks which is about a group of ex coppers who work on unsolved crimes. I really like the show which appears, very often, on TVO or TV Ontario. Sometimes on the American PBS stations too. I discovered that I can see some of the older shows or ones I have missed on TVO’s website so that’s what I did last night. You should check it out if you like cop shows. I saw it described as a trio of grumpy ex cops, I wouldn’t really call them grumpy, but it can be funny.

Last night Matt cooked us up some stuffed portabella mushrooms which were pretty good so I will share the recipe tomorrow however, this recipe is from Becel margarine which, I believe, is only available here, in Canada. However, it can obviously made with any decent margarine or butter. I thought it sounded very simple and yet tasty, especially if you wilt the spinach a little as described at the bottom.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. (10 mL) sesame seeds
• 1 lb. (450 g) large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tbsp. (15 mL) Becel® Original margarine
• 6 cups (1.4 L) baby spinach leaves
• ½ large avocado, peeled and sliced
• 1 large orange, peeled and sectioned
• 6 radishes, sliced (optional)
• 2½ tbsp. (40 mL) fat-free Italian dressing

Preparation

Step 1

Toast sesame seeds in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, 1 minute or until golden. Remove sesame seeds and set aside.

Step 2

Season shrimp, if desired, with salt and black pepper. Melt Becel® Original margarine in same skillet over medium-high heat and cook shrimp, stirring frequently, 3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.

Step 3

Arrange spinach on serving platter. Top with avocado, orange, radishes and shrimp. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Just before serving, drizzle with fat-free Italian dressing.

Note

Recipe can be halved.

Tip

If desired, toss hot shrimp with spinach to wilt the spinach slightly.

Have a great day

Our Wednesday. Today’s Plans.

Went to MacDaddy’s for lunch. I talked about MacDaddy’s last year, it is a very large complex with two 10 pin bowling alleys, electronic gaming machines although by NC law you cannot win money. A sports bar and restaurant and a bunch of conference rooms. After lunch we bowled three games which was fun, always enjoy it, we were with a couple of friends and he is now on a league so getting better, Matt and I only do 10 pin once or twice a year. During lunch we were talking to Mac whom we have met before, he told us about a friend who runs a charter fishing boat, suggested we contact him. I will, but way out of our league I think. His mom also gave us a leaflet about Mac’s cottage which is quite incredible and designed for the use of paraplegics. Really a great place to stay, I think they rent it out.

Afterwards we went to Sweet Spot Candies for ice cream. That is an interesting store, full of lots of candies as well as ice cream up the kazoo. They have more than 46 flavours as shown on their web page, delightful, I was relatively conservative though. They had some really colourful bags and purses for sale but they turned out to be expensive, too rich for my blood. Pity. I hope they last. There used to be a wonderful ice cream place in this area but it closed down a couple of years ago. They sold custard ice cream which was to die for and also cakes. They had a chocolate layer cake, 7 layers I think, which was wonderful. Ah, memories.

Today a couple of other friends and ourselves are taking pizza to a sick friend’s house. We haven’t yet seen her this trip as she has been so unwell. However, she is now up to having visitors, so, going there for lunch. Should be fun. Sadly we are beginning to count down to the end of our trip. Our Canadian friends have already left, he too isn’t too well and he is teed off that it is no longer quite so warm. Seems to be OK to us, very warm yesterday. Must admit I cannot imagine cutting our vacation short. Enjoying ourselves too much and we haven’t been on the beach once so far.

I have always liked Minestrone and wished I had ordered it the other night when someone had some at The Olive Garden. This is a somewhat different version, looks good.

Michael Smith’s Minestrone Soup

This is no ordinary minestrone soup with bacon and spinach it's sure to be a delight. Yield: 4 – 6 servings

Ingredients

• 8 slices bacon, chopped
• 4 onions, peeled and diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 10 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
• 1 red pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 cup cauliflower florets
• 1x28 ounce can whole tomatoes, with juice
• 1 litre chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 Parmesan rinds
• Sprinkled sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 large handfuls baby spinach
• 1x18 ounce can white kidney beans

Directions

1. Put the bacon into a 6-quart soup pot and brown it until it is crisp. Pour off half of the bacon fat and discard. Add onions, carrots, celery and garlic and sauté for a few minutes. Add zucchini, red pepper, cauliflower, tomatoes and juice, chicken broth, oregano and Parmesan rinds. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer for 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender, but still hold their shape.
2. Stir in baby spinach and beans and stir until spinach has wilted and beans are heated through.

Have a great day