Leg Pillow, Unpacking.

I bought, and received on Wednesday, a memory foam leg pillow. When it got here I thought it was way too big (thick) however, I used it on Wednesday night and it worked. I have a dicky hip which can give me problems when I am in bed. Only one difficulty when I turned on my other side, it was fine for my legs but not for my bad shoulder. In case you wonder, these are some of the delights of getting older. Now I need something to stop my arm dropping down and pulling on the shoulder. Oy vey. Mine is white by the way, not blue. Of course if I had another hip operation I wouldn't need it anyway, but really and truly my hip is not bad enough to warrant a replacement. Pity, it would mean I would get to see "Doogie Howser" in action. In case you don't know or remember, I am referring to my orthopaedic surgeon who looks about 20 to me. Actually I wouldn't see him in action although it is possible. Matt stayed awake once for a hip replacement. It caused him much amusement because he was listening to music on a cassette and it happened that the 1812 overture was playing just when the surgeon was hammering the spike into his leg. The hammering was exactly on time with the cannons firing in the music.

A goodly portion of our home restoration has been completed now. We have all the pictures back on the walls too, they looked so bare. Bugs can hide in them apparently. Just got two more plastic containers to unpack but as they contain a lot of silverware which is somewhat tarnished and needs cleaning, I probably will leave most of it til the weekend. My silk flowers are still in hiding though and the cases containing our winter clothing will probably remain where they are for now too. Both things are in are storage room. My linen cupboard is a right mess at the moment, I wasn't really up to sorting it properly today. Of course we bowled this afternoon too. Still managed to get a lot done.

Not much food preparation been happening, supper has been cheese, crackers and salad although we had a few strawberries to finish off. Yesterday I had my hot and sour soup for lunch which I enjoyed. I suppose if I ate that more often I would get sick of it, but at the moment I feel I could eat it forever.

I bought some salmon fillets on Wednesday so maybe for Friday night.......

Poached Salmon in Lemon Dill Sauce

Zoomer Magazine.

1 1/2 cups dry white wine1 1/2 cups water
1 lemon, sliced
2 sprigs fresh dill
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 (6oz) salmon fillets, skin removed

Lemon Dill Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp grainy mustard
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Directions

1) In a large skillet, combine wine, water, lemon slices, dill sprigs, bay leaf and peppercorns. Bring to a boil over high heat.

2) Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Once the water has boiled, add salmon to skillet, cover and turn the heat off, letting the fish poach for 10 minutes or until flaky. Remove salmon from liquid and transfer to plate, refrigerating for at least 2 hours before serving.

3) For the sauce, in a medium bowl, whisk mayonnaise, buttermilk, chopped dill, lemon juice, mustard and lemon zest. Chill and serve with poached salmon.

Serves 6

Have a great day

Snow, Bowling, Hip, Lamb.

Last night, before I got into bed, I looked out of the window - it was quite windy and it had been snowing. I saw several snow devils (like dust devils but snow) whirling and dancing through the trees in the park. It was so pretty to watch. A couple of houses are still using their outside Christmas lights which made the effect even more enjoyable.

There's only one in this picture and it's daylight, but to show you what I mean.

Thursday we went bowling as usual and I had a go, managed OK. Even threw a couple of strikes which suprised me. In the end, I missed out on the last three frames. My scores were pretty lousy, but at least I played. We went home to kill some time before the doctor's and then headed out again. When we got there I was horrified, it wasn't even 5 and the place seemed full. One man offered me a chair, another offered me his lap. I told him I would be too heavy, he assured me women were never heavy? Cheeky. However, there were 2 seats so a couple of guys shifted along and Matt and I sat down. We actually only waited 45 minutes which wasn't as bad as I had thought. The upshot is the arthritic condition of my hip was aggravated by my fall before Christmas and I am being referred to an orthopaedic surgeon. I requested the doctor who had done my previous hip replacement in 2005 and had also done both Matt's hips and his knee. Tomorrow I will give them a call and see if I can get a jump on an appointment. In Canada you cannot go straight to a specialist, you have to be referred by your MD. The Doctor said it was OK to exercise or bowl but not to aggravate it any further. She talked about strengthening exercises. Said I would have been given them before, if I was, or Matt was, we don't remember and don't have them anyway.

Home to my invented lamb stew which I had been cooking in the slow cooker all day. Delicious. Don't know why I didn't think of doing this before. I have often made a hotpot dish which is lamb, onions and potatoes, but never made a stew with these pieces as well as the tough lamb chops we had. It was full of spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin giving it a pseudo Persian effect. I decided to find a lamb shanks recipe to share. This is from the Liquor Board's Food and Drink Magazine.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH MIDDLE EASTERN SPICES SPRING 1999 BY LUCY WAVERMAN Lamb Shanks are very trendy because they are full of great flavour and end up with a tempting, melting texture when they are cooked slowly. The sauce for this dish is rich and thick. Serve with mashed potatoes, couscous or noodles. 2 tsp (10 mL) ground cumin 2 tsp (10 mL) ground ginger 2 tsp (10 mL) ground coniander 2 tsp (10 mL) paprika 1/2 tsp (2 mL) cinnamon 1/2 tsp (2 mL) cayenne 6 lamb shanks 3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper 1 onion, coarsely chopped 1/2 cup (125 mL) coarsely chopped carrots 1/2 cup (125 mL) coarsely chopped celery 1 bottle (341 mL) beer, preferably ale 2 cups (500 mL) beef stock, homemade or canned low-salt 1 tsp (5 mL) dried thyme 1 bay leaf 8 whole garlic cloves, peeled Vegetable Garnish: 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil 3 zucchini, cut in 3/4-inch (2-cm) dice 1 red pepper, cut in 3/4-inch (2-cm) dice 1 yellow pepper, cut in 3/4-inch (2-cm) dice 1. Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Combine cumin, ginger, coriander, paprika, cinnamon and cayenne. Toss lamb shanks with 2 tsp (10 mL) spice mixture, reserve remainder. 2. Heat 2 tbsp (25 mL) oil in skillet or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Brown lamb shanks in batches on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve. Wipe out pan and add remaining oil. 3. Add onion, carrot and celery. Sauté until onion is browned slightly, about 5 minutes. Add reserved spice mixture and sauté for 3 seconds. Add beer, stock, thyme and bay leaf and bring to boil. Return meat to pan. 4. Bake for 1 hour, add garlic, cloves and bake one hour longer or until meat is tender and nearly falling off the bone. 5. Remove meat. Skim fat, then remove vegetables with a slotted spoon. Discard bay leaf. Purée vegetables in a food processor or blender. Stir back into stock and reduce until sauce lightly coats a spoon, about 10 minutes. 6. To make vegetable garnish, add oil into skillet on medium-high heat. Add vegetables and sauté until vegetables are crisp tender, about 5-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 7. Stir vegetable garnish and lamb back into sauce. Simmer together for 15 minutes or until lamb and vegetables are reheated. Serve with potatoes, couscous, or noodles. Serves 6

Have a great day