Obama, Guy Fawkes,

Obama made it - I did find out before I went to bed, wasn't sure all the counting etc. would be finished by that time. This morning everyone is talking about the elections. Apparently something like 40% of Democrats turned out to vote and low 30s% of the Republicans. More fool them. Or maybe they didn't like either candidate. They reckon Sarah Palin will be fighting the next election in four years time when she has had more experience. Today, in the UK, is Guy Fawkes Day when, according to history, a bunch of conspirators led by Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament when the king was attending. They were caught in the act and now people burn his effigy on a bonfire and send up fireworks. Not sure when such a pagan tradition began, but it is usually a fun evening. Mostly people celebrate it at the weekend these days, rather than during the week.

Remember, remember the 5th of November Gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot.

We used to bake potatoes in the bonfire which always came out black and burnt on one side and totally undercooked on the other side. They tasted good just the same. At the yacht club which we ran for a number of years, we used to collect money and then pick up a load of fish and chips for everyone. Today we are going for a med check, which means taking all our medications and chatting to our pharmacist. So gotta get cracking. I don't normally make cookies, but I just might have a go at these, they sound really good and pretty simple. Once again from the Three and Four Ingredient Cookbook. Chocolate Petit Four Cookies Make these dainty cookies as stylish after-dinner snacks. If you do not have any amaretto liqueur, they will work well without it. Alternatively, you can substitute the same quantity of brandy or rum. 12 oz carton chocolate chip cookie dough 4 oz. plain (semi sweet) chocolate 2 Tbs Amaretto from the storecupboard 1/4 Cup butter Preheat the oven according to the instructions on the cookie dough packet. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1/2" thick. Using a 1 " cutter, stamp out as many rounds from the dough as possible and transfer them to a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. To make the filling, break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl with the butter and liqueur. Sit the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and stir occasionally, until the chocolate has melted. Remove the heat and set aside to cool. Spread a small amount of the filling on the flat bottom of one of the cookies and sandwich together with another. Repeat until all the cookies have been used. Have a great day.

Diamonds to Jambalayas

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend. On GMA there was a fascinating segment about thirteen women in California who had bought themselves a diamond necklace and share it between them. It started with one woman, Jonell McLain, seeing the necklace in a jeweller's store. She then contacted a number of women friends and proposed purchasing this as a joint venture. Finally, the jeweller agreed to sell the necklace at a discount so long as his wife could be part of the group. A book has now been written telling the story and a movie is apparently on its way. Each member of the group wears it for a month unless there is a special occasion, like being interviewed on Good Morning America I guess. They claim it has really changed their lives in many ways. If you would like to read more about it click here where there is also an excerpt from the book. It really is quite a novel concept - wish I had 12 friends I could share a diamond necklace with. Matt continued watching GMA whilst I came to blog and he saw Jack Hannah who is a visiting "animal man" and who brings in the most fascinating critters. Apparently there was one small deer or antelope which is known as "the red deer" whilst he was talking, Jack was stroking this animal with a napkin. At the end, he showed that the napkin was red but the deer hadn't lost any colour. Wish I could find something about this to show you. The only red deer I can find are not the same animal at all. The one Matt saw was striped. Fascinating that you can get colour from the animal and yet it still retains its colour. Another segment which interested me was the formation, some years ago, of a group called Just Between Friends. It has become big business now, but it is basically a giant yard/garage sale where people sell their gently used items to people looking for bargains. They suggest how you can do this in your own neighbourhood by getting, say, 20 friends together to sell their gently used items. They call it a consignment convention. Apparently everyone involved in selling makes some money and people come away with excellent bargains on things they need. click here for the whole story. Sarah Palin has just been interviewed by Charlie Gibson who is one of the best in his field - I didn't watch it, I am not political as I have said before - however I did see one segment where Charlie asked Palin about Russia and her foreign policy views - she started on about how one can see Russia from Alaska. It appeared to me, she didn't really understand the question, or she wasn't sufficiently genned up on the situation. I was asked, in the comment section, about posting a Jambalaya recipe. I already posted my recipe on the 4th of July and yes, it does contain shrimp. I have made it many times and it has always been popular. I have no doubt that "dahn sath" they have many Jambalaya recipes which differ considerably, but I have never investigated them. I have just found a chicken and sausage Jambalaya on About.com which may fit the bill if you don't like seafood. Oops, having posted it I see it also has shrimp but perhaps it would be OK to leave them out. Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya Source: About.com Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 broiler chicken, cut up, about 3 pounds
• paprika
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 pound smoked sausage, thinly sliced
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) stewed tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 2 teaspoons leaf thyme, crumbled
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
• 1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined

Preparation:

Wash chicken and pat dry; rub with the paprika. Heat olive oil in a large skillet; add chicken and brown on all sides. Remove chicken from skillet. Add onion, green bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Sauté over low heat until onion is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in sausage, tomatoes, chicken broth, rice, thyme, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Add chicken and turn to coat with sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minute, or until chicken is tender. Stir in shrimp and cook about 3 minutes longer, or just until shrimp turns pink. Have a great day.

GMA Train, Tests

Good Morning America is doing their whole week's broadcast from a train next week. Hey that means we probably won't see it. The logistics of this broadcast are absolutely incredible. We wonder what it is going to cost ABC News. If you want to read more about it click here to get to the GMA web site. Of course it means nothing to those of you who are not in their broadcast area, but it really is an incredible undertaking involving helicopters picking up broadcasts and feeding them to satellite links and so on. We will have to try and catch some of the programme whilst we are on the road. Governor Palin is being well and truly attacked today. All kinds of scandals being brought up. Bound to happen, especially as she had pushed McCain's ratings up to equal or surpass Obama's. What a fiasco this all is. The latest accusation is she abused her power as governor to fire a top security guy. Of course today is also September 11 so there is lots on the news about the attack on the World Trade Centre. A new memorial is being dedicated in the Pentagon and they are going to have a moment of silence in remembrance. I still have the video of those attacks. A friend called me that morning and told me to turn on the TV. We all thought the first was an accident. Matt was out golfing and knew nothing about it until they reached the club house. I still would like to know about the plane that was supposed to have been shot down, I never heard any more about it. I wonder if it was a false report or what. I went for my blood tests finally this morning, Tuesday night I forgot to start fasting and was still eating cookies at 9:30, not a good idea. I didn't bother to put a coat on forgetting I might have to stand outside the clinic for a while. It was chilly but not bad, a crisp fall morning.. There were people with jackets on who were standing there literally shivering, not just one either. What are they going to do when winter comes? Today is shopping day, but I don't think we will have to buy very much, we won't be home after Monday morning. I do have to get some of the ingredients for my Jambalaya which I am making for the birthday party on Saturday. But generally, we don't need much at all. Matt got the car all tuned up ready to roll. Last night we tried some barbecued ribs which we bought from M & M's Meat Market. They tasted pretty good, but weren't really enough. One would have to buy two packets and that would work out to be fairly expensive. I've never made ribs as Matt normally doesn't like chewing bones (well he didn't chew these, he cut the meat off them) but just thought I would like to try them. When we first came to live in Canada, there was a restaurant quite close to us called The Knotty Pine. It was a very busy place and had an upstairs casual eatery and a downstairs more formal dining room. I would love to have owned a couple of shares in it, must have made a fortune. Unfortunately many years later, it was taken over by the son who ran it into the ground (or so we were told, it was while we were in the States). In the upstairs restaurant, they served a wonderful bean salad which I wanted the recipe for, but never did manage to get hold of. The following is the nearest I have ever come to it. Five Bean Salad Source: World Wide Recipes Servings: 8 - 12 1 cup (250 ml) extra virgin olive oil 1/3 cup (80 ml) balsamic or red wine vinegar 1 Tbs (15 ml) Dijon-style mustard 2 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1 can (16 oz, 450 g) garbanzos (chick peas) 1 can (16 oz, 450 g) red kidney beans 1 can (16 oz, 450 g) black beans 1 can (16 oz, 450 g) green string beans 1 can (16 oz, 450 g) yellow wax beans 1 medium-sized onion, chopped 1/2 cup (125 ml) fresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped Combine the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor and process at high speed until emulsified. In a large colander drain and rinse the canned beans. Combine with the dressing and the onion and parsley in a large bowl, tossing to mix ingredients thoroughly. Chill for at least 2 hours. Have a great day.