Cleaning, Stress Test, Coffee Jam?

Tuesday morning, the sofa was dry enough to sit on but my chair wasn’t: Matt made me sit on it anyway so he could see if it was positioned right. I got a wet bum, yuck. I guess it will be a while yet before it’s ready. So long as its cat free I don’t mind waiting. Monday night, to watch Jeopardy, Matt sat on a dining chair and I sat on his chair, nice of him, he always says I’m a spoilt brat. Afterwards I went on the PC so he could have his chair back. Then we swapped and he played Bookworm. They told me 4 hours to dry, I think they exaggerated a bit. I didn’t realise before the company I use for carpet cleaning and now furniture cleaning, has a web site full of popping bubbles www.crystal-clean.ca they are pretty reasonable and I have used them for carpets a couple of times.

Tuesday just after lunch Matt had a stress test which he was worrying about because he isn’t as fit as he was when it comes to pounding a treadmill. I can’t do it and I once had to have a chemical stress test which was one of the worst things I have ever experienced. The injection they give you makes you feel as though you are dying. Doesn’t last long as they give you the antidote almost instantly, but what a dreadful sensation. You really feel ill. Then you have to wait around for a couple of hours before they can put you in a machine and finish the test. I don’t ever want that test again. However, Matt came through his test with flying colours. See, he worried for nothing. Let’s face it, we often do worry about things which turn out fine in the end.

On the way home we stopped at the Ontario Cremation Centre which is managed by a friend I haven’t seen in several years, not since I worked in a funeral home. It was wonderful to see her and we had a good chin wag. She has gone through some bad patches health wise so it was nice to see her so well and cheerful.

Here’s a new one from Cooking.com on Facebook “Our Editorial Producer Tina just returned from Guatamala with coffee and coffee jam (jalea de cafe)! The jam is made from the fruit of the coffee berry that covers the coffee bean. It's delicious! Mildly sweet and fruity with a slight coffee essence.” I‘ve certainly never heard of it, I wonder where one could get hold of it. I can imagine Barrie’s Asparagus and Food selling something like this.

How about this recipe for something different. I think I will be trying this one out very soon. They look delightful.

Parmesan Spinach Cakes

From EatingWell: September/October 2008

If you like spinach-cheese pie, try these simple but elegant-looking little spinach cakes.

4 servings,

Ingredients

• 12 ounces fresh spinach, (see Note)
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese, or low-fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Pulse spinach in three batches in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add ricotta (or cottage cheese), Parmesan, eggs, garlic, salt and pepper; stir to combine.
3. Coat 8 cups of the muffin pan with cooking spray. Divide the spinach mixture among the 8 cups (they will be very full).
4. Bake the spinach cakes until set, about 20 minutes. Let stand in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife and turn out onto a clean cutting board or large plate. Serve warm, sprinkled with more Parmesan, if desired.

Nutrition

Per serving :141 Calories; 8 g Fat; 4 g Sat; 3 g Mono; 123 mg Cholesterol; 6 g Carbohydrates; 13 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 456 mg Sodium; 560 mg Potassium

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1 1/2 medium-fat meat

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Equipment: Muffin pan with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups

• Note: Baby spinach is immature or young spinach—it's harvested earlier than large-leaved mature spinach. We like the sturdy texture of mature spinach in cooked dishes and serve tender, mild-flavored baby spinach raw or lightly wilted. Baby and mature spinach can be used interchangeably in these recipes (yields may vary slightly); be sure to remove the tough stems from mature spinach before using.
• Weights & Measures
• 10 ounces trimmed mature spinach=about 10 cups raw
• 10 ounces baby spinach=about 8 cups raw

Have a great day

Easter and Eating, TV Viewing, Bunnies.

The discussion on whether to eat turkey or lamb for our Easter dinner ended up with us choosing turkey. The gumbo last night was very good, made more so by the oysters although they didn’t seem to have a lot of flavour not compared with oysters fresh from the sea. They were huge though, I don’t think I have ever had to cut an oyster in half before. I didn’t like oysters for many years although both my parents would woof them down on the half shell. Then I moved to North Carolina and learned to eat them steamed – wonderful – I could knock off a bushel in very short order. Matt even built a small outdoor fire for steaming them. In case you don’t know, we used to put them on a metal sheet over the fire and cover them with a piece of wet sacking. Once they started opening they were done. I then had a table with lots of paper towel and some Tabasco plus an oyster knife in case they weren’t fully open. I was then in heaven. Matt would rescue a few and take them indoors and cook them with wine and shallots; he no longer eats shellfish very much after we pigged out, with friends, on 1,800 clams which we ate every which way you could think of including chowder. Matt never really touched shellfish after that, not even when we went to a clam bake.

We went to vote yesterday afternoon although I was busy cooking but decided to go and get it done with. We can then relax for the rest of the weekend. I mentioned the US voting ads at the banqueting the other night and our friends hadn’t seen them, which means, I guess, that they don’t watch any of the US channels. In particular we enjoy watching Jeopardy in the evening and that is an American Channel, as is Good Morning America of course.

Tomorrow I can start eating my chocolate rabbit. As you saw from the picture, we have two. Matt bought one in dark chocolate but I prefer milk chocolate, yes I know its not as good for me, but still – rather than take it back he decided he would eat it himself. Maybe that was the plan all along. I have a serious problem though, do I start with the ears or the rear end or even another part? I have discussed it with a friend on Facebook. You must have seen the cartoon, it comes out every year. I do love those Lindt chocolate bunnies, they make excellent chocolate – Matt is nuts about Swiss chocolate, with good reason. As I have mentioned before though, one doesn’t find much in the way of really nice Easter Eggs as we used to have in England. I do miss those.

Here is something which, to me, is very unusual, from Eating Well. It is a healthy food and I would imagine could be served either as a starter or a main course for lunch.

Parmesan Spinach Cakes

From EatingWell:  September/October 2008

If you like spinach-cheese pie, try these simple but elegant-looking little spinach cakes.

4 servings, 2 spinach cakes each

Ingredients

• 12 ounces fresh spinach, (see Note)
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese, or low-fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Pulse spinach in three batches in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add ricotta (or cottage cheese), Parmesan, eggs, garlic, salt and pepper; stir to combine.
3. Coat 8 cups of the muffin pan with cooking spray. Divide the spinach mixture among the 8 cups (they will be very full).
4. Bake the spinach cakes until set, about 20 minutes. Let stand in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife and turn out onto a clean cutting board or large plate. Serve warm, sprinkled with more Parmesan, if desired.

Nutrition

Per serving : 141 Calories; 8 g Fat; 4 g Sat; 3 g Mono; 123 mg Cholesterol; 6 g Carbohydrates; 13 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 456 mg Sodium; 560 mg Potassium

Tips & Notes

Note: Baby spinach is immature or young spinach—it's harvested earlier than large-leaved mature spinach. We like the sturdy texture of mature spinach in cooked dishes and serve tender, mild-flavored baby spinach raw or lightly wilted. Baby and mature spinach can be used interchangeably in these recipes (yields may vary slightly); be sure to remove the tough stems from mature spinach before using.

• Weights & Measures
• 10 ounces trimmed mature spinach=about 10 cups raw
• 10 ounces baby spinach=about 8 cups raw

Happy Easter