Dentist Today, Ouch, Piña Coladas, The Sting.

I hope you will all have your fingers crossed for me this afternoon as its today I go to the dentist to have both a small filling (which I hate) and my broken tooth root removed (which is worse). I am not a happy camper about this and am, of course, making a big fuss about it.

Actually I’m in the wars at the moment, my neck is in agony when I move my head, I think because the air conditioner was probably blowing on it. I’ll be damned careful that doesn’t happen again.

We had the Coconut Chicken Stir Fry (see yesterday’s post) for supper last night. We enjoyed it, but it was a tad sweet. Next time we would leave out the sugar. Also, it said the recipe was for 4. We divided it in half, wasn’t nearly enough, so we ate it all. We have some coconut left over and I was going to use it for Piña Coladas but found we had run out of pineapple. Serious that. Maybe we can get some on the way home from the dentist, I am sure a couple of Piña Coladas would be really good medicine for me, don’t you agree. I actually haven’t had one for several years. I remember one day in the Carolinas, gotta be some 25  years or so ago, when a couple of girlfriends were making them and we joined in. I’d never had them before, but it didn’t take me long to find out how delicious they are. The recipe I have calls for 3 oz. rum, 3 tbs coconut cream and 3 tbs pineapple. Blended and lots of ice.

We sat and watched The Sting last night with Robert Redford and Paul Newman. Did you ever see the movie, it was one of the best. It’s a long time since we saw it last. I nearly always forget exactly what the twist is at the end. Two of the greatest film stars as well. Paul Newman is no longer with us, but Robert Redford is. He is about 76 now. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was a great movie with those two stars in it as well.

This is what we had for supper the other night. We enjoyed them very much, but in future we would double the amount of cheese. We didn’t use light cheese of course, but regular cheddar cheese.

Stuffed Portabella Mushroom Cap With Cheddar Cheese

Spark Recipes

Submitted by: LIZBETHMSR
Large portabella cap stuffed with sautéed veggies and topped with cheddar cheese - a meal in itself!

Number of Servings: 1

Ingredients

1 large portabella cap/serving
1 small onion diced
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 oz. grated 50% light cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F

Gently clean off any dirt from the portabella mushroom cap. Pull the stem out of the center and chop up the stem - set aside

Chop 1 small onion and enough pepper to make 1/2 cup, add to the mushroom stem. Spray a frypan with a little olive oil and sautée all the veggies EXCEPT the mushroom cap, until tender crisp. Drain any excess juices.

Place the mushroom cap on a foil lined baking sheet and top with the sautéed veggies. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top and bake in the 350 oven for 10 - 15 minutes or until the mushroom cap is tender and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Season to taste.

Have a great day

Finance, Rosh Hashanah, Paul Newman

We just saw a special broadcast by George W. Bush regarding the $700 billion bail out which congress just voted against. They can't do anything about it today because Congress is taking the Jewish Holiday - Rosh Hashanah. Excuse me? Since when did Congress start celebrating Jewish holidays? Sure, if you are Jewish obviously you are going to celebrate it, but the whole of Congress cannot be Jewish surely?

In Matt's opinion Congress shouldn't be taking any kind of holiday until they have solved this major financial crisis. I am not sure where I stand on this, on the one hand people are right who say if a mom and pop store fails no-one bails them out, but if it does, it doesn't create a worldwide financial crisis. We, after all, live in Canada and I know our few Mutual Funds have taken a nose dive, in fact I haven't dared look and see how few dollars we have at the moment. The sound financial advice is to hang on, so we are hanging on. We don't have much and I have no doubt we have quite a bit less right now, so come on Congress, get back to work and maybe I agree you should vote for that financial bail out. For the first time in my life I actually George W. sounded like he was talking sense.

Talking of Rosh Hashanah, I have a very good Jewish friend in my cookery group and I know she has been very busy preparing for today. Last year we, as a group, joined her in celebrating the feast and made a similar meal on more or less the same day. The principle items which are a must are apples and honey which symbolises the hope of a sweet new year. There are some good Honey Cake recipes here if you are interested.

It was sad that Paul Newman died this weekend, I hadn't even heard that he had cancer I must confess. He was such a wonderful man and raised so much for charity with his sauces and dressings. He was also a very humble person. Barbara Walters (I've mentioned her before) did a great interview with him a year or two ago and he even took her for a ride in his race car. He really loved racing cars. This is a more recent picture of him, he was 83 when he died. These days, that isn't so very old, unless you are only in your twenties I guess. As I have mentioned before, more and more people are living longer and longer.

Don't forget to sign on to my Followers List please.

Funny, I was talking about Peameal Bacon for breakfast when we were in Manitoulin. I have just come across a Bacon Roast in the HomeBasics magazine I've been using for a recipe source lately. I must say it looks pretty good and I will certainly give it a try.

BBQ Peameal Bacon Roast

Serves 4

1/2 C barbecue sauce

1/4 C orange marmalade or peach jam, melted

2 tsp each grainy mustard and maple syrup

1 Tbs cider Vinegar

1 1/2 lbs whole peameal bacon roast

Preheat the barbecue to medium-high and grease the grate. Combine the barbecue sauce, jam or marmalade, mustard, maple syrup and cider vinegar in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high, stirring often, for 2 mins. or until smooth and glossy. Let cool slightly. Brush a third of the sauce over the roast. Grill, turning and basting often, for 1- mins. or until the roast is evenly marked. Turn the burner directly under the meat off and set the remaining burner(s) to medium-low. Close the lid and roast over indirect heat, turning and basting occasionally, for 30 mins. or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meat reads 160°F (71°C). Transfer to a carving board and let stand for 5 minutes.

They recommend serving it with Knorr Cheddar Cheese Pasta with Broccoli and Carrots. However, obviously you can choose your own sides.

Have a great day.

Living to be 150, What to do with Plantains

Tonight, according to a TV ad is Barbara Walters special on aging, not according to the TV Guide in the paper and not according to the one on the net yesterday. OK, I did some more research and the programme airs at 10:00 p.m. I would love to know how to live to a healthy 150 even if not all my friends do so. I would just have to make new friends. As I have been doing that all my life it wouldn't be so big a problem. Here is a link to an article about the programme Live to 150 with a picture of Barbara aged 78 and Paul Newman at 83 with his racing car. For those of you who do not see Barbara Walters on TV, this is a picture of her at the Oscars not long ago. She is always smiling and very vivacious. She is also one of the top TV interviewers in North America and a big TV personality. You ain't anybody unless she has interviewed you!!!!

There is a woman where we bowl who is 94 and she bowls twice a week, goes line dancing and plays table tennis so her daughters tell me (they are on my team). Not a scrap of weight on her either, lucky woman.

I was reminded yesterday of a soup I haven't made for a while but which we enjoyed very much when I did. It was in Eating Well magazine in 1983.

Plantain Soup
Serves: 4

2 tsp olive oil
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 sml onion, finely chopped
1 lge carrot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups chicken stock
2 green plantains, peeled and diced
6 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: In a large pan, heat oil over med heat. Add celery, onions, carrots and garlic. Saute for 3 to 4 mins or until softened. Add stock and bring to a boil. Add plantains, 4 tbs cilantro, the cumin and bay leaf. Return to a boil, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer gently for 40 to 50 mins or until plantains very tender. Discard bay leaf.

Cool slightly and then blend. Return to heat if necessary and season. Garnish with remaining cilantro.

To peel a Plantain: With the tip of a sharp knife make two lengthwise slits through the skin, not piercing the flesh, along opposite sides of the fruit. Slip your thumbs under the skin and peel it off. Some people do this under cold running water to wash away the sticky juice inside.

Have a great day.