Phone.Cardiologist, Breakfast Foods, Brisket,

We have an expression in England "sod's law" which is a bit like Murphy's Law but not exactly. I would be hard put to explain the difference, but there is one. Today I left the two electronic phones in place thinking that there was nothing doing and nobody would be phoning. We have the phone that I bought for Matt which has faces on so he knows who to call and how, but there is no seat by it. Three times in the last 24 hours I have had unexpected calls where I needed to be able to sit and talk a lot or a little. Admittedly by the third call I had one of the other phones right by me. I still do and I can be almost certain I will get no more calls. Mind you another thing happens, I go into the computer room and then decide I want to make a call at which time I realise I have left the phone in the other room.

One of the phone calls was from the cardiologist's office cancelling my echo cardiogram. Which was not unexpected. I am now on a waiting list, I wonder how long that is?

I just saw something about cooking bacon perfectly in the oven every time - how do they know what everyone calls perfect? I love my bacon crisp, others don't. In my case, I use a paper plate, a double layer of paper towel, 3 slices of bacon spread out, another double paper towel and give it 3 minutes in the microwave. For me, perfect. Nice and crispy. Matt would like his less cooked than that but as he rarely eats it, I have never tried other times. I often scramble an egg in a small fry pan to go with that. I had some coconut milk left over so I used that one time, not bad. I used to have a friend, ladydog knew her, who lived in the East for a number of years and developed the habit of having very spicy things for breakfast. When I first knew her, I thought she was nuts, now I often eat spicy stuff for breakfast. Love it. I make burritos sometimes with hot sauce or gochugang which is sweet and spicy, and then cheese or ham or something, some lettuce maybe, but definitely spicy. Oh and Habañero cheese of course.

I cooked some brisket in my Instant Pot this evening. It was delicious. I am so please with it, I was a tad scared to cook it.

Roasted Salmon and Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

4 Tbs (60 mL) oil, divided
8 salmon fillets (about
2 lbs/ 1 kg)
2 lbs (1 kg) asparagus, trimmed
1 package Knorr® Hollandaise Classic Sauce Mix

1. Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Coat 2 rimmed baking sheets each with 1 Tbsp (15 mL) oil.

2. Arrange salmon on 1 prepared pan and asparagus on the other. Drizzle asparagus with 1 Tbsp (15 mL) oil and toss to coat; brush salmon with remaining 1 Tbsp (15 mL) oil and season, if desired, with salt and black pepper.

3. Roast 12 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork and asparagus are crisp-tender.

4. Meanwhile, prepare Knorr® Hollandaise Classic Sauce Mix according to package directions.

5. To serve, arrange asparagus on platter; top with salmon and drizzle with sauce.

Servings: 8

Tips
TIP: For a zesty twist to your Hollandaise Sauce, stir in 1 Tbsp. (15 mL) Dijon or whole grain mustard.

TIP: The salmon and asparagus are also delicious grilled instead of roasted

Source: Knorr


Have a great day, stay well, stay safe.
 

SPAM, Mandarin, Doctor's, Phone, Soup,

Lots of SPAM this morning. I had to go back quite a long way, in the end I got fed up with it and will maybe delete more later. Why do people do this? It really is a waste of time. Looks like I am being singled out at the moment. Oh well, maybe some of you men will appreciate the information and maybe we ladies can be amused by it!!!

We joined ladydog at Mandarin for lunch today and, as it is the last time I am likely to be able to eat dumplings this year, well such a large variety anyway, I ate rather a lot. I will no doubt cry when I look at the scales. We were reading our characters from the table mats, I am a Tiger and it said various things including that I was patient. When I read that out, ladydog laughed. I wonder why?

Our doctor's office had phoned for me to go see them this afternoon, but I told them I probably wouldn't be done eating in time so now I am gong to see them next Wednesday to discuss my blood test from December. Also I booked for Matt to discuss his more recent tests on his hips/legs.

This afternoon I checked all the numbers in my new phone. Several were wrong, I was pretty careful about altering them.

ladydog directed me to this recipe, she says it is delicious. There is a stove top version which I didn't bother to copy but if you need it I have linked it at the bottom. In fact as we were pretty full from eating Chinese, I decided to make it for supper this evening, Wednesday, and it was delicious. I thought it might make a good sauce for shrimp too. By the way, I used canned tomatoes and honey.

Tomato Coconut Soup

A warming, comforting, spicy, & tasty pressure cooker Tomato Coconut Soup made in your instant pot or pressure cooker. Taste Indian food like never before!

1 can Full-Fat Coconut Milk, full fat
1 Red Onion, diced
6 Tomatoes, chopped in quarters
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped
1 tsp Garlic, minced
1 tsp minced ginger, minced
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cayenne
1 tsp Turmeric
1 Tbs agave nectar, (see list of subs in Notes)

1. Put all ingredients into the Instant Pot and cook on High for 5 minutes. Allow the pot to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. After that, release pressure. If you start to see sputtering and spewing from the valve, close the valve and try again in 5 minutes.

2. Remove from the pot and use an immersion blender to mix all the ingredients together and get a smooth soup.

Servings: 4

Author: Urvashi Pitre
Source: Twosleevers

Author Notes
You can use a 14-oz can of tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes if you prefer.

Agave can be replaced by your sweetener of choice including honey, maple syrup, Splenda, xylitol, stevia, Truvia, etc.

Have a great day
 

Medical, Phone, Tablet,

Sorry no Thursday blog, but having been awake for such a long time on Wed. morning worrying about the surgeon and Matt's foot, I ended up going to bed VERY early. Although funnily enough I am still tired.

I finally heard from the surgeon's office. We were told Matt could wean his foot out of his air cast (he hadn't been wearing it for 2 1/2 days) as he had told us. He most certainly didn't tell us anything of the sort. His instructions were to start wearing shoes and Matt could do anything he liked, such as bowling. Anyway, the physiotherapist was here today and she agrees with us that as Matt has not been suffering much pain from his ankle, if any, he can leave the boot off, unless he starts feeling a lot of pain. She got him doing his exercises including a new one and I think she has got through to him how important they are. I hope anyway. I got him to do them all again later in the day. Long may it last. We both went to the bowling alley on Wednesday afternoon and Matt tried a couple of balls but felt his balance was off so he stopped. As an aside to Helen Venn who is also wearing a boot, Matt's fracture was not a very major one which is probably why it has healed so well, so quickly.

As for bowling I averaged one point below my recorded Monday average but I only bowled two games. I wonder what would have happened if I had bowled all three. I am being a bit inconsistent, I

bowled a 125 and a 179 today. Quite a difference.

Matt has always had trouble with electronics of any kind and having left him a few times knowing he probably couldn't remember how to call my cell phone, I decided to buy a phone he could use. Actually I thought it was a good idea, I can put pix of me (cell phone) and his daughters on there and maybe a local friend.

Been having trouble with my Tablet lately too and now it seems to not be taking a charge any more. Looking at one at Walmart which would do me. Still gonna cost me $100 bucks though. Holding off for the moment.

I had a recipe all lined up and then I came across this tonight and thought it sounded delicious. Maybe not for breakfast but lunch or even supper. I would certainly eat it for breakfast but not sure I could be bothered to make it at that time of day.

Rafanata

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, then toss in 2 peeled Russet potatoes. Cook the potatoes

for 10 minutes, then fish them out of the water and turn off the heat. Let the potatoes cool a bit, then move them to a cutting board. Slice the potatoes very thinly (think less than ¼-inch).

2. Heat a large skillet with plenty of olive oil over medium high heat. Fry the potato slices until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Depending on how large your pan is, you may need to fry the potatoes in shifts. When the potatoes are golden brown, turn them out onto a plate lined with paper towels. Wipe out the skillet and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat 6 eggs with ½ cup water, ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, and 2 tablespoons jarred horseradish. Season the mixture with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper. Drop the fried potato slices into the egg mixture and stir until fully incorporated.

4. Heat 2 tablespoons more olive oil in the skillet over medium, then pour in the egg and potato mixture. Let the mixture cook for at least 5 minutes before checking underneath to make sure it’s cooking. Now, with confidence, flip the rafanata out onto a plate so the cooked side is exposed (the best way to do this is to place a large dinner plate over the pan, then flip the pan, catching the rafanata). Slide the rafanata back into the pan, cooked side up, and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

5. Slide the rafanata out onto a serving plate and slice into wedges. Serve with sour cream, mustard, or solo.

Source: Extra Crispy

Have a great day
 

Resolutions or Words, Crystal Ball, New Phone

I don’t bother with New Year’s resolutions any more, I have never kept any for very long. I liked the idea presented by Tina at Life is Good to choose a word for the year, this year her word is contentment. A lot of what she wrote reminded me of the Eastern philosophy of living in the moment. I have a book called The Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh which goes deeply into what is known as Mindfulness which helps to bring peace and contentment. I always like the example, when you are washing dishes, wash dishes. In other words don’t be mentally doing anything else but concentrate on what you are doing. As I have never enjoyed washing dishes, its an exercise I have problems with. Maybe I should work at it a bit more. Some tasks are easy to do wholeheartedly and to be totally mindful of. So, OK, my 2013 word is Mindfulness.

The crystals on the Waterford New Year’s Ball dropped in Times Square last night all had messages of peace this year. It was possible for people to send messages to Waterford through Facebook and Twitter yesterday in order to be involved in the celebration. For the first time, Dick Clark did not take part. Since his stroke he hasn’t been a well man and I always thought he should have retired some time ago. They released confetti too, glad I don’t have to clear up the mess.  That ball is worth a small fortune by the way with all its Waterford crystal panels.

Much to my surprise, my new phone for the computer room arrived. I didn’t expect it til Wednesday. It has its own answering machine so the one we use has been put away. Bit daft to have two of them though. At the moment the New Year is starting off well. No outstanding problems from last year.

I love oysters and thought this recipe sounded good for this time of year. I thought it was a misspelling of the traditional recipe until I read the intro. Not that I associate oysters and champagne with rap but it seems I am wrong.

Oysters Rocafella

Contributed byMario Carbone and Rich Torrisi

SERVINGS:4 first-course servings

"We created this dish as an homage to Jay-Z. He inspires us," says Mario Carbone about the rapper and cofounder of the Roc-A-Fella record label. "The original dish was named for John D. Rockefeller. He was money back then, and to us, Jay-Z is money in New York City now." Carbone tops the oysters with a tangy vinegar-shallot mignonette, plus a Champagne-infused foam and frozen Champagne grapes.

1. 2 teaspoons sugar
2. 2 teaspoons water
3. 1/2 cup Champagne or sparkling wine
4. 1/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice
5. 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
6. 1/4 cup Champagne vinegar
7. 1 small shallot, minced
8. Freshly ground pepper
9. 2 dozen bluepoint or other East Coast oysters, shucked on the half shell
10. Crushed ice and coarse salt, for serving
11. 1 tablespoon dried egg-white powder (see Note)
12. 1 to 2 bunches of Champagne grapes or small seedless red grapes, frozen until solid, halved if large

1. In a microwave-safe cup, combine the sugar and water. Cook at high power for 20 seconds. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then let cool.
2. In a small stainless steel bowl, combine the sugar syrup, Champagne and citrus juices. Set the bowl over a larger bowl of ice and keep cold. In another small bowl, combine the vinegar and shallot and season with pepper.
3. Arrange the shucked oysters on a bed of crushed ice and coarse salt. Add the egg-white powder to the Champagne-citrus juice mixture and beat with a handheld mixer or immersion blender until thick and frothy.
4. Spoon a little of the vinegar-shallot mixture over the oysters and a little of the Champagne froth on top. Garnish with the frozen Champagne grapes and serve right away.

Notes

Egg-white powder is available at health food stores and most supermarkets.

Suggested Pairing

Carbone and Torrisi pair Jay-Z's favorite Champagne, Armand de Brignac (a.k.a. Ace of Spades), with this dish. Domaine Chandon's NV Brut Classic is also terrific and much, much less expensive

Happy New Year everyone.