Books, Stamps, Dinner.

I was thinking about books the other day. When I was younger, people disapproved of paperbacks. You could give them a copy of War and Peace but if it wasn’t in a hard cover, they considered it trashy. Paperbacks weren’t quite the thing. That attitude has gone by the board, but today people will tell you they don’t like ebooks because they like the feel of a paper book in their hands, even the smell of one? Here again, I personally don’t care how a book comes, if the story is good I am happy. Which is why I love my Kindle. I no longer have to store books on shelves which get dusty. I still have a lot of paper books, but I don’t anticipate every buying any more. If I can’t get it in Kindle format then I will go to the library. If they haven’t got it, I guess I am destined never to read it. Looking for pictures I came across this “book igloo” which was created by Colombian artist Miler Lagos. Clever. Back to topic, people can burn paper books too, more difficult to destroy ebooks on people’s readers.

On Friday I purchased a bunch of Christmas stamps for my cards. The only one I didn’t get was the one with the woman. They are sold in books of about 6, certainly the $1.10 ones are in sixes anyway. So I started putting them on the appropriate envelopes. I lifted two of the one of a deer and realised the stamp, once removed, only said ANADA, the C and some of the picture remaining behind. I immediately figured I had something. I went looking for advice. I ended up discovering that a local philately shop would pay me three times what I paid right now, but that if I hung on to them and it turned out they were the only ones, I might get more. So hanging on I am. Only trouble was I am now 6 stamps short and couldn’t get finished.

We had a good evening at the Pig Tail dinner on Saturday and as usual the pigtails themselves were delicious. The evening is usually successful and this year they were delighted to have had something like 350 people there. They announced how much they had made as well, it was quite a substantial amount. They apparently cooked 950 pigtails. That’s a lot of pigs. When this topic came up I think everyone felt a little guilty. Silly really, we are all meat eaters obviously, but…. I have decided I need to buy some to roast which is the way I like them best. I could have bought some there – friend bought a dozen – already cooked – for $10. I didn’t bother as Matt never eats them anyway, he has the schnitzels instead. I had forgotten how much I like sauerkraut too, long time since I ate any. Bacon is frequently added in this area. It was also a satisfactory evening for me as I was wearing clothes I hadn’t worn in a very long time and I even risked high heels, not very high, but certainly not flat. I felt good. The scales aren’t showing much movement, but my figure is firming up and has decreased quite a bit according to my wardrobe. One thing I am please about, my winter coat, which I haven't been able to wear for years, is now wearable again. I don't have a lot of call for a full coat, but I am so glad this one is available to me again as I hadn't worn it a whole heck of a lot.

Spiced nuts are always popular at this time of year, so here is a recipe from Web MD.

Mississippi Spiced Pecans

From Eating Well.

Make plenty of these mildly sweet and salty nuts—they are great to have on hand over the holidays.

Ingredients

• 1 pound pecan halves
• 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon piment d’Espelette or a pinch of cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spread pecans on a large baking sheet. Roast until fragrant, about 12 minutes. Watch carefully so they don’t burn.
3. Combine brown sugar, salt, thyme, rosemary, pepper and piment d’Espelette (or cayenne) in a small bowl. Transfer the roasted pecans to a large bowl, drizzle with oil and toss well to coat completely. Sprinkle with the spice mixture and toss again. Serve warm or let cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Have a great day

Eat to Live, Postage, Cream, Europe and Pigtails.

I just bought: 'Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss' by Joel Fuhrman – this gives you a link to Amazon.com where they are selling the book for less than $10. I originally borrowed this book from my library and think it sounds so good I bought it for my Kindle. Funnily enough I first heard about this book from a friend in Australia, if she is reading this, thanks for the heads up.

I did a few errands yesterday, including returning the defunct Kindle to Amazon plus the ear buds, the latter cost me $5 to mail, I wasn’t happy about that. I also bought my quota of Christmas stamps for this year, they are of stained glass windows, quite pretty; quite expensive LOL. When we came here 36 years ago a postage stamp was 8¢ today its 59¢, I know, it’s a lot of years, but!!!

In fact it doesn’t seem that many years most of the time although it won’t be too long before I have lived in Canada longer than in the British Isles. Matt has a few more years to go before he can make that claim. There are still things I miss about living in England, but I don’t think I could go back, the place is too pokey for words. Now if I could buy English cream, I don’t mean clotted, just ordinary every day cream that I used to get from the milkman and which I know you can still buy as my step daughter buys it for me when we go over there. Not, you understand, that I don’t like clotted cream, but it isn’t good for everything for which one would use regular cream Apart from anything else, it didn’t take me forever to whip it into really thick cream, not like the stuff I buy here which takes forever to whip. Once I was whipping it on a summer’s day and ended up with butter, really. I think I have told the story before when we went to stay with an aunt in the Channel Islands and she had made a trifle for dessert. I saw it and thought, mean thing, she hasn’t put cream on it, its just topped with custard. Guess what, that custard was good old Jersey cream, luverly stuff. And I’m reading a diet book!!!! I guess that’s why.

Another thing I miss about the UK is the ease of travelling to Europe. Just a short trip across the English Channel and you can go wherever you want and not take all that long to get there. Of course, to me, this brings to mind food again, I don’t know what it’s like today, but I have never had a bad meal in France, even in the pokiest of little towns and villages. However, I am told that even in France, the young women are not interested in learning to cook, what a tragedy. Its very possible that is the same in other European countries although one can hope it’s not.

Tonight we are going for our annual visit to the Hespeler Village Legion – a very active Legion post, where they will be serving pigtails and schnitzels this evening. Matt is not that interested in pigtails, but I like them, plus we have a number of friends who go, so its usually a fun evening although I can’t really dance any more, sadly. People are allowed 3 pigtails a piece and then they often have left overs. I must say I prefer my pigtails barbecued and crispy, but they don’t serve them that way. I enjoy them just the same. Not diet food you understand, but delicious.

It being very much the time of year for cranberries, I thought this recipe would be appropriate, especially as its shown with a generous dollop of cream.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

Source: © EatingWell Magazine

10 servings

This rustic cake is a delicious alternative to pie and uses one of the tastiest fruits of the fall harvest—cranberries. The basic recipe is very versatile and can be made with apples, pears, peaches, plums or any full-flavored, slightly acidic fruit. Just arrange the fruit in the skillet before you pour the batter over it. The cake is best served warm; if you can, put it in the oven just before you sit down to dinner. (Recipe adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.)

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, divided

2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup fresh orange juice, divided

1 12-ounce bag fresh or frozen (thawed) cranberries (about 3 cups)

3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (see Note)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature (see Tip)

1/3 cup canola oil

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup low-fat milk, at room temperature

Whipped cream for garnish

Ingredient Note: Whole-wheat pastry flour has less gluten-forming potential than regular whole-wheat flour and helps ensure tender baked goods. Kitchen Tip: To bring an egg to room temperature, set it on the counter for 15 minutes or submerge it (in the shell) in a bowl of lukewarm (not hot) water for 5 minutes.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat brown sugar, 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons orange juice in a large (12-inch) cast-iron or regular skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter melts and the mixture starts to bubble. Let cool. Coat the sides of the skillet with cooking spray.

Bring the remaining 1/4 cup orange juice and cranberries to a simmer in a medium saucepan, stirring often, until about half the cranberries have popped. Pour evenly over the cooled brown sugar mixture in the skillet.

Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

Separate egg whites and yolks. Place the yolks in a large bowl and add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, oil, granulated sugar and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer or stand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour mixture alternately with milk, using a rubber spatula, starting and ending with the flour. Stir just until the flour is incorporated. Beat the egg whites in a clean dry mixing bowl with clean dry beaters on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. Fold one-third of the egg whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest until almost no white streaks remain. Spread the batter over the cranberries.

Bake until the top is golden brown and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and carefully invert the cake onto a serving plate. Let cool for at least 30 minutes more before serving. Serve warm or room temperature. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired.

Have a great weekend

Scrumping, Our Weekend,

I wonder how many people on this side of the pond are familiar with scrumping? It means raiding orchards and helping oneself to fruit (a polite word for stealing). It used to be a very popular pastime with little boys in England. Matt was telling me one story this weekend, I hadn’t heard it before. He was out biking with some friends and they came across an orchard which looked tempting, they parked their bikes and over the fence they went. Unfortunately the famer happened to be in the orchard and Matt told him he had needed to use the tire pump and when taking it off his bike it had flown out of his hands over the fence and he was looking for it. The farmer was so amused that he let them get away with it. Of course, sometimes the farmers took exception, justifiably, and were quite likely to box your ears, then the bobby (cop) would come along and box your ears as well. When you got home, your dad would ask why you were crying and then box your ears as well. Dangerous business this scrumping. I guess if enough kids went scrumping it could make quite a difference to your harvest.

For us, we had a very busy weekend. First there was the Pigtail do at the Hespeler Royal Canadian Legion, Cambridge,  which was fun, I ate two pigtails and a schnitzel with some sauerkraut. I was good, I didn’t go back for dessert. To be honest, they didn’t appeal to me that much which was a good thing I suppose. I enjoyed the pigtails but in fact I do prefer them to be crisped up rather than done in sauces. Years ago we used to buy small pails of frozen pigtails which had been marinated in fruit juices, we would then cook them on the barbecue when they became beautifully crispy. Must admit, I have never seen them curled in rings as shown in the picture.

Then Sunday, back to the same place for a 50th Wedding Anniversary which was a delightful occasion. Lots of films and pictures of the happy couple plus messages from their friends and family in Holland which is where they came from some 50 years ago. I know the “bride” was shedding a few tears. She had a very lovely wrist corsage which went very well with her outfit which was most attractive. The finishing touch, her nails were painted silver which matched everything else very well. They have a couple of friends over from Holland and all four of them will be coming to Elmira on Thursday for our Travel League. Even the husband intends to bowl and he doesn’t usually do so.

The Americans are protesting like mad about the security measures at airports. They are not only being fully screened with a mild dose of radiation, but they are being subjected to pat downs. In fact, I understand, this is not happening at all airports, 80% won’t have any trouble at all. However, I personally would suffer a pat down so long as I knew it helped to ensure my plane was free of any terrorists or their weapons. People are so concerned about profiling that now everyone has to be treated the same.

All the chefs are now pulling out the stops with recipes for Thanksgiving which takes place on Thursday, even Jamie Oliver who is from the UK and certainly doesn’t normally celebrate Thanksgiving at home. I am always looking for different ways of preparing vegetables, here is one for green beans.

Bacon Braised Green Beans

Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 slices bacon, diced

1 cup thinly sliced onion

2 tablespoons sliced garlic

2 pounds green beans, rinsed, ends trimmed

1 cup chicken stock or canned, low- sodium chicken broth or water

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Directions

Set a Dutch oven over medium heat, and add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionaly, until it is well browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the green beans and toss to combine with the bacon and onion.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the chicken stock. As soon as the stock begins to boil, place the lid on the pan and cook the beans for about 6 minutes. Remove the lid, season the beans with the salt and pepper, and toss well. Replace the lid and cook until the beans are tender, 1 or 2 minutes longer.

Remove from the heat and transfer the beans to a serving dish or small platter to serve.

Have a great day

Saturday Night, Tom Jones

We had a good time on Saturday night eating pigtails and schnitzels. I ate rather too much, but it was good. I didn't have any potatoes but I had sauerkraut and ended up eating 3 pigtails and two schnitzels. I know, greedy. They were good. There were two dishes, one done in honey garlic and the other in barbecue sauce so I had to try both, right? Matt didn't touch the pigtails. One pair of our friends couldn't make it as she was sick, such a pity as we had such a good time. I didn't realise there would be dancing after and Matt actually danced with me a couple of times, getting him up on the dance floor isn't easy these days. I always say he danced his feet off when he was courting me and then he hasn't danced much since!! I haven't danced since I don't know when, so it was fun. We then went back to a friend's house and had another glass of wine and ended up getting home about 1 in the morning. Funny I just went to look for a picture and found a heading for a YouTube section "Where the Hell is Matt". I watched the video, its quite fun, click here to see it. Not that I would call that dancing. Right now, on TV, they have Tom Jones singing. Amazing to me he is still performing, not sure I want to see it mind you. He sports a beard these days. Matt says he is wearing pretty well. He is 68 according to Wikipedia. I wouldn't pay to go see him, but then I wouldn't have gone years ago when he was young either. Recently Elton John came to perform where we live and we wouldn't have wanted to see him and yet people went nuts to attend his concert. I do have one record of his, Candle in the Wind, the version he re-wrote for Princess Dianna. For supper last night we ate plain broiled chicken breasts cooked on the bone and I was thinking about brining. Doesn't seem to be any reason you couldn't brine chicken breasts except ours are in the freezer so I would have to figure out how to do that. I suppose you would have to plan ahead and defrost and brine a day or so in advance. Bearing in mind the improvement to the turkey last month, it might be worth doing. I will have to look into it. Christmas is rearing its head at us; I know lots of people like to do cookie exchanges or just make lots of cookies for their families (biscuits in the UK of course). These cookies are from Best Ever Christmas and might almost tempt me to make them except then they would tempt me to eat them. With all the goodies at Christmas, I do NOT need cookies as well. Chocolate Super Cookies 125 g butter 100 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup plain flour 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/2 cup roughly chopped, unsalted, roasted, macadamia nuts 1/3 cup sultanas 100 g white chocolate, roughly chopped 100 g milk chocolate, roughly chopped Preheat oven to moderately hot 210°C. Brush oven trays with melted butter or oil. Melt butter in small pan, add dark chocolate, stir over low heat until melted, transer to a large bowl. Add sugar and eggs, stir until combined. Add sifted flour and cocoa, nuts, sultanas, white and milk chocolate, stir until combined. Drop tablespoons of mixture onto prepared tray, allowing room for spreading. Bake for 10 minutes or until just set. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Note: Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Can be frozen for up to 2 months. Hmmm, on second thoughts, maybe I will make some. Four sources of chocolate!!! Have a great day.