Port and Banquets.

So now our winter league is over for this season and doesn't start again until September. Some of the members will be bowling in the summer league but many won't. However we do get bowlers from other leagues bowling with us in the summer. A friend/bowler is off to Portugal for the summer again. She comes from northern Portugal quite close to where a friend lives with whom we stayed for a couple of days when we went there a few years ago. Also close to Oporto, the home of Port. I enjoy port so it was fun going to the home of the drink. They call them caves although they are no longer actually in caves. I've probably mentioned it, but the reason port came into being was one year the Portuguese wine was awful and two Scottish wine exporters didn't think it was good enough so they tried adding brandy to the wine and port was born. The brands of port still bear Scottish names like Graham's and Taylor Fladgate to name a couple. I forget, now, which cave we visited, but I had never realised there were so many qualities and varieties of port.

We had our bowling banquet Monday and the food was good as usual except for the beans which, I'm afraid were tough. I would love the caterer's recipe for her beef. It's delicious. She (the caterer) also served lots of pies for dessert including one a bit like a lemon meringue but with a lemon crumble on it instead of the meringue. It was delicious. I went back kind of hoping to get more, luckily for my waist line it had all gone. I actually won a couple of things this year. So did Matt. I got the high single with handicap and I also won a $25 voucher for our local grocery store. Our 50/50 each week has two sections, one you win money outright, the other you have to bowl a strike. It hadn't been won in a while so it had gone up to $70. Neither of us even got to try for the strike, boo hoo. Actually we are usually unlucky with the 50/50 so it was a surprise that the very last draw of the season was my gift voucher.

I enjoy Caprese and portabella mushrooms so this recipe is right up my street.

Caprese Portabella Mushrooms

Mushrooms Canada
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Serves 4

Ingredients

8 portabella mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 cup quinoa, cooked
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar, divided
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
16 mini buffala mozzarella balls
16 cherry tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Method
1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Meanwhile, gently wash away dirt from mushrooms, then carefully cut away stems and scrape out each mushroom. Set filling aside.
3. In a large bowl, toss quinoa with mushroom filling, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Stuff each mushroom with filling, then top each with two mozzarella balls and two cherry tomatoes.
4. Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese is completely melted. Remove from oven and top each mushroom with a bit of fresh basil. Enjoy!

Have a great day