Barrie’s, Bowling,

Didn’t make it to Costco after all yesterday, will have to be next week now. What did happen though, Tim Barrie said, on Facebook, that Mother Nature had been kind and he had asparagus to sell so off we trotted to get some. This time I got a lot and I am going to try freezing it. A friend did so last year and she was very pleased with it. Won’t have time today, bowling, but not doing anything tomorrow. I said to Tim had he ever sold asparagus as late in the season before and he assured me that he never had. I was hoping they would have some blueberries, they didn’t, but they had raspberries which I bought for our supper.

Today is virtually our last of our summer bowling league, we have a wrap up and maybe some pizza next week and that’s it although we will probably continue to bowl on Wednesdays and some of the others may very well join us. The winter league starts early in September but of course, as usual, we will be in the Carolinas, 10-pin bowling too. In fact we are meeting up with Jeff Hargett from Strands of Pattern and his wife Myra for a bowling session one day.  We’re not very good at 10-pin so I hope Jeff and Myra are not too practised. We’re not very good at 5-pin come to that.

I thought the picture of this pasta looked delicious and then discovered it has potatoes in it. Not sure why you would want potatoes in a pasta dish, but it is apparently a traditional recipe. In case you don’t have any prepared pesto, I have provided a link. I keep some ready in my freezer.

 

Spaghetti Genovese

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Traditionally, this Italian pasta recipe combines pasta and pesto with potatoes and green beans. In our recipe for Spaghetti Genovese we give pesto a nutritional boost by adding spinach and toss it all together with fiber-rich whole-wheat pasta for a warm, comforting weeknight meal. Serve with escarole and radicchio salad.

Ingredients

2 cups packed baby spinach

8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti

1 cup thinly sliced new or baby potatoes, (about 4 ounces)

1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup prepared pesto

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook just until wilted, about 45 seconds. Use a slotted spoon or fine sieve to transfer the spinach to a blender. Return the water to a boil and add spaghetti and potatoes. Cook, stirring once or twice, until almost tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Add green beans and cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes more.
2. When the spaghetti and vegetables are almost done, carefully scoop out 1 cup of the cooking liquid from the pot. Pour 1/2 cup of the liquid into the blender and add pesto, pepper and salt. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.
3. Drain the spaghetti and vegetables and return to the pot; stir in the pesto mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring gently, until the sauce is thickened and the pasta is hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Add more of the cooking liquid, as desired, for a thinner sauce.

Have a great day

Habitable Worlds, Asparagus, Movie.

I see in the news lately, that three potentially habitable worlds have been discovered orbiting a star 22 light years away. This is a very positive discovery. I am not very sure how long it would take us to travel that far, but as far as I know we haven’t found any other potentially habitable worlds so far.

I went to the asparagus farm for the last time this year and decided to buy some of their “seconds”. I made some more Asparagus and Almond Soup which I had to end up sieving as the texture was full of strings from the asparagus. I don’t know if this was because they were seconds or what. The final soup was OK, but sieving was a damned nuisance. I didn’t get as much soup as I expected either. Anyway, I have a good batch of #1 quality to stuff my face with.

Started to watch A Bridge Too Far on TV last night, but in the end got fed up with it. Matt has always been interested in World War II, we lived through it after all. I watched it for a while, but got a mite bored. I am pretty sure I have seen it before anyway. Absolutely everyone was in the movie both British and American actors. It’s an interesting movie if only from that point of view.

I nearly forgot, told our foot nurse all about Didgeridoos and blowing raspberries in order to learn circular breathing.  For the rest of our time with her she was blowing raspberries and intends to keep practising she said. It was quite funny.

I’m not a big fan of pastry, be it pies or tarts, but the picture here was so appealing, I read the recipe and decided to share it with you.

Free-Form Blueberry Tart

Contributed by Jeremy Sewall

• SERVINGS: 8 

Jeremy Sewall adds a little candied ginger to the tart's crust for a hint of spice; feel free to add more or omit it altogether.
pastry

1. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling
2. 1 tablespoon minced candied ginger
3. 1/4 teaspoon salt
4. 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
5. 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water

filling

1. 1/4 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2. 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
3. 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4. 4 cups blueberries
5. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6. 1 egg white, beaten

1. In a food processor, combine the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the candied ginger and salt and pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse until it is the size of small peas. Sprinkle on the ice water and pulse just until the pastry starts to come together. Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat it into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until firm.
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry to a 14-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Fold the pastry in half and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet. Unfold the pastry and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, mix the 1/4 cup of sugar with the lemon zest and flour. Fold in the blueberries and lemon juice and let stand for 15 minutes.
4. Spoon the blueberries in the center of the pastry, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border all around. Fold the pastry border up and over the blueberries, pleating it as necessary. Brush the egg white on the pastry and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 55 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let the tart cool to warm. Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

Make Ahead: The pastry can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Serve With Lemon or vanilla ice cream.

Have a great day

Soups, Ontario Amethyst, End of Asparagus.

I have been making lots of soups over the last few days, so many in fact that I had to get Matt to pick me up some more freezer containers. One of my original ones actually split. Guess it must have been getting old and when the soup froze it didn’t resist enough, luckily it was good and solid so I just wrapped it in foil and plastic. Usually the soup expands upwards. Asparagus season is running down so I want to make another batch of asparagus soup – I make it for the freezer and then we keep eating it LOL. I also want to make some Asparagus Pesto which we both enjoy as a snack now and again. Just in case you don’t remember the recipe I will post it again tomorrow. It really is a great recipe and can be frozen very successfully.

Sia having talked about amethysts yesterday I decided I had better wear one of mine so I fished it out. Then I tried to take a photo of it, almost impossible to get a clear, unblurred photo. Matt says its out of focus. Anyway, maybe you can get an idea of my ring from this picture. It is quite a large stone set in silver. I bought it from a work colleague, many years ago, he was into making jewellery and I couldn’t resist this ring I liked it so much. He had another set in gold but that was a but much for my pocket at that time. I also  have a smaller ring and some earrings which Matt bought me in Northern Ontario at the Amethyst Mine in Thunder Bay, which we visited many years ago. I loved that place. The mine itself goes underneath the lake and you used to be able to do a bit of mining yourself – for a fee of course. We had a largish lump which we kept in one of our aquariums for years. I have no idea what happened to it. I have just discovered that the Amethyst is Ontario’s official stone, I didn’t know that. The pendant is much more like the colour of my stone, you can see what a lousy picture it is. Not sure why I can’t take pictures of that colour, it was the same when I was trying to photograph my bowling bag and balls, they came out blue.

After bowling (mediocre) we went over to Barrie’s Asparagus farm and I bought a double whack of asparagus as this is the last I will be able to get this year. Picture me weeping. In fact, I bought about 7 lbs. but as I need at least 2 and for soup, plus another pound or so to make Pesto, it won’t leave me a lot for stuffing down my gullet LOL. They were selling raspberries yesterday, so I bought a punnet and we had them for supper, they were delicious. I want to check on a more local farm which sells strawberries. Barrie’s is a long way to go when there are places closer.

As you know, I am always on the lookout for different ways to serve vegetables. I get tired of the same ‘ol same ‘ol.  I came across this one from Web MD so had to share it with you. I love satay sauces but had never thought of using them for veg.

Vegetable Satay

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Although usually made with strips of chicken or beef, this Indonesian-style satay can be made with fresh broccoli and cauliflower florets. Hot Madras curry has a bit of a kick; use regular curry powder if you just want the flavor of curry but not the heat. To save time, look for broccoli and cauliflower already cut into florets in the produce section or at the salad bar of your supermarket.

Servings: 12

Yield: 1 dozen skewers

Recipe Ingredients:

1. 24 broccoli florets, (about 10 ounces)
2. 24 cauliflower florets (about 10 ounces)
3. 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
4. 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
5. 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
6. 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, or ginger juice
7. 1 tablespoon smooth natural peanut butter
8. 1 clove garlic, minced
9. 1 teaspoon hot Madras curry powder
10. 1/4 teaspoon salt

Recipe Steps:

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add broccoli and cauliflower; cook until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain; rinse under cool water.
2. Whisk soy sauce, vinegar, oil, ginger (or ginger juice), peanut butter, garlic, curry and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Add the florets; gently toss to coat. Let marinate at room temperature for at least 2 hours or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.
3. To serve, thread 2 broccoli and 2 cauliflower florets onto each skewer. (Reserve marinade.) Arrange the skewers on a platter in a single layer and drizzle with the marinade.

Have a great day