Busy Tuesday, Asparagus,

Things are not going my way lately. I took the bras to the post office and collected the parcel with the other bra plus a wall plug. Bra seems fine, but nothing would plug into the wall plug again so it too has to go back. Thinking I need to take my hair dryer (lightest thing I could think of) and go round all the damned stores in the area. What a pain. After the Post Office I picked up my groceries then went to the library to pick up and drop off and finally to the bakers to get my favourite buns. I phoned Matt to say I would be home in a few minutes and to meet me, and he was all in a panic and stressed out again because he didn't now where I had got to (I was only just over an hour) and had forgotten I was going to several places. By the time I had done all this I was exhausted again. Although not taking up energy of the body, I had been reconciling bank accounts in the morning and dealing with various appointments. I am beginning to think I need some help. Not only that, Matt complained that the bananas I brought home were tasteless. Grrr. Now of course I have to go back to the post office to return the plug.

When doing my canning yesterday, I had chopped off ends of the asparagus so they would fit in the jars so I had about half a pound of ends which I am now going to make into Cream of Asparagus Soup. Got part way but didn't complete it, will do so tomorrow. We watched My Fair Lady in the evening, not seen it in a long while. Really enjoyed it. It has been restored apparently, certainly nothing wrong with the quality of the film.

Forgot to mention about driving to the asparagus farm. The original route I took was blocked off two years ago because they were repairing a bridge. I found another route and have followed that for the last two seasons then two weeks ago, I was almost there and, guess what, road closed. Luckily there is another route I knew, but I think someone has it in for either me, or Barrie's Asparagus Farm. I probably won't be going there again this year, will have to check the route before I go again next year.

I think I have the pickling bug, I just came across this recipe and thought aha. It isn't canned though, but even so...

Southern-Style Pickled Shrimp

1 Vidalia or sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup capers with their juices
3/4 tsp celery seeds
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Splash of Tabasco sauce, to taste
1 1/2 lbs (41/50 count) peeled and cooked shrimp

In a large bowl, combine the onions, lemon, cider vinegar, canola oil, capers, celery seeds, sugar, salt, and Tabasco. Add the shrimp and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 24 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve chilled. Keeps for at least a week.

Servings: 6

Source: Kitchn

Have a great day
 

Sleep Deprivation, Road Works, Shopping, Pickling,

Monday night we watched an English documentary The Truth About Sleep which I found very interesting. It was hosted by a doctor who had given up being a doctor because he was an insomniac and became extremely bad tempered due to lack of sleep. Not good for patients. There is, apparently, a lot of research going into sleep deprivation in the UK and they carried out a few tests in conjunction with some research labs. The ex doctor said he would go to sleep til 3 a.m. and then that was it. By the end of the programme he was getting a much better night's sleep. So by this time I was too tired to write a blog and so went to bed, I had to take the car in for service at 8 a.m. The programme must have affected me because at 3 a.m. I was wide awake. I did manage to go back to sleep about an hour later. At the end of the programme they tried a few old wive's tales or similar. One was to eat 2 Kiwi fruits an hour before bed (could get expensive) another to have a hot bath an hour before and to go to bed in a cold bedroom. Mindfulness was also tried, but the ex doc himself was taking a probiotic powder in a drink before he went to bed and it really seemed to work. Sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain and diabetes which can then be followed by strokes and heart attacks. Not to mention driving, there is an ad on our local radio station "Never drive when you are DEAD tired".

I made it to Meineke for 8 a.m. and got our free service (from now on we have to pay again and build up points to get more freebies) - I asked them to check our back tire, passenger side. Turns out it was leaking air at the rim and they took it off, cleaned and resealed it. So I'm good to go for a day or two. Oh, nearly forgot, Monday I went to the asparagus farm (what a surprise). 18 months ago they pulled up a bridge so we had to get a new route. Toodling along the country road I found they were pulling up the road where I wanted to go. I was somewhat annoyed, putting it politely. It's a fairly long drive, then I remembered I could back track slightly and use a different junction which I did. My luck, they will decide to close that road as well although there are two golf courses, one, a major one, and I don't think they would be too happy if people couldn't get there for a couple of years.

Today, Tuesday, I ordered my groceries on line again. This is actually saving us money because I see how much I am spending as I add things to my order and not being in the store, do less impulse buying.

I have been hunting for more large Mason jars. I can buy them in packs of 12 but I only want a couple more. I have now been told that one of the local dollar stores, Dollarama, sells them individually. Just phoned them, they do sell them individually. Hurrah. I gave my asparagus pickling recipe to one of the women I buy asparagus for. She is almost as nutty about the stuff as I am. Only got a couple of weeks to go before the season is over. Those of you who don't like asparagus will be relieved!!

Asparagus is enjoyable in a salad and this is a good one.

Asparagus, Strawberry and Quinoa Caprese Salad

2 cups cooked quinoa
1 tsp olive oil
30 spears asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper
16 strawberries, sliced (about 12 ounces)
4.5 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
? cup Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh basil

1. Place the cooked quinoa in a large salad bowl.

2. Prepare the balsamic vinaigrette and set aside.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once heated, add the asparagus and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the asparagus is bright green and slightly tender, yet still has a little crunch.

4. Add the asparagus to the quinoa. Mix in the strawberries, mozzarella cheese, and the balsamic vinaigrette. Toss to combine. Top the salad with chopped fresh basil.

Servings: 7

Author: Krista
Source: Destination Delish

Have a great day
 

Sabine Women, Road Works,

Not a lot on TV on Tuesday night, PBS is doing a programme about the Viet Nam War. I wonder what kind of audience they are getting. It started at the weekend and is continuing, I don't know how long. So, we watched one of Matt's favourites, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. It is a very enjoyable film - total romance of course. But some of the story is based on the story of the Abduction of the Sabine Women which I have just discovered was a myth. However, I had forgotten that one  thing stated in the movie is that the tradition of carrying a bride over the threshold began with that story. Now I wonder how true that is. The incident is usually referred to as The Rape of the Sabine Women but Wikipedia says that is a mis-translation of the Roman word Rapta which is more like abduction than rape. Amazing what you learn just picking up things from a movie. Anyway, we love the music and as a young woman I always loved Howard Keel who had a magnificent voice as did Jane Powell, his co-star.

Tuesday is grocery shopping for us and they have kindly pulled up all the roads and left only one way into the store. Because of this people were going through a gas station to get to the other side of the road works. I would imagine the owners of the station would be totally teed off by that. I can't believe they totally blocked off a fairly busy road rather than doing one side and then the other. I cannot imagine what all these road works are costing the city. What with the LRT (Light Rail Transport) which still isn't completed although lots of the roads are now open again.

I know lots of people out there don't like Brussels Sprouts. Never really understood why except for a short period before I realised that the water in my building distorted the taste and I started using distilled water to cook them. However, I came across this recipe and thought maybe this would help. They are, after all, so good for you.

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Brussels Sprouts

These perfectly crispy garlic parmesan roasted brussels sprouts are easy and quick to put together and only calls for a few ingredients.

1 lb brussels sprouts trimmed
2 Tbs olive oil extra virgin
1 Tbs garlic powder or to taste
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper ground
1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.

2. Clean the brussels sprouts by rinsing in cold water, cutting off the end of the stem, and discarding it.

3. Place in a bowl and mix Brussels sprouts together with the olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

4. Transfer to a baking sheet and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

5. Sprinkle with more parmesan cheese if preferred and serve warm.

Servings: 4

Source: Jo Cooks
Author: Joanna Cismaru

Have a great day
 

Einstein the Parrot, Steaks, Bowling, Road Works,

Sorry no blog yesterday, life caught up with me.

One of the bowling alley owners breeds birds and he recommended this to me. I hope you enjoy it too.



We had our expensive steaks for dinner on Saturday. I didn't do anything special to them and I got no complaints about the meat being tough so I guess if we want a good fillet, I will have to go to the Victoria St. Market. Actually, it wasn't a whole heap more expensive I decided.

About the only thing good you could say about my bowling on Monday was that I broke 100 on every game and gradually went up each time but never got a very high score. I don't think I have ever bowled so many gutter balls. Matt had a really good game at the end. Last time we will be able to bowl on a Monday until September. From now on it is Wednesday and Thursday. Even thought the league finishes in August, Matt and I will still bowl on a Wednesday and Thursday until the Winter league begins again.

After bowling on Monday we went to the asparagus farm. Had to try yet another route. Our original route, they have a bridge up for 2 years, now the new route we tried for a couple of weeks or so they have closed part of to put in a roundabout. They have gone nuts about roundabouts in this area lately. Used not to be any when we first came here, now they seem to be all over the place.  Persuaded a bowling friend to try farm fresh asparagus so got some for her. She won't get it til Thursday but it will still be better than the stuff from the store.

I know I am fanatical about asparagus, but I am almost as fanatical about Hearts of Palm. I love them although they are not cheap to buy. This is a delicious salad and having recalled it I think I will get some Hearts of Palm when shopping today and make it for supper tonight. I am also getting a rotisserie chicken to have tonight and then to turn the rest into Leftover Chicken Pie filling.

Asparagus Salad with Hearts of Palm and Cherry Tomatoes

1 bunch of asparagus, steamed
1 can of hearts of palm
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 green onions, sliced
1 small shallot, diced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1.5 Tbs red wine vinegar
1.5 Tbs white wine vinegar
1 tsp gluten free Dijon mustard
6 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook asparagus til al dente. Chill in ice bath or cold water. Chop into bite sized pieces cut diagonally. Place in large bowl. Cut each stalk of hearts of palm into 4 pieces and then each into 1 inch pieces at a diagonal.  Add to bowl.  Add your halved cherry tomatoes.  Add in sliced green onions.  Add in chopped shallots.

2. In a separate bowl, add in vinegars, mustard and a pinch of salt. Slowly pour in olive oil and whisk to emulsify.  Add in pepper and adjust ingredients to desired taste. Pour dressing over salad and mix.  Add lemon juice as desired.

3. Serve into bowls and enjoy!

Note: This recipe would go great with some anchovies on top!  Also, if you can find jarred hearts of palm, please use those instead of canned!  Unless labeled, cans can be lined with BPA (toxic!!).  But some brands, like Native Forest, guarantee that their cans are BPA free so do some research before buying your canned foods.  Can also substitute hearts of palm with artichoke hearts!

Servings: 3

Source: Food for Rabbits

Have a great day
 

Optometry and Road Works, Medical, Underwater Photography,

Optometrist visit for us today. Apparently I have a cataract growing and have to watch how my eyes are as I have one more or less useless eye (I can see periferally but not straight ahead) - he gave me a paper with a square design on it and a central dot. I have to stare at the dot now and again and if any of the lines appear to waver, I need to call him. I had problems making sure I didn't crumple it on the way home but now I find it on line so I could reprint it if I needed to. Matt had two cataracts done, but I can't remember if he could see straight away or not. If not I would be essentially blind until it cleared up. Getting to the optometrist was a pain in the butt. There is still a lot of road work going on for this LRT system and we followed the detour but there was one place where there were 2 sings, one saying go ahead and one turn left. I only saw the turn left one and we ended up going in a circle!!! Just got there on time and the optometrist told me how to reach Hiway 8 which is a express road and took us back easily. For some reason, we never use the express roads.

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment and they arranged me to see another doctor who will go over my medications. Why can't my doc do that? Anyway, they tell me getting to them is easy again now, but I know there is still one place where there is a detour.

I mentioned a while back that I had booked tickets to see a show about Underwater Photography for the National Geographic. The photographer, Brian Skerry, has spent more than 10,000 hours underwater. There was a reminder in my email and the following picture which I found fascinating.

Don't you think that is amazing? The diver looks so tiny against the huge whale, a Southern Right Whale. Then I found a video.



For those of you who will be cooking your hearts out for Thanksgiving, this looked like quite an easy recipe to make ahead of time. Sadly Matt does not like Sweet Potato.

Cheese-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Portable and healthy, these potatoes can be prepared ahead of time and are ready-to-eat after a quick

reheat. Cook time includes five minutes cooling time and assumes you use the microwave option

2 small sweet potatoes (between 5 and 6 ounces each)
2 oz soft fresh goat cheese
1/4 cup fat-free cottage cheese
2 Tbs skim milk ricotta cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
1 green onion, sliced
paprika, to taste

1. Scrub potatoes, prick lightly with a fork and microwave for six minutes, or until done. (Or, bake in oven at 400 degrees F for one hour or until done.) When cool enough to handle, cut the potatoes lengthwise and scoop out the insides into a small mixing bowl. Set aside potato skins.

2. Mash the cooked potatoes with the three cheeses and salt and pepper. Distribute the potato mixture evenly among the potato shells. Top each with the sliced green onion and sprinkle paprika on top.

3. Return potatoes to the microwave (one minute on high) or oven (10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees F) or until hot. Wrap or store in a portable container to bring to work or the gym; microwave on high for 1 1/2 to two minutes on high before eating.

Servings: 2

Author: FLKeysJen

Have a great day
 

Champagne, Realms Faire. Road Works.

There is a new report out which says if you drink 3 glasses of champagne daily, it may help to prevent Alzheimer's. I'm all for it. I drink champagne on Sunday morning and it is my favourite beverage. I have two glasses just before lunch and I do get a teeny bit tipsy. So 3 a day I would be flying high. Mind you after a while one would get used to it.  We buy splits of champagne, each small bottle being just the right size for a glass. They cost approximately $10 for 3 small bottles. That means $70 a week or $3,640 a year. Sorry, can't afford that, guess I will just have to risk the disease after all. Not only that, as it turns out, the study has only been carried out with rats. On GMA today (Tuesday) they had lots of volunteers for human testing. I too would volunteer if they need someone round here. Of course the Henkell Trocken we buy for me is not champagne, but a sparkling wine made in the methode champenoise. They are no longer allowed to use the word champagne unless the wine comes from the Champagne region of France. As a final note, Matt is NOT a champagne drinker unless it has been made into a cocktail. The one he likes and makes, you drop a cube of sugar into the glass, a half shot of cognac, a dash of angostura bitters and a sliver of orange peel and then top up the glass with champagne. We used to serve those on Christmas morning together with a really good ham and Colman's English mustard. These days we don't really have friends who don't have families with whom they celebrate.

There are lots of games going on at Realms Faire not just the unicorn one part of which was on this blog yesterday. The first day we had to cheer Alex on because he was fighting War. Each day there is fighting and jousting. I know the jousting is hosted by M. Pax. There are lots of prizes to be won so don't just sit back once you have checked out the unicorns. By the way, I had to get L. Diane Wolf to show me where the unicorns were.

We had to go for our annual eye test today. I have mentioned the roadworks going on in our town right now and the impossibility of getting to places on King St. In fact some businesses have closed because people just won't bother (well we basically don't) because it's so difficult. So, half way to the optometrist, what do we find, no through road and a diversion. I reckon we went a good mile out of our way to get back onto our road. It's absolutely ridiculous. They seem to be doing roadworks all over the town. Tomorrow, Matt has a doc. appointment and we have to go up a different street, then follow the signs which one store has put out all over the place. They are right opposite the office Matt is going to. The store is a very popular grocery store and, these days, is one of the few which still cut meat. I want ground veal and they are the only people that have it. I am going to be ordering a pork roast for Boxing Day too (Dec. 26). That picture is how they used to be. Nowadays the road in front is completely torn up. Has been for months. I have heard of at least two stores which have closed and a MacDonalds.

I remembered a recipe I used to make quite a lot, once upon a time, and it was called Jarret de Boeuf en Daube. I knew exactly which cookbook it was in - only it wasn't. I was astounded and now I don't know which cookbook it came from. It was well before the age of computers. So, I looked it up online. First, I discovered, Jarret de Boeuf meant shin of beef. I didn't know that. Basically that just translates to stewing beef nowadays. Here is one of the recipes I found. This is an absolutely wonderful dish. Burgundy is not readily available round here unfortunately, so I recommend a good, full bodied, red wine if you can't find it. One thing I don't remember in the recipe I used to make, is the addition of tomatoes.

Boeuf En Daube - French Beef Burgundy in the Crock Pot

A delicious and heady combination of good red wine, prime beef, smoked bacon, dried orange, shallots, garlic and cèpes - dried forest mushrooms! A traditional French recipe with a twist - cook it in the crock pot for ease and convenience. Wonderful in the depths of winter, but equally lovely with

crisp salads,crusty bread and baked potatoes during the summer - the addition of orange making it a lighter beef dish than the more usual Beef Daube or Beef Burgundy. An excellent choice for a family reunion or celebration, as it is VERY well behaved! It also freezes well and is a great pie filling idea.

Ingredients Nutrition

Servings 8-12  

• 5 lbs prime beef, cubed and trimmed of fat
• 1 lb shallot, peeled
• 4 -6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped finely
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• 2 -4 bay leaves
• 750 ml Burgundy wine  
• 1 -2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lb lardons, Smoked Bacon pieces
• ¹⁄₂ ounce dried cèpes, soaked for 1 hr
• 6 -8 pieces dried orange peel, see method
• 1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
• sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 -2 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch), for thickening
• 2 tablespoons cognac
• 2 -4 sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped finely (optional)
• 1 (8 ounce) can chopped tomatoes (optional)

50 All-Time Dinner Favorites

Directions

1. Marinade the beef with the herbs, shallots and garlic over night in the bottle of red wine.
2. Drain and put the wine to one side.
3. In a large skillet or frying pan, sear and brown the beef pieces over a high heat in the olive oil until nutty & brown. Do not overcrowd the pan!
4. Place browned beef into the crock pot or cast iron Casserole Dish.
5. Fry the lardons or chopped bacon pieces until crispy and golden brown. Drain and add to the beef.
6. Brown the shallots and garlic in the bacon fat and add to the beef and bacon.
7. Add all the other ingredients, except the cornflour, to the crock pot including the reserved wine.
8. (Add the tinned tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes at this stage too if you are using them.).
9. Cook on automatic or High for 4 hours and Low for up to 6 hours.
10. (For conventional cooking - pre-heat oven to 175° C or 325° F or gas mark 3 and cook SLOWLY for approximately 4 to 6 hours; check towards the end, the meat should be extemely tender - you MUST not be tempted to cook it quicker, it will be tough!).
11. Towards the end, blend and mix the cornflour with a couple of spoons of the stock in the crock pot and add to the beef, stirring well. It should not be TOO thick but just like a glaze or thickened jus. Add the cognac at this stage as well - stirring into the daube.
12. Serve with Green Beans, Mashed, Steamed or Pureed Potatoes during the colder months OR with a selection of salads, crusty French bread and Pasta during the warmer months. The excess sauce can be used or saved as a fantastic gravy or stock later!
13. THIS IS BETTER MADE 24 HOURS BEFORE EATING!
14. Freezes beautifully - I always make a large batch and then freeze some.
15. NOTE:If you cannot buy sun dried orange peel, make your own, it's VERY easy! Peel some oranges with a swivel head vegetable peeler or parer, be careful not to peel the pith. Spread outside on a rack in the full sun and leave to dry for about 2-4 hours. Weather permitting of course - otherwise dry in an airing cupboard or a very LOW oven overnight.Store in an airtight jar for up to 2 years.
16. If you are really stuck - just grate some fresh orange peel into the daube, it will not have the same intensity as dried peel, but it will work!

Have a great day