Wimbledon, Mandarin, Shopping, A/C,

I was surprised to learn that Wimbledon is 140 yrs old.  I was also surprised to learn that in the two weeks of the tennis matches they go through 54,000 tennis balls. that's one hell of a lot of tennis balls. apparently a new ball is required regularly (when I used to play, we used the same all balls for ages). They usually ended up being pretty grungy looking too. I guess the tennis ball manufacturers must love tennis tournaments. I always wanted to play tennis with a ball boy, so much easier than chasing after an errant ball yourself. Needless to say it didn't happen, or at least, extremely infrequently.

Well, I had my chocolate covered bacon today (Tuesday) and enjoyed it very much. My friend could

hardly bear to watch me eat it and Matt has never even tried it. Also had some Maple Glazed Salmon which was actually a tad dry. Not sure why, their salmon is usually very good. Our friend even tried half a cabbage roll - not very Chinese at all. Nor is chocolate covered bacon I guess.  They also had bannocks which I think of as Scottish but they came over with the first immigrants and were adopted by the Indians I gather. Hope I get to go again before the end of the month of celebration for Canada's 150th.  There were some bear paws on the dessert tray too which Matt tried. He ate it all so I guess he liked it. Didn't say. They weren't as big as some bear paws I've seen.

After, we went shopping and the cashier was one I had talked to last week and given my blog address too. She said she had been looking at my recipes but hadn't had time to try any yet. As a working girl you don't really get a lot of time to cook and, as I recall, often feel too tired to do so anyway. Then I took Rogue One back to the library and told them it was unplayable. The librarian found me another copy and I played that fine - I enjoyed it very much. A good prequel.

Having eaten a large lunch we decided to have Asparagus with Poached Eggs and Parmesan, fairly light dish for supper. Will be the last time we can have it til next year. Still got some asparagus left, but nearly at the end. I froze a lot but not the same thing at all.

Thursday morning we have a company coming to look at the A/C. I believe it is totally shot which means a new machine. Problem is it was really pushed into the wall sleeve and I believe will be very difficult to get out. Thank goodness at the moment it isn't too hot.

This is obviously a McCormick's recipe but it sounded so delicious. Whether we can get the marinade mix here or not I don't know.

Island Woodfire Shrimp with Bacon-Wrapped Pineapple

1 package McCormick® Grill Mates® Island Woodfire Grill Marinade
1/4 cup oil
2 Tbs cider vinegar
2 Tbs water
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 slices bacon
1/2 ripe pineapple

1. Mix Marinade Mix, oil, vinegar and water in small bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup for brushing. Place shrimp in large resealable plastic bag or glass dish. Add remaining marinade; turn to coat well. Refrigerate 15 minutes or longer for extra flavor. (Marinate seafood no longer than 30 minutes.)

2. Meanwhile, cut bacon slices in half to make 16 pieces. Place 2 layers of paper towels on microwaveable plate. Place 8 pieces of bacon in single layer on paper towels. Cover with 1 layer of paper towel. Microwave on HIGH 2 to 4 minutes or until bacon is partially cooked. Repeat with remaining bacon. Set aside.

3. Peel pineapple then halve lengthwise. Cut off core from each half. Slice pineapple crosswise so pieces are same thickness as shrimp. Wrap 1 piece bacon around each pineapple slice. Remove shrimp from marinade. Discard any remaining marinade. Alternately thread 2 shrimp and a bacon-wrapped pineapple onto each skewer.

4. Grill skewers over medium-high heat 4 to 6 minutes or until shrimp is cooked through, turning occasionally and brushing with reserved marinade.

Servings: 16

Author Notes: (1 skewer) Servings


Have a great day

Bowling, Movie, Burgers, Deep Pacific,

Bowling was frustrating on Wednesday - we won the first game by around 80 points then lost the second game by 5 and the third by 4 points. Thursday I will find out what our standings are. But I would almost rather be beaten by a large amount. Mind you, the team we were playing against are pretty good bowlers, so much so that they carry minus handicaps which doesn't help them. Two of them were a couple of guys who were part of our team last summer so we are pretty good friends. One of them was telling all kinds of groaners which were so bad they were funny.

Yesterday I picked up Rogue One at the library and then last night there were programmes I wanted to watch and there are tonight (Wednesday) I have until Tuesday so hopefully I will be able to watch it before then. Not sure if DVDs can be renewed.

Tried the second lot of burgers Gouda and mushrooms - didn't like them as much as the first ones but they were still good. Of course the Barrie's Relish helped too.

Watched the second episode of Big Pacific on Wednesday night. I didn't realise how much damage

had been done to the Bikini Atoll by the atom bomb testing 60 years ago. There were also pictures of tsunamis which were enough to frighten one to death. Followed that with Great Yellowstone Thaw. Thought about watching Making North America but hadn't written this blog. It occurred to me today, that those of us who watch such programmes are probably very much in the minority and the rest of the world doesn't care about polluting oceans and other damage we are doing to the Earth.

Having posted a dessert for Independence Day I figured I should post one for Canada's 150th birthday on July 1. You could also use blueberries or raspberries for this recipe.

Red Wine Chocolate Cake With Blackberries

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup dark Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1 Tbsp vinegar)
1 cup red wine
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup blackberry preserves
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
1 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbs cocoa
3-5 Tbsp 10% cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter and line three 8-inch round baking pans with parchment paper. Butter parchment.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt, whisking until thoroughly combined. Add eggs, buttermilk, wine, oil, and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Divide evenly among prepared pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

4. Prepare frosting by combining all ingredients in a large bowl and beating until light and fluffy.

5. To assemble: Place one layer, flat side down, on a serving platter. Spread half of the blackberry preserves evenly on top, followed by approximately ½ cup of buttercream. Position second layer on top and press to adhere. Repeat with remaining preserves, another ½ cup of buttercream, and final cake layer. Cover all sides and top with remaining buttercream. Serve with fresh blackberries (optional)

Author: adapted from loveandoliveoil.com

Have a great day