The Wedding, Royal Winner, Tornado Destruction

So, I did see the wedding ceremony itself even though I hadn’t intended to. I found I became somewhat emotional when she walked down the aisle with her dad. I hadn’t realised they had put trees in Westminster Abbey for the occasion, looked great. The dress was beautiful but, in my opinion, relatively simple and definitely uncluttered; better than Diana’s which to my mind was too fussy. William was in uniform with a red coat and Harry in black. Actually Harry’s uniform was a lot more ornate than William’s. One little titbit I learned, Prince Charles has never put the toothpaste on his own toothbrush. This was shared when they were talking about the fact that the newly weds, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge by the way, would be living a simple life in a house in Anglesey, Wales with Catherine doing the cooking. Reported this morning, they have gone away for a quiet weekend at a private retreat and will go on honeymoon at a later day.

It tickled me that some young women in the crowd had a sign “Marry me Harry”. The wedding breakfast, as it is called in England, consisted of champagne and canapés. Hope none of the guests were diabetic or that there were enough to stave off hunger. Apparently the Queen doesn’t eat at these kinds of receptions, too busy hostessing. Damn that for a lark, I wouldn’t host anything if I couldn’t partake of the available nosh. In the evening they will be having a dinner which is being hosted by Prince Charles. Then afterwards a ‘knees-up’ and for the non Brits, that originated from the Cockney Song “Knees Up Mother Brown” except its pronounced Muvva. http://youtu.be/yZH47Xevshg Basically it means a hell of a party, a right rave up, a real good time. It apparently lasted til dawn.

Funny item I heard on the radio yesterday, there was a horse running in in the 5:30 race at Fontwell Park in England – it was a 4-1 longshot called Royal Wedding. Guess what, it won. I hope the owners had a good big bet on it. I would have done if I’d been there, too much of a coincidence not to win. It was at better odds early on at 8-1 so if one had managed to get that price, it would have been a good pay out.

What terrible devastation in the American south; this morning they were showing towns which had been wiped off the map – Alabama was particularly badly hit and there are now well over 300 dead. The central states are having a particularly bad time of it as there is also massive flooding. As far as I know, there is no flooding in the tornado damaged areas, that would really put the icing on the cake. I feel so sorry for all these homeless people who were just going about their normal every day lives and suddenly their homes collapsed on top of them. The pictures on TV showed acres and acres of nothing but debris where once houses and churches used to stand. On top of the debris one could see cars and trucks just strewn about, some upside down. Dreadful.

Yet another delicious looking recipe from WebMD. We both like fish I am pleased to say although so many people say they do not.

Easy Agave and Lime Salmon

By The Gluten Free Goddess
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

This dish is so easy you can take it from the kitchen to the campground. Prepare it in foil packets and toss it onto the campfire or use your own indoor (or outdoor) grill at home. Amazing with veggie kebabs on the side, this dish will quickly become a family favorite.

Ingredients

4 serving-sized pieces of salmon
1 red onion, sliced
4 scallions, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup agave nectar
Fresh lime juice from two large limes
Pinch of cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Tear off eight pieces of foil; two for each piece of salmon. Place one serving of salmon on one piece of foil. Season the salmon with a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Combine:
4 serving sized pieces of wild caught salmon
1 red onion, sliced
4 scallions, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
For the sauce:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup agave nectar
Fresh lime juice from two large limes
A tiny, secret pinch of cinnamon -- don't tell
Combine the olive oil, agave, lime juice and touch of cinnamon in a glass measuring cup. Pour the sauce all over the salmon pieces. Sprinkle the salmon with onions, scallions and garlic.

Place the remaining pieces of foil on each serving and fold the edges to create a packet. Bake in a preheated oven for roughly 20 minutes, till it flakes easily but is not dried out.

Total Servings: 4

Have a great weekend

Good Friday, THE Wedding, Easter Weekend.

Happy Good Friday. This isn’t the best picture in the world, but it amused me because – quite accidentally – we have Easter bunnies and a Poinsettia right next to each other. Celebrating two holidays at once. I’m getting a bit fed up with the Poinsettia mind you. The piggy banks are incidental. I meant to make some Hot Cross Buns for today and completely forgot. We can buy them, but they are not quite the same taste as the ones I make or that we used to buy in the UK.

It seems, watching TV this morning, that the whole of the ABC is jaunting off to the UK this weekend in order to “do” the royal wedding. Some of them are already there and the rest are going over the next couple of days or so. A lot of people seem very wrapped up in the whole celebration. It will be shown on TV from about 4 a.m. onwards, but this is one cookie who will NOT be getting up that early. I don’t think I did for the other weddings either. They didn’t invite me, why should I care!!! I just heard this morning it takes 4 minutes to walk up the aisle. They figure its because of the whole event that Kate has lost so much weigh lately and one presenter guessed she probably hadn’t had too much sleep lately.

I picked up a tub of fresh oysters the other day so I am making gumbo tonight with shrimp and the oysters. Only thing will be missing is the crab. Canned crab just isn’t the same. We are still debating whether to have roast lamb or roast turkey breast for our Easter dinner. We only get turkey a couple of times a year normally so I think we will opt for the turkey. This turkey breast came all the way from NC. Can’t find such deals here.

Last night we had our bowling banquet and everyone was very disappointed that, for some reason, we didn’t have rolled ribs, apparently they were ordered. Instead we got platters of grossly overcooked beef which was difficult to lift off the plate because it just fell apart it was so well done. Matt and I just don’t understand how much people seem to enjoy beef like that which, to us, is totally ruined. Little or no flavour to it. Even if you don’t want rare, serve it slightly pink, much better flavour.

Today we are supposed to vote, actually we have a choice of today, tomorrow or Monday. That is because we are working the election. Yesterday, our cleaners came in, they are French Canadians so I was asking them about the words for polling booth (un isoloir) and other appropriate words in case I get someone who is French speaking and needs an interpreter. Apparently they only ever speak French at home and talking about family things so they couldn’t remember the French for any of the things I was asking.

This recipe is for Tina, Matt’s youngest daughter who, on her one and only visit to Canada, could not get enough of chocolate pies. That was quite a few years ago.

Velvety Chocolate Cream Pie

Hershey’s Kitchens

Ingredients

• 1 9-inch pie crust, baked and cooled
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups milk
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Chocolate Chips or HERSHEY'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Whipped topping
• Additional HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Chocolate Chips or HERSHEY'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions

1. 1 Prepare pie crust, cool.
2. 2 Stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in medium saucepan. Combine eggs and milk; gradually stir into sugar mixture, blending well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wire whisk, until mixture begins to thicken and just comes to a boil. Remove from heat.
3. 3 Add chocolate chips, butter and vanilla. Stir until chips and butter are melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour into prepared crust. Immediately press plastic wrap onto pie surface. Refrigerate three to four hours or until firm. Garnish with whipped topping and chocolate chips. 8 servings. VARIATION: COCONUT CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE: Prepare pie as above; stir in 1 cup MOUNDS Sweetened Coconut Flakes with chocolate chips and butter.

Have a great Easter weekend

Gasoline, Knees Up.

I couldn’t believe it, when we went out yesterday morning, we discovered gas had gone up 9¢ a litre. Apparently oil is now $100 US a barrel. Thank you Moammar Gadhafi et al. Apparently electricity (hydro) prices have also risen sharply too. I am not quite sure why electricity is always referred to as hydro around here, I don’t know if all our power is generated by water, but I don’t think so. The first time anyone asked me if our hydro was off, I went and turned on the taps and came back to report that it was OK. I learned. I guess Europeans would laugh at me complaining about another 9¢ a litre when they have been paying much more for gasoline for years. Air flights have been increased already, I begin to think we will never travel by air again. Apart from all the hassle which I can’t be bothered with, it is getting too damned expensive for anything.

Another thing I couldn’t believe, we got down to the clinic where I have my blood test at 6:40 and there were already 11 people in front of me. Incredible, what time do these people get up I wonder. However, I was out by 7:30 so not too bad.

This morning on GMA they were talking about the pub owner who has been invited to the wedding of William and Catherine. His pub, The Old Boot, has been visited by her family for years and is their local. William has also been there on several occasions. John Haley, the pub owner, was interviewed and he talked about attending the wedding and getting back to his pub for the “knees up” he would be holding that evening. The GMA team immediately asked for a translation of “knees up” which  has actually come to mean a party although the original phrase came from a Cockney song “Knees up Mother Brown” in which Mother is normally pronounced Muvver. In this case, knees up refers to lively dancing.

  Looking for a picture I came across explanations which referred to sexual activities, I assure you, it has nothing to do with that, not originally anyway, and not in the UK vernacular. Oh, and in case you don’t know what a Cockney is, officially they had to be born within the sound of Bow Bells (a church) in London, England.

Now I am off to lunch as I told you the other day and then bowling.

The following recipe was in my Kraft newsletter this morning.

Low-Fat Chocolate-Banana Parfaits

 

4 servings, 3/4 cup each

What You Need

1 pkg. (1.4 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Pudding

2 cups  cold fat-free milk

2 bananas, sliced

3/4 cup  thawed COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping or COOL WHIP Sugar Free Whipped Topping, divided

Make It

BEAT pudding mix and milk with whisk 2 min.

SPOON half the pudding evenly into 4 dessert glasses. Cover with layers of banana slices and half the COOL WHIP; top with remaining pudding and remaining COOL WHIP.

REFRIGERATE at least 1 hour before serving.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Substitute

Looking to make just one? Try using a JELL-O Sugar Free Pudding Snack layered with 1/2 a banana, sliced and 2 Tbsp. COOL WHIP Sugar Free Whipped Topping.

Have a great day

Wedding Date, 50, Shots in Korea

So the wedding date is April 29 for the royal couple. So much for the people who bet it would be in July. They will be getting married in Westminster Abbey where the queen was both married and crowned. Not in St. Paul’s where Charles and Diana got married. Friends on Facebook were discussing whether it would be a holiday or not, rest easy guys, it will be a National Holiday, that is for all the people who are not police, nurses, prison officers, etc. etc.

Robin Roberts, one of the hosts on Good Morning America, turned 50 today and the whole programme was full of well wishes to her from all kinds of people. Not a bad way to celebrate one’s birthday. I remember we went to a Greek restaurant in Brantford for my 50th birthday dinner. Sadly the restaurant is no longer there, the food was superb.  For Matt I hired some caterers and invited friends to dinner. It was a good evening. We also had someone to serve and clean up so it was a double present really.

It really is quite incredible the difference in people today and when I was young. People were getting old at 50 in those days and even if they didn’t shuffle off their mortal coil too soon after, they were old people. (I don’t just mean in my perception). I guess a lot is due to medical science and to the availability of so much fitness advice and knowledge, but people are much younger seeming today. In fact I just discovered a man with whom we bowl every week is 86. I was staggered, several of us were, I wouldn’t have guessed his age at all, maybe in the 70s. When you see all the people, seniors, we bowl with each week, it makes you realise the difference, once octogenarians were very old, doddery and decrepit, not any more. I assume it’s the same in all Western countries, but I don’t really know. I certainly think life in North America seems to keep people younger. It was one of the first things I noticed when I came to live here.

Looks like there is trouble brewing between North and South Korea. I do hope it doesn’t amount to anything serious. http://tinyurl.com/2utqqrn will give you a video and GMA’s report on the current situation.

I have always loved chestnut stuffing in turkey. The regular kind is so very easy to make. However this one is a different twist and I thought it would be a good one to try.

Chestnut and Apple Stuffing

Source: Eating Well by Burt Wolf

Makes about 8 cups

INGREDIENTS

5 thick slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 cup diced celery

1/2 cup sliced scallions

1 cup canned chestnuts, coarsely chopped

3 cups apple cider

2 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

10 cups of bite-sized pieces of stale bread

2 unpeeled apples, cored and coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. With a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to a bowl. Pour all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the skillet. Add the celery, scallions, and chestnuts and cook over medium heat until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.

Place bacon and sautéed vegetables in a bowl. Add the cider, egg yolks, and pepper. Mix. Add bread and toss until liquid is absorbed. Mix in the apples.

Place in a 9-x-13-inch baking pan or an ovenproof casserole and bake for 45 minutes.

Serving size = 1/2 cup

Have a great day.

William and Kate, Wicked Steps, Surgeon.

So, at last, Prince William is engaged to be married. There will be a spring or summer wedding next year. That will cause a lot of excitement in the UK and will be a great boost for tourism. Thousands of people flock to see a royal wedding. There is an article about them here http://tinyurl.com/28p3kle Prince William apparently announced that he wouldn’t marry til he was 28 or 30 and he has just turned 28.

Funny, I had a thought, you never hear of a wicked step-grandmother do you? There must have been some through time. I am a step-grandmother but I hope I don’t classify as wicked. For any of my family who read this, you had better answer nicely or I will put a hex on you!

Today is the day I have been waiting for for some time, the day I see the vascular surgeon and find out just what is going to be happening. Keep your fingers crossed everyone that it will be something soon. I am sick and tired of my inability to walk very far. Mind you I wish I could blame my bowling on that too, but unfortunately I can’t. Yesterday I had lousy games (well one reasonable one) – it really is the weirdest game, you can bowl brilliantly one minute and appallingly badly the next. We have one member who is our top bowler and yet even he had two very poor games today although his last game above his normal standard. Because one of the bowlers says “I hate this game” whenever he bowls badly, we all say it now. Oh well, Friday bowling is another day.

As I have said, I don’t like Pumpkin Pie, however, Pecan Pie is another thing altogether and a Pecan Pie with Chocolate Chips – well what more can you want? Except, maybe the dollop of cream to go with it. For those who are planning for Thanksgiving, I offer this recipe from Cooking.com.

Pecan-Chocolate Chip Pie

Source: Cooking at a Glance - Pies & Pastries

From Cooking.com

Makes 10 servings

There's only one way to improve on a pecan pie: Add chocolate! The resulting pie is rich and filling, so cut the pieces small.
INGREDIENTS

For the Pie:

3 eggs

1 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted

one 6-ounce package semisweet chocolate pieces (1 cup) or 1 cup chopped semisweet chocolate

1 cup pecan halves

Pastry for Single-Crust Pie (home made or bought)

For the Topping:

10 pecan halves

1 cup whipping cream, whipped

DIRECTIONS

FOR THE PIE:
In a medium mixing bowl use a rotary beater or wire whisk to lightly beat eggs just till mixed. Stir in corn syrup, sugar, and melted margarine or butter. Mix well. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the chocolate pieces; stir remaining chocolate pieces and 1 cup pecan halves into filling. Set filling aside.

Prepare and roll out pastry as directed. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry. Trim and crimp edge of pastry. Pour filling into pastry shell. To prevent overbrowning, cover the edge of the pie with foil. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20-25 minutes more, or till center appears nearly set when shaken. Cool on a rack.

FOR THE TOPPING:
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan melt reserved chocolate pieces over low heat. Dip one end of each of the 10 pecan halves into melted chocolate. Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate about 15 minutes, or till chocolate is firm.

TO SERVE:
Dollop whipped cream on each slice. Insert a chocolate-dipped pecan half in each dollop of whipped cream. Store in the refrigerator

Have a great day