VHS, Saturday Supper, Bleeding Finger,,

A friend fixed it so we can watch both VHS and DVD movies these days and, being in isolation, I fished out one which was of a Pavarotti concert which took place in Hyde Park, London, in 1991. Princess Diana and Prince Charles were in the audience, everyone getting soaked. The VHS was in pretty good condition considering it is 30 years old and the sound was good too. This is the second VHS we have watched lately. Having watched Saving Mr. Banks for a second time, I fished out our copy of Mary Poppins. I knew there was a glitch in the tape, but after all these years, the glitch, when it got to it, stopped the tape completely. Now I am undecided, should I buy a DVD of it or not. The glitch happens just when Mr. Banks is being "fired" by the bank big wigs. If you've never seen Mary Poppins, the original, you should. It was a great movie and Walt Disney did a wonderful job with it which is what Saving Mr. Banks is all about. I have a lot of VHS movies and some personal stuff which I recorded. There is even some of my first wedding and honeymoon which took place in 1962, i.e. almost 58 years ago. I wonder what condition that is in.

Saturday night for supper I cooked a large sirloin steak which I had bought at VSM the other day. It was excellent, their meat may be a bit pricey but it's good stuff. I made a sauce with it, shallots, red wine, Balsamic vinegar, it is really delicious with beef. I even managed to get the knife good and sharp, I am getting better at sharpening knives.

I somehow bashed my finger, just below the knuckle, the other day. On my desk drawer which was shut. Stupid thing won't stop bleeding. Having trouble keeping the Bandaids on particularly with all this extra hand washing. Every time it falls off I think the wound is OK and then an hour or so later, I'm bleeding to death again.

Sunday night PBS had Jonathan Antoine on again, same concert as before, and, as before, we missed the first bit. I would absolutely have loved to go to the concert in Toronto, next October, but not possible. His voice is so fantastic.I was in tears, this song is so sad, from Les Miserables, and to hear Jonathan sing it, words fail me. Apparently he did lose some weight, but I think he needs to lose a tad more. I am planning to buy his DVD being released at the end of April



Here's a simple recipe from Kevin Lynch, one of my favourite cookery writers

Chicken and Avocado Burritos

Burritos stuffed with juicy chicken, cool and creamy avocado, oozy gooey melted cheese, spicy salsa

verde and sour cream!

4 burrito sized tortillas (corn tortillas for gluten-free), warmed
1 lb cooked chicken, sliced or shredded
1 large avocado, diced
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/4 cup salsa verde
1/4 cup sour cream or greek yogurt
2 Tbs cilantro, chopped

1. Assemble the burritos, optionally toast, and enjoy!

Servings: 4

Tips: Use taco lime grilled chicken, cilantro lime grilled chicken or tequila lime grilled chicken instead of plain chicken

Author: Kevin Lynch
Source: Closet Cooking

Have a great day
 

Owl Selfie, Saturday Supper,

Funny, a Snowy Owl has been caught several times in a Montreal traffic camera. They suggest it is taking selfies. In fact the theory is that it is looking for a suitably high spot to nest as being in this area there are lots of open fields in which it can hunt.

Saturday night we finished up the mincemeat tart with a dollop of the frozen cream. The cream was fine and hadn't changed one little bit. I also made Oven Barbecued Pork Chops with sautéed cabbage - Matt had a baked potato - for supper. Not bad for someone who is hobbling around. Hopefully on Monday I will find out about my X-ray results. I have linked to the blog where I first gave the pork chop recipe. Do try them, we enjoy them and they are so very easy to make.

So nobody won the Powerball on Saturday and now it is going up to $1 billion. That is actually a ridiculous prize. What they should do is separate it into several large prizes to give more people a chance to win something. This week I will have a ticket, friend is buying one for me, I have told him if it wins I only want $5 million, he can keep the rest. I really wouldn't want that much money - I firmly believe it would destroy your life. One thing if you have earned ever penny, but to win that much money, no, not a good thing.

A friend posted on Facebook that she had made these fritters for supper last Friday. I thought it looked very good. My only problem is, I can't figure out how many servings this is for, I would guess 2. It is certainly a different way of serving couscous. I have never heard of SunBlush tomatoes, I don't know if they are an English item or not. I have converted the metric measurements as near as I can get to ounces and cups. Although I live in a country with metric, I still haven't learnt to think in those measurements and of course in the US they don't use metric at all.

Couscous fritters with feta

BBC Good Food

Ingredients

175g (6 1/4 oz.)couscous
200ml (3/4 cup)  hot vegetable stock
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp natural yogurt
85g (3 oz) feta cheese, cut into 1cm (small) cubes
50g (1.75 oz) SunBlush tomato, finely chopped
3 spring onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp sunflower oil or vegetable oil

Method

Measure the couscous into a large heatproof bowl, pour over the hot stock, then cover with cling film. Leave to stand for 5 mins or until the couscous has absorbed the stock and is soft. Add the egg and yogurt and mix well. Season, then fold through the cheese, tomatoes and spring onions.
Divide the mixture into 4 and shape into burgers. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, then cook the fritters over a medium heat for 3 mins on each side until golden. Serve with a green salad and a spoonful of your favourite chutney.

 Tip
Making the fritters

Wet your hands before shaping the fritters to stop the mixture sticking to your hands. SunBlush tomatoes are softer than sundried. If you only have sundried, stir them into the couscous before adding the stock.

Have a great day