Balconies, Asparagus,

I have been a somewhat interested spectator of the activities going on outside our windows with the guys doing our balconies. Our own balcony is not scheduled to be touched til next year. Today they have put up fences and they are building a kind of hoist-cum-crane-cum-platform.

If you enlarge the pictures you can see that they have cut out some grass in order to stand the foot of the hoist. They are in the process of adding new sections of the hoist to enable them to lift the platform further. Silly me, I thought they would be using a crane. Shows what I know. I guess this is movable scaffolding.

Here I tried to show that the whole area is now fenced off. Not sure if that is to prevent people walking into the area, but we are close to schools and the kids could certainly climb this fence. I took these pix as much to show some of the women in the exercise class who live on the other side of the building and cannot see what is happening. One woman commented they had put up a Porta Potty right on the front lawn. Why couldn't they have put it somewhere more discreet.

I finished making my asparagus soup on Wednesday, and we had some for supper. It was good. I haven't done the Crunchy Asparagus Fries yet. Maybe this weekend. I will definitely be making the salad below.

By the way, forgot to mention that I rented the new Star Wars movie The Force Awakens. I wasn't overly impressed with the movie. I enjoyed it, but found it dragged somewhat. However, I will still be interested to see the sequel(s). I was pretty lucky, I was still 92 on the waiting list, but they just happened to have a short loan copy in the library when I was in there.

Funny I posted a couple of recipes for Endive or Whitlof in the A to Z Challenge. This is one we really enjoy.

Asparagus and Endive Salad

1 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 tsp grated orange peel
1 Tbs Juice, orange, fresh
2 Tbs seasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs small shallots, minced
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp black pepper
8 oz Belgian endive, fresh, head , cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch strips (2 heads)

1. Place 1/2 inch of water at the bottom of a 12 inch pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add in asparagus and cook until tender yet crisp, about 2 minutes. Place in strainer, rinse under cold water, drain, and pat dry with paper towels.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the orange peel, orange juice, vinegar, oil, shallots, sugar, salt, mustard, and pepper until well combined.

3. Add the asparagus and endive to the bowl with the dressing. Mix well to evenly coat and serve.

Servings: 4

Source: dLife

Author Notes
Light and elegant salad combining asparagus and endive in a homemade orange dijon vinaigrette.

Try using a sugar substitute instead of regular sugar.


Have a great day
 

Gulf of Mexico, Movie, Golf

Last night I heard there was a problem with the new cap on the oil well in the Gulf, they think it may be leaking methane gas. I read an article this morning, apparently it is suspected that the well may be leaking through the sea floor which could cause major ecology problems if its true. The government have said BP can keep the cap on for another 24 hours but must monitor closely. There was quite a storm in Montreal yesterday, including a mild tornado. Apparently a couple sheltered under a tree. The husband is now in hospital with a cardiac arrest, not sure if he has survived or not. Doesn’t everyone know? You DO NOT shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm. Locally a man was killed by lightening and he was out on the water. Not a good place to be in a storm. The movie Inception did really well at the box office this weekend. It stars Leonardo di Caprio. From the previews I have seen on TV it looks as though it is right up my street and I can’t wait to see it. I wonder how long before it is available on video. I don’t normally pay a lot of attention to golf on the TV, but this weekend it was the British Open and there was a young South African, practically unheard of, who ended up winning the tournament in St. Andrews (a very tough course) beating his nearest opponent by 7 shots. A very impressive game. His name is Louis Oosthuizen which made me sit up because my cousin is married to a South African with the same last name. Are they related I wonder??? I am not sure how true this is, although knowing the old fogies of yesteryear, the word golf is supposed to be from Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden. I used to play golf with enthusiasm but then lost my game. Then I lost my legs (well it seems like that) now Matt can’t really play either. The joys of aging. Heard from my cousin this morning, as far as they know they are not related to the young golfer.

Last night I watched Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back – that’s the one with the Tontons in it – where Luke loses his hand plus studies with Yoda for a while and Han Solo gets carbonised. I would have enjoyed it more if there had been no ads, for the first half hour there were none, then they started to cram them in once they had you hooked. I wonder if they are going to show the next movie any time soon.

I had a load of cream available after we had done the Chicken in Tarragon sauce so on Saturday I invented a dessert. I made it again Sunday night and forgot to take a picture.

Tipsy Orange

2 Ladies Fingers, broken up

1 orange peeled and sliced 1 lge tot of rum or brandy 2 tsp sugar or small packets of sweetener Whipped Cream Chocolate syrup

In each of two dessert glasses or dishes, put a broken lady finger, then divide the orange in two and put chunks in each glass. Pour over the liquor of choice (if you want non-alcoholic I am guessing orange juice would work) sprinkle with sugar or sweetener and let sit. Just before serving put a large dollop on cream on top and drizzle chocolate syrup over all. Delish.

Have a great day

Star Wars, Books,

I have been watching some Star Wars movies on TV, I had never seen the prequel ones before, I missed the first one but saw Part II Attack of the Clones and III Revenge of the Sith, over the last couple of nights showing how Annakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. I didn't think the movies were as good as the original Star Wars films which I thoroughly enjoyed but I loved Yoda, we saw a lot more of him than we did in the original movies. I tried a novel the other day which I ended up abandoning. I got about half way, but then just gave it up as a bad job. Its very rare this happens to me. It was called Juggler of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner. Maybe it was me, but I just couldn't get on with it. The story was good, but I found the writing didn't run smoothly. I am now reading Saturn's Children by Charles Stross. It looks like a sex book from the cover, but it isn't. The book is about robots. Man is extinct. The heroine is a robot who was originally designed for man's pleasure. Quite a good story and full of adventure. Some very interesting sci fi theories too. I was looking at my list of books from the library. It is split into two as Matt frequently picks up books for me so then the titles go down on his card. There are quite a lot of them. Have to go shopping today as we are bowling tomorrow. We are lunching in a different place so it will be interesting to see what its like. This is the travel league and we always have lunch before the game. Just looking for a recipe to share and I came across the following beef recipe in my Living Cookbook Files. I have no idea where it came from, but it sounds absolutely delicious if somewhat expensive. I have just discovered there is a restaurant called Cyrano so maybe the recipe came from there. Tenderloin of Beef Cyrano 1 kg of tenderloin. 250 g of " very large " Agen prunes. 3 spoonfuls of oil. 1 small tin of mousse de foie gras. 1.5 glasses of madeira wine. 1 spoon of flour. Salt, pepper, several leaves of watercress. - Slice the prunes lengthwise. - Remove the pit. - Replace the pits with a spoonful of mousse de foie gras. - 40 minutes before serving, heat the oil in a casserole and cook the roast. - Sprinkle with flour, moisten with the madeira wine and a half glass of water. - Add salt and pepper. Cover. - Cook for 20 minutes. - Gently place the stuffed prunes in the sauce around the roast and cook for another 10 minutes. - When ready to serve, slice the roast, place the slices on a warm serving dish, place the prunes around the roast and decorate with the watercress. Servings: 6 Have a great day.