Alzhemer's Discussion Group, Sunshine, Cooking,

Just took part in a online discussion with a group of spouses who's partners have Alzheimer's.  Couple of the people are part of my coffee group and the others were all new to me. It was hosted by one of the social workers from Alzheimer's Society. It was interesting all the different problems people have and how they deal with them. I think I am lucky in some respects, not in all though. We are going to have another get together next month.

I mentioned that I was learning Spanish and one of the group immediately said "dos cervezas por favor" funny how everyone knows that phrase. (In case you don't, it means 2 beers please. I rarely drink beer, don't much like the stuff, but it is nevertheless one of the first phrases I learnt many years ago.

I threw some lunch down my throat, well sort of, and in a minute have to go do some cooking for supper and for the freezer. Might have a short zizz first. Never did have a nap, got cramps in one calf and it kept twitching on and off. One thing I did do again was to go out on the balcony for a while. I just got nicely settled in a chair ready to soak up some warm sun, and it was warm, when the clouds decided to obscure it. Grrr.

Later, I made four stuffed peppers to cook in the Instant Pot. I have done this a few times and it is great for freezing. So, not sure why today, but when I tried to take them out of the Pot, two of them kind of collapsed so much to my annoyance, we had those for supper this evening. Actually, they tasted fine, just not firm. I have changed the timing on my recipe now as I don't think they need to sit in the Pot whilst they are finishing off.

I first came across Satay recipes in a Weight Watcher's cookbook from yonks ago only that was for pork. I have always enjoyed such dishes and here is one I thought looked good today.

Chicken Satay

Delicious chicken satay or grilled chicken skewers marinated with spices and served with peanut

sauce. Easy, authentic and the best chicken satay recipe you'll find online!

2 lbs boneless and skinless chicken thigh and leg meat
Bamboo skewers, soaked in cold water for 2 hours
1 cucumber, cut into small pieces
1 small onion, quartered
oil, for basting

Chicken Satay Marinade:
3 Tbs oil
2 stalks lemongrass, white parts only
2 cloves garlic, peeled
6 small shallots or pearl onions, peeled
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 Tbs salt or more to taste
2 Tbs sugar or honey

1. Cut the chicken meat into small cubes. Set aside.

2. Blend all the he Marinade ingredients in a food processor. Add a little water if needed.

3. For the chicken satay dipping sauce, please click here: satay peanut sauce recipe.

4. Combine the chicken and the Marinade together, stir to mix well. Marinate the chicken for 6 hours in the fridge, or best overnight. When ready, thread 3-4 pieces of the chicken meat onto the bamboo skewers.

5. Grill the chicken satay skewers for 2-3 minutes on each side until the meat is fully cooked and the surface is nicely charred, on both sides. Baste and brush with some oil while grilling. Serve hot with peanut sauce the fresh cucumber pieces and onions.

 Author: Bee
Source: Rasa Malaysia

Have a great day, stay safe, stay well.
 

Morning, TV and Spanish, Words for Wednesday, Shopping, Beans, Sunshine,

Matt is not up yet this morning, says he had a bad night. Probable because he sleeps a lot during the day and the body can only sleep so much I think. His breakfast is sitting on the table along with his morning pills so I will have to get him up soon for the pills alone.

As I mentioned, it's shopping today. I do hope I get everything but I don't suppose I will. I've got one egg left as I said and not much of anything else in the fridge. Just thought, I could have got some sausages out to defrost and cook for breakfast - for me anyway, Matt sticks to his cereal. I didn't think, I guess I could have had his cereal too, not very exciting stuff but....

Being Thursday I usually end up watching Morse on Public TV. It goes on quite late and then I end up writing my blog and doing my Spanish lesson which means I get to bed later than usual. I seem to have  trouble getting to bed before midnight anyway. So, I am writing this in the morning and will try to do my Spanish this afternoon.

Every Wednesday Elephant's Child publishes Words for Wednesday, sometimes these words are published on someone else's blog, but the idea is to make up a little story using some or all of the words. Much to my surprise, I am doing quite well at that. I especially liked the little story I did this week.

Alcalador sat in his sunless cave and settled down among the thousands of gold treasures on which he liked to sleep. The world had presumably forgotten his existence and he could sleep in happy contentment. Before he could drop from somnolence into sleep, he heard delicate footsteps outside – he called stop but whoever approached continued to do so in a more aggressive manner. Was this someone who was drawn to the rumours of great wealth, he hoped not but had had to deal with such before. Eventually a figure appeared in the entrance to the cave and he uttered one word, “Witch” for he recognized her, she had been to visit him many eons before. “We have to have a talk about what is going on in the world, which only we can fix, Alcalador” she said. She approached him at a brisk pace and sat between his giant legs, he debated whether to roast her to a crisp but decided to listen to what she had to say, the world could well be in trouble. 

The highlighted words are the ones we had to use this week. I am patting myself on the back. If you like writing, you should go and try it. Some people come up with marvellous ways to use the words given to us. We are such an inventive lot.

Just got my shopping and, unbelievably, they didn't have bananas or carrots. Kathy, who so very kindly picked up my shopping for me, also picked up some bananas for me and brought me some carrots too. Rather more than I needed, but better than having none. I have decided I rather like tortillas to use for breakfast, I ended up with two packets today. I have stuck one lot in the freezer. The proper way to freeze them is to re-pack them individually, might regret that I haven't done that.

I have bought two types of beans so I think I will invent a bean soup as I can no longer get hold of the 13 bean soup I had been making. I do enjoy bean soups, cooked in the Instant Pot of course.

I do wish the sun would put his hat on and come out today. Asparagus doesn't grow without a dollop of sun and rain both.

I published this recipe in 2016 and thought it sounded so good I would publish again We still seem to be able to get mushrooms around here, just not bananas LOL.

CAPRESE PORTABELLA MUSHROOMS

MUSHROOMS CANADA
PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES | COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES | SERVES 4

Ingredients

8 portabella mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 cup quinoa, cooked
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar, divided
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
16 mini buffala mozzarella balls
16 cherry tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Method
1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Meanwhile, gently wash away dirt from mushrooms, then carefully cut away stems and scrape out each mushroom. Set filling aside.
3. In a large bowl, toss quinoa with mushroom filling, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Stuff each mushroom with filling, then top each with two mozzarella balls and two cherry tomatoes.
4. Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese is completely melted. Remove from oven and top each mushroom with a bit of fresh basil. Enjoy!

Have a great day, stay well, stay safe, stay home.
 

Weather, Sausages.

The weather outside isn’t frightful
In fact it’s been delightful
The sun’s been in the sky
Don't let us us fry, let us fry, let us fry.

In fact Matt and I have been enjoying a few rays over the last few days. We do it very carefully to make sure we don’t fry. I have to admit I get annoyed with people who go outside in the sun, spend several hours, get badly burned and then say they don’t tan. Of course not. Matt and I spend 10 minutes the first day, 20 minutes the second, 30 minutes and so on. In this day and age, one is supposed to be super careful because of skin cancer too. Luckily I wear Avon creams most of which contain an SPF component which assists with protection.

Unable to think of something for supper on Thursday, I grabbed a couple of pork sausages out of the freezer. When we came home from bowling I decided I wasn’t terribly interested in them and anyway couldn’t think what to eat with them. I did a bit of Googling and came up with a recipe from Giada di Laurentis, one of my favourite TV Cooks, it is Sausages with Peppers and Onions.  I am not posting the recipe because I want to share another asparagus recipe with you. It shows the recipe served in a bun, but we had ours in soup bowls with a dinner roll on the side. It was pretty good. I may do the risotto I posted tomorrow, more time.

This is one of my favourite recipes for asparagus. It is delicious, crunchy and so easy to do. You can make a sauce (such as bechamel) to serve with these or just eat them as they are. I just eat them on their own.

Crispy Baked Asparagus Fries

1 lb asparagus, trimmed (if you have to)
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
salt and pepper to taste  
Alternatively used chopped almonds instead of parmesan

1. Dredge the asparagus in the flour, dip them in the egg and then into a mixture of the panko breadcrumbs, parmesan, salt and pepper.
2. Place the asparagus on a wire rack on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 425°F oven until golden brown, about 7-13 minutes.

Servings: 2

Have a great day