Holidays, Crossroads, Satima’s Blog.

All my American friends will be stuffing themselves stupid with turkeys and hams today, I am envious, I love turkey, only thing I don’t like is Pumpkin Pie. I wish you all the very best Thanksgiving and hope everything you are thankful for continues to be a blessing in your lives.Then there is Hanukkah and once again, I wish those of you celebrating all the very best for the coming year.

Today is the Travel League bowling I had mentioned the other day. We are going out of town to Elmira which is some distance away. As I said, we will be lunching at the Crossroads just outside town where they feature a huge buffet. The restaurant is Mennonite owned and staffed and they do a wonderful job. There is also a large gift store attached with the most fascinating items for gifts although I find it a little pricey. They also carry all kinds of beautiful table settings and decorative pieces for the home. I am always tempted but so far have never succumbed.

As writers or aspiring writers, I think you should read this blog by a friend of mine in Australia, Hormones and Reading. Satima Flavell writes about workshops she attended and goes on to describe the subject of these workshops which I found extremely interesting. Finally she refers her readers to a book written by the leader of the workshop which would be useful reading to authors of all nationalities and types. Satima is a writer, editor and reviewer and is very involved in the writing scene in Australia. Do read her current blog, I am sure you will find it helpful.

Here is something different to do with any turkey leftovers you may have. This came from BBC Good Food.

Thai coconut soup with turkey meatballs

By Jennifer Joyce
Serves 2

Lean and thrifty, turkey mince makes a great substitute for chicken in this spicy Asian noodle soup
Ingredients

• ½ small pack coriander, stems chopped, leaves reserved
• 1 garlic clove
• 250g turkey mince
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp Thai tom yum or Thai red curry paste
• 400ml can low-fat coconut milk
• 500ml chicken or vegetable stock
• zest and juice 2 limes
• 300g pack stir-fry vegetables
• 200g pack cooked egg or rice noodles

 

Method

1. Put the coriander stems and garlic in a food processor, pulse until finely chopped, add the turkey and 1 tsp of the fish sauce, and blend again. Roll into meatballs about 3cm in diameter.
2. In a saucepan, heat the tom yum or curry paste with a splash of water for 2-3 mins. Pour in the coconut milk, stock, lime zest and juice, and remaining fish sauce. Bring to a simmer, add the meatballs and cook for 3 mins. Add the vegetables and cook for 5 mins more, or until the meatballs are cooked through.
3. Add the noodles to warm through just before serving. Season, pour into 2 bowls and top with coriander leaves.

Have a great day

Mennonites, Drayton Theatres

Yesterday, as I told you, we were bowling with our Travel League. This month we were visiting Elmira Bowl which is about half an hour out of town for us. I had forgotten until we passed through St. Jacobs and the surrounding countryside towards Elmira, how large a Mennonite community there is in this area. Yesterday we saw several Mennonite buggies driving around, a couple of which were open and must have been damned chilly even yesterday which was pretty sunny. The Crossroads restaurant I mentioned where we had lunch is run by this community so all the girls are wearing their traditional clothes and bonnets - I always admire the women's dresses, they are beautifully made and simple in design but quite elegant. St. Jacobs is famous for its market and of course a lot of it is run by the Mennonites who own many of the farms in the area. They are a religious group and have their own doctrines. They basically don't believe in modern technology and therefore use horses for ploughing and pulling their buggies and so on. I don't know about the level of technology in their homes, but TV is out and they are a much better community for it. However, some of the younger Mennonites are breaking away from tradition and do drive cars these days and take part in more modern activities. I have never been fortunate enough to make friends with any of the families, but from casual interactions they always seem to be very nice and cheerful. Not to mention hard working, kind and caring.

St. Jacobs is also home to two small theatres, the Country Playhouse and the Schoolhouse Theatre. There is a group known as Drayton Entertainment who stage plays all round southern Ontario and we usually try and see some of their shows. I am booked to see four of them this summer and am looking forward to it. The first time we went was for my birthday a few years ago and we saw Joseph and His Technicoloured Dream Coat which we hadn't seen anywhere before. It was beautifully done and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We went for dinner at Benjamin's in St. Jacobs before the show and then drove to Drayton itself to their Festival Theatre which is a fair distance away. A couple of years ago, I went with a friend to the Huron County Theatre to see the Mikado, that theatre is in Grand Bend which is a couple of hours' (or more) drive away, we went to the matinée and arrived in time to have a picnic in the sunshine in front of the theatre, it was a great day and the production would not have shamed d'Oyle Carte in London who specialise in Gilbert and Sullivan productions. The Mikado arrived on stage by being driven in a golf cart right through the audience. Pretty funny. Matt is not going to any of the shows this year as there is nothing he particularly wants to see, so I am going with friends. I also plan to go to the pantomime in St. Jacobs this Christmas. We went to see their Alladin which was based on the wonderful British Pantos; this year they are doing Cinderella. Great fun and great theatre. Traditionally there is always a pantomime dame who is played by a man. In England dames have been played by some very famous comedians. One of whom was John Inman of Are You Being Served fame. I bet he was good, I would have liked to see him.

Here's a nice hearty meal, I got this from a friend in England, but I don't know where he got it from although from the measurements it must have been from North America.

Belgian Beef Carbonnade
Serves: 6

2 Tablespoon Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Paprika
1 1/2 lb. Round steak, 1" cubes (any good stewing beef)
1/4 Cup Butter
3 Large Onions, sliced
1/2 Bay leaf
1/8 Teaspoon Dried thyme
1/4 Cup Chopped celery leaves
1 1/2 Tablespoon Brown sugar
1 1/4 Cup Beer
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1/2 Garlic clove, halved
1/8 Cup Chopped parsley

Blend together the flour, salt, pepper, and paprika, in a large bowl. Roll the meat cubes in this mixture until they are well coated.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onions, and Sauté over medium heat until they are softened and tender. Be careful not to brown the onions. Remove the onions from the pan with a perforated spoon, pressing out as much fat as possible.

Place the same pan over high heat and sear the cubes of meat, a few at a time. This operation will give color to the finished Carbonnade. Return the onions and meat to the pan, and set it over low heat.

Add the seasonings, brown sugar and beer. Bring to a simmer, while stirring. Simmer over low heat until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

Add the 1 tablespoon vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve with a dish of boiled potatoes and a beet salad or pickled beets.

Have a great day.

Living Longer

On Good Morning America today there was a very interesting article by an author and explorer on extending one's life. There is apparently another programme later in the week about the same thing. He was talking about all the different areas of the world where they do have long life spans and why this appears to be so. If you are interested click here to read a synopsis of the article. He calls the areas where people live longer "Blue Zones" and there is, of course, a book to go with it. One of the Zones is Okinawa, Japan, where this picture was taken. They live longer because it is important to them to have a sense of purpose. It doesn't necessarily include a whole country or area, Loma Linda, California, is a Blue Zone and yet it doesn't apply to California in general. I found it all pretty interesting and worth taking a look at. I will try and take in the programme later in the week.

The difficulty is, when one gets older, so do all one's friends and we spend forever talking about health problems which really are self absorbing although not of such great interest to others. We have younger friends too who are beginning to get into the aches and pains part of life, distressing really. I suppose we shouldn't focus on them. There are at least a couple of women I have met bowling lately who are 94 and 82 and seem to be in the prime of life. The 94 yr. old, I am told by her daughters, bowls twice a week, goes line dancing and plays table tennis. Not sure I could cope with that at my age let alone 94. She is a tiny little woman too and yet fit, healthy and vibrantly alive. So if you are young and fit, beware of losing that healthiness and do everything you can to combat it, this does not necessarily include hours in the gym each week. Short and frequent exercising is better than a long session in the gym apparently. Less sitting on the couch watching TV, or in front of a computer (guilty).

Oops, I have just discovered pressing return in the wrong spot publishes one's blog. Will have to be careful.

On Thursday we are going on our Travel League Bowling, this is when members from different bowling alleys get together once a month at a different alley each time - we will be meeting a bunch of friends at The Crossroads restaurant for lunch before we bowl. We have been there once before for lunch although the others have been several times. If you'd like to read about the restaurant click here and you can see their menus and buffet offerings. It is all homestyle food and their home made baking is pretty well known in the area.

Friday I go for a refresher at Let It Heal which will be great. More and more people are going there on my recommendation. If you have pain, go for Bowen Treatment, I can highly recommend it.

The following recipe is one we have enjoyed several times over the years, so I am sharing it with you now.

Cool Chicken Salad Shells Cooking Light May 1995

12 uncooked jumbo macaroni shells 5 artichoke hearts from can 3 Tbs reduced fat mayonnaise 2 Tbs non fat Italian dressing 1/4 tsp onion powder 1 cup cooked chopped chicken breast, about 6 oz skinned and boned 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper 2 Tbs chopped ripe olives 6 fresh basil leaves. 1 Cook macaroni in boiling water for about 10 mins until tender. Drain and rinse under cold water, set aside. 2 Line each shell with basil leaf. Mix remaining ingredients and spoon evenly into shells. Servings: 4

Have a great day.