DVDs, Bowling, Tina’s Blogfest.

My birthday present from Matt which I bought for him to give me, arrived on Tuesday and I started watching it on Tuesday evening. It was three DVDs of the programme The First Churchill’s which was shown on BBC TV in 1969. I might add that I was a bit miffed to have to pay duty of $17 on the parcel, the DVDs were expensive enough as it was. I had forgotten just how good this series is, John Churchill is played by John Neville, a top English actor at the time and Sarah Churchill played by Susan Hampshire also very well known at the time. Both excellent actors. The whole cast is very good and I am particularly enjoying the actor playing Charles II. It is a very historical series as well as a love story of the Churchills. I need to do a bit of googling I think. One minute we (the English) are fighting Holland alongside France and the next we are fighting France alongside Holland. One of the English princesses was married to a Dutchman so I guess that made a difference. It really is an excellent show. Can’t recommend it highly enough. I know Amazon.com have it.

For the first time in I don’t know how many weeks, I had a really good day of bowling on Wednesday afternoon. Best scores I have had in I don’t know how long. Needless to say I was delighted although, of course, we are not playing in a league at the moment. Our winter league starts on September 8. I would like to think I will bowl well in the league. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Don’t forget the blogfest for Tina. If you haven’t signed up yet, click on the sunflower badge and it will take you to the linky list.

When we lived in North Carolina, around this time of the year people would tell you not to leave your car windows open or you would return to find it full of zucchini. Well, if you have an over abundance here is a good Kraft recipe for using them. I had never heard of arbol chiles so I looked them up and have provided a link.

Three-Cheese Stuffed Zucchini

Really, just one cheese would have sufficed to make our stuffed zucchini good. But we opted for zucchini greatness—with feta, mozzarella and Parmesan.

6 servings

What You Need

6 zucchini (3-1/2 lb.)
1 cup  KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese with a TOUCH OF PHILADELPHIA
1 pkg.   (4 oz.) ATHENOS Traditional Crumbled Feta Cheese
2 tsp.  oil
1 onion, chopped
3 arbol chiles, stemmed
1 clove  garlic, minced
1 can   (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 Tbsp.  KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
3 cups  hot cooked long-grain brown rice

Make It

HEAT oven to 350ºF.
COOK zucchini in boiling water in large saucepan 5 to 7 min. or until tender; drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Cool zucchini.
CUT thin slice off stem end of each zucchini. Carefully scoop out centers, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shells. Chop removed zucchini; combine with mozzarella and feta cheeses.
HEAT oil in medium skillet on medium heat. Add onions, chiles and garlic; cook and stir 3 min. or until onions are crisp-tender. Remove from heat. Add half the onion mixture to zucchini mixture; spoon into zucchini shells. Place in 13x9-inch baking dish.
BLEND reserved water, tomato sauce and remaining onion mixture in blender until smooth; pour over stuffed zucchini shells. Cover.
BAKE 25 to 30 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Serve with rice.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

How to Make the Zucchini Shells
Use an apple corer to scoop out the centers of the cooked zucchini to make the shells.
Cooking Know-How For even cooking, pick zucchini that are similar in shape and size.
Substitute Prepare using Mexican zucchini.

Have a great day

Churchills, Age.

No, this isn’t the same post. However, thinking about Winston, I started remembering the TV show I saw in Britain in 1969 called The First Churchills, I mentioned this yesterday, and I later discovered that the series had been shown by PBS in North America and they had the DVDs for sale. I have a birthday coming up so I bought them for Matt to give me. I told him later LOL. I think there are 4 DVDs. Funnily enough I was watching this series when I first met Matt. It really was a fantastic series and John Churchill was a fantastic man. He earned his fame and was duly rewarded by Queen Anne who was a great friend for many years – she made him Duke of Marlborough and the family still retains the title. Winston was grandson to the 7th Duke. There is still a Duke, the 11th is 88 right now. Sadly his son has had a battle with heroin. I should also mention that the Churchill family is also related to the Spencer family from which Princess Diana came which makes them relatives of Prince William and Prince George.

One of my commenters yesterday, Pinky Poinker a blogging friend from Australia, talking about Churchill, mentioned her dad was born in 1935. Boy did I feel old, my husband was born in 1935. I guess a number of my cyber friends are young enough to have been my kids. When I was a kid, people of our age were considered really ancient and a lot of them had already kicked the bucket before even reaching their 70s. What a difference today when you see people of 101 dancing on TV and 90 year olds doing Olympic training, or bowling regularly, etc.

I like lima beans. They are the nearest things here to broad beans which are/were very popular in England when I lived there. Not sure why they are not available here. Used to be one of my favourites.

Lima Bean Spread with Cumin and Herbs

From EatingWell:  August/September 2005, November 1997, The EatingWell Diabetes Cookbook (2005)

Humble limas are transformed into a sensational Mediterranean spread that is vibrant with a mix of fresh herbs and spices. You can substitute frozen edamame beans for the limas in Step 1; cook according to package directions.


About 1 1 /2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 10-ounce package frozen lima beans
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Preparation

1. Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lima beans, garlic and crushed red pepper; cook until the beans are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool in the liquid.
2. Drain the beans and garlic. Transfer to a food processor. Add oil, lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper; process until smooth. Scrape into a bowl, stir in mint, cilantro and dill
3. Make ahead tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

Have a great day