Valentine's, Cartoon, Bowling

Wishing everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day.

How to Geek often have good cartoons. I couldn't resist sharing this one today.

Having played two games at the bowling alley, Matt is now suffering with an aching leg. He was told not to bowl yet but went ahead anyway. My female readers will know what I am  thinking right now!

Much to my disgust on Tuesday evening (right now in fact) my stomach problems came back, not badly, but my stomach doesn't feel to good at all. I took Gravol which, luckily, I had bought today. So fingers crossed.

Tonight I made Sicilian Olive Chicken which I decided to post as it was delicious. I thought I would check I hadn't posted already as it was new to me. Much to my surprise I had posted the exact same recipe in 2011 although I had never made it. Well I have now and we both enjoyed it. I used fresh spinach and wilted it, let it cool and then proceeded as instructed. I don't know what kind of olives I used, our grocery sells pitted green olives which are big and juicy and I used those. I used chicken breasts, not cutlets.

Sicilian Olive Chicken

Recipe by: Breana Lai, M.P.H., R.D. "This saucy one-skillet chicken dish is full of tomatoes, spina

ch, olives and capers. Try Kalamata olives in place of the green Sicilians or a combination of both."

1 (14 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil or other Italian-style seasonings
1 1/2 cups frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/3 cup halved Sicilian or other green olives
1 Tbs capers, rinsed
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, or to taste
4 (4 ounce) chicken cutlets (see Tip)
1 Tbs freshly ground pepper
1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil Add all ingredients to list

1. Combine tomatoes, spinach, olives, capers and crushed red pepper in a bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with pepper.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until browned on one side, 2 to 4 minutes. Turn it over; top with the tomato mixture. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes.

Servings: 4

Tips
If you can't find chicken cutlets for this recipe, you can make your own. Purchase four 5-ounce chicken breasts. Remove the tenders and trim the fat. Place the chicken between pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with a rolling pin, meat mallet or heavy skillet until flattened to about 1/2 inch thick.

Author: Breana Lai
Source: Eating Well

Have a great day
 

Dinosaurs, Valentines, Bowling, Dinner

Apatosaurus formerly called Brontosaurus, produced a lot of wind

This post was inspired by Denise Hammond of My Life in Retirement. If you read some of the comments from yesterday's blog, we were talking about global warming and the fact that dinosaurs were responsible for a whole heap of global warming because of their flatulence. This is the source of methane gas. I Googled and it appears likely that it certainly happened at the time, but the effect is not still ongoing from what I read. "Cows today produce something like 50-100 [million tonnes] per year. Our best estimate for Sauropods is around 520 [million tonnes],"  said Dr. Wilkinson and that, I believe, is only one section of dinosaurs. It's a fascinating article from the BBC. Just as well humans didn't exist at that time, we would have been smothered by the fumes. They were not the only producers of methane gas at the time so in fact the count would have been considerably higher. Today we produce 500 million tonnes per year from every source. Do read the article, it is interesting.

Hmm, just realised it's Valentine's Day, what a topic to start off with. Sorry, I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's.

Bowling, we won 5 our of 7 points today. Our missing bowler did have a good excuse. His dad died 6 months ago and his mother at the end of January. So last Monday he was with her lawyer. So, I couldn't say nothing except sympathise. I had an 86 game to start and a 229 to finish. Go figure.

Then later I decided we were going to the Red Lobster for dinner - a Valentine's treat the day before the rush. In fact the place was pretty busy, I think everyone was there for the day before the rush. It is the beginning of Lobsterfest so we fell for it and ordered the following, Fire-Grilled Lobster and Red Shrimp - Our fire grill brings out every flavor in a tender Maritime lobster tail and a garlicky skewer of wild-caught jumbo red shrimp. Finishing touches: rice and your choice of side.I took the description from their web site. Plus I had a glass of wine, a 9 oz. glass I might say. Poor Matt will not drink even one drink when he is driving. He followed his main course with Bananas Foster Cheesecake We top our rich caramel cheesecake with fresh bananas and crunchy candied pecans. We serve it with vanilla ice cream, which slowly melts under the warm spiced-rum caramel sauce we drizzle on top. which was 1,110 calories and I ended up with my downfall, Chocolate Wave Cake - boy do I feel stuffed and I'm sure Matt does. He, of course will not gain an ounce, me, I will be terrified to step on the scales for a while.









Got home just in time to see Jeopardy - The College Tournament for the next two weeks.

Just in case you don't go out and feel like cooking at home, here is a delightful dessert.

Ricotta Crêpes with Honey, Walnuts and Rose

Cookbook author Yotam Ottolenghi invented these delicate crêpes to celebrate Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent, which is also called Pancake Tuesday in England. Their floral, aromatic sweetness comes from rosewater and honey, two Middle Eastern ingredients that Otttolenghi grew up with.

1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup whole milk
6 Tbs water
3 large eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
2 1/4 tsp rosewater
6 Tbs unsalted butter
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbs honey
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp edible dried rose petals

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the chopped walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes, until browned and fragrant. Transfer to a plate to cool.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Whisk in the milk, water and 2 eggs until a smooth batter forms. Set aside while you make the filling.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the mascarpone, ricotta, toasted walnuts, lemon zest, cinnamon and allspice. Stir in the 1/4 cup of confectioners’ sugar, 2 teaspoons of rosewater and the remaining egg until smooth. Refrigerate the filling while you make the crêpes.

4. In a nonstick 6-inch skillet, melt 1/2 tablespoon of the butter over moderately high heat. Pour 2 tablespoons of the batter into the skillet, immediately swirling the pan to evenly cover the bottom. Cook until set, about 45 seconds. Flip the crêpe and cook until lightly browned on the bottom, about 45 seconds more. Transfer the cooked crêpe to a work surface and repeat with the remaining butter and batter to make 11 more crêpes.

5. Brush a 12-by-8-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the filling into the center of a crêpe, fold in the sides and roll up into a tight tube. Transfer to the baking dish, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining crêpes and filling, fitting the crêpes in the baking dish snugly in a single layer. Brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and bake for 25 minutes, until the crêpes are light golden brown and the filling is warmed through.

6. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the honey and lemon juice with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of rosewater and warm over moderate heat. Drizzle the honey mixture evenly over the crêpes, then lightly dust with confectioners’ sugar and sprinkle with the rose petals. Serve the crêpes warm or at room temperature.

Make Ahead:  Refrigerate the crêpes and filling separately for up to 3 days before filling and baking the crêpes.

Notes: Edible dried rose petals are available at specialty food shops and from amazon.com.

Yield: 12 crêpes

Source: Food & Wine

Have a great day

Valentine's Day, Judge Scalia, Unpacking, Stress Test,

I hope you all had a Happy Valentine's Day. We kind of celebrated on Saturday when I made Steak Diane for supper. An old recipe, but a favourite one. Sunday we finished off the Shrimp Creole from Friday. However, most of our time, at the moment, is focused on gradually putting our home back together. We now have all our switch plates back on the walls, outlet plates too, not sure what they are called. We also cleaned all the silver which, in this home takes a lot of effort. The silk flowers with which I decorate the living/dining room are back in place once more. Some of the pictures are back on the walls. It is beginning to look like home. Next we have to concentrate on laundering stuff or just putting things (like shoes) in the dryer. As well as unpacking glasses and ornaments. I might say we have found a few dead bodies (bed bugs I mean) around the place as well as the odd Asian Lady Bug. I am still not prepared to say we are totally in the clear. I feel that would be challenging the fates. I still itch, but I think/hope I am still being plagued by old bites.

Once again I am knackered. We unpacked three plastic storage boxes and one large garbage bag and of course had to put all the stuff back where it lived. If I were still a youngster, this would be no problem. Sadly I'm not. I am missing a lid from a piece of china. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out where it got to either. Must be the Borrowers (it's a book) - in the States I had a small lamb which had a sign saying "I love ewe" which Matt gave me - I still had it when we left NC but I haven't seen it since.

A lot on the news about Supreme Court Judge Scalia's death today (Sunday) someone I personally have never heard of. I guess his replacement is going to cause a lot of political upheaval according to the pundits on Good Morning America.

Today, Monday, is Family Day here which means no bowling for our league. Matt and I will be bowling on Tuesday afternoon instead.

I now have an appointment for my nuclear stress test. My biggest problem, it turns out I am not

allowed to drink coffee for three days. Nor am I allowed to take Tylenol 3. In fact nothing which contains caffeine. I didn't even know Tylenol 3 had caffeine in it. My appointment is on Thursday with a second on on Friday but I have to stop the caffeine on Wednesday. I can, apparently, take Tylenol Extra Strength so I will have to go get some. Luckily I drink decaf coffee so maybe it won't be so bad, maybe.

This recipe came up on Yummly and I thought it looked delicious. When I followed it to it's source I found it was actually from Pinch of Yum I think this would be really good with cauliflower too.

5 Ingredient Coconut Curry

serves: 3-4

INGREDIENTS
1 can coconut milk
2 tablespoons red curry paste
2 small heads broccoli (and/or other veggies of choice)
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
½ tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water
optional: minced garlic or onion

INSTRUCTIONS
Sauté broccoli (and onion/garlic if you're using it) in a tablespoon of oil. After a few minutes, add the coconut milk and let simmer for 5-8 minutes. The broccoli should soften but still be tender-crisp.
Add the curry paste to the pan and whisk it until it combines with the coconut milk. Add the chickpeas.
Bring to a slight boil and add the cornstarch. Boil for about a minute, then reduce heat and let cool slightly. Sauce will thicken as the mixture cools.
Have a great day
 

A to Z, Bowling, Valentine's, Booze.

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone, I do hope you have a great day.

Having talked about people with less than 100 followers of their blog, it occurred to me, I haven’t got that many over 100 myself. I guess I need a few followers of my own blog. Today the A to Z blog mentioned sites with photographs, some lovely pictures. However, as I mentioned in the comments, some didn’t have anywhere to make a comment. I noticed that last year with some of the blogs I was trying to follow and suggested it should be addressed in the blog.

I had a wonderful afternoon of exercise yesterday, I figure I bowled 88 balls. I had two spares which are only 2 balls each and that was my lot. Disasterous bowling but great exercise. Funny, at the moment Mondays seem to be good, Thursdays seem not to be. I guess it is more important to have good games in the league anyway. My bowling balls sure don’t seem to be working well for me lately though. We have 2 in 5 pin by the way as opposed to one in 10 pin.

Having worked out a Valentine’s menu which was loaded with calories, I/we decided to split up the goodies over two nights. Have the volcanoes on Friday and our Steak with a Bois Boudrin sauce on Saturday. We would be drinking wine on Saturday too which increases the count. Friday we have a couple of drinks each as in Scotch and water and Gin and Tonic. Matt is the G & T. In case you are wondering, we decided to cut down our booze consumption considerably, partly for health reasons and partly because we found we were spending a large part of our not very big income on booze. Not having access to the billions of dollars promised to the Palestinians, we decided to cut back.

As everyone will have made their preparations for Valentine’s dinner, I figured I would give something different today. This was from Cooking.com

Parmesan Chicken Mini Pies

Source: Pillsbury® Crescents
 
6 servings

Italian-flavored mini pies made easy with frozen chicken bites.

INGREDIENTS
1 can (8 ounces) Pillsbury® refrigerated seamless dough sheet or 1 can (8 ounces) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
12 Tyson® frozen popcorn chicken pieces
1 1/4 cup tomato pasta sauce
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 12 regular size muffin cups with cooking spray.
Remove dough from can; press to 8 x 18-inch rectangle. Cut dough evenly into 12 squares. Press dough squares into muffin cups.
Microwave chicken pieces on microwavable plate 1 minute on High. Place chicken pieces in muffin cups; top each with 2 tablespoons sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Have a great day

Tax Offices, Shopping, A to Z.

Grrr. We have been accumulating forms for completion of our taxes for last year. I have been doing these online for a number of years and to do so we both needed a Web Access Number. This year, no form telling me how to obtain this number. So obviously I went online and ended calling up a bunch of different numbers. I found out I needed last year’s numbers which I hadn’t kept. After a frustrating time, I am finally told I no longer need such numbers. Why on earth didn’t it state this clearly on their web pages? It makes me so mad. If I couldn’t find that out and had trouble connecting to the right office, I think there are going to be lots of people out there in exactly the same boat. I shouldn’t grouse, our forms are a lot easier than the ones they use in the US.

Actually, it’s not been a good day for us. We decided to make a trip to Costco today (Wednesday) Matt has been to the grocery store first thing (7 a.m.) as he always does – his choice, not mine – and come back complaining about the bitter cold so I was in two minds whether to go or not. However, we set off about 10 a.m. and couldn’t get near the place. They have lots of wheelchair parking but every one was full up and there were no other spots within reasonable walking distance. We turned round and came home. I suppose we could have gone back after lunch but….. We like to buy meat there, they have some of the best lamb around – haven’t eaten any for a long time now. Was going to have a Valentine meal with lamb chops, guess that’s out, no time to go now. Will have to get some steak and ‘make do’. I know, hard done by! We are going to have Chocolate Volcanoes though.

At the instigation of my fearless leader (I am one of her minions I mean Terrific Team), A to Z blog host Tina of Life is Good, I have been visiting some of the blogs listed which have less than 100 followers. The idea is to add yourself to their followers list and hopefully to leave a comment. So if you feel like doing a favour, do click on the link. You can also click on the A to Z link and join in the fun for April. I have a few of my blogs completed, but although I thought I was getting on like a house on fire, I haven’t as many as I imagined I had so I need to flick the whip.

I have posted the recipe before but thought maybe you would like it again because it is an easy chocolate dessert and excellent for Valentine’s. We serve them with a dollop of Double Devon Cream. Only trouble is, the recipe makes 6 which means we will have leftovers. Cold they are like moist fudge and I am not sure I don’t like them better, but… I dread to think what the calorie count is; oops, I looked, 565 without cream. I just found out that one can make the batter, put it into ramekins, cover with plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 2 months. You can then cook them, frozen, at 350°F for exactly 18 minutes. Never tried this of course, but it does mean that for us we won't have to eat them three days running.


Warm Chocolate Cake (Volcanoes)

6 oz Bittersweet Chocolate
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1/3 cup all purpose (plain) flour

1. Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). In heavy pot on low heat, melt chocolate and butter together. Cool slightly.
2. Beat together sugar and egg yolks with electric mixer until thick and creamy, about 4 mins.
3. Pour in chocolate mixture and beat together for 5 mins.
4. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, about three mins. Fold into mixture along with flour.
5. Pour into 6 nonstick buttered moulds or non-stick muffin tins (we use cocottes or ramekins). Bake for 5 to 7 mins or until edges are just cooked and centre is still liquid. Cool for 5 mins in cooking dish. Carefully remove to serving dishes. Serve with lightly whipped cream

Servings: 6

Source: Food and Drink

Have a great day

Valentine’s, Cornish Pasties, Earth from Space.

I hope lots of you are doing romantic things today. Matt bought me a lovely bouquet of flowers and gave me a card. Friends wanted us to join them at a restaurant tonight, but we don’t go out to restaurants on high days and holidays, too crowded and the standards are not always as good we find. Much prefer to stay at home and enjoy a glass or two of wine. I remember one year we broke this rule and went to one of our favourite restaurants in Cambridge. The meal was acceptable, but only just. They were way too busy to do a really decent job. We were disappointed, not surprising.

I didn’t know they had a championship for Cornish Pasty makers. I came across this article from the Eden Project in the UK about the current champion pasty maker and it includes tips for making them, should I pass them on to the baker I buy mine from do you think? If you Google Cornish Pasty you will find all kinds of shapes and sizes, but to me, this is the proper shape and the ones I always encountered in Cornwall where, believe me, we ate quite a few of them. I must admit I have never tried making them, but I confess I am not much of a pastry cook. I actually posted a recipe for these last year.

Wednesday night we watched Nova, Earth from Space. What an incredible 2 hour programme revealing all the things which have been discovered about the Big Blue Marble by all the satellites which are orbiting our planet. There was so much information, in fact information overload, so I would want to see it several more times. I hope it will be shown frequently. It is astounding what has been learned from these orbiting satellites showing how everything interacts with everything else to keep our planet viable. If man were not around the planet would be pretty well self sustaining. However, the programme’s last section spoke about man’s effect on our world and our production of greenhouse gases and what its doing to the planet. It also emphasised that the satellites, which are beginning to wear out, need to be replaced so we can maintain our ‘eyes in space’. They estimate within the next few years, only half of the current satellites will still be in orbit. Things which were shown and explained; how a desert storm from the Sahara can feed the Amazon rain forests. How a gigantic underwater waterfall (this is what attracted me to the programme in the first place) can help to provide sustenance and oxygen for the world. How volcanoes and forest fires are beneficial. I have definitely got to see this programme again.

This sandwich appeals to me, might prepare something along these lines this week. Obviously, if you are vegan, you can leave out the goat cheese or sub it with something else.

Loaded Veggie Sandwich

By A Nutritionist Eats
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Ingredients

4 small zucchini

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced

5 ounces arugula or spinach

2 roasted red pepper slices

2 ounces goat cheese

2 tablespoons tapenade

sprouted bread or buns

Instructions

1. Prepare zucchini and onion. Heat pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and then into 1/2 inch thick slices. Add to pan and cook for about 2 minutes, flip over and cook for another 2 minutes. Repeat until all zucchini have been cooked. Set aside and let cool.
2. Heat small pan over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil and onion slices. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are soft and browned. Set aside and let cool.
3. While pan is still hot add spinach or arugula if you prefer it wilted.
4. Layer bread with goat cheese, tapenade and veggies.
5. Devour your delicious and very healthy lunch.

Have a great day

Murder Rate, Bowling, RIP Clara, Valentine’s Day.

Just came across an interesting statistic. People always assume crime is worse in big cities, or at least murder happens more often although property crimes are more prevalent in urban areas. According to this CBC article, it isn’t so any more and more murders take place outside the cities; which makes me glad I live in a city even if it doesn’t really seem like it because we look onto a park. It is actually a per capita statistic, but it does mean you are more safe in urban areas.

Well I bowled, I actually bowled. First time in about 9 or 10 weeks. I did well in the first game, badly in the second and quit in the third because my legs were killing me. They are definitely not used to so much exercise lately. They were aching pretty well by the time I sat down to rest. I haven’t even used my treadmill in a while so it was straight off the sick bed as it were. Sad news at the bowling alley though, I have mentioned, several times, about one of our number, Clara Wagner, who was 97 years old and going strong, unfortunately she had a massive heart attack at the weekend and is no longer with us. Why, I wonder? She seemed so fit when everyone her saw her last week. She bowled both Monday and Tuesday apparently and had just passed her driving test once again. Mind you she was so tiny we could never figure how she could see over the wheel. We had a one minute silence at the alley in remembrance. The picture is of her birthday party at the bowling alley last year, I missed the one they held for her this year.

Of course, today is Valentine’s Day which, as I have said before, has changed drastically from when I was a youngster. Valentines were sent to those you loved and unsigned so it was a secret. Today anyone and everyone can receive a Valentine. To me its nonsense, but that’s just me. We are not going out or anything although we are planning a nice dinner at home. The one and only time I think I ever went out for dinner on Valentine’s Day the restaurant was crowded, the meal was a set one and it wasn’t terribly good anyway even though it was normally an excellent restaurant. We actually prefer not to go out on holidays, Fridays or Saturdays. However, for those of you who do go out, I hope you do have a lovely evening and wish you all Happy Valentine’s Day.

This recipe came from the South Beach Diet email I get every day. I have talked about London Broil, the US version, several times, and this uses the same cut of beef. In Canada we buy top round – I am not certain this is the same cut, but it certainly works as well. Of course it’s a bit early for the good asparagus which will be around about mid May.

Beef With Asparagus and Mushrooms

Serves: 4

Details:

Wood-scented rosemary, nutty garlic, and zesty lemon give an otherwise ordinary steak and vegetable dish a touch of sophistication. 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds London broil, 1" thick
• 4 garlic cloves, minced, divided
• 4 teaspoons crushed dried rosemary, divided
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 small onion, sliced lengthwise
• 1 pound asparagus, cut into 2" pieces
• 1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Nutritional Information:

370 calories
17 g fat (4.5 g sat)
12 g carbohydrate
42 g protein
3 g dietary fiber
180 mg sodium

Directions:

1. Score both sides of steak in a diamond pattern by carefully making 1/8-inch-deep diagonal cuts with a sharp knife at 1" intervals. Rub half of the garlic and 2 teaspoons of the rosemary into both sides of meat and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak and cook, turning once, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a plate and loosely cover with foil to keep warm.
3. Heat remaining oil in the same skillet. Add onion and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Add remaining garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add asparagus and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until asparagus is crisp-tender and almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon zest and remaining rosemary; season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Cut steak into thin slices and serve with the vegetables

Have a great Valentine’s day