Oktoberfest, Movie,

I saw a headline which said that Oktoberfest was over, I assumed in Munich. Ours hasn’t even started yet. It starts on Friday with the “tapping of the keg” and goes on for a full week. It is, I am told, the second biggest Oktoberfest and during the week you will see men in their lederhosen and women in their dirndles. Both very expensive items to purchase I understand. I used to have a dirndl skirt when I was a teenager in the UK. I loved it, but I didn’t realise at the time it was part of a costume. I didn’t have any more of the traditional garb than the skirt. In the middle of this we have our Thanksgiving as well. I believe finding accommodation in the area is very difficult too, maybe I should rent out a room – I don’t think. Having someone returning late at night drunk out of their gourd would not be pleasant.  I think we will just stay clear of it all as we usually do.

Over the weekend they showed The African Queen on TV, with no ads. I wasn’t going to watch it having seen it several times, however, my attention was attracted because Alex Trebek of Jeopardy fame was doing the introduction and telling us how the director made sure to film it in Africa and how he picked a small river with little traffic to use for the setting. Alex certainly peaked my interest so I watched it after all. Considering it was made in the early 50’s it really wasn’t bad as far as the effects went. The acting of Bogey and Hepburn was brilliant of course and I really enjoyed seeing it once again. Something I didn’t realise, Bogey’s part was supposed to be an Englishman but he couldn’t do the accent so they changed it to a Canadian.

I made this recently and finished it last night. I decided it would be good to share with you as, at least in this part of the world, it is getting to the time where we need warming foods to eat.

White Chilli

1 Tbs Butter
2 med onions, chopped
2 4 oz cans green chopped green chillies (mild)
4   15 oz cans any kind of white beans (Navy, Pinto, Great Northern, etc.), un-drained
6 tsp chicken bouillon granules (or
6 chicken bouillon cubes)
2 bean cans water
2 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or more to taste
3 cooked chicken breasts, torn into bite sized pieces
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. In a 4 1/2 quart (or larger) saucepan, cook onion in butter until soft, add bouillon, beans, water and chillies.  Simmer till heated through (and bouillon cubes are dissolved if using cubes) - about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then stir in cayenne pepper, cilantro, cumin and chicken and simmer again to let flavours mingle and everything is heated through.  Serve with shredded Monterey Jack cheese on top.

Servings: 4

Source Source: WW Recipes
Author Notes
Serves 4 (hungry) or 6 (mildly hungry) people.  OK to freeze leftovers to serve later.

Have a great day

Jakarta, Rodeo, Chicken Recipes.

Yesterday morning I was thinking about the bombing in Jakarta, Indonesia. They said it was a suicide bombing and I was wondering what kind of idiot, yes idiot, could be persuaded to kill himself plus a number of innocent civilians in the name of his God by whatever name he called him. I cannot conceive of being brainwashed to think that my God, Allah or whoever, wanted me to kill and that I would get rewards in Heaven for so doing. I am not a pacifist as such; you can be sure that if the situation arose, I would shoot to kill if someone were going to kill me, but there is no way I would commit suicide in a fanatical frenzy. I don't understand how a person can be made into a fanatic anyway, they surely aren't born that way. They must surrender their free will to their religious leaders and become a cipher and no longer a person. It really is a frightening concept and one that most of us westerners don't really comprehend. Today we are going to a rodeo. We are actually going as volunteers for the Canadian Diabetes Association to collect tickets at the gate. We are then welcome to join in the fun. I have wanted to go to a rodeo ever since arriving in North America and this will be the first time I have managed it. The rodeo today is being held at J & J Quarter Horses Farm in Breslau which is not far from us and I am looking forward to it. I am told they do everything they do at the Calgary Stampede only smaller. We shall see. Last night we had Chicken Burritos for supper see my blog March 20, 2008 for the recipe. It is one of our favourites although we haven't made it for a long while. I also made a White Chilli which will be good for supper on Sunday - we have another helping of Burritos for tonight. I guess we will be a bit chickened out by then and will have to think of something else for Monday night. This recipe for white chilli I got from Joe Barkson's World Wide Recipes many years ago. It was sent in by one of his readers and it appealed to me. This recipe, too, I haven't made in some years, but it is a good one and somewhat different from the normal chilli recipes. I actually made half this quantity. White Chili 1 Tbs Butter 2 med onions, chopped 2 4 oz cans chopped green chilis (mild) 4 15 oz cans any kind of white beans (Navy, Pinto, Great Northern, etc.), un-drained 6 tsp chicken bouillon granules (or 6 chicken bouillon cubes) 2 bean cans water 2 tsp ground cumin 3 tsp chopped cilantro 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or more to taste 3 cooked chicken breasts, torn into bite sized pieces Shredded Monterey Jack cheese In a 4 1/2 quart (or larger) saucepan, cook onion in butter until soft, add bouillon, beans, water and chilies. Simmer till heated through (and bouillon cubes are dissolved if using cubes) - about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then stir in cayenne pepper, cilantro, cumin and chicken and simmer again to let flavors mingle and everything is heated through. Serve with shredded Monterey Jack cheese on top. Servings: 4 Source: WW Recipes Serves 4 (hungry) or 6 (mildly hungry) people. OK to freeze leftovers to serve later. Have a great weekend.