Bateaux Mouches, The Seine, Bowling, X-ray, Supper.

Denise at My Life in Retirement is doing a series about her whirlwind trip to Europe in 1969. In the one I have linked to, she mentions taking a trip on the River Seine in France. Obviously it made me think of the trip I made around about 1956 or '57 I think, my French boyfriend took me on one of the Bateaux Mouches which plied their trips on the Seine. During the trip I had to go to the bathroom which was on the deck below where we were sitting. For some reason just before I got to the steps going down, I fainted. No idea why to this day. I woke up surrounded by people and right on the edge of this pretty high set of steps. I was so lucky not to have fallen down them. I might not be here writing this blog!!

Eventually I made it to the bathroom and back again. My boyfriend didn't know anything about it as he was some distance from where it happened. A sightseeing trip I will never forget. Unfortunately I don't remember all that much of the trip itself. However, quite a few years later, I really don't remember what year but I was certainly living away from home and not sure I wasn't married to my first husband, my father sailed up the Seine and moored basically right in the middle of Paris. A wonderful spot for sightseeing. I flew over to join them and sailed back to England with them. One thing I do remember was  how dirty the Seine was. But then in those days so were the Thames and Medway, my home rivers as it were. They are now so clean that fish are swimming  their waters.

Went bowling Monday afternoon - no leagues of course. Matt beat me twice, grumble, grumble. Wednesday is the start of the Summer League.

I had meant to go for an X-ray in the morning but then realised the referral I had called for an ultra sound as well for which one has  to make an appointment. So will not be going until the end of the month.

Made Moroccan-Style Stuffed Peppers for Monday night supper - a favourite and pretty easy to do. Having made them in the morning I couldn't remember how to reheat them in the microwave. I didn't want to do them in the oven. Nothing terribly helpful so I ended microwaving on high for a total of 10 minutes and they were warmed right through. Was reminded this morning of a favourite asparagus dish so think I will make them for supper tomorrow.

Crispy Baked Asparagus Fries

1 lb asparagus, trimmed
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 425F oven until golden brown, about 7-13 minutes.

Servings: 2

Author: Kevin Lynch
Source: Closet Cooking

Author Notes
Asparagus coated in panko bread crumbs and parmesan and baked until golden brown and crispy.

Have a great day
 

Bowling, X-Ray, Pork Chops, Mislaid Letter, Chinese Dam,

Well it seems we bounced fairly well at the weekend. I acquired a few bruises somehow but Matt doesn't seem to have any. He did have a touch of dizziness but I checked sugars and blood pressure and they seemed OK. He didn't have any problem bowling.

Needless to say we went bowling and in my first game I could do no wrong. I got 4 strikes in a row and ended up with 224. However, my second and third games were nothing to write home about. There were only the two of us on our team and I guess we got tired or something. Matt didn't bowl well at all. Still, after the good game at the beginning my average went up another 2 points. It's a funny game, in the first one I could do no wrong and the second and third I could do no right.

I had a requisition to go for an X-ray (because of my sore buttock which they don't think is sciatica as everyone said) so we went after bowling. It is a fair distance and then I had to wait an hour to go in. X-ray was particularly busy. Decided I might as well wait as we were there. After that I decided Subway was the place to get supper. This lab does all kinds of stuff as well as X-rays and the waiting room was crowded. I actually ended up waiting less than an hour I think.

When we got home I discovered a letter for Matt from the Civil Service in England about his pension increase (1% if you are interested - we will try not to spend it all at once) but although the address is absolutely correct, they had not added Canada. It appears the letter went through the Netherlands to the Czech republic!!!! The British postal service has never heard of Ontario???

An interesting bit of trivia I picked up from How To Geek today: The mass of the water pooled behind the huge Three Gorges Dam in China is so significant that it actually affected the rotation of the Earth, lengthening the day by 0.06 microseconds I am not sure that is a good thing though. Doesn't sound good to me.

Yesterday Bryan (A Beer for the Shower) said he had tried the recipe for Korean Pork Chops and they were awesome. I had kind of forgotten about them I must remember them for this weekend.

I was asked by a friend at bowling for a Christmas Cake recipe so I looked up one I use from Mrs. Beeton. My copy of Mrs. Beeton's Cookery book was printed in 1936.  Not that I have made a Christmas Cake for a very long time as Matt doesn't like them and I don't need them, or my hips don't! Of course I always covered this cake with marzipan and then Royal Icing. Strictly speaking this is not a Christmas Cake, but it is what I used to use and it always made a super cake. We can get mixed peel in Ontario, but I could never find it in North Carolina.

Christmas Cake

12 oz. butter
12 oz. sugar
6 eggs
1 lb all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
12 oz. currants
6 oz. rasins
8 oz sultanas
4 oz. mixed peel
grated rind of half a lemon
3/4 tsp ground cinammon
1.4 tsp. nutmeg
a little milk if necessary
1/2 gill brandy (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 lb almonds

Cream the butter and sugar together in a basin, add the well beaten eggs, one at a time, and brandy, stir quickly. Mix in the sieved flour and baking powder, fruit, 3/4 of the almonds (chopped) and lemon rind. Add a little milk if necessary but the mixture must not be too moist.

Place the cake mixture in a prepared tin, sprinkle over the remainding almonds and bake it in a moderate oven (about 375°F) for about 2-2 1/2 hours. When cooked and firm to the touch, place the cake on a wire rack to cool.

Source: Mrs. Beeton's Family Cookery.

Have a great day
 

Botox Anyone? X-Ray Offices.

How nice, I have just received a coupon through CARP (same as the American AARP) which offers me : Book a complimentary appointment with Dr. Torgerson and receive Restylane and Perlane Injectable Filler at $100 off per vial and Botox at only $10 per unit! First of all it's for a surgeon in Toronto which is quite a distance away, and secondly I don’t know what those fillers are, but if I am being offered $100 off, they must be pretty pricey. I assume $10 for Botox is good, but how many units does one need? I am a pensioner for goodness sake. It is one of my peeves that these facial treatments and suchlike are only for the rich and those of us who are not rolling in money have to put up with sagging skin and muscles. Not that I would want a full face lift or anything, but a couple of tweaks here and there wouldn’t go amiss LOL.

Friday morning I had to go for an X-ray and went to the usual True North Imaging only to find they weren’t quite there. They had moved to new quarters on the same floor. Behind us so we didn’t see them at first. Real swishy place now, the waiting room used to be a pokey little place, but now it’s huge and the chairs are a lot comfier too. Appeared to be lots of changing rooms as well. Guess it’s a while since I was last there. I was quite impressed with their upgrade. Just as well I didn’t have an appointment time as the traffic was terrible, no idea why it was so backed up, never saw anything which could have caused it.

Not a lot going on in our lives at the moment. Just kind of gearing up for our trip next Friday. When we were both working, we used to go away Labour Day weekend in order to get the extra day. These days it doesn't matter.

I didn’t know Parmesan crisps, which we make slightly differently, are really tuiles.

Parmesan Tuiles with Heirloom Tomato Salad

Contributed by Grace Parisi for Food and Wine

• SERVINGS: 4

Chopped red, green and orange tomatoes are tossed with olive oil and herbs, then served on Parmesan tuiles. The result: a supremely colourful, incredibly easy hors d'oeuvre. 

1. 6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2. 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3. 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour, plus more for pressing
4. Freshly ground pepper
5. 1 1/2 cups finely diced heirloom tomatoes
6. 1 tablespoon snipped chives
7. 1 teaspoon coarsely chopped tarragon
8. 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
9. Salt

1. Preheat the oven to 400° and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese with the butter, flour and a generous pinch of pepper and mash the ingredients until a dough forms. Form the dough into a 4-inch log. Cut the log into 12 equal slices and arrange the slices on the baking sheet. Using your fingers, press the slices into 1 1/2-inch rounds.
2. Bake the tuiles on the lowest rack in the oven for about 7 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until the tuiles are golden brown and sizzling. Let the tuiles cool completely, then transfer them to a paper towel–lined plate and blot the excess fat.
3. In a small bowl, toss the tomatoes with the chives, tarragon and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the salad over the tuiles and serve right away.

Make Ahead The parmesan tuiles can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Recrisp in a warm oven before topping with the tomato salad.

Have a great holiday weekend.