Of Mice, Birds and Vacations. Stuffed Turkey Breast.

Amazing, Matt came to me with a flyer from Staples yesterday showing they had a cordless mouse on special for less than $30. This is the man who is generally anti computers!!! So we hi-tailed it to Staples and got one. I didn't know how they worked and discover they come with a USB stick. This is for my laptop you understand. I was playing with it a lot once I had it installed. Great and easy to use. It is a Logitech Laser Cordless Mouse and was reduced considerably. Mind you, I am still not quite sure how the signal gets from the mouse to the laptop - there aren't any little lights that would pick up a signal. Well, back to our trip. We are getting to the end of it now. On the Thursday I phoned a friend we hadn't seen and this time got hold of him. I had tried before. We got there in the afternoon and had a beer with him. He is looking good which considering he broke his neck not so long ago, is quite surprising to me. I had always assumed paraplegia followed but apart from being a little stiff around the neck and shoulders, he moves well. Having retired he is running a catering business and selling a line of rubs and marinades under the name of Hawgs of Havelock, Smokey's Hawg Bar-B-Que. He has a pig cooker and I imagine that's part of his catering service to go round barbecuing pigs. He also takes part in Chilli cook offs all over the place. He studied at a culinary institute for two years and I know he took cooking courses when he was stationed in Japan. He showed us his chef's jacket of which he is very proud. He also has a toy poodle named Buster and another dog, Mandy. Cute dogs, but for a man who has always had pit bulls, quite a change. When we left, he gave us a couple of the dry rubs and a bottle of the marinade which is the hottest (spiciest) thing I have ever tasted. At that heat it will last us for years. Stopped off to return the umbrellas which we never did use. Could have used them today, but we are too busy. It is a very hot day though. That evening we had chicken for supper and used Smokey's dry rub. It was very good. Next day, September 25th marked our 37th wedding anniversary. We exchanged cards. Matt actually gave me my birthday card as he had given me the wrong card the other day. It occurred to me that I hadn't written anything about the birds round here, unlike sinlaw Mike. We have a Mockingbird who lives around the cottage somewhere and sings his heart out every day. Some of them can sing for an hour or more without ever repeating themselves (they copy the songs of other birds) and some have even been heard repeating human sounds. They are wonderful to listen to and we have been charmed by the one stationed in this area. Then, of course, we have the brown Pelicans. You see flocks of them every time you are near any water. They are pretty abundant and spend a lot of time fishing although you do see them perching on poles in the Sound for hours on end. I am not sure if they migrate, it doesn't get that cold here in the winter, but maybe they prefer Florida. I prefer Florida in the winter too, come to that LOL. There are also egrets and blue herons which I have seen in the last two weeks although not in abundance. If you go to certain areas round here you can see the egrets roosting and turning the island bushes into snow balls because there are so many of them. They are very pretty birds but became scarce once upon a time because ladies liked their feathers to decorate their hats. Carolina has always had lots of birds to watch, but we haven't seen that many on this trip. There is a bird bath in the back yard here and we have seen a blue jay making use of it, but we haven't seen some of the more spectacular birds like Painted or Indigo Buntings - the latter look blue but apparently aren't, something to do with light refraction. We used to see them a lot in our back yard when we lived here. I never saw a Painted Bunting but Matt did several times when he was on the water, he used to see flocks of Ibis too which I only saw once. Mustn't forget the Ospreys (Sea Eagles) which we have seen several of lately, wonderful to watch diving for fish or lazily riding the thermals. They are distinctive because of the white under their wings. We spent most of the morning doing laundry as we leave tomorrow, then later went and bought a few more items at the grocery store. We also went to the ABC to get a couple of small bottles for our trip (drink in the hotel). I lived here for 12 years and didn't know they don't have what we call Mickey's in Canada. 375 ml. Here you can buy half pints which are somewhat smaller. I couldn't get a small scotch for me so ended up buying airline sized bottles. Did a few goodbyes, one to our friend who works at KMart, had said goodbye to his wife yesterday. Then bought some flowers and took them with the DVD of Mama Mia back to our friends. Wanted to say thanks for all they had done for us. Be damned if she didn't give me Celtic Thunder for an Anniversary present. They are such a generous couple. Went back to the cottage and stuffed ourselves with leftovers for supper still going to leave a few things behind, I hope the cleaners will make use of them. Matt packed, he is better at that than I am. We loaded the car with everything except the last minute things. Left room for the shrimp too of course. Just the trip home to accomplish. This weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada when many people will be cooking turkey for dinner with all the trimmings including pumpkin pie (not for me, sorry) however, an email from Smuckers this morning detailed the following recipe for a different way of serving turkey. Orange, Goat Cheese and Wild Mushroom Stuffed Turkey Breast Makes: about 4 servings Freezing: not recommended Ingredients: 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 cup (250 mL) mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, portobello) , thinly sliced 1 tsp (5 mL) butter 1 1-1 1/2 lb (450 g-680 g) boneless turkey breast, pounded thin 2 tbsp (30 mL) goat cheese, softened 1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh rosemary 2 tbsp (30 mL) Smucker’s® Pure Orange Marmalade Salt and pepper to taste Glaze: 1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh rosemary 3 tbsp (45 mL) Smucker’s® Pure Orange Marmalade 1 tsp (5 mL) Dijon mustard Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and cover with thinly sliced onion. Set aside. Meanwhile, cook mushrooms in butter in medium sized skillet until wilted and liquid evaporates. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool. 2. Place turkey breast skin side down on prepared baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Combine cooked mushrooms, goat cheese, rosemary and marmalade. Spread on turkey breast. Roll jelly roll and tie with kitchen twine or use metal skewers to secure filling. Turn so that it is seam side down. Combine glaze ingredients and brush over turkey breast. 3. Cook in preheated oven 60-65 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). Remove from oven, cover with foil and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing. Tips: 1. Please show some slices, sliced on diagonal as well as remaining whole turkey breast. Have a great day.

Vacation, Coffee Braised Pot Roast.

Big surprise, Matt has already had the film developed from his camera, with a little nudging from me to take this or that picture. His picture of me next to the bed still doesn't really convey the height, primarily because I am wearing shoes; guess I should have taken them off before being photographed. It really doesn't look that high at all does it? But I can assure you when I had bare feet it was difficult to climb into. Another thing I was thinking about this morning, since we were there last time, a small dishwasher has been installed. For years I have been kidding with people who 'washed' their dishes before they washed their dishes (in the dishwasher) now I have found out why some people do that. This little sucker was not as efficient as the Whirlpool I had in our NC home. Once or twice we had to re-wash things which I never had to do before, so I guess that's why people do it. On the Wednesday which was Sept. 23, we went to our friend's house and then in one vehicle to the Ruddy Duck on the waterside in Morehead City. When we got there we were surprised to find it was the same place that had once been called Blue Peter's, another species of duck; we had gone there for our 25th anniversary some few years ago. It has changed hands a couple of times since and is not quite such haute cuisine as it was then, but the food is very good, nonetheless. The original idea had been to sail in our friend's boat and tie up alongside the restaurant but because of the anticipated bad weather we didn't. I had a spinach salad with egg and cheese which was very good, then there was a chicken salad served in a large tortilla made into a bowl shape. Looked huge. Matt had a crab cake sandwich, new one on us and I can't remember the fourth dish. Afterwards we went to the day docks and parked by the water sitting in the sun whilst our friend went to get his boat. In the picture you can see the fire and rescue boat and in the background Morehead docks. We boarded the Fast Forward and went for a short trip around the island. It was fun, beautiful day, bit of a breeze, nice way to spend an hour or two. Pity we couldn't have done some sailing. Hurricane Fred's remnants had totally passed by early in the morning. Following are some pictures taken from the boat as we were sailing around. One of the Ruddy Duck from the water side. Shows where we could have docked for lunch. We have a family joke, our last name being Wake, all over the waterways there are postings saying No Wake or No Wake Zone or something similar. (A wake being the rough water left behind by a passing boat and if the boat is travelling fast enough, it can cause a lot of damage). I have mentioned before, we had a boat which we called Wake's Own. So when we passed a sign, we both took pictures of it. You have to blow it up a bit to read it. I used this as my wallpaper for a while then I changed it to a picture of the Morehead Bridge over to the island at Atlantic Beach. There is a similar bridge the other end of the island but we like the view better, its full of little islands, unfortunately I have never been in a position to take a decent photo from that bridge and these days there is no way I could walk to the top to do so. Apart from the fact I think it would be somewhat dangerous. Having enjoyed our little trip around the island, we were dropped off at the day docks again and then waited for our friend to moor his boat and come ashore in his skiff when we would pick him up. I saw a street sign that amused me so we had to take a picture. We went back to their place and had a drink and a load of snacky things, really good for me. My blood sugars are running high at the moment anyway, trouble is I am on vacation. We borrowed Mama Mia from them and having watched Jeopardy, had a bit of supper (we weren't hungry) we watched the movie. I was disappointed after the raving people have been doing and Matt didn't think much of it at all. Coffee-Braised Pot Roast with Caramelized Onions From EatingWell: Fall 2004, October 1998, The Essential EatingWell Cookbook (2004) This recipe is reminiscent of a pot roast made with onion-soup mix, but the flavors are true and pure--and nobody misses the excess sodium. 10 servings Ingredients * 1 4-pound beef chuck roast, (see Ingredient note), trimmed of fat * 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste * Freshly ground pepper, to taste * 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided * 2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced (4 cups) * 4 cloves garlic, minced * 1 teaspoon dried thyme * 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee * 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar * 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 300°F. 2. Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook, turning from time to time, until well browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate. 3. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pot. Add onions, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until softened and golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and thyme; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in coffee and vinegar; bring to a simmer. Return the beef to the pot and spoon some onions over it. Cover and transfer to the oven. 4. Braise the beef in the oven until fork-tender but not falling apart, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Transfer beef to a cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes. 5. Meanwhile, skim fat from the braising liquid; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook, whisking, until the gravy thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Season with pepper. Carve the beef and serve with gravy. Slow-Cooker Variation: In Step 2, transfer the browned beef to a slow cooker. In Step 3, use just 1/2 cup coffee. Add the onion mixture to the slow cooker. In Step 4, cover and cook until beef is tender, 4 1/2 to 5 hours on High or 7 to 8 hours on Low. In Step 5, pour the liquid into a medium saucepan and continue as directed. Tips & Notes * Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. * Ingredient Note: Although it is not the leanest cut of beef, chuck is still our choice for pot roast because it doesn't dry out during braising. You will find pockets of fat as you carve it, but they are easy to remove. Have a great day.

Bowling, Vacation, Carrot Soup.

Went bowling again yesterday, we both had mediocre first games and then improved. We have one guy on our team who is not the best bowler but he had a good day yesterday and we were all cheering him on. Our team has 5 people on it and we are always the last to leave the alley. The fact that most of us end up throwing three balls every time doesn't help the time factor either!!! Back to North Carolina; on Monday 21st, we went to a friend's house so I could use her wifi. I downloaded Stardust from Itunes which I had tried before but my desktop is not up to par to play it properly. I also got the John Dunbar theme for Matt which he is particularly fond of. Whilst I was doing this, Matt was helping our friend to cut back a hedge. Quite a job. It was a beautiful day and as we were right by the water, we would love to have spent more time there. She has a really nice place and has now installed an elevator in her home. This meant an extension and a new lobby. I always hated her steps as they are so high, so rode the elevator up to her living area which is above the garages. The whole thing must have cost her a small fortune. Although it wasn't, the picture above could have been taken at our friend's house as she does have a pier with a boat at the end of it. She also has a schnauzer which I was surprised to see is a silver colour. Last time we saw her as a puppy she was black as jet. I didn't know they changed. On the way home we stopped at Guthrie's stall and bought some tomatoes and peaches (bought some before, clingfree and delicious, I bought some more US peaches back home, not nearly as good and not clingfree). Sheri Guthrie was there. We exchanged hugs and conversation. Sheri used to take part in the local production of Worthy is the Lamb, a passion play. She played Mary Magdalene. The actors were all locals and they actually mimed to pre-recorded sound and music. The theatre was outdoors and it was wonderful, I went once and found that a lot of the words were straight New Testament and I could actually remember them from my school days. However, it has now been closed down for 7 years due to lack of funds. Such a pity. I used to boast I knew both Mary Magdalene and Jesus (I was introduced once). In the afternoon we went to Captain Sam's again to take our cooler and discuss just how much we would be paying so we could withdraw the cash for Saturday. Sheri, his wife, (different person) was sick apparently. We sorted it all out with Sam and arranged for them to pack the cooler with 20 1lb. bags of frozen headed shrimp which we would pick up Saturday morning, they actually end up putting the whole cooler in the freezer. They were a little hesitant as the remnants of Hurricane Fred were due to arrive which screws up shrimping. However, they figured it would be OK. Met their son, Little Sam, he is anything but little. Picked up 1 lb. shrimp for supper. That night, we got the expected rain, it chucked it down. The next morning there were news reports of flooding all over the place particularly in Georgia although that was not the Hurricane. They are talking heavy tropical showers all day here. We went and did a bit of shopping. Popped into a seafood store and Matt bought some tuna steaks for supper. Later we went into the new liquor store at Cape Carteret, quite a place, and got some liquor to bring back to Canada. Compared with the old ABC this new one is huge. They don't sell wine as that is sold by grocery stores so the whole place is full of every kind of liquor. This store is new from last time we were here. I always remember the first time we visited NC and were hunting all over the place for one, we had no idea they were called ABC stores and actually there was one right next to the car wash we had stopped at. We ended up going back there and asking and they were very amused we had been looking for so long. Went to MacDaddy's for lunch and more 10-pin bowling. I can't remember what I had for lunch, but one friend ordered a shrimp pizza which looked delicious. I can't believe how much I am enjoying ten pin. We are none of us brilliant, but Matt got the highest score today. The manager (friend's daughter) gave us a free game too which was great, she also offered us a drink, but neither Matt nor I wanted anything at the time. It was raining whilst we were in the alley and still doing so as we left. We are supposed to go sailing tomorrow, but have arranged to go to the Ruddy Duck's for lunch and then see how the weather is. It rained during the night too. More tomorrow. My mother loved carrot soup and so do I. It is pretty simple to make and yet very warming. This recipe came from Food TV. Cream of Carrot Soup Ricardo Larrivée Yield: 4 * 4 cups sliced carrots (about 7) * 1 x onion, chopped * 2 tbsp butter * 5 cups milk * salt and pepper 1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, soften the carrots and onion in the butter. Add the milk. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom to prevent the milk from sticking. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer gently until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. 2. Transfer to a blender and purée until smooth. Adjust the seasoning. 3. Serving suggestion: Use heavy cream to write each diner’s initial on their bowl of soup.

Monte Cristo, Vacation Continues. Mushroom Pie.

On Saturday I watched The Count of Monte Cristo, 2004 edition. As a movie I quite enjoyed it, as a story written by Alexandre Dumas père, I thought it appalling. Once he is out of the Chateau d'If the film diverges from the book so much the author must be turning in his grave. I suppose the book is well and truly out of copyright so it doesn't matter any more, but it matters to me. It is one of the great classics and to muck about with it that way is, to me, wrong. If you are going to mess it up that much, don't call it by the same title or call it "My version of .....", but don't try and pass it off as being the real story. I feel similarly strongly about versions of history, English or otherwise, which have no relationship with what we really know, it doesn't matter a damn what we suspect, if we don't know we shouldn't invent otherwise people will end up believing that's what really happened. Look at the people who truly believe Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code is based on fact and is not total fiction. People tend to believe if its presented in print or film it must be true. OK, rant over, back to our vacation. We are now up to the first Friday of our stay. I spent most of the day feeling sorry for myself because of my ear which was both bleeding and sore. How can you put a bandaid on an ear? By the evening when we were due to meet our friends for dinner, it had dried up somewhat. We arrived at the restaurant, Riverview Steak and Seafood, in Swansboro, and were horrified to discover they didn't have our reservation although I had in fact spoken to them on two different occasions. Finally, having emphasised that it was for 5 people they found us a table for which we had to wait a while. Eventually the hostess said she had found our reservation under the name Wilson!!! As it turned out our friends were late, one of them had forgotten all about it when the others went to collect her, it was quite a funny story when she told us all about it. We have been to this restaurant on several occasions, their food is good, but the place does get very noisy. It was great to see our friends, first time this trip for two of them, but one couldn't really chat because of the noise. I got a belated birthday card, Maxine which I always enjoy. Matt ended up ordering marinated chicken and I had sautéed shrimp and oysters. Pretty good for both of us. We started with a salad which was rather small but they served with a sweet potato muffin which was delicious. I had a second one as someone didn't want theirs. I had told them all about my fall last night, and ever after, the husband kept teasing me by saying he was sorry I had fallen out of bed!!! As we left he gave us the sun umbrellas which belong to friends in Canada, but which they store with these friends in NC. So Saturday arrived and my ear had stopped weeping but now I had a puffy eye. What else for goodness sake. Luckily it had gone down by the afternoon. Matt put the London Broil in to marinade and later I peeled and cooked the shrimp for our starter. I cooked some fresh butter beans and then tossed them in raspberry vinaigrette whilst they were still warm so they could absorb the flavours. In the afternoon I prepared Vidalia onions for the barbecue. I'm sure I have described this before, but you cut them in quarters, but not all the way through. You then put a knob of butter on each onion, season it and wrap it in tin foil. Then place it on the barbecue - first on the hot part and then if possible on the shelf which most barbecues come with. They come out with the bottoms all browned (caramelised as most chefs call it, but that is not accurate, only sugar caramelises) and they are delicious. Our dinner guests arrived about 4 and we sat outside at the picnic table having a drink. They had brought chips so we ate a few of those. Eventually Matt lit the barbecue and I put the potatoes in the oven to bake. Unfortunately, as I mentioned, we haven't done much barbecuing since we got back to Canada so timed the onions wrong; they were a tad overdone but were still delicious. Having started with shrimp, eaten London Broil, we ended with ice cream. It was a fun evening. We will be seeing them again on Tuesday at MacDaddy's and weather permitting, we will be going out on their boat on Wednesday. Sunday we didn't do much of anything although we watched our friend's copy of the latest Celtic Thunder DVD. I tried my damndest to copy it on my new laptop but couldn't figure it out and no-one seems to know how. If you remember I raved about this group before although a lot of people didn't seem to agree with me. The youngest singer, Damian, has now matured a bit and doesn't have the young voice he had a couple of years back. Winter is coming on, in fact I'm not sure it hasn't arrived. My newsletter from Mushrooms Canada contained the following Pot Pie which I thought sounded pretty good. Not sure about pre-sliced mushrooms, think I would rather slice my own, but I would certainly use frozen pastry. Mushroom, Chicken and Leek Pot Pie Prepared pastry and pre-sliced mushrooms make this tasty meal quick to prepare. For even faster preparation substitute left over cooked turkey cubes for the chicken. This recipe is Arthritis approved! 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4) 500 g 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided 25 mL 2 large leeks, white part only, 2 sliced (2 cups/500mL) 1 lb. sliced fresh Mushrooms 500 g 1 tbsp dried tarragon 15 mL 2 tbsp all-purpose flour 25 mL 3/4 cup chicken stock 175 mL 1/2 tsp salt 2 mL 1/4 tsp pepper 1 mL 1 9"/22cm deep dish frozen pie shell, thawed Cut chicken into 3/4-inch (2 cm) cubes. In large non-stick saucepan or deep skillet, heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until lightly browned but still pink inside, about 3-4 minutes. Spoon into 6 cup (1.5 L) baking dish or deep pie plate. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining oil to same pan. Sauté leeks, mushroom and tarragon for 2-3 minutes; cover and cook about 3 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Sprinkle in flour and stir to blend. Gradually stir in chicken stock, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and stir until thickened, about 3 minutes. Spoon mixture over chicken. Invert thawed pie shell over casserole pressing pastry edge to baking dish and crimp or flute the edges. Cut 3-4 slits in pastry. Bake in 425°F (220°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and pastry is brown. Makes 4 servings. Tip: To thaw pie shell, leave at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. If desired, brush pastry with beaten egg before baking to give a browner top. Variation: Substitute 3 cups (750 mL) cubed cooked turkey or chicken for 1 lb ( 500g ) chicken breasts; decrease oil to 1 tbsp(15 mL) and omit browning. Place cooked meat in casserole and continue as directed above. Have a great day.

Sequel to my blog and Winnie the Pooh

I was staggered to read, in our local paper, that there is an authorised sequel to Winnie the Pooh called Return to the Hundred Acre Wood. The last book was written before I was born, and now David Benedictus has added a new book to the series. If you are as interested as I was, here is an article click here together with a reading from the book. Honey anyone?

The Last Stormlord, Aquariums, The Bed, Cheddar Penny Crackers

I haven't mentioned that I am reading Glenda Larke's book The Last Stormlord, what a great read. There have been lots of reviews praising Glenda's ability to 'world build' and I agree with everything I have read. The Quartern is a fascinating place and the characters and events are wonderfully depicted and excitingly written. I am terrified of getting to the end because Glenda hasn't finished writing the trilogy, I am not sure when Book 2 is due and Book 3 in under construction. I will be chomping at the bit. If you haven't yet read The Last Stormlord, I highly recommend it. Here are the two covers one from Australia on the left and one from the UK on the right. I personally much prefer the Australian cover as the UK publisher tends to put people in floating cloaks on their covers, I have mentioned this before. They have done so on five of Karen Miller's books. Now on with our vacation - on the Thursday, 17th, I finally got on line with my new laptop. I went to the realtor, Emerald Isle Realty, where they have wifi and set up my security which was a priority. I had 150 emails. Couldn't deal with all of them, didn't have time. After lunch, we went to the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores on the island. We have been going there off and on since 1978, the place has changed incredibly since then and has been completely re-built in recent years - they have a huge tank with a simulated wreck of a submarine, which holds, I think, 60,000 gallons of seawater. Apart from anything else it contains 8 sharks. They have a license to pull seawater from the Sound to maintain their tanks. Despite having visited so many times we only discovered today, from a book in the cottage, that the land had originaly been owned by Teddy Roosevelt who was the first person to start conservation of the area. Today, they have lots of nature trails which unfortunately I am no longer able to walk. We did try once some year's ago, with friends, and were held up by a Copperhead crossing our path. The general consensus was to go back. There are some great pictures and information about the aquarium here together with information on NC aquariums generally. The exhibition is called From the Mountains to the Sea and when you first walk in, you are faced with a waterfall before going on to look at the critters from the highlands and then progressing to the biggest tank with ocean creatures where you can see divers several times a day. They also run a turtle conservation programme which has been ongoing as long as I remember. A great place to visit if you are in the area - or in the area of any of the North or South Carolina Aquariums, we have been to several and they do a great job. On the way home we called in two different friends, no-one home. Then went to see Phil Ingram who runs the garage we used while we lived there. He is a wonderful man and as honest as they day is long. Ingram Autocare is a great place to have your car fixed. He told us that, unfortunately, his business had really suffered in the recession, but that business was beginning to pick up again. Gave us news of his family too. A really nice man. The bed in the cottage is very high, about waist height for me and there is a step stool to climb up to it. Unfortunately this evening I slipped on the stool and went an absolute purler. I hit the side of my head on the night table and there was blood everywhere from my ear. I was not a very happy camper. I don't know if you can see how high the bed is from this picture, Matt has one on his camera which is probably a lot better, but his camera is the old fashioned type which has a film that has to be developed!!! It could be years, LOL. We visited our friends who also rent this cottage and she told me she had no problem getting into the bed, but she is much slimmer and I guess more athletic than I am, I could do it, but it was quite a performance. The crackers below came from DLife News which is a site for diabetics and this is a diabetic recipe. I thought these sounded quite tasty reminded me of some cheese straws a friend in Carolina used to make all the time. Cheddar Penny Crackers Source: DLife Cheddar cheese snack crackers with a cayenne kick! Ingredients 2 cup Flour, all purpose, white, bleached, enriched baked value sifted 1 pinch salt 1 pinch ground cayenne (red pepper) 6 oz Cheese, cheddar, sharp, shredded 1/2 cup salted butter, melted Directions 1 Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet. 2 In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and cayenne pepper. Stir in the cheddar cheese and melted butter to form a firm dough. 3 Roll pieces of dough into ropes as big around as a penny. Slice into 1/4 inch slices. If dough is too soft, it can be chilled until firm. 4 Place slices onto the prepared cookie sheet so they are 1 inch apart. 5 Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bottoms of the pennies are lightly toasted and the tops are firm. 6 Allow to cool completely before serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Have a great day.

MacDaddy's, T & W, Noodle Salad Recipe,

Today, Sept. 15, we went to visit MacDaddy's which is managed by our friend's daughter. What a place. It is an entertainment complex where you can enjoy yourself by playing all kinds of games machines - I've never seen so many - but because of NC law, the prizes are tokens which you then hand in to a prize desk to claim something - no cash. I gathered our friends have tried out a lot of them. There are billiards tables, a lounge where you can sit and use the wifi for your laptop. It also contains a banquet room, meeting rooms and party rooms for kids and adults, entertainment and a kids restaurant, a sports bar and restaurant for adults, two bowling alleys, one large one for leagues and such, and one 8 lane for smaller groups or individuals. We checked in with the manager/daughter, met her husband and also Mac who is the owner of the place. Then had lunch. Matt and I were not very hungry so we both had a Caesar salad, I had shrimp with mine, Matt had chicken. It was very good. Then the manager sent over a dessert of brownies with ice cream, yummy. Our friends bought shoes and paid for a game and off we went to bowl. I am not used to the heavy 10-pin balls of course, so ended up ripping a thumb nail, no not sure how *g*, but then got the hang of it and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Having checked with our friends we played 2 more games. The alleys are absolutely wonderful, being brand new they are of course in pristine condition and everything works. They call the small alley 'boutique' bowling. Who would have thought I would enjoy 10-pin, I don't know that I was doing it very well, but I didn't score too badly. On the way home, needed some band aids as my thumb nail was still bleeding. Called in at the Walgreen's pharmacy and asked where they were. A bit later the assistant I had spoken to said "Are you Matt and Jo?". Turned out to be someone we hadn't seen in years. I didn't recognise her, but everyone says we don't change. Gave her our phone number. Unfortunately, we never did hear from her. One problem with not having an answering machine of any kind. The next day we headed for the beach. We went to Bogue Pier where parking is free at this time of year and it is easy to get down onto the sands. When we settled, there was no-one around. An hour later there were grizzling kids and youngsters with loud radios all close to us despite miles of empty beach. So we gave up. Matt did go for a swim but I didn't bother. We left the beach, went home for lunch, and then went over to Beaufort to sit on the Boardwalk. This is a delightful area which we have been visiting for many years. We had a beer at the Dock House which is just that. At the back of the building is where the harbour master has his office. I was joking with the barman I wanted some chips which they don't sell in packets there any more (didn't know that) so we got a tad confused and in the end he came out with the classic "I guess you're not from around here". He disappeared into the kitchen and came out with a basket of chips (crisps to the English) and said I had given him such a hard time he couldn't charge me for them. Fine by me!! Afterwards we walked the boardwalk and I saw a runabout the name of which made me laugh "But GOD.....". On the way home we dropped into KMart for a couple of things and bumped into our friend who works there - supposedly part time, but seems to me more like full time - lots of big hugs. I mentioned a seat belt clip I had heard about and he found me a packet with two in. Not easy to see in the picture, but it really works. I didn't have to move the belt from my neck or reposition it once - have worn it ever since with the same results. Leaving KMart we set off the buzzer at the door, turned out it was the blank DVDs I had bought, the assistant in Electronics had been too busy with a personal phone call to attend to me. Went to T and W Oyster Bar for supper. Matt agreed I could have crab legs. I say agreed, because anyone with me has to wait forever while I pick at each bit of the crab legs and it takes a long, long time. I enjoyed them; Matt had fried scallops and we figure he had about 2 dozen on his plate. I haven't had steamed oysters for a long time either so we decided we would come back for those another day. Once I wouldn't touch oysters, now I am an absolute gannet for them. The following recipe came from Mushrooms Canada yesterday and I thought it sounded delicious. I love rice noodles. Thai Noodle and Vegetable Salad A popular salad to serve as part of an Asian meal or an accompaniment to grilled fish or meat or serve for a lunch or light dinner. Ingredients 6 oz. rice stick noodles Dressing: 2 tbsp Each hoisin sauce and rice vinegar 2 tbsp Each sesame oil and soya sauce 2 tbsp lime juice 2 large cloves garlic, crushed 1 ½ tsp finely grated fresh gingerroot 8 oz. sliced fresh Mushrooms white or crimini) 1 cup julienned sweet red pepper 1 cup julienned snow peas 1 cup purchased pre- shredded carrot* 2 green onions, diagonally sliced 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves Method In a large bowl soak noodles in hot water for 20 minutes; drain and cook in boiling water for 2 minutes; drain well and place in large bowl. Meanwhile in a measuring cup or jar with lid combine hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, soya sauce, lime juice, garlic and gingerroot; stir or shake to blend well. Pour half of the dressing over drained cooked noodles. Toss mushrooms, pepper, peas, carrot, onions and cilantro and remaining dressing with noodles. Serve at room temperature or chill until the next day. Garnish as desired when serving. *Substitute julienned carrot for pre shredded carrot. Variations: 1. Substitute 1 cup (250 mL) prepared Asian dressing and 2 tbsp (25 mL) lime juice and 2 tbsp (25 mL) soya sauce for the dressing above. 2. Substitute whole wheat linguine or fettuccine for rice stick noodles and cook according to package directions. Have a great day.

Urban Legends, Vacation, Patrick Swayze.

I wish more people would check with Snopes before emailing me stuff which turns out to be nonsense. The latest one I received was on the danger of hotel key cards. I checked, it isn't true. So if you receive this particular email, I have already saved you the job of researching it or the embarrassment of sending it on to someone when it is false. Back to our vacation - now it is Monday Sept. 14 and my birthday. I got a beautiful card from Matt. Later I discovered he had mistakenly given me our anniversary card (following week) so we saved the birthday card for then. Having invited our friends to supper, we had to do some more shopping. We headed out and went and sat on Bogue Pier for a while watching the fishermen, gazing at the water and peering at the people on the beach. This picture is of Matt on Bogue Pier a couple of years ago, I didn't take one on the pier itself this year. Afterwards we went to lunch at one of our favourite seafood restaurants nearby, nothing pretentious, but the food is excellent, Jordan's Seafood. We both had flounder, fresh fish from the ocean, nothing better. Of course, being North Carolina, hush puppies were served. These I can take or leave. The best I ever had was at a pig pickin' party a friend held years ago and someone came and mixed the puppies and fried them there and then and we ate them hot out of the fryer. Wonderful. We have been going to Jordan's for many years and highly recommend the place. Tried to buy a London Broil from Food Lion, they were on special, they didn't have any so gave us a rain cheque. Then decided to go to Captain Sam's in Cedar Point to arrange for our shrimp when we leave. They were closed but we checked to see if anyone was around and Sheri, the wife, was. She was pleased to see us and got us up to date with everything that had happened in their family lately. Apparently her hubby is standing for the local council now and the son has more or less taken over the shrimping business. Sheri gave me a bag of shrimp so we ate them for supper later and had pork chops which Matt buggered up - his excuse is he hasn't done any barbecuing for a while - true we aren't allowed barbecues on our balconies. I just didn't feel like going out for a birthday dinner, much easier to stay at home, it also means Matt can enjoy a glass of wine without worrying about driving. I also phoned some friends and arranged to have dinner with them on Friday evening. Patrick Swayze died on my birthday - I was very sad. He was one of my favourites. Loved Dirty Dancing, Ghost and Roadhouse. He had been suffering from pancreatic cancer since January 2008 and yet he still kept on acting. I will certainly miss him and I am sure his wife will, they had a wonderful marriage. World Wildlife Fund in Canada are doing a promotion on eating local foods which is called Localicious. There are restaurants and chefs taking part across the country although mostly in the big cities. However, this recipe was one that was given free today. I am not familiar with Niagara Gold cheese but from the picture below, it looks delicious. New Potato and Niagara Gold Melt with Pickled Beets Chef: Jamie Kennedy of the Gilead Cafe Serves 6. Ingredients: • 18 small new potatoes • 1 lb./455g Niagara Gold cheese • 1 quart/litre jar Pickled Beets or • 6 small golden beets and 6 candycane beets • 2 Tbsp./30mL white wine vinegar • 1 shallot, peeled and cut into brunoise • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Directions: • Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Cook the new potatoes in boiling salted water. If you are using fresh beets, cook them in boiling salted water. If they are very small, they will take approximately the same amount of time as the potatoes. When the vegetables are cooked, drain them and let them cool. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half and place six halves facing up in the center of six ovenproof plates. Slice six wedges of cheese and place one wedge on each mound of potatoes. Place the plates in the oven. If using fresh beets, peel and slice the beets into quarters. While they are still warm, toss them in a marinade of the vinegar, shallots, and seasoning. • Remove the plates from the oven when the cheese has melted. Garnish each plate with five quarters of marinated beets or pickled beets. (The leftover marinated beets keep very well in the refrigerator.) Serve at once. Have a great day.