Earthquake, Lolcats and Books.

On Good Morning America they were talking about donations towards the relief of Haiti and stressed one must be careful not to donate to unknown and fly-by-nighy charities but to make sure they are established charities whom you know will direct your money to the cause for which you donated. They have a list of such charities on their website at http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/ConsumerNews/haiti-earthquake-relief-effort-avoid-scams/story?id=9555419 plus other advice. A question was asked about people who might have supplies and cannot afford a donation, it was suggested such people should sell their 'supplies' and then donate the money as the charities need money for shipping although they like to buy as much as they can in the affected country in order to help jump start their economy.

If you are a Harry Potter fan, you will appreciate this LOLCAT - OK its not a cat, but its funny. Mike you should enjoy this one. see more Lolcats and funny pictures I have found myself a new author, Suzanne Collins. I have just read The Hunger Games, I mentioned it the other day, and found it a very good book. It is the first of a series and the second book is already available so I am going to read that soon and I gather the third book is due out this year. The background of The Hunger Games is a land of the future where they take children from various districts and set them down in an arena to kill one another, the winner being much feted. A horrible concept but and excellent story. It really is a book I can highly recommend and I am sorry to have finished it. I am also going to try some of her other books, there is another series the first one of which is Gregor the Overlander which I have ordered from the library. The treadmill is erected but the last bit, adding silicone to the machine, defeats us as to what exactly they are asking us to do, maybe we are being a bit dumb, but... I placed a call to the manufacturer for service and they say they are unusually busy with calls, maybe lots of people were taking the opportunity to by at half price or less. So I guess I must possess my soul in patience, something I am not that good at doing. I have subsequently read some more directions and - maybe - understand it a little more, so keep your fingers crossed. Eating Well have some recipes for Grab and Go breakfasts (not that I basically approve of that, much healthier to sit down and have breakfast - so get up a bit earlier and if necessary, go to bed a bit earlier. Almond-Honey Power Bar From EatingWell: January/February 2010

Great for breakfast on the go! Golden roasted nuts, seeds and oats are nveloped by flavorful almond butter in these delectably chewy, no-fuss energy bars. Unrefined turbinado sugar adds a deep caramelly undertone. Feel free to use light brown sugar instead. Bars stored at room temperature will be softer than those that are refrigerated. 8 bars

Ingredients •1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats •1/4 cup slivered almonds •1/4 cup sunflower seeds •1 tablespoon flaxseeds, preferably golden •1 tablespoon sesame seeds •1 cup unsweetened whole-grain puffed cereal (see Note) •1/3 cup currants •1/3 cup chopped dried apricots •1/3 cup chopped golden raisins •1/4 cup creamy almond butter (see Note) •1/4 cup turbinado sugar (see Note) •1/4 cup honey •1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract •1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation 1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch-square pan with cooking spray. 2.Spread oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds and sesame seeds on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the oats are lightly toasted and the nuts are fragrant, shaking the pan halfway through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add cereal, currants, apricots and raisins; toss to combine. 3.Combine almond butter, sugar, honey, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low, stirring frequently, until the mixture bubbles lightly, 2 to 5 minutes. 4.Immediately pour the almond butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon or spatula until no dry spots remain. Transfer to the prepared pan. Lightly coat your hands with cooking spray and press the mixture down firmly to make an even layer (wait until the mixture cools slightly if necessary). Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes; cut into 8 bars.

Nutrition Per serving : 244 Calories; 10 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 5 g Mono; 5 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 74 mg Sodium; 313 mg Potassium 2 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 1/2 other carbohydrate, 2 fat Tips & Notes •Make Ahead Tip: Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month; thaw at room temperature. •Ingredient notes: For this recipe, we like unsweetened puffed multi-grain cereal, such as Kashi’s 7 Whole Grain Puffs. •Almond butter can be found at natural-foods stores and large supermarkets, near the peanut butter. •Turbinado sugar is steam-cleaned raw cane sugar. It’s coarse-grained and light brown in color, with a slight molasses flavor. Find it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets or at natural-foods stores. (According to another source, the steam cleaning defeats the purpose of eating raw sugar in the first place however he also stated raw sugar wasn't very clean anyway.)

Have a great day

Earthquake, Snow, Productive Day,

The lead headline over here this morning is the devastating 7.0 earthquake in Haiti and all the problems sending help. Not only have schools and hospitals, etc. collapsed but so had the control tower at the airport which is now closed and makes it difficult to send in planes with help. There is a hospital ship on the way they say, but that doesn't help anyone right away which is so very sad. They are talking millions injured or dead but at the moment no-one really knows. Such an earthquake would cause enough problems in The Dominican Republic (part of the same island, if you don't know, on the map here, the purple part is Haiti and the yellow is The Dominican Replublic) but Haiti is much less developed I understand apart from being war torn. There were a lot of very primitive dwellings in the DR so I am sure the case is very much the same in Haiti. My sympathies go out to them.

This is a pretty fantastic picture by NASA of Britain in the deep freeze. It has been shown in several places and I thought it was worth sharing. It has been in newspapers and magazines in both the UK and Canada - maybe elsewhere, I don't know. For a country which, certainly in the southern area, is unused to snow and such cold temps, they have been well socked in. As has a lot of Europe. Even as far south as Bordeaux in France they have had snow which is most unusual.

I was talking about the differences between places unused and unprepared and here. It isn't usually a big inconvenience, the snow clearing crews do an excellent job - OK if your car is parked outside constantly, it can be a nuisance to have to clean it off when you go somewhere, but it is great stuff to play in whether it be downhill or cross country skiing, snow shoeing or skidooning. So long as you show some sense about the latter. Some people are stupid enough to kill themselves on their snowmobiles by driving across lakes which are not really frozen at all. When I cross country skiied, I wouldn't even ski across a lake even when I knew it was frozen solid. Official warnings are broadcast, but I have heard of a couple of deaths at least this winter with people sinking their machines into a lake. This morning I heard a story from a friend in the UK who couldn't drive her car to the train station to take her daughter to school because of fresh snow on the hill where they live. Said daughter walked to the bus which, when it eventually came, ended up stopping and disbarking all the passengers because of health and safety concerns. Daughter walked to the station, falling several times, only to discover on arrival that the trains were cancelled. This took three hours and she wasn't yet home. We are so used to dealing with snow here, we don't think just how crippling it can be in countries without snow clearing facilities.

We had a very productive day yesterday, first the doc. for Matt, everything is all clear as far as the tests he had in the hospital and he is certainly improving. She (the doc) said she had never come across anyone shaking so badly with what, eventually, turned out to be a urine infection or what most women would recognise as a UTI of which lots of us have had lots of. Nor did she expect such an extreme reaction from Matt for the pills she prescribed for the shakes. Then, after lunch, we went to get me a haircut, did I ever need it, I was getting to the Rapunzel stage, but just hadn't had time. We then went to a local branch of Canadian Tire to check on treadmills. Turned out this store was too small to carry much stock, but the treadmill I was interested in is on sale and he suggested I went to another story. Bearing in mind where that is, I ended up going to Staples (stationary) for more supplies for my blog2print books, the optomotrist's to get my glasses straightened out and then to another Canadian Tire where they had several different treadmills all drastically reduced - I have no idea why. Most of them were 50% off and the one we ended up buying saved us $600 - I tried it out and it works just like the very expensive ones they have in sports facilities. Only problem, we couldn't carry it in our car. Paid for it and went home and asked a friend if he would be kind enough to carry it in his van, at his convenience, turned out it was convenient then and there, so off he and Matt went and picked up the huge box. Such box is presently sitting in our hallway until we have re-arranged the spare room to take the machine. As I said, a most productive day for us. I have actually wanted a treadmill for a long time, I am unable to walk on a sidewalk or something, or at least not for very long, but I can walk on a treamill for ever. Unfortunately this building doesn't have sports equipment like so many do. We have a sauna which they won't allow people to use but that's it. Our friends have a swimming pool, a hot tub and exercise machines at their place. Anyway, now I am a happy camper, or I will be once we have it set up.

Last but not least, I got my Susan Boyle CD. Listened last night, its very good.

Here is another good recipe from Eating Well. I love ginger and this sounds as though it would be delicious. It is certainly being added to my 'soon to be tried' list. Hawaiian Ginger-Chicken Stew From EatingWell: March/April 2009

This chicken stew has a bold ginger-flavored broth and provides a whole serving of dark leafy greens in each bowl. We tried it with frozen chopped mustard greens (available in large supermarkets) and it was even quicker to prepare and just as delicious. Serve with brown rice. 4 servings

Ingredients •1 tablespoon sesame oil, or canola oil •1 pound chicken tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces •1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks or minced •4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced •1/2 cup dry sherry, (see Tip) •1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth •1 1/2 cups water •2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce •1 teaspoon Asian red chile sauce, such as sriracha, or to taste •1 bunch mustard greens, or chard, stemmed and chopped (6-7 cups), or 2 cups frozen chopped mustard greens

Preparation 1.Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate with tongs. 2.Add ginger and garlic to the pot and cook until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add sherry and cook until mostly evaporated, scraping up any browned bits, 1 1/2 to 3 minutes. Add broth and water, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Add soy sauce, chile sauce and mustard greens (or chard) and cook until the greens are tender, about 3 minutes. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot and cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Tips & Notes •Tip: “Cooking sherry” can be high in sodium. Instead, look for dry sherry with other fortified wines in your wine or liquor store. Have a great day

Books and Things You should Eat.

I mentioned yesterday that I was reading The Ship Avenged, I've finished it now. I enjoyed it but it wasn't all Anne McAffery writing and it wasn't, in my opinion, as good as if she had written it on her own. It was still a good story however. I am not certain I read the book it was following so I will have to check that out. I have read a lot of brain ships stories and always enjoyed them. I own a few of them myself and have re-read once or twice. But then I have a lot of Anne McAffery's works in my library - in particular her books about the planet Pern and the Dragonriders. Her son is writing most of these today, they are good, but they don't have that touch of the original author somehow. I am now reading a book called The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. A futuristic book where the States has become Panam and the whole area is divided into 12 sectors, each sector having to submit two children, a girl and a boy, to the Capitol (in the Rockies) to take part in the Hunger Games which is a fight to the death for all the children except the final winner of course. I haven't read too much yet but it seems to be a pretty good tale. It was recommended by someone writing into yet another food ezine I receive. I will, of course, report on my final opinion. We watched a movie last night which we ended up turning off as it was getting a bit stupid - surprising because Robert Duval was in it and we usually enjoy movies in which he is playing. It was called The Handmaid's Tale. It may well have been edited to death as well as I couldn't figure out what some of the characters were doing there. This morning there were two guys on Good Morning America called Anahad O'Connor and Dave Liberman , who were talking about the 10 things you need to eat, there is a book, and they had Avocado Soup which Robyn Roberts tried and pronounced delicious. I have never previously heard of Avocado Soup but you can bet I will be trying this recipe. Avocados are so very good for you although they do contain a lot of fat - it may be healthy fat, but all fat can add weight. If you are interested in what else they recommended which included nuts, lentils and cabbage (good for breast cancer apparently) the link is at http://abcnews.go.com/gma Avocado Soup "The 10 Things You Need to Eat" by Anahad O'Connor and Dave Liberman Ingredients 1 large leek 3 tablespoons olive oil 3 medium celery stalks, roughly chopped 1 large onion, roughly chopped 2 bay leaves 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin 1 large ripe Hass avocado, pitted, peeled, and mashed Juice of 1 lime Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 small bunch of scallions, finely chopped 1 small bunch of cilantro, finely chopped Cooking Directions Trim the root end of the leek, cut off the tough green leaves, cut the leek in half lengthwise, and rinse well to remove any grit. Roughly chop the leek. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the leek, celery, and onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables soften. Add the bay leaves, stock, coriander, cumin, avocado, and lime juice and simmer for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve topped with the chopped scallions and cilantro to taste. Yield: 8 servings Have a great day

Breast Cancer, Movie,

With the blog I originally wrote - I can only imagine the automatic save didn't work as when I tried to publish it, it disappeared. However, here is what I wrote this morning. Since then, I have been bowling and did well. Matt too, who is a lot better than he was last week, went bowling but didn't do too well unfortunately. He has a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so not sure how blogging will go.

However, I originally wrote about the Facebook phenomenon talked about on Good Morning America today - something I was a part of - where women were asked to put their bra colour in their status. It was an effort to raise awareness of breast cancer and apparently the membership on the Susan B. Komen site on Facebook has increased ginormously. I don't know where it originated, I was asked to participate by an Australian friend but apparently it really spread world wide. The motivation being not only remember to go for your mammograms ladies, but also to go for regular check ups with your physician if you have already had breast cancer. As Robyn Robers of GMA said, her cancer was 4 years ago but she has an appointment for a check up today.

Sunday night we watched The Spy Game with Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. An excellent movie but somewhat spoiled by the frequency of the advertising on that TV channel. I imagine it was originally fast paced, but it tended to be a bit sluggish with all the many breaks. One cannot imagine it being a failure with two such well known actors as those. It was made in 2001 and Robert Redford was certainly showing his years. I Googled, he was born in 1963. He has certainly delighted audiences world wide for many years. If you get a chance to see this movie, I recommend it. I think I might try and rent it to see it as it should have been.

I have just finished a book by Dick Francis called Even Money, which was co written with his son Felix. As usual it had a horse racing background with, this time, the main protagonist being a bookie. According to the book, the public don't like bookies, dunno why, you don't have to make a bet with them, and if you lose, its not their fault. We had a very good friend in England who was a bookie. This guy is not one of the big 'turf accountants' but one of the guys you see bantering with the public actually on the race course. I was staggered to learn how much things have changed, they now have computers with them and the 'tic tac man' doesn't exist any more. What is a tic tac man you ask? He used to stand in a prominent position so the bookies could see him and signal the changing odds on all the horses. If you are interested, there are videos on YouTube under Tic Tac Man. I have nearly finished reading The Ship Avenged by Anne McCaffery and S.M. Stirling. which is in the Brain Ship series. Anne McAffery is also writing in conjunction with her son in her Dragonriders of Pern series. Her son has written a couple of the books on his own too. Seems odd to me to allow other writers to play in your world, but I guess its great when its in the family.

Have a great day

Recipe Only

I just wrote a long blog and somehow, lost the whole thing. Unfortunately I don't have time to write it all again this morning, Sorry about that. Blame Blogger. As some of you may recall, I have a lot of cooked pork to be used up. Yesterday I did some Googling and came to a site called Thrifty Fun which had all kinds of recipes for leftover pork. In the end I chose the following one by Allanna for supper last night and served it with rice and a few green beans. It was very good. Definitely a keeper. Pork and Mushrooms I didn't add the sugar. left over pork, cubed (I used 1/2 lb.) 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil (I needed a bit more) 1-1.5 cups fresh, sliced mushrooms (I actually used a full half pound) 1/4 cup sweet vermouth 1 tsp sugar 1. Heat olive oil. Add mushrooms and sautee lightly. Add vermouth and sugar and cook until mushrooms are a nice golden brown. add pork. Stir until pork is heated through. Can be served over white or yellow rice. Servings: 2 Have a great day

Deep Freeze and Allergies

Talking about the big chill in the US, this morning on GMA there was a story about zoo animals. Turtles who have to be rescued because they get into a stupor in the cold, butterflies picked up in their hundreds and taken inside other animals given different ways of combatting the weather. I liked the story of a lion who has a rock which is 75°F so comfy for him to lie on. There is a video clip here http://abcnews.go.com/gma/weekend if you would like to see it.

There was another story about a young skater (12 yrs old) who is allergic to practically every food but who nevertheless perseveres with her skating. She is even allergic to places which have been touched by food so her mother has to clean things she might touch at the rink. You will find the story at the same link as above. It reminded me of my first husband, John, who was also allergic to everything when he was a baby. His mother had to bathe him in olive oil because he was allergic to water. By the time I got to know him, his allergies were a lot better, but nevertheless it was asthma which killed him in later life.

Since Matt developed a kidney infection I have been discovering friends who have had the same problem and in most cases more severe. I hope Matt's will be cured by the antibiotics he is on. He is becoming less like a zombie now as he was on some pills which really knocked him out. At least he is 'here' most of the time now.

Below is one of the soups Emeril Lagasse prepared on Good Morning America yesterday. It is still not on their website, but I found it elsewhere. Soup is good any time, and particularly so when its cold.

Emeril's Broccoli and Gruyere Cheese Soup From chef and author Emeril Lagasse Fall and winter mean soups are especially welcome. Emeril Lagasse brings you some of his favorite soups on Good Morning America. Ingredients 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup onions, chopped 1/2 cup carrots, cut into rounds 1/2 cup celery, chopped Salt Cayenne pepper 3 cups broccoli florets 2 quarts water Freshly ground black pepper 1 cup heavy cream 2 cups Gruyere cheese, grated Creole seasoning (Essence) Directions In a large saucepan, over medium heat, heat the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions, carrots and celery. Season with salt and cayenne pepper. Saute for 5 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Add broccoli and saute for 3 minutes. Add water and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Remove the cover, add the cream, and simmer 10 minutes. With a hand-held blender, puree the soup. Add 1 1/2 cups of the gruyere cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Check for seasoning. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a little of the remaining Gruyere cheese and Creole seasoning. Great with with crusty bread.

Have a great day

Bees Die and the South East Freezes.

At my age I am beginning to have thoughts like "I am glad I won't be here when that happens". The trouble is some of the things are beginning to happen already, like the disappearance of bees of all kinds and in particular honey bees. Millions of bees are dying all over the world. There was a programme on The Nature of Things tonight talking about this serious problem and what is being done about it. The value of bees is not just in honey, but in the fact that they pollinate plants and this is a basic function in the life cycle of this planet. Without plants there would be no food for some birds and animals, including the human animal, and life would alter dramatically. If you want to read more about it go to http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/natureofthings/. I just hope they find the solution before there are no bees left at all. Something I learned in this programme was that bees are shipped all over the US to do a pollinating job where required. Such as in the vast almond fields/plantations, in California. Funny, I thought most almonds came from places like Spain. Just shows what I know. We had snow again last night, when I went to bed the road was white which is a pretty good indication of what its like outside. It will soon clear today no doubt by the time all the local traffic and a few buses have driven up and down it. However, its the south eastern States which are really in trouble this winter. Florida, for instance, is just not used to freezing cold temperatures which is what they have now, and they are consequently worried about their fruit crop - oranges, grapefruits, lemons. However, this cold snap covers a large area of the States and there is already talk of increased food prices because of it. One picture we saw on TV was lemons on the trees being sprayed with water which created a kind of igloo around the fruit which helped to preserve it? That surprised me. I wouldn't have thought that would work. I don't think I'll be bowling this afternoon, Matt certainly isn't up to it and what with one thing and another, I am too tired. We finally got the Christmas tree down yesterday, which is a fairly big job in itself although I had taken all the ornaments off. At the moment all the decorations are in the spare room. I will worry about getting them into storage later. Matt messed about with the string of lights which had stopped working but couldn't get them to work again so yet another string goes out. I think we spend more on Christmas tree lights than on anything else. om fact we discussed getting on of those trees with lights built in but with our luck with lights they wouldn't last a whole Christmas. On Good Morning America, Emeril Lagasse was making soups which were quick and easy. When its so cold in such a large section of North America, soup sounds like a really good idea to me. I was going to share his recipes but they are not on the website yet so I went to my favourite recipe source - Eating Well and found a good soup there for a cold winter day. Ravioli & Vegetable Soup From EatingWell: September/October 2009 Fresh or frozen ravioli cook in minutes and turn this light vegetable soup into a main course. Look for whole-wheat or whole-grain ravioli in the refrigerated or frozen section of the supermarket. Tortellini can be used instead of ravioli as well. 4 servings Ingredients •1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil •2 cups frozen bell pepper and onion mix, thawed and diced •2 cloves garlic, minced •1/4 teaspoon crushed crushed red pepper, or to taste (optional) •1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted •1 15-ounce can vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth •1 1/2 cups hot water •1 teaspoon dried basil or marjoram •1 6- to 9-ounce package fresh or frozen cheese (or meat) ravioli, preferably whole-wheat •2 cups diced zucchini, (about 2 medium) •Freshly ground pepper to taste Preparation 1.Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add pepper-onion mix, garlic and crushed red pepper (if using) and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, broth, water and basil (or marjoram); bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Add ravioli and cook for 3 minutes less than the package directions. Add zucchini; return to a boil. Cook until the zucchini is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Season with pepper. Tips & Notes •Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Thin with broth before reheating, if desired. Have a great day and keep warm if you are in the chilly part of the world.

Being Blogless, Shen Yun.

Sorry about the lack of blogs, but we have had a few problems with Matt being ill. After spending time at the docs on Monday and hours and hours in the hospital on Tuesday, things are beginning to settle down, it has been established that he has a kidney infection. In the middle of this, yesterday, the tilers came to fix the wall in the small bathroom where the soap dish had fallen off plus yesterday was 12th Night so the decorations had to come down. Matt was unable to help of course, so I asked one of the tilers to get the strings of cards down for me as I couldn't reach them. The tree itself is still up, but that will be dealt with today I hope. I haven't been sleeping too well either so it has been a rough few days. However, last night I went with a friend to see Shen Yun at The Centre in the Square which is Kitchener's theatre. Neither of us really appreciated what Shen Yun was all about. It is a celebration of Falun Dafa (or Falun Gong of which I had heard) which is banned in China. If you would like to know more there is an official website for Falun Dafa at http://www.falundafa.org/. The show itself is an exhibition of classical Chinese music and dance originating thousands of years ago. The dancing is full of leaps and bounds, tumbling and grace and exhibiting excellent control and synchronicity. It is in fact very beautiful to watch. If you get the chance to see the show it is well worth going to. My friend and I did find the first half of the show to be a bit lacking in diversity although the presentations were beautiful, but the second half of the show was excellent. There are three companies and they travel all round the world although New York is their home town. We were actually sitting next to a Chinese woman who, at the end of the show, was standing waving vigorously. I commented "can they see you from there" and she said it was her son in the show. He is a 17 yr old, almost 18 and has been with Shen Yun for three years, she told us. She herself lives in Toronto so when they come to Kitchener, she drives down to see the show. Her son has travelled all over the world too and has been to Asia and Australia recently. Lucky young man, but by what we watched last night, he will be working extremely hard for such luck. If you would like to see more pictures go to http://www.falundafa.org/ where they also give you information on the upcoming tours. Today I have to go shop, so that is the end of my blog for today. Here is an inexpensive meal from Eating Well, which is their theme right now. Cheese-&-Spinach-Stuffed Portobellos From EatingWell: March/April 2009 Here we take the elements of a vegetarian lasagna filling—ricotta, spinach and Parmesan cheese—and nestle them into roasted portobello mushroom caps. The recipe works best with very large portobello caps; if you can only find smaller ones, buy one or two extra and divide the filling among all the caps. Serve with a tossed salad and a whole-wheat dinner roll or spaghetti tossed with marinara sauce. 4 servings Ingredients 4 large portobello mushroom caps 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese 1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, divided 2 tablespoons finely chopped kalamata olives 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning 3/4 cup prepared marinara sauce Preparation Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Place mushroom caps, gill-side up, on the prepared pan. Sprinkle with salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Roast until tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, mash ricotta, spinach, 1/4 cup Parmesan, olives, Italian seasoning and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Place marinara sauce in a small bowl, cover and microwave on High until hot, 30 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes. When the mushrooms are tender, carefully pour out any liquid accumulated in the caps. Return the caps to the pan gill-side up. Spread 1 tablespoon marinara into each cap; cover the remaining sauce to keep warm. Mound a generous 1/3 cup ricotta filling into each cap and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Bake until hot, about 10 minutes. Serve with the remaining marinara sauce. Have a great day

Blogless

Sorry, no blog today. Have a great day

Weekend Stories, Floods,

Cute New Year story, twin babies born one minute to and one minute past midnight so they will celebrate their birthdays on different days and, of course, different years. Another story on the news yesterday, a young boy in BC came face to face with a cougar in his back yard and was saved by the family dog, a golden retriever called Angel. The dog was in fact saved by the RCMP who shot the cougar. One of the officers happened to be in the neighbourhood and close to the home. If you would like to read the article it is here: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/01/03/bc-boston-bar-cougar-attack.html a pretty brave dog and it was not too badly hurt apparently. My blogging buddies have been listing the books they have been reading during 2009, I am thinking maybe I should make such a list as I don't recall what I have read - or at least not enough to rmake a list. As you may have gathered, I am a somewhat voracious reader - at the moment I am anxiously awaiting Glenda Larke's sequel to The Last Rainlord which I believe will be published in Australia in two or three month's time. Another book I am looking for is Witches Inc. by Karen Miller, I am not sure when that is due for publication in the US. I know of two people suffering from flooded basements at the moment, one a friend's son and another a friend. My heart goes out to them. I remember being flooded very well. It happened in England in Ivy House - we had a rainstorm and it caused the little tiny stream at the side of the house to flood and the whole street was knee deep in fast flowing water, so was our back yard, our living room, hall, dining room and kitchen. When we opened the front door the pieces of parquet flooring floated out with the current. I will never forget my husband (first one) wading through the living room to check on our insurance coverage. We ended up abandoning ship, as it were, and going to the family business (which included a yacht club) until things calmed down. We sure couldn't cook at home - we could have just sat upstairs, but..... it was lunchtime. Over the weekend the east coast of Canada, the Maritimes, was pummelled by fierce snow storms (30 cm of snow or approximately 1 ft.) and in some places they too had flooding from abnormally high tides which were not helped by the high winds. Even fairly close to us in London, ON they have had some pretty bad snow during the weekend. We are about an hour's drive away and our skies are totally clear. The picture shows a man clearing his drive in New Brunswick. Several houses in various provinces have been badly damaged by the storms. In fact it has been quite a start to the New Year for some people. I haven't mentioned that for some reason Firefox is no longer working on my PC, it crashes when I try to do anything, with the result that I have been using IE to do my blogs lately. The only trouble with that is it seems to have its own ideas about spacing and it is not so easy to put pictures exactly where I want them. So, if things seem a little odd these days, my apologies. This recipe is from Mushrooms Canada. Bearing in mind the popularity of wraps nowadays it seems like a good one. I like tilapia and we use it a fair bit. It is quite a delicate tasting fish. I also happen to like sushi rice, which we have, and nori, which we don't have. Japanese Tilapia And Mushroom Handrolls Mushrooms Canada 1 tbsp vegetable oil 15 mL 4 oz Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced 125 g 1 clove garlic, minced 1 2 green onions thinly sliced 2 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds 5 mL 4 sheets toasted nori, halved crosswise 4 2 Bluewater Breaded Tilapia Fillets, cooked* 2 1½ cups cooked, cooled sushi rice* 375 mL 1 small carrot cut matchstick-sized 1 1/2 avocado, peeled and cut into 8 slices 1/2 sodium reduced soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger (optional) 1. Heat the vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet set over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from ehat and stir in the green onions and sesame seeds. Cool to room temperature. 2. Cover the nori with a damp kitchen towl for 30 seconds to make the sheets pliable. Meanwhile, cut each tilapia fillet into 4 equal strips. 3. Hold a piece of the nori in one hand so that they sheet overhangs to the side. Use wet fingers to spread 1/8th of the rice in the side cupped in the palm. Make a finger-sized indent in the centre of the rice. Nestle 1/8th each of mushroom mixture, carrot and avocado in the indent. Top with a piece of fish. 4. Fold the bottom edge of the nori over the filliong. Roll from one side to make a cone. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make 8 hand rolls. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, and ginger (if using). *Prepare the tilapia and the sushi rice according to the package directions Have a great day

Fitness, Cooking.

I just received a nice compliment from Marilyn (French Marilyn's blog) such things are always appreciated. I wished her a happier/better decade than the last one and I do hope everyone will have a great new decade and be able to put the problems of the past behind them. Karen Miller (Karen's Musings) was talking about getting fitter, I certainly need to become less of a blimp. My biggest problem is my inability to walk very far these days. Once upon a time I walked 4 miles a day when I was in NC, the nice weather helped of course. I can walk quite well on a treadmill, and what I would really like to do is buy one of my own so I could use it when I liked and as often. Unfortunately, this apartment building does not have any gym facilities at all. The only thing they do have is a sauna and that has been closed down for years. I don't think I have a hope in hell of persuading the realty company which handles this building to put in a couple of treadmills. Pity.

Yesterday, we went to a friend's house for pizza. She had been telling us about a new pizzaria and so we tried two of their pizzas last night. They were delicious. I forgot to ask the name of the place, I know roughly where it is. You can go there and eat a slice of pizza or two on the premises or get what you want 'to go'. They only charged our friend $2 for delivery which is very reasonable. We had one pizza which was predominantly bacon and mushrooms and the second was cheesy with ground beef and lots of tomatoes, I liked both, but I think I liked the tomatoe one best. They were thin crust and our friend said she had never specified the crust so maybe that's the only crust they do, fine by me, I prefer thin crust anyway and on the few occasions we eat pizza, thats what we ask for. They also sent along a garlic cream sauce which was different. Its for dipping your pizza. I may have mentioned, the first time I ever ate pizza was in paris, France when I was in my teens. I didn't much care for it at the time. Tastes do change don't they? Of course I was enamoured with my French boyfriend at the time and maybe not as appreciative as I might have been *g*. I remember I preferred his mother's cooking which was fantastic. I don't know what its like in France these days, but in those days you never came across a Frenchwoman who couldn't cook well. I don't know either if France has the obesity problem which is so prevalent both here and in England.

Talking of the ability to cook, I have been pretty horrified by Jamie Oliver's programmes about England (he is doing another on the States I think) showing the lack of cooking ability in the UK. I knew, when we emigrated 35 years ago, that the level of cooking was pretty abyssmal, but I had been told it had improved thanks to chefs like Delia Smith who became very popular and taught a lot of people to cook as did Jamie himself. But his series on school lunches and later on teaching people to cook simple meals, was pretty revealing. Many women just don't cook at all any more and feed their kids on take away, many of such foods are by no means healthy. It staggered me when the kids on the programme couldn't identify various common vegetables when displayed by Jamie. I belong to an internet cookery group and one member had assured me British cooking had improved, not according to Jamie it hasn't. My English friends in this group are obviously exceptions and know about cooking - otherwise I guess they wouldn't be members of such a group. In North America we are inundated with cookery programmes and there is no real excuse for anyone not to be able to produce a decent meal for their family, but I guess it doesn't happen here either. People are just too busy which I believe is a mistake. Taking time for a good meal with the whole family seated at the dinner table in the evening is a very important tool in creating a good family life and that's not just my opinion. 'Kissing don't last cookery do'. Not sure who said that, but its very true.

Here is another healthy low cal recipe from Eating Well. I love soups so shall certainly be giving this one a go.

Sweet and Sour Beef-Cabbage Soup From EatingWell: September/October 2009

This wholesome sweet-and-sour soup combines beef, caraway seeds, sweet paprika and cabbage—ingredients that star in a number of German dishes. It is particularly nice served with crusty rye bread. For an even heartier soup, add diced cooked potatoes along with the cabbage. 6 servingsIngredients

•1 tablespoon canola oil •1 pound lean (90% or leaner) ground beef •1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds •1 teaspoon dried thyme •2 1/2 cups frozen bell pepper and onion mix, thawed, chopped •1 medium Golden Delicious or other sweet-tart cooking apple, unpeeled, diced •6 cups reduced-sodium beef broth •1 15-ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes •1 1/2 tablespoons honey •1 tablespoon paprika, preferably Hungarian sweet •3 cups coarsely chopped Savoy, or green cabbage •1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar •1/4 teaspoon salt •Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation 1.Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add beef, caraway seeds and thyme and cook, stirring and breaking up the beef with a spoon, until it is mostly browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in pepper-onion mix and apple; cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes more. 2.Stir in broth, tomatoes, honey and paprika and adjust the heat so the mixture boils gently. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes to blend the flavors. Stir in cabbage and cook just until barely tender, 3 to 4 minutes more. Season with vinegar to taste, salt and pepper.

Nutrition Per serving : 250 Calories; 10 g Fat; 3 g Sat; 5 g Mono; 54 mg Cholesterol; 20 g Carbohydrates; 20 g Protein; 4 g Fiber; 705 mg Sodium; 717 mg Potassium 1 Carbohydrate Serving Exchanges: 2 1/2 vegetable, 2 lean meat, 1/2 fat

Have a great day

Happy New Year, Superstition and Pizza.

2010 - its hard to believe its already 10 years since everyone was worrying themselves about what the new millenium would do to computers. Plus I spent most of 24 hours (allowing for a little sleep) watching New Year being greeted all round the year. I bought a video of it all and have never watched it since. We phoned one bunch of kids in the UK just past their midnight, but figured the others would be in bed. Sorry if you weren't. Although we were watching, I didn't really get to see the crystal ball drop, they were too busy showing the countdown numbers - I did see the crystal ball in Buffalo though. The midnight show at New Year's is getting worse and worse it seems to me. They make a big thing of Dick Clarke who had a stroke a few years back. Sorry, he is not good on the New Year show, he is almost incomprehensible. He should retire. I am sure that will upset a lot of Americans, but if you didn't see him last night, you should have. We saw pictures on the news of celebrations in the rest of the world, but Times Square claims to have had a million people there. Buffalo around 40-50,000. You wouldn't catch us anywhere near such crowds.

Today we are going to a friend's house to try out pizza from a new pizzaria in the area. It will be a nice change from cooking for a while, we seem to have been doing nothing but lately. I suspect there is more pizza eaten in North America than there ever is in Italy. They are quite a different animal mind you - or at least from the pizzas I enjoyed many years ago in Calabria and Sicily. There is a heck of a lot more 'stuff' on them for a start and in the old days in Italy there weren't so many crust variations as are available in this neck of the woods. We get pizza flyers all the time in our mail. They mostly end up in the garbage, waste of money. One guy in the building joked to me "I have no pizza flyer today, what on earth am I going to eat?". We really do get a lot of flyers.

Matt has just finished reading my first Blog2Print book. 400 some pages. Its interesting that the pictures have become disarranged and I can't get at them to change it. I wondered what would happen if I had shelled out for a proper book, I would have been somewhat teed off, as it is, I don't really care for a home printed version. I am now thinking I should delete the blogs from say 2007 and 2008 to make room for what I chunter about in the future. Big job for the New Year.

Sadly I didn't have any black eyed peas to make Hoppin' John, which is supposed to bring good luck for the New Year, not did I consume 12 mince pies between Christmas and New Year which is supposed to ensure 12 good months. Oh well, just have to hope it won't matter this year. Trouble is I'm superstitious much to Matt's disgust. His family were too. If members of his family pass two nuns on the way to work they would turn round and go home. Nor, for some reason, would they say the word pig. There was an island which was named Pig Island and was always referred to as Rabbit Island by the locals although pigs were generally referred to as gissies. Where do such superstitions come from I wonder.

Eating Well are talking healthy foods this week and here is a healthy breakfast/brunch recipe from them.

Cheesy Polenta & Egg Casserole From EatingWell: May/June 2008

This memorable brunch centerpiece is rich with cheesy polenta, crumbled sausage and baked eggs. 6 servings

Ingredients •1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided •1/3 cup finely chopped onion •4 cups water, plus more as needed •1 cup yellow cornmeal, (see Shopping Tip) •1/2 teaspoon salt •6 ounces Italian turkey sausage, casing removed •1/2 cup shredded fontina, or mozzarella •1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided •6 large eggs

Preparation 1.Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened, but not browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Gradually whisk cornmeal into the boiling water. Add salt and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the polenta bubbles, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook, whisking frequently, until very thick, 10 to 15 minutes. (Alternatively, once the polenta comes to a boil, transfer it to the top of a double boiler, cover, and place over barely simmering water for 25 minutes. This is convenient, because you don’t need to stir it as it cooks.) 2.Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add sausage. Cook, stirring and breaking the sausage into small pieces with a spoon, until lightly browned and no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Drain if necessary and transfer to a cutting board; let cool. Finely chop when cool enough to handle. 3.Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. 4.When the polenta is done, stir in fontina (or mozzarella) and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. If the polenta seems too stiff, add small amounts of water to thin it to a thick but not stiff consistency. Spread the polenta in the prepared pan. 5.Make six 2-inch-wide indentations in the polenta with the back of a tablespoon. Break eggs, one at a time, into a custard cup and slip one into each indentation. Scatter the sausage on the polenta and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano evenly on top of the eggs. 6.Bake the casserole for 15 minutes. Then broil until the egg whites are set, 2 to 4 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Per serving : 295 Calories; 17 g Fat; 6 g Sat; 6 g Mono; 241 mg Cholesterol; 17 g Carbohydrates; 19 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 683 mg Sodium; 148 mg Potassium 1 Carbohydrate Serving Exchanges: 1 starch, 2 medium-fat meat, 1 fat Tips & Notes •Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 4 up to 2 hours ahead; hold the polenta at room temperature and refrigerate the sausage until ready to bake. •Shopping Tip: Polenta, a creamy Italian porridge, can be made from any type of cornmeal. Coarsely ground cornmeal, available in many natural-foods stores, is a great option because is has big corn flavor and light texture. It's usually labeled "cornmeal," but some brands are labeled "polenta."

Have a great day