Kindle, Kids, Kidnapping, Wallets.

My Kindle arrived today, I am so happy, I have spent a large portion of the day figuring out how things work and have found a lot of books I already own on Fictionwise.com can be sent to my Kindle so I can have them with me all the time. I used to read them on my Palm Zire but it doesn’t hold that many  books and I cannot read it in sunlight. The Kindle will, I believe, hold 3,000 books, I cannot imagine my ever having that many ebooks although I do have 226 on Fictionwise, not all of which can be moved to Kindle. What is even greater, I can read whilst walking on my treadmill which I have never been able to do with a regular book. It actually does quite a lot of things, but I haven’t figured them all out yet.

Report on GMA this morning, restaurants in some places are banning children under 6 yrs. old and even some airlines are doing the same. This is angering some parents who are really teed off about this but as someone commented, the kids probably are, and should be, the centre of your world, but not other people’s. I agree, particularly badly behaved kids which so many are these days. Discipline seems to be a thing of the past. Crying babies is not something you can do a lot about, but crying babies have no place in a restaurant. Stay home or get a baby sitter. I realise its hard, but that’s part of having kids, sorry.

The Jaycee Dugard story has produced another young woman, Elizabeth Smart who was also abducted although she was not held as long as Jaycee. She has started a foundation part of which is oriented towards child porn and working to prevent and end it but principally to prevent kidnapping, torturing and raping children.

Another segment, Melody Hobson, their financial guru, was looking at people’s wallets. She was horrified at what some people carried including their social insurance cards, several credit cards, bills from credit card use and so on. If you lost your wallet or had it stolen, your i.d. could be stolen very easily. I will certainly stop carrying my social insurance card from now on. More than one credit card is inadvisable also because it creates opportunity for more debt than you can handle. Bills can often carry personal information. She also said not to carry your passport although I am not sure what you would do with it, hotel safe probably, if you are staying in a hotel that is. Basically don’t carry anything with you that you don’t need.

I don’t have any of our shrimp left, not til we head south to North Carolina, however, this simple Kraft recipe looks very good.

Pineapple-Shrimp Skewers

Kraft Kitchens

12 servings

6 Tbsp.KRAFT Light Zesty Italian Dressing

4 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

4 tsp.brown sugar

2 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp.chili powder

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

24 frozen uncooked cleaned medium shrimp, thawed

12 fresh pineapple chunks (1 inch)

Make It

HEAT broiler.

MIX first 6 ingredients in medium bowl until well blended. Add shrimp and pineapple; toss to coat.

THREAD 2 shrimp and 1 pineapple chunk onto each of 12 skewers.

BROIL, 6 inches from heat, 4 to 5 min. or until shrimp turn pink.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

How to Spiral-Cut the Pineapple

Cut off both ends of pineapple; place upright on cutting board. Remove peel by making lengthwise cuts from top to bottom of pineapple, working your way around pineapple. Lay pineapple on it's side. Following the diagonal pattern of the eyes, remove eyes by making shallow v-shaped cuts in pineapple. Cut pineapple crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices. Remove core from each slice.

How to Safely Thaw Shrimp

Thaw frozen shrimp in the refrigerator, not at room temperature. Or, place the sealed package in a bowl of cold water and change the water every 10 min. until the shrimp are completely thawed.

Have a great day

Pocket Chair, Joke, Grrr, Amazing Animals.

Because of the car going in for work, Matt went down to the lab for his weekly bloodwork at 6:20 a.m. which is about the time I have to go for my diabetes bloodwork every three months because I have to fast. Matt was No. 2 and he told me about a woman who came immediately after him who took a lawn chair out of her trunk to wait in line. Great idea, they don’t open the doors til 7 a.m. and if you don’t get there really early, the place gets incredibly crowded and you could be there forever. Yesterday I saw an ad for a pocket chair (bit like we used to have years ago for fishing) which they say you can carry in your pocket or in a purse. I am seriously thinking of sending for one, I think it would be ideal for such queuing particularly as I have to do it regularly at the lab.

Heard a joke which made Matt and me laugh; Paddy walking down the street with his front door under his arm and a friend asks him why. Paddy says he lost his front door key so he is taking the door to the locksmith to get it opened. The friend says he’d better not lose the door or he won’t be able to get in. I thought of that, says Paddy, I left a window open!!!!

Yesterday we had two guys in to work on the balcony windows putting new caulking onto the window frames, etc. and checking the balcony itself. First of all they ground out the old which drove us into the computer room and was still way too noisy, eventually they finished and left. Matt could have done caulking better with his eyes shut and one arm behind his back. So this morning, we are sitting here and they are working on the apartment next to us, so now we have that bloody noise again. From the time they took to do our balcony, I guess they are going to be here a while.

Caught a fascinating programme, BBC for kids, about animal survival adaptations. We learned a few things we didn’t know about animal behaviour, I just wish I knew what the programme was called as it was fascinating. I believe there will be more so we will have to watch out for them. One statistic that fascinated me, there is enough plankton in the oceans to sustain the world population for a year. That is one hell of a lot of plankton. We were shown a whale shark ingesting his daily tonnage of plankton. Its mouth is about 5 ft.  ne . Another fascinating item was about the Lammergeier which is a vulture type of bird and gets animal bones, takes them up to a vast height and then drops them on rock to crack them. It then eats great lumps of bone to get both the calcium and the marrow. One of the last creatures was an anaconda which is a giant constrictor snake which grows up to 21 ft. long. They were actually diving to photograph one of these things, what’s to stop it deciding to eat a human, damned if you would catch me anywhere near one of those.  Once they have crushed their prey, they can open their mouths a foot wide by unhinging their jaws the same as many snakes do, but if you actually see the pix its incredible.

A touch of Spain in the following recipe. Both the Spanish and the Portuguese seem to really know how to cook potatoes and this recipe is no exception. This serves 8-10 as tapas, the little snack foods which you will find all over Spain.

Patatas Bravas

Source Rick Stein

Patatas bravas as they should be: crisp, olive oil-fried potatoes topped with a tomato sauce, well-flavoured with hot pimentón and sharpened with a little vinegar.

Ingredients

For the salsa brava

 

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp pimentón picante (smoked hot Spanish paprika), plus extra for serving

½ tsp crushed dried chilli flakes

½ tsp Tabasco sauce

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

125ml/4fl oz tomato sauce (see Top recipe tip below)

 

For the potatoes

 

1.5kg/3lb 5oz floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or King Edwards, peeled

180ml/6fl oz olive oil, for shallow frying

salt

Preparation method

1. For the salsa brava, heat the olive oil over a low heat, add the pimentón, chilli flakes, Tabasco and vinegar and mix together well. Stir in the tomato sauce and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper (thin the mixture with a little water if necessary).

2. Cut the potatoes into small, even-sized pieces. Drop into a large pan of well-salted water and cook for 6-7 minutes, or until just tender. Drain well.

3. Heat the olive oil in two large, non-stick frying pans, divide the potatoes between them and shallow-fry in a single layer for 10–12 minutes, turning them regularly, until crisp, golden-brown all over and sandy in texture.

4. Spoon the potatoes into one large or small individual serving plates, drizzle over the sauce, sprinkle with a pinch of pimentón and serve with some toothpicks and napkins.

Have a great day

Shopping, Jaycee, Confined to Barracks.

Once again, much to my surprise, I bowled really well again yesterday, I’m only sorry that’s our last bowling for the season. Mind you, I probably couldn’t keep it up. Afterwards we went to Costco to buy the store, at least it always seems like that, but we were out of a few things and as we are going to be virtual prisoners for the rest of the week, figured we had to go yesterday or not at all. We bought a lasagne to try and had it for supper last night. It wasn’t  bad. I don’t really make lasagne, only done so a couple of times in my life, not really sure why, its a big staple in North America. Mind you its not exactly diet food, I was rather surprised the carton had nothing on it about nutrition. I might not have eaten it if I had been able to read that, I might have been frightened to death. Ahead of me at the checkout was some guy who seemed totally confused about how he wanted to pay and they had to cancel his receipts and start all over again. He was driving me, and the woman behind me, crazy with his dithering about. Finally he moved and then the cashier realised she had given him my membership card, luckily he hadn’t moved far. Once we were on our way out, Matt saw him going back in with a box of stuff and his bill in his hand. Glad I didn’t have to deal with him. He should have let the woman with him deal with it!!!!

Afterwards we went to Staples as we needed some Whiteout and we no longer have a stationery store anywhere near us, nor do other stores carry office supplies any more which is something of a nuisance. Another thing I wanted was scratch pads and none of the assistants really knew if they had them or not, finally Matt managed to find some. I must admit, Staples is a store I could spend a lot of money in. Particularly when it comes to electronics. Talking of which, Amazon have informed me that my Kindle has been shipped.

So begins our week of confinement which will be worse because we know we can’t drive off anywhere.

The news is full of the recent interview of Jaycee Dugard who was kidnapped 18 years ago and is now talking about her experiences. A most incredible story, not least of which is that the police went to the house, where she was being held in the back yard, no less than 60  times. She was raped constantly and gave birth to two children during her captivity. There are highlights from her interview here http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/

For friends who are interested in Gluten Free recipes, here is one for you.

Baked Chicken Mediterranean

By The Gluten Free Goddess
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Ingredients

4 split chicken breasts [skinless are fine]
Lemon Pepper seasoning, to taste
1 14-oz can fire-roasted tomatoes with juice
3/4 cup of your favorite pasta sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup red wine
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups of thin pepper strips- mixed green, yellow and orange peppers
2 large Portobello mushrooms, sliced
10 to 12 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped black olives
2 heaping tablespoons capers
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano or marjoram

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly oil a 10x13-inch baking pan with olive oil.

Wash the chicken in cold water and pat dry; season with lemon pepper; place in the baking dish.

In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken breasts.

Loosely cover with foil and bake until the chicken is no longer pink inside, anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes depending upon the size of the chicken breasts, etc.

Serve with brown rice, quinoa or mashed potatoes. Offer crumbled feta or goat cheese as a garnish.

Total Servings: 4

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Total Servings: 4
Calories: 330
Carbohydrates: 33.4g
Cholesterol: 81mg
Fat: 8.2g
Saturated Fat: 1.8g
Fiber: 5.8g
Sodium: 389mg
Protein: 27.1g

Have a great day

Gaffe, System Restore, Bowling

A major gaffe on CBC’s home page on Saturday, they referred to Prince William and Catherine as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Bearing in mind all the news which is beginning to be disseminated about the Windsor’s (the traitor king) I would think that would be something of an insult to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. I tried phoning and then emailed – will see what transpires. By the middle of the day, they had changed it. I wonder if they were deluged with emails.

Because I am still having to keep my leg up due to edema problems since my surgery, I have been keeping my laptop in the living room where I sit and if necessary requesting printing through my Homegroup connections. Saturday morning I tried to print a crossword (I print one for Matt daily) and my computers were no longer conversing to one another. Matt said they must have had a row!!! I requested help from my repair guy and finally on Sunday I did a System Restore – lo and behold, they are now chatting together again. Basically it was due to all the updates recently installed by Microsoft. I particularly mentioned this as some friends were recently unaware of System Restore which can be a pretty useful tool although I didn’t think of it myself. I have wondered, a couple of times, how far away my PCs have to be before the Homegroup no longer works.

Today is our last bowling for the summer league, next week its our banquet and a couple of fun games like bingo i.e. we have to bowl the numbers on a chart which is given to us. Then we have a break until September when the winter league starts again. I am not quite sure which date we start again, but we always miss a couple of weeks because we are away on vacation. In fact with our rental being Sunday to Sunday we actually miss 3 weeks as we don’t get home til Monday night.

Tomorrow we lose the car for about 4 days as it has to go in for a very expensive repair on the transmission. We have no 4th gear apparently. We grocery shopped on Sunday and hope we have everything we want until we are mobile again.

Much to my surprised I discovered a recipe in my inbox which is almost exactly what Matt has been making for years, and which he invented.

Pomodori Al Forno

By Dana Treat
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

The beauty of this recipe is that, although the tomatoes take a while in the oven, it requires very little hands-on time. Their flavor gets more and more concentrated and more and more delicious while you are free to go about your day. I was a little close on time toward the end, so I just left them in a turned off oven and they turned out beautifully.

From Bon Appetit Magazine

Ingredients

1 cup (or more) olive oil, divided
2 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeded
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. minced fresh Italian parsley

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Pour 1/2 cup oil into 13×9x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Arrange tomatoes in dish, cut side up. Drizzle with remaining 1/2 cup oil. Sprinkle with oregano, sugar, and salt. Bake 1 hour. Using tongs, turn tomatoes over. Bake 1 hour longer. Turn tomatoes over once again. Bake until deep red and very tender transferring tomatoes to plate when soft (time will vary, depending on ripeness of tomatoes, about 15-45 minutes longer.

Layer tomatoes in medium bowl, sprinkling with garlic and parsley over each layer; reserve oil in baking dish. Drizzle tomatoes with reserved oil, adding more if necessary to cover. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours. Do Ahead: Cover; chill up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Total Servings: 6

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Calories: 357
Carbohydrates: 8.7g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Fat: 36.3g
Saturated Fat: 5.0g
Fiber: 1.8g
Sodium: 215mg
Protein: 1.9g

Have a great day

Freebies, Lotsa Books, Kindle, RIP.

All good things have to come to an end. For weeks now we have been getting coupons from our cereal packets (Fibre 1) for free frozen yoghurt. Unfortunately the campaign has now ended. We buy the cereal anyway, don’t know whether other people were encouraged to do so by the campaign, if the sales went up, maybe they’ll do it again. By the way, Fibre 1 is one of those high fibre cereals which does NOT taste like cardboard. Of course in the States it is called Fiber One. We have really been enjoying our frozen yoghurt too, we usually buy Chapman’s, one of our favourites. One thing we never buy is fruit flavoured. Neither of us enjoy that although we enjoy the fruits in their natural state.

I forgot to mention that I left our friends in Elora piled high with books to read. I think I got 5, a new Elizabeth Moon, Kings of the North and 4 in the Green Rider series about which I know nothing. Then yesterday morning I picked up a library book, The King’s Bastard by Rowena Cory Daniells, which is on inter library loan so I have to read that first. I should have plenty to keep me occupied for a bit.

Then after much hooing and haaing, Matt and I agreed that I should have a Kindle for my birthday, I couldn’t make up my mind whether I wanted one or not but after seeing my friends’ Sony readers, I decided I would like to have one as well as I think I will be able to read it whilst using my treadmill as well as at other times. Also, as I mentioned before, I can download a lot of my Fictionwise ebooks and keep them on the Kindle. The dumb thing was, I ordered the Kindle and decided to order a case for it but for some reason, although the Kindle can be shipped to Canada, the case can not, doesn't make sense.

Sadly the Prince and his Duchess have now left Canada and are about to be fêted by the Americans. I think they enjoyed Canada and Canada certainly enjoyed having them visit. Yesterday morning, before they left, they took part in starting off the Calgary Stampede and I love this picture of them in their cowboy hats. What a wonderful young couple they are. They have taken the hearts and minds of many Canadians with them. Also, they have promised to come back for another visit.

I see Betty Ford died at 93 yrs old last night. RIP

This sounds like a good salad although it’s a tad late for the really best, fresh asparagus.

Spring Vegetable Pasta

By A Nutritionist Eats WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Pasta is one of those foods that much like bread, you can add almost anything to it and it will end up tasting good. The combinations of veggies, cheese and maybe a sprinkling of meat or seafood are endless and ensure that you can have a pasta night, every week. It also comes together quickly; in fact, macaroni & cheese may even take a little longer to make.

This dish came to be from a fridge drawer with some veggies that needed to be used and a pantry full of half-full boxes of pasta. It was a perfect way to get in some vegetables and whole grains, all while enjoying a satisfying meal.

Ingredients

2 cups whole-grain pasta 1 Tbsp olive oil salt, pepper & red pepper flakes 1/2 yellow pepper, chopped 1/2 red pepper, chopped 1/2 white onion, chopped 1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1″ long pieces 3 cloves garlic, minced 4 cups arugula parmesan cheese

Instructions

Cook pasta as directed, set aside. Heat olive oil in large pan and add onions, peppers and asparagus. Cook for about 4 minutes. Add garlic, pasta and arugula, seasoning with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese shavings if desired.

Total Servings: 2

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Calories: 443 Carbohydrates: 94.9g Cholesterol: 0mg Fat: 9.3g Saturated Fat: 1.0g Fiber: 13.7g Sodium: 154mg Protein: 19.9g

Have a great weekend

Elora Gorge, Snacking, Mr. & Mrs. Wales.

Yesterday we visited friends who moved out to Elora First time we have been to their house. We went early in the day because another friend had to leave early. Had a very enjoyable meal with tacos which we made with scallops and chicken. Together with lots of other goodies. Elora is famous, for its gorge which attracts visitors far and wide. I know people tube down it, not sure what other modes of transport are used.

I didn’t catch it all, it was on GMA just as I got up this morning, but there was a segment on obesity with particular reference to snacking.  http://tinyurl.com/3rn4ebf All the figures quoted are American, but the statistics are applicable to Canadians too. This picture of a driver stuffing himself while driving is so typical. Snacking as such is not too bad, it depends on what you snack. Fruit and vegetables are a good trend. A big problem is the availability of sodas and unhealthy foods in vending machines. Obesity is definitely a major epidemic in north America.

The Americans are fascinated with the Duchess of Cambridge and really looking forward to her visit. They are currently showing knock offs of some of the dresses she has worn during her visit to Canada. Apparently these sell out almost before they reach the stores. They are impressed because she wears things more than once. As a couple they are certainly making changes. Their visit has been very popular in Canada, particularly when they broke their rest schedule to visit Slave Lake which had recently suffered from a devastating fire.

I have never cooked the following recipe, but a friend in the Philiippines recently did so and her hubby is demanding it again. If you can get your butcher to French the roast for you, so much the better. I left in the notice about cooking pork as those of us who are older still cook it very well done, this is considered no longer necessary.

Herb-Crusted Pork Rib Roast with Red Wine Sauce

Recipe from PorkBeInspired.com

 

Ingredients:

1 8-rib loin rib, center cut, chine bone off
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
4 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1 cup dry red wine
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 shallots , finely diced
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, (3/4 stick), cut into 10-12 pieces

Cooking Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Trim rib bones of roast of all extra meat (this is called "frenching"; you can do it yourself or ask the butcher to do it for you). Season roast on all sides with salt, pepper, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Place roast, fat side up, in shallow roasting pan. Roast for 1 1/2-2 hours (20 minutes per pound), or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine wine, cream, and shallots and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 2/3 cup, about 10 minutes (adjust heat to avoid boiling over). Remove from heat and whisk in butter, 2 or 3 pieces at a time, waiting until pieces are melted before adding more. Season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm and set aside.

Remove roast from oven and let rest 10 minutes. Cut between rib bones. Serve sauce at the table.

Yield: 8 servings

Serving Suggestions:

Elegant and rich for a special dinner. Serve with roasted potatoes, buttered green beans, salad and dinner rolls.

Nutrition:

Calories: 390 calories
Protein: 28 grams
Fat: 27 grams
Sodium: 80 milligrams
Cholesterol: 115 milligrams
Saturated Fat: 13 grams
Carbohydrates: 3 grams
Fiber: 0 grams

Random Tip:

Don't overcook your pork!

Have a great day

Cancer, Mail, Vegetables, Murder and Bears.

A report on the news yesterday said the Canadian Cancer Society is spending more on fundraising and operational costs than it is on research which is somewhat disturbing to me. Read here http://tinyurl.com/44uxurz

Finally we have had some mail, a Father’s Day card from one of Matt’s daughters, a letter from the local hospital telling him of an appointment on June 28 (luckily they phoned as well) and two late but important pension documents. Still, at least they are here now. What has happened to daughter #1’s card we don’t know, maybe she didn’t send one this year!! It seems that it is taking forever for the Post Office to sort out the backlog of mail, I still have a couple of other things I should have received by now but……

Michelle of Smothered in Butter (see link this page) has been writing about her vegetable garden. Wonderful if you have the ability to grow one, and an even more wonderful way to ensure your children know what fresh vegetables are and what they taste like. I remember being horrified on one of Jamie Oliver’s programmes when kids in a classroom could not identify the most ordinary vegetables such as celery and carrots. I wonder what would have happened had they been shown my favourite, asparagus? I cannot imagine life without vegetables, there are so many who say they don’t like them, many, I believe, because they haven’t had them cooked properly. I have mentioned before, most vegetables can be eaten raw, so why cook them too much.

ON TV, continuously for several weeks, they have been covering the Casey Anthony case, a woman accused of murdering her child. Now its all over, she has basically been acquitted of all major charges, and now we are getting the analyses of what people think – most seem to think she did it anyway. I was totally fed up with the case anyway, and now it is still going to drag on for a while. Enough already.

Nasty one today, a Grizzly bear attacked and killed a man in Yellowstone Park. Unfortunately it was a mother bear with cubs. The wife is OK. Some other people on the same trail heard the shouts for help and used their cell phone to call in the emergency. The rangers say they will not kill the Grizzly because she was only exhibiting normal behaviour. Sad for the wife, but I am very glad for the mother bear. This is the first such attack in 25 years.

I have always like Satay’s and here is one from dLife which I picked up yesterday. If you go to the website http://tinyurl.com/4xzfwhr there is a video which shows you how to prepare this dish. In view of my new obesity campaign, I have left in the nutrition facts.

Beef Satay

Nutrition Facts

Makes 6 servings

Source:
Asian inspired skewered beef with spicy peanut butter sauce.

Ingredients

Beef Satay
3/4 cup low sodium beef broth, canned
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp fresh ginger root , peeled and minced
2medium garlic cloves , minced
1 lb top round steak, lean , boneless; cut into 1/4"-thick strips
1 tsp grapeseed oil
Peanut Sauce
1 tbsp light honey
3/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1 tsp fresh cilantro , chopped
2 tsp chili paste
4 tbsp fresh lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
1/4 cup tap water , slightly heated

Directions

Beef Satay
1 In a large, resealable plastic bag, combine broth, soy sauce, ginger root, and garlic. Add steak; seal bag, and turn to coat steak.
2 Marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, turning bag occasionally.
3 Soak wooden skewers in water for at least 20 minutes.
4 Remove steak from marinade, reserving marinade.
5 Place marinade in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat, strain and set aside, reserving 1/2 cup for peanut sauce.
6 Thread steak evenly onto twelve 8-inch skewers (or 24 4.5-inch skewers, if making as appetizer). Coat broiler pan with cooking spray. Space skewers evenly on prepared broiler pan.
7 Place pan 5" from heat (with electric oven door partially opened) for 7 to 8 minutes (or to desired degree of doneness), basting frequently with remaining marinade.
8 Remove from broiler and arrange on serving plate.
Peanut Sauce
1 In food processor or blender, combine peanut butter, honey, cilantro, chili paste, lime juice, and 1/2 cup of heated marinade. Drizzle in hot water, if needed to thin.

Additional Information

For appetizer version: Use smaller skewers and halve the length of the meat strips. Serve on platter with oval or rectangular dish of peanut sauce for dipping. For entree version, serve two skewers per plate, drizzled with peanut sauce.

Serving Size: 1 serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 353.4

Total Carbs 12.3 g

Dietary Fiber 2 g

Sugars 4.8 g

Total Fat 20.3 g

Saturated Fat 3.2 g

Unsaturated Fat 17.1 g

Potassium 68.3 mg

Protein 28.9 g

Sodium 347.8 mg

Dietary Exchanges
3 1/2 Fat, 2 1/4 Meat, 1/2 Starch, 3 Very Lean Meat

Have a great day

Obesity, Security Dogs.

I have been reading a blog called Smothered in Butter lately and in her last two posts, Michelle has been expressing her horror at the obesity so obvious in our local society – what is sometimes referred to as the Golden Triangle which includes Kitchener and Cambridge. Her website is http://smotheredinbutter.blogspot.com – she is local to me and as she says in one of her blogs, she was staring in shock at the people around her in Riverside Park, Cambridge, on Canada Day and the lack of provision for these people to eat healthily even if they had chosen to do so. Michelle wants to get a “conversation for change”  a la Jamie Oliver involving everyone in the food industry, schools and catering establishments as well as those of us who cook. Of course, as we know, its not all what you eat, it is the lack of exercise too. There is an ad running on TV at the moment which pushes the fact that kids need at least an hour of exercise every day. Thanks to technology and the lack of exercise programmes in schools, they are not achieving that amount. It is also a fact that Zehrs grocery store which is a Loblaws company. has introduced their Blue Menu items which are healthy products intended to help reduce obesity as well. This item shown is meatless, but not all their items are. You will be hearing more on this from both Michelle and me.

I just watched a segment on GMA about trained German Shepherds which are being sold for large sums as protection dogs. I just Googled and found ads for these service dogs. They are trained in Germany and then continue in the US. From what I can see, the dogs are trained very much as police dogs were trained in the UK when I was involved with German Shepherd training years ago. I once owned three German shepherds at one time and was a member of two training groups in England, one of which specialised in German Shepherds or Alsatians as they are known in the UK. That was an upshot of World War I when anything German was frowned upon.

I like tomato, I like basil, I love bruschetta so what’s not to enjoy about the following recipe.

Grilled Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

By 2hot2handle on August 31, 2009

 

Photo by 2hot2handle

Servings: 8

About This Recipe

"What can I say? Absolutely sublime, but ONLY make with the freshest, ripest tomatoes. Prep time does not include the 20 minutes of "sit" time for the tomatoes."

Ingredients

1 loaf French bread

1 lb roma tomatoes or 1 lb cherry tomatoes, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup fresh basil, rolled together and sliced julienne

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt

Directions

1. Place the cut tomatoes into a bowl and salt them. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, basil and olive oil, stir to combine and let sit for another 10 minutes.
2. Cut the french bread into thick (1 inch) slices. Grill the slices until just toasted and slightly charred, about 1 minute per side.
3. Top the grilled bread slices with the tomato mixture and serve immediately.

Hold your Breath, Porn,

Matt was telling me yesterday he had seen a segment on GMA about freediving. They were apparently racing in an obstacle course. Having been diving for many years, he used to be an instructor for the British Sub Aqua Club, he was absolutely astounded that today the record for holding one’s breath is 19 minutes and 21 seconds. Peter Colat who is a Swiss freediver holds this record beating David Blane’s record by 19 seconds. It is also a very dangerous thing to do. Here is an article about it http://tinyurl.com/ygxkrqb

Not sure what started me thinking about Lady Chatterley’s Lover yesterday, but that led to thinking about pornography and how standards have changed. When I was a child, that book was banned although one could buy an expurgated copy.  When I did finally get to read the original I was surprised by a sentence spoken by the gardener “that’s where tha shits and that’s where tha pisses”. In those days, one just didn’t talk about that kind of thing (of course I was still virginal and inexperienced). When I think of the things one can read, hear or see on movies and TV or find on the internet, the comparison is staggering. A few years ago a friend commented about a picture of a salt cellar saying it looked like a speculum. I didn’t really know what a speculum looked like and promptly searched on line. Not only did I find out, but found out what else it could be used for other than obstetric and gynecology usage. When I told this story at work they howled with laughter and thought it was the funniest thing they had heard.  I’m still not sure how a salt cellar could look similar. Of course porn pix are so easy to distribute on the internet, once upon a time for such pictures people had to go into shops which sold magazines and hid the porn ones at the back. Then porn videos came along and the first one I ever saw was so badly filmed it was hardly worth watching anyway. I wonder what our Victorian ancestors would have thought about all this, they covered up the legs of pianos  etc. because they were considered somewhat obscene.

I am delighted to say I bowled pretty well yesterday and in one game I actually got 4 strikes in a row, haven’t done that for a long time. Then, when we got home, someone called to see Matt’s golf clubs which we have had for sale on Kijiji for a while and they are now, finally, sold.

I thought this soup looked pretty good and will certainly try it.

Sweet Potato Soup with Ginger

By The Gluten Free Goddess
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Crank up your slow cooker and simmer this super-easy soup all day long. While you busy yourself with living your life, you can be making an amazing soup that will thrill your family’s taste buds!

Ingredients

1 drizzle of fruity extra virgin olive oil
1 small sweet onion, diced fine
Fresh grated ginger root, to taste
2 lbs. sweet potatoes (I use a mix of small ruby yams and medium orange sweet potatoes), peeled and diced
Fresh water, enough to cover the potatoes (some folks prefer broth, but I like to keep the taste of the sweet potato clean and simple)
Sea salt, to taste
A pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg or cardamom, to taste

Instructions

Ready your slow cookerand turn it on high. Drizzle a touch of olive oil in the bottom of the crock. When the oil is warm stir in the onion and ginger, cover and heat till fragrant (you can skip this small step if you like, it's just something I like to do to infuse the oil and jump-start the flavors). Add the diced sweet potatoes. Cover with fresh water. Add a little salt, to taste. I sprinkle in a small amount of cinnamon and warm spices, too. Cover.

Slow cook on high or low, according to your manufacturer's instructions for potato soup.

When the potatoes are very tender, use an immersion blender to puree the soup.

If the soup is too thick, add more liquid to thin.

Taste test and add more sea salt and pepper, to taste.

This simple soup is so creamy I didn't think it needed any richness added -- but if you would prefer to make it a cream-style soup stir in a cup or so of coconut milk (or non-dairy milk) and taste test. Cover and gently heat through.

This soup reheats well -- we had leftovers the next day -- delicious.

Total Servings: 4

Have a great day

Royal Wedding, Magic, Smuggling?

On Saturday Prince Albert of Monaco was wed to Princess Charlene in both a civil and Roman Catholic ceremony. The description of her dress is somewhat breathtaking, there were 40,000 crystals sewn onto it not to mention pearls and gold http://tinyurl.com/3m83pmu you can read the description here. Princess Charlene is an Olympic swimmer from South Africa. It has been quite a year for Royal weddings.

Over the weekend I was reading When Darkness Falls, part 3 of the Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory and I got to thinking about concepts of magic. In the Wheel of Time books people are chucking up gateways or portals all over the place at the drop of a hat, whether to move armies or just a couple of people. In the book I was reading, a Knight Mage opens one portal only and risks death, doesn’t happen, but he and his bonded dragon lose magic for ever more. So many fantasy authors have such different concepts of what magic is or what their particular protagonists will do with magic. I like Glenda Larke’s recent ‘water magic’ in her latest trilogy and am waiting to see how it all ends some time next month in Stormlord’s Exile.

I have mentioned before about living on a boat as a youngster. We spent a lot of time travelling to various ports on the coasts of Europe, my father never worried about whether I was supposed to be in school or not, if he wanted to go, he went, and because my home was being moved, obviously I went too. What I have been thinking about was the time we came back to England and were stopped by customs and thoroughly searched – someone had contacted them and said we were smuggling – that was before drugs were a big thing, they searched all over the boat and each of us too, no idea what they were searching for, but there was a large can of grease in the engine room and they were poking around in it not to mention searching the sanitary pad I was wearing together with requesting my mother and I to take down our hair. Very odd experience. I suppose they weren’t convinced it was real because they could have wrecked the insides of the boat and not been liable to replace it unless they found nothing. They didn’t even try.

Last night we tried a recipe I posted on June 4. Roasted Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette. It was delicious. It will certainly become a keeper in our repertoire.

Mushrooms Canada came up with this recipe recently, I am not sure I would enjoy mushrooms with salmon, but it would be worth trying.

Baja Salmon with Mushrooms

Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil, divided

6 oz white button mushrooms, quartered or halved

1 packet dry citrus marinade

3/4 cup frozen white sweet corn kernels, thawed

1/2 cup red onion, diced, run under cold water

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, minced

2 tbsp lime juice, freshly squeezed

1/2 tsp kosher salt

4 salmon filets (about 5 ounces each)

1/4 cup water

Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add 2 teaspoons oil and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Add mushrooms and sauté 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of dry citrus marinade mix to the mushrooms and continue cooking another 3 minutes.

Remove mushrooms from the pan and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the corn, onion, red pepper, cilantro, lime juice and salt to the cooked mushrooms and toss to combine. In same sauté pan, add remaining teaspoon of oil and swirl to coat pan.

Sprinkle the top of each salmon filet with 1 teaspoon dry citrus marinade mix. Add salmon, seasoned side down, to hot pan and sear 1 minute. Flip over and add water to the pan. Cover and cook another 2 minutes, or until done to taste preferences. Remove from the heat and uncover.

Place a spoonful of the mushroom salsa on each serving plate, top with a salmon filet. Garnish with a sprig of cilantro and a lime wedge.

Have a great day

The Duchess, Mail, Bridge and Fireworks

The Duchess of Cambridge wore a delightful hat of bright red with a maple leaf on it and a white dress. Very clever compliment to Canada’s 144th birthday. She also wore a maple leaf brooch on her dress. So far they seem to be making a very good impression on Canadians.

We, personally, never did get any mail last week. Apparently the postal workers are teed off about being legislated back to work and are not working at full efficiency. People in the building got various pieces of advertising, we didn’t even get that, not that we wanted it of course.

Browsing last night I came across an article about a sea bridge in China which is 42 Kms long. The longest bridge in the world. Incredible feat of engineering. If you would like to read more about it http://tinyurl.com/63gezyn Prior to this the longest bridge over water was in Louisiana over Lake Pontchartrain.

Fireworks went on til well after midnight last night. I guess we are getting blasé, once upon a time we used to watch them. From one side of this building you can see organised fireworks from a local entertainment area, we can see the tail edge from one of the major parks plus lots of others around the area.

Cayenne Cinnamon Baby Back Ribs with Maple Glaze

Source: www.steamykitchen.com

You can use other rib cuts if you wish, I like St. Louis rib cut. Recipe adapted from McCormick.

Serves 4
INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon cayenne powder (or crushed red pepper flakes)

1 teaspoon sea salt (or 1/2 teaspoon table salt)

3 pounds pork baby back ribs

1/4 cup maple syrup

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375F (or prepare your grill). Remove the tough membrane from the underside of the ribs.

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, garlic powder, paprika, ground cinnamon, cayenne and salt.. Place ribs on a double layer of tin foil (large enough to wrap around ribs) and season the ribs on both sides with the rub. Fold over foil and completely cover ribs. Place ribs on baking sheet or roasting pan.

Bake 1 hour or until meat starts to pull away from bones.

Turn broiler on to high and move rack to upper-mid position. Carefully open foil. Brush ribs with maple syrup. Broil ribs 3-4 minutes until browned. Take care not to burn the ribs!

Have a great weekend

Canada Day, Asparagus, Heels and Royals.

Happy Canada Day to Canadians everywhere.

Today is also the end of Asparagus season, no more really fresh asparagus for a year. Barrie’s hold their annual Asparagus Festivus today which includes barbecues and an auction to raise money for cancer. One of their attendees will be Wayne Gretsky’s dad. Tim Barrie is a big hockey buff. When I was there yesterday I heard they have a petting zoo and face painting for the kids.

There was a segment on GMA yesterday about high heel shoes. They were showing 8 inch heels. I can’t imagine wearing. such shoes, regular shoes used to be bad enough. These are almost like being a ballerina on points. When I was a young woman I lived in such shoes, but never anything this high. What on earth these kinds of heels do to floors I can’t imagine. There is something over a ton of pressure on the point of such heels.

Been a lot on TV, of course, about the arrival of William and Catherine in Ottawa yesterday. William made a speech which included a segment in French much to the delight of the audience. He then apologised and said his French would get better. They got out of the car and did a bit of a walk about too, which delighted the spectators. Today they are taking part in the Canada Day celebrations. After Ottawa they are going to be in Québec then going out east and then up to Yellowknife and finally in Calgary. They will then fly to California.

I don’t suppose a lot of people will be eating any Brussels sprouts today, but having found this recipe, I had to share.

Chinese Style Brussels Sprouts with Hoisin Glaze

By The Food Gal
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Ingredients

2 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 pounds small Brussels sprouts, washed, ends trimmed, then bulbs cut into halves
3 tablespoons mirin (Japanese rice wine)
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
7 to 8 tablespoons hoisin sauce
Toasted sesame oil

Instructions

In a large wok or frying pan on medium-high heat, add peanut oil. When oil is hot, add ginger and onion. Stir, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add garlic, stirring to prevent burning, about 1 minute more. Add Brussels sprouts and mirin. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until Brussels sprouts start to become tender. Stir in hoisin sauce. Continue to cook for about 2-3 minutes more. Drizzle with a little sesame oil, and serve.
Total Servings: 6

Have a great day