Blogs, Appliances, Clocks,

I was very excited last week that my readership went up over the 100 mark, couldn’t figure out why, but it did so a couple of days. Some of my friends have very high readership, but as yet, I don’t. Of course, high readership means you very often attract stupid or inappropriate comments which must be very annoying for the blogger.

Saturday night we usually have a “special meal”, and having had a few glasses of wine, I refuse to do dishes and am quite prepared to leave them til the morning. However, Matt, being Mr. Stubborn insists on doing them so I sit there and feel guilty. Don’t know why I should, its his choice!!! I just wish we had a dishwasher, that is one of the drawbacks of this apartment. Its become something of a joke with some friends who do have a dishwasher in their apartment. I do miss it, having lived with a dishwasher for 12 years whilst we were in the States. Mind you some of the dishwashers I have come across since, you might as well not bother. We had a Whirlpool and it did a really good job. You did NOT have to “wash dishes in order to wash dishes” which so many machines seem to require. (I mean all these people who rinse off their dishes before putting them in the machine) I have used a couple of dishwashers in rentals down in the States, and I wouldn’t give you a dime for either of them. OK, I know Matt does the dishes on Saturday night, but most days I wash and he dries. Apropos, we had Steak au Poivre with Shallot Sauce, Portabella mushrooms and half a baked potato each. It was delicious.

I often talk about my favourite cook book, Mrs.  Beeton’s Family Cookery, the copy I have was published in 1935 or thereabouts and today is held together with a rubber band, and has wonderful pictures of dishwashers of the time as well as laundry machines many of which were the tub kind with a wringer on top – there were no dryers in those days, not sure when they came in. Having googled, this is what Wikipedia has to say: A hand-cranked clothes dryer was created in 1800 by M. Pochon from France. Electric tumble dryers appeared in the early 20th century. Industrial designer Brooks Stevens developed the first electric dryer with a glass window in the 1940s. Some of the equipment shown on this page was kind of mechanical and supposed to be labour saving. McGraw Edison, where I used to work when I first emigrated to Canada, made washers and dryers: in the lobby they had a couple of these old fashioned washers with wooden tubs and wringers on top. I would imagine they would be worth a buck or two these days. The place eventually closed down, I wonder what happened to the old washers, I would have liked to have got hold of one. My mother, later in life, had washer and dishwasher (don’t remember a dryer) but she would never use them. My father always handled the dishwasher and the maid did any laundry, either in the machine or by hand. This was when they lived in Spain. Most of her life my mother sent things like sheets and towels to the laundry. So did I before wrinkle free sheets came on the market, I hated ironing sheets. Lets face it, I hate ironing. Domestic Goddess I ain’t.

I hope you all remembered your clocks on Saturday night/Sunday morning. In fact we did most of ours on Saturday. Luckily computers do it for themselves so that’s a couple of things I don’t have to bother with, but everything else, and we seem to have a lot of ‘everything else’. I forgot the VCR so I’d better do that and we haven’t done the clock in the car as we haven’t been in it yet. Not sure European countries have ‘sprung ahead’ yet, it was changed here because of the States, damned if I remember why they wanted to change it. It was not, as someone said the other day, for golfers. In fact, of course, it started with British Summertime through the war years. Workers on the night shift don’t mind it, they work an hour less at this time of year although they have to make up for it in the fall.

This looks like a tasty and very healthy dish. I read somewhere, recently, that it is advisable to be sure to buy saffron in threads, not powdered, as many things can impersonate true saffron when it has been ground. I have never heard of kabocha squash, but butternut apparently is OK. I wonder how they compare.

Squash, Chickpea & Red Lentil Stew

Source: © EatingWell Magazine

8 servings

Modeled on North African stews, this aromatic vegetarian main course can be served over brown rice or steamed spinach.
Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup dried chickpeas

2 1/2 pounds kabocha squash (see Note) or butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup red lentils

4 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon saffron (see Note)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup lime juice

1/2 cup chopped roasted unsalted peanuts

1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Ingredient Note: Kabocha is a squash with a green-streaked rind and tender, sweet orange flesh. An average kabocha weighs two to three pounds.

It is considered the world's most expensive spice; saffron contributes a pungent flavor and intense yellow color. It is sold in threads and powdered form.

DIRECTIONS

Soak chickpeas in enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches for 6 hours or overnight. (Alternatively, use the quick-soak method: Place beans in a large pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour). Drain when ready to use.

Combine the soaked chickpeas, squash, carrots, onion, lentils, broth, tomato paste, ginger, cumin, salt, saffron and pepper in a 6-quart slow cooker.

Put on the lid and cook on low until the chickpeas are tender and the lentils have begun to break down, 5 to 6 1/2 hours.

Stir in lime juice. Serve sprinkled with peanuts and cilantro.

Have a great day

Doctors, Meat Pies, Movie, The Love Boat.

Poor Matt, he no sooner got rid of his 24 hr. blood pressure monitor (which interfered with his sleep) than they gave him an order for bloodwork. Whilst he was there, it snowed pretty hard so he had to clean off the car before he could drive it. As we mostly have the car in the underground garage, that isn’t something we have to do much any more. Finally when he came home he got to eat breakfast having had to fast for these tests. He did one test, diabetes I understand, where they sample your blood, then give you a heavy glucose drink. You then have to sit for the best part of two hours, when they sample your blood again. Now I am diabetic and have never had this test, by the sound of it, I’m quite glad.

I just read a pretty awful recipe for Shepherd’s Pie and it occurred to me that North Americans completely miss the point about Shepherd’s or Cottage pies. Traditionally on Sunday in England we had roast meat for our main meal of the day, usually Sunday Lunch, and, more often than not, it was beef or lamb. On Monday, which was wash day, some of the meat would be served cold, possibly with pickles, in order to relieve the housewife of cooking chores when she was doing the wash (before the days of washers and dryers) then on Tuesday, the leftover meat would be minced, mixed with onions and plenty of good gravy to moisten it, seasoned and put in a casserole with a lid of mashed potato with dots of butter on top and warmed through browning the potatoes. This was served with whatever vegetables were available (frozen didn’t exist in those days). That was usually the end of the roast. Checking in my copy of Mrs. Beeton’s Cookery Book (my cooking bible) I see she only talks about mutton for Shepherd’s Pie and doesn’t even give a recipe for Cottage pie. I guess the idea of leftover lamb came into being somewhat later while leftover beef was for the Cottage pie. I have no idea where the idea of adding vegetables came from. I just came across vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie, what rubbish, that is a total misnomer.

Thursday night I watched Hugo, it won a few Oscars the other day and it looked as though it would be a good movie, it was. However, from seeing a couple of excerpts it wasn’t what I thought at all, it looked a bit spec fic, but in fact that just turned out to be when Hugo was dreaming. However, it’s a delightful story, kind of Oliver Twist, rags to riches kind of thing. Ben Kingsley was, as usual, excellent, I have never seen that man do anything in which he wasn’t excellent and Asa Butterfield was also very good as Hugo. I loved Sacha Baron Cohen as the Station Inspector, there was a touch of Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) about him. If you get the chance to see the movie, I highly recommend it.

That reminds me, do you remember the series The Love Boat on TV in the 70’s and 80’s? I heard yesterday that the cruise ship, the Pacific Princess, has been sold for over $3 million to a Turkish company who specialise in ship breaking. Seems sad. I wonder how they recoup all that money.

I’m not normally into Mexican cooking, but this looked so delicious I think I might have a go at it. They make me hungry just looking at the picture.

Easy Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

ByThe Gluten Free Goddess
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Sometimes I make "Christmas Enchiladas" with both a green salsa and a red sauce. I pour the red sauce down the center of the rolled tortillas in a wide strip and spoon the green salsa on both sides. Then I center a thin strip of shredded cheese down the middle, studded with sliced ripe (black) olives.

Ingredients

3 cups cooked chicken, hand torn
1/2 cup roasted green chilies, chopped
3/4 cup low-fat sour cream
Juice from a large fresh lime
Cracked or lemon pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 cups Quickie Enchilada Sauce* (see below)
10-12 white corn tortillas
Light olive oil, as needed
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack, Cheddar, or vegan cheese
Fresh chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, peeled, diced fine
1 teaspoon chili powder, mild or hot
1 teaspoon cumin
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-oz. can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
1 teaspoon organic sugar or agave
1 splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried cilantro or 1 tablespoon fresh minced cilantro

Instructions

For enchiladas, combine the following ingredients:

3 cups cooked chicken, hand torn
1/2 cup roasted green chilies, chopped
3/4 cup low-fat sour cream
Juice from a large fresh lime
Cracked or lemon pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 cups Quickie Enchilada Sauce* (see below)
10-12 white corn tortillas
Light olive oil, as needed
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack, Cheddar, or vegan cheese
Fresh chopped cilantro

Lightly oil a 13x9" baking dish. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a mixing bowl, toss together the cooked chicken, chopped green chilies, sour cream or mayo, and lime juice; season with cracked or lemon pepper and cumin. Set aside.

Make your Quickie Enchilada Sauce (recipe below) or if you're really in a hurry, stir together an instant sauce using one of the following:
* 16 oz. of your favorite red or green salsa
* 1 8-oz. can chopped roasted green chilies, and 1 cup hot chicken broth thickened with sour cream, or a tablespoon or two of sweet rice flour
* 16 oz. V8 Juice spiked with hot pepper sauce, cumin, chili powder, chipotle seasoning, etc. Add a spoonful of salsa or chopped roasted green chilies.

Quickie Enchilada Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, peeled, diced fine
1 teaspoon chili powder, mild or hot
1 teaspoon cumin
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-oz. can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
1 teaspoon organic sugar or agave
1 splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried cilantro or 1 tablespoon fresh minced cilantro

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and gently sauté the onion and spices for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, and cilantro, stir and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes.

Use as a sauce for enchiladas, burritos, or Mexican-style casseroles.

To make the baked enchiladas:

Spread about a spoonful (about 4 oz.) of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the oiled baking dish. Heat each tortilla in a scant amount of hot light olive oil before you stuff it, till softened. Set the warm tortilla into the prepared baking dish and coat the tortilla. Spoon one-tenth of the chicken mixture into the center of the tortilla and roll it up into place, seam side down. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. Pour the enchilada sauce all over the tortillas and top with shredded cheese. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted, the sauce is bubbling, and the enchiladas are hot.

Serve with a crisp green salad, and offer salsa and fresh guacamole at the table.

Total Servings: 6

Have a great weekend

MRI, Il Volo, Books, St. Patrick’s

I’m delighted to report that when I went for my MRI yesterday I discovered that I am definitely not claustrophobic. The most difficult part was getting my shoulder positioned exactly where she wanted it, under a kind of clamp although it didn’t clamp down. Slide up, move here, turn sideways a bit, now move your shoulder again, and on and on. Eventually she got me where she wanted me. I had ear plugs in, told to shut my eyes and was fed into the machine. Of course I had a way of stopping the machine if needed. However, I was fine. I started with my eyes closed and thought about books, I know a fair bit about them after all. I was particularly thinking about the Wheel of Time series and although I could remember the names of the three young men, damned if I could recall all the females. She kept asking if I was OK which I assured her I was. I eventually opened my eyes and looked around, not much to see, but one is pretty closed in. It is also pretty noisy, cannot imagine what it would be like without ear plugs. By the end, it was my back that was giving me problems. I was in there about half an hour I guess. Dunno, didn’t have a watch on. I just found a picture of a much larger MRI machine. I think it is a bit more futuristic than what is available today.

Last night we watched a TV special on PBS of Il Volo which was wonderful. I have raved about Il Volo before, three young Italians, Giancarlo, Piero and Ignazio who were in a talent competition which Giancarlo won, but the producer combined the three of them which worked brilliantly and Il Volo was born. Piero certainly has the makings of an opera singer and it was posited that they would not be together very long but would split to follow their own career paths. They are appearing at the Sony Centre in Toronto at the end of August, and I would love to go, but sadly that is unlikely to happen. I think I will have to content myself buying CDs etc. 

I just got hold of Patricia Cornwell’s latest Kay Scarpetta book, Red Mist. I have been waiting for this for some time. Now I am not quite sure if I read the previous book, reading the first chapter or so, it doesn’t ring any bells with me. The last book I remember reading I thought the whole Scarpetta series was finished, done and dusted, but here she is again. I checked out some of the information about Cornwall’s books on Amazon.com and a paperback is cheaper than a Kindle version, I’m thinking “why would anyone buy the Kindle version then?” I still don’t know if there is a book I didn’t read or not. Maybe I should start at the beginning and read them all again.

I am already being sent recipes for St. Patrick’s Day, I used to have an Irish friend who got so mad every year because of all the recipes which came out specially for St. Patrick’s Day. As she pointed out, the Irish themselves do NOT cook anything particular that day so these are not genuine St. Paddy’s day recipes at all. Nevertheless north Americans cook corned beef and cabbage, the Chicagoans continue to pour green die into their waters and many of the pubs in this part of the world serve green beer. There is a huge parade in New York City and people all over North America tend to wear something green that day, especially when they go to work. My first wedding was on St. Paddy’s Day but not for any particular reason. One of Matt’s daughters and her husband were both born that day, both the same year which is unusual in a couple. I don’t remember we took a lot of notice of the day in the UK, maybe things have changed, as for St. George’s Day (Britain) and St. Andrew’s (Scotland) I haven’t a clue when they are. Of course having been so long away, one tends to forget anyway.

These are so pretty I just had to share them although I don’t think I would ever make them, dunno if any of you would.

Luck o' the Irish Cake Pops

Give the cake pop trend some St. Patrick's Day spirit with green food color and decorate with shamrock sprinkles for a festive dessert, inside and out.

Makes 4 dozen or 24 (2 cake pop) servings).

1 package (18 1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix

2 teaspoons McCormick® Green Food Color

3/4 cup marshmallow creme

1 bag (14 ounces) white confectionary coating wafers

Lollipop sticks

Green sprinkles (optional)

1. Prepare cake mix as directed on package, adding food color. Bake as directed on package for 13x9-inch baking pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
2. Crumble cake into large bowl. Add marshmallow creme; mix until well blended. Shape into 1-inch balls. Refrigerate 2 hours.
3. Melt coating wafers as directed on package. For each Cake Pop, dip 1/2 inch of lollipop stick into melted coating. Insert dipped end of lollipop stick halfway into cake ball. Let stand until coating is set. Dip each cake pop into melted coating. Shake gently to remove excess coating. Sprinkle or roll cake pops in green sprinkles, if desired. Place cake pops in styrofoam blocks. Let stand until coating is set.

Test Kitchen Tips:

• Substitute 1/2 cup canned vanilla frosting for the marshmallow creme.

• If styrofoam blocks are not available, use upside-down foam egg cartons or a cardboard box to hold the cake pops.

Have a great day

Talking Risotto, Medical Stuff, More on Food.

 

Wednesday morning I came across a recipe, on the radio, CKWR, for a Deep Dish Risotto which had about as much relationship to risotto as I do to being Chinese. It did have arborio rice in it mind you. The recipe itself didn’t sound bad, I might even try it, but risotto it ain’t. Oh, by the way its risotto with the middle o sounding like the o in off not like the o in over. I love risotto as you may recall and I was a little teed off to hear this dish so named. Wikipedia describes it “Risotto is a class of Italian dishes of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency.” The person described it as gooey and sticky. In that case it was badly made.

Poor Matt had to go all the way to Cambridge (about a 3/4 hr drive) early yesterday morning to get a blood pressure monitor which he now has to wear until he went to the docs at 7 a.m. this morning. As the thing takes a reading every half hour, or every hour at night, he didn’t get too much sleep. Not only that, he had to pay $50 for the privilege which is not refunded by our insurance. Very annoying. Then this afternoon I have to go for my MRI. I am hoping that will go OK and that I don’t suffer from claustrophobia or anything. A friend of mine had to spend a while in there and absolutely freaked out apparently. I hope I won’t be in it very long as its only my shoulder they are looking at. You know, the shoulder which is so much better these days!!!!!!

Last night I made the Greek Pasta Casserole that I posted on Tuesday. It was a lot easier to make than it sounded. It was also very good, we both enjoyed it. I found the timings given weren’t enough, 25 mins at 375° wasn’t long enough we gave it another 10 minutes, then 5 minutes uncovered and although it was steaming, the pasta was a tad cooler than it should have been. We have lots left over for supper tonight, don’t know what time we’ll be back from the MRI which is at 5:30 p.m. at least its not in the middle of the night which happened to a friend of ours, she had to go at 3 a.m. for her MRI. I think this is definitely a recipe we will make again.

I thought these wraps looked, and sounded, delicious although it does seem like a lot of ingredients. However, I always like ‘lettuce bundles’ so these may well be on our table before I am much older.

Thai Chicken Wrap

ByThe Family Dinner
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

At the table, fill lettuce leaves with flavorful minced chicken, vegetables and pieces of torn herbs. Add a squeeze of lime or some peanut crunch, and roll it up.

Serve with some steamed brown rice on the side, and you have the perfect summer dinner.

Don’t forget to include the kids! Your kids can help tear the mint into little pieces, pinch the tips and tails off the green beans and wash the vegetables. And, of course, taste to make sure the chicken is just perfect!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger or ½ tablespoon ground ginger
¼ cup water or stock
1 pound ground chicken
¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons sliced shallots
1 tablespoon Asian chili sauce or to taste
1 sliced Thai chili pepper (very spicy, so optional)
¼ cup lime juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
18 whole large lettuce leaves (about 3 lettuce heads)
½ pound young raw green beans, thinly sliced on the diagonal
2 cups bean sprouts
1 cucumber, cut into strips with your peeler or mandoline
1 large carrot, shredded
Fresh mint, cilantro and basil
Cut limes

Asian chili sauce:

½ cup chopped peanuts
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup Asian fish sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced

Instructions

For the chicken filling:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger or ½ tablespoon ground ginger
¼ cup water or stock
1 pound ground chicken
¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons sliced shallots
1 tablespoon Asian chili sauce or to taste
1 sliced Thai chili pepper (very spicy, so optional)
¼ cup lime juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce

For the Wrappings and Toppings:
18 whole large lettuce leaves (about 3 lettuce heads)
½ pound young raw green beans, thinly sliced on the diagonal
2 cups bean sprouts
1 cucumber, cut into strips with your peeler or mandoline
1 large carrot, shredded
Fresh mint, cilantro and basil
Cut limes
Asian chili sauce

For the Dipping Sauce:
½ cup chopped peanuts
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup Asian fish sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced

Mix all the ingredients for the dipping sauce in a little bowl. Set aside.

In a medium nonstick pan, heat the vegetable oil and sauté the garlic and ginger over medium heat until light brown. Add ¼ cup water or stock, then add the chicken and stir well, separating the chicken into small bits. This should take you about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain out the water.

Transfer the cooked chicken into a mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients for the filling and mix well. Taste the mixture and season until there is a good balance among the sweet, tart and savory flavors. You might need a bit more fish sauce, another squeeze of lemon, a little bit more hot sauce…

On a large platter, mound the vegetables, herbs, and chicken. Serve with little bowls of the dipping sauce, cut limes, fish sauce, chili sauce and chopped peanuts.

Total Servings: 6

Oreo and Alamo Remembered, Obsessions, Titanic Memento.

Funny things we celebrate these days,  yesterday was Oreo Cookies’ 100th birthday. They were launched the same year as the Titanic sunk. I don’t think I have ever actually eaten one other than in a Dirt Cake, do you remember those, they were very popular at one time, I made several, on in particular which we put in a toy dump truck for some twins who were celebrating their birthdays. In that recipe though, you grind up the cookies, so I have never done the classic pulling apart and licking the centre cream bit. According to someone on Good Morning America, the name came from the ‘re’ of cream surrounded by two Os. It turns out it was also the 100th anniversary of The Alamo yesterday, maybe somewhat more important than cookies. I guess most of us have seen the movie but I heard a song on the radio about it, weird song but it did tell the story. Certainly an event well worth remembering.

Both Matt and I had to go for blood work yesterday which meant getting up before the crack of dawn in order to get there early. We actually were able to sit in the car for a while before people began to arrive and Matt jumped out to claim the first spot. Glad we did get there so early, in very short order there were about 20 or so people waiting. It was snowing too, not very heavily, but it was pretty cold.

Unbelievable stories on GMA yesterday, a woman who has an obsession about pink, everything she owns is pink, even her dog is dyed pink and she has it re-dyed regularly which costs her quite a few bucks. Then there is a couple who spend thousands of dollars on Cabbage Patch Dolls. In all they have spent at least $1,000,000 on the dolls, they have 5,000 and counting and consider them just like kids even though they have a grown daughter. There is a TV show about these people “My Crazy Obsession” tonight at 7.

Its obviously a time for remembrances, a Royal Canadian Mint commemorative silver coin to mark the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking, was unveiled in Halifax on March 5, 2012 (yesterday). I am not sure, and can’t seem to find out, if this is going into general circulation or is just for display purposes. From the picture one can see it says Ten Dollars but we use bills for that amount of money. We also use five dollar bills, but although we once had bills for both one and two dollars, we now use coins for those amounts. Loonies ($1) so called because of the picture of the loon on the obverse and Twonies ($2) for obvious reasons, the Loonie having come first.

Obviously I had to share this with you.

Chocolate-Covered OREO Celebration Cake

Kraft Kitchens

What You Need

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food cake mix

4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

1/4 cup butter

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

12 OREO Cookies, coarsely crushed

1 tube (4.25 oz.) white decorating icing

 

Make It

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

PREPARE cake batter and bake in 2 (9-inch) round pans as directed on package. Cool cakes in pans 10 min. Invert onto wire racks; gently remove pans. Cool cakes completely.

MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 min. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP.

PLACE 1 cake layer on plate; spread with cream cheese mixture. Top with cookie crumbs and remaining cake layer. Spread top with chocolate glaze; let stand 10 min. or until firm. Decorate with icing. Keep refrigerated.

 

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Size-Wise

Enjoy a serving of this indulgent cake on occasion, but keep portion size in mind. One cake makes enough for 16 servings.

Family Fun

If decorating this cake for a special someone's birthday, add their name where the OREO is in the photo and replace the "100" with their age.

Cooking Know-How

If chocolate glaze becomes too thick, microwave on HIGH 20 to 30 sec. or until desired consistency.

servings total: 16

Have a great day

Coincidences, Bowling, Port Wine,

Funny how things happen with words or names. We don’t know much about Hawaii and there was a crossword clue which turned out to be Hilo, a town there. Then the book I am currently reading (Death on a High Floor by Charles Rosenberg), frequently mentions Hilo for various reasons and then in Wheel of Fortune last night, a competitor won a trip there. This so often happens, presumably because on has recently been made aware of something and it crops up soon enough for it to register. On the other hand, I periodically read something in a book which I have read before and think “I didn’t know that” but I must have known it because I read the book before.

What a lousy game I had at bowling, but, as it turns out so did a lot of people, not just on our team, but some of the best bowlers we have were turning in ridiculous scores, for them. In fact they were so low, they were laughing uproariously about it all. Someone suggested it was because it was so cold yesterday, but as we were inside I don’t see how that could affect it. However, I guess it was yet another coincidence that so many bowled badly on the same day. I must say my legs were killing me by the time I got home, to a young person maybe bowling three balls per frame may be nothing, but its pretty hard work when you are getting up there, especially when one has been unwell for a while. Well that’s my excuse anyway.

British Traditions cropped up on Facebook today talking about why Port is always passed to the left, it is supposed to have started in the British Navy and port is left hence it was passed to the left. I read something about getting someone to pass it who wasn’t doing so, the tradition I am aware of, you said to that person “you are chased” meaning pass it on please. Also, the host is supposed to pour the glass of port for his guest on the right hand side before he passes it to the left. There are a lot of traditions associated with port, one being that you were not supposed to set the bottle down whilst it was in motion. One thing I always wanted was a train set which travelled around the dining table bearing the port, I once saw one and from then on it was my greatest wish for a while. Haven’t got a big enough table any more. We visited some port ‘caves’ as they are called when we were in Oporto, Portugal and tasted several different ports, hadn’t realised before there were so many differences. The story goes that port was invented by a couple of Scotsman who were exporting wine from Portugal and found one year’s vintage to be so bad they added brandy to it. The rest is history.

It always tickles me that many recipes chuck in some feta and some olives and call it Greek. However, as it happens I have some feta left over from the quinoa dish the other day, and I always have olives and tomatoes, so I just might make this, I don’t have any shell pasta mind you, but that can easily be remedied.

Greek Pasta Casserole

ByDana Treat
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound small pasta shells
1 (15 oz.) can ready-cut diced tomatoes with their juice
1 (7 oz.) jar roasted red peppers, well drained and diced
1/4 cup pitted and roughly chopped black olives
2 tbsp. red wine
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

Bring a large quantity of water to boil in a stockpot. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds; do not let it get at all colored. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until very al dente, soft but not quite cooked through. It will continue to cook in the oven. Drain thoroughly in a colander and place back in the pot. Pour on the garlic oil and toss well. Let cool to room temperature, tossing occasionally to prevent sticking.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix in all the remaining ingredients. Place in a shallow 3-quart casserole (such as a 13×9 inch pan). Cover with foil. (The pasta can be assembled and refrigerated up to 24 hours in advance. Bring to room temperature before baking.)

Bake, covered, for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove the foil and bake another 5 minutes to lightly brown the top of the casserole.

Adapted from "Vegetarian Classics"

Total Servings: 6

Have a great day

Weather, The Moon in 2012, Phantom of the Opera.

Friday night it blew and blew and blew and then Saturday morning it snowed and it was still blowing. Still we didn’t get a stack of tornados like they did in the States. Lots of people killed. We do get tornados in Canada, but not like the central States where it can be deadly. Lets face it, The Wizard of Oz was based on typical Kansas weather.

Reports coming in about the tornados are pretty horrifying. Kentucky, for instance hasn’t had such tornados in 40 years. In one town in Indiana a 2 yr. old was discovered alive where all her family were dead. She is in critical condition in hospital, she has one relation beside her. If you want to see the Good Morning America reports go to the ABC news website. There is some good video footage. School buses driven into buildings, and cars turned upside down. Whole towns wiped out and so on. The death toll is about 30 at the moment, lets hope it doesn’t increase.

Once again on Facebook. A friend posted a link to incredible high resolution images of the moon which have been put together to make a fantastic video with music and explanations of what you are seeing. The video shows just what the moon will look like all through 2012. Very cleverly done.

If you go to the White Wolf Pack site it gives a lot more detail about the way this video was made.

After all these years, I got to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera last night on public television. The Phantom was played by Ramin Karimloo an Iranian born Canadian actor with Sierra Boggess as Christine. The production was coming from the Royal Albert Hall in London and was performed as the 25th anniversary of the show. I have known and loved the music for years of course, but have never had the opportunity to see the show. Lots of tears. I loved it although I wish I had been more familiar with the libretto for some of the scenes where everyone sings at the same time. They had brief interviews with Karim and also Colm Wilkinson who was one of the early Phantoms playing in Canada. We turned off the TV before the end of the production, not the show itself, but where they bring on all the previous cast etc. I believe Michael Crawford put in an appearance. The show has been running for a long time in New York, it has outrun many well known shows apparently.

I don’t often cook a beef roast but did this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Somehow, although its still beef, a roast, cooked in the English style which I believe is referred to as dry roasted over here, has such a different flavour and with some good gravy, makes a delicious meal. I wish I had planned in advance as we could have bought some frozen Yorkshire puds. I don’t make them any more a there are only two of us, the the President’s Choice version are excellent and take 4 mins from frozen in the oven. When I was at school they used to serve us Yorkshire pudding and then for dessert we used to get it again with syrup. I loved that.

My Eating Well email this weekend was talking about healthy breakfasts, it is always stressed that you should eat well at breakfast time and it will set you up for the rest of the day. Here is an oatmeal recipe which appealed to me.

Oatmeal-Rhubarb Porridge

From EatingWell: May/June 2011

Perk up your morning oatmeal with the addition of tangy rhubarb. Using milk for this oatmeal gives it a calcium boost, but the recipe also works well with water—and you’ll save about 60 calories.

2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups nonfat milk or nondairy milk, such as soymilk or almond milk
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup 1/2-inch pieces rhubarb, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar, pure maple syrup or agave syrup
• 2 tablespoons chopped pecans or other nuts, toasted (see Tip) if desired

Preparation

1. Combine milk, juice, oats, rhubarb, cinnamon and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover and cook at a very gentle bubble, stirring frequently, until the oats and rhubarb are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Stir in sweetener to taste. Top with nuts.

Nutrition

Per serving :336 Calories; 8 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 4 g Mono; 4 mg Cholesterol; 56 g Carbohydrates; 13 g Protein; 6 g Fiber; 153 mg Sodium; 772 mg Potassium

3 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1/2 fruit, 1/2 carbohydrate (other), 1 nonfat milk, 1 fat

Tips & Notes

• Tip: To toast chopped nuts, place in a small dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Have a great day

Expensive Car Myths, Help Stop Wildlife Trafficking, Movie.

Another interesting article which was mentioned on Facebook is 6 Car Myths that Cost you Money. The first one was that it is not necessary to change your oil every 3,000 miles, but to check what the manufacturer of your engine says about it. It is worth reading the article, there are a couple that we certainly do, and apparently a lot more follow the rest of these myths, especially, I suppose, older people who have been driving a long time.

This is a fascinating video about shifting rhino to a different habitat in order to conserve them and try and protect them from horn poachers. World Wildlife is begging for donations to help with this fight to preserve these animals along with elephants and tigers – in fact to stop Wildlife Trafficking – if you can give I urge you to do so otherwise we will lose some of the treasures of the earth and our descendants will never be able to enjoy the existence or such wonderful animals.

Moving Rhinos

You can make donations to the World Wildlife Fund on this page.

 I finally got to go bowling again yesterday after my bout with cat allergies. I am delighted to say I did really well with a 3 game total of 514 which is the best I have done in a while especially bearing in mind all the health problems I have had lately. I am patting myself on the back.

Last night we watched The Right Stuff, no ads either, what a great movie. Well what a great subject. We had seen it before but not for a very long time and we both enjoyed it very much. Its one of the sadnesses in my life that my father never really got to see any of this space adventure. Mostly because he was living in Malta on a yacht and they didn’t have TV. We were sailing in Yugoslavia when they first walked on the moon and he didn’t hear anything about it. I think he would have been interested.

We had a Quinoa salad on Thursday night with enough left for Friday. I gave the recipe last year, but if you don’t remember it I have given it below again. We find it quite delicious and very healthy of course. Quinoa is a grain and they sell it in the health food section of our grocery.

Cold Quinoa Salad with Chicken and Feta

By The Nourished Kitchen WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

A nutrient-dense, filling winter salad, quinoa combines with faintly bitter radicchio, chicken and salty feta cheese.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa, chilled

1 small head radicchio, chopped

1 cup cooked chicken, cut in bite-sized pieces

1/2 cup cubed feta cheese

1 small red onion, chopped fine

2 tbsp pine nuts

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Olive oil and vinegar dressing, to serve

Instructions

Toss cooked quinoa, chopped radicchio, cooked chicken, cubed feta cheese, chopped red onion, pine nuts and parsley together until all ingredients are well distributed.

Dress the salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar

Total Servings: 4

Have a great weekend

Car Breathalyzers in France, Card Programme, New Cookbook.

A friend on Facebook drew my attention to an article on the Budget site stating that French cars, including rentals, were going to have breathalyzers installed later this year. I think its an excellent idea although it might be a bit expensive for the private owner. I know these things cost in the region of $2,000 here so heaven knows what they cost in France. Their blood alcohol tolerance levels are lower than those in North America too so it’s a pretty good idea for tourists to know what’s what if they are planning to drive around the country. When, I wonder, will such a law be introduced over here? At the moment, in Canada, anyone convicted of impaired driving is required to have one attached to their car, but I am not sure for how long or whether its permanent. The trouble is, and I’ve seen it on the movies, the drunk driver can get a friend to blow in the machine and then the car will start although God help you if you are caught of course. Driver or friend.

I bought myself a new Hallmark Card programme, not one of the latest because I need to be able to print labels in differing amounts, not one whole page at a time. I did buy the latest but ended up returning it. I was recommended to buy Card Studio 10. I was been playing with it yesterday but was disappointed to find it doesn’t do business cards. I have an even older version on my laptop but it won’t work on a 64 bit version of Windows 7 which is what I have on my desktop. However, I can print business cards from the old programme so I guess I will make do, its not like I print a lot of them. Don’t know if I ever mentioned that I also print a business sized card for Matt and I showing all our medications on one side and operations on the other. Very useful when one is continually going to various doctors or for all kinds of tests and treatments.

A fascinating cookbook is discussed in this article which, among many other things, describes how to cook squirrel and beaver. I know that Brunswick Stew was originally a squirrel recipe although rarely, if ever, made that way these days. The author also describes how to skin and clean animals as well as giving recipes. This is one section of the book with the main purpose being and emphasis on getting back to the land. Martin Picard’s book Au Pied De Cochon Sugar Shack also carries lots of recipes for maple syrup of which he seems particularly fond. Picard is from Montreal where he is a celebrity chef. He has a restaurant close to Montreal where it can take a year to get a table. I wonder if there is an English version of this book, my French isn’t good enough to cope with a whole cookbook in that language.

Here is the recipe of the month from Mushrooms Canada. They recently held a competition called Mushroom Madness and this is one of the winners.

SAUSAGE AND ASIAGO STUFFED MUSHROOMS WITH BALSAMIC GLAZE
Mushrooms Canada – 3rd place winner in Mushroom Madness

Renee Kohlman is a chef and food blogger at Sweet Sugar Bean, living in Saskatoon, Sask. When not whipping up good things in her little green kitchen, you can find Renee outside in the garden, admiring her tomatoes and smelling the sweet peas. Unless it's winter of course, then you can find her cocooned with a good book, DVDs of "Mad Men,” and too much chocolate.

20 large mushrooms, cleaned with damp paper towel, stem removed and saved for later use
2 links Italian sausage
1 tsp dried rosemary OR 2 tsp fresh, finely chopped
1 tsp dried fennel seed
1 onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces (120grams) cream cheese
3 ounces (90grams) Asiago cheese, grated
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
In a large bowl, toss the mushrooms with the balsamic vinegar and 3 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Place onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in a preheated 350° oven for about 30 min. Stir once or twice. Remove from oven. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, over medium high heat, squeeze the sausage meat out of the casing and cook until no longer pink, breaking it apart with the back of a spoon. You want it fairly crumbly and in small pieces. Stir in onions and garlic and spices, and cook a few minutes longer, until onion is softened. (If you find that your sausage filling is too greasy, drain it on paper towel first before adding the cheese.) Remove from heat and place into a bowl, along with the cheeses
(save some of the Asiago for topping). Stir well to combine. Take a teaspoon and fill each mushroom cap. Sprinkle with remaining Asiago. Bake at 375° for about 30-40 minutes, until golden. Can easily be doubled if feeding a large crowd.

Have a great day

Pricey Primping, Busy Busy, Taxes

Watching Good Morning America yesterday, they had a segment called Pricey Primping on the kind of beauty treatments in which some of the stars indulge. A facial that ends up costing $10,000 – well why not, it uses diamonds and rubies on your face and also silk – and nail polish which is $5,000 a bottle or $60 a nail – again why not, its gold!!! I can’t believe that the reporter was permitted to do all this: in fact the nail polish used on her belonged to Rihanna, shown in the picture, and isn’t for sale – a charity item. Yahoo/ABC will have a big expense account to deal with. Obviously the nail polish will last a couple of days, but I guess not the facial. Do watch the video, its interesting. I know several people who would love this polish. I can’t believe the spill in the picture is the real stuff, who would waste it like that?

Finally got my laptop battery today, now I have to fully charge it, then fully discharge it and then charge it once again. Its turning out to be an expensive time for us lately what with one thing and another. Maybe it was February and now we are into a new month, we can draw our heads in a tad. Seems like most of the month is taken up with medical tests of one kind or another, particularly next week when I have my MRI plus we have two other medical things through the week. At least none of this costs us anything even if it takes a long time for certain tests or specialist visits.

Got our taxes done today, caused me a lot of confusion. An allowance Matt used to get in one hit is now paid throughout the year and will, as from July, be paid in monthly cheques. What a bugger, we liked to shove it in our savings for our vacations, I know we can still do that, but small sums tend to disappear easily if we aren’t careful, one large refund makes a difference. I use UFile for my tax returns, makes it so easy plus I can file electronically through them so its all done at one time and no messing. This is a picture of Parliament Hill which ends up getting to spend all our hard earned income.

I’m sorry, to those of you who don’t like it, but my mind is turning with longing to asparagus season which won’t be toooooo long now. May at the latest, although it has started before. We have had such a warm winter, the season may well start earlier this year.

Asparagus Frittata with Creme Fraiche and Chives

Source: Cooking.com

Makes about 40 squares

Frittatas are flat Italian omelettes. In spring, they are made with seasonal vegetables such as young artichokes, tender asparagus, baby leeks or wild mushrooms. When cut into bite-size pieces and garnished with a little crème fraîche and spring chives, they make a tasty hors d'oeuvre.

INGREDIENTS

6 large eggs

1/2 cup minced fresh chives

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons half and half

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

One 1-pound bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces

1/4 yellow onion, minced

1/3 cup crème fraîche or sour cream

DIRECTIONS

Preheat broiler.
Whisk eggs, 1/4 cup chives, parsley, Parmesan cheese, half and half, salt and pepper in large bowl until just blended. Melt butter and oil in heavy nonstick 10-inch-diameter omelette pan over medium heat. Add asparagus and onion and sauté until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Pour egg mixture over asparagus. Reduce heat to low; cook until edges are just set, about 3 minutes. Using heat-proof spatula, lift cooked edges of egg mixture and tilt pan so uncooked eggs run beneath. Continue cooking until egg mixture is nearly set on top, about 5 minutes.
Broil until just puffed and lightly golden on top, about 2 minutes.

Slide spatula under frittata to loosen; slide out onto cutting board. Cut frittata into 1-inch squares. (Can be made 1 hour ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Arrange squares on serving platter. Spoon dollop of crème fraîche atop each square. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chives and serve.

Recipe created exclusively for Cooking.com by Georgeanne Brennan.

Serving size = 1 square

Nutrition Information
Makes about 40 squares - Facts Per Serving:

Calories: 28 Fat. Total: 2g Carbohydrates, Total: 1g Cholesterol: 34mg
Sodium: 67mg Protein: 2g Fiber: 0g % Cal. from Fat: 64% Fat, Saturated:
0g

Have a great day