Re-Introducing Myself

This is a blogfest hosted by Stephen Tremp at Welcome To Author Stephen Tremp's Website where his blog today tells us something about who Stephen is. The intent is for all of us to tell something about ourselves which is what I hope to do.

I wrote my first blog on October 25th, 2007 and then the next day I wrote a post called Who Am I?

I am a Canadian and have been since 1978, however I started life as a mewling infant in Cheshire, England. They gave me World War II for my first birthday – you can work out for yourself how ancient I am. After that war, my parents went to live in the South of England, in Rochester of Charles Dickens’ fame; we eventually moved onto a Thames Barge called Iota. It was a wonderful craft. They were built to carry goods (bricks, straw) up and down England’s rivers and coastal waters, in particular the Thames which flows through London: someone got the idea of converting them to residences. The barges had flat bottoms so could go into the shallowest waters. They had leeboards on either side to prevent them drifting in the wrong direction. Most had a mainsail, topsail, and foresail. Some had a mizzen sail aft (at the back) as well and were usually operated by a man and a boy although I knew at least one married couple who operated a Thames barge for many years.

This was an incredible place to live. We had fitted carpets and a fridge (pretty luxurious in a boat) not many appliances available in the UK those days. I remember the fridge was a pain in the butt as it was propane fired and had to be kept level. Keeping a fridge level on a boat of any kind is difficult. I remember lots of problems and swearing about that fridge although I was only about 9 or so at the time. My father loved to sail so we took Iota to France, Holland and Belgium on many occasions. This was how I learned to love food and how my mother improved her skills as a gourmet cook. When she first got married, she literally couldn’t boil an egg. In later life she used to say that actually that is a difficult thing to do well. I am not quite sure at what age my father bought the second boat on which we lived, it was a converted MFV (Motor Fishing Vessel) but had never been used for fishing, in fact, during the war it had been used for mine sweeping. She was called Sunfish (registered as Silver Sunfish) and was a much better vessel for sailing where my father wanted to go, she could manage practically any weather the North Sea could throw at her. She was the last of my parent’s boats on which I lived, I went to live in the big city (London) in a bed sitter to live the glamorous life, ha!!

Because of the war, we moved around a lot as my father was in the Air Force. I went to nine different schools, so maybe that’s where I got my taste for travel. Must admit, I always disliked school, I found it very boring. Guess I was a poor student. I have the distinction of having attended one of the the same schools as Princess Di, Riddlesworth Hall in Norfolk, England. Some several years apart of course.
My father was also a very good cook, I suppose he taught my mother a lot about food, and, lucky me, my husband is also a good cook. You could say that good food is in my blood. Before I went to boarding school, I wouldn’t eat, especially stews which, because of the war, we had a lot of. I would sit for hours holding a mouthful and not swallowing. I think I improve a bit, then when I went to Riddlesworth food was adequate, but not enough. They used to serve us half a kipper for breakfast – I love kippers but had never been served just half a fish. My letters home were always full of requests for food. My mother would send me fruit cakes and such to put in my tuck box [a box for storing eatables (especially at boarding school)]. We were allowed to open our tuck boxes at weekends as far as I remember. We also had make and mend classes at weekends, I got away with pulling off a button from my pajama jacket and sewing it back on for the longest time, I was finally caught and was forced to repair them properly. I hated sewing, I don’t ever remember being taught although my mother could certainly both knit and sew. In my life I managed to knit one sweater and make one skirt and that was my lot. I used to embroider a lot, once upon a time. My paternal grandmother won prizes for embroidery, maybe I got it from her.

Anyway, that’s enough to let you know where I came fom. There’s more ‘stuff’ at the side on this page if you want to know more.

On Saturday my group of cooking friends and I are planning to prepare an Italian meal, we are spread around a few countries, and everyone seems to be doing something different although once upon a time we all used to try and cook the same thing. I was quite determined we would not do pasta, and I’m not, but one friend is doing a lasagna. This is my dessert choice assuming I can find unsalted pistachios.

BOLOGNESE RICE CAKE
3 cups milk
3/4 cup Arborio rice
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup unsalted pistachios, chopped
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp grated orange or lemon zest
2 Tbs rum
Confectioner's sugar for dusting

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the milk to a simmer. Add the rice, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the mixture is very soft and creamy. Stir often to prevent sticking.  Remove from heat and cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350° F.
3. Butter a 10-inch round cake pan.
4. Stir the eggs into the rice.
5. Add sugar, nuts, raisins, vanilla, butter, and zest.
6. Pour in the prepared baking pan.
7. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Remove from the oven.
9. While the cake is still warm, pierce the top in several places with a fork.
10. Pour the rum over the cake.
11. Cool to lukewarm.
12. Invert the cake to remove from the pan and invert again to a serving dish.
13. Cool completely.
Yield: Makes one 10-inch round cake
Author Notes
Bologna is the capitol of the northern region of Emilia Romagna in Italy.  Bolognese rice cake is served as a celebratory cake and is very typical during the Easter season. The cake is prepared with rice cooked in milk which is then mixed with sugar, nuts, and raisins, baked, and flavored with rum.  Rice cake is very dense and is usually served cold.  If you are looking for a gluten free dessert, Bolognese rice cake is a delicious choice.

Have a great day

Missing Blog, Bowling, PM, Privacy.

I know I started a blog, I had a recipe to share and everything, but it has just disappeared into cyberspace. You know, if one could access cyberspace there would be some fascinating stuff in there. If you were a sci fi writer, that could be a good theme for a story. Pity I can’t write, as in a story I mean, I can blether for ever on a blog, but I haven’t the dedication to write a story, be it short or long. Blether is a Scottish word by the way, I guess it translates as ramble on.

Being Friday yesterday, we went bowling. Matt had a couple of good games: the less said about my games, the better. I am seriously thinking of buying a 10 pin ball and rolling that down the alley, bet I would get a strike every time. Wouldn’t be legal of course, ah well!!! There is no rhyme of reason as to why one can bowl up a storm one minute, and bowl dismally the next. I certainly get lots of exercise my way, throwing three balls every time. People keep telling me I’m having fun too and that I am getting my money’s worth – LOL.

I see Ontario is getting a new premier, I am not, as I have frequently mentioned, political, but I did know who McGuinty was and now he’s leaving us. I wonder who we will get next. My father used to say the best form of government was a benevolent dictator, if you could find one. It would save a lot of hassle and a lot of money in election costs.

Whilst writing I was also thinking about the problems going on at the moment with a girl who gave intimate photos to a boyfriend which have since appeared on the internet. People are so silly, fancy giving anyone such a thing. Maybe once you are married (not that everyone marries these days) but to give them to a boyfriend, not a good idea. Even a spouse could betray you I suppose but they are less likely to.  People are always going on about private stuff getting on the internet, if you want to keep it private, don’t put it on the internet. No matter what, it will find its way into the public domain one way or another. Nothing on the internet is really private and nothing is really secure either. There are thousands of hackers out there who hack into stuff just because they can.

This recipe I found on Food and Wine and thought it sounded like one we would enjoy. I have never heard of Cerignola olives, will have to check them out.

Braised Pork Shoulder with Fennel and Olives

Contributed by Melissa Rubel Jacobson

Serves 8

1. 2 tablespoons canola oil
2. Two 2-pound pieces of boneless pork shoulder
3. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4. 2 fennel bulbs, cut into 1/2-inch wedges, plus 2 tablespoons chopped fennel fronds
5. 1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
6. 1 celery rib, thinly sliced
7. 1 carrot, thinly sliced
8. 4 garlic cloves, smashed
9. 2 tablespoons tomato paste
10. 3/4 cup dry white wine
11. 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
12. 2 thyme sprigs
13. 1 bay leaf
14. 2 cups green olives, preferably Cerignola

1. Preheat the oven to 300°. In a large cast-iron casserole, heat the canola oil. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper, add it to the casserole and cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 12 minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate.
2. Add the fennel wedges, onion, celery, carrot and garlic to the casserole and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the chicken broth, thyme and bay leaf. Return the pork to the casserole and add any accumulated juices. Bring to a boil. Cover and braise in the oven for 1 hour. Remove the lid and cook the pork for 2 hours longer, adding the olives after the first hour. The pork should be very tender.
3. Transfer the pork to a carving board. Cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Using a large spoon, skim the fat from the surface of the sauce. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Slice the pork and transfer to shallow bowls. Spoon the sauce and vegetables over the pork, sprinkle with the fennel fronds and serve.

Make Ahead The recipe can be refrigerated overnight. Reheat gently and garnish with the fennel before serving.Serve with Polenta.

Have a great weekend

Prescriptions, DNA Storage, Narnia.

Now I am teed off, even hopping mad. It appears that my pharmacy can no longer fax my doctor for a prescription renewal. My doctor’s office sent me a letter – if they did, I never received it. We now have to traipse all the way over to Cambridge which is a good half hour’s drive in order to see a nurse who will review my required renewal, make out a prescription and get the doctor to sign it. When you look at the number of pills we both take these days this is going to be a right bloody nuisance. As though we haven’t got anything better to do on the weekend. I have enough of the one’s approaching renewal to last me, but if I hadn’t the pharmacist would cover me til the weekend. Apparently this change is because they were getting thousands (?) of faxes which it was impossible for the doctor to go through so now there are two nurses designated to work at the weekends. It should be a 15 minute visit, no more, and if it is any longer, they will hire more nurses. That doesn’t take into account the hour driving both ways. I think I said we had no more doctor’s visits this week – shouldn’t have opened my mouth.

Now this is fascinating. Scientists have discovered a way to store information in synthetic DNA which they think will, eventually, enable greater storage than we have available to us today. At the moment they have stored all of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets a photo, a scientific paper and a sound clip from Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech into a barely visible bit of DNA in a test tube. At the moment it takes a long time to read it back, but this will improve they say. Do read the article, it is worth it. That makes me think, we have large portions of our brain which are never used. I don’t know, but have never heard that anyone has tried to access it, that would make a good information storage area.

Been watching some Narnia movies over the last two nights. I enjoy them now and again. However, I discover that another one is likely to be in 2018 due to the fact that nobody renewed the appropriate contracts. The 4th one will be The Magician’s Nephew, not the Silver Chair. There is apparently some kind of moratorium on the books at the moment and whoever does make the movie cannot release it without the involvement of Walden Media. I don’t pretend to really understand it, but seems like it will take years. Which means that the kid who played Eustace in Dawn Treader will be too old for The Silver Chair. It also means that in the last book, all the ‘children’ will be well into adulthood so they will have to use other actors. Pity. I haven’t read Magician’s Nephew in a long time, I remember I didn’t enjoy it as much, however, maybe I should re-read it.

Cooking.com sent me this recipe and I thought it sounded a good one. Scallions, green onions or spring onions.

Braised Chicken with Scallion Purée

Source: Saveur Magazine

4 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 chicken, cut into 4 pieces

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

5 bunches scallions, trimmed and thickly sliced

1/3 cup white wine

3 cups chicken stock

2 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

2 tablespoon heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and cook, skin side down, until golden, about 5 minutes. Turn chicken, add two thirds of the scallions, and brown chicken on other side, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter.

Continue to cook scallions until just soft, 1 to 2 minutes more. Add wine, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, and reduce by half. Return chicken to skillet, and add stock and potatoes. Reduce heat to medium low, and braise, partially covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 50 minutes.

Transfer chicken to a platter, and loosely cover with foil. Strain braising liquid into a small bowl. Transfer potatoes and scallions to a medium bowl. Return braising liquid to skillet, and reduce by half over high heat. Add remaining scallions, and cook for 30 seconds. Mash reserved potatoes and scallions with a fork; then stir in heavy cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Put potatoes on a serving platter, arrange chicken over potatoes, and spoon scallions over chicken.

Have a great day

Language, Water, Books.

Churchill said it best, he described England and America as being two nations divided by a common language. This does tend to apply to Canada as well. Yet in some places, and in some areas, the same words are used. What made me think of this was in my blog yesterday the recipe included reference to a Dutch Oven. An English friend enquired what that was. I never even thought of it having lived on this continent for 37 years, it didn’t strike me at all.  I guess the original Dutch Ovens were suspended over open fires. According to Wikipedia, in England we called them casseroles. According to Wikipedia as well, they should mostly be cast iron, but very few are any more I think, just basically a large saucepan with a lid and handles either side. I used to have cast iron ones years ago. Did you know if you drop cast iron, it breaks? Guess how I found out?

We had a lot of snow on Tuesday and by the time we got up on Wednesday the roads were pretty well covered. However, we live on a bus route so they help deal with the snow and Matt headed off for his usual weekly shop at 7 a.m. He said the roads weren’t too bad. I would have preferred him to go later, but……. When he drove home he couldn’t use the route he normally takes, one road was shut. We discovered later that a water main had bust which meant we had no water in the building for a while. I managed to get enough water to make coffee and to have a wash, but not a shower. Matt showered earlier of course.

Later in the morning he surgeon looked at Matt’s eye operation and is apparently very happy with it. Didn’t take out the stitches yet though, we thought he would. Would you believe we don’t have any kind of medical appointment for the rest of the week.

I am just about to start Cold Days by Jim Butcher, a Harry Dresden novel. I have enjoyed every one of his Dresden novels, very well written and extremely funny in places. Harry Dresden is a working wizard in Chicago and gets up to all kinds of things fighting all the things which go bump in the night. Although right now, he has got himself caught up working for bad Queen Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness. He is her Winter Knight which he doesn’t really wish to be. Forgot to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my last book, Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold. A very good Miles Vorkosigan story. I think I just might go back and reread some of those books as well as some of the Dresden files. Like I haven’t got hundreds of books to read which I haven’t even opened yet!!

This is a different way of using rhubarb although its not in season round here at the moment. I’ve always enjoyed lemon meringue pie.

Rhubarb and Ginger Queen of Puddings

A grand traditional dessert of poached fruit, cake and light meringue peaks - serve hot from the oven

Ingredients

• 140g shop-bought Madeira cake or breadcrumbs
• 4 eggs , separated
• 400ml milk
• ½ tsp grated nutmeg
• 250g golden caster sugar (light brown sugar)
• 500g rhubarb , cut into 4cm batons
• 4 balls stem ginger, chopped, plus 2 tbs syrup

1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Break the cake into fine crumbs or place in a food processor and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs. Place the crumbs in the bottom of a 22cm round ovenproof baking dish. In a jug, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, nutmeg and 50g of the sugar. Pour the custard mixture over the crumbs and leave to soak for 10 mins. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 45 mins, until the custard is set but still has a little wobble.
2. Meanwhile, make the filling. Place the rhubarb in a saucepan with 100g of the remaining sugar, stem ginger, syrup and 2 tbs water. Set over a medium heat and cook for 15-20 mins until the rhubarb is tender. Leave to cool. Can be done up to this point the day before.
3. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Place the egg whites in a large clean bowl and, using an electric whisk, whisk the whites until soft peaks form. At this stage, begin to slowly add the remaining 100g sugar, beating well between each addition, until all the sugar is incorporated and the meringue is stiff and glossy.
4. Drain the rhubarb, keeping the syrup, then spoon onto the baked custard. Spoon or pipe the meringue on top and bake for 15-20 mins until the meringue is browned. Serve hot with the rhubarb syrup.

Have a great day

Winter, Old Cars, Old Movies.

We are presently suffering through an icy arctic blast in Canada at the moment plunging many into negative double digits. The actual thermometer reading locally isn’t that bad, but with the wind they are talking -25°C which is damned cold. Thank God for heating in cars. I had to go for a follow up with a surgeon this morning and it was very cold. I am wearing my warmest coat which I didn’t wear once last winter. Trouble is, with wind like this it is very difficult to keep the apartment warm. I recently discovered apartment building owners are only legally bound to keep temps at 72°C and that is warm enough if you are doing things, but when you are sitting around reading or watching TV, not warm enough. We end up wearing sweaters and I often have a blanket over my legs. Mind you if the sun decides to shine in our windows, no problem. It heats the room up beautifully.

Re-reading what I wrote, I can remember cars which didn’t have heating. In really snowy or even foggy weather you could open up the front windshield to help you see where you were going which, naturally, made it even colder.

Basically, you unclipped the sides and pushed the windshield up. It hinged at the top. Talking about this with Matt he just told me his first car, a 1938 Austin Ruby, 8 h.p., which had inflatable seats. I have never heard of that before. If he still had that car, it would be worth money today.

I watched How to Steal a Million on TV, and enjoyed it. Peter O’Toole and Audrey Hepburn. They were so young. I had forgotten how lovely she was. He wasn’t bad looking either. Not sure how come I had never seen the movie before, its quite a fun romp. Matt didn’t think much of it, left part way, but I enjoyed it.

Matt has to go for a follow up tomorrow, for his eye surgery the other day. We seem to be constantly on the run to one doctor or another. Don’t seem to have time for anything. I have several blogs to catch up on. I will get to it eventually.

When its cold, one automatically things of warming foods and this seemed to fit the bill to me.

Buffalo Chicken Casserole

From EatingWell: September/October 2010

We took the classic flavors of Buffalo wings—hot sauce, blue cheese, carrots and celery—and created a finger-licking-good casserole. Serve this dish during football season to a hungry crowd and it’s sure to be a hit. We don’t typically recommend ingredients by brand name, but in this case we make an exception for Frank’s RedHot Sauce. It has the perfect balance of spice and tang for this casserole. Texas Pete and Crystal hot sauces are suitable alternatives if you can’t find Frank’s.

8 servings

Ingredients

• 12 ounces whole-wheat elbow noodles
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 medium carrots, sliced
• 3 medium stalks celery, sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 4 cups low-fat milk
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons hot sauce, preferably Frank’s RedHot
• 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 4 ounces)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Bring a Dutch oven of water to a boil. Cook noodles until barely tender, about 2 minutes less than package directions. Drain, rinse and set aside.
3. Heat oil in the pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink on the outside, 5 to 7 minutes. Whisk cornstarch and milk in a medium bowl; add to the pot along with salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often, until bubbling and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in hot sauce.
4. Spread the noodles in a 9-by-13-inch (or similar 3-quart) baking dish. Top with the chicken mixture; sprinkle with blue cheese.
5. Bake the casserole until it is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: In Step 2, cook the noodles 4 minutes less than package directions. Prepare through Step 4, cover and refrigerate for 1 day. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, then bake at 400°F for 45 minutes.

Have a great day

Bowling, Books, Crêpes.

Bowling wasn’t great on Monday. I beat my average once, other two games very mediocre. Matt did very well, on the other hand. The weather was pretty chilly although not snowing. Keep reading about snow in Europe and we only have a heavy dusting – we are supposed to have lots of the stuff by now. Not that I want it when we are driving anywhere. Thought we might have been caught last night when we went to dinner but it never amounted to anything luckily.

Just finished The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. I think I had read it before, a long time ago. Enjoyed it even so. I have now just started Cryoburn by the same author, a Miles Vorkosigan story which I had missed. Looks pretty good. Starts with Miles having been attacked with a view to abduction. Somehow he ended up trying to find his way through miles and miles of drawers containing bodies which have been frozen and stored. All about cryogenics. Interesting topic for a story although not unique.

I love crêpes, always looked forward to Shrove Tuesday when we used to have them. Often with sugar and lemon or butter and sugar, or even all three. This recipe gives some alternative fillings too. Crêpes can be stored in the freezer for quite a long time if you want. I have another recipe which maybe I will post tomorrow, for Gundel’s Crêpes which hark back to a restaurant in Budapest. I have made those several times for dinner parties. I always stack my crêpes with grease proof paper in between. I have recipes from an article in Eating Well which we used to take a few years back, there were different ways of making the crêpes as well as a variety of fillings. Having typed all this, I think I just might make some this week. I do have a few bought ones in the freezer, but Matt doesn’t like them much.

Crêpes with Sugar and Lemon

Source: America's Test Kitchen

Crêpes will give off steam as they cook, but if at any point the skillet begins to smoke, remove it from the heat immediately and turn down the heat. Stacking the crêpes on a wire rack allows excess steam to escape so they won’t stick together. To allow for practice, the recipe yields 10 crêpes; only eight are needed for the filling.
INGREDIENTS

½ teaspoon vegetable oil

1 cup (5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar, plus 8 teaspoons sugar for sprinkling

¼ teaspoon table salt

1½ cups whole milk

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

l lemon, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS

Place oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet and heat over low heat for at least 10 minutes.

While skillet is heating, whisk together flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, and salt in medium bowl. In separate bowl, whisk together milk and eggs. Add half of milk mixture to dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Add butter and whisk until incorporated. Whisk in remaining milk mixture until smooth.

Using paper towel, wipe out skillet, leaving thin film of oil on bottom and sides. Increase heat to medium and let skillet heat for 1 minute. After 1 minute, test heat of skillet by placing 1 teaspoon batter in center and cook for 20 seconds. If mini crêpe is golden brown on bottom, skillet is properly heated; if it is too light or too dark, adjust heat accordingly and retest.

Pour ¼ cup batter into far side of pan and tilt and shake gently until batter evenly covers bottom of pan. Cook crêpe without moving it until top surface is dry and crêpe starts to brown at edges, loosening crêpe from side of pan with rubber spatula, about 25 seconds. Gently slide spatula underneath edge of crêpe, grasp edge with fingertips, and flip crêpe. Cook until second side is lightly spotted, about 20 seconds. Transfer cooked crêpe to wire rack, inverting so spotted side is facing up. Return pan to heat and heat for 10 seconds before repeating with remaining batter. As crêpes are done, stack on wire rack.

Transfer stack of crêpes to large microwave-safe plate and invert second plate over crêpes. Microwave on high power until crêpes are warm, 30 to 45 seconds (45 to 60 seconds if crêpes have cooled completely). Remove top plate and wipe dry with paper towel. Sprinkle upper half of top crêpe with 1 teaspoon sugar. Fold unsugared bottom half over sugared half, then fold into quarters. Transfer sugared crêpe to second plate. Continue with remaining crêpes. Serve immediately, passing lemon wedges separately.

Crêpes with Bananas and Nutella

Follow recipe for Crêpes with Sugar and Lemon, omitting 8 teaspoons sprinkling sugar and lemon wedges. Spread 2 teaspoons Nutella over top half of each crêpe followed by eight to ten ¼-inch-thick banana slices. Fold crêpes into quarters. Serve immediately.

Crêpes with Honey and Toasted Almonds

Follow recipe for Crêpes with Sugar and Lemon, omitting 8 teaspoons sprinkling sugar and lemon wedges. Drizzle 1 teaspoon honey over top half of each crêpe and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons finely chopped toasted sliced almonds and small pinch salt. Fold crêpes into quarters. Serve immediately.

Have a great day

Weekend Weather, Aging, Ribs Dinner.

What a delightful weekend, weather wise. Its been blowing a gale the whole time which we really know because our apartment block is on a hill so it whistles round the building like a banshee sometime. Sunday morning we woke up to snow, the last lot having virtually gone again. The UK seems to be getting more snow than we are this year. A lot of them seem to be enjoying it and one friend posted a picture of his son and a snowman. Somewhat smaller than we are used to seeing here. Although I don’t think there will be many this big at the moment, not enough snow although did see a few in the last snow fall.

Reading Strange Pegs by Andrew Leon I commented about aging and he replied that Science keeps saying his generation will be the last to die and that by the time his children are adults scientists will have found out how to turn off the aging gene. I wonder if that will really happen, science fiction has been writing about prolonging life for years. If it does happen, they really will have to pull their fingers out and make colonies on the moon and so forth as earth will get over overcrowded pretty quickly. We are doing a pretty good job of overcrowding now, what on earth it will be like in 100 years I dread to think. If I had one wish fulfilled, I would love to come back and see what’s happening in 200 years time, then maybe again in another 200 years. Think I read a story like that once.

Had a fun evening at the Rolled Rib dinner last night. It was, actually, a much nicer event that the pig tails one that we go to every year. The tables were laid with cloths and napkins and we were served everything until the main course. With the rolled ribs they had mashed taties, corn, carrots and squash and, of course, gravy. It was all very good and very filling. There were desserts but we didn’t bother. We did hit a bit of a snow storm on the way over and I think Matt was actually a bit worried about what it would be like driving home. We did have to scrape snow off the car, but the driving wasn’t bad at all. Thank Goodness. They are uncooked in the picture. I can never find out just how you prepare and cook these. They are very good.

Needless to say, we got home in plenty of time for Downton Abbey so I won’t have to pay iTunes to see the current episode.

I used to drink Black or White Russians once upon a time, haven’t had one in years. This is a twist on an old theme. This just reminded me how much I used to like Irish Coffee too.

Dominicana

Contributed by Richard Boccato

• SERVINGS:Makes 1 Drink

Sasha Petraske taught Richard Boccato this White Russian variation when Boccato worked for him at Milk & Honey. Boccato makes it with Caffé Lolita coffee liqueur.

1 ounce heavy cream

1. 1/4 ounce Simple Syrup
2. Ice
3. 1 1/2 ounces añejo rum
4. 1 1/2 ounces coffee liqueur

1. In a cocktail shaker, combine the cream, Simple Syrup and 1 ice cube. Shake well to aerate the cream and melt the ice.
2. Fill a pint glass with ice. Add the rum and liqueur; stir well. Strain into a chilled coupe. Spoon the whipped cream on top.

Have a great day

Lance, Medical, Jeopardy.

So he finally admitted it – I didn’t see the programme, but its all over the news. I don’t know what that will mean to his future, I have heard of civil action suits and he has already lost all his titles etc. I gather he claims everyone does it. I was never very interested in the Tour de France anyway, but I know he was a hero to many people especially with his cancer record and the Livestrong movement which has been damaged by all this, although I gather they are able to carry on. I know one friend of mine really thought he was great at the time, she must be very disappointed. Haven’t discussed it with her.

As you may recall, I have been treated for a urinary tract infection since August and have had 9 lots of antibiotics which caused me other problems too. Friday I went for a cystoscopy and a chat with a urologist. He said I shouldn’t have been given so many antibiotics without a culture being done. Upon examination he said there wasn’t any sign of infection in my bladder anyway. He defined it as an overactive bladder and gave me some pills to help. I think I am also going for an X-ray on my kidneys just in case. However, he gave me a short list of things I should avoid for the time being because they can aggravate the bladder. Smoking, caffeine, citrus, spicy foods and alcohol. I don’t smoke, I drink decaf, and don’t drink orange juice or anything, but alcohol, that’s a different kettle of fish. Means I shouldn’t drink my wine. We drink some wine on Saturday nights, looks like I will have to lay off it for a while. Mind you for this dinner we are going to on Sunday at the Legion, I cannot possibly lay off. I will be good afterwards.

Do you watch Jeopardy? We do religiously. Right now the 2 day champion is a young woman from Toronto and a local radio announcer, Randolph J. Johnson, said he was at school with her. He is the DJ to whom I talk when I give recipes out on the radio now and again. The first night the champion, don’t remember her name, won $40,000 odd and $16,000 odd the second night. I really thought she was going to be beaten, but in final Jeopardy she had the answer and her closest competitor didn’t.

This looks like a tasty snack.

Bread "Fries" with Marinara "Ketchup"Garlic

Contributed by Grace Parisi
SERVINGS:8 to 10

In this imaginative party snack, addictive garlicky bread sticks and marinara sauce resemble French fries and ketchup.

1. 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3. 3 large garlic cloves, minced
4. 1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
5. 1 large baguette, split and halved
6. 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
7. Marinara sauce, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 450°. In a medium skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the parsley.
2. Place the bread on a baking sheet, cut sides up, and spoon the garlic butter on top. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes. Light the broiler and broil for 1 minute, just until golden. Cut the bread into 1/2-inch “fries” and serve in paper cones, with the marinara on the side.

Have a great weekend

Blogless

Sorry no blog today. Internet was off last night again. Today I have to go to outpatients for a procedure so no time this morning.

Have a great day
 

Book, Bill, Medical.

Amazing, on Tuesday night I was about to go to bed, decided to check my Kindle and its power level. I needed a new book selection and clicked on Wait for Me by Elisabeth Naughton, read a couple of words, big mistake, I couldn’t put it down. I had to force myself to bed an hour or so later. Couldn’t wait to get back to it. I ended up finishing it after supper yesterday. It was better at the beginning than at the end, but nevertheless, I enjoyed it very much. I will watch for this author again. I now have another Lois McMaster Bujold to read, The Curse of Chalion. Never read anything of hers other than the Miles Vorkosigan books which are space stories whereas this one appears to have magic in it.

Got the bill from our local ISP provider who also does our phone and TV as well as cell phone. Because we were not receiving any service at all for about 24 hours, they knocked about $20 which was reasonable. I was concerned about my cell phone bill which we normally use very little, but I had been calling them lots in this crisis, but I understand now that it was OK because it was a 1-800 number I was calling so it didn’t get charged. Phew. I also learned I was supposed to call them on a special number, have forgotten what it was, maybe 211.

Much to our dismay Matt’s eye started bleeding yesterday, around 5 p.m. and we figured it was enough to page the doctor. Eventually he called back and said apply pressure which we didn’t want to do because it is his eye, after all. The doctor figured it was because of the blood thinners. Matt sure hasn’t done anything energetic that would cause it to start again. Eventually it stopped and hopefully it won’t happen again. Today he is supposed to begin a course of visits to his cardiologist who sees him every year because of his mini strokes (didn’t know they looked after both). Hopefully there won’t be any more eye problems to stop this visit.

Our local fish store sends out recipes quite frequently and this is one they sent this week. It seems to me it could be made with any firm white fish.

Cod Mare Chiaro

4 medium red potatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound cod

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned

6 pitted kalamata olives, sliced

1 teaspoon capers, rinsed

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

4 fresh basil leaves, torn

salt

freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut potatoes into quarters. Toss in a bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 tsp. oregano, salt and pepper. Place in a small roasting pan and roast for twenty minutes. While potatoes are cooking, warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat, add the chopped garlic, sauté until garlic is golden (2-3 minutes). Add the chopped tomatoes to the garlic and oil. Allow the tomatoes to come to a simmer then add the sliced olives and capers, the rest of the oregano, salt, pepper, and two of the torn basil leaves; cook for 2 more minutes. When the potatoes have roasted for 20 minutes clear a space in the center of the pan, add the cod, cover with tomato sauce and roast with the potatoes for 20 more minutes. Remove from oven, divide between two plates, garnish with the remaining fresh basil leaves and serve.

Serves 2 generously

Have a great day

Train Crash, Matt’s Convalescence, The Legion

Here’s an odd story, a cleaner in Sweden stole a train and drove it 1.6 Kms before crashing it into an apartment block. She was the only person hurt. They have no apparent motive – I guess she just fancied trying to drive one, they say at the end of the article that its not that difficult but can’t understand how she got the keys to the train.

Tuesday, we didn’t do a darned thing – Matt was looking after his eye which is improving somewhat although he looks as though someone socked him. He has to take it fairly easy for about a week to be sure it doesn’t start bleeding or anything. His eye was pouring in the morning, worse than before he had the operation, however, that slowed down considerably by the afternoon.

Friends phoned to ask us to go with them to the Legion on Sunday for rolled ribs. We said yes, so she got us some tickets. Then I remembered Sunday evening is Downton Abbey, wail, now what do I do. We do have a VCR recorder, but I haven’t used it in so long I have totally forgotten how to. Will have to get out the book of words. I think I still have a blank cassette. I don’t think its re-run anywhere.

This is a take on Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Ham and Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

From EatingWell: Fall 2004, The Essential EatingWell Cookbook (2004)

Making a pocket in the chicken breast to hold the stuffing is easy with a good, sharp, thin-bladed knife. Browning the chicken in a skillet before baking gives it a beautiful golden color, and finishing in the oven ensures that it cooks evenly throughout.

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup grated Swiss, Monterey Jack or part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped ham
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (1-1 1/4 pounds total)
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Use a baking sheet with sides and lightly coat it with cooking spray.
2. Mix cheese, ham, mustard and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up the breast and place one-fourth of the filling in the center. Close the breast over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and filling.
4. Lightly beat egg white with a fork in a medium bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow glass dish. Hold each chicken breast half together and dip in egg white, then dredge in breadcrumbs. (Discard leftovers.)
5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts; cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center or until an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F, about 20 minutes.

Have a great day

MOP, A to Z Challenge,

Yesterday morning we were up at 5 a.m. to get Matt to the hospital early in order to have an operation to tighten the skin of his eye. I do NOT like getting up so early, but when you have to take blood sugar readings, eat breakfast, etc. etc. no help for it. The hospital we went to was St. Mary’s and I don’t think we have ever been in there except into the emergency dept. a couple of times, but never into the main hospital. Funnily enough, that’s the same place, even the same area, I have to go to on Friday but at 11:45 not 7:30. They call it Minor Out Patient, or MOP. Thought it was funny. The volunteer realised I didn’t walk very well so got me a wheel chair. Nice of him. Talking of which, the volunteer came to us with the hand sanitizer and squirted our hands instead of leaving it to our own discretion. A precaution against flu I imagine, they don’t want an epidemic here. Trouble is, I find that stuff dries my hands up so I had to add hand cream a little while later.

Yesterday, lots of blogs announcing the 2013 A to Z Challenge and listing the team of 13 who will be the hosts this year. Last year I did A2Z recipes and am planning to do the same thing this year. I found that rather fun searching for recipes which fitted some of the more obscure letters, X being one. I write a blog every day so don’t find it too difficult, but some bloggers only post one or two a week so they really find it a challenge to write a blog every day (except Sunday) for a whole month. I ‘met’ quite a few bloggers last year and hope to meet more this year although I find it difficult to keep up with all the posts throughout the year. How Alex Cavanaugh manages to visit so many blogs plus read and answer the very many comments he gets on his own blog I could never imagine. He must spend 24 hours on his computer. I am glad he does though, he is one of my most regular commenters.

Here’s a nice recipe for one’s waistline. It looks pretty scrumptious to me though. Some people don’t like coconut, but I do.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with Coconut Frosting

Source: Fine Cooking - Issue 37
Cooking.com

Serves sixteen  (tiny eaters perhaps?)

Baking the layers at 300 degrees F keeps the cake exceptionally moist. Serve it at room temperature; the coconut softens when refrigerated.
INGREDIENTS
For the Cake:
3/4 cup cocoa powder (I use Hershey's)
1 1/2 cups boiling water
6 oz. (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into six pieces
3/4 cup sour cream
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 oz. (3 cups) cake flour
3 cups sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Frosting:
6 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 to 2 teaspoons coconut extract (or to taste)
1 lb. unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, softened (but not at all melted)
4 cups large shaved coconut (fresh or desiccated), toasted

DIRECTIONS
TO MAKE THE CAKE:
Heat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch cake pans with kitchen parchment and set them aside (there's no need to grease the pans). Put the cocoa powder in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Pour the boiling water over the cocoa and whisk until smooth. Add the butter and sour cream and blend on low speed until the butter melts. Allow the mixture to cool for a minute if still very hot, and then add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, sift together the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients a little at a time to the butter mixture, scraping down the sides once or twice. Increase the speed to medium and blend for another 3 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until the center of the cake feels firm and the cake just barely begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, 50 minutes to 1 hour (begin checking after 45 minutes). Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool completely before frosting.
TO MAKE THE FROSTING:
Put the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and coconut milk. Stir to combine and then bring to a boil. As the mixture heats, begin whipping the eggs on high speed. Boil the coconut milk and sugar until the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage (238 degrees F on a candy thermometer). Remove the mixture from the heat. Stop the mixer and pour a small amount of the syrup into the egg yolks. Quickly beat on high again. Repeat twice more until all the syrup is incorporated. (You can also add the sugar syrup in a steady stream with the mixer on, but be careful not to let it hit the beater or the syrup will be flung to the sides of the bowl where it will harden.) Continue beating until the mixture is cool. Add the coconut extract. With the mixer on medium speed, begin beating in the butter 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time. When the butter is completely incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat another 1 minutes.
TO ASSEMBLE:
Use the frosting right away to fill and frost the cooled cake or cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use. (Bring chilled buttercream to room temperature before using, beating briefly to smooth it, if necessary.) Pat on a generous coating of the shaved toasted coconut over the sides and top and, if you like, between the layers.

Have a great day