Weather, English Radio,

Tuesday morning I thought the eclipse had finally found us. It went so dark at about 9 a.m. we had to switch on the lights. Turned out to be rain clouds. I now hear there will be another eclipse in 2024 which is supposed to pass over Southern Ontario and Southern Québec. Assuming I am still here in 7 years' time.

I was remembering living in England this morning and listening to the radio. At 9:15 am they read a book for 15 minutes which I usually listened to. Several novels they read I suddenly "got" like The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. Never could read it myself. Saturday afternoon there was usually a play. I used to iron and listen at the same time. One play I remember was Lost Horizon. Then they had lots of comedians - mostly in the evenings. Some of the best came from Aunty BBC as we used to call it. Of course, there wasn't any advertising either in those days. I can't remember how they subsidised themselves. I know when TV first came out we had to have a TV license. But once advertising came along I guess that was no longer necessary.

Got my hair cut. The young lady did a pretty good job. I promised I would be back.

This traditional Italian recipe has been converted to a one pot version and might be well worth trying out.

One-Pot Cacio e Pepe

This simple and classic pasta dish just got easier -- all of the ingredients are cooked together in the same pot, and the sauce reduces while the pasta cooks, no draining necessary! Don't wait for water to

boil again.

12 oz thin spaghetti, broken in half (see note)
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
2 tsp lemon juice
½ cup grated Pecorino-Romano, plus more for serving
1 Tbs unsalted butter
½ cup grated Parmesan
2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper, plus more for serving

1. boil over medium-high heat. Continue to cook, stirring the spaghetti frequently to keep it from clumping, until it is al dente, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Gradually sprinkle in the Pecorino and stir until completely melted, then add the butter. Sprinkle in the Parmesan, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir until melted and smooth-the cheese will clump at first but will melt into the sauce and thicken it up after about 4 minutes. Divide the spaghetti among 4 bowls and garnish with additional Pecorino and pepper.

Servings: 4

Tips
The success of this recipe is dependent upon the specific pasta shape suggested, so we don't recommend substitutions

Have a great day
 

Eclipse to Balcony, Hair Salon, Bowling,

I understand that the traffic jams for people who travelled to see the eclipse are horrendous. I heard of one woman who travelled 20 hours to see it. In my opinion she is nuts. We sure didn't get any noticeable diminution of light here, too far away I guess. Not only that we had men crawling all over our balcony and dismantling scaffolding. I hadn't realised just how much light had been cut out by this scaffolding and the wood which was used for the concrete formers. Our balcony looks one heck of a mess with lots of bits and pieces and unused concrete etc. Still a fair amount of work to be done I guess. Another thing they did today was to grind the edges of the concrete. Glad I saw it so I could turn off the a/c. There was a heck of a lot of dust.

Today I am going to a new hairdresser for a hair cut. The couple we used to go to just disappeared without saying anything which I thought was rather odd. Matt has been there twice already but I haven't been there yet. But, boy do I ever need a cut. I hacked at some of it a few weeks ago and just have not had the time to go.

I meant to check whether the other bowling alley in town was open this week. Will have to do so this morning. If they are we will have to pick up our shoes and balls from our home alley.

I am always on the lookout for mushroom recipes. This sounded like a good one.

Mushroom Almond Paté

You can substitute walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts for the almonds

in this recipe with excellent results.

4 Tbs butter
1 onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 lb sliced mushrooms
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1. Heat the butter in a skillet over moderate heat and saute the onion, garlic, mushrooms, thyme, salt, and pepper until the onion is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. Process the almonds in an electric blender or food  processor to make a paste. Add the mushroom mixture and process until smooth. Refrigerate until set.

2. Serve with bread, crackers, or pita bread.

Servings: 6-8

Source: WW Recipes

Have a great day
 

Eclipse, Bowling,

For those of you in the path of the eclipse today, do please be careful of  your eyes. A very short amount of exposure is damaging to them. I must admit I would not bother to travel to see the event. I gather they are expecting hundreds of people to do so. I think I might be nervous about driving home in case some of the 'viewers' had not properly protected their eyes and could no longer see well enough to drive home.

We will both be upset not to be able to bowl this week but they are re-surfacing the lanes which has to be done every year.There is just a slight possibility we might be able to bowl on Thursday. At least there is a possibility we might be able to go to Victoria Bowl.

The author of the following recipe started off by making a filling for pot stickers but, as he said, he spent another 45 minutes or so, after making this recipe, pleating the pastry for the pot stickers. He decided in future to just make the filling and eat it as is. I thought this was a good idea too and share the recipe with you.

Quinoa Cabbage Salad

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
2 cup cabbage
1/2 cup carrots
1/2 cup green onion
1/2 cup zucchini
3 Tbs soy sauce
3 Tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tsp natural cane sugar
2 tsp sesame oil

1. Place quinoa and water in a medium pot, bring to a boil, reduce, and cover. Let cook for 15 minutes until water has been absorbed.

2. While quinoa is cooking, in a pan, heat oil. Place carrots, green onions, and zucchini in pan and saute until vegetables are slightly tender. Add in cabbage and continue to saute until cabbage has cooked through and wilted slightly. Once vegetables are ready, stir in soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sugar. Continue to cook until liquid is almost gone, about 1-2 more minutes.

3. Stir vegetables into quinoa and serve right away.

Servings: 2

Source: Naturally Ella
Author: Erin Alderson

Have a great day
 

Saturday Recipe

I have been hunting around on Pinterest to find a copy of the Red Lobster Chocolate Wave Cake. I fan find lots of pictures but between Denise Hammond and myself, the only actual recipe we found was the one that follows. This recipe makes individual cakes and not one complete cake as made by The Red Lobster. Not only that theirs has layers of a ganache or something similar and is absolutely delicious.  Finally there is no white chocolate used. The picture above is the one of the original cake. However, this does look like a good chocolate cake recipe so thought I would post it anyway. I have seriously thought about buying a whole cake $40 and cutting it in slices then freezing it. I do so love this cake and as I am a confirmed chocoholic I am tempted to do just that. I brought a slice home with me last Tuesday and have been eating small amounts of it all week. Their servings are huge.

Chocolate Wave Cake

3/4 cup butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp cornstarch
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp Grand Marnier

White-Chocolate Truffle
6 oz white chocolate
3 Tbs heavy cream
3 Tbs softened butter
2 Tbs Grand Marnier

1. Melt butter in a double boiler over medium-low heat. Add chocolate chips, heating until mixture is melted.

2. Combine sugar and cornstarch in a large mixing bowl. Add chocolate mixture to sugar mixture and beat well.

3. In a separate bowl, combine four eggs, four yolks, and Grand Marnier. Add this to the chocolate mixture and beat until well mixed. Cover and chill overnight.

4. For Truffle: Melt the white chocolate and heavy cream in a double boiler over low heat. Add butter and Grand Marnier and stir until smooth. Chill overnight.

5. Butter and flour individual 5-ounce ramekins. Fill 1/3 of each with the chilled chocolate mixture. Add a rounded tablespoon of the truffle mixture. Fill to the top with the chocolate mixture.

6. Bake at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes. Let the cakes sit for 15-20 minutes before inverting. Run a knife around the edges to loosen.

7. Serve with chocolate sauce, raspberries, and/or ice cream if desired.

Servings: 6

Source: CDKitchen.com

Have a great weekend

Wednesday/Thursday

Wednesday we went to the bowling alley for our lunch and played one game but I was not feeling 100% so we came home early. IBS playing me up. Then I really didn't feel like writing a blog as I had little or nothing to talk about. I stretched out in my lounger and felt sorry for myself LOL.

Thursday I made some Picadillo for supper and then we went bowling. I had two excellent games and one reasonable. Matt was the same. No pressure I guess. The Picadillo, which we ate in the evening, was very good. First time I have ever made it. Matt always did so before.

I bought a DVD of Dunkirk which I thought was the movie but turned out to be BBC programmes as it turns out, the two episodes we watched were excellent. A lot of people probably don't realise it is only 22 miles across the Channel from Dover to Calais. The channel is wider in some places of course, but it isn't very far which is why a number of small yachts were able to cross to Dunkirk to help with the evacuation of the BEF. (British Expeditionary Force). My history of that time isn't very good, but certainly England was not prepared for war, Prime Minister Baldwin having tried everything he could to not get into a war, they didn't do anything much about arming and training British soldiers. In fact Baldwin and his faction didn't/wouldn't believe Germany was rearming.

I just came across this recipe tonight, one I saved a while back and which I intended to try but have never done so. I save so many recipes and sometimes I forget that I have done so.

Chocolate soup

3/4 cup double cream
7 1/4 oz good-quality dark chocolate
1/2 cup strong coffee
4 Tbs brandy (optional)
vanilla ice cream, to serve

1. Put the cream in a saucepan over a medium heat and gently bring to the boil. Meanwhile, chop the chocolate into small pieces using a heavy knife and prepare the coffee.

2. Once the cream is just boiling, turn off the heat and throw in the chopped chocolate. Stir gently until completely smooth, then add the coffee and brandy (if using).

3. To serve, divide between 4 small bowls and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to each.

Servings: 4

Author: Barney Desmazery
Source: BBC



Have a great day
 

Scaffolding, Red Lobster, Bowling Banquet, Recipe by Request,

They have finished erecting the scaffolding on our tier and are now in the process of building the wooden formers to hold the concrete. Hopefully that will be poured soon to give it a chance to cure before there is any concern about cold weather. This is how it was across from us last year and how it presumably looks here now. There are lots of predictions, especially amongst my exercise group, that these balconies will not be finished this year. I hope they are wrong.

We had an excellent supper at the Red Lobster and I ate my Dueling

Crab Legs with much pleasure. Matt polished off a large chunk of Chocolate Wave Cake (he only ate seafood stuffed mushrooms and a Caesar Salad), so I ordered a serving to bring home. The serving in the restaurant includes ice cream but I wouldn't have had that anyway. I like ice cream and I like cake, but not together thanks. Matt ordered his way before I had finished my crab. I guess he figured that way he wouldn't have to share any at all. I got at least two forkfuls last time!!!

Tomorrow, of course, is our final day of Summer League bowling so we are having our "banquet". High falutin' word for lunch of KFC. Matt and I will continue to bowl twice a week on Wed. and Thurs. until the winter league starts when it will be Monday and Thursday. Preferable, to two days combined. We also have to watch someone else be fêted for being in first place. Grrrr.

In the last few days I thought about Picadillo which for some reason we haven't made in years. There are lots of different versions of this recipe depending on which part of South America you are searching. Everyone seems to have their own recipe.  Today, when we were shopping, I was talking to the cashier who follows my blog and I promised her I would post the recipe. I also mentioned the Korean Bulgogi Flank Steak to her as well. I have already posted this recipe. I hadn't realised I had been making this for a year, off and on. I actually bought a couple of pieces of flank steak today.

Picadillo

1 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 lb lean ground beef
5 green olives, pitted and halved
1-1/2 oz capers, rinsed and drained
2 tsps wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 tsp hot sauce
2 cups canned tomatoes, half-drained
Handful Raisins


This recipe has been scaled back from 12 servings to four.

In a large stock pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Sauté garlic, onion and green pepper until onions are transparent. Transfer onion mixture to a bowl and set aside. In the same pot, heat the remaining olive oil and brown the ground beef.

In a separate saucepan, combine the olives, capers, vinegar, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves and hot sauce. Let simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.

Place the olive mixture and the onion mixture into the pot with the ground beef. Add the half drained tomatoes and cook for 1 hour over medium heat; stirring occasionally.

Servings: 4

Author Notes
"Ground beef, onions, green bell peppers, garlic and tomatoes, stewed together and seasoned with cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves. Can be served alone or with rice."

Have a great day

Health Card, Red Lobster,

Monday morning we both had a doctor's appointment and then I finally managed to get round to going to apply for my new health card. Last time we went there was a huge line up. There was again but we had more time and in fact I was in and out in half an hour not too bad. However, it is going to take 6 to 8 weeks for the card to arrive. I wonder what takes them so long?  They insist you remove your glasses when you have your picture taken and they also do not allow you to smile. The result, an awful picture. I thought I had to pay for a new card but luckily I was wrong. Have to pay for a driver's license though. Mine, which was recently renewed, expires when I hit the big 80 and then I have to go for a new license every two years. Matt has now done this twice. The cards for both health and driving are useful for ID.

Tonight we are going to the Red Lobster with a friend. She and I are both crab fanatics and as Crabfest doesn't end til August 31, we will take advantage of it. However, she has a very small appetite so I don't suppose she will have the Dueling Crabs which I found so delicious last time and which I will probably choose again. The dish is part Snow Crab and part Dungeness if you don't remember. This time I will take my lobster pick with me, they give you some tools but this gets right down inside a leg to draw out the flesh. Having written this I got out my pick and had to clean it in the silver dip as it was a tad tarnished. I don't get to eat lobster very much after all.

We passed the Korean store this morning and I thought about stopping but wanted to get to the Service Ontario Office to get my card. Will have to plan to get there soon.

For this recipe you would probably need to have a Korean store in your area, luckily I do. I love recipes for skirt and flank steak as these meats are flavourful and inexpensive.

Gochujang-Marinated Skirt Steak

Skirt steak is the ultimate summer steak for grilling—quick cooking, buttery, and versatile.

3 Tbs gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste), plus more for serving
3 Tbs olive oil, plus more for grill
3 Tbs plus ½ cup seasoned rice vinegar
Kosher salt
1 medium red onion, halved through root end
1 skirt steak (about 1 pound), halved crosswise
Warm tortillas (for serving

1. Combine 3 Tbsp. gochujang, 3 Tbsp. oil, and 3 Tbsp. vinegar in a large resealable plastic bag. Throw in several generous pinches of salt and grate in half of onion on the large holes of a box grater. Add steak and seal bag, pressing out air, then rub steak to coat; chill at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.

2. Meanwhile, thinly slice remaining half of onion and combine in a large bowl with remaining ½ cup vinegar and a pinch of salt. Let sit until onion is softened, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours; drain.

3. Prepare a grill for medium-high heat; oil grate. Remove steak from bag, letting excess marinade drip off; discard marinade. Grill, turning once or twice, until lightly charred on the outside and medium-rare in the thickest part, 4–6 minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes before thinly slicing against the grain.

4. Season meat with more salt and serve with tortillas, pickled onion, and more gochujang.

Servings: 4

Author: Claire Saffitz
Source: Bon Appétit

Have a great day
 

Builders, Pavlovas, Ballet,

Interesting, the builders worked all day on Saturday, not sure what time they actually clocked on and off, but I guess they are as concerned with finishing the balconies as we are to see them finished. Today they were attaching new rods to the original rods of the balcony flooring. Makes it a lot stronger I presume. Although I watched when they did the balconies across from us, I didn't realise about the small fiddly bits they were doing.

We are really enjoying these Pavlovas whilst the summer fruits are so good. Small problem today, I didn't whip the cream quite enough so it ran down the side a bit. Not serious. Still tasted delicious.

Watched a programme about Ballet Boys on Saturday night/ Basically about some young Norwegian men who were training to dance and one of them was finally invited to the Royal Ballet company in London. I had no idea just what these young men had to go through during their training. One is aware that ballerinas have a lot of pain through dancing on their points, but the comment made was "pain was part of dancing".if that is so, why on earth do they want to do it. I must admit I love to watch male ballet dancers - especially the really good ones who seem to almost fly when they do their leaps. I was lucky enough to see some wonderful dancers at Sadlers Wells in London many years ago including Margot Fonteyn who was one of the top ballerinas in her day. I don't remember the names of all the others I saw which is a shame, but they were so wonderful. The young Norwegian who was accepted by the Royal Ballet had to pay €40,000 a year for his tuition. A lot of money. My only complaint about the programme was the subtitles which one is so busy reading, you miss a lot of what is happening.

Saturday morning I did my first half hour exercise with Miranda Esmonde-White - the one designed to reduce pain. Difficult to watch TV and do the exercises at the same time, but not impossible.

I saw this recipe on Sunday morning and thought it looked delicious. It does include a few ingredients I don't have but that can easily be remedied. I have metal and bamboo skewers and would probably use the metal ones.

Sambal Chicken Skewers

Kebabs get a bad rap. (Decades of alternating zucchini coins and cherry tomatoes can do that.) But this Asian take, with a spicy, sticky glaze, makes for a very convincing comeback

.

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek)
1/4 cup fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
1/4 cup Sriracha
2 tsp finely grated peeled ginger
1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch–2-inch pieces
Special Equipment
8 bamboo skewers soaked in water at least 1 hour

1. Prepare grill for medium-high heat. Whisk brown sugar, vinegar, chili paste, fish sauce, Sriracha, and ginger in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Remove chicken and thread 4 or 5 pieces onto each skewer.

2. Transfer leftover marinade to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until reduced by half (about 1 cup), 7–10 minutes.

3. Grill chicken, turning and basting often with reduced marinade, until cooked through, 8–10 minutes

Servings: 4

Source: Bon Appétit

Have a great day
 

This 'n That plus Saturday Recipe.

Sorry no blog yesterday, got stuck into Poldark again and hadn't written anything earlier during the day. Apart from which, I was a bit stunned at what happened in the last episode I watched. Something I definitely did not expect.

I received my Miranda Esmonde-White DVDs on Thursday. At the time of writing I haven't looked at them but there are two disks with several half hour exercises plus some extras. Being Friday as I write, I will probably leave them til Saturday now. Friday is exercise class anyway. I am hoping to use them on my desktop as there isn't a heck of a lot of room in front of the TV.

Somewhat nervous evening, watching Jeopardy there was a warning for the area of a possible tornado and a violent storm with hail etc. The tornado warnings have been dropped now, but still warnings of violent storms. I don't know what we should do for a tornado, I assume go down to the undergound garage area. At the current time of writing there is quite a storm raging outside.

This recipe really appealed to me, seems somewhat different.

Warm Buttered Tomatoes With Ginger And Scallions

This versatile peak-of-summer condiment can be served on top of white rice, pasta, toast, steamed

fish, steak, or roast chicken.

4 Tbs unsalted butter
1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled, cut into thin matchsticks
4 scallions, white and pale green parts finely chopped, dark green parts thinly sliced
1 ½ lbs tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
2 Tbs plus 1 ½ teaspoons white or regular soy sauce
Kosher salt

1. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium. As soon as butter stops foaming, add ginger and scallion whites and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, turning gently with a large spoon, until tomatoes are juicy and just warmed through, about 2 minutes. Add soy sauce and toss to combine. Taste and season with salt, if needed. Top with scallion greens.

Servings: 4

Source: Bon Appétit

Have a great weekend
 

Bowling, Drilling.

As most of you will know by now, we lost our bowling tournament by 1 point. Unfortunately we were playing one of the best teams and the team which beat us had a walkover due to absent players who didn't bowl ahead. Tees me off a bit. Still, what can you do. I could have borne it more easily if we had lost by lots of points. Next week is our final banquet for the summer league plus prizes which we now won't get, boo hoo. Don't get anything for second place unfortunately. Matt and I both had excellent games in the first of the three. After that, I couldn't bowl worth a damn, I didn't even make 100 in the second game. Pitiful.

We had an absolutely gorgeous bout of drilling today, not sure which was worse, when they were drilling our balcony floor or when they were doing the one above us. It was far worse than when they were getting rid of the wall. Matt and I were shouting directly into one another's ears in order to communicate. It's bad but although we weren't sorry to go bowling, it really isn't so bad it drives us out. To hear other people complaining, it's terrible and yet we find it really bad but not so bad it drives us out of our home.

This site, Laa Loosh, appears to specialise in Weight Watcher meals. Looks pretty tasty doesn't it?

Skinny Peruvian Beef Saltado

Flavorful, light, and super easy to make, this healthy Lomo Saltado Recipe is a treat for the eyes as well as the palate. Traditionally served with fries or potatoes, my skinny version eliminates them to

save on Points Plus, but is just as delicious.

1 lb lean sirloin, sliced into thin, wide strips
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 large tomato, sliced into thin wedges
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbs red wine vinegar
1/3 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Season beef with salt, pepper and cumin.

2. Add beef and cook until browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Add in garlic, onions and peppers, and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

3. Stir in the vinegar and soy sauce. Cook for another 2 minutes, then add in the tomatoes and cilantro, and cook for another 2 minutes.

4. Serve immediately

Source: Laa Loosh

Have a great day

Miranda Esmonde-White

This is what I was talking about in my first post today.



Have a great day

 

Drilling, Superintendents, Bowling, Classical Stretch

I was asked, the other day, what time the builders start drilling. The answer is - shortly after 8 a.m. and then they appear to take a break around 10 and then one for lunch. Presumably they do 2 hr stints after lunch but we were out shopping. One woman told my husband this morning that she had been without a balcony for 14 months. I would have been protesting loudly if that had been us.

Our new supers have started work and I met Dave this afternoon - Tuesday. Unfortunately, his wife Debbie's dad is dying so she isn't around at the moment. Not too far away apparently, in the next town. Sad for her though. He seems a nice guy. Bit younger than the last couple.

We have just been watching Miranda Esmonde White who has designed a gentle exercise class which I very much believe in. I watched her a while back but didn't do anything about it. Tonight I decided to order the Beginners Classical Stretch DVD and see what happens. I kind of hope Matt will try them, but I don't think he will somehow.

I want everyone to keep everything crossed for our bowling team today. Sorry if you find walking or typing difficult, but we need all the luck we can get to remain in first place.

No recipe today, not seen anything that particularly appealed to me and it is now bedtime so I am neglecting my blog tonight.

And then I forgot to post.

Have a great day
 

Shellfish, English TV.

I am not sure what started me thinking about clam chowder this weekend, but I started remembering living in North Carolina and that Matt would go out clamming, often selling his catch, but I would use some and make clam chowder. Only trouble is, I don't exactly remember the recipe any more, we use a lot of clams, potatoes, bacon, onions and milk but I really don't remember - I was looking at some recipes on line but they none of them seemed the same, a lot appeared to have too many

ingredients to me. Of course the ones I found all used canned clams. I remember one time an Indian who was a friend of a friend took clams home and then came back with one of the best chowders I had ever tasted, but he wouldn't actually give me his recipe and although I tried to guess at it, mine didn't taste the same. I remember one time - around my birthday I think - Matt caught clams, someone else caught clams and another person bought clams. They all converged on us and we ended up with clams coming out of our ears, we made chowder, fried them and I don't know what else. I do know that after that weekend Matt never ate clams again and wasn't very keen on any other shellfish either any more. I have never eaten something so much that I wouldn't touch it again. He did build me an oyster steaming fireplace in the back yard though. From someone who wouldn't touch oysters to someone who discovered them steamed, I changed rapidly and ate them by the bushel. Then at Heathrow Airport in England, I ate two gorgeous raw oysters in a seafood plate and have never looked back. Unfortunately oysters and clams are no longer readily available to us, certainly not at a price we can afford very often, if at all. Just remembered  we are going back to the Red Lobster for supper next week, with a friend, whilst the Crabfest is still going on.

I started watching The Great Fire on TV last night. made in England. A lot of it was set in Pudding Lane, where the fire actually started, amongst the poorer peoples of London. Their accents were probably modern day London, but I had difficulty with them again. If they had used the English of the time (1666) nobody could have understood them. The English of the court of King Charles II was easy enough to understand though, although once again I have no doubt that the court English of the time would have been incomprehensible to us today. Pity in a way, thought I would enjoy it. Odd really because I seem to be getting on OK with Poldark which is set in Cornwall.

Ok, you thought I was going to give you a clam chowder recipe - wrong, here is a salmon recipe I found today. I had never heard of Sidewalk Shoes before but this is the recipe from there. I will definitely be trying it next time I cook salmon.

Grilled Salmon with Tomato Caper Vinaigrette

Spicy grilled salmon gets topped with fresh tomato caper vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette
3 ripe beefsteak tomatoes cored, seeded and diced
1/4 red onion finely chopped
2 Tbs capers drained
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp finely chopped thyme leaves
2 Tbs chopped basil leaves
salt and fresh ground black pepper
Salmon
4 8-ounce salmon filets with the skin
canola oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Combine all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a medium bowl. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. If made in advance, store in fridge and remove and let come to room temperature and mix well before serving.

2. Heat the grill to medium-high heat.

3. Brush the salmon on both sides with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill skin side down for 3-4 minutes (this was enough for me). Turn and move to a cooler part of the grill to cook for 3-4 more minutes.

4. Serve the salmon with the vinaigrette over the top.

Servings: 4

Source: Sidewalk Shoes

Have a great day
 

New View, Hiroshima, N. Korea,

As I previously said, they have now removed our balcony wall with the result that we can now see the grass from indoors when we are sitting down. Pity the new railings aren't going to be transparent. When it's sunny, it's a nice view. The large gantry (or whatever it's called) runs from the ground to the top floor and all over the weekend I kept seeing it out of the corner of my eye and thinking there was someone on the balcony. We have sheers (net curtains) on our windows and mainly just see a shadow unless you actually turn round and look.

I was somewhat surprised to discover, on Sunday morning, that it was the 72nd anniversary of

Hiroshima. Not a nice thing to remember, but on the other hand, it is important that we do recall the horror of atomic bombs. Talking of which I am somewhat nervous of Kim Jong-un and his missiles. I don't think he has anything against Canada, but if he fires missiles at the States, he could miss. Mind you if Yellowstone erupts it won't do Canada much good either so what am I worrying about? Looks a sulky bugger doesn't he?

This is a very simple recipe which I found through Yummly at a blog called Plain Chicken.

Chicago Chicken

1 jalapeno (remove the seeds and membranes if you don't want the heat)
Juice of 1 lemon (3 Tbsp)
1 Tbs dried oregano
3 Tbs olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breast

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in the food processor.  Pulse until combined and jalapeno is finely diced.  Pour into a ziplock bag, add chicken.  Toss to coat.  Let marinate in refrigerator overnight and then grill.

Servings: 3

Author: Steph
Source: Plain Chicken

Have a great day
 

Drilling

Thought you might to know what it's like. I am not quite sure if these videos are going to play or not. The sound is much softer than actual. Although funnily enough I didn't mind it that much after all.

Have a great day
 

Rice, Earth Oversshoot Day, Balcony,

When we went shopping a couple of weeks ago, I bought some Basmati rice. Wasn't until I got home and was pouring it into the storage jar I use for rice that I realised it was brown Basmati. I didn't even know there was such a thing. Fast forward to Thursday morning and I am trying to make Moroccan Style Stuffed Peppers and the rice is taking forever to cook. I have thrown the rest of it away, a waste, but I can't handle this, I Googled and it said something like 50 minutes. That's ridiculous. White Basmati takes 25 and that is bad enough. Obviously I will be more careful next time I shop for rice. Eventually the rice did cook and I'm not sure but I think it did take about 50 minutes in total. I finally finished making the peppers and later on we had them for supper. They were delicious. I might say, on the way back from bowling, we stopped in at the store and bought some regular Basmati rice. I forgot to mention that having let the peppers grow cold, I looked up the best way to reheat. One instruction I read stipulated that microwaves would present a limp pepper and that baking  them in the oven was the best way to reheat. I ended up putting them in the oven, covered, and baking at 350°F for about 45 minutes. That worked well. We now have two left over for maybe Sunday evening.

Yesterday, August 2, was Earth Overshoot Day "If nature was run like a bank account, we’d all expect to be told when there was nothing left to take. 2 August is when we, humanity, get that ‘official’ warning from the ‘Bank of Nature’.It’s called Earth Overshoot Day.

The Earth provides us with vital things like freshwater, food and air — and, up to a certain point, it has an amazing capacity to regenerate. But we can’t keep taking and expect the Earth to cope.
Earth Overshoot Day marks the moment when we have taken as much as the planet can sustain in the current calendar year".  This is not very good news for us. I have included a link to the World Wildlife blog talking about this Overshoot.

We had some drilling today from the workers, but only for them to fix the braces on each balcony they were using. How long before they actually start drilling out the concrete, we don't know. Dreading it.

This sounds delicious for the summer.

FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE

1 cup 1% milk
1 cup ice
½ cup Godiva® Milk or Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix (or make your own - see below)
spray whipped cream
cocoa or cinnamon for dusting

1. Add all ingredients to a blender and use "ice" setting to crush and mix into a creamy shake. Top with whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa or cinnamon or both!

2. You can also make a homemade Hot Cocoa Mix: 3 cups non-fat dry milk powder, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1-1/2 cup Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa and ¼ tsp salt

Servings: 2

Author: Lori

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Balcony, Bowling, Kimchi

Well, our balcony door is now locked for the duration and we have a great big piece of metal bracing poking through our wall. The hole has been there since last year but was covered by a sheet of wood or something. They cut these holds exactly to hold the braces. Originally they braced underneath and then had to move the braces on top. This saves a move. Sensible. However, I heard today that the reason the completed balconies don't yet have walls is because the company haven't come down to do it. Not exactly sure what that is all about but it doesn't bode well.

We did it, our team is #1 today now all we have to do is fight to keep that next week. We are playing against the previous #1 team who are now #3. We are being fairly closely pursued by the new #2 team, I forget the point difference. Wish us luck. We would all be so chuffed to win for a change.

I spent this evening making the Kimchi from the recipe I posted a couple of days ago. I have to leave it for 24 hours before using it. However, it is not the regular colour of Kimchi. We will see what it tastes like. I may be punished for taking the easy recipe. Tomorrow I am planning to try the Moroccan Stuffed Peppers for supper. I hope that will turn out OK.

I thought this sounded interesting and unusual. In the picture it looks a bit like scrambled egg.

Sautéed Mushroom Guacamole

5 medium-sized avocados, ripe (soft ,not squishy)
8 oz white, cremini, or mini bella mushrooms, halved then sliced
1 Tbs olive oil
1/4 cup white wine or vegetable broth for deglazing
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small lime, juiced
1 medium tomato, diced (or 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved.)
1 small red onion, diced (roughly 1/8-1/4 cup)
Salt

1. Set frying pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil. Once hot, stir in mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes, or until beginning to brown. Sprinkle with some salt.

2. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Pour in wine (or broth) to deglaze, cooking until liquid dissipates. Remove from heat to cool.

3. Guacamole

4. Cut your avocados in half and remove pit. Spoon out avocado into a medium-sized bowl. Mash until you reach desired consistency (chunky or smooth.)

5. Add garlic, salt, and freshly squeezed lime. Stir to combine.

6. Add mushrooms, tomatoes, and onion, stirring until combined.

7. Cover and refrigerator until chilled, probably a good hour minimum.

8. Give it a taste test to see if it needs more salt or lime.

9. Serve on its own, with tacos, or burritos!

Author: The Cookie Writer

Author Notes
You can grill your mushrooms on the BBQ with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Amount of lime and salt needed is based on preference (so taste as you go!)

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Mandarin, Shopping, Bowling,

So having had my fill of Chinese goodies, I headed to the dessert section at the Mandarin and, lo and behold, they had chocolate dipped bacon. It was supposed to have been all over yesterday as it was the end of July. Needless to say, I took full advantage of it. This is a photo of my plate at the restaurant. You will notice that a small area of the bacon isn't covered, unlike the recipe below. Makes it easier to pick up. That is a mini Nanaimo bar as well. I hadn't meant to eat too much dessert, but..... Denise Hammond of My Life in Retirement sent me a link to a recipe for chocolate dipped bacon. In this case they use both dark and white chocolate. I've just noticed it says 12 servings and yield one dozen, i.e. one piece each, I don't think so.  I sure ate more than that at lunchtime LOL

Of course Tuesday afternoon is our 'buy out the local grocery store day', you think I'm kidding? I bought yet another Pavlova shell as well as the cream but decided to leave the berries til later in the week. Last week the raspberries were somewhat worse for wear when I went to use them and I ended up with quite a few mildewy ones even though they were refrigerated. Strawberries are not so susceptible but raspberries are although, funnily enough, the week before we had no problem. I know, we have gone nutty on Pavlovas, but they are delicious and make a nice dessert for Saturday night, makes a change from what we normally have.

Wednesday of course, we bowl. Fingers crossed for our team please. It appears we will get to play the top team one more time before the season ends. Oh well.

Chocolate Covered Bacon

A hit at state fairs everywhere, make this salty-sweet concoction at home. Some say bacon can't get any better, but we think chocolate makes everything better!

12 thick-sliced bacon strips (about 1 pound)
6 oz white candy coating, coarsely chopped
Optional toppings: chopped dried apple chips, apricots and crystallized ginger, finely chopped pecans and pistachios, toasted coconut, kosher salt, brown sugar, cayenne pepper and coarsely ground black pepper
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 Tbs shortening

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Thread bacon strips, weaving back and forth, onto twelve 12-in. soaked wooden skewers. Place on a rack in a large baking pan. Bake until crisp, 20-25 minutes. Drain on paper towels; cool completely.

2. In a microwave, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Brush onto both sides of six bacon strips; sprinkle with toppings as desired. Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet.

3. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Brush onto both sides of remaining bacon; decorate as directed.

4. Refrigerate until set. Store in refrigerator

Servings: 12
Yield: 1 dozen.

Source: Taste of Home Test Kitchen

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Balconies, Mandarin,

Monday morning I got the notice saying that we had to have our balcony cleared by Wednesday August 2. I figured that. However, what I didn't like is the Asst. Super who has been involved in the balcony work on behalf of the landlords, said he hoped they would get it done before the winter. I hope so too. I would go crazy if we couldn't use our balcony until next year. It's going to be bad enough as it is. Monday afternoon I went down to exercise class (I remembered this week) and we were all talking about the work. Apart from the ones which were totally finished last year,  there are a lot of balconies which are basically complete but don't have walls. People were talking witholding rent, I was previously thinking reducing what we are paying. If it happens that is. This photo, from last year, shows just about where we are at. They will be building the scaffolding any day now which is what the gravel base is for. All of today they have been carrying all their stuff round to this side

Today we are going Mandarinning again!! Sadly they stopped serving chocolate bacon yesterday, I had been hoping to go with our friends last week but they couldn't make it. Guess we could have gone on our own. Maybe I should try making chocolate bacon myself. We had a fill in teacher at class Monday, she was saying she had spent the weekend pickling beets and canning tomatoes. I was going to give her this blog address but forgot about it at the end.

Eating Well have a diet plan - well in fact they have several which are based on a calorie count. This recipe is one of the things they suggest for supper on one of the days. I thought it looked good. These peppers are actually 401 calories per serving.

Moroccan-Style Stuffed Peppers

Aromatic savory-and-sweet stuffed peppers are a satisfying supper, thanks to lean beef, brown rice and bell pepper in each bite. Serve with rainbow chard sautéed with olive oil, garlic and parsley.

1 8- to 10-ounce bag microwavable brown rice or 1? cups cooked brown rice
4 medium-to-large bell peppers, tops cut off and seeded
1 lb lean (90% or leaner) ground beef
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup currants
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 ½ cups low-sodium vegetable juice, such as V8, divided
¼ cup chopped fresh mint, plus more for garnish
1 tsp freshly grated orange zest
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

1. Heat rice according to package directions. (If using cooked rice, skip to Step 2.) Place peppers upside-down in a microwave-safe round casserole dish just large enough to fit them. Add ½ inch water to the dish and cover with a lid or inverted dinner plate. Microwave on High until the peppers are tender but still hold their shape, 3 to 6 minutes. Drain the water and turn the peppers right-side up. Meanwhile, cook beef and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in currants, cumin and cinnamon; cook for 1 minute. Stir in the rice and cook for 30 seconds more. Remove from the heat and stir in ½ cup vegetable juice, cup mint, orange zest, salt and pepper. Spoon the beef mixture into the peppers. Pour the remaining 2 cups vegetable juice into the dish and cover. Microwave on High until the juice and filling are hot, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve the peppers with the sauce; garnish with mint, if desired.

Servings: 4

Author: David Bonom
Source: EatingWell Magazine

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