Bowling Season, Steaks.

Yesterday was our bowling banquet to finish off the summer season. My team came in 5th and Matt’s team made it to 2nd place. Grumble grumble. The team that came in 4th, I have no idea how they beat us, but they did. Oh well, that’s how the cookie crumbles isn’t it? The new winter season doesn’t start til August 27, so that’s it for a few weeks. For Christmas and the summer banquet we get sandwiches and such and Pauline, who runs the alley, makes the most wonderful egg salad. I know how to make egg salad you understand, but not as well as she does, its delicious and I look forward to it twice a year. Its not the only filling, but it’s the best.

Not much to say, I was absolutely beat last night, probably the excessive heat. Supposed to have felt as if it was in the 40’s. When I got home in the afternoon, I threw together a couple of quiches for supper, ate, watched Jeopardy and fell asleep.

On the way home we went to Sobey’s which is one of the grocery chains locally. They have a big advantage in that they will cut meat, so we bought three of the large lumps of inside round that we call London Broils (technically that is a recipe not a cut of meat). We haven’t stocked up in a while. I also bought some ground veal which I want to use for another batch of Tourtières later on. They had to grind the veal for me as they no longer carry it. He recommended another store, but I only want 1lb. at a time so didn’t bother for now. I also finally managed to get some flank steak yesterday and thought this recipe looked good. I would probably reduce the chillies in it mind you. Flank steak is a lot thinner than the London Broil cut and has to be sliced almost horizontally and very thinly as you can see in the picture below. London Broils have to be sliced at an angle as well, but not as acutely.

 

Mojo Marinated and Grilled Flank Steak

Cooking.com

Serves four to six

Toss a few red onions on the grill to serve with this dish; a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers rounds out the meal nicely. My family loves this versatile mojo on chicken as well as on flank steak.
INGREDIENTS

For the Mojo:

12 cloves garlic (or 4 tablespoons minced garlic)

2 habaneros or other spicy chillies, cored, seeded, and minced (wear rubber gloves)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 teaspoons whole cumin seeds, toasted

1 cup olive oil

2/3 cup sour orange juice (or 1/3 cup fresh lime juice plus 1/3 cup fresh orange juice)

1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the Steak:

1 1/2 pounds flank steak

1 or 2 large Bermuda onions, thickly sliced and brushed with olive oil (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

TO MAKE THE MOJO: Mash the raw garlic, chiles, salt, and cumin together in a mortar and pestle until fairly smooth. (Alternatively, use a food processor, pulsing until the ingredients are finely chopped but not puréed.) Scrape the mixture into a bowl and set aside.

Heat the olive oil until fairly hot but not smoking, and pour it over the garlic-chile mixture (the oil should sizzle when it hits the cool ingredients), stir, and let stand 10 minutes. This will cook the garlic slightly. Whisk in the sour orange juice and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool completely.

FOR THE STEAK: Put the steak in a zip-top bag or a shallow bowl and pour in 1 cup of the cooled mojo. Seal and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Refrigerate the remaining 1 cup of mojo.

TO COOK AND SERVE: Light a charcoal or gas grill. When the grill is very hot, remove the steak from the marinade (discard the marinade), pat dry, and season with salt and pepper; cook 5 to 7 minutes on one side and 3 to 4 minutes on the other for medium rare. Remove from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes. (If you like, grill the Bermuda onions as well - you can put them on at the same time as the flank steak; grill 6 to 7 minutes per side.)

Meanwhile, warm the reserved mojo over low heat. Slice the flank steak very thinly on the bias and serve with the reserved mojo and the grilled onions.

Have a great day

The Theatre, RIP Celeste Holm, Spicy or Bland.

For some reason on Saturday I started thinking about the theatre. What I was mainly thinking about was the time when I went to see the production of Turandot by Puccini on film presented by Live at the Met. During the intervals, we were taken back stage and watched interviews with the various opera stars who were in the show. I enjoyed the production very much, but…. when I was involved with theatre, many years ago, part of our job as actors was to maintain the mystery and magic of the theatre. This is destroyed by going back stage during a performance or by talking to the performers who revert from fabulous characters,  be it heroes or villains, to ordinary people. Nor, when I see some of these performances, do I want to see close ups of the singer’s mouth, or the actor’s sweat, or even in less expensive performances, the odd problems with the props or wardrobe. All of that should stay their side of the footlights and should never intrude on the audience. In my opinion, the way many shows are staged on TV and film, destroys the magic and mystery which we used to be at such pains to create. When I see a show of any kind, I want to suspend disbelief and to see the characters being portrayed as those characters only. I used to enjoy leaving a performance in which I had completely forgotten the actor and just remembered the character. Sadly, it doesn’t happen much any more. As an illustration, I hold up the example of Peter O’Toole who was Lawrence of Arabia, or was definitely Henry II in Beckett. The same can be said of any part he has played. Many times I haven’t even realised it was him, he is so good; a brilliant actor. It is NOT the job of an actor to portray him/herself but to make you believe wholeheartedly in the character, and only the character. He has now retired as he has lost the heart for acting, but I understand he has  written two volumes of an autobiography Loitering with Intent: The Child and Loitering with Intent: The Apprentice which I hear are great reads. I have requested the first one from the library.

Talking of the stage and actors, RIP Celeste Holm, she left us on Sunday after having a great career. I especially remember her singing Who Wants to be a Millionaire with Sinatra in High Society. She was a very successful actress and had a long run although apparently the last year or two of her life were not so happy, she had fallen out with her children. So sad. Last night I happened to see a movie with Jessica Tandy called Camilla. Marvellous actress, so sorry she left us some time ago now.

OK, I admit it, I am a bit slow. I was talking to another English woman about the accusation that English food is bland, then I saw a recipe for gazpacho which added a jalapeño pepper – gazpacho does NOT need jalapeño. Then it suddenly hit me, no wonder Brits are accused of bland food, we don’t add chilies, jalapeños, etc. etc. to practically everything we eat which is beginning to be what happens on this side of the pond. Personally I get sick of all the spiced up recipes I see. If you want to eat Thai or Mexican, do so, but don’t just spice up things for the sake of it. These days, if it doesn’t burn your mouth off, food is considered bland. Never thought of it before, sorry for my dinner guests, they must find my food boring!!! Gazpacho is a delicious soup of blended summer vegetables the subtle tastes of which would be totally lost once you started adding hot and fiery peppers to it. If English food is bland, North American food is becoming over spiced. A language difference here, in England food with lots of chilies is/was called ‘hot’, over here its called ‘spicy’. The Brits do eat spicy things, witness the amount of Indian takeaways that have sprung up all over the country. Curry is almost a national dish and a good Vindaloo can knock your socks off. Not sure why, Indian food hasn’t caught on round here for some reason. There is one Indian restaurant I know of which my doctor, who’s background is Indian, says is not much good, other than their breads. Having written all this, we decided to have Devilled Kidneys for supper last night, they are hot or spicy enough. When I think about it, Devilling is a very old English method of preparing foods and usually involves hot mustards. We always have our Devilled Kidneys over rice although as you can see it is shown over toast here. It is made with lamb’s kidneys.

Saturday night I decided to try out a new recipe for Brussels Sprouts. I have mentioned before that I get tired of plain ol’ veg so am always on the lookout for something different. This is a recipe from Kraft and I have altered it a bit as the original had healthy options such as low fat or low salt. I thought it was delicious but a little too crunchy, needed either a bit more cooking or a bit more root cut off the sprout, not sure which. I also added just a sprinkle of salt. You can see in the picture that some of it hasn’t been cooked at all but it still comes out attractively. The serving size is for 6 half cups, not nearly enough. Matt and I split it between us.

Pan-Fried Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

2 slices bacon
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
20 Brussels sprouts (1 lb./450 g), trimmed, halved and thinly sliced

1. COOK bacon in large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet; drain on paper towels. Discard drippings from skillet.

2. ADD onions to skillet; cook on medium-high heat 3 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Add next 3 ingredients; stir.

3. STIR in Brussels sprouts; cook 6 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Crumble bacon; sprinkle over Brussels sprouts.

Kraft kitchens tips

For added flavour, stir in 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar before topping with the crumbled bacon

Servings: 6 (1/2 cup each)

Have a great day

Guest L. Diane Wolfe

Today I am delighted to have a guest blogger - L. Diane Wolfe – thank you so much for your contribution to my blog. Although not a vegan myself I can sympathise with this point of view. I don’t know if some of the products mentioned in the recipe are available other than in the US but I have no doubt other countries have similar products if you are interested in trying the recipe.  

Professional Speaker & Author

www.spunkonastick.net

http://www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com

www.thecircleoffriends.net

 

Known as “Spunk On A Stick,” Wolfe is a member of the NSA and a motivational speaker. “Overcoming Obstacles With SPUNK! The Keys to Leadership & Goal-Setting”, ties all of her goal-setting and leadership seminar’s information together into one complete, enthusiastic package. She also conducts seminars on book publishing and promoting, and assists writers through her author services. Her YA series, The Circle of Friends, features morally grounded, positive stories that appeal to both teens and concerned parents. Wolfe travels extensively for media interviews and speaking engagements, maintains a dozen websites & blogs, and contributes to several other sites and newsletters. She is also a professional photographer and has supplied all the pictures for this blog with the exception of the Cheetah.

For the Love of Animals

Where I live in Eastern NC, I’m something of an anomaly. I’m a vegetarian. More specifically, I’m a vegan.

I’m often asked questions. I learned long ago not to get into a debate, so my attitude is this is just what I do and who I am now. I’m not radical about it. I just live my life. Why would I or anyone else choose to be a vegetarian? There are hundreds of reasons, including health, environment, and resources. My reasons include all of those things, but it began with one thing - a love of animals.

We’ve always had pets and I’m sure that’s what spurred my love for animals. We had fish, hamsters, rabbits, cats, dogs, and even chickens. I was drawn to cats because of their agility and power. (I used to add grace, but after years of owning cats, I’d like to debunk the rumor that they are graceful.) My love of cats included the big cats - incredible predators and beauty in motion.

It’s not just cats that are beautiful though. I believe all animals possess increible qualities and features. I’ve spent half of my life as a professional photographer and animals are a favorite subject. Through the ability to freeze the action and get in close, I can focus on that beauty.

The gorgeous texture of alligator skin.

    
The striking colors and delicate legs of web weaver spiders.
   
The soft fuzz on a moth.
   
The myriad of colors represented in black fur in sunlight.
   
 
The long eyelashes on a horse. 
 

The playfulness of a cow.
 
 
The raw energy and muscle of a running animal.

All of these things represent a living, breathing creature, designed with divine perfection. What I see is a beautiful miracle, one with a purpose beyond our consumption.

I’m not a vegan just because it’s healthier or better for the environment. I’m a vegan because I love animals.

And for those of you who would like to try a dish free of all animal products:

Tortilla Pie


Chop into small chunks and boil in water:
3-4 small, peeled potatoes
Chop and sauté-
1 small onion
Remove from heat and place in bowl. Dice and add-
8 oz. tomato sauce (can add a little salsa for zest)
Salt and pepper to taste
Chili pepper to taste
Drain potatoes, add to mix along with:
1 cup Boca or Morningstar Farms fake beef crumbles

Layer tortilla chips in 8x8 or slightly larger dish, covering the bottom. Add layer of mixture. Sprinkle Galaxy Foods shredded cheddar cheese over mix. Continue layering until mix is gone.

Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes.

Serve with extra chips and enjoy!

Have a great day

Congee, RIP, Stampede Accidents.

Having made myself (actually I got Matt to make it for me) some congee for my supper after my dental visit, I had intended to try it for breakfast, but Matt beat me to it and made our usual cereals. So, I had some for lunch, I sprinkled it with a bit of Worcestershire sauce and some drops of Tabasco and ate it with smoked salmon. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Having been researching the internet with regard to congee, I have all kinds of things I want to try with it. To make the congee, we boiled 3/4 cup basmati rice, in 9 cups of water and 1 tsp salt. It cooked steadily for an hour to 1 1/2 hours. I added it to soup on Thursday night, by Friday morning it was an almost solid pudding or porridge. You can water it down if you want to make it liquid again, and then add all kinds of things like pork, ginger, chicken, scallions, etc. etc. The options are very varied. We have some coconut milk left over, I am thinking of mixing it with the congee for breakfast tomorrow. If one’s ability to eat is restricted, it is wonderful stuff, also I understand, excellent invalid food. I am a congee convert.

Just caught a headline about the death of Oscar winning film producer Richard Zanuck. He was 77. He produced Driving Miss Daisy amongst other films to his record. That was a wonderful movie. Ernest Borgnine also died last Sunday, never did see a lot about it in the news. I always liked him. I just realised he was 95, that’s a very good age. I first remember hearing about him when he took the part in Marty in 1955.

A lot of animal rights activists are upset at the deaths of three horses during the chuck wagon races at the Calgary Stampede. The Stampede seems to have had some bad luck over the years, not so long ago a lot of horses got killed in the Stampede itself. Activists are trying to get rodeos banned completely, whether they will ever achieve that or not, who knows? Horses love to race and man is going to race them one way or another.


I forgot to mention that on Monday L. Diane Wolfe of www.spunkonastick.net is guest posting on my blog. I hope you will enjoy her post.

This sounds absolutely delicious. I haven’t tried looking for this hot bean paste, but we have a good supermarket and an Asian store in the vicinity.

Firecracker Chicken Thighs

Cooking.com
Makes 6 servings


Available in Asian markets and some supermarkets, hot bean paste gives a tingling spiciness to this dish. To toast the sesame seeds, place them in a shallow pan and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 7-10 minutes, or 'til golden.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS


1 1/2 - 2 pounds chicken thighs
2-3 tablespoons hot bean paste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, crushed
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
4 large cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS
Remove skin from chicken thighs. Score meat on both sides by making shallow diagonal cuts about 1 inch apart.

In a large mixing bowl stir together bean paste, soy sauce, sesame seeds, sesame oil, sugar, green onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour into a plastic bag; add chicken thighs. Seal bag; turn bag to coat chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator for 4-24 hours, turning bag occasionally. Remove chicken, scraping off excess marinade. Reserve marinade.

Place chicken on the grill rack of an uncovered grill. Grill directly over medium coals for 15 minutes. Turn chicken over and grill for 10-15 minutes more. Baste both sides with reserved marinade and grill for 5 minutes more, or till chicken is tender and no pink remains, turning once. Discard any remaining marinade.

Have a great weekend

Moaning, Higgs-Boson, Blogging

Went to the dentist as I may have mentioned, and had both a filling and an extraction. She had to keep pumping anesthetic into me. When she got around to removing the broken remains of the tooth she had trouble a) getting hold of it and then b) removing it. Bloody thing just didn’t want to leave me. Finally it gave up the ghost and later, so did I. By the time all the anesthetic wore off I was in a lot of jaw pain and I was hungry. For supper I had some asparagus soup which I had doctored up with a couple of spoonsful of plain Congee to give it some extra body. Right now I would kill for a sandwich or something.

Once again, a video explaining the Higgs Boson – do you care? I find it absolutely fascinating. I discovered this video through the Blutonian Death Egg a blog by Rusty Webb.

I have been watching more and more videos and explanations and am beginning to get something of a grasp on this. The video above is pretty fast, but if you watch it a couple of times, it does help make things clearer. My first husband was a physicist and obviously would have understood all this. Not that that would have helped me, I could never understand a lot of what he told me, like if regular math wouldn’t solve a problem, you invented a math that would solve it. How can you do that? One and one is two surely? Apparently not always. Way beyond me.

Interesting post from Damyanti at Blogging A to Z yesterday as well, asking if blogging was obsolete and positing that most blogs are read by other bloggers. I do somewhat agree with that idea. Obviously I don’t know how many of my readers are bloggers, but I know a lot of them are and I know a lot of my friends, for instance, do not read my blog. I can understand reading it and saying “what a load of old rubbish, not reading that again”, what I can’t understand is not reading it a couple of times at least to see what its all about. Not only that, if you don’t like my  blog, there are thousands of them out there, many of the ones I have been discovering lately are very thought provoking or full of great information. Many of them deal with hobbies of one kind or another.

Needed a bit of good news yesterday, we discovered our pensions are being increased, not, of course, by very much, but nevertheless they’re going the right way. I had read there was an increase coming, but didn’t know how much, better than I expected.

Another good looking recipe from BBC Food – the recipe originally called for prawns but I changed it to shrimp as one doesn’t see prawns around here. In fact I have never seen them anywhere I have visited in North America.

Spicy Seafood Stew with Tomatoes and Lime

John Torode's Mexican-inspired one-pot casserole is packed with shellfish, white fish and plenty of chilli

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 dried ancho or guajillo chillies
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion , chopped
• 4 garlic cloves , chopped
• 1 tsp chipotle paste or 1 tsp smoked hot paprika (pimentón)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 700ml chicken stock
• 250g chopped tomatoes , from a can
• 200g large peeled raw shrimp
• 300g halibut or other firm white fish fillets, cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 300g clams
• 500g small new potatoes , halved and boiled
• juice 2 limes

TO SERVE

• lime wedges
• 1 avocado , chopped
• handful coriander leaves
• 1 small red onion , finely diced
• corn tortillas , sliced and baked

Toast the chillies in a hot dry frying pan for a few moments (they will puff up a bit), then remove. Deseed and stem chillies, and soak in boiling water for 15 mins.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, season and cook for about 5 mins or until softened. Add the chipotle paste, reconstituted chillies, cumin, stock and tomatoes. Sauté for 5 mins, then purée until very fine in a blender. Pour back into the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 mins. When close to eating, add the prawns, fish fillets, clams and potatoes. Place a lid on top and cook for 5 mins over a medium-high heat. Add the lime juice and serve with lime wedges, avocado, coriander, red onion and tortilla chips for sprinkling over.

Have a great day

Dentist Today, Ouch, Piña Coladas, The Sting.

I hope you will all have your fingers crossed for me this afternoon as its today I go to the dentist to have both a small filling (which I hate) and my broken tooth root removed (which is worse). I am not a happy camper about this and am, of course, making a big fuss about it.

Actually I’m in the wars at the moment, my neck is in agony when I move my head, I think because the air conditioner was probably blowing on it. I’ll be damned careful that doesn’t happen again.

We had the Coconut Chicken Stir Fry (see yesterday’s post) for supper last night. We enjoyed it, but it was a tad sweet. Next time we would leave out the sugar. Also, it said the recipe was for 4. We divided it in half, wasn’t nearly enough, so we ate it all. We have some coconut left over and I was going to use it for Piña Coladas but found we had run out of pineapple. Serious that. Maybe we can get some on the way home from the dentist, I am sure a couple of Piña Coladas would be really good medicine for me, don’t you agree. I actually haven’t had one for several years. I remember one day in the Carolinas, gotta be some 25  years or so ago, when a couple of girlfriends were making them and we joined in. I’d never had them before, but it didn’t take me long to find out how delicious they are. The recipe I have calls for 3 oz. rum, 3 tbs coconut cream and 3 tbs pineapple. Blended and lots of ice.

We sat and watched The Sting last night with Robert Redford and Paul Newman. Did you ever see the movie, it was one of the best. It’s a long time since we saw it last. I nearly always forget exactly what the twist is at the end. Two of the greatest film stars as well. Paul Newman is no longer with us, but Robert Redford is. He is about 76 now. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was a great movie with those two stars in it as well.

This is what we had for supper the other night. We enjoyed them very much, but in future we would double the amount of cheese. We didn’t use light cheese of course, but regular cheddar cheese.

Stuffed Portabella Mushroom Cap With Cheddar Cheese

Spark Recipes

Submitted by: LIZBETHMSR
Large portabella cap stuffed with sautéed veggies and topped with cheddar cheese - a meal in itself!

Number of Servings: 1

Ingredients

1 large portabella cap/serving
1 small onion diced
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 oz. grated 50% light cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F

Gently clean off any dirt from the portabella mushroom cap. Pull the stem out of the center and chop up the stem - set aside

Chop 1 small onion and enough pepper to make 1/2 cup, add to the mushroom stem. Spray a frypan with a little olive oil and sautée all the veggies EXCEPT the mushroom cap, until tender crisp. Drain any excess juices.

Place the mushroom cap on a foil lined baking sheet and top with the sautéed veggies. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top and bake in the 350 oven for 10 - 15 minutes or until the mushroom cap is tender and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Season to taste.

Have a great day

Bowling, Alleys, New Tricks, Supper.

Yesterday was our last bowling for the summer league, we then have our banquet next Tuesday (I do hope I will be eating normally by then) and then we don’t bowl again until the end of August. We start early because at the beginning of September there is Labour Day and the woman who runs the alley always takes that weekend off. All the other holiday weekends she is there, but never for that one. Personally, I have not bowled particularly well for the whole of the summer league. Matt hasn’t bowled until the last two and has done pretty well considering how long since he took part. Of course two of the September weeks we will be away in North Carolina.

In the area where we live there are three alleys, one I don’t know too much about, but the other two are sadly neglected. Nobody seems prepared to spend any money on refurbishing and repairing. If somebody came along and invested a bundle to bring one of the alleys up to scratch, they could make a killing. I am sure all the bowlers would want to go there instead of their own worn out alleys. I just wish I knew someone I could persuade to do such a thing. When I think of the place, MacDaddy’s in North Carolina where we 10 pin bowl during our holiday, I just wish they would come and invest in bowling up here.

I very much like an English TV programme called New Tricks which is about a group of ex coppers who work on unsolved crimes. I really like the show which appears, very often, on TVO or TV Ontario. Sometimes on the American PBS stations too. I discovered that I can see some of the older shows or ones I have missed on TVO’s website so that’s what I did last night. You should check it out if you like cop shows. I saw it described as a trio of grumpy ex cops, I wouldn’t really call them grumpy, but it can be funny.

Last night Matt cooked us up some stuffed portabella mushrooms which were pretty good so I will share the recipe tomorrow however, this recipe is from Becel margarine which, I believe, is only available here, in Canada. However, it can obviously made with any decent margarine or butter. I thought it sounded very simple and yet tasty, especially if you wilt the spinach a little as described at the bottom.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. (10 mL) sesame seeds
• 1 lb. (450 g) large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tbsp. (15 mL) Becel® Original margarine
• 6 cups (1.4 L) baby spinach leaves
• ½ large avocado, peeled and sliced
• 1 large orange, peeled and sectioned
• 6 radishes, sliced (optional)
• 2½ tbsp. (40 mL) fat-free Italian dressing

Preparation

Step 1

Toast sesame seeds in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, 1 minute or until golden. Remove sesame seeds and set aside.

Step 2

Season shrimp, if desired, with salt and black pepper. Melt Becel® Original margarine in same skillet over medium-high heat and cook shrimp, stirring frequently, 3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.

Step 3

Arrange spinach on serving platter. Top with avocado, orange, radishes and shrimp. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Just before serving, drizzle with fat-free Italian dressing.

Note

Recipe can be halved.

Tip

If desired, toss hot shrimp with spinach to wilt the spinach slightly.

Have a great day

Corn, Dentist, Medical, Supper

I heard on Monday, fresh corn is now becoming available (early?) I love the stuff but Matt is not so keen. He does enjoy it barbecued but as we don’t have a barbecue any more, he basically doesn’t eat it. I wonder if its possible to cook it on the indoor outdoor grill, have to investigate that.  I always feel a bit dopey buying 2 or 3 ears of corn at a time. But its got to be fresh. The sooner you can eat it once its been picked, the better. My father taught me that years ago having eaten quite a bit of it in Rhodesia (as was) during the war years when he was stationed there. In those days we called it maize.

I now have an appointment to have my tooth root removed on Thursday, I am NOT looking forward to it as they will have to cut into my gum.

Yesterday I went to see the specialist about my hip, I was sent next door to have an X-ray and they were not doing X-rays that day, I really wasn’t prepared to go over to the hospital which was the next choice, it would have cost us an arm and a leg for parking plus being a lot of walking for me, etc. etc. so I ended up rebooking my appointment for August so I can get the X-ray done any old time. I sure don’t want a hip replacement before we go away so maybe its just as well.

We then went to some friends for a visit and they kindly decided to feed us as well. We had a delightful afternoon/evening sitting out on their deck enjoying a glass or two of wine and then later supper. They are such great friends and show us a good time when we are with them. Thanks to both of them.

I was just about to do some clearing out in my email, and came across this recipe in my inbox. I must have saved it to use before because it looks good to me. Obviously I am not one of those who can’t stand the taste of coconut, I think I will be trying this recipe fairly soon. Have to be careful if I make it for someone else though because of the coconut. Hmm, that reminds me of being in the Dominican Republic and seeing a guy hacking into a coconut with a machete. We were all given a sip of the milk and some of the flesh to eat. Its one of the things many  Dominicans grow in their back yards.

Saucy Coconut-Chicken Stir-Fry

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Thai flavors of coconut and basil come together in this fresh and spicy chicken and cabbage stir-fry. If your family prefers a milder meal, forgo the jalapeño. Serve with: Rice noodles and mango slices.
Servings: 4

Recipe Ingredients:

1. 4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
2. 1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
3. 1 jalapeño pepper, minced (optional)
4. 1 bunch scallions, sliced, whites and greens, separated
5. 2 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps
6. 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
7. 3/4 cup “lite” coconut milk
8. 2 tablespoons fish sauce
9. 4 teaspoons lime juice
10. 1 tablespoon brown sugar
11. 6 cups sliced napa cabbage
12. 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Recipe Steps:

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a wok or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring often, until cooked through and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
2. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the wok or pot. Add jalapeño (if using), scallion whites, mushrooms and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant and the mushrooms start to soften, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice and brown sugar; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cabbage, the chicken and scallion greens; cook, stirring constantly, until the cabbage is slightly wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in basil just before serving

Have a great day

Food, Medical Stuff, Deals, Wimbledon.

Big tragedy in my life, I finished the last of my asparagus on Saturday – fresh from the farm asparagus that is. I will now have to wait another whole year before I can get more, boo hoo. Went to a friend’s for supper on Saturday night and she said she hadn’t had any this year – horrors. We had fun sitting out on her patio that evening because the temperature had dropped and there was a delightful breeze. We had a picnic meal which was ideal for outside, then our hostess served us with Red Velvet Cake ice cream, have you tried it? Its pretty good. Have you actually eaten Red Velvet Cake? I never have. We were also served some delicious mini caramel cakes. I couldn’t leave them alone. Tiny little cakes with a dollop of caramel through the middle and on the top. Sold at our local grocery store labeled Farmer’s Market. I will not buy any, too dangerous, I wouldn’t be able to leave them alone. Another guest kept trying to push them at me. I ate enough as it was.

I now have permission from my family doctor to stop my blood thinners for a few days so they can remove my broken tooth. Not something I am looking forward to however, I gather they will have to cut the gum. She also decided to send me for a bone density test which reminded us that Matt had one after he fractured his vertebra and we never heard anything about the results. I get a tad irritated that these doctors never tell you the results of the tests unless there is something wrong. You just have to assume that nothing is wrong and that its not just because the doctor didn’t get the results in the first place. I should keep my mouth shut, I said to Matt, at the beginning of the month, how nice no medical appointments this month, now I have at least three.

On the recommendation of the woman who cleans for us once a month, I have been checking out some of the deals from Kijiji which come through all the time and which I have previously ignored. One I am waiting for is carpet cleaning for $39 for three rooms and a hall. Another was for a couple of memory foam pillows which I like. Trouble with that is one could end up spending a lot of money because the deals are so good. There is, apparently, another site which comes up with good deals too, but I don’t think I need to find out what it is LOL.

Matt was as happy as a grig yesterday because Roger Federer won Wimbledon. I kind of wanted the English guy, Andy Murray, to win as apparently England hasn’t won Wimbledon in 76 years. That’s incredible. I used to watch Wimbledon devotedly every year when I lived in the UK, but for some reason I haven’t really followed it since we emigrated. Federer is a good friend of William and Katherine’s of course, so they were there to see him win. Matt referred to her as the next queen, she isn’t of course, Camilla is.

This is the quinoa dish I got from a friend the other day which I made on Friday and then we finished off last night. Very enjoyable.

Vietnamese Shrimp and Quinoa Salad

For the dressing:
6 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tbs Asian fish sauce
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1-1/2 Tbs sugar
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, plus more if desired

For the salad:
1/2 lb cooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 cup quinoa, rinsed (or pre-washed)
1/2 tsp salt
1 red bell pepper, cored and cut into thin bite-sized strips
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Add quinoa, salt and 1-2/3 cups water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and quinoa is cooked. Transfer to a serving bowl and let cool.

2. In the meantime, make the dressing by combining the lime juice, Asian fish sauce, vegetable oil, sugar and crushed red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Add shrimp to the dressing and let marinate until ready to assemble the salad. Once quinoa is cool, add red bell pepper, carrot, cucumber and scallions to the bowl. Right before serving, add the dressing, shrimp and cilantro and toss well. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, sugar or crushed red pepper flakes if necessary. Serve cold.

Tips
If you don't have any fish sauce mix some anchovy paste with water.

Author Notes
This unconventional shrimp and quinoa salad with Vietnamese flavorings is nutritious and light. Also, wonderfully satisfying. You can also make it without the shrimp; simply cut back on the dressing a bit.

Have a great day