Friday, Grandma Dragon, Pig Tails.

Thanks for the well wishes yesterday, I did feel quite rough for a while. Slept well, however, and Friday was another day. I finally managed to get my hair cut. I was planning to go on Tuesday (I was already overdue) and was called in to see the specialist, Wednesday the hospital, Thursday unwell, so Friday morning, fairly early I got it done. I am in the middle of doing Christmas cards too and had requested a delivery of envelopes (and ink) from Staples who decided they were out of card sized envelopes. Phoned local store they said they had lots, so dropped in there after my hair cut. Also got a couple of small ring binders which had been suggested for keeping our Blood Pressure records. They give you a book with the machine and once that is filled you can’t get another. They do have sheets you can print on line which is fine for me, but Matt doesn’t use computers. Trouble these days, we are so electronically minded we forget there are still a lot of people who neither have a clue nor want to. Several of the people we know in the bowling alley, seniors, couldn’t be less interested in any form of computer. Don't understand it myself, but there you are, there are thousands out there.

Al Diaz recently said I was like his grandmother so as he claims 800 yrs, I figured that has got to make me over 3,000 years old.
I think I am wearing pretty well under the circumstances. I could use a few of my grandsons dwarves as my cleaner has quit recently.

Today we are going to the Legion in the next town for our annual pig tail dinner, well I eat pig tails, Matt eats schnitzels.  Of course, after all this dieting, I probably should run a mile from pigtails but I really do enjoy them. I only have them once a year. Of course I only have lots of things once a year or at least not very often, if I let go every time I wouldn’t have lost any weight at all. They have a band from Newfoundland (well supposedly) who play ‘down ‘ome’ music which Matt hates but I love. It’s lively and good to listen to. I can’t really dance any more, although I haven’t tried lately, but I couldn’t last time I tried. Hips and all that stuff.

This is an unusual risotto which I found on Cooking.com and as I love risottos anyway I decided to share it.

Pumpkin Risotto

Source: Food and Wine

Serves 6

This healthier risotto is full of the hearty, earthy flavours of fall, and makes an elegant first course at any dinner. Wine Recommendation: 1992 Kenwood Sauvignon Blanc

INGREDIENTS

For the Pumpkin:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound fresh pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice (1 1/3 cups)
2 medium white onions, finely diced
3/4 cup dry Riesling
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
About 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
For the Rice:
7 cups Vegetable Stock for Risotto or canned low-sodium chicken broth
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups arborio rice (about 11 ounces)
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

DIRECTIONS

FOR THE PUMPKIN:
Heat the oil in a nonreactive medium saucepan. Add the pumpkin and half of the onions and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until the pumpkin is just tender, about 7 minutes. Stir in the wine, nutmeg, white pepper and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. In a food processor, puree the pumpkin mixture until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl.

FOR THE RICE:
In a medium saucepan, bring the Vegetable Stock for Risotto to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce the heat to low and keep the stock hot. In a nonreactive medium saucepan, heat 2-1/2 tablespoons of the butter until it begins to sizzle. Add the rice and the remaining onions and cook over moderately high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the onions are translucent, about 7 minutes. Immediately stir in 1 cup of the hot stock and cook, stirring constantly, until all of the liquid has been absorbed, about 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to moderate and gradually add 3 more cups of the hot stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring and cooking until each cup is almost absorbed before adding the next, about 15 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin puree. Continue adding the remaining 3 cups stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring and cooking as above, until the rice is tender, about 10 minutes longer. The risotto will be quite loose. Stir in the parsley and the remaining 2-1/2 tablespoons butter.

TO SERVE:
Spoon the risotto into 6 warmed soup plates and sprinkle the Parmesan on top. Serve immediately.

Have a great weekend

Medical,

Well I had my EGDoscopy on Wednesday and I am pleased to report he didn’t find anything although he took a couple of biopsies to send off. What a day. By 8 a.m. I had eaten my light breakfast and finished my last cup of coffee. All day long I wanted more coffee and Matt eating lunch was painful. That’s the last time I do that although I would have had to wait til February to get a morning appointment. Then when I finally get into the operating room they sprayed my throat with the most filthy tasting stuff. I was somewhat teed off. Before they put me under, I asked if I could bowl and the surgeon said “I don’t know, can you?” – fuuuny. Anyway he confirmed that I could and assured me the procedure wouldn’t make me bowl any better. Actually, Thursday afternoon we bowled and I had one good game and two lousy ones. Felt tired and my pain, which caused all this stuff, was making itself felt. Maybe it didn’t help the surgeon poking around in my stomach. Oh well. Yesterday when I got home, I wasn’t supposed to do much of anything including eating. Water first, then soup and crackers. No problems. Not eating all day didn’t help my weight either. I thought it would.

I don’t know if my blogs have got boring or uninteresting, but my readership has sure dropped off lately and the comments even more so. Not that I want the hundreds of comments some people get, but I do like to get a few.

I started this earlier on Thursday, by the late afternoon I started to feel like sh*t. Assume because of being poked around or something. So not a good blog today. Not even a recipe, sorry. Couldn't even get the posting date and time right. Oh well. Must say I wasn't really expecting this. Felt fine last night, guess I was still sedated.

EDG Scope. Pictures of Our Sunday Lunch.

Tuesday I was called to see if I could go for an appointment with the gastroenterologist. I went. Today I am going for my EDGoscopy. That is one of the fastest turnarounds in Canadian history I think. I am going in at 2 p.m. and the procedure will be at 3:15. Only concern I have is whether I can bowl or not on Thursday. Only thing I have to do is not eat for 6 hours so I can have a light breakfast any time before 9 a.m. No lunch though. Ah well.

My friend finally sent me the pix she took at the restaurant last Sunday. Unfortunately we had started digging in before she took them. The first one is the mushroom paté which was served with pita bread, toast, and tortilla chips. It was delicious.


This is the lamb burger without the bun, it had some kind of salsa on it, which made the whole thing absolutely delicious. I was served their Stone Soup as well so that’s me tucking into the soup.

Next we have Bison Chilli over nachos which were devoured by my friend's son. Considering the size of the soup he had before, I am staggered he made it through the dish.










Finally the Mac and Cheese which my friend had already dug into before taking the picture. It really looked like a good one with all kinds of things in it, such as tomatoes, I think. I have decided Matt and I should start going out for lunch a few times and make a start by going to the Mill Street Bistro. I wanted to show you the pictures although they are not the best having been taken on a phone. But it will give you some idea of the delicious food available.


I am not sure when I shall be posting again, it greatly depends on what happens tomorrow at the hospital and what I feel like so don’t hold your breath for a blog on Thursday.

I thought this recipe looked delightful.

Baked Lemon Pudding Cake

WebMD Recipe

This is an old-fashioned family dessert. It separates into two very different layers -- a cake-like layer on top and a creamy pudding layer on the bottom.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter (no-fat or low-trans fat margarine can be substituted)
• 6 tablespoons sugar substitute
  
• 6 tablespoons super-fine granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• finely chopped zest of a lemon
• 1/2 cup unbleached flour
• 1 1/4 cups low-fat milk
• canola cooking spray
• powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter or margarine well with an electric mixer. Add the sugar substitute and sugar and beat well.
3. With an egg separator, separate the eggs; save the egg whites in another mixing bowl. Add the yolks to the butter mixture one by one; gradually add the lemon juice and lemon zest. The batter will look like lemon frosting at this point. Slowly add the milk to make a thin batter. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they are stiff with an electric mixer. Gently fold the egg whites into the lemon mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pie plate.
5. Place the pie plate into the preheated oven and bake 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the pie plate from the oven and allow the pudding cake to cool. Dust top with powdered sugar if desired and/or serve with fresh sliced strawberries

Have a great day and think of me this afternoon.

Bowling, Coat, Christmas Pudding.

Woo hoo I had a really good game yesterday. Bowled a 540 triple which is good for me lately. In fact the highest triple I’ve had this season. Matt was threatening to leave me behind at the beginning, eventually he was threatening to divorce me. You’ll gather he wasn’t doing so well.

I lost a coat, you may remember I bought a new winter jacket the other day, however, Thursday it was pretty chilly so decided to wear my old one. Couldn’t find it anywhere. Figured I had left it in the store when I picked up my new one. After bowling we went there and they assured me I had taken it with me. When I got home I double checked the coat closet, definitely not there. Later Matt walked into the room with it, he had found it in the bedroom closet. Guess we are going nuts the pair of us. I cannot imagine why we would have put it in there. Of course it’s still too big but warm. I also have another jacket but that’s quite a bit heavier. Very hot even on a cool day like it was on Thursday. Yesterday, going to the theatre, I wore my new coat and froze.

We were discussing Christmas. The bowling alley is open on Boxing Day (December 26 for Americans) which happens to be a Thursday when four of us usually get together to bowl. However, one friend said he couldn’t come and Matt figured it would probably be extremely busy that day so we ended up inviting our other friend to dinner that evening instead of bowling. Our Christmas lunch at the bowling alley will be on December 16. The following Monday was a bit too close to Christmas.

I can’t believe Christmas is so close. Someone on the street outside our apartment has already turned on his lights. Think he left them up all  year!!! It’s way to early in my opinion.  I checked in our grocery store yesterday, I thought I had seen what looked like Christmas puds, I was right, so we decided to get one. I don’t really want to make one. Used to do so regularly, but just for two of us it isn’t worth the effort any more. Not to mention that I don’t need the calories anyway. I think we bought one of their puds another year and it was pretty good. Traditionally, in the UK, we used to pour brandy over the pudding, set light to it and turn the lights off in the dining room. Always enjoyable. The holly tended to get a bit singed mind you. I always like rum butter with mine, what seems to be called hard sauce on this continent.

If you haven’t made a pudding yet, here is the recipe I always used from Mrs. Beeton’s cookery book. The copy I have, as I have mentioned before, is about 79 years old. I have 8 servings listed, but this is such a rich pudding, you will find people only eat a very small amount of it.


Christmas Pudding - Mrs. Beeton

1/2 lb suet
2 oz flour
1/2 lb raisins
1/4 lb mixed peel
1/2 a grated nutmeg
1/2 oz mixed spice
1/2 oz ground cinnamon
10 oz milk
1 wineglass brandy or rum
1/2 lb breadcrumbs
1/2 lb sultanas
1/2 lb currants
1 lemon
2 oz shredded almonds
4 eggs
1 pinch salt

1. Put all the dry ingredients in a basin and mix well. Add the milk, stir in the eggs one at a time, add the liquor and the strained juice of the lemon. Work the whole thoroughly for some minutes, so that the ingredients are well blended. Put the mixture in a well greased basin. Boil for about 4 hours or steam for at least 5 hours.

Servings: 8

Have a great day

My Sunday

Had a fab day. Girlfriend picked me up and with her son, we went to Elora, and older town some 35 or so minutes away. We went to lunch at an excellent restaurant called Mill Street Bakery and Bistro. If you follow the link there are all kinds of pictures. It’s a stone building and very attractive. They are right on the Grand River which we could see from the windows (in summer you can sit on their outside patio). Elora is renowned for its Gorge which is very attractive and attracts lots of tubers and kayakers in the summer. Actually we saw kayakers today and it was damned cold out there. I started with a mushroom pâté, a blend of cremini mushrooms, onions, garlic, white wine, pecans, feta cheese which two of us shared and then I had a lamb burger without the bun together with a small soup which they called Stone Soup but was basically made with all kinds of veg, lamb and beef. It was very good. In fact all the food was very good. No camera of course, my friend took some pix on her phone, but I will have to wait for them. On their menu they listed three kinds of Poutine which seems to have become a Canadian national dish. I have never touched it. In the first place I do not like gravy on my fries. My friends both had the soup, a larger bowl, and one had a macaroni cheese which didn’t look bad, and her son had bison chilli on nachos. Didn’t look bad.

After this we headed to the Grand Theatre in Fergus for a production of M*A*S*H. Sunday matinée being their last performance. A small but delightful theatre. A mutual friend was stage managing the production and did an excellent job. I hadn’t realised, but the production was to raise money for the local hospital and they even had three local doctors who did walk-ons for the play. One even came in wearing a dress with a big hat à la Corporal Klinger. Great sport I thought. I loved the dress a bright red. I recall Corporal Klinger was always very well dressed. We got back home about 5 and my friends had to carry on home as they had a fair distance to go yet. It was a good day.

Today is Remembrance day and we all know what that means. Hilary Melton-Butcher did a good blog about it over the weekend. I have been trying to wear a poppy but no matter what, it keeps falling off my coat. I will try yet again when we go bowling today.

In Flanders Field

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae

Here is a recipe for Mushroom Pâté – obviously not the one I ate today, but nevertheless it sounds delicious.

Mushroom pâté

Making a homemade mushroom pâté can be easy and rewarding, with a more subtle flavour than shop-bought varieties.

8 servings.

Ingredients

For the pâté

• 100g/3½oz butter, plus extra melted butter to seal the pâté

• 600g/1lb 5½oz mushrooms (mixture of shitake, chestnut and button)

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 lemons, juice only

• pinch cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp grated nutmeg

• 150g/5½oz ricotta

• 100g/3½oz mascarpone

For the chutney

• 1 tbsp oil

• 3 red onions, sliced

• 1 red chilli, chopped

• 100g/3½oz caster sugar (our regular sugar is fine enough.

• 100ml/3½fl oz red wine vinegar

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 6 gherkins, chopped

• rye bread, to serve

Preparation method

1. Heat the butter in a large saucepan and fry the mushrooms, onion and garlic for 10-12 minutes, or until soft. Add the lemon juice and place the mixture into a colander to drain away excess moisture.

2. Blend half the mushroom mixture, the cayenne and nutmeg in a food processor until smooth. Fold in the ricotta and mascarpone, along with the rest of the mushrooms.

3. Pack the mixture into eight dariole moulds or ramekins, or alternatively put it into one large air-tight jar. Cover with a layer of melted butter. Set aside to cool completely.

4. For the chutney, heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onions and chili until soft.

5. Add the sugar and vinegar, and boil for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool slightly and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fold the gherkins into the mixture.

6. Serve the pâté alongside the chutney and rye bread.

Have a great day.

Snow, Yolanda.

Sorry, I forgot to post this last night.

Friday morning we awoke to snow on the ground, and on the rooftops of course. Not very thick and once the daylight came it didn’t last very long. It snowed again later, but didn’t amount to much. I wonder, does this portend a very snowy winter?

Seems like the Philippines were lucky in their bad luck because the tornado crossed the islands very quickly and didn’t hang around. What pictures I’ve seen, it did plenty of damage whilst it was sweeping across. The tornado’s name was Haiyan or Yolanda. Not sure why both. Haven’t heard anything from my friend, but as she was in the north, I hope things were OK for her and her family. I assume there will be lots of power outages. The storm is now in the South China Sea, I am not sure if it’s heading for Viet Nam or China. This morning the reports say over 1,200 dead and still counting. I got up late so haven’t seen the news.

Asian Spring Rolls with Cucumber-Mint Drizzle
LCBO Food and Drink
By: Marilyn Bentz-Crowley

The concept is Vietnamese, but ingredients include Thai basil, Japanese sesame oil and Chinese spring-roll wrappers. Depending on the number served, these extra-stuffed rolls can be an appetizer or a light meal with a green-mango or other Asian salad. Alternatively, cut hot rolls in half on the diagonal and serve as cocktail nibbles. These rolls can be prepared ahead and are best hot from shallow frying.

Rolls
4 baby bok choy
3 new carrots
2 to 3 generous stems of Thai or regular basil, leaves only
3 green onions
1 to 1½ cups (250 to 375 mL) peanut oil, divided
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp (15 mL) fish or soy sauce
¾ lb (375 g) small raw shrimp such as 41 to 50s
1 lb (500 g) lean ground pork
One 200 g pkg frozen spring-roll wrappers, defrosted (24 square pieces, each 6-inches/15-cm across)
1 whole egg or 2 egg whites
 
Drizzle
8-inch (20-cm) piece English cucumber
¾ cup (175 mL) seasoned rice-wine vinegar
¼ cup (50 mL) water
1 new carrot, finely grated
2 tbsp (25 mL) finely chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp (25 mL grated fresh ginger
½ tsp (2 mL) dark sesame oil
½ tsp (2 mL) chili flakes
Fresh coriander (optional)

1. Very thinly slice bok choy crosswise. Grate carrots crosswise. Finely chop basil leaves. Thinly slice green onions.
2. Heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Set aside remaining oil. Add bok choy and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes or until bok choy is somewhat wilted. Turn into a large mixing bowl; stir in carrots, green onions, basil and fish sauce. Cool.
3. As needed, peel shrimp including tail; discard shells. Coarsely chop shrimp and add to bok choy along with pork. Using your hands or a large wooden spoon, gently combine until well mixed. Peel spring roll wrappers apart. (Hint: Have package at room temperature and work from middle of a side rather than a corner.) Lightly beat egg or whites.
4. Place ¼ cup (50 mL) packed filling into centre of a wrapper. Shape into a 4-inch (10-cm) log, leaving 1-inch (2.5-cm) of uncovered pastry to each side. Brush visible pastry with egg. Fold up 1 flap over long side of filling log; brush edges with egg. Fold in sides; brush flaps. Neatly finish rolling up, totally encasing filling. Place rolls, seam-side down, on a plastic-wrap-lined tray as completed. (Rolls can be covered and refrigerated up to half a day. Or freeze with only a slight loss of quality; then transfer to a heavy sealed plastic freezer bag.)
5. To make drizzle, seed and finely grate firm portion of cucumber into a bowl. Add vinegar, water, carrot, mint, ginger, sesame oil and chili flakes. Cover and refrigerate until needed, up to a day.
6. When ready to serve, pour enough peanut oil into a large deep frying pan to a depth of 1-inch (2.5-cm). Heat over medium-high heat; when oil reaches 325°F (160°C) on an instant-read thermometer, add 6 rolls. Adjust heat as needed to maintain oil temperature. Fry, turning occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes or until richly golden-brown. Drain on paper towels and keep warm until remaining rolls are fried. (Cook frozen rolls directly from freezer; add a couple of minutes to frying time.)
7. Lay on warmed plates; nap with a spoonful of drizzle including grated vegetables and serve right away garnished with chopped coriander or additional basil. Pass remaining drizzle.

Makes 22 to 24 rolls

Have a great weekend.

Cyclone, Fukushima, Bowling Butt,

Poor Philippines. The world’s strongest cyclone (this year), Typhoon Haiyan, has slammed into them. Apparently they have sustained winds of 314 Km h (195.11 mph) with gusts up to 379 Km h (235.49 mph). That is terribly strong.  Lots of people have evacuated coastal villages and anywhere expected to be in the path of the storm, but typhoons (hurricanes) cut a large swath through an area. I have a friend there and am hoping she and her family will be OK. I think she is out of the danger area. Of course I hope everyone will be OK. We have been through a few of these things, but nothing this powerful. A U.S. Forecaster predicts there will be catastrophic damage.

Talking of this, the Fukushima reactor in Japan which was damaged a couple of years ago, is having work done on it to extract 1,534 nuclear fuel rods, which could be a long job and very dangerous if some of them have been damaged. There is a video with detailed information on the procedure. It all sounds extremely dangerous to me.

Bowling was so so yesterday, although we both had one very good game each. There was a guy bowling next to us with his girlfriend and I was offended at seeing his butt every time he bowled so I asked him, politely, to pull his pants up. He got very nasty with me but later apologised and fixed his belt. My husband and our friends said I shouldn’t have said anything. Why not, if I found it offensive? In fact I think the proprietors should say something.

This is a recipe from the Christmas edition of Food and Drink from our liquor board.


Horseradish and Smoked Trout Paté on Rye Croutons
Holiday 2013

By: Lucy Waverman

For a more luxurious dish, top the trout mixture with a little salmon caviar.

10 slices rye bread
3 tbsp (45 mL) melted butter
½ cup (125 mL) sour cream
¼ cup (60 mL) unsalted butter, softened
3 tbsp (45 mL) prepared horseradish, drained
2 tbsp (30 mL) finely chopped red onions
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 oz (250 g) smoked trout, skin removed
½ English cucumber, thinly sliced
GARNISH
½ cup (125 mL) radish sprouts

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
2 Cut crusts off bread. Brush both sides with butter. Cut into triangles or squares. Bake for 8 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until golden and toasted. Reserve.
3 In a bowl, stir together sour cream, butter, horseradish and onions. Season with salt and pepper.
4 Flake trout into sour cream mixture and stir gently.
5 Place a slice of cucumber on toast. Top with about 2 tsp (10 mL) trout mixture and garnish with radish sprouts.

Serves 6 to 8

Have a great day.

Sweetest Blogger

Father Dragon, aka Al Diaz, has just tagged me for the Sweetest Blogger. There are some questions to be answered plus I have to pass it on to other bloggers. Hmm, who am I going to choose?

The rules of the Super Sweet Blogging Award are: Answer the following questions and Nominate Five Bloggers.


Questions:
1. Cookies or Cake? Both, especially if they have chocolate. I will eat any chocolate Father Dragon doesn’t want.
2. Chocolate or Vanilla?  Chocolate every time.
3. Favorite Sweet Treat? Chocolate Chip cookies, the cookies in the picture wouldn’t appeal to me at all.
4. When do you crave sweet things the most? Usually mid afternoon although, being on a diet, I seldom indulge. I do allow myself 4 Hershey’s Kisses every day.
5. Sweet nickname?  Hon, once in a while, but sweet nicknames are  not really me.

This is always the hardest part, nominating more bloggers, there are so many good ones out there.

1. Yolanda Renee who writes a good blog at Defending the Pen and who’s AtoZ on Margaret Mitchell I found really interesting.

2. Tina Downey at Life is Good. For a person who suffers as much as she appears to, to maintain that Life is Good is a wonderful attitude.

3. Scribbles from Jenn is my next nominee. I do enjoy her blogs. She is another with an interest in cooking.

4. Denise Hammond at Yes Virginia, There is Life After Retirement, she should have my blog title, these days I love to read about her travels or to see the food she cooks.

5. Last but not least, Sia McKye from Over Coffee. I always love her Monday Musings and her knowledge about stones fascinates me. As well as her interest in all things Scottish. Another one interested in cooking.

There are lots of others I would like to have nominated, some of whom already had the award, and some who don’t like awards anyway.

I found this recipe on Facebook. I think I might try it if I entertain over the Christmas period. Going through the recipe I realised that it was incomplete so I Googled and found the recipe at Taste of Home.

Christmas Eve Mice

Taste of Home
Assembling these merry mice is so much fun that the kids will definitely want to help. My daughter gave me the recipe, along with a warning...your guests just might think these treats are too cute to eat!
24 mice

Ingredients

• 24 double-stuffed Oreo cookies
• 1 cup (6 ounces) Nestle Semisweet Chocolate Chips
• 2 teaspoons shortening
• 24 red maraschino cherries with stems, well drained
• 24 milk chocolate kisses
• 48 sliced almonds
• 1 small tube green decorative icing gel
• 1 small tube red decorative icing gel

Directions

Carefully twist cookies apart; set aside the halves with creamfilling. Save plain halves for another use.In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Holding each cherry by the stem, dip in melted chocolate,then press onto the bottom of a chocolate kiss. Place on the cream filling of cookie, with cherry stem extending beyond cookie edge

For ears, place slivered almonds between the cherry and kiss. Refrigerate until set. 

With green gel, pipe holly leaves on the cream. With red gel, pipe holly berries between leaves and pipe eyes on each chocolate kiss. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Don’t you think these are cute? Bit like the Strawberry Santas from last year.

Have a great day

Plagiarism, Guy Fawkes, Emigration

With regard to the plagiarism I wrote about yesterday, it appears that Laura Eno, who wrote the Jewel of Shaylar, is re-publishing the book under a new name Diamonds and Dust and under a new pen name, River Fairchild. However, another author friend of mine has said the following “One  doesn't change the name of an already published book, not in a place where it goes by another name, because people may buy it by accident when they already have a copy. And then you don't change the author's name either--not  without saying something on the cover. It's dishonest.” So, Laura this is good advice, I hope you will take it. I know I would have been really teed off to buy the book and find I already had it. I actually like the first name better anyway.

I had totally forgotten that November 5th is Guy Fawkes Day in England, I usually make some kind of comment. I like to quote the rhyme:

Remember, remember the 5th of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

In England we celebrate by having big bonfires and burning Guy Fawkes in effigy, not sure why him, he wasn’t the principal in the plot after all. We also let off lots of fireworks. It was an evening I always loved, especially cooking baking potatoes in the bonfire which when we ate them came out half burned and half raw.

As I said, I had forgotten for the first time since I have been in North America, which is 38 years this month, at which time I will have spent longer here than I did in my native country of England. In some respects it doesn’t seem that long, in others it seems almost as though we have always lived here. Matt came at the beginning of October to take up his job, but I followed on the 28th of October loaded up with 6 suitcases and a German Shepherd. We went to supper with English colleagues of Matt’s and despite having travelled all day, plus spent the evening out, although we arrived home at what was technically 3 a.m. for me, I didn’t sleep too well, we didn’t have a bed. We had a couple of duvets which I had been carrying, but that was it. The next day we not only bought a bed, but the salesman’s son drove it over that evening in his pickup. We were so very grateful. 

I got a very simple slow cooker recipe from a friend at bowling the other day so thought I would share it. I am certainly going to try it soon. My friend doesn’t have a computer, but having Googled it looks as though this recipe comes from Allrecipes.ca.


Pork Tenderloin in Slow Cooker

1 (2 lb) tenderloin
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
3/4 cup red wine
3 Tbs minced garlic
3 Tbs soy sauce
Black pepper

1. Place meat in slow cooker with the contents of the soup packet.
2. Pour water, wine and soy sauce over the top, turning the meat to coat. Spread garlic over the pork.
3. Cover and cook. Low 4 to 4 1/4 hours, serve with cooking liquid on the side as 'au jus'

Servings: 4


Have a great day

Plagiarism, Bowling, Award.

I have just notified an author that I think her book has been plagiarised. I knew I had read a similar story to that of the blurb I read today, I contacted an author friend who located the right book which it turns out I had read last April although I couldn’t remember the name of it. I wrote a message on the author’s blog to tell her what has happened. I hope it can be sorted out. As I said, I read the original last April whereas the copy has not actually been published yet although the blurb is virtually word for word the same.

Bowling on Monday was great, LOL. Actually I had the best three games I have had in months. Long may it continue although bearing in mind how well Matt did last Thursday, he had a less successful day today. That’s the name of the game though. Frustrating to say the least. I nearly fell flat on my face too, I tripped up a step and if someone hadn’t been standing there, I would have fallen.

I received an award from Father Dragon yesterday, but I am not doing the full acknowledgement today until I have had time to consider who my five nominees will be.

Here’s a nice calorie loaded dessert from Cooking.com which sounds delicious, but… I do love the taste of Maple syrup and am a sucker for Maple candy which most people find way too sweet. You could use Maple candy leaves to decorate.

Maple Tart

Source: Dessert - The Grand Finale

Serves 10

This easy-to-prep tart packs in all the sweetness of Fall. Sugary pastry leaves are fun but optional.

INGREDIENTS
Pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour
11 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 whole egg
1-2 tablespoons ice water
1 egg white, beaten, for pastry cut-outs
Filling
5 eggs, beaten
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup maple syrup
5 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
FOR THE PASTRY: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor and process to a coarse meal. Add the egg and 1 tablespoon of the water and pulse until the mixture comes together. (It may be necessary to add more water, a little at a time.) Remove and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Roll out the pastry to line a 1-inch deep, 11-inch tart pan with a removable base. Line the pastry shell with parchment or waxed (greaseproof) paper and fill with baking weights, dried beans or rice. Bake the pastry shell for 15 minutes. Remove the weights and allow to cool.
Using a small sharp knife or cookie cutter, cut out maple leaf shapes from any remaining pastry. Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed (greaseproof) paper. Brush the pastry shapes with a little of the beaten egg white, place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, until golden.
FOR THE FILLING: Combine the eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup and melted butter in a bowl. Mix until combined.
Brush the cooled pastry shell with a little of the beaten egg white and pour in the filling. Bake the tart for 40-45 minutes, until filling just wobbles when shaken. Allow to cool.
TO SERVE: Decorate the tart with the maple leaf pastry shapes and serve.

Have a great day

Sunshine, Dolphins, M*A*S*H.

On Sunday it didn’t get above 0°C all day and yet the sun was blazing hot through our windows and I had to open the balcony door as it was boiling in our living room. It was, in fact, an absolutely gorgeous day with little or no cloud, but pretty cold. I guess the winter has set in though and warmer clothing will definitely be required from now on.

News story on CBC shows a video of 1,000 dolphins (not sure how they counted them) swimming alongside a BC ferry crossing the strait of St. George. Quite an incredible sight. I heard someone (possibly the captain) saying the Bonito were running.


I was reminded on Saturday that next weekend I am going with friends to a production of M*A*S*H in Elora which is some distance away. Matt is NOT going. A friend of mine is very involved in the production and as she is semi-professional I think it will be a great show. The last one I saw which she directed was excellent. I used to love the programme on TV although this production will be like the movie I gather. We are actually going for the matinée on Sunday afternoon and planning to have lunch first.

I picked up this recipe on Facebook and decided it would be one we would enjoy, we always keep port tenderloins in the freezer. It was just called Pork Tenderloin, but I think I might change the name to Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin, don’t you think it looks delicious?

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

3 lbs Pork Tenderloin (1 Pkg. Of 2 Tenderloins), Cut Into 4 Pieces Total
1 lb Bacon
¾ cups Soy Sauce
1 Tbs Minced Onions
½ tsp Garlic Salt
1 Tbs Wine Vinegar Or White Vinegar
¼ tsp Salt
1 dash Pepper
¾ cups Brown Sugar

1. Wrap the tenderloin pieces in bacon. Place in an 8 1/2? x 11? pan. Poke holes in meat with a fork. Combine rest of ingredients in a small bowl; stir well. Pour marinade over meat. Refrigerate, uncovered, 2 to 3 hours or overnight. Bake in a 300 degree oven for two to three hours. If the bacon burns, place foil over the top after approximately 1 1/2 hours of baking. Remove from oven, cut meat into small pieces and allow the meat to soak up the excess juices in the pan.

Source: Facebook

Have a great day

Clocks Back, Polar Bears, Animation, Battle of the Bands.

Don’t forget to put your clocks back before you go to bed tonight.

We were only talking about polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, a couple of days ago and now there is a report of people being attacked and two bears being killed. Poor bears, they are apparently returning to the area awaiting the ice to form on the water so they can go and hunt for food, the ice is forming later and later and they are hungry and agitated. Global warming is at fault once more. I don’t want people hurt by polar bears, but it’s our fault that the ice doesn’t form soon enough for them any more. Apparently earlier the trick or treaters were out and about and precautions were taken to ensure the bears did not come in to town.

Last night I watched The Incredibles. I did watch it some years ago but had kind of forgotten what happened. I enjoyed it. Matt walked off in disgust. I think it is a cute film. This picture must be from the second movie as the baby is in costume too.

Talking of supermen, I actually played some of the music on The Battle of the Bands, on Arlee Bird’s blog he had Iron Man played by Black Sabbath and The Cardigans. Where do they come up with these names? I said it wasn’t my kind of music but Lee wanted me to listen to The Cardigans so I did. Having decided it wasn’t bad I thought I had better listen to the Black Sabbath. I preferred The Cardigans. Understand I know nothing about Iron Man, so none of it means much to me at all, but from the point of view of sound, I chose them.

As I am on a slow cooker kick at the moment here is a recipe from Betty Crocker that I like the sound of.

Slow Cooker Barbecued Ribs

These ribs are a great main dish for when friends come over.
Makes 4 servings




3 1/2 pounds pork loin back ribs
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons liquid smoke
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup cola
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce

1. Spray inside of 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
2. Remove inner skin from ribs. Mix brown sugar, salt, pepper, liquid smoke and garlic; rub mixture into ribs. Cut ribs into 4-inch pieces. Layers ribs and onion in slow cooker. Pour cola over ribs.
3. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 9 hours or until tender. Remove ribs from slow cooker. Drain and discard liquid.
4. Pour barbecue sauce into shallow bowl. Dip ribs into sauce. Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour any remaining sauce over ribs. Cover and cook on low heat setting 1 hour.

Note: This recipe was tested in slow cookers with heating elements in the side and bottom of the cooker, not in cookers that stand only on a heated base. For slow cookers with just a heated base, follow the manufacturer’s directions for layering ingredients and choosing a temperature.

Serve With
Ribs go great with deli coleslaw, biscuits and frosty mugs of beer.
Success
Spraying the inside of the slow cooker with cooking spray makes cleanup a snap.

Have a great weekend