Bowling, Books.

My bowling team is no longer on the bottom. Whoopee. We are second from the bottom but working our way up. I think it helped that one of our team with a 111 average got 180 today. We were all thrilled for her. Two of the others were getting good scores. Matt not so much and I had an average game, i.e. I got one more point over my average for three games. Bearable. This week we are bowling on Wednesday afternoon as Matt has a minor skin cancer op on Thursday morning. He might be OK to bowl anyway in which case we will probably do so. Wish we could afford to bowl 3 times a week anyway, but the cost does mount up.

I can't remember who recommended Robert Heinlein and his book Stranger in a Strange Land, but I
am about 2/3 through the book. What a fantastic story. I am loving it. He appears to have written a lot of books, can't believe I have never read his stuff before. It is so good I am considering buying it so I have a copy for
myself. On the other hand, I got it from the library once (and it was published in the 60's) so presume I will be able to get it again. I recommended it to a friend at the bowling alley today and she mentioned that she read a book many years ago called The Bell of the Four Evangelists and how she would like to get a copy. I haven't checked, but I am pretty sure I have it and a few other of these books by Violet Needham. They are not adult books, not sure if they would be classified as YA or younger, but I still love them after many years. Nope I don't although I do have four of these books. I highly recommend them.

This sounds like a wonderful twist on Tiramisu, one of my favourite desserts. Trouble is I don't like pumpkin pie so not sure whether I would like this. I do love marscapone though.

Pumpkin-Gingersnap Tiramisù

Food and Wine

Pumpkin pie meets tiramisù, with layers of pumpkin-mascarpone custard and gingersnaps brushed with Calvados syrup. In the freezer, the flavors and textures meld to form a deliciously creamy dessert.

• Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (from 1 1/2 envelopes)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 quart whole milk
• One 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pound mascarpone (2 cups)
• 3 tablespoons Calvados or other apple brandy
• 1 1/4 pounds gingersnaps, 1/4 pound finely crushed

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk the yolks, cornstarch, salt and 1 1/2 cups of the sugar until the sugar is moistened. In a large saucepan, heat the milk just until steaming. Whisk 1 cup of the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Pour the mixture into the milk in the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until boiling and thick, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the pumpkin puree and cook, whisking, for 1 minute. Off the heat, whisk in the gelatin, vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk in the mascarpone.
2. In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave the Calvados with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar at high power for 10 seconds, just until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Arrange one-third of the whole gingersnaps in a 9-by-13-by-2 1/2-inch baking dish. Lightly brush the gingersnaps with some of the Calvados and top with one-third of the pumpkin custard. Repeat the layering twice more with the remaining whole gingersnaps, Calvados and custard. Sprinkle half of the crushed gingersnaps on top and press a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the tiramisù. Freeze overnight.
4. Let the tiramisù stand at room temperature for 6 hours, until thawed. Sprinkle with the remaining gingersnaps. Serve.

Make Ahead

The pumpkin tiramisù can be frozen for up to 1 week. Thaw at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Have a great day
 

Election Day, Drayton Festival Theatre.

Today, Monday, is election day. I had originally decided to work for them but with all Matt's skin cancer stuff going on I had to back out. Pity. Particularly I was definitely unable to go for the training session. Do you notice, my American friends, how short a time this campaign has been going on, whereas your campaign will be continuing for another year? Not that that would worry me if we didn't get all your political ads on the TV stations shown up here.  Luckily we don't watch that much TV any more so it doesn't bother me as much as it did.

Tomorrow, a friend and I are going to see The Pirates of Penzance at a local theatre in St. Jacobs. There are actually two theatres there. I have never been to this one. We have a wonderful theatrical group in the area, I have mentioned them before, The Drayton Festival Theatre. They stage plays in several theatres in different towns. Very professionally acted or sung, depending what they are showing. I have seen shows there I had never seen before and these days I find the local big theatre, Centre in the Square, a bit beyond our price range.  They do get some of the bigger names there but generally not a lot that I want to see anyway. When Sir Elton John came to town he had to go to the local arena as there wasn't a big enough theatre to hold his audience. We did not go to see him. The Drayton group perform in small theatres which are often converted churches or school house. I see they are doing Aladdin at Christmas. They are doing shows like this, copying the English pantomime format, at Christmas and have done so for years now.

We always have pork loins and are often looking for good recipes. This sounds like one.

Thyme-Basted Pork Tenderloin with Oyster Mushrooms

This easy Parisian dish combines juicy pan-roasted pork tenderloin, meaty mushrooms and an

enticing, crunchy topping of walnuts, shallot and chives.

• Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
• One 1 1/4-pound pork tenderloin
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds oyster mushrooms, trimmed and torn into 1-inch pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, 2 minced and 2 crushed
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 large thyme sprigs
• Toasted walnuts, for garnish
• Chopped shallot, for garnish
• Chives, for garnish

Instructions

1. In a 12-inch ovenproof skillet, heat the grapeseed oil until shimmering. Season the pork with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the oven and roast the pork until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 135°, 18 to 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a very large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the olive oil. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until golden, about 15 minutes. Add the minced garlic and the parsley and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat.
3. Set the pork over moderate heat. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, the crushed garlic and the thyme to the skillet and cook until the butter is foamy. Baste the meat with the butter just until the butter browns, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and cut into thick slices. Spoon the mushrooms onto a platter, top with the pork and drizzle with the brown butter. Garnish with walnuts, shallot, chives and flaky salt and serve.      

Have a great day
 

Saturday Recipe

I love mushrooms.

Mushroom Ragoût

 Martha Rose Shulman - New York Times

• Yield 6 to 8 servings

                 

I like to use this as a gravy at Thanksgiving, instead of actual gravy, but that is far from its only use. I serve it on its own, as a side dish, as the base for a risotto and a filling for a pie, taco and quesadilla, as a sauce for pasta and an omelet filling. You can make it with all wild mushrooms for a splurge, with some wild mushrooms, or with a mix of cultivated oyster mushrooms (much less expensive than wild mushrooms like chanterelles) and button or creminis. Make this big batch and use it for lots of other dishes throughout the week.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce (about 1 cup) dried mushrooms, preferably porcinis
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots or 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound white or cremini mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and quartered or sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 pound wild mushrooms, trimmed and brushed clean, or oyster mushrooms, trimmed and torn into pieces if very large
• Salt to taste
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• ½ cup dry white wine such as sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

1. Place the dried mushrooms in a pyrex measuring cup or a bowl and pour on 2 cups boiling water. Let soak 30 minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients. Place a strainer over a bowl, line it with cheesecloth or paper towels, and drain the mushrooms. Squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer and rinse until they are free of sand. Chop coarsely.
2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet or a wide saucepan and add the shallots or onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir together for about 30 seconds, until fragrant, then add the fresh mushrooms, rosemary and thyme, and turn up the heat slightly. Cook until the mushrooms begin to sweat, then add a generous pinch of salt. Stir for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat as the mushrooms continue to soften and sweat. Add the flour and continue to cook the mushrooms, stirring, until they have softened a little more and you can no longer see the flour, about 2 minutes. Add the reconstituted dried mushrooms and the wine and turn the heat to high. Cook, stirring, until the liquid boils down and glazes the mushrooms, about 5 minutes. Stir in the dried mushroom soaking liquid, bring to a simmer, add salt to taste, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the mushrooms are thoroughly tender and fragrant and the surrounding broth is thick, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in some freshly ground pepper and the parsley, taste and adjust salt.

Tips

• Advance preparation: The ragoût can be made up to 3 or 4 days before you wish to serve it. Keep in the refrigerator. Reheat gently on top of the stove.
• You may omit the flour if you cannot tolerate gluten. The sauce will not be as gravy-like.

Have a great weekend
 

Bowling, Jeopardy

Bowling today, Thursday, I did really well. Had my highest game this season, 229. Matt did pretty well too, but not as good. My only problem, why can't I do this on a Monday when it counts?  Last year I had a 300 game but that too was on a Thursday. Oh well. Nice to do it at all I guess, but it would really help to bring the team up a bit. I had to wear a warmish jacket to go out today, it was pretty cold and extremely windy. One would think winter was on it's way. They are even talking about snow at the weekend although I will be surprised if it happens.

The young man, Mark Jackson, who was doing so well on Jeopardy, was defeated on Wednesday

night - his 13th game - maybe unlucky 13? Mind you he went home with $411,000 plus a couple of thousand for coming in second. Can't be bad. He will, of course, return for the tournament of champions at which he will have the chance to win a lot more. He is pretty high up amongst the big winners but Ken Jennings, with 74 wins, is still unbeaten. Tonight, Thursday, the new champion was easily beaten. Always staggers me, these people beat a good champion and don't last more than one show. The new champion shouted his way through the programme. Drove us batty. Gotta put up with him at least one more time.

This recipe was on MyRecipes and was originally from Cooking Light. We always have pork tenderloins. Such a useful meat to keep.

Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Sautéed Apples

This one-dish pork tenderloin entree is perfect for fall.  Sweet spices coat lean pork tenderloin, while apples get a savory treatment with shallots and thyme. Serve with a spinach salad.

• Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 pork medallions and about 1/2 cup apple mixture)

Ingredients

• 3/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into 12 pieces
• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups thinly sliced unpeeled Braeburn or Gala apple
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Preparation

1. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Combine first 5 ingredients; sprinkle spice mixture evenly over pork. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove pork from pan; keep warm.
2. Melt butter in pan; swirl to coat. Add apple slices, 1/3 cup shallots, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; sauté 4 minutes or until apple starts to brown. Add apple cider to pan, and cook for 2 minutes or until apple is crisp-tender. Stir in thyme leaves. Serve apple mixture with the pork.

Have a great day
 

Stitches, Car Repair, Baseball,

So this morning we went to the surgeon's office and Matt had the stitches removed from his leg by a very glamorous woman. Not sure if she was a nurse or what. Certainly wasn't dressed one. The nurse we saw before was in scrubs. She put a dressing on the remaining wound for a couple of days. I must admit, not being an expert, I think the stitches should have stayed in a tad longer.

After lunch Matt went to the garage about the rear license plate light which had broken. Being an old car, they sent him to a store some distance away. I went with him and we got what was needed. Back to the garage and sitting there I asked if we had time for Matt to drive me home, so he did. The gadget was on sale for $4 plus tax $5.50. Not bad. However, it cost $56 to get it fixed. Maybe we should start taking the bus!! They had a super coffee system at the garage. I would like a system like that for our kitchen. The amount of coffee I drink it would be ideal. They had the TV on to a sports

channel which was about to show a game with the Toronto Blue Jays. Now let me assure you I couldn't be less interested in baseball, but everyone has been talking about these games and how they must be home by 4 p.m. to watch them, etc. etc. so I asked how the Blue Jays were doing and was told they lost 2 games at home, won 2 games in Texas and now have a final game at home again. Everyone is on tenterhooks. Just checked, the Blue Jays appear to be in the lead for the 7th inning. I haven't a clue how many innings they have. This picture was taken today at an earlier inning. Being Canadian, I hope they do win. I can't believe I am writing about baseball, must check my temperature. Later I checked, the Blue Jays won 6-3.

I love stuffed mushrooms, I thought these sounded good.

Cheese 'n Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

Kraft Kitchens

12 Large mushrooms (1 lbs)
4 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 clove garlic, minced
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley

Heat oven to 350 °F. Remove stems from mushrooms, discard or save for another use.

Mix remaining ingredients; spoon into mushroom caps. Place, filled sides up, in shallow baking dish. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until heated right through.

Variation: Use Neufchatel instead of cream cheese. Use turkey bacon. Use 2% milk shredded Cheddar Cheese.

Special Extra. Sprinkle with paprika before baking.

Substitute: Philadelphia Bacon cream cheese: Use in place of the bacon and cream cheese.

Have a great day
 

Hespeler Library, Trivia, Jeopardy.

Having read Hilary Melton Butcher's blog about the Birmingham Library yesterday, it put me in mind of the Hespeler library which is in a small town  which has been incorported into a bigger town called Cambridge, Cambridge actually is comprised of Hespeler, Galt and Preston. Hespeler is quite small and yet they have this very elaborate library building. I have never been inside but I consider it excessively ornate for such a small area. There are lots more pictures of the building here. Hespeler itself is an older town with lots of gorgeous stone buildings along the riverside. Originally these were mills and factories but are gradually being converted into living areas. We have friends who live in an attractive stone house with a huge back yard which slopes down to the river. Luckily she is a keen gardener. She has also taken photos of a bald eagle sitting in one of their  trees close to the river. I didn't even realise they spread this far.

I don't know if any of you get the How to Geek newsletter. I do every day and they often have interesting bits of trivia. This was the trivia for Tuesday The sound of a whip cracking is a mini sonic boom; the loop traveling along the whip continues to gain speed until it reaches the speed of sound and breaks the sound barrier.

As you may recall we watch Jeopardy every night without fail. People generally know not to call us whilst it's on. Right now we have a 13 day champion, Matt Jackson. He has just passed a 12 day champion, Arthur Chu, He has a couple of others to catch. Of course Ken Jennings was the longest running champion with 74 games. Nobody thinks he will ever be beaten. We shall see.I was stunned to realise Matt Jackson is only 23. He really is a brilliant young man. Ken Jennings was about 30 when he did his long run in 2004. The money shown in the picture is out of date now, Tuesday night he clocked up over $411,000.


I found this recipe on Yummly. It is apparently gluten free and if served with brown rice, it remains so.

Slow Cooker Thai Beef Stew

Cooking and Beer



Yield 8 servings
Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 1/2 pound boneless beef roast, cubed and trimmed of fat (prepackaged beef stew meat may be substituted)
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger paste
• 1 cup bamboo shoots
• 2 cups Almond Breeze Almondmilk Coconutmilk Vanilla Unsweetened
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• 4 ounces tomato paste
• 4 ounces Thai red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon tamari
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 cups broccoli florets
• 2 cups julienned carrots
• fresh cilantro, for garnish
• brown rice, for serving (optional)
• 
  
Instructions
• In a large nonstick skillet, add the coconut oil. Melt over medium-high heat. Add the beef and brown evenly, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat with a slotted spoon and transfer to the bowl of your slow cooker.
• In the same skillet, left over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and fresh ginger. Cook for an additional minute. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker with the beef.
• Stir in the Almond Breeze Almondmilk Coconutmilk Vanilla Unsweetened, bamboo shoots, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, curry paste, fish sauce, tamari and salt. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
• When you have about 30 minutes left, stir in the broccoli and carrots.
• When finished, served the Thai beef stew over brown rice or a gluten-free option of your choice. Garnish with fresh cilantro and enjoy!
•  

Have a great day
 

Old Movie, Bowling, Kale,

I have just watched a movie I haven't seen since I was a youngster. Not sure how young, the movie was made in 1946 but I can't imagine I saw it then. It has stayed in my mind ever since. I don't remember if I ever saw it again, but seeing it was on tonight (Monday) I couldn't resist watching it. It was called A Matter of Life and Death in England and Stairway to Heaven in the US. It starred David Niven with Kim Hunter as his love interest. Niven is a pilot who should have died when he jumped from a plane without a parachute but didn't do so. He then has to argue his case in front of a heavenly court to allow him to continue to live, particularly as in the few hours before they (the people in the afterlife) realised their mistake, he had fallen in love. There were some good names with small parts as well as well know people taking other parts. I really enjoyed seeing it again. Matt didn't think much of it. He should have been a continuity person because he spots all kinds of things wrong in movies and I have to get him to shut up so I can enjoy the movie.  I do the same thing with books. Like right now, I am reading a great book by David Weber but the typos are driving me nuts.

Being Monday we went bowling. I am delighted to report I had two excellent games and one

respectable one. First time for a while. Matt did well in two but not the third game. We ended up winning 5 of the possibly 7 points, but we are still on the bottom of the list. I really should stop worrying about that as it's not a matter of life and death (pun intended). One of the other bowlers gave me some kale last week when she found out I liked it. Today she gave me some more, it was purple, never seen that before. It is now part of a soup which tastes very good. I do hope she is not going to bring me kale every week. I don't know how long the growing season is. Guess I should check it out. We do like it, but moderation in all things.

I posted a potato recipe last week with Gruyère Cheese. It was called Cheesy Hasselback Potato Gratin. Bryan from A Beer for the Shower said he made it at the weekend and it was wondderful and everybody loved it. Always nice to hear that. Not sure I will try it because it was loaded with calories. I would need to invite a lot of people to make sure I only had a small portion.

Kale, Leek Soup

Thought I would share what I did.

Sautéed 4 leeks, and a bunch of green onions in a little olive oil. I added 2 stalks of celery chopped up then added two cartons of chicken stock. (8 cups I think) and then the kale. I also added salt and then cooked it long enough to soften the kale. Right now it's sitting in the fridge. I will portion it out tomorrow.


Have a great day

Thanksgiving, Bowling, Exercise Class,

Today is Thanksgiving, so to all my Canadian friends, I hope you have a happy one. As many of you know, we celebrated on Saturday. Inviting a friend to join us. As a nod to everyone's expectation of having pumpkin pie, which, sorry, we don't like, I served home made Pumpkin Soup as a starter. It was then followed by the turkey breast with Bread Sauce, the Spanish stuffing I mentioned the other day, Brussels Sprouts (I decided to boil them as I usually do) French cut flat or runner beans, mushroom gravy and English roast potatoes. As dessert, I cheated and bought a Tira Misu from the

local grocery store. It was pretty good. No liquor in it, but as our guest was driving, a glass of wine is all she allowed herself. It was an enjoyable evening. I don't know if I have ever mentioned it, but I always use a cooking bag (oven bag) for my turkey breasts. A 4 lb breast took 1 1/2 hrs at 350°F. and no messy roasting pan.

The only problem, for me, is that after I have been in the kitchen for a while, my back starts to kill me and I have to keep taking breaks. Oh the joys of aging. I wanted a picture for this section and came across the above with an article giving some tips on reducing such pain.

Being a Monday today we are bowling in our league, and our team just has to do something about getting off the bottom rung of the ladder. Although, as it was pointed out to me, amassing points is difficult when not all the team is there, or not all bowling as Matt wasn't last Monday. We are not doing frantically well anyway I'm afraid.

I went to our exercise class on Friday for the first time in a while, partly because of all the construction and partly because of Matt's operation. He, by the way, is doing fine and his leg would is healing up beautifully. His head wound you can hardly see any more. Anyway, I was expecting to find it difficult after not doing exercises for so long and my legs were aching a few times. However, unexpectedly, I didn't feel it the next day so I guess I was fitter than I thought.

I love noodles so this is right up my street. Of course, I don't eat them as often as I would like to, my waist line would suffer.

Spicy Pan-Fried Noodles

Melissa Clark: New York Times

• Yield 2 servings

Garlicky, gingery and as spicy as you dare to make it, this Asian-influenced pan-fried noodle dish comes together in minutes. Most of the ingredients are pantry staples, which means you can make it whenever you need a comforting noodle dish that comes with a bite. If you can’t find the Chinese egg noodles (also called Hong Kong-stylenoodles), you can make this with rice noodles or soba. The key is to only boil them until they are halfway done. (They should be pliable but still firm in the center.) They will finish cooking when you pan-fry them.

Ingredients

• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions (about a bunch; use both whites and greens)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, more to taste
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons rice wine or sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed
• 6 ounces Chinese (also called Hong Kong) egg noodles, soba noodles or rice noodles
• 2 ½ tablespoons peanut, grapeseed, safflower or vegetable oil, more as needed
• 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 large eggs, beaten with a fork
• 2 cups washed baby spinach or 1/2 cup thawed edamame (optional)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sriracha or other hot sauce, or to taste
• Juice of 1/2 lime, or to taste
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds or chopped roasted peanuts, optional

Preparation

1. In a small bowl, combine the scallions, soy sauce, ginger, rice wine or vinegar, sesame oil and salt. Let stand while you prepare the noodles.
2. In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles until they are halfway done according to package instructions. (They should still be quite firm.) Drain well and toss with 1/2 tablespoon of the peanut oil to keep them from sticking, and spread them out on a plate or baking sheet.
3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of peanut oil. Add the garlic and cook until crisp and golden around the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Add half the scallion mixture and stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add noodles; stir-fry until noodles are hot and lightly coated with sauce, about 30 seconds. Add eggs, spinach or edamame if using, sriracha, and remaining scallion mixture and continue to stir-fry until the eggs are cooked, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice. Garnish with cilantro and sesame seeds or peanuts.

Have a great day
 

Saturday Recipe

I found this recipe on Food and thought it looked interesting and somewhat different for supper

Bennigan's Chicken Quesadilla

By diannejm

• Servings: 4

About This Recipe

"I got this recipe from recipegoldmine.com and enjoyed it so much I wanted to share it. These were so easy, and as a novice cook, I was surprised to find the finished product was restaurant quality. I added the Pace Cilantro Salsa to the original recipe."

Ingredients

• 8 flour tortillas
• 1 large ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 onion
• spreadable butter
• 1 lb mozzarella cheddar blend cheese, shredded
• 1/2 package old el paso fajita seasoning mix
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 -3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced
• pace cilantro salsa, to taste

Directions

1. Fry chicken in a pan coated with cooking spray or olive oil.
2. After chicken is cooked, add water and seasoning to the pan.
3. Sauce will thicken slightly after a few minutes.
4. Set the chicken and sauce aside while preparing the other ingredients.
5. Butter one side of all the tortillas and set aside.
6. Dice the tomato and the onion, mix and also set aside.
7. Place a tortilla, buttered side down, on hot pan or griddle.
8. Layer ingredient in the following order on the tortilla: cheese, chicken and sauce, tomato/onion mixture, cheese, salsa.
9. Top with another tortilla, buttered side up.
10. Once the cheese starts to bubble from the sides of the quesadilla it typically is time to flip it.
11. Be careful to keep everything together while flipping.
12. I used a spatula underneath (in one hand) and some tongs to hold the quesadilla together (in the other hand) and flipped quickly.

13. Shell should be crunchy and a golden color.
14. If you find that the quesadilla is semi plump in the center, simply press down with spatula once you have flipped it.
15. Let stand for a few moments and then cut into quarters, serve with your choice of sour cream, guacamole or salsa for dipping.

Have a great weekend
 

Elephants and Cancer, Bowling.

I learned on USA Today (Thursday) that elephants rarely get cancer although they should do so as they age, from everything we know about aging they are ripe for it, but it appears that they have 20 times as many copies of a key cancer-fighting gene as humans which is a possible reason for their relatively cancer free existence.. Bowhead whales have also found a way to defeat cancer and they live longer than elephants, up to 200 years (so long as they are not harpooned) - which is something I didn't know. It's quite an interesting article. Scientists are studying this phenomenon. But at the moment it is merely and interesting fact about elephants. The thing which scares me, elephants are already being slaughtered for their ivory, are people now going to slaughter them for their cancer fighting potential even though it hasn't been proved yet. Sharks are already killed and their cartilage sold as a cancer preventive when there is, in fact, no provable benefit from such cartilage. You know, I never thought about animals getting cancer, in my mind it was a totally human disease. I guess I never really considered it at all.

Bowling today, Matt got on OK although neither of us bowled particularly well. My last game was respectable I guess. However, at least Matt was able to enjoy the game which he hadn't expected to do for a while. We also got the appointment for the surgeon to fix his remnant cancer on his forehead, it will be done on the 22nd. I learnt one thing today I hadn't known. Ten pin pins are bigger than those for Five pin. Somebody asked how much the pins weighed but the owner didn't know, said he had never weighed them. Why would he?

This is a recipe Matt discovered some time ago, when we were living in North Carolina. We used to entertain a lot of people at either Christmas or Thanksgiving, and the first time he made it, as a side, one particular neighbour went nuts about it. Must have been at Thanksgiving as he made her a batch as a Christmas present that year. I believe she ate it all and didn't even share with her hubby LOL. I am not quite sure why we called it Spanish Stuffing, I am not even sure where Matt got the recipe from in the first place, but here it is. I have actually just made a half batch for our dinner on Saturday. These days I don't have access to country ham as such, so I used Prosciutto. I also bought 2 plantain so have one left over, gotta figure out what to do with it.

Spanish Stuffing


1/4 cup Chopped onion
3 Tbs Olive Oil
3 Med Garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup Country smoked ham, chopped
1/2 cup Green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup almonds, sliced
2 lbs ground pork
1/4 cup raisins
4 oz pimientos (jar)
3 tsp capers
2 med Plantain (ripe if possible but not essential)

1. Soften onions and garlic in oil. Add green pepper and ground pork. Stir fry until pork is cooked. Add remaining ingredients except plantain. Cook for approx 5 mins, on med/low heat. Add plantain (use ripe if possible but can be green) and cook for a further 5 mins.

2. Suggest serve separately. Reheat in microwave when ready to eat.

Servings: 10

Have a great day
 

Surgeon Visit, Tiling and Roadworks.

Having gone to the surgeon's office Matt got the stitches removed from his forehead but not from his

leg for another week. It turns out that the cancer on his head was deeper than she thought and there was some she didn't get out so he has to go back again to have that removed although she assures us it is an in and out procedure and won't take long. Matt had the option of some time in the next couple of weeks at the hospital or in her office but not til December. He chose the hospital as it was sooner. Trouble is the parking isn't free there, apart from the fact that the hospital is in the next town. I really don't know why she didn't do it at the time? I asked about bowling and they got him to demonstrate how he does it and they have decided that, so long as he is careful, he can bowl again. He is a very happy camper.

We then decided to get the weekly shopping so headed to the store, had some meds to pick up for me

anyway. Only problem, which we knew before we went, our floor is closed off  so we ended up going to the floor above and unloading a couple of shopping bags from our trolley, and Matt bumped it down from step to step and I carried the bags behind him. You have to imagine that full of shopping bags and ours only has two wheels. What a pain and we are relatively healthy. What the heck other people do who are in wheel chairs and such, I can't imagine. At the moment they are laying the new tiles on various floors and we understand it will take 3 days. The one floor I looked at did look pretty good I must admit. Friends came to visit Matt yesterday afternoon (bringing some delicious creamy patissseries which, of course, I shouldn't eat) and I didn't even know that they were working in our hall. It also turns out that our road is closed at the bottom so they had to phone me for directions and then they had to work out about going to another floor and walking down. The whole of our town is involved in major roadworks anyway, it is a total pain.

A friend sent a link to the most complicated recipe I have seen for a while. Thought you might be interested to see it. It is a very elaborate recipe for eggs and soldiers. It includes duck and special breads. Some of you might be interested in trying it. Looks delicious mind you.

The following recipe might remind you that there was a recipe for Scotch Eggs provided by Melissa Maygrove when we had her book featured on my blog. This follows a similar food theme.

Scotch egg pie

BBC Good Food

By Mary Cadogan

Servings

Serves 8 - 10

Two picnic classics come together in this pastry pie, filled with sausagemeat and eggs - ideal for wrapping up and eating outside

Ingredients

• cornichons, to serve (optional)
• salad, to serve (optional)

For the pastry

• 200g plain flour
• 100g butter, cut into small cubes

For the filling

• 7 medium eggs
• good handful parsley
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves
• 1¼kg good-quality sausagemeat
• 5 tbsp dried breadcrumbs (see tip)
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Tip the flour and butter into a food processor and process to fine crumbs. Add 2-3 tbsp cold water and pulse until it forms a firm dough. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly to form a smooth ball. Roll out and line the base and sides of a 21-22cm deep flan tin or 20cm springform cake tin. Trim the edges and chill the tart case while you prepare the filling.
2. Put the eggs in a small pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 4 mins. Cool quickly under running cold water and peel off the shells.
3. Chop the parsley and thyme. Tip the sausagemeat into a large bowl and add half the herbs, a little salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Press a third of the sausagemeat over the base of the pastry case and make a circular trench in the sausagemeat. Trim the ends off each egg and line them up to form a ring of egg, then cover with the remaining sausagemeat, forming a smooth dome and making sure the eggs are completely covered.
4. Mix the remaining herbs with the breadcrumbs and oil, and sprinkle evenly over the pie. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hr until the pastry is golden, the filling cooked and the topping crisp and golden. If there are any juices bubbling around the edge of the pie, carefully tip them into a jug and discard. Leave the pie to cool in the tin. Will keep in the fridge for a few days. Take to the picnic still in the tin covered in foil or cling film, and serve cut into thick slices with cornichons and salad, if you like.

Have a great day
 

Purses, Surgeon, Gorongosa Park.

I received an email today offering various purses (handbags) for sale. One of them looked quite nice so I followed the link. I was somewhere in the $1,300 price range. There were even purses at over $2,000 although they did have a few cheap ones which were only priced in the hundreds. I'm sorry, but anyone who pays that kind of money for a handbag is nuts. I know some women consider them a fashion accessory, but when I think of all the things I could achieve for the same amount of money. I suppose if I were a very rich woman I might buy them, but are there really that many rich people out there who can afford to buy them? This picture shows the one which attracted my attention and I think it is the one at $1,300 odd.

Matt gets to see his surgeon this morning, I think he is hoping both to have his stitches removed and to be allowed to bowl. Sorry but I don't think either of his hopes will be realised. Much too soon to remove the stitches, especially the ones on his shin. I am afraid I have been neglecting my blog reading lately, sorry about that everyone and I will try and read as much as I can as soon as I can.

Tuesday we saw the last part of a programme we both thoroughly enjoyed. It was on PBS and was

about saving the park at Gorongosa in Mozambique. The country has been torn by war and the animals have suffered really badly. Conservationists have been trying to restore the park with sufficient numbers of animals to attract tourism. It was a fantastic series but on Tuesday night, we saw the film makers and naturalists get surrounded by elephants who were threatening to charge them. One actually did so and if it hadn't stopped, they were having trouble outrunning it. A very frightening situation. The series is available to purchase and is also available for download on iTunes. I don't know when this film was made, but from the look of the pictures tourism has been achieved and the park is doing well.

Here's another recipe for Brussels Sprouts. They sound good, but once again, too much sugar for my taste. Balsamic vinegar is sweet anyway.

Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic and Cranberries

• serves 10 - 12

Courtesy of: Ree Drummond

Ingredients

3 lb(s) Brussels sprouts

½ cup olive oil

1 cup sugar

¾ cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Trim/clean the Brussels sprouts, then cut them in half. Arrange on 2 baking sheets and toss with the olive oil. Roast until brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

2. Combine the balsamic vinegar and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and reduce until very thick. Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the roasted sprouts, then sprinkle on the dried cranberries.

Have a great day
 

Operation, Bowling, Driving,

Today, Monday, was the great day for Matt, at last he could have a shower. Not having had one since Friday morning, he was more than ready for one. We got to unwrap his surgery sites to see what they looked like. I was particularly interested to see the one where she had used a skin flap on his leg. Someone at the bowling alley
described it as a smiley face. I must say it's not quite what I expected to see. Kind of reminds me of the things you see on Zombies. The one on his forehead is much smaller and only needed a Bandaid to cover it again. Just noticed the date on this picture, looks like I need to check the date setting.

We went bowling Monday afternoon, I insisted Matt keep his leg up most of the time. He will be

seeing the surgeon on Wednesday anyway. He didn't bowl of course, and I might as well not have. What a disastrous game. My excuse was that I felt exhausted, not really sure why, I have not been that overworked this last few days although someone said it could be stress that was making me like that. Actually my most stressful time was driving home on Friday. I haven't driven much lately as Matt insists on doing so. Not only that, he criticised quite a lot of what I was doing which made me even more nervous. He might not survive this operation for more reasons than one. I have decided I will NOT sit back and let him drive all the time if for no other reason than my discomfort when I do have to drive.

This recipe came from Mushrooms Canada a short while ago, not got around to using it so thought I would do so today. I am not too sure about all that Maple syrup,  but the rest of it sounds pretty good. It is our Thanksgiving on Monday and we have a friend coming to dinner to celebrate on Saturday. I am thinking I might do this as a side.

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Mushrooms and Bacon by The Brunette Baker

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut lengthwise (about 5 cups)
1½ cup white button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
6-8 slices bacon, cooked, drained, and chopped*
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

*For a vegetarian option, omit bacon and replace bacon fat with olive oil to sweat vegetables.

Method
In a large frying pan, cook bacon until crispy. Remove from pan and place on paper towels to drain off excess fat. Reserve bacon fat. 

Sweat sliced mushrooms in reserved bacon fat. Once mushrooms are tender, remove those from pan and set aside. Add chopped onion into the bacon fat and cook until transparent. Add in garlic. 

Toss in shredded Brussels sprouts and cook for about five to seven minutes until tender.

Once tender, add mushrooms and chopped bacon back into the pan. Pour in maple syrup and mix together to ensure all ingredients are incorporated. Top with fresh cracked black pepper.

Serve while dish is still hot.

This dish is delicious with baked chicken legs, meatloaf, or even a fried egg.

Have a great day
 

Sputnik, The Dish, Matt's Skin Cancer Op.

On Sunday, Oct. 4, I discovered it was the 58th anniversary of Sputnik. This was the beginning of the Space Race and what gave the US the incentive to rush ahead and start launching rockets although the Russians launched the first manned rocket carrying Yuri Gargarin which made a single orbit of the earth in 1961. Funnily enough we watched The Dish again, which is a favourite movie of mine. It's background is the participation of Australia and their main satellite dish situated in Parkes, in the launch of Apollo 11 and the first landing of a man on the moon - Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin - in 1969, July 20. I just found a disavowal from the actual main tracking station in Australia which debunks the movie The Dish, but admits it is a comedy although wildly inaccurate.  I still think it's a great movie and I thoroughly enjoy it every time I watch it.

Today, being Monday, Matt gets to shower for the first time after his operation. He is to take off all his dressings and then we have to put Polysporin and new dressings on, but not such elaborate ones. I will be interested to see his wounds, particularly those on his leg. The surgeon did a skin flap on his leg. I am not perfectly sure what that is or how it differs from a skin graft. I guess I will find out.

 Luckily I have all kinds of dressing materials which was given to me when I had my hip done and when I tried to return it they didn't want it back. He will end up with a bandaid on his forehead but a gauze dressing on his leg. I will also find out when she wants to see him again, it says 5-7 days on the instruction sheet. We assume he can drive, but don't know, and as she didn't do the graft, we are wondering if he can bowl after all. Luckily he has had little or no pain (where there's no sense there's no feeling maybe?) which is great. They gave him a pain control leaflet and I was surprised to see that they now say addiction to pain medications is unlikely and only about 1% of patients get addicted.  I think docs in England knew that before they did here, I know we used to have to practically twist the arm of our family doctor to get Tylenol 3. I remember they did a research in England and found that even with very strong drugs, once the necessity for them had gone, the patients mostly did not get addicted. I have had a lot of problems with making him keep his leg elevated. I really had to nag him at first.

I would also like to say thank you everyone, from both Matt and I, for the well wishes which poured in from everyone. You have all been so very kind and we are very appreciative.

Sunday lunchtime, around 12:30, we were eating and suddenly the phone went. An Unknown Number. Why on earth do these people call at that time of day? If they weren't political or advertising I assume they would leave a message. I get so teed off - we have a phone for our convenience, not theirs.

I don't eat potatoes very often, I am not all that keen on the ones available in this part of the world, and the ones I do enjoy are not cooked in a calorie conscious manner. Like fries or roasted for instance. However, the picture for this recipe piqued my interest, although as you will see, the calorie count on this dish (which I left in) is very high too.

Cheesy Hasselback Potato Gratin

Emily Weinstein New York Times

• Yield 6 servings

 This golden and glorious mash-up of potato gratin and Hasselback potatoes, from the acclaimed food science writer J. Kenji López-Alt, has been engineered to give you both creamy potato and singed edge in each bite. The principal innovation here is placing the sliced potatoes in the casserole dish vertically, on their edges, rather than laying them flat as in a standard gratin, in order to get those crisp ridges on top. Allow extra time for the task of slicing the potatoes, for which it's helpful to have a mandoline (though not necessary, strictly speaking). And do buy extra potatoes, just in case; you want to pack the potatoes tightly and keep them standing up straight.

Ingredients

• 3 ounces finely grated Gruyère or comté cheese
• 2 ounces finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 to 4 ½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick on a mandoline slicer (7 to 8 medium, see note)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

    659 calories; 40 grams fat; 25 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 61 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 16 grams protein; 140 milligrams cholesterol; 278 milligrams sodium
  Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
  
  

Preparation

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine cheeses in a large bowl. Transfer 1/3 of cheese mixture to a separate bowl and set aside. Add cream, garlic and thyme to cheese mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add potato slices and toss with your hands until every slice is coated with cream mixture, making sure to separate any slices that are sticking together to get the cream mixture in between them.
2. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish with butter. Pick up a handful of potatoes, organizing them into a neat stack, and lay them in the casserole dish with their edges aligned vertically. Continue placing potatoes in the dish, working around the perimeter and into the center until all the potatoes have been added. The potatoes should be very tightly packed. If necessary, slice an additional potato, coat with cream mixture, and add to casserole. Pour the excess cream/cheese mixture evenly over the potatoes until the mixture comes halfway up the sides of the casserole. You may not need all the excess liquid.
3. Cover dish tightly with foil and transfer to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until the top is pale golden brown, about 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and return to oven. Bake until deep golden brown and crisp on top, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven, let rest for a few minutes, and serve.

Tip

• Because of variation in the shape of potatoes, the amount of potato that will fit into a single casserole dish varies. Longer, thinner potatoes will fill a dish more than shorter, rounder potatoes. When purchasing potatoes, buy a few extra in order to fill the dish if necessary. Depending on exact shape and size of potatoes and casserole dish, you may not need all of the cream mixture.

Have a great day