Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Calendars, Tiger, Christmas,

It must be Christmas, I received three calendars yesterday. Two for the wall and one for my desk. They are nice to receive but you can get too many. I suppose I shouldn't buy calendars, but I do like my wolf picture calendars and get a couple every year. One for my computer room, one for the kitchen. Thinking about it, I gave my customers Avon calendars. It is all a bit of a waste isn't it? I wonder how many thousands of calendars end up in the garbage can. I try and give them away, but other people end up with lots of calendars too. One calendar from Canadian Diabetes provides a recipe for each month. Some of them sounded good, I must check them out properly. Tiger Woods is still hitting the news, and now the jokes are beginning to circulate. I still don't know what it has to do with anyone but Tiger and his family and nobody can convince me otherwise. I just discovered Barbara Walters agrees with me, she says "leave the man alone". You can see her statements on a video of The View at Good Morning America. I agree with her when she says he should be allowed to sort out his life with his wife and children without all the interference from us nosy parkers. GMA and everyone else is full of tips on how to cope with Christmas, how to buy inexpensive presents, where to go for discounts on this or that. Even Dr. Oz gave tips on cooking turkeys the other day - he was talking about heart attacks but ended up with turkeys!!! I don't know what its like in the UK these days, but people spend way too much money on Christmas and presents over here. In particular children are overloaded with stuff most of which doesn't get much notice taken of it for very long. I remember some friends of ours in the States had a room full of toys belonging to their daughter, none of which ever got played with any more. In large families they have taken to having a drawing for gift giving so one person only has to give one gift. That is sensible, but the kids still get more than they need or want. Jesus got three presents only. I got my regular email from Mushrooms Canada yesterday. Matt has always loved cannelloni as made by our Italian restaurateur friend in the UK, maybe these cannelloni will appeal to him as well, they sound good to me. Fresh Canadian Mushroom Cannelloni in a Goat Cheese Tarragon Cream Sauce Source: Mushrooms Canada This delicious dish is inspired by the fresh mushrooms grown locally, year round. Not only is it exploding with flavour, but it is balanced with a great source of protein and vitamins to make an excellent vegetarian meal. So tasty, and yet so easy to prepare. This meal is perfect for when you don’t feel like spending a whole afternoon preparing dinner, but you still want to enjoy a fresh, hot, home cooked meal. 1 360g package fresh lasagna pasta sheets 1 tbsp vegetable oil 15 mL 1½ lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced 750 g 1 red onion, diced 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1/4 cup tarragon, finely chopped 50 mL 1/2 cup red wine 125 mL 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted 125 mL 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced 50 mL 1 tbsp salt 15 mL 1 tsp pepper 5 mL 2 cups 35% cream 500 mL 1/2 cup goat cheese 125 mL 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated 250 mL Prepare pasta sheets according to package directions to make Cannelloni. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add mushrooms, onion, garlic and 2 tbsp of tarragon; cook and stir for 4-5 minutes or until mushroom liquid has evaporated. Add the red wine, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper; cook and stir the mixture until the wine is reduced and most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and add walnuts and sun-dried tomatoes. Set mixture aside. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, bring cream to a boil. Add the goat cheese and stir until all the cheese is melted. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 2 tbsp of tarragon, and remaining salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Cut each pasta sheet in half vertically; place approximately ½ cup of mushroom mixture across each sheet; roll each sheet into cylinder shaped tubes. Place tubes in a lightly greased 13 X 9” (33 X 23 cm) pan; pour goat cheese tarragon cream sauce over the cannelloni. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Place 2 Fresh Mushroom Cannelloni tubes on a plate and serve with the Goat Cheese Tarragon Cream Sauce poured over top and on the side. Makes 6 servings TIP: Try mixing up the variety of mushrooms you choose for the recipe to experience and enjoy new flavour combinations. Have a great day

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