1 lb boneless pork cutlets (4 oz each), pounded to 1/4 inch thick
2 large eggs
2 tbsp water
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tsp Italian seasoning
dash cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/2 medium onion, minced
1 tbsp minced basil
1/4 cup dry white wine
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and water. Place breadcrumbs on a plate and add red pepper Flakes, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper; stir to combine.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat; add olive oil. Take each cutlet, dip in egg wash, then into breadcrumb mixture, then into the skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Discard remaining breadcrumb mixture and egg wash.
Add remaining 2 tbsp olive oil to pan, then add minced garlic and onion. Cook 3-4 minutes, or until onions are tender. Add tomatoes, basil and white wine. Stir to combine, bring to a simmer. Return pork cutlets to skillet and cook for 2 minutes more on each side or until no longer pink in the middle.
Place a cutlet on each individual plate, and spoon tomato mixture over top. Serve alongside a green vegetable, salad, and fresh bread.
2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups canola oil
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or real vanilla extract)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups self rising flour
3 cups finely grated carrots
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream sugar and oil until smooth (5-7 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add remainder of ingredients, making sure to stop and scrap down the sides of the bowl.
Turn into prepared muffin cups, heart shaped baking pans, or mini-bundt pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool and remove from pans. Makes 30 cakelettes.
Now, when you’re working with something like shredded carrots and intricate molds such as the mini-bundts, there will be some cakelettes that simply will not loosen and come out in one piece. Have no fear, do what any good chef would do — Improvise!
Layered in a martini glass with sugar free, fat free vanilla yogurt, this makes for an elegant and tasty trifle. And no one need know this was a “mistake”!
But I did lose everything on the hard drive. According to the company:
We are sorry to inform you that no data was able to be recovered from the hard drive that you submitted for data recovery.
Cause: Track Damage
The dedicated track contains all the parameters for the hard drive data.
It is magnetic writing and is critical in finding the data which you requested. Sometimes this is caused when the Read-Write heads writes and does not stop writing, destroying the needed parameters. Sometimes this is also caused when the plastic coating is damaged beyond repair. The plastic coating is layered over the platters protecting the magnetic material below. This can happen when the head on the Read-Write heads gets displaced allowing metal to make contact with the platters.
I wish I could have come through for you, I know how important this Recovery was.
So, there you have it. What I haven’t been able to recreate is now gone. I had a backup of much of the stuff, which is of some comfort. I’m just thankful that my last backup actually was on September 26, ten days before the drive died. I wasn’t thinking coherently and thought my last backup was 20 days earlier than that.
All told, I’m now a more careful person with backing up my important documents and data.
Did you celebrate Thanksgiving? (Remember, Canada’s was yesterday). I did, with a feast that consisted of Cornish game hen, dressing, veggies, and apple bundles for dessert. I’ll be sure to post the recipe in the upcoming days for the bundles. They’re very tasty, and somewhat healthy!
I do have plenty in my life that I remain thankful for. You’ll hear more about this in the coming months. Just remember to do something kind for someone else. Don’t feel awkward in “paying it forward” — you might just be surprised at how the good comes back to you.
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced
5 large celery stalks, chopped (if you have the leaves, chop them too)
2 cups dried cranberries
4 cups white bread, toasted and cut into cubes (or, if dry enough, just crunched up)
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock, separated
Transfer everything to a large mixing bowl, and then add toasted bread, sage, eggs, and pepper. Toss together and use just enough of the remaining stock to hold everything together so that it is moist, but not dripping.
Spray an 8×8 baking dish with non-stick spray, and turn out the stuffing, patting down to make sure all the stuffing is level.
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes until heated through and brown on top.
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb 26-30 shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 medium red onion, cut into wedges, about 1/4 inch wide
1/2 red bell pepper, green bell pepper, orange bell pepper (each), seeded and cut into 1/2″ wide strips
14 ounces tomatoes (chopped, seeded and juiced) (one large beefsteak tomato, or two smaller tomatoes, as long as not hothouse)
Pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Cooked brown rice
Heat the oil and butter in frying pan until foamy. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add shrimp and sauté over a medium-high heat for about 2 to 3 minutes, just until they turn pink. Remove and keep warm in a covered bowl. Next, add onion and peppers to the pan and cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes, until just softened but not mushy.
Stir in the tomatoes, cayenne, and paprika and cook for about 5 minutes (tomatoes will begin to break down and blend into a sauce). Add the shrimp back to the pan and stir to combine, adding Pecorino Romano and cook for one additional minute. Add salt, pepper, and cilantro, stir to incorporate, and serve with a side of brown rice.
Tomorrow is the first of two Thanksgiving “holidays” that I celebrate (the other being American Thanksgiving), but as I hope you’ve been able to discern from my posts, Thanksgiving shouldn’t be just something that you just think about as you stuff yourself full of food. It also shouldn’t be the only time (or, combined with Christmas, the “only times”) you think about assisting the “have nots”. There are plenty of people down on their luck, and while I have little patience for those who are capable of working but will not because they see a job as being “beneath” them, for those who are shut ins due to age or illness, maybe you will consider going a bit out of your way to help those who are in need.
I know, I know, with the current economic downturn, we all are in need, but still. When I was first starting out on my own, really learning how to cook (and I’m not talking about throwing a dish in a microwave or glopping a can into a casserole), I used to look out for my neighbours. Elsie lived on one side. She was in her 80s, her daughter came to see her 3 or 4 times a week. Up until the last six months before I moved, she was in perfect health, had her wits about her, but couldn’t get out, and was frail to the point where she couldn’t cook for herself. The Colonel and his wife lived on the other side of me. He was in his 70s, she was in her mid 60s, and suffering from terminal cancer. Every day, he would rise, walk the dog, then return to bathe his wife, dress her, and bring her (normally in a wheel chair) out to the patio (if the weather was good) or their picture window (if the weather was not). These three people were very appreciative of the dishes I prepared. I learned that I liked spices, and they did too (well, I like pepper more than the average human being, but I digress). I’d cook 3-4 times a week (mostly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and on the weekend), and always made sure that little containers of food (enough for at least a meal for everyone) was delivered. Sometimes, they’d want to pay me for the food — and sometimes, I took the money, and spent it on buying more food with which I fed us all. Sometimes, I refused the money, knowing that they were living on a fixed income.
There was one thanksgiving that I sent enough turkey and sides over to feed Elsie, her daughter Ruth, The Colonel, his wife, and their son. I still had plenty of food to fill my plate, and have leftovers for days.
I didn’t do it because I wanted thanks or glory. I did it because I was giving thanks. These wonderful people were a part of my life — the Colonel is still alive, and still lives there, but his wife passed on about 10 years ago, and Elsie passed shortly thereafter after suffering from dementia and probably Alzheimers’ for about 2 years.
The point I’m trying to make is that to me, Thanksgiving was more than a dream, and it’s more than just a day that we celebrate. It’s a joy that should live on in our hearts, every day of the year.