Tuesday, July 14, 2009

La Traviata, Cheetah's, Weight Loss,

Watched La Traviata from La Scala in Milan last night. We are both very familiar with the music, but have never seen it performed before. We thoroughly enjoyed it although the morality of the play is so very outmoded in this day and age. I wanted to tell Alfredo's dad to "stuff it". Of course, when it was written, you couldn't argue much if you were a "fallen woman". As the cast and everything else was written in Italian, I really don't know who was in it. Luckily they did have English subtitles during the performance. I don't like subtitles per se, but for opera I need them. On GMA this morning saw a segment on a woman who is 'saving cheetahs' in Namibia. Laurie Marker is fighting to save these wonderful animals from extinction. Once there were 100,000 cheetahs, 100 years later the population has been decimated by 90%. Go to this page to read her story and to GMA's Webiste to see the video. It is also being broadcast on Nightline tonight. It is a wonderful story and it took Matt and I back to when we visited the cheetahs at The African Lion Safari in Rockton, Ontario. I told our story on December 27, 2007. We haven't been to the African Lion Safari in a while and I have been nattering about going back for a visit soon. There is, apparently, a new drug coming along, which will help both obesity and diabetes. Oh if only. It will be a good 10 years before its approved for human use, so it probably won't help me much, but from what they say about it, it will be something of a wonder drug. On GMA there is a video about it as well as an article for GMA's website to see/read both. I want it now, I want it now. Last night we were both anti cooking and after bowling I was hot and tired, so we opened up a can of salmon and had salad. Wish I had known about this recipe before. Talking of canned foods, I didn't realise until last night, that Green Giant Niblets have quite a lot of sugar in them. Salt I knew, but sugar? Just shows you, we need to read labels. I don't use a lot of canned or prepared foods of any kind, I never have, even when we were both working, I mostly don't like the taste, nothing beats fresh vegetables. Lemony Lentil Salad with Salmon Eating Well Makes 6 servings, 1 cup each ⅓ cup lemon juice ⅓ cup chopped fresh dill 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard ¼ teaspoon salt Freshly ground pepper to taste ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced 1 cup diced seedless cucumber ½ cup finely chopped red onion 2 15-ounce cans lentils, rinsed, or 3 cups cooked brown or green lentils (see Tip) 2 7-ounce cans salmon, drained and flaked, or 1 ½ cups flaked cooked salmon Whisk lemon juice, dill, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Add bell pepper, cucumber, onion, lentils and salmon; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours. Tip: To cook lentils: Place in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until just tender, about 20 minutes for green lentils and 30 minutes for brown. Drain and rinse under cold water. Have a great day.

2 comments:

  1. Tin of salmon -- a good idea to have one in the kitchen cupboard.

    Cheetahs aren't that beautiful when you come across one when you are out on a walk in the bush, Jo.

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  2. They are always beautiful Marilyn, but no hunting animal is beautiful if you come across it in the wild. The trouble is we are making incursions into their territory and then complain when we get attacked.

    Recently in North America, not sure where now, a black bear was shot because it was prowling around a neighbourhood. Why they couldn't tranquilise it and move it, I can't imagine.

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