Friday, February 16, 2018

School Shooting, Mandarin, Tablet,

I'm sorry but for a 19 yr old to be able to obtain an Assault Rifle means there is something wrong in the nation. I notice that President Trump is completely ignoring people who call for gun law revision. I feel so very sorry for all the parents who have lost their kids and for the relatives of the teachers who died saving them. But this keeps happening. For goodness sake, do something to stop it.

Birgit of BB Creations suggested I should eat bland food because I have had stomach problems. Great idea. Maybe I should follow it, but two days running we had the Sicilian Olive Chicken and then today we went to Mandarin for Matt's belated birthday lunch and I stuffed myself stupid on dumplings and other things - very sensible of me. Tonight I just had a bowl of home made tomato soup but then that's all I could face after lunch. By the way, Mandarin was absolutely packed. None of us have ever seen it like that. I don't think there was an empty set there. I don't know why it should have been so busy but it was so bad we had trouble getting the bill. One of our party said we could walk out and they wouldn't notice. I don't think he was wrong. Normally they have someone offering a mint on your way out, not today, the mints were there. We could have taken one but I don't much like them. Our minimum wage has been increased and so we wondered if they had let some of the staff go. Apparently quite a few places have.

I think I mentioned buying a new tablet the other day, it was an RCA Voyager. However, it didn't seem to be working properly so I took it back. I have now ordered a Kindle Fire 7 from Amazon.ca which is not their newest but should do for me. I don't use it a whole lot. I do have one of the original Kindles but it is not really any good for anything much more than reading or storing documents which I don't really need.

We went bowling again after lunch and guess what, he beat me in the second game again. I nearly left him there LOL.

I'm not sure how authentic this recipe is, but it does look and sound good. I must say I have never made Chicken Biryani from any recipe but I really must try this one. I am trying to use a lot more spices such as these as they are supposed to be good for mental health which, bearing in mind the lack of Alzheimer patients in Asia, is fairly well documented.

Chicken Biryani

A standard in Indian cuisine, biryani gets plenty of flavor and fragrance from the spice mix, which typically includes turmeric, cardamom, ginger, and cumin. We use basmati rice here, which is a delicate white rice with an almost floral aroma. We particularly like Royal brand basmati, which has
extraordinarily long grains.

1 cup plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt
1 Tbs ground turmeric
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-in. cubes
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs minced peeled fresh ginger
5 garlic cloves, minced
4 cardamom pods, crushed
1 1/2 cups uncooked basmati rice
2 cups unsalted chicken stock
1 cup coarsely chopped carrot
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cinnamon stick
2 Tbs heavy cream
1/4 cup unsalted dry-roasted cashews, chopped
2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbs crispy fried onions
1 thinly sliced serrano chile
Lime wedges

1. Stir together yogurt, turmeric, cumin, and red pepper in a large bowl. Add chicken pieces; toss to coat. Cover and chill 2 to 4 hours.

2. Combine oil, ginger, garlic, and cardamom in a large, high-sided skillet, and cook over medium-high, stirring often, until ginger begins to sizzle and toast, about 1 minute. Add rice; cook, stirring constantly, until rice is toasted, about 1 minute. Add stock, carrot, raisins, salt, and cinnamon.

3. Remove chicken from marinade; discard remaining marinade. Place chicken in an even layer on rice mixture. Cover and increase heat to high; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is done and rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Remove and discard cinnamon stick. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in cream.

4. Serve in shallow bowls. Sprinkle servings evenly with cashews, cilantro, crispy fried onions, and serrano slices. Serve with lime wedges.

Servings: 6

Source: Cooking Light

Have a great day
 

14 comments:

  1. All the gun control in the world isn't going to stop someone from buying an illegal gun like that. (And that is just crazy he got one.) Law enforcement needs to stem the tide of illegal guns (and drugs and other things) coming into our country.

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    1. Come off it Alex, Canada and Britain both have gun control and we don't get anything like the gun disasters you have in the US. When we lived in NC we bought a shot gun for snakes and didn't find out for years that foreigners weren't supposed to own guns. We have English accents so it's not like the store owner couldn't have guessed.

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  2. Years ago my ex and are were out for dinner. We were waiting and waiting for the check. We were in one of those rooms separate from the main restaurant. Finally, he got up and walked up to the front. He came back and said that there were no employees anywhere, including the kitchen. So, we got up and left. Never did know what happened.

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    1. How very odd Denise. There were employees around they were just too damned busy for anything. We didn't know why either.

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  3. I love my Kindle Fire! I also love the look of that Chicken Biryani! As for gun control, as a Brit I don't feel I know enough about US gun laws to comment but, as an outsider, it seems madness that just about anyone can obtain really powerful weapons.
    That's Purrfect

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    1. Thanks for that vote of confidence Patricia. I hope mine turns out to be as good. I am still very pleased with my original Kindle. One of the troubles is the God given right many, if not all, Americans feel they have, to carry guns. One friend wouldn't visit us in Canada because he had to leave his gun at the border. Another assured me he would shoot anyone, even a cop, if they tried to take his guns away. Not something we Brits understand or we Canadians really. (I have dual citizenship).

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  4. I so agree with you about gun control. I just don't get why the States is so opposed to some gun restrictions. We have them here, as you know, and we do not have the amount of problems the States have. That amendment was done when muskets were around so I bet that if the founding fathers saw that anyone can purchase guns, rifles, semi-automatic weapons, flame throwers, AK 47s, ..I mean...come on! It is not a right to carry arms but should be considered a privilege (for lack of a better word) so if there are more strict laws on purchasing a weapon and stop the purchase of these guns that the average joe doesn't need, it might reduce these mass shootings. look at me rant!! Anyway....thanks for the shout out and I hope you are feeling better

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    1. So true Birgit. It's nice to live in a country where there is gun control. These school massacres are so hideous to read about. Maybe all these bereaved parents should get together and fight for gun control. Yes, I am, much better thanks.

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  5. I tend to agree with Alex's comment above. There's also no parenting anymore...that kid in FL was adopted as a baby and his parents died when he was in his teens. Parents need to be so much more involved with their kids' lives as they are growing up and be in tune to the warning signals. A quiet kid with an obsession w/ guns and tortures animals needs intervention.

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    1. Yes, but if guns were not so available, one wouldn't have to be so concerned JoJo.

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    2. But that gun wasn't just hanging on a store wall. He purchased it illegally. Parents do need to be more involved. This next generation is so disconnected it's scary.

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    3. True Diane but so do gun salesmen. It seems anyone can walk into a store and buy anything and they don't care so long as they make a sale.

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  6. You nearly left Matt there. That's funny.

    Sorry about your tummy troubles. Very sad on the shooting.

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    1. Well he's not driving at the moment Ivy.

      Yes it is sad but also horrifying.

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