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Monday, February 9, 2009

A Hail of a Day!

We had quite the weather day here..sunshine, hail, a few seconds of snow, then hail again! It really came down for a while. We were watching it as we were worked in the garage on a little project for Jigs..stairs for him to get in our new bed!!! I am such a shorty that I have a little step stool myself. I could fling myself up there every night but that would get old, quick!

For such a little thing it's taking quite a bit of time for us to complete, but Randy is being pretty particular about how it comes together. Still some sanding to do, then putting more of the pieces together and then staining! I hope Jigs appreciates it lol.

I went in the house at some point to warm up and heard things crashing to the ground out there. Sounded like tin pie plates to me. I figured Randy had dropped something so went out to help him and found him on the ground!!! Oh...my heart stopped. He'd fallen off the ladder. Luckily he was okay..fell on his tailbone though and I know he will be super sore tomorrow. Poor guy! And Poor Me!! I couldn't help but tear up after I realized he was okay! Jigs was concerned too..he jumped up on his belly while he was laying there! Very helpful :-)

Since Randy really was the one doing most of the work today I did get to do a little food preparation! First up is a salad which is basically a renovation of one that I'm sure most of us have had a variation of broccoli, raisins, cheese, mayo, etc. I took that idea and switched it up a bit. I think you could do without the cheese all together. Other than that I wouldn't change a thing. Due to the nuts, cheese, and cranberries this has about 7pts (for those who care), but I was full for a long time after eating it as my noon meal.



Broccoli, Hazelnut & Cranberry Salad ~ serves 2 as a meal, at least 4 for a side dish

4-5 broccoli pieces, chopped

4-5 small cauliflower pieces, chopped

4-5 baby carrots, sliced

1/3 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons roughly chopped hazelnuts

1 tablespoon chopped onion

¼ cup shredded cheese of your choice (I used a reduced fat brand)

1 Tablespoon real bacon bits

1/3 cup light sour cream

1 tablespoon light mayonnaise

1/3 packet ranch dip mix

Sprinkle of red pepper

Sprinkle of kosher salt

Mix everything together! I kept some of the hazelnuts whole to give more crunch.


Dinner was something I love and hit the spot on a chilly night. I'm not really sure where I got the recipe from. Its very very simple, and very comforting. Tasty too!! I gave it this name although I'm not really sure the ingredients are true to Caribbean cuisine. I'm sure it would be even better with fresh sweet potatoes. Also, you could get away with half a can of coconut milk. The whole can makes a lot of "gravy" and I like it like that!! Not the most photogenic, but it's what's for dinner.




Caribbean Pork Stew


12 oz Pork, country-style ribs
2 tsp olive oil

1 1/2 cup(s) canned sweet potatoes, drained

13 1/2 fl oz light coconut milk(1 can)

1 tsp curry powder(add more to taste)

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp Creole seasoning

1 tsp white pepper

Cut pork into bite size piece. Sprinkle with creole seasoning, curry and flour. Toss to coat. Heat a couple of tsp oil in non stick skillet. Brown pork on all sides. Add drained sweet potatoes and cooked for a couple of minutes. Then add coconut milk. Cook for about 10 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken. Correct seasoning, adding more curry, creole seasoning, a dash of Tabasco and some white pepper. Serve over rice. Peas make a good side dish.

14 comments:

Cynthia said...

Suzy, such a scare for you, Randy, and Jigs. And I'm positive Jigs will appreciate the stool. I'm sure he's grateful for everything you both do for him. I've seen pictures of him gazing at you adoringly. :)

What an exotic sounding dinner. I've never heard of the salad before, but it sure sounds interesting. I always have hazelnuts and Brazil nuts around. They are my snack of choice these days.

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

My gosh, what a scare, Suzy. I hope he's not hurting too much tomorrow!

I make similar-sounding salad - I love it!

Your pork stew sounds wonderful.

Foley said...

Oh Suzy, Randy is going to be sore! Glad he didn't break anything..but he may need a doughnut..and not the kind with sprinkles!!!

Your pork stew sounds really good..some in the family can't get used to curry..I think it is one of those spices to like or not..no in-between!

Suzy said...

Randy is doing fine :-) He took a long shower and some ibuprofen. Hopefully he can get out of bed tomorrow.

Cynthia, I agree that nuts make an excellent snack. I love hazelnuts.

For some reason the pic for my salad disappeared. I added it back in.

Doughnut..lol funny Barb! I know what you mean about curry. You can really tone this down. The coconut milk makes is mild. But some just don't like curry no way no how. I really am not crazy about Indian curry.

A Grain of Salt said...

Suzy, sure hope Randy is feeling ok now. Yes, my heart would skip a beat to see DH on the floor from falling off a ladder. Sweet of Jigs to show his concern!

Both your meals sound delicious to me. I never thought to use hazelnuts in broccoli salad. Yum! And the stew, a great combination of flavors.

Anonymous said...

Between that stew and the salad, I'd be in foodie heaven. I really really love the combo of sweet and savory!

Thibeault's Table said...

Suzy, that is one gorgeous salad. Something that Moe would really love.

Kathleen said...

Suzy, glad Randy is ok! And I am sure you were a good nurse to him..
Dinner looks delicious, I love nuts in salad too.
Your pork dish sounds good too...interesting combination!

Marsha said...

Suzy, I am glad Randy is okay! Those tail bones hurt like the funny bones on our elbows though...I hope he is not as sore today. I just have to ask...how tall are Jigs steps if Randy was on a ladder?

I hope your emerging plants were not damaged by the hail! And yes, I am one that cares about point values in recipes so thanks for sharing that and saving me the time to figure it out The salad looks like a keeper and the pork looks good but curry scares me :-)

Carol said...

Glad Randy is ok, Suzy, but I am LOL at you flinging yourself into bed :) That's some picture in my head! I am so tall I couldn't imagine. I just plop into bed, no flinging :)

How's Randy doing today?

The pork sounds interesting. Curry is not anything I have ever reached for but it looks so good! The salad looks delicious as well!

Suzy said...

Just wanted all of you to know that Randy is doing good. He does have a big ole bruise on his left cheek (not his face!) but he is all in one piece and not walking as slow as I thought he might. There's always tomorrow though lol.

The curry in this is very mild and you could really use probably less than I wrote in the recipe. The sweetness of the coconut milk and sweet potatoes really balance it out. I ate the rest for lunch today.

Marsha, thank goodness when it hails here its about the size of a bb or smaller. Teeny tiny, so the baby plants are A-OK. LOL..the steps for Jigs are 30 inches tall. Randy was on a 5 ft ladder. He was trying to stuff some big foam pieces (from our old mattress) up in the rafters when he lost his balance.

Carol I am only 5ft..flinging myself is an all to common occurence lol. My office partner/good friend Alice is 6'2 so we look a bit like Mutt and Jeff when we walk the halls of the hospital together. I never think about it until I see a pic of us standing next to each other. I inevitably look like I'm sitting down.....

Kathleen I tried putting on my nurse shoes, but I tell you it was as struggle. I wasn't sure whether I should yell or bust out crying.

Ann..I remember that you aren't crazy about carrots. You could surely leave them out!

Hello Sophie! I too love the sweet and savory together. The best of both worlds!

Debbie@Mountain Breaths said...

Suzy, I am just now reading about Randy's mishap, and glad he is doing good. I know what a scare that was. Hope the bruise on Randy's hidden cheek fades quickly.

I love your dinner. hope it made Randy smile :-)

Cathy said...

Wow, I don't know which recipe to try first. Love the salad and the coconut milk, curry duo for the pork. Guess I'll have to try both.

Sara said...

Both of these dishes look great! I've been really into hazelnuts lately, I even bought some hazelnut oil to use in salad dressings.

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