Lunch is served!!!

I just thought Id tease you all today since I have the time to play. Im doing laundry. I made those Foccacia yesterday and felt like having some for lunch. Wasnt sure what I wanted to do with them , then I remembered one of my favorite chef lunches. I call them chef lunches because I didnt always have time to eat at work so I could make a plate of bread, cheeses, pates or other meats and fruit and nibble on them while I worked. I liked it so much it became one of my favorite bachelorette type meals too. Since Im no longer single I havent made it in ages. Today I did.

What you see there is a mixture of this yummy Fig Balsamic vinegar I bought up in Napa at Dean & Delucca awhile ago and of course good extra virgin olive oil. Next is a wonderful new cheese I found at the remodeled grocery store here. They are trying to make it more upscale and bring in new things. Its a cabernet wine soaked cheddar thats why it looks purple and its delicious. So since I only have apples in the house right now , I sliced some of those to go with it. Add the Focaccia to dip in the oil mix and its lunch!

*** I must tell you, these Foccacia are incredible with the Fig/oil mix. Heavenly!!

After-Dinner Sports Tales - Wade Dooley

As promised here is the second installment in my quest to bring you some of the most humorous after-dinner tales, as told by some of Britain's most famous sporting legends.

Last month I wrote about an after-dinner tale as told by ex-footballer and pundit Rodney Marsh.

Today I am turning to the sport of international rugby union and an after-dinner sports tale told by the former England international and British Lion Wade Dooley, the 6'8" tall second row forward, who won 55 caps, was a World Cup finalist in 1991 and won the Grand Slam with England in 1991 and 1992.

Here is one amusing excerpt from a speech made by Wade at a sporting dinner.

"After England's Grand Slam victory against France at Twickenham in 1991, amid the post-match changing room disarray and celebrations, the mighty Mick 'The Munch' Skinner decides to take an early bath so that he can get on the beer undisturbed.

The changing room door opens and the then Prime Minister John Major (a keen rugby follower) is escorted in by the President of the RFU to congratulate the victorious England team.

The first person they meet is a very naked Mick Skinner emerging from the bath/shower area, busily drying himself off with towel in his left hand while attending to his vanity, jiggling his lunchbox/meat and two veg with his right hand.

John Major is confronted by Mick who holds out his right hand and greets the PM with the welcome: 'Yo John! Top man, large, bosh, put it there, how's it hanging?' (Mick always talks in Geordie code like that).

To the horror of the RFU President and the amusement of the England players - and all credit to the Prime Minister who must have momentarily considered a quick exit - John Major took the hand that had seconds earlier been in contact with Mickey Skinner's lunchbox and retorted, 'Obviously not as well as you, Mr. Skinner'."

Beer Goggles - Fact or Fallacy?

Last year researchers at the Manchester University published a study that said 'beer goggles' really do exist and the brain child behind the survey even published a formula to calculate their effect.

Many men have used 'beer goggles' to justify something they have regretted the morning after the night before.
This year some 'dickheads' from the University of Leicester are trying to rain on our parade as they try to chew up and spit out the only decent excuse us guys ever had for waking up the morning after a skinfull with the 'devil woman' lying next to you.........but if recent research is to be believed we can forget the 'beer goggles' excuse from now on!

A psychological study suggests that far from alcohol making men find women prettier, it might even have the opposite effect - making them less attracted to potential mates.
Apparently the demon drink also makes no difference to men's ability to judge a woman's age, and booze also makes no difference to a man's ability to guess a woman's age, the research found.

Scientists asked a group of 240 men and women in bars and cafes to look at photos of women and comment on their age and attractiveness.
Half the participants used in the experiment had consumed alcoholic drinks, with effects rated as 'relaxed and benign', 'blunted and disinherited,' 'boisterous and over-expressive', and 'unambiguously drunk.'

Some of the pictures of 10 young women aged 17 were digitally altered to make them appear younger or older. Make-up was also applied digitally to a number of images.
The findings showed that alcohol reduced the ability of women to guess the age of the photo models, but not men.
Both the effects of alcohol and prettifying a face with make-up had little effect on men's judgement.

Dr Vincent Egan, a Home Office advisor and his 'chuckle brother' colleagues, from the University of Leicester said: 'This study suggests that alcohol consumption and make-up use do not interfere with how old we perceive someone to be.'

Another interesting finding was that overall participants who drank alcohol actually rated all the women in the photos as less attractive, compared to the participants who hadn't drunk alcohol.

This seemingly flies in the face of the commonly held notion of 'beer goggles.' Participants consistently over-estimated the age of both mature and immature faces by an average of three and a half years.

Reporting their results in the British Journal of Psychology, the researchers wrote: 'Although alcohol limited the processing of maturity cues in female observers, it had no effect on the age perceptions of males viewing female faces, suggesting male mate preferences are not easily disrupted.'
'Beer goggles’ could really be the result of lowered inhibitions, or that people are more willing to take a risk.

They clearly didn't use subjects that were drunk enough. After only a few drinks when peoples' inhibitions loosen up it's much easier for them to be mean. You need to get people past that and to the pissed/drunk stage where people just don’t give a toss any more.

Eagan said: 'Men over-estimate women’s ages and this study backs that up' and added 'it also shows that drink has nothing to do with it.'

On a more serious note, they said the influence of alcohol should not be a mitigating factor in the case of a man accused of having sex with someone under-age.
'Our study suggests that even heavy alcohol consumption does not interfere with age-perception tasks in men, so is not of itself an excuse for apparent mistaken age in cases of unlawful sex with a minor,' they wrote.

However if the research from Manchester University needed confirmation then
the 'boffins' at Bristol University also claim ‘beer goggles’ really do exist, and it takes less than two pints to distort people's opinions.

According to one report, Vodka-drinkers were told to rate the appeal of 20 male and 20 female faces on a seven-point scale. The same faces were shown to volunteers who had consumed only soft drinks. The boozers scored the faces 10 per cent higher.
And the effect on men lasted up to 24 hours after alcohol consumption - giving blokes something more than just a hangover to worry about!

Scaremongering or not, in effect this report is saying one and a half pints is all it takes to make a bloke lose the ability to distinguish the difference between a beauty and a beast.

Once we've decided that 'beer goggles' are real, the next thing we need is a way to easily quantify the effect their having on our judgment in real time. That's where the easy to use Beer Google Calculator comes in handy, and is based on the formula originally developed by the geniuses at Manchester University.

Be sure to bookmark the Beer Goggle Calculator on your phone so that you can quickly find it in your time of need. And by 'time of need' I mean in a dimly lit soiled bar while you're waiting for drink number eleven.

FYI
As @ Monday 09 March 2009:

According to the World Health Organisation top of the table for per capita drinking in the World is Luxembourg (15.6 litres per capita) followed by Ireland, with the U.K not far behind at 13.7 litres.
Next is Hungary (13.6 litres), Moldova (13.2 litres), Czech Republic (13.0 litres), Croatia (12.3 litres) and Germany(12.0 litres).
We are ahead of Russia (10.3 litres) and also the United States (8.6 litres).

It remains to be seen if one of the upsides of this recession will be a fall in drinking as more people re-evaluate their lifestyles, values and finances!

Jolt Endurance Shot Grape Flavour Review

I know this is an oldie, but I have never had it. Good thing I bought this when I did because I am absolutely exhausted this morning for some unknown reason. The shot cost me $2.99 and is the more popular one. I saw another Jolt shot sitting next to it with a pink cap.

Unlike the shots I have had recently, this one comes in the standard 60 mL package with a small cap. The aroma that is being emitted is not the most inviting one to be honest. In fact, it reminds me of dry cat food. The taste is very sour and a bit ranky. No, this shot has not expired, I double and triple checked, it had a good 3 months left. I think there is the taste of concord grape underneath the sourness, but it is not a very pleasant one. The aftertaste is even worse. It is very foul at first, at lot like rotten grapes, but after a minute or so it settles and all there is, is the acidic kick. The foulness is never completely gone in the aftertaste, but at least it is not as strong as immediately after drinking the shot. I don't like this taste at all, but at least there is no bitterness to add to the rankiness.

Forget the taste now, this shot contains 200 mg of caffeine plus some from the guarana seed extract. This is a case of a potent drink with a horrible taste. The shot started working quickly and I started to wake up in about 20 minutes after consuming it. While being awakened by the high caffeine content, I started to feel focused and very calm. I love energy shots that give me this feeling as I can use this energy to completely focus on something important before all the caffeine kicks in and I am flying around the room or trying to climb the walls. The period of focus and calmness lasted for about 20 minutes, which is not long enough, but better than some shots. After the 20 minutes, I was feeling the effects of the 200 mg of caffeine and was ready to jump off my chair and run around. The funny thing about this shot was that the energy high disappeared in less than 2 hours for about 30 minutes and then I felt energized again for another hour. I did not experience a crash or a headache, but it was an odd energy shot effect.

Medicinal Ingredients:

• Vitamin B6 - 50 mg
• Folate - 500 mcg
• Vitamin B12 - 45 mcg
• Pantothenic acid - 20 mg
• D-Glucuronolactone - 450 mg
• Taurine - 1,184 mg
• Caffeine - 200 mg
• Guarana seed extract equivalent to 200 mg - 50 mg
• Panax ginseng root extract equivalent to 150 mg - 50 mg
• L-Leucine - 10 mg
• L-Valine - 10 mg

Non-medicinal Ingredients: water, sucralose, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, guar gum xanthan gum, malic acid, FD&C Blue #1, FD&C Red #40, natural and artificial grape flavour, maltodextrin, sodium citrate, sodium chloride, monopotassium phosphate.

Pretty lengthy lists of ingredients, right?

Scores:
Cost - $2.99 CAD for a 60 mL shot
Taste - 3/10
Energy - 9/10

Overall - 12/20...foul taste with an equally foul aftertaste, but provides an amazing energy boost

Treehugger Premium Organic Lime Lemonade Review

A few months ago I came across the treehugger Orange juice, which I thought was made by the popular blog treehugger, but was disappointed to learn that this was not true. The juice was OK, but I thought it was not worth the $2.99 price tag. Well, a couple of days ago I found the treehugger lime lemonade, which was priced at only $1.39, less than half the price of orange juice. I decided to get a bottle because it was cheaper than the Minute Maid lemonade. The price was suspicious at first, but carefully read the label and determined that the juice was not past its expiration date.

Remember to shake these juices as there was a lot of pulp and sediment at the bottle. Once I shook it, the color changed from pale and clear yellow, to a cloudy pale yellow which made the beverage resemble lemonade. The label states that the lemonade is "an elegant blend of Organic Tahitian limes and Organic Sicilian lemons: Not too sweet & not too sour...just perfect!" I would almost agree with this if the lemonade was a tad less sour. The sweetness level is...well...perfect, but the beverage is a bit sour. I like sour things, but towards the end of the bottle, my jaw was clenching. Despite the sourness, I find this lemonade to be much more enjoyable than many of the other lemonades that come in similar packages and are sold at convenience stores or gas stations. Good job, I like this better than the orange juice.

Scores:
Cost - $1.39 CAD for a 355 mL bottle
Taste - 8.5/10

Overall - 8.5/10...better than other lemonades that some in similar packages

Hot Creamy Cocoa

Photo: Graham van der Wielen

Homemade cocoa simply doesn't compare to the store bought stuff; which comes from a can or envelope!

Treat yourself and/or family to some delectable hot cocoa on the cold winter's days which lay ahead. ~ Liz Rhoades


Creamy Hot Cocoa

 Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup Splenda or white sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 3 1/2 cups 2% milk
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup half-and-half dairy cream

Directions

• Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. 
• Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. 
• Simmer and continue stirring for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn't burn. 
• Stir in milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla. 
• Divide cocoa between 4 mugs or big cups. 
• Add the cream to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature. 
• *Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top if you like

Original recipe: AllRecipes.com

Xyience Xenergy Orange Fuel Review

It took months for this flavour to make its way across the border, but I waited patiently and always checked the fridges at gas stations, convenience stores and supermarkets. Now that it finally arrived, I couldn't wait to crack it open and drink it.

Taste

I was honestly expecting this to taste like orange soda, but was pleasantly surprised after the first sip. The taste starts off with a mellow, just a touch citric orange taste which quickly turns into a mildly sweet and lightly citrusy tangerine one. The finish is mostly of tangerines with a little orange flavour in the background. The back of the label states that there is mango flavouring, but I personally cannot detect any of it. Being a Xenergy, there is no sugar in this energy drink and its diet taste is surprisingly subtle. Usually diet drinks are dominated by artificial sweeteners, but not this. Having said that, I don't mean that you won't be able to taste the sweeteners, it's just that they are not as dominant, which makes this drink much better tasting than other diet energy drinks.

Energy

Being a black Xenergy, there are 200 mg of caffeine in the can and the effects of the drink start to become apparent within 15-20 minutes. Some jitters were experienced, but that was expected from an energy drink with this much caffeine. Once the jitters died down, the caffeine took full effect and the ride was pretty solid...for about 3-4 hours when I noticed I was starting to run out of steam. I did not experience a crash, but I just felt like riding the caffeine high some more.

Medicinal Ingredients:

• Taurine - 2,000 mg
• Glucuronolactone - 200 mg
• Caffeine - 200 mg
• Guarana - 100 mg
• Panax Ginseng - 100 mg
• Pantothenic acid - 100 mg
• Inostol - 50 mg
• Niacin - 40 mg
• Vitamin B6 - 10 mg
• Vitamin B12 - 20 mcg

Non-medicinal Ingredients: filtered carbonated water, citric acid, sodium citrate, natural flavour of orange, natural flavour of mango, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, beta carotene.

Scores:
Cost - $2.99 CAD for a 473 mL can
Taste - 8.5/10
Energy - 8.6/10

Overall - 17.1/20...tastes fantastic for a sugar free drink and has a lot of caffeine

Bread and Butter Pickles

 Ive made this on and off thru the years, they are pretty good.

BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES

8lbs. cucumbers
2lbs. white onions
1/2c. salt (I used coarse kosher salt)
1 qt. white vinegar
2c. sugar ( I used organic)
2 tsp. celery seed
2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. dry mustard

Cut unpeeled cucumbers and peeled onions into slices about 1/8in. thick. 

Arrange in layers in a large kettle or bowl, sprinkling each layer with salt.

 Let stand for 3hrs. then drain and rinse well.

 Bring other ingredients to a boil in a large pot. 

Add drained vegetables and stir to coat with seasonings. Bring to a boil again.Pack into hot, sterilized jars and seal.

 Process in water bath 10min.

I didn'tmake the full recipe this time..........I only had 5lbs of cukes but Idid make the full amt of juice for it and used it all. Also be aware turmeric stains everything so if you spill the juices wipe it up fast.

That Girl's Rainy Day Cookies

It's pouring rain today and we have company arriving this afternoon...what to make for everyone's enjoyment? How about cookies?!?

I starting grabbing ingredients out of the pantry and came up with this recipe; which is sure to bring sunshine to a rainy day.  It has a bit of everything in it from oatmeal to chocolate chips as well as raisins.  I love using organic sugar (aka unrefined evaporated cane juice) for baking as it creates a nice bit of crispness on the outside and softness in the middle of cookies. We are enjoying some of these Rainy Day cookies with our coffee this morning...we hope you enjoy them too.  Have a great weekend.

That Girl's Rainy Day Cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Yields: 48 cookies (4 dozen)

Ingredients:
•1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•1/2 teaspoon Mediterranean Sea Salt
•1 teaspoon Ground Saigon Cinnamon
•1 cup Organic Sugar (evaporated cane juice)
•1/2 cup packed brown sugar
•1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
•2 large eggs
•2 tablespoons nonfat milk
•2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
•2 1/2 cups Quaker© quick oats
•1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
•1 cup Raisins
•1 cup chopped Walnuts
•1/2 cup shredded Coconut

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in small bowl. Beat sugars and butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats, morsels, raisins and nuts; mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE

I love pumpkin lattes. So glad starbucks came out with them. I wait all yr for when they make them but I cant always afford to have it or cant always get there so I found this great alternative. Its from the Susan Branch cookbooks. If you have never seen her books your in for a visual treat. They are like talking to a girlfriend.....stories, great watercolor drawings and lots of tried and true recipes.

Pumpkin latte makes 1

2 heaping tb. canned pumpkin
1 tb. brown sugar
1tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp.pumpkin pie spice
hot coffee, decaf or espresso
hot milk
Into each lg. mug put first 4 ingred. Fill cup halfway with coffee and stir well. Fill cup with hot milk and whisk. Top with whipped cream, dust with nutmeg.

This is from Susan Branch's Autumn cookbook. Sometimes I add a bit more fresh pumpkin but too much just makes pumpkin sludge at the bottom of your cup. And Ive also used vanilla syrup instead of brown sugar and vanilla. I just use regular coffee most times cuz thats what we have around here but its delish. The biggest problem is what to do with the leftover pumpkin, I can never use it all before it goes bad. Im thinking maybe next time of freezing measured portions on a tray then popping them in a freezer bag. It should keep and u can take out what you need and it should thaw fast. Of course you wouldnt want to put it frozen in your hot coffee or it will make it cold fast!

The Worst Sporting Champions of All Time ! - Part One

The World Cup is over, Spain were victorious and they are the World Champions. At the end of the day whilst watching it from my humble abode here in the UK it is in my opinion that Spain were indeed worthy winners, although it was generally a disappointing tournament all-round in terms of the quality of the football played, and the embarrassment and humiliation the England players and management team bestowed upon our nation!

This article is part one of several to come celebrating those undeserved 'Sporting Champions' - those teams and/or individuals that were actually top of their field, yet were still pretty rubbish.

For this reason I shall call them 'Sport's Greatest Ever Pretenders,' starting with:
Blackburn Rovers - Premiership Champions 1995.

How did a team based around the workmanlike talents of Tim Sherwood and Jeff Kenna become champions of England?

Stick nine men behind the ball, hoof it up to Alan Shearer and hope he's not too busy flapping his pointy elbows into some poor old defender's eye socket, and in the interim point in time he whacks the ball into the back of the onion bag. That is how!

Ole, ole ole!.............free-flowing, aesthetically pleasing, champagne football!

That season Manchester United had been handicapped by the loss of the mercurial Eric 'the karate kid' Cantona, following a now well documented altercation with a Crystal Palace fan at Selhurst Park one January evening in 1995. Without the suspended Frenchman it immediately became advantage Rovers, but they still failed to claim their prize with any assumed authority.

They stumbled over the finishing line, losing three of their final five games, the last of which gave Manchester United the chance to snatch the title with the very last kick of the season, if they could win at West Ham. Luckily for Rovers, that final kick fell to United's Achilles heel, Andy Cole's club foot - and Kenny Dalglish's men topped the table by a single point.

They danced and they sang without a hint of ignominy, as this small Lancashire club lifted the Premier League trophy, just four years after the arrival and the aid of the late Jack Walker's dynasty and his millions.

Such end-of-season shamelessness would never be seen again............that was until Chelsea insisted that it 'wasn't all about Roman's f***ing money,' when in June 2003 Ken Bates sold Chelski to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £140 million, completing what was then the biggest-ever sale of an English football club.

He subsequently spent over £100 million on new players, as they went onto become the fifth English team to win (buy) back-to-back league championships since the Second World War in 2004/05 and 2005/06.

'Quote of the Week' - Gordon Strachan

May I thank 'Mr Celtic' for a comment he made this week that was so simplistic, yet true that every walking, talking living doll that has ever been out on the lash can relate to it.
I was greatly touched that the 'Sweaty Sock' should include me (and you) when he addressed the point in question to his players and staff alike.
Cheers Gordon!

He said:- "Going out drinking doesn't help team spirit. When you drink you just tell lies and talk rubbish"

I say:- Guilty as charged.
As a consequence may I suggest this weekend that we all celebrate our inclusion into the lifestyles of the football emporium by talking nonsense whilst necking copious amounts of liquor, starting with a wee dram of finest Highland Malt Whisky in honour of Mr.Strachan, even if it does stunt your growth.
God Bless you all!

Holiday Survival Week ~ Green Bean Casserole Variations

Side dishes truly make your Holiday meal! The great thing is that you don't have to slave all day to have great side dishes. We've provided two versions of the always popular green bean casserole; including a healthier version (which I actually prefer).

Classic Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup milk
2 (9 ounce) packages frozen green beans
1 1/3 cups French-fried onions
ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
In a 1-1/2 quart casserole mix soup, milk, and pepper. Stir in beans and 2/3 cup french fried onions.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes or until heated through, stir. Top with remaining 2/3 cup of french fried onions. Bake 5 minutes more or until the onions are golden.

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *   *   *    *    *    *    *    *
Healthier Version: Delicious Almond Green Beans Side Dish

Ingredients:
2 pounds of thin green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 cup of whole almonds with skin, coarsely chopped
1-1/2 tablespoons of finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 large garlic clove, minced
1-1/2 cups of coarsely chopped parsley leaves

Directions:
Begin by heating the olive oil in a large skillet over low to medium heat until it is hot but be sure it is not smoking. Add almonds and toast. Stir constantly until they are golden brown in color, approximately four minutes. Transfer the almond mixture to a small bowl and stir in freshly grated lemon zest and the minced garlic clove. Allow mixture to cool.

Add parsley. If you want some extra seasoning, add some salt, pepper or other seasoning. Set aside.

Next, cook the green beans in a pot of boiling salted water until they are tender, approximately eight minutes. Drain the water from the green beans and place in serving dish. If you want to season the green beans, do so now with salt, pepper, or any other seasoning. Add some of the almond sauce to the green beans. You can serve the rest of the sauce on the side. Makes 8 servings.

Thank You Bakerella!!!

Bakerella is famous for her Cake Pops. She makes really cute pops for all of the holidays, and this time around I couldn’t resist trying them! My friend Sara and I spent an entire day decorating our cute little creations (some of which are pictured above).

We started by baking cakes from a cake mix. After the cakes baked and cooled, we crumbled them into a bowl and mixed them with frosting. Next, we rolled them into balls (about the size of a quarter). The balls needed to go in the freezer for a few minutes while we melted our candy melts. It was necessary to dip the lollipop sticks into the chocolate melts before putting them into the balls. This made it so the balls wouldn’t fall off the sticks. Once the balls were all on sticks, we placed them into foam blocks and put them back into the freezer. After a few minutes we were able to dip the cake pops into candy melts and decorate away. It’s amazing what you can do with cake sprinkles and confetti! For more details on how to make Bakerella’s Famous Cake Pops check out her website at http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2008/08/hope-these-put-smile-on-your-face.html

SEA'S HAM GLAZE

One more recipe for the spring time.......since its the time of the year we tend to have ham for easter.
SEA'S HAM GLAZE makes enough for about a 10-12lb ham
Whole cloves to stud the ham with
4tb. Dijon mustard
1 lg. clove garlic, mashed
1/2c. Chinese duck sauce
Dash of orange juice
1/2 c. brown sugar
Heat oven to 400 degrees. With a sharp knife score the top of the ham in a diamond pattern. Stud with cloves at every intersection. Combine mustard, garlic, and duck sauce with enought orange juice to make a syrupy mixture. Spread evenly over top and sides of ham. Sprinkle surface with brown sugar and bake 90min. Serve hot or cold.
I baste the ham with this as its baking as it tends to slide off the ham. As you do it makes a nice glaze and its delish! I use the Chinese duck sauce you buy back east, the kind thats orange looking made with apricot and plums. I cant get it here so I get mom to send it. But Im sure you could use any Chinese fruit type sauce you find or even apricot jam.

Two Classic World Cup Underachievers in Final Clash - Betting News with Betfred

After all the hype about the South American teams impressing at the World Cup, it comes down to two European sides to battle it out in the 2010 World Cup Final.

The Netherlands looked impressive in beating a lacklustre Uruguay in their semi-final, the 3-2 scoreline making the game seem a lot tighter than it actually was.

As for Spain, despite all their intricate play and crisp passing, it took a bullet header from a set-piece by 'the perm haired old rocker' Carlos Puyol to book their place in Sunday's final.

It was a narrow win over a well-drilled German side, and perhaps the most surprising statistic was that Spain striker David Villa did not get on the score sheet.

Now, the Dutch are 11/4 outsiders in the World Cup Final betting with Betfred, while their Iberian opponents are favourites at 11/10.

In the final it will be a battle for the Golden Boot as Villa and Wesley Sneijder are both level on five goals apiece - with Villa priced at 4/5 to finish the tournament as top goal scorer compared to 9/4 for Sneijder.

While Holland look reliant on Sneijder and Arjen Robben to provide the pace, skill and the goals, it is clear the likes of Mark van Bommel, John Heitinga and Dirk Kuyt are the Dutch work horses and ball winners.

Spain showed against Germany how effective their midfield is. Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and Alonso all look comfortable knocking the ball around, and the entire side seem able to play a sharp and direct passing game. With Villa up front they also look to have the best striker in the entire competition, and the betting odds suggest he is likely to find the net again.

Last night, Pedro impressed when coming off the bench, and he can offer a lot to the side if he is called upon in the final. However, despite a relatively poor tournament thus far it would be foolish for any football fan to write off the dangers of Fernando Torres, who is 6/1 to score first in the final.

Whatever happens, a new name will be on the trophy after the two great underachievers of world football collide in what should be an open game between two teams who both play attractive, free-flowing and attacking football.

My Tip Of The Weekend:

Both sides look impressive going forward, so 6/4 for there to be more than 2.5 goals in the final looks like good value.

World Cup Final 2010: The Netherlands v Spain - Sunday 11th July, kick-off 7.30pm GMT

By Drew Swainston
(Guest writer from Betfred on behalf of Beer Footy and Birds!)

Football Club Nicknames

With the new footy season only three weeks away and pre-season friendlies and club tours well and truly upon us, I thought it might be time to write a short piece on a source of information that every football supporter can relate to........club nicknames.

The tradition of football clubs having a nickname often extends back to when the club was first created.

In Britain, football club nicknames basically fall into five broad categories:-

1/ Colours - not very imaginative for obvious reasons, e.g The Blues, The Reds, The Sky Blues.

2/ Animals - only slightly more creative, e.g The Rams, The Tigers, The Foxes, The Lions, The Terriers.

Birds are a particularly popular choice, e.g The Eagles, The Seagulls, The Robins, The Magpies, The Owls, The Canaries.

3/ The Town's Traditional Industry - e.g The Hatters, The Irons, The Railwaymen, The Silkmen, The Saddlers, The Chairboys, The Glovers, The Tractor Boys, The Cobblers, The Blades.

4/ Local Landmarks - e.g The Minstermen, The Imps, The Spireites.

5/ The Obscure - Often endlessly debated and ultimately incomprehensible, e.g The Baggies, The Monkeyhangers, The Shakers, The Pilgrims and Posh.

A glance through the League's nicknames is still a pretty reliable guide to 19th-century industrial England, when you could safely assume that shoes came from Northampton, chairs from Wycombe and saddles from Walsall.

From the 1960's some clubs began to discard nicknames that they felt didn't convey the right kind of image.
Such clubs included Chelsea (formerly The Chelsea Pensioners, now The Blues), Crystal Palace (formerly The Glaziers, now The Eagles) and Reading (formerly The Biscuitmen, now The Royals).

Bristol Rovers are officially known as The Pirates, but more commonly as The Gas, after the gasworks next to their former ground at Eastville.

Fans of Everton and Manchester City are these days reluctant users of their given names, The Toffees and The Citizens respectively.

Swansea City, officially The Swans, have also adopted the town's nickname of The Jacks, allegedly after the 1930's lifesaving exploits in Swansea docks of a black retriever called, unsurprisingly Jack.

Charlton have without doubt the least conclusive or decisive club nickname in the league, flirting between The Robins, The Valiants and The Addicks.
The Addicks is a corruption of the word 'haddocks' and named after a local fish and chip shop, and also apparently because a local fish man would shout 'haddocks'..........all very odd!

In 1997 after leaving their Roker Park ground, Sunderland formerly The Rokerites decided to be known as The Black Cats.

More recently a few clubs have adopted more snazzy go-getting names, such as QPR's 'Superhoops', Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang' and Scottish club Livingston's 'Livi Lions.'
Thankfully football has been largely immune to the American-inspired rebranding efforts that have affected some sports, including rugby league and to a certain degree limited overs cricket.

Scotland has it's own tradition of colourful nicknames, most of which are attached to the more unassuming clubs e.g Forfar (The Loons), Montrose (The Gable Endies), and Arbroath (The Red Lichties).

The general rule of thumb is that the bigger the club the less likely it is to have an intriguing or unusual nickname.
Notable exceptions outside of Britain might be Real Madrid (The Meringues) and Juventus (The Old Lady).

'Babes Of The Month' - Which Trophy Has 'Championship Babe' Written All Over It!

Bawls Geek Beer Review

The first time I had Geek Beer was a year ago. I stopped at the only gas station/convenience store on a long stretch of county highway, at least 100 km away from the nearest city, and I was surprised to find the store stocked with various energy drinks. That was the last time I saw and had this beverage, until last week. I found a well stocked energy drinks display at a near-by convenience store, which also had Geek Beer for $2.59 CAD per bottle.

I like the color of the bottle - brown - very similar to real beer bottles. The drink is very carbonated and a bit creamy. Unlike other root beers, this one doesn't have many taste ingredients to give it a rich character. It tastes a lot like mass market root beers, such as Barq's and A&W's. The taste is sweet with hints of caramel and the finish is sweet at first, but clean in the long run. More importantly, it is not tainted by the energy ingredients, which makes this an enjoyable drink. I like the taste, and I think this is easier to drink than the original Bawls, but I cannot see myself drinking this on a regular basis.

The bottle does not bear an indication of the amount of caffeine in the bottle, but after a quick look on the ThinkGeek website, I found that the bottle contains 80 mg of caffeine. I wouldn't call this a "high caffeine" guarana root beer, just caffeinated guarana root beer. That's the same amount of caffeine a small can of Red Bull contains, which can give some people a rush, but not me, or any caffeine addicts. If I need a small boost, I go for 80 mg drinks, but if I need to wake up, I need at least double that. I started to feel the effects of the caffeine within 20 minutes of taking the first sip, but the energy boost lasted for just over an hour. On the plus side I did not experience a crash.

Scores:
Cost - $2.59 CAD for a 296 mL bottle
Taste - 7.9/10
Energy - 6/10

Overall - 13.9/20...I think this is more of a niche drink than a mass market one. It tastes good, but it does not have enough caffeine to satisfy the cravings of a caffeine junkie

BERRY BUNDT CAKES........YUMMY!

Berries seem to be all over right about now. Out here they are on sale alot in the grocery stores. I buy some now and then to put in my cottage cheese in the morning but theres always too many and they end up rotting and I toss them out. I stumbled tho on this recipe and I must admit.....its tempting me enough to go buy a bunch and make it....I bet you will feel the same way too!
Berry Bundt CakeIngredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cholesterol-free egg substitute
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups frozen unsweetened raspberries
2 cups frozen unsweetened blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 6-cup Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine sugar, buttermilk, egg substitute and oil in medium bowl. Add sugar mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened.
3. Fold in raspberries and blueberries. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Serve with fresh berries, if desired.
Yield: Makes 12 servings

A cup of fresh, delicious blueberries or raspberries supplies about one-third of your daily vitamin C requirements. This fantastic berry cake contains 4 cups of berries!
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And heres another that looks yummy and a bit more upscale....

William's Sonoma's Mixed Berry Bundt Cake

5 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
20 Tbs. (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
2 Tbs. kirsch or other fruit liqueur
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 1/2 cups raspberries
1 1/2 cups blueberries or blackberries
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)
Mixing bowls
Electric handmixer
Measuring cups and spoons
Bundt cake pan
Saucepan for making the glaze

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Take your bundt pan and Butter and flour it.
Mix all of the following ingredients together in a large bowl. Start by blending the eggs and granulated sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat in the butter and liqueur until fluffy. Add all but 2 Tbs. of the flour and the baking powder and salt, and beat until well incorporated and no lumps remain.

In another bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the raspberries and the blueberries with the remaining 2 Tbs. flour. Toss to coat the berries evenly with the flour. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the berries into the batter. Pour the batter into the bundt pan. Bake for approximately 1 hour.

Remove the cake out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Let the cake cool for 20-25 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and let it continue to cool.

Once the cake has cooled you can add a glaze to it. While this is not in the recipe this adds a little something special. Make the glaze by combining butter, sugar and Chambord in a small souce pan. Bring to a boil and then brush it on.
Once the glaze has been applied you can put the finishing touches on the cake. Dust it with powdered sugar and garnish with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.

********************************While these recipes call for mixed berries, you could vary the mix or just use all of one kind, just make sure the amounts add up to the same needed for the recipe. I could see adding almond extract a bit to enhance the berry flavor or even orange or lemon. With this last one....same thing for the glaze.... some grand marnier if you use orange extract in it......or just keep with the Chambord since its berry flavored.