What's in the fridge---time for a healthy and cheap dinner.

My food friend Doug, who has had the same operation as me (Bariatric surgery) has  anew lease on life; so much so that his garden is once again abundant and overflowing with 'good things.' There is no way he can consume the treasures he grows, even if he invites people for dinner every night and hey---a guys gotta have some down-time-alone eh.
Get the picture yet? Yes---correct---I came home yesterday and there, hanging on the fence was a gab of home grown delights; some young kale, lettuce and rosemary. Blessed are you, Doug!
Tonight when I arrived home after the usual walk with Perdy, down at the 'Bay,' I decided to cook up a healthy treat using some of Doug's generosity and whatever I could find in the fridge. I found three flat mushrooms, and a pottle of soft tofu. Cool---the 'use by date' is several days away, so---whoopee--it's chuck in, whatever and there will be enough for dinner and lunch tomorrow.
 I add some oil to a frypan and biff in the cut mushrooms and garlic, then add the tofu with some stock power and paprika with a little sweet soy sauce.  Then I added some pepper and chilly  flakes. After a few minutes I add the cut up kale and let the whole lot simmer with the lid on for about ten minutes. I turn the cooker off and let it sit.
Yummy and oh so dammed healthy; you wouldn't know it. Go try and if it doesn't take your fancy, try any combination of your favourite 'condiments.' The amount I made would have fed  about four people if you had it on rice. I tend to go really light now on the carbs, but you don't have to.
www.authorneilcoleman.com

 

China 'spreads its influence into the South Pacific! How--by reading blogs and books!

Go China. You have overhauled Germany again and really reaching out to us in NZ and to me in particular. Keep it up and soon you will have the UK in your sights. Download my book from
www.authorneilcoleman.com

ISIL--the new force in the Middle East? What to do!

The people of Iraq and nearby states are faced with a stark choice, if the reports of the mass slaughter of former Iraqi army personnel are correct. That these soldiers can be lined up and murdered after surrendering, should pose a warning to the citizens of Iraq; just what will happen when these ‘insurgents’ gain more power and influence? They are reportedly on the outskirts of Bagdad and some large cities have fallen to them, with little resistance coming from the army.

We are belatedly hearing reports of resistance from the Kurds, who have indeed taken back some territory in the North and of the mass signing up of citizens to join the Iraqi army. It seems that it is either doing that or face an uncertain future with the ‘rebels’ calling themselves the ISIL. If the latter do manage to take control of Bagdad, the writing from the walls of the region will become a sad truth and the ramifications for regions far flung will be felt soon, most notably in the price we all pay for our ‘gas.’

It is this that drives the possibility of a response from the USA and its partners, not some deeply felt humanitarian reasoning that is often quoted as justification for an ‘intervention.’ We even have the most unlikely possibility of Iran supporting the USA in an effort to stop the spread of the ideology and influence of the ISIL forces. Who would have believed that such an ‘unholy union’ would be on the cards, given the difficult history between those two nations? It should come as no surprise though if one looks back at the history of the region as a whole and how the various nations came into being and the underlying religious, power and economic forces that play into alliances.

Iraq is at a crossroads. It either settles internal differences between the two main groups and come to a real power-sharing arrangement, of face a downward spiral whereby the ISIL forces take over and we witness a pariah state that will make anything we have seen from the likes of the ‘Butcher of Damascus’ or the regime of former leader or Iraq---the one who gave reason for the USA and its allies to invade a decade ago, look like a non-event. Has this all been for nothing? In the meantime, the borders of Iraq will leak misery as those trying to escape to a more peaceful life flee the advancing ISIL forces.
www.authorneilcoleman.com