Yum bloody yum---how to make Schnitzel taste really good!

I have had some wonderful food lately, some of it courtesy of my friend, Doug. Take for example the great meal we had yesterday, including the roasted chicken with trimmings and an unbelievable Ambrosia and pumpkin pudding for desert. Today was the first day back at work for the new school term and after I had walked Perdy down at the 'Bay,' I decided that something special was in order. I had taken some schnitzel out of the freezer and I thought long and hard during the walk about how I might cook it. This is what I came up with and wouldn't you know it; Doug's produce was an important part of the meal. Firstly I cooked the perpetual spinach, simply in some butter, salt pepper and chilly. The I laid out the schnitzel on a chopping board and spread it with Dijon Mustard and some of Doug's preserved yogurt cheese. I wrapped that up in a rasher of streaky bacon and pinned it together with a toothpick. I placed that in a dish and cut up some mushroom, shallots and seasoned it with a Moroccan mixture of spices and butter. Yeah, I know--butter is not supposed to be used a lot but I don't eat much re volume so a little butter doesn't seem to put the weight on since Bariatric Surgery. I baked the dish, covered in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes and then thickened the juices with some cornflour. This recipe is gluten free. What can I say? It was fantastic. Must do that again sometime soon. Any takers? www.authorneilcoleman.com

Canada is reading my blogs now---great! Please share this blog.

I am most pleased that Canada is amongst those nations reading my blogs. Why---because my best mate comes from there, but we now claim him as a Kiwi. NO doubt his family and friends in the 'big country' on the other side of the Pacific wil dispute that but hey---we can share him, just like we have many other points of similarity between the two nations.I would love to visit Canada, particularly BC,a region that has even more in common with NZ. Com,e on over, you say my Canadian friends! Sure I reply--all it would take is for a few hundred thousand of you to download my book, ROSKILL, and I would be there in a flash. I would even come with my mate, who is returning in the Xmas Holidays. You can achieve the latter by going to my website www.authorneilcoleman.com and follow the link at the bottom of the page. You can either buy the hard-copy or download the Ebook version. If you buy the hard-copy you get a free download. See oyu at Xmas eh.

Crossing the road is fraught with danger, if you are a ------?

< It’s very early in the morning and one is not quite up to the early beginnings, after having had a nice break. Being on the road, driving with the lights on in that time when it’s not quite light but neither is it dark, presents some interesting challenges. Still, one must carry on and drive carefully in the hope that arriving at work will be an occasion that sets the scene for the rest of the working year. I set off down the road, almost immediately to be confronted with a strange but somewhat intriguing scene. I was not driving in a manner reminiscent of the previous days Bathurst sporting event; no I was being ultra-careful, because I knew that kids would be on the road, as it is the first day of the school term. Maybe you are expecting me to denounce some silly half-asleep teenager, riding like they have their head somewhere else, but certainly not on the here and now! You would be wrong---hey it’s way too early for one of that ilk to be out and about, unless they are one of those kids who travel to the other side of the city to attend the school of their choice. As I turned into the first bend on the road, I was confronted by a curious scene. A car on the other side of the road had stopped and I immediately sought the reason for the actions of that driver. There it was, or more accurately, there they were! A lady jumped out of the passenger side of the car and I pulled to a stop to match her and to make sure I didn’t run over the reason for the ‘stoppage’, which was now increasing as more and more cars slowed down and ‘rested.’ There was no tooting of impatient drivers, no loud utterances from angry mouths, just an acceptance of something special; the good parenting and support from a human for a family of ducks; ducks just wanting to get to the other side of the road. The lady guided them across and traffic slowly continued on in a measured manner, many of the drivers with a smile that said much. Hey folks, slow down sometimes and take stock! We all need to ‘cross that road.’ Happy term, all teachers! www.authorneilcoleman.com