Nature's goodness

I love blueberries! After picking two containers full last weekend, I froze four bags of them but decided I really wanted to keep some fresh in a bowl to munch on. They are like Mother Nature's M&Ms. *grins*


Just looking at them is a delight but I loved being able to put them in my blue bowl. They are almost gone now and partly because I did bake something with them which I will get to in a moment.
It has been a warm week here in Holland and even Dagi has had little desire to do more than sleep. I just folded some clothes and he decided they made the perfect place to rest up against. My sweet little kitty is becoming an old man...

This summer we seem to have to favorite on our menu...salads and pasta dishes. I keep trying out new combinations with various kinds of pasta. I love trying out new combinations. This is cortecce pasta. It is a temporary product at our supermarket. I simply chopped up 4 spring onions and sauteed them in olive oil with sliced mushrooms. I then added half of a head of andive chopped until the andive had wilted. Pour in a little coffee cream or half-and-half. Season with salt, pepper, about four to five chopped sun dried tomatoes and thyme. Serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano and grilled raw ham that has been broken up over the dish. Every ingredient is very fresh and it makes a simple and tasty dish for a summer's evening.

And for dessert? Well, my blogging friend Karen helped me out with that when she put an old favorite recipe on a recent blog entry. This is Blueberry Tea Cake and I can tell you that it is fabulous. We had it the first night with vanilla ice cream. The streusel topping is so delicious.

My photos have been very bad lately as my camera has a major defect. We just found out that Canon had recalled this camera but we never heard about it until my own camera started to show signs of the problem due to the warm weather. Jos bought me a new camera as it will be a good six weeks before the other is repaired.

Many have been asking how I have been. I am slowly improving as the dosage of my thyroid medicine is increased. I had to go to the hospital for my second biopsy this week. The technician did the ultrasound and went to get the doctor. To my surprise, the doctor that administered the radioactive therapy in March came in the room. He works in this department too he told me. He redid the ultrasound and another doctor also came in to look and he also redid it. They decided that they would wait to do the biopsy. They told me that my gland is very irregular and asymmetrical at the moment. There is still a nodule they are keeping an eye on but they are convinced that the radioactive material should take care of it with time. This kind of treatment takes a good year to show results. The doctor told me he could not see the point of putting me through the discomfort of the biopsy as he believes it will be okay. He does want to repeat it in three months at which time, if it is not improving, the biopsy could then be done. Needless to say, he did not have to convince me and I was ready to jump off the table. Next week, I see my other specialist and hope she will be in agreement since she was the one who wanted the biopsy done.