Introducing ….. Aggie!!

It is my great pleasure and honour to introduce a very close friend of mine and of Doris’ – Aggie.

She is knowledgeable on many (many)  subjects and I’m sure she will add to the rich tapestry of what is known as “Doris and Ethel” (but is really a blog). So get yourselves a nice cup of coffee and maybe one of those nice biscuits and prepare to be amazed.

Take it away Aggie!

Spandex – the answers.

After many minutes of intense research I think we have the answers about Spandex.

Looking at some of the pictures about spandex, I would think it would be OK for looking good while you are fighting crime (it comes in some nice colours and patterns too), but I don’t think the policemen should start wearing it…. well, most of them anyway (I was thinking more of superheroes actually).

You really shouldn’t wear this stuff unless you are very fit and at a private gym. This makes you think – if you are really fit, why are you wasting your money on a gym in the first place?

It’s called spandex because it ex-pands – someone couldn’t spell when they came up with this brilliance! I expect they shied away from calling it pandsex because … well…. it would be wrong. Elastane is not very attractive either. But neither is driving behind someone who can’t afford the private gym and is cycling in those “bike shorts”. You know who you are – Stop It!

There were a lot of nasty words in the technical stuff about this spandex. The sort of words you might associate with the ingredient lists for food you know isn’t doing you any good. So probably it’s not good to eat it either.

They have been using it instead of rubber because it stretches 500 times longer. Don’t test this with your undies elastic because if they are wrong you won’t have any to wear! ..and they do say that rubber is stronger.

Thanks for asking.

Baked Ziti

Well, here’s the recipe:

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
  • Boil 1/2 a box of ziti in water in a saucepan for 15 minutes or so.
  • Drain it really well.
  • Put in a large glass casserole – a rectangular one is good.
  • Add about a cup and a half of tomato sauce – or some of that new-fangled pasta sauce in a jar – oo
  • Sprinkle on some garlic powder, and some herbs if you like them
  • Add Ricotta cheese – about a cup (that’s 8 ounces Doris)
  • Mix it all up with a fork, making sure there are no lumps of ricotta left hanging about in there.
  • Cover the top with as much shredded cheese as you can stand (that’s quite a bit isn’t it Doris? – don’t get carried away).
  • Pop it in the oven and leave it there (shut the door on the oven) for about 30 minutes or until the cheese on top is golden brown (not dark brown)

(you can go off and have a read for a bit – you don’t have to watch it cook)

  • Put on the stylish oven mitt(s) and take that baby out of there.
  • Turn off the oven – we don’t always remember this , but we should – global warming being what it is….
  • It’ll be hot at this point if you did it right… be careful when you cut it up.
  •  Eat it, or if it looks a bit suspect, mail it to a friend. :O

Exotic variations for this:

Add frozen peas or corn or beans to the pasta when you boil it.
Add chopped onions when you add the ricotta
Sprinkle parmesan over the top

Shoe Bees

Traveling  along the highways of the world, it’s difficult not to notice the strange detritus. Among the bizarre offerings are frequent single items of footwear. A lone shoe, or sometimes a boot!

How do they get there? ….. And how have they been separated from their mates?

Well, it’s shoe bees that cause this.Bee

Some poor motorist is driving along, barely keeping to the speed limit (gasp) and a shoe bee gets in their shoe. And if they are stuck in the passing lane, what can they do?

It’s really terrifying… the poor guy (we’ll call him Frank) reaches down and removes the shoe. Now Frank is really stuck – the bee is still in his shoe. Frank’s no fool – he quickly opens the window on his truck and flings the shoe, and resident bee, onto the verge.

This raises a new and more disturbing question? Boot bees – are they related?