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Darien swim team wins first Open championship; Greenwich takes third
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NEW HAVEN -- Greenwich High School was in an unfamiliar situation following Saturday's State Open Girls Swimming Championships.
For the first time since 2005, the Cardinals watched another team hold hands and jump into the pool in unison after the championship meet concluded at Yale University.
It was Darien's turn to take a celebratory dip into the pool, winning its first-ever CIAC State Open title Saturday, totaling 548 points. New Canaan (439) was the runner-up, followed by Greenwich (436.5), which entered the meet as the seven-time defending State Open champion.
"You never want to finish the year without winning this meet," Greenwich coach Dick Hawks said. "Even though we did well, we're disappointed. We were just barely off our times today and they (Darien) were closer to theirs. They didn't go faster, they just repeated what they did at the L meet."
Showcasing its depth, Darien completed a triple-crown season. The Blue Wave also captured the FCIAC and Class L titles this fall for coach Marj Trifone, who certainly received an early present for her 50th birthday.
"I knew this was a special team the whole season," said Trifone, who will turn 50 next week. "This year, our team worked more than every other year, between pilates, going to Combine Training -- it was really a combined effort."
New Canaan, which held a 257-232 advantage over Darien following the 100 butterfly, overtook Greenwich for second place by winning the 400-yard freestyle relay. The foursome of senior Maddie Rusch, junior Alex Aliapoulios, freshman Meghan Egan and junior Jenna Egan touched the wall in 3 minutes, 30.67 seconds, a blink of an eye faster than second place Greenwich (3:30.69). The Cardinals set the state record in the event at the LL championships on Wednesday, posting a time of 3:30.16.
"That was definitely frustrating, especially since we went into it ahead on paper," Cardinals junior standout Katie Evans said. "They just had an all-around good meet and they made the meet a lot closer than we expected. We had a few races that didn't go according to plan."
New Canaan coach David Fine was impressed with how his squad finished the meet.
"I am ecstatic over our performance today," Fine said. "All year long we have been overlooked, so to come out of the meet in second place says a lot about our team. Before states, we said the relays are about swimming as one and they came together today and came out on top."
Evans placed second behind Darien senior Olivia Leunis in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100 breaststroke. She finished the individual medley in 2:07.10 and the breaststroke in 1:05.61.
"We definitely went into this meet prepared and we all tried our best, but we just came up short," Evans said. "Everyone did everything they could today."
Leunis won the 200 IM in 2:05.81 and touched the wall first in the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.96.
"I've worked hard all season for this, it's just a matter of finishing the race strong," Leunis said. "We've been competitive throughout the season, so it was great to race her again."
Senior Maddie Dunn placed fourth in the 50 freestyle (:24.01) and was fifth in the 100 freestyle (:52.60), while junior Kim Hill was fourth in the 100 freestyle (:52.59) and junior Christina Frias took fourth in the 100 butterfly for the Cardinals.
"I think we did pretty good today and did what we could, but Darien is a very talented team, as is New Canaan," Hill said. "This gives us motivation next year to keep going forward."
The Blue Wave began the meet in style, as their 200-yard medley relay team touched the wall first in 1:48.51. Amity Regional placed second (1:48.81), followed by Greenwich (1:49.82). Senior Caroline Orem gave the Blue Wave a first-place finish in the 100 backstroke, clocking in at :57.31. Orem also placed fourth in the 200 individual medley for Darien, which opened a comfortable 425-337 lead over New Canaan by placing four swimmers in the top 14 in the backstroke.
"Winning three championships my senior year is unreal, it's the best senior year anyone can ask for," said Orem, who, as a freshman in 2009, was a member of the Darien team which won its first FCIAC title. "We put in so much work this season and we worked really well together, which was so awesome. Winning three championships is such a relief."
New Canaan senior Maddie Rusch won the State Open title in the 50 freestyle (:23.51), edging Siobhan Dale of E.O. Smith (:23.78), and Dana Grindell from Amity Regional (:23.88).
"I had never won the Open title in the 50 free, so I'm glad I did it my senior year," Rusch said. "I did everything I could to win it and it was a good time, so I'm happy. I'm so proud of our team. We had a small team here with only six kids, but we still did great."
Rusch finished second behind 100-yard butterfly champion Grindall of Amity, who broke her own State Open and state record in the event with a time of :54.16. Caroline O'Brien from Wilton took third in :57.83. Junior Jenna Egan finished fourth in the 200 freestyle, while senior Erin Dunstan was third in the 100 breaststroke for New Canaan, which was the runner-up behind Greenwich a year ago.
Amity Regional placed fourth in the meet (295), followed by Hall (225.5), Brookfield (203), Cheshire (199), Norwalk/McMahon (196), Wilton (188) and Staples (152). Trumbull placed 16th and Westhill/Stamford finished 23rd.
Freshman Riley Ennis placed eighth in the 100 breaststroke, while sophomore Isobel Walker took 10th in the 100 backstroke for the Cardinals, who also finished second in the 200 freestyle relay. With Darien, New Canaan and Greenwich placing 1-2-3 in the team standings and McMahon/Norwalk, Wilton and Staples rounding out the top 10, the FCIAC indeed, showed its power at the State Open.
"Marj has a young team and they are going to do this next year unless we change the amount of work we do in the offseason," Hawks said. "It should give our team motivation for next year."
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Team Scores
1. Darien 548, 2. New Canaan 439, 3. Greenwich 436.5, 4. Amity 295, 5. Hall 225.5, 6. Brookfield 203, 7. Cheshire 199, 8. McMahon/Norwalk 196, 9. Wilton 188, 10. Staples 152, 11. Lauralton Hall 151, 12. Wethersfield 143, 13. Glastonbury 132, 14. Branford 130.5, 15. South Windsor 118, 16. Trumbull 102.5, 17. (tie) Weston and Lyman Hall 97, 19. E.O. Smith 89, 20. Watertown 67, 21. Pomperaug 65, 22. Ledyard 56, 23. Westhill/Stamford 55, 24. Mercy 52.5, 25. (tie) Conard and Ridgefield 49, 27. New Milford 48, 28. Newtown 44.5, 29. Windsor 42, 30. Hand 41, 31. Waterford 40, 32. Newington 39.5, 33. Bunnell 37.5, 34. Holy Cross 28, 35. East Catholic 27, 36. (tie) Sheehan and Berlin 23, 38. East Lyme 22, 39. St. Joseph 18, 40. (tie) St. Paul Catholic and Fairfield Warde 17, 42. (tie) Shelton and Kennedy 15, 44. (tie) Hamden and Fitch 14, 46. Farmington 12, 47. Torrington 10, 48. Sacred Heart 8, 49. Fairfield Ludlowe 6, 50. Sacred Heart Academy 5, 51. Westbrook 2, 52. Bristol Eastern 1.
Individual results
Winner in each event and regional swimmers in top six
200 medley relay: 1. Darien (Caroline Orem, Victoria Chao, Oliva Leunis, Lauren Rutledge) 1:48.51; 2. Amity (Shannon Earley, Natalie Ambrosey, Dana Grindall, Dana Chung) 1:48.81; 3. Greenwich (Isobel Walker, Riley Ennis, Katie Evans, Porter Carlson) 1:49.82; 4. Wilton (Stephanie Moriarty, Linsay Cooney, Caroline O'Brien, Grace Hendee) 1:50.28; 5. Trumbull (Alexa Bragg, Lisa Ward, Mollie Coleman, Tara Merkle) 1:50.99; 200 freestyle: 1. Jessica Hespeler (Ledyard) 1:50.75; 2. Verity Abel (Staples) 1:52.24; 3. Kristen Moss (Wilton) 1:53.61; 4. Jenna Egan (New Canaan) 1:54.28; 6. Kim Hill (Greenwich) 1:54.91; 200 IM: 1. Leunis (Darien) 2:05.81; 2. Evans (Greenwich) 2:07.10; 3. Mary Spillane (Lauralton Hall) 2:09.14; 4. Orem (Darien) 2:09.23; 5. Stephanie Czulewicz (McMahon/Norwalk) 2:11.35; 6. O'Brien (Wilton) 2:11.52; 50 freestyle: 1. Maddie Rusch (New Canaan) 23.51; 3. Grindall (Amity) 23.88; 4. Madeline Dunn (Greenwich) 24.01; 5. Madeline Smart (Brookfield) 24.24; 100 butterfly: 1. Grindall (Amity) 54.16 (State Open record); 2. Rusch (New Canaan) 55.69; 3. O'Brien (Wilton) 57.83; 4. Christina Frias (Greenwich) 58.63; 6. Kira Page (New Milford) 59.18; 100 freestyle: 1. Hespeler (Ledyard) 51.58; 2. Smart (Brookfield) 51.62; 4. Hill (Greenwich) 52.59; 5. Dunn (Greenwich) 52.60; 500 freestyle: 1. Abel (Staples) 4:58.47; 3. Courtney Ferreria (Darien) 5:08.44; 4. Anna Lu (Amity) 5:08.84; 5. Madeline Snow (Amity) 5:09.59; 200 freestyle relay: 1. New Canaan (J. Egan, Alex Aliapoulios, Libby O'Hare, Rusch) 1:36.56; 2. Greenwich (Dunn, Frias, Carlson, Hill) 1:38.37; 3. Darien (Rutledge, Leunis, Ferreria, Amanda Bieler) 1:38.78; 4. Amity (Chung, Snow, Lu, Grindall) 1:39.01; 5. McMahon/Norwalk (Olivia Haskell, Katherine Wargo, Jessica Rodney, Lauren Czulewicz) 1:39.21; 100 backstroke: 1. Orem (Darien) 57.31; 2. Spillane (Lauralton Hall) 58.16; 3. Page (New Milford) 58.65; 4. Samantha Palicz (Brookfield) 59.04; 5. Moss (Wilton) 59.19; 100 breaststroke: 1. Leunis (Darien) 1:04.96; 2. Evans (Greenwich) 1:05.61; 3. Erin Dunstan (New Canaan) 1:06.68; 5. O'Hare (New Canaan) 1:07.67; 400 freestyle relay: 1. New Canaan (Rusch, Aliapoulios, Meghan Egan, J. Egan) 3:30.67; 2. Greenwich (Hill, Frias, Evans, Dunn) 3:30.69; 3. Brookfield (Rachel Brown, Smart, Stephanie Ferrarie, Palicz) 3:35.94; 4. Darien (Bieler, Julia Stobbie, Orem, Ferreria) 3:36.27; 5. McMahon/Norwalk (Wargo, S. Czulewicz, Haskell, L. Czulewicz) 3:36.62; 6. Lauralton Hall (Kathleen Brennan, Alena Sowka, Kaitlyn Joy, Spillane) 3:39.36.

subset: commoncrawl


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Is that an iPhone in your bra or are you just happy to see me?
I carry my phone in my pocket, but it might be different for ladies. Apparently, one company has decided to build an alternative to purse-toting for the ladies, and it comes via something called the "JoeyBra".
Yes gals, it's a bra with a holster for your iPhone. I can't imagine how weird this would make actually answering your phone, or whether you'll leave your vibrate option on or off, but it certainly got my attention.
The project is on Kickstarter and currently has 12 backers. Apparently, the handy bra pocket can hold more than just a phone, and might come in handy to carry around cash or credit cards too:
The project was started by two University of Washington students, Kyle and Mariah. It seems like the two did some research before starting to create the product:
After doing a survey of over 200 young women, we found that 95% of our participants had a problem finding a place to put their belongings while out at a party and 73% had lost personal items from a lack of pocket. In addition, we found that 88% were interested in having a way to discreetly hide their personal items on their person.
I would definitely say that the JoeyBra is "discreet":
Ladies, can you hit us up in the comments and tell us if this is something that you'd actually use?
Read next: Google brings its Google Play/YouTube movie rental service to Australia


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A traditional pasta dish normally served as a side dish in our Italian family with your turkey, ham, lamb or roast. In years past we would save making this fancy pasta just for a special holiday...not anymore... These can be made ahead of time and freeze well. Just thaw, heat and serve when you want them....I love to set a few aside in a container for lunch.....
2 lbs of jumbo shells cooked and drained.
Italian Sunday Sauce made or your favorite at least three quarts
3lbs Ricotta
5 eggs
1/2 cup grating cheese and 1/4 more for the end
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 cup mozzarella shredded
In a bowl mix 3 lbs of Ricotta, 5 eggs, 1/2 cup grating cheese, 1/4 cup parsley, garlic and
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.
Spread 2 cups of sauce in a 13x9 baking pan.
Using a tablespoon or more, fill each shell with cheese mixture. Arrange shells side by side. Do not stack.
Cover with more sauce, and rest of mozzarella, sprinkle with more parsley, grating cheese . Cover with foil, bake at 325 for 45 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil.


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Serviços Personalizados
Links relacionados
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South African Journal of Animal Science
versão On-line ISSN 2221-4062
versão impressa ISSN 0375-1589
S. Afr. j. anim. sci. vol.39 no.3 Pretoria Jan. 2009
The influence of fat score and fat trimming on primal cut composition of South African lamb
P.E. StrydomI,#; S.M. van HeerdenI,#; H.C. SchönfeldtII; R. KrugerII; M.F. SmithIII
IARC-LBD: Animal Production Institute, Private Bag X2, Irene 0062, South Africa
IIDepartment of Business Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
IIIARC - Biometry Unit, Private Bag X519, Silverton 0127, South Africa
The objectives of this study were to evaluate the primal cut composition of South African lamb carcasses with different fat scores, and to identify cuts suitable for fat trimming. Sixty grain fed Dorper lambs (rams and ewes) were divided into three groups and slaughtered at 30, 36 and 42 kg. Chilled carcass sides were subdivided into seven primal cuts. The cuts were dissected into meat (muscle, intermuscular and intramuscular fat), bone and subcutaneous fat (SCF) in order to determine the physical composition per cut and for the whole carcass. The % subcutaneous fat (SCF) in the loin increased the most (26 units) as the fat score increased from 1 to 5, followed by the flank, shoulder and neck. The % meat (lean) of the neck, thick rib and breast showed no significant change between fat scores 1 to 5, while % bone decreased significantly (>6% units). Meat and bone proportions decreased significantly with an increase in fat score for the loin, flank, leg and shoulder. The composition of the loin cut was most affected overall by changes in the fat score. Since different cuts accumulate SCF at different rates during fattening, trimming of SCF could reduce the boneless % SCF level of the major cuts such as the loin, leg and shoulder by 12, 6 and 9 units, respectively, when trimmed from SCF equal to a fat score 5 to a fat score 3. Further trimming to levels equal to a fat score 1, could reduce the % SCF by 18, 8 and 5 units, respectively on a boneless level. Considering differences in relative increase in intermuscular fat (IMF) and SCF in different cuts, the leg seems to be the most suitable cut for trimming in fat carcasses, since the IMF : SCF ratio is the lowest compared to the other larger cuts namely the loin and shoulder.
Keywords: Carcass composition, lamb, fat score, yield, trim
In most parts of the world, leanness is an important criterion when consumers purchase meat (Carpenter, 1966; Sañudo et al., 2000). While a small amount of fat is desirable to sustain palatability, increase tenderness and decrease the risk of the meat drying out, too much fat is perceived as being unhealthy. According to Hopkins (1988), consumer perception of over-fatness leads to a downward trend in sheep meat consumption in Australia, while Hopkins & Congram (1985) reported that Australian consumers did not want cuts of lamb with excessive fat. Sañudo et al. (2000) reported that too much fat discourages the consumer and is often removed either before cooking or during the meal, especially by young people. These reports agree with the South African National Meat Consumption Survey (2001) where consumers rated sheep meat (lamb and mutton) fourth in preference after poultry, fish and beef for four characteristics directly or indirectly relating their choice to fatness.
The lack of flexibility in the traditional way of presenting mutton carcasses in Australia and the USA to retailers and ultimately to the consumer was regarded by Garrett et al. (1992) as a major hurdle which contributed further to lower consumption. To overcome this problem, innovative methods where boneless fat-trimmed (even seam fat - intermuscular) sub-primals are presented to retailers were suggested by Garrett et al. (1992) to enable them to supply healthier, leaner retail cuts to the consumers. In the work of Hopkins et al. (1995) the introduction of "trim lamb" range of cuts where boneless, fat trimmed cuts and even muscle separation within primal cuts under the Prime Lamb Program in Australia is discussed. These cuts comply with Australian national heart foundation guidelines with a fat content <10%. With regard to the South African market, Van Heerden et al. (2007) showed that even though South African lamb and mutton are mainly produced and sold relatively lean, certain cuts even in leaner fat classes have too much fat according to nutritional guidelines, which may be one of the reasons why consumers regard sheep meat as probably too fat (South African National Meat Consumption Survey, 2001).
In South Africa, certain meat companies [Just Lamb ( www.justlamb.co.za ) and natLAM (www.lawmeat.co.za)] have altered at least a part of their operations to boneless retail cuts, although fatness is still mostly controlled by restriction of carcass fatness during production. Adjusting these operations to trim excess fat will not only result in a more acceptable product, but will also enable processors to use carcasses of various fat classes, thereby increasing the supply. However, as trimming is costly and could potentially add to the present high cost of sheep meat, it is necessary to have an estimate of the fat yield of different cuts to make this an economical proposition (Hopkins, 1988). Although Garrett et al. (1992) emphasized that seaming of the muscles i.e. separating the muscles, and removing all excess fat, was necessary to obtain an acceptable final fat level in the cuts, they worked with USDA yield grades 2, 3 and 4, representing fat thickness levels far in excess (9 mm, 14 and 20 mm, respectively) of South African lamb (1 to 11 mm) (Agricultural Product Standards ACT No. 119 of 1990).
In South Africa carcasses are classified into seven fat classes (Agricultural Product Standards ACT No. 119 of 1990) according to the visual appraisal of subcutaneous fat (SCF) cover. Carcasses classed as fat score 1 have less than 1% SCF (0 mm back fat), while fat class 6 carcasses have in excess of 17.6% SCF (>11 mm) back fat thickness. While the classification system describes the proportion of SCF of the total carcass in each fat class, no data exist for the composition of individual cuts and therefore the suitability of these cuts for trimming. In this study the composition of seven retail cuts with regard to SCF, meat (muscle, intermuscular fat and intra muscular fat) and bone of lamb carcasses of five different fat classes are compared. In addition the suitability of different cuts for trimming of excess SCF is investigated to present a more acceptable product to the consumer. It is accepted that normal trimming does not necessarily involve total removal of SCF and could also include removal of seam fat, although the latter process will need separation of individual muscles which is not common practice in South Africa for sheep meat due to the relatively small carcasses (and therefore muscles within cuts) produced.
Materials and Methods
Sixty Dorper lambs (rams and ewes, equally distributed over the slaughter groups) with a starting weight of between 23 - 26 kg were divided into three groups with equal mean weights. The three groups of animals were randomly allocated to three slaughter groups, viz. 30, 36 and 42 kg. All animals were grain fed in individual pens (1.5 x 1 m) and slaughtered when the target weight of each animal was reached within its slaughter group. Commercial slaughter and dressing procedures were followed.
On the day following slaughter, the chilled carcasses were sectioned down the vertebral column by band saw and one side subdivided into the following seven wholesale cuts: neck, shoulder and shank, breast, rib, loin, leg (Figure 1). The kidneys and kidney fat were removed and weighed for each carcass. The cut weights were recorded whereupon each cut was deboned and SCF removed. Weights of meat (including muscle, intermuscular and intramuscular fat), bone (including large sinews and cartilage) and SCF were recorded to calculate the physical composition of each cut and of the carcass side (and therefore the whole carcass). In addition, the physical composition of each boneless cut in terms of SCF and meat was also calculated.
Percentage SCF calculated for each carcass was used to allocate carcasses into five fat classes according to the fat classification criteria set out in the Agricultural Product Standards no 119 (1990; Table 1).
Since no muscle separation was done in the present trial, no data were recorded for intermuscular fat (IMF) of the carcass or individual cuts. For the purpose of benchmark values, deboning data including SCF and IMF proportions of different cuts of the lamb carcass with a fat score of 2 were obtained from the study of Van Heerden et al. (2007).
Data were analysed using the statistical programme, GenStat® (Payne et al., 2007). Factorial ANOVA was applied to test for differences in SCF, meat and bone proportions between five fat scores for each of seven cuts as well as the whole carcass. The data was normally distributed with homogeneous variances. Means were separated using Fisher's protected t-test LSD at the 5% level.
Polynomial regression (orders 1 and 2) was applied to SCF over fat score to determine the best model of fit and estimate rate of change of SCF within each carcass cut.
Results and Discussion
Mean values showing the effect of fat score on SCF, meat and bone proportions of the carcasses and seven cuts are presented in Tables 2, 4 and 5, respectively. As expected, meat and bone proportions in the carcasses declined significantly (P <0.01) as the proportion of subcutaneous fat increased between fat scores 1 and 5. It is well known that muscle to bone ratio increases during initial growth (increase in weight). During the fattening period, fatty tissue grows at a greater rate than bone and muscle so that the proportions of both tissues decrease in a regular manner as fat increases (Fourie et al., 1970; Berg & Butterfield, 1978; Thompson et al., 1979). Proportional changes of different tissue within cuts (or regions) are not as clearly documented because commercially defined carcass cuts are not the same worldwide and do not necessarily agree with anatomical grouping of tissues, such as muscle groups. Nevertheless, Hammond et al. (1971) and Berg & Butterfield (1978) described the "growth curve" as starting at the head and spreading down to the trunk, while at the same time growth waves also start at the extremities of the limbs and pass upwards, all meeting at the junction of the loin and last rib, being the latest region to develop.
Fat deposition takes place in a similar pattern to that of muscle according to the earlier report of Hammond (1932) and supported by later reports of Berg & Butterfield (1978), Thompson et al. (1979) and Butler-Hogg (1984), i.e. growth gradients from the distal limbs converging in the abdominal/lumbar region, which was clearly indicated in the present study too. SCF proportions of the seven retail cuts increased over increasing fat scores and in general changed at similar rates as the SCF of the whole carcass (Tables 2 and 3) with the exception of the loin and flank cuts. When regression lines were fitted to the SCF data, the neck, rib and breast showed best predictions with linear equations, while for the shoulder, leg, flank and loin the relationship with fat score was both linear and quadratic relationships. However, almost similar R2 and standard errors were found for linear equations of the latter cuts except for the flank that followed a strong quadratic nature (Figure 2). Proportional changes of the loin were much faster than those of the other cuts over all fat scores (larger linear incline), while that of the flank followed a strong increase in SCF between fat scores 1 to 3 and then tapered off towards fat score 5. The shoulder and shin followed a slight exponential increase opposed to the other cuts (apart from the loin and flank) and carcass that increased strictly linearly or with a slight tapering slope (Table 3, Figure 2).
According to Tables 4 and 5, the increase in SCF proportions was associated with a decrease in the proportions of bone and meat or only decreased bone proportions within different cuts. For all seven cuts the proportional decline in bone between fat scores 1 and 5 was significant (P <0.01) and very similar varying between 6 and 9 percentage points (Table 5). Since bone is an early maturing carcass tissue (compared to muscle and fat), steady changes in bone proportions were expected since these were the result of muscle and fat changes during the initial predominantly muscle growth followed by higher rates of fat deposition during finishing of the carcass. Meat proportions of the breast rib and neck did not change significantly (Table 4), while that of the flank was a mirror image of changes in SCF (Table 2), by declining between fat scores 1 to 3 with no significant variation between fat scores 3 and 5. As a result of the high increase in SCF proportions over all fat scores, % meat in the loin declined significantly (P <0.05) between fat score 1 and 5 with 18 units. Smaller but significant changes (P <0.05) also occurred in the shoulder and shin and leg and shin cuts.
While some work has been reported on the proportional development of muscles in cattle (Berg & Butterfield (1978) and sheep (Lohse et al., 1971; Palsson & Verges, 1952; Thonney et al., 1987), it is difficult to relate these results with the yield of commercial cuts, since anatomical muscle grouping often extends over cuts or various groups are contained within a commercial cut. Moreover, meat and not muscle yield was reported in the present study and therefore IMF was included in the proportions reported. The lack of change in meat proportions for cuts like the thick rib and breast cuts was therefore due to relatively high muscle or IMF accumulation or both, so that only bone proportions declined as a result of increased SCF. Such effects were reported by Diaz et al. (2005) for lean yield of the leg. Nevertheless, as stated earlier, the practice of separating muscle, therefore distinguishing between muscle and IMF is not common in sheep carcass processing, particularly in countries like South Africa where relatively small lamb carcasses are produced. Hopkins (1988) stated that seaming of muscles required heavy carcasses (22 - 25 kg) to make it an economical and aesthetic proposition. The removal of only SCF to present a cut that is more acceptable to consumers and conform to nutritional standards will therefore depend on the amount of fat left after trimming the SCF.
Little information is available regarding the minimum fat covering needed on a lamb carcass in order to ensure the desired product. Carpenter (1966) stated that a fat covering of at least 5 mm is needed to prevent product dehydration and to produce an attractive retail cut. Five millimetres of SCF is equal to a fat score 3 in the South African classification system but preferences will of course vary from consumer group to consumer group. Furthermore, this value is a mean value mostly measured on the loin, and other cuts may have more or less fat cover and also differ in their appeal to consumers. Considering the major cuts of a lamb carcass most likely to be trimmed, trimming fat score 5 carcasses to a SCF level equal to fat score 3, will reduce the SCF level (%) by 12 units for the loin, almost 6 units for the leg and 9 units for the shoulder in boneless cuts (Table 6). Further trimming to SCF levels equal to fat score 1 will reduce the % SCF with a further 18, 8 and 5 units on a boneless level for these three cuts. Hopkins (1988) worked with bone in cuts that were trimmed of excess SCF, while IMF (seam fat) was left intact, and concluded that trimming of SCF alone could remove most of the differences in composition of lamb cuts from carcasses of different fatness. He did, however, admit that the amount of untrimmed fat (mostly seam fat), increased with increase in fat score. Considering the ratios of intermuscular fat to SCF of retail cuts of a fat score 2 carcass (Table 7; Van Heerden et al., 2007), the total fat of shoulder, leg and loin cuts will be ~7, 12 and 29%, respectively (calculated from Table 6). If these cuts were trimmed to SCF levels equal to fat score 1, the remaining fat will be ~4, 7 and 13 %, respectively.
Since the objective of trimming is to target fatter carcasses (Hopkins, 1988), the relative increase in SCF and IMF with increasing fat score has to be considered. In this regard, Butler-Hogg (1984), Fourie et al. (1970), Jones (1982) and Kempster et al. (1987) reported allometric growth coefficients for IMF relative to SCF of 0.5 to 0.75 for the carcass in general, indicating that SCF is much later maturing than IMF. For individual cuts, Kempster et al. (1987) reported ratios of 0.47 for the leg (0.7 vs. 1.51), 0.65 for the shoulder (1.19 vs. 1.82) and between 0.70 and 0.76 for the loin (1.74 vs. 2.46), breast (1.63 vs. 2.26), rib (1.74 vs. 2.44) and neck cuts (1.39 vs. 1.82). (Allometric coefficients are relative to carcass weight). This clearly shows that IMF is early maturing and SCF late maturing for all cuts but the actual rate of growth varies among cuts.
Considering the ratios of IMF to SCF for fat score 2 in Table 7 and the results of Kempster et al. (1987) and Palsson & Verges (1952) for the shoulder, loin and leg, the high increase in SCF in the loin towards higher fat scores in the present trial will be accompanied by a large increase in IMF as well. The shoulder will follow more or less the same trend and the IMF may increase to 50% of the SCF (Palsson & Verges, 1952). The only cut fit for trimming at high fat scores seems to be the leg as most of the fat is deposited in the SCF depot (Table 7) and the relative increase in SCF should be much higher than that of IMF according to Kempster et al. (1987). Palsson & Verges (1952) also reported that IMF of the leg was 20% of the total fat at 41 weeks in lambs on a high feeding plane.
The change in carcass cut composition of South African lamb between fat scores 1 and 5 has been documented in this paper. It can be concluded that lambs slaughtered within these fat scores will gain SCF at very similar rates among most cuts and the carcass as a whole. The only exceptions are the flank and loin cuts, where the flank gains SCF exponentially with high gains in initial fattening stages which slow down when the carcass becomes fatter. SCF deposition in the loin takes place at a higher rate than the carcass and individual cuts between fat scores 1 and 5.
Extrapolating from results of other studies, of the major cuts most likely to be trimmed, the leg cut is the most suitable, as most of the total fat accumulates in the SCF depot when carcasses become over fat. Nevertheless, when it is considered that carcasses of extreme fatness are not economically produced and probably not commonly available, fat trimming should preferably occur on medium or slightly over fat carcasses (fat scores 3 and 4), which will probably render cuts like the shoulder and loin more suitable for SCF trimming to produce an acceptable end product.
Thank you to the personnel of the Analytical Services as well as the abattoir team of the ARC-LBD: Animal Production - ARC-Irene, for their technical assistance that is greatly acknowledged.
Berg, R.T. & Butterfield, R.M., 1978. New Concepts of Cattle Growth. 2nd ed., Sydney University Press, Sydney, Australia. [ Links ]
Butler-Hogg, B.W., 1984. The growth of Clun and Southdown sheep: Body composition and partitioning of total body fat. Anim. Prod. 39, 405-411. [ Links ]
Carpenter, Z.L., 1966. What is consumer-preferred lamb? S. Afr. J. Anim. Sci. 25, 1232-1235. [ Links ]
Casey, N.H., 1982. Carcass and growth characteristics of four South African sheep breeds and the Boer goat. D.Sc. Agric thesis, University of Pretoria, South Africa. [ Links ]
Diaz, M.T., De la Fuente, J., Lauzurica, S., Pérez, C., Velasco, S., Álvarez, I., Ruiz de Huidobro, F., Onega, E., Blázquez, B. & Cañeque, V., 2005. Use of carcass weight to classify Manchego sucking lambs and its relation to carcass and meat quality. Anim. Sci. 80, 61-69. [ Links ]
Fourie, P.D., Kirton, A.H. & Jury, K.E., 1970. Growth and development of sheep II. Effect of breed and sex on the growth and carcass composition of Southdown and Romney and their cross. N. Z. J. Agric. Res. 13, 753-770. [ Links ]
Garrett, R.P., Savell, J.W., Cross, H.R. & Johnson, H.K., 1992. Yield grade and carcass weight effects on the cutability of lamb carcasses fabricated into innovative style subprimals. J. Anim. Sci. 70, 1829-39. [ Links ]
Hammond, J., 1932. A survey of the problems involved in meat production: Growth and the development of mutton qualities in the sheep. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, UK. [ Links ]
Hammond Jr, J., Mason, I.L. & Robinson, T.J., 1971. Hammond's Farm Animals. 4th ed., Edward Arnold, London, UK. [ Links ]
Hopkins, A.F. & Congram, I.D., 1985. Consumer usage and attitudes towards lambs. Livestock and Meat Authority of Queensland, Brisbane, Research Report No. 18. [ Links ]
Hopkins, D.L., 1988. Composition of trimmed retail lamb cuts. Proc. 34th Int. Cong. Meat Sci. Technol. pp. 78-79. [ Links ]
Hopkins, D.L., Watton, J.S.A., Gamble, D.J., Atkinson, W.R., Slack-Smith, T.S. & Hall, D.G., 1995. Lamb carcass characteristics. 1. The influence of carcass weight, fatness, and sex on the weight of "trim" and traditional retail cuts. Aust. J. Exp. Agric. 35, 33-40. [ Links ]
Jones, S.D.M., 1982. The accumulation and distribution of fat in ewe and ram lambs. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 62, 381-386. [ Links ]
Just Lamb, 2009. Unique by nature. [Online]. Available from: ( http://wwww.justlamb.co.za. [Accessed: 12/02/2009] [ Links ].
Kempster, A.J., Croston, D. & Jones, D.W., 1987. Tissue growth and development in crossbred lambs sired by ten breeds. Livest. Prod. Sci. 16, 145-162. [ Links ]
Lohse, C.L., Moss, F.P. & Butterfield, R.M., 1971. Growth patterns of muscle of merino sheep from birth to 517 days. Anim. Prod. 13, 117-126. [ Links ]
Department of Agriculture, 1990. Regulations regarding the classification and marketing of meat. Agricultural Product Standards, ACT No 119 of 1990. [ Links ]
natLAM. 2009. Certified Natural. [Online]. Available from: www.lawmeat.co.za [Accessed: 12/02/2009] [ Links ].
Palsson, H. & Vergés, J.B., 1952. Effects of plane of nutrition on growth and the development of carcass quality in lambs. I. The effects of high and low planes of nutrition at different ages. J. Agric. Sci. 42, 2-88. [ Links ]
Payne, R.W., Murray, D.A., Harding, S.A., Baird, D.B. & Soutar, D.M., 2007. Genstat for Windows® (10th ed.). Introduction. VSN International, Hemel Hempstead, UK. [ Links ]
Sañudo, C., Enser, M.E., Campo, M.M., Nute, G.R., Maria, G., Sierra, I. & Wood, J.D., 2000. Fatty acid composition and sensory characteristics of lamb carcasses from Britain and Spain. Meat Sci. 54, 339-345. [ Links ]
South African National Meat Consumption Survey, 2001. Conducted by A.C. Nielson, a global marketing research firm, on behalf of the South African Feedlot Association. (Unpublished). [ Links ]
Thompson, J.M., Atkins, K.D. & Gilmour, A.R., 1979. Carcass characteristics of heavyweight crossbred lambs. II. Carcass composition and partitioning of fat. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 30, 1207-1214. [ Links ]
Thonney, M.L., Taylor, C.S., Murray, J.I. & McClelland, T.H., 1987. Breed and sex differences in equally mature sheep and goats. 3. Muscle weight distribution. Anim. Prod. 45, 277-290. [ Links ]
Van Heerden, S.M., Schönfeldt, H.C., Kruger, R. & Smith, M.F., 2007. The nutrient composition on South African lamb (A2 grade). J. Food Compos. Anal. 20, 671-680. [ Links ]
# Corresponding authors. E-mail: email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com


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2011 Goodbye
2011 in on it's 365th day which means it's time to say goodbye to this year and hello to the next. I'm not big on sentimentality but since everybody else is doing it I thought that I might as well jump on the band wagon... 'cause I'm a wagon jumper kinda person. Here are some highlights (the ones I can remember), some inspirations and some struggles that have hit me this year...
This movie blew me away this year.
Hoisin Sauce. I heard a chef on tv the other day remarking that he could eat hoisin sauce straight from the jar. Yup. It's been a huge discovery for me this year. What... RAD.
I'm still coveting a tattoo by Alice.
Bread became a regular part of my life this year. I can't say that I'm good at it. I can't say that I make nice looking loaves. I can say that it's pretty easy and is worth the effort. Most importantly I can say... 'Yeast! Hey! I'm not afraid of you anymore.' We're cool.
Music is always a big part of my life. I'm currently over-dosing on these guys... canadians no less. I'm also loving this and this and this. Sometimes I look pretty funny when I'm running and doing a kind of arm dance at the same time. I just can't help it, sometimes music really does transport me. Oh and take a listen to this stuff. Mind blowing.
In 2011 I took an awesome trip with the fam and another short one with my BFF. Both were awesome and I'm a lucky human being.
This year I learned that things you could never have predicted can come along and change your world view completely if you let them. Sometimes it doesn't just help you become a better person but helps the people around you too. For that I say a big Thanks.
I learned that good relationships can still get better even after 16 years. Awesome.
I'm grappling with my sense of self in the midst of environmentalism. I'm wondering what it means to give a shit in this current politically correct ecology dialogue. I'm wondering if that dialogue is even a good thing. I'm grappling. Reading an article in the latest Orion Magazine by Paul Kingsnorth really hit the issues I'm struggling with on the head.
I'm crossing my fingers and praying hard to whoever will listen that 2012 be a better, brighter, happier, more fulfilling year for all of us... now let's get it started!!!
4:28 AM | Labels: friends, rant | 0 Comments
Oat and Seed Crackers
This is it. It's truly winter.
We have had our first real snowfall of the year. The one that stays for at least 24 hours. The one that starts slowly over 3 or 4 hours and then gets heavier for another 3 hours and then just becomes flurries for another 4 hours. The kind where you don't have to guess whether it's rain or snow. The one where you are definitely cold when you go outside, the wind is unmistakable and your hands are frozen in a couple of minutes. Yup. It's winter.
It came 3 days after Christmas here in Toronto. That's ok though because I'm kind of still celebrating. I'm still cooking away and baking for friends. Right now D and I are in the kitchen cooking our annual ham. This year it's happening in Coke which is kinda funny because we are against drinking it (look I'm no saint - I'll have it once in a while). So while the ham is getting a coke bath I'm making crackers.
Sometimes I have this weird experience where I'm reading my own blog, I'm reading what I wrote not much earlier, and it feels like I'm reading someone else's stuff. That's weird right? I sound different when I read me. Maybe it's like hearing your voice back after a recording (super-weird) or seeing photos of yourself that look nothing like you do when you look in the mirror. When I read me it feels to me like I'm reading about this person who is really funny and smart, who is probably feeling pretty confident about herself, who believes strongly in things (true), has it pretty together (hmmmmmm) and is highly energetic. The only problem is that it's just not me. I was never one of the super-smart kids in school. In fact, I don't think that I fell into the 'reasonably smart' category. I guess I was funny but that was only to my friends who I cared enough to be funny for. My confidence levels vary daily and sometimes multiple times daily (is that normal?). I do believe in things strongly but not so strongly that I'll get angry with you about it which probably would make me a terrible activist. 'Has it pretty together'... let's not even go there. And highly energetic? Well, since the holidays have started afternoon naps have become highly valued and since the snow has fallen and it's gotten like mega-cold (Ok - not that cold) I've been too lazy to run... but I am getting out there tomorrow. That laziness has caused me to procrastinate making these crackers by at least 3 days. But not any more... they're done and they were easy. The results very tasty.
This recipe would easily lend itself to all kinds of variations as well. I would happily add something peppery or parmesan or herb. I'm definitely making these again with some variations. I have a BFF who loves oatmeal and needs some homemade Christmas gifts in her life. I tried a little one with some cheese on top and it was great. KT is going to love these.
Seeded Oat Crackers adapted from GoodFood UK Magazine
makes about 12 - 15 medium/large crackers
50 g (between 1/4 and 1/3 cup) butter, melted
100g (1 cup) oatmeal
100g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp salt
dash of nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicone.
Bring a little water to a boil.
Combine the oatmeal, flour, baking soda, seeds, salt and nutmeg together in a bowl.
Add to the flour mixture the melted butter and enough boiling water (about 5 - 6 tbsp) to form a stiff dough.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness (.5 cm).
Cut out the shapes that you want and place on baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden.
Remove and cool on wire racks.
4:40 AM | Labels: gifts, oatmeal, poppy seeds, snacks, vegetarian | 2 Comments
Brussel Sprouts and Mushrooms with Hoisin Sauce... Easy Side
The holiday is firmly behind me. I'm ok with that. The fanfare. The rush. The dinners. The schedule changes. It's all wonderful... and then I want to get back to normal. Vacation normal mind you.
We had a wonderful Christmas dinner with family. The best part was on Christmas Eve though. We went out with the kids and saw 'Tintin' in the theatre. We had thought that going at 7:15 would be awesome because then we could just head home afterwards and the kids could hop into bed. No fuss. What happened though was quite different.
After the movie we realized that an old teacher of kid #1's was in the theatre with us. She was there with her two kids. We had a great chat in the lobby and then she suggested that we find somewhere open so that we could get a drink and a late night snack. Trust me, there isn't a whole lot going on out there on Christmas Eve in this part of the world. We found this place still open and hit it with gusto. It was really great to catch up with her and meet her two kids. The things we learn about and from each other are amazing. I love getting to know people.
This teacher is from Iran. She left just before the revolution in the early eighties. Her father barely escaped with his life a few years later. She was educated in France as an architect but has somehow ended up here as a teacher. Once her kids are both old enough she's getting back into architecture. We started to talk about holidays and celebrations. Me, being a bit of a humbug, commenting on how much we overdo things and blow them wildly out of proportion. Her, commenting on how nuclear our celebrations are. In her part of the world when there is a celebration it's out there. Shops are open, restaurants are open, people are outside, there is music and noise and lots and lots of people. Here, it's quiet. Granted, it's cold and that makes a huge difference. Also, it gets dark here at about 4:45 p.m. right now which can put a damper on things as well. Still, she's kinda got something there. We're all inside with our families. It's not a community thing. We are all celebrating but we are doing it largely in small groups in our homes. Interesting perspective.
Having been christian all my life it's always interesting for to get someone else's perspective. What do you do on a day when no one is out and about and nothing is open. What if there is nothing that you even care to celebrate. Traditions are cool. Christmas traditions are cool. I wonder though if we just make them up ourselves most of the time. Like in my last post when I said that my new tradition is going to be 'screw linzer cookies, spend time with friends'. Is there anything about Christmas that we could decisively say that everyone participates in. It all got me thinking which is cool 'cause since everything is closed there isn't a whole lot else to do.
I made scalloped potatoes as my contribution to christmas dinner. There were leftovers (thank god) that I brought home. I made this side dish to go with them here at home. We had a completely vegetarian day-after-christmas. I can tell you that not only is this really good for you, it's easy and tastes absolutely out of this world. I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday, if you celebrate it at all. I hope that you were able to stop and enjoy those around you with gusto. I hope that you could eat some great food without pangs of guilt. I hope that you laughed a lot and played some stupid games after the great food. I hope for you that something deep and meaningful has been fed with richness and love. (jeez that got all weird and mushy... yikes).
Brussel Sprouts and Mushrooms with Hoisin Sauce (made it up, in my head, just like that)
serves 4
1 lb brussel sprouts (bottoms marked with an 'X' using a knife
3 cups button mushrooms halved
1 small onion diced (I used green onion bottoms cause that's all I had)
3 lg tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
Blanch the brussel sprouts for about 4 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Heat a wok over medium heat.
Throw in about 3 tbsp (maybe a bit more) of your oil of choice. You will need to use a little more oil because the mushrooms absorb a lot. Throw the onion and mushrooms into the hot oil and sauté for about 3 minutes or until the mushrooms just start to soften a little.
Throw in the brussel sprouts. Toss around for about 3 minutes.
Add the soy sauce or tamari and the hoisin sauce. Cook together just long enough for the sauce to cook down a little bit but there is still some nice juice. About 3 - 4 minutes.
Remove from the heat and serve.
4:14 AM | Labels: cabbage, mushrooms, side dish, vegetarian | 0 Comments
Stupid Linzer Cookies
I officially hate making Linzer Cookies.
There I've said it. I feel better.... Dang, I just thought about making them again and lost it. Well, I gave it my best shot.
I nearly threw in the towel with these things. I was losing my religion (not that I have any to speak of at the moment) and my mood was threatening to send Kid #1 and 2 into therapy sooner rather than later. I remember in the middle of the process thinking that doing this and being this way really sucks at Christmas time.
The experience has kinda got me thinking about the Christmas traditions that we all seem to get so hung up about. I make a certain kind of cookie every year. Cappuccino Flats. You can find them here. They're awesome. I don't know why I only make them at Christmas but I do. It's become a tradition because somehow it just seems wrong to dip cookies in melted chocolate in the middle of the summer... but I could still totally do it. But then I can't stop there. I have to make all kinds of stupid cookies... try new ones (because repeating a recipe is like wearing the same underwear two days in a row for me or something), try making crackers, throwing in some gingerbread ('cause they go well with the lemon curd that I made, right - that actually makes sense)... then my students give me stuff. This year I got chocolate and more chocolate, jams, jellies and a gingerbread house... more stuff than I know what to do with. I regift - there I said it. I donate. I share. I eat some of it. Then I've got all this other crap that I give away 'cause I made it and I know full well that everybody else is overwhelmed with stuff too but I'm giving some to them anyway... it's dumb.
Why don't we do this in February when nobody has any crap left and we would all really appreciate a little pick me up to get through the rest of winter. This cookie tradition has to get amended for my own sanity, my kid's sense of well-being and my pocket book.
The christmas tree is a tradition right? We get one every year and the kids love it. I could take it or leave it. I'm not sure that I would care if I didn't have it. Might even be a relief.
Christmas dinner? Yup - feel the same way.
Here's the only tradition that gives me any true satisfaction: Having time with people that I care about and that I really want to spend time with. Not worrying about what I bought for them and whether they'll like it but just being with them. I don't want them buying me any gifts. I don't need stuff. I need them. Having the time to do that is more precious than anything I make or buy or get. Done.
So I've put my foot down about stupid linzer cookies that don't make as many as their recipe promised and dough that wouldn't roll out whether I begged or pleaded and wayyyyyy more time and mental anguish than they could ever give me back. Not again. They taste good... but not good enough.
Here is my new Official Christmas Tradition: Hello Friends... Goodbye stupid Linzer Cookies.
Merry Christmas
(Stupid) Linzer Cookies adapted from Martha Stewart 'Cookies'
makes about 13 if you are me, recipe called for 2 dozen (!)
2 cups all purpose flour (plus some for rolling)
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup pecan halves toasted lightly
2 tbsp icing sugar (plus a little more for sprinkling)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter cubed
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 lg egg
1/2 cup jam of your choice (something red is nice)
Sift flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Combine the pecans, icing sugar, salt and cinnamon in a food processor or blender and pulse until finely ground (in retrospect I would just buy ground pecans and be done with it... too much additional bother)
Add the butter and sugar to the pecan stuff and beat at medium speed until fluffy. Mix in vanilla and egg. Beat just until incorporated. Continuing to beat, add in the flour mixture and mix until combined.
Halve the dough and shape into disks. Refrigerate at least 2 hrs (Mine went overnight).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment or some kind of non-stick arrangement.
Roll out one disk of dough until it's about 1/8 of an inch thick. Refrigerate another 20 minutes (really?!)
Remove from fridge and cut the cookies leaving half of them intact and the other half with a hole in the middle. Re-roll the scraps, refrigerate and use again.
Place on the baking sheets and bake until pale golden - 8 - 10 minutes.
Cool on wire racks.
Heat the jam in a small pan over med/low heat just until it liquifies and thickens a bit (if needed) - about 7 minutes.
Sprinkle icing sugar on the cookies with the cut out in the middle.
Spread jam on the intact cookies.
Place the cut out cookies on top of each.
Take some pictures and thank the gods that you don't have to do this again for another year (maybe never)
5:30 AM | Labels: cookies, disasters, fruit, nuts | 0 Comments
Lemon Curd
Lemon Curd is Christmas in a jar. It's pure yum. It's the absolute perfection of sweet and sour. I love lemon curd so much that I would marry it if I could.
Actually, that might mean I would get sick of it and then that would suck. You know how it is right? You meet this person - or maybe you've known this person for a long time - and suddenly you want to be around them like all the time. You wish that you could talk and hang and eat and get high and sleep and work with this person right there with you all the time. You can't help yourself from getting off the subway one or two stops early just to see if they're home so that you can knock on their door and come up with some lame excuse about being nearby and needing a walk home. You find out what time they're getting out of class or leaving work and conveniently find yourself walking by there and... OMG, what are you doing here... I had no idea... well... wanna go grab a drink or a movie or have a sleep-over for a few years or something. You're not stalking at all because a few weeks, too many late phone calls, a couple too many drinks and some 'I'm-just-a-little-too-tipsy-to-be-coherent' emails later you're pretty much done. You just over-dosed on that beautiful beautiful person that you couldn't get enough of and it will take another 16 years to decide that you were probably a jerk. You'll see your mistake and have serious regret. You'll try to find them on FB or something cause you'd really like to apologize for being such a dweeb. You google them and come up short. You start asking around to see if any old friends have info about the person. You even write some letters to explain but you never send them. You finally realize that the past is done and you have to truly own the fact that your obsessiveness and crazy expectations destroyed something that you really loved...
Yeah... I don't want that to happen with Lemon curd because it's pretty much the awesomest thing going right now. At this moment, I'm eating a little bit out of the jar because it's so awesome.
I made 7 jars and I guess that I'd better give away most of them because otherwise we all know what road I'm going down.
This recipe is mad easy and if you want to make it then just make sure you have some really awesome friends to share it with. Don't let the above story happen with you and lemon curd. Tragic.
Lemon Curd adapted from GoodFood Magazine
makes about 7 250 ml jars
8 oz unsalted butter
zest and juice from 8 lemons
12 oz sugar
12 eggs, well beaten
2 - 3 tbsp corn starch
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan melt the butter over medium/low heat.
Add in the zest and juice from the lemons. Heat to warm.
Add in the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Add a couple of ladles full of the warm lemon mixture into the beaten eggs, stirring constantly.
Gradually add the egg mixture back into the lemon/sugar mixture, whisking constantly. Stir together for about 10 minutes or so or until the mixture thickens.
Add in the corn starch and mix well.
Pour the mixture into small jars to cool.
Place the lids on the jars and cool completely.
Refrigerate until using or giving away.
Will last for about 3 weeks in the fridge.
3:34 AM | Labels: gifts, lemon, sauce | 0 Comments
Oatmeal Bran Bread
Nothing says Christmas like Bran.
Haha - had you on that one. Yeah, I know. I've never heard anyone say that before. Trust me though after baking all afternoon yesterday and suffering through that stupid linzer cookie recipe that you're going to be seeing very soon, I'm totally 'sweeted' out. Damn - too much.
On Sunday I took all these pictures of this bread. I didn't know when my internet connection would be back up and running but the thought of being able to post bread instead of some stupid sweet cookie right now really appealed. There is something calming to both the mind and the soul when you have bread happening in your house.
I found this cook book hiding in the back of my shelf. I bought it in Montreal. The cookbook was written by the Mom of a girl in my friends choir - that sounds way more complicated than it really was. I thought the cookbook was pretty cool and used it a lot back in university. I haven't pulled it out in recent years - hence it being in the back of the bookshelf - and seeing it again kinda woke something up. I'm always on the hunt for interesting bread. I'm always looking for another excuse to get to know yeast - it's a quest for me that yeast and I become friends. Not being one to repeat recipes very often (which makes me the consummate food blogger I guess but really bad when it comes to repeating peoples favourite recipes) I need to find new ones to fuel my mission. This little recipe book has bread recipes in it. This one caught my eye. It looked easy and contained both oatmeal and bran - great!
When I got into it and started to knead this bread I was convinced that I had done something wrong. This dough was stiff. I added another half cup of water. It was still really stiff. I was working hard to get this stuff to the smooth and silky stage - I'll be honest with you, after about 8 minutes or so of hard-slog-kneading I just gave up. I buttered a bowl and plopped the dough in and thought that if it actually rose I would pour myself a drink and buy a lottery ticket. If it didn't rise then I would make the Challah that was on the other page. No loss.
Low and behold, after an hour the dough ball had doubled but it didn't like to be reshaped. It told me flat out that if I tried to shape it into a loaf pan that it would revolt and turn into a hockey puck. I obliged and Put the bread dome onto a buttered cookie sheet (pizza pan to be exact) and crossed my fingers.
Well, look at this - I have an artisan looking dome of bread. It's a pretty damn dense loaf and I don't want to see what it will be like after a few days but it worked and it doesn't look like some kind of weird, goopy monster that so many of my other loaves have looked like.
I didn't listen to Christmas Music while the bread was baking.
I didn't even think about Christmas. I listened to Mozart's Requiem and the washing machine. It was magical.
Oat, Whole Wheat and Bran Bread adapted from 'Almonds and Raisins' by Evelyne Pytka
makes 1 large, dense round loaf
3 cups warm water
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp (2 pkg) yeast
1 cup oats
6 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bran
2 cups all purpose flour
Combine the warm water, salt, sugar, yeast and oats. Stir and let it stand for ten minutes to let the yeast bloom.
In another bowl combine the whole wheat flour, break dn 1 cup of all purpose flour.
Add the flour to the water/yeast mixture and mix well.
Turn the dough out onto a flour surface and knead in the other cup of all purpose flour. Knead for about 10 minutes or until silky and smooth (ish).
Place in a large greased bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Let it rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled (about 1 hr).
Place the dome onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Slice the top of the dome 3 times (or so - it's just to look pretty I think). Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Boil some water and place boiling water into an oven proof bowl. Place the boiling water in the COLD oven. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Bake the bread for about 40 minutes or until brown on the top and it sounds hollow when you knock on it.
The Waiting.
It seems that advent has decided to make itself more poignant for me this year.
Advent is not something I was terribly aware of previous to working in a Catholic school and Cathedral. I don't know if I could have told you all about the 'waiting' period before the arrival of the Messiah... the one waited for. Well, these few years later I know all about those weeks before Christmas and the significance of waiting. And waiting is exactly what the last while has been like for me.
Allow me to illustrate:
I'm waiting to finish working... which will be the 23rd of this month and in the meantime I'm hanging on to sanity and calm with the most tenuous of strings.
I have this pile of food sitting in bags waiting to turn into something munchy and yummy. I'm waiting to have time to hover over the oven for the couple of hours that making chex mex demands.
This beautiful turnip is sitting on the counter. It's waiting so patiently. It looks at me so innocently and meekly. It's not screaming for my attention but it desperately wants to be turned into something beautiful and braised with cabbage... my turnip is part of my advent celebration.
These ribbons are strewn around waiting to grace the tops of jars of gifts and tied around bags of nuts and munchies to give away.
These cookies managed to get baked because I was desperate and these are my favourite christmas tradition bar none... now these cookies are waiting to be eaten.
This star represents my hope that the internet connection which died on me last week and somehow magically restored itself this a.m. will remain connected. I don't like waiting. Now that the internet gods have decided that I've paid for my internet sins sufficiently I will be posting the 20 or so posts that have been brewing since last week... I guess that you could say that by waiting for my new posts I have been helping you better celebrate the season of advent too.
4:11 AM | Labels: rants | 0 Comments
December thus far....
I'm not going to get all weird and mushy about December because of Christmas and all that. I am going to get all weird and mushy about getting two weeks off though. Dang - that can't come fast enough. D is away in a very warm, dry, dusty part of the world drumming his hands off and learning to be the next croc-whisperer. I am here in sun-less, wet, cold Toronto pulling myself out of the dumps. Here are some of the things that have given and will give me purpose over the next two weeks:
1. Me, Kid #1 and #2 got up embarrassingly early two days ago to take advantage of a Christmas tree drive hosted by one of our local tv stations. You donate $10 to a local food bank and you get a Christmas tree. The only catch... you have to get there early. We were there by 6:45 a.m. yeah... that's right. But we got the damn tree people.
2. Not sitting through another Christmas concert rehearsal for about 360 days is something that definitely brings a smile to my face. I'm not going to elaborate beyond saying 4 down and 3 more to go.
3. Learning that I don't have to sit all the way through a concert/show if I don't want to has been a most freeing discovery for me. My BFF KT and I went to the Opera about a year and a half ago. We had ludicrously expensive seats - if I had sneezed it might have thrown off the leads, at least they could've handed me a tissue. Neither one of us are heavy opera fans so KT told me that if we had seen enough after a while and decided to go out for drinks instead then that was fine with her. AND that's what we did. We sat through an hour, got our fill and left... had a great evening with a couple of drinks and great conversation. Now if a concert (especially the not too exciting ones) is going past the 1 1/2 hour mark I start to get antsy. I almost feel claustrophobic - like I need to leave very soon, get out any way possible.
4. I don't and never will understand why every single concert happening at Christmas must be obligated to perform only and exclusively Christmas music.
5. I'm very much looking forward to making gifts this year. Soon to come - homemade Chex Mex, homemade lemon curd and cookies and scones in a jar... what the hell let's throw some homemade crackers in there too.
6. I've finally been able to start running again. Plantar Fasciitis has had me down but not out for the last 6 weeks (!). I've started small with 1 km and will gradually build myself back up to my regular routine. I'm planning to run two half marathons next year. In the meantime, I'm still doing yoga like crazy, biking to work and rolling my foot over a little ball to encourage healing... it's finally working.
7. I love that you all read this and wish I could send all of you some Chex Mex (well... if it doesn't totally bite) and Lemon curd.
7:39 AM | Labels: friends, rants | 2 Comments
Squash Cupcakes? That sounds weird.
Let me just start by saying that just a couple of years ago I would not in a million years have even thought about this happening let alone thinking that it might taste good... good enough to get the squash and actually do it. Never.
Things change.
Here we are two years later and me trying to get more in touch with food reality - as opposed to the fiction that we've managed to turn it into - means that for me I'm now not only considering putting squash in a dessert but actually really truly going and doing it. Here's the kicker for me... it didn't just come with my food box this week - meaning that once it was included I had to find something to do with it and all - no, no... I ordered it... specifically to make pureed squash... specifically to try making these cupcakes. I get a little confused if I think about it for too long. Sometimes I get too proud of my awesome 'sustainable', 'seasonal' efforts... I want to pat myself on the back for being so damn amazing. I just need to walk away from myself.
One of the reasons that this whole squash thing is a surprise to me is that I've never been a fan of the pumpkin pie. I have these vague memories of trying my great Aunt Ina's pumpkin pie when I was a kid. Here's a cool story:
Great Aunt Ina - who isn't just a vague memory but someone whom I remember very well - was the youngest of a family of four. She had a brother very close to her in age (my great Grandad) and two sisters about eighteen (yup - for reals) years older. The two older sisters basically brought up the younger two siblings. Those two sisters ran the family farm and did crazy crap like make their own recipes and publish them and stuff. I know, right. So Aunt Ina inheirited her baking skills honestly. She made this seriously sick candy popcorn every year for christmas. Seriously. She brought it in these huge bags - I could have easily skipped the whole meal just to gorge on that stuff. That's just the beginning. She was also pretty weird sometimes - like she always just stashed our gifts away in a trunk and didn't even take them out of the packaging... actually, maybe that's not so weird. Anyway, I remember trying some of the pumpkin pie that she baked and thinking that it didn't totally suck but then I never ate it again. I don't regret not eating pumpkin pie or anything because there is probably a whole lot of other crap that I can do with pumpkin that blows the pie thing outta the water - I just have to discover it.
Recently I saw a recipe for pumpkin cupcakes and it called for using shredded squash - so I don't even have to cook the stuff - I'm going to try that too... or I could use parsnips or something... oh yeah. I got thinking about the idea of squash and spices and cream cheese icing and it just sounded appealing. However, I've been kinda craving beets lately though so I'm seriously starting to doubt my ability to gauge what is truly 'a treat'.
Squash Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing
adapted from Canadian Living and Ina Garten
makes about 12 lg cupcakes
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
dash or two of allspice
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or whatever oil you want so long as it's fairly tasteless)
2 lg eggs
1 cup squash puree
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a muffin tin with 12 liners.
Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and sugar together in a bowl and set aside.
Combine the buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs and squash puree in another bowl and whisk together until they're completely mixed.
Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until combined and everything is wet. Laddle into the lined muffin tins until each is at least 3/4's full.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out of the middle cupcakes without anything sticking to it.
Cool completely
Cream Cheese icing:
1 pkg (4 oz) cream cheese, softened and at room temperature
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups icing sugar
Combine the cream cheese and the butter together just until blended and smooth. Add in the vanilla and blend.
Add the icing sugar by a 1/2 cup at a time. Mix well after each addition. Add more only until it reaches the thickness that you like.
Dollop onto the top of each completely cooled cupcake.
12:50 PM | Labels: cream cheese, cupcakes, dessert, squash | 2 Comments
Oatmeal, Molasses Snacking Bread
I had this moment of complete panic. It was followed very closely by another moment of utter resignation. Then I remembered that this is not me.
I'm not the person who freaks out at having the perfect gift... for everyone. At making sure that every decorating details has been seen to. At having a perfect meal on Christmas day. I'm not that person. There is nothing wrong with that person. I like those people. I even envy them a little... it's just that it's not me. What prompted my short term meltdown was a food blog I was reading. The blogger was listing her holiday to do's for gifts and cooking and baking and general jobs that needed to be done... it looked exhausting. I was exhausted just reading it and then I had to reach for a paper bag to breath into because I think that I started to hyperventilate... and that's when all that crap went through my head and then I remembered... I'm not that person.
Good God - how completely and utterly freeing to remember that. If I had to deal with my own expectations around gift buying/baking/cooking/decorating/card sending/etc as well as work (up to the 23rd no less)/survive concert season (the next two weekends are completely blacked out on my calendar)/be a single mom/refrain from becoming an alcoholic then I'm sure I would have to be committed by the 25th.
As it goes, we are getting a tree and we will decorate it. There will be lights on it. I might stick something up on my door. I have sent one Christmas card (to the UK) and that will probably be it.
I will do some baking - I might participate in (but not host - ack) a cookie exchange where I have to make two batches of something. For gift giving, I will be making:
Chex Mex
Lemon Curd
Cranberry scones in a jar
Oat Crackers
I will not be buying a lot of gifts. At All.
I think that should just about cover it. Any other cooking and/or baking I do will 100% be for my pleasure. To be honest, the Chex Mex and Lemon Curd are for my pleasure too because I'll be keeping some of it to enjoy myself.
So I guess that my little breakdown accomplished something. I've now completely and rationally thought through my own expectations and limitations around the christmas season. If I exceed expectations then it's a bonus and if I don't then I don't really care. I've listed publicly what I'm going to make and decorate and now I feel a lot better. Thanks.
As a side note. My Bestie KT has lent me her camera while D is in Burkina Faso with mine. All these pics are because of her (you can send your thanks so me and I'll forward it along) so I decided to make her some bread as payment for the rental. Since molasses and oatmeal are two of her favourite things in the whole world (after Mr G, her beautiful Kitties and ME of course) then I figured that this bread would be perfect for her. XOXO It turned out really weird looking but I think that's because of the loaf pan that I used - it was too small.
Oatmeal Molasses Snacking Bread adapted from Technicolour Kitchen
makes one large loaf
2 1/4 tsp (1 pkg) active dry yeast
3 tbsp molasses (I use unsulphured)
2 cups warm water
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour or all purpose (I used all purpose)
1 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and set aside
1 1/2 tsp salt
Combine the yeast, molasses and warm water together. Mix and set aside for about 5 minutes - enough time for the yeast to bloom on top of the mixture.
Combine the flours (both), salt and the oats. Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture. Add the melted butter to everything and mix until all is well combined. Cover with a clean cloth and set side for about 30 minutes.
Turn the flour out to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 7 minutes or so (add flour if needed but no more than about a 1/4 cup).
Place the kneaded dough in a lightly buttered bowl (stainless steal is what I use), cover with a clean cloth (the same one maybe) and let it rise in a draft-free place for about 1 hour.
Once the dough has risen, remove from the bowl and knead just until you can form it into a loaf/rectangle shape. Place in a large, buttered loaf pan. Cover again with a clean cloth and let rise until doubled - about 1 hr.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Bake the bread for about 40 minutes or until the bottom sounds hollow when you knock on it (that's so weird but it works).
Cool and slice or share or give as a gift or make yourself some toast right then and there.
3:32 AM | Labels: bread, oatmeal, yeast | 0 Comments
Another Chocolate Birthday Cake
Save the sighs. It was good and I bet you wish you were here to have some too. Actually, I wish that you were here right now.
Here's why...
D and I have a good relationship. We've been together for a lot of years and we're happy to have had them. yeah, there've been downs. That's normal. Times when we've wanted to throw in the towel, forget it all happened, shake hands and walk away... but we didn't. Having weathered enough crap between the two of us and with life in general we can both honestly confess our good fortune at spending this time together.
Tomorrow is D's birthday. It's not a big one - no big landmarks, 'Oh jeez, I can't believe you're that old' or 'You know, I always thought that by the time I got this old that I would be on my way out' or anything like that. It's just a birthday.
What's making this birthday a little extra special and/or odd is that D will be on a plane. He's going to Burkina Faso for about 18 days give or take. I'm not so sure that being on a plane is like being at a restaurant on your birthday. I'm kinda skeptical that the air host's (or whatever you call them) will be convening by D's seat to sing him a birthday song and present him with a cupcake and candle. So I'm making sure that we send him off with something before his birthday. It's only the night before so at least it's close. I'm gonna make him something slightly more up his alley once he's back and can enjoy it for a couple of days. For now this simple chocolate cake with simple chocolate icing is just the thing. That's all the upside.
The downside is that I'm all alone with two kids for the next 18 days give or take and concert season is just kicking off for this household and birthday month has descended and work continues right up to the 23rd and then it's this big holiday that everyone kinda freaks out about. I'm not feeling sorry for myself but I'll definitely miss him.
I guess that this cake is both a birthday and a goodbye thing... a little send off.
On a side note: I'm not going to bitch for long about this but this whole 'dark-by-4:15-p.m.-thing' is getting a bit old for me. I'm pretty dang tired of making something when I come home from work and by the time I'm ready for pictures it's too dark to get a decent shot. I'll be damned if I'm going to set up a light-box and get into all that. I must keep telling myself that in another 6 - 8 weeks things will already feel a little different 'cause we're almost at the solstice, right? For now please excuse the crappy shots and try to enjoy the spirit of the evening with us.
Chocolate Mud Cake adapted from Delicious Magazine (UK)
makes 1 9 inch round cake
(I'll try to give accurate equivalents here but it's not exact)
250g (1 cup) unsalted butter, cubed
200g dark chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp espresso powder
100 ml milk
250g (about 2 cups or just a little less) self raising flour (you can make your own)
40g (a little less than a half cup) dark cocoa
250g (about 1 cup) sugar
4 lg eggs beaten
1 tsp vanilla
150 ml sour cream
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
3/4 cup dark cocoa
1 tsp espresso powder
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup (give to take) cream
Grease and flour a 9 inch round springform pan
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Melt the butter, chocolate, espresso powder and milk together in a double boiler and then set aside. Cool for about 15 minutes.
Sift the flour, dark cocoa and sugar together.
Add the chocolate mixture to the flour mixture.
Add the beaten eggs, vanilla and sour cream and mix well.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out.
Bake for about 65 - 70 minutes or until a cake tester comes out with just wet crumbs on it.
Cool completely in the pan.
Sift together the icing sugar and cocoa powder.
Add in the espresso powder.
Add the butter and enough cream to mix it together. Continue adding cream until the icing gets to the thickness and consistency that you like.
Continue mixing out all the lumps.
Smooth over completely cooled cake.
1:59 PM | Labels: birthday, cake, chocolate, dessert | 2 Comments
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About Me
- Wanda Thorne
- St Michael's Choir School is celebrating it's 75th anniversary year of service to St Michael's Cathedral. Part of the school celebration is a trip to Italy where our boys from Grades 5 - 12 will be performing and celebrating Mass. This blog will be chronicling our adventures. Wanda Thorne is the Vocal Coach at St Michael's Choir School. Gerard Lewis is the Grade 7/8 Homeroom teacher at the Choir School.
My Favourite Cookbooks
About Me
- Wanda Thorne
- St Michael's Choir School is celebrating it's 75th anniversary year of service to St Michael's Cathedral. Part of the school celebration is a trip to Italy where our boys from Grades 5 - 12 will be performing and celebrating Mass. This blog will be chronicling our adventures. Wanda Thorne is the Vocal Coach at St Michael's Choir School. Gerard Lewis is the Grade 7/8 Homeroom teacher at the Choir School.
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text:
Making sense of UK renewable energy policy has been tricky in recent times. There remains a contradiction between the challenging target the Government has signed up to, and the sluggishness with which policies are put into place. But as David Hopwood found out on a recent trip to the north east UK, regional development in renewable energy technologies is still taking place, something which is vital to the UK's chance of catching up with countries like Spain and Germany.
01 October, 2008


text:
WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The visiting Mount Holyoke lacrosse team scored the final three goals of the game, as the Lyons outpaced Wellesley, 11-9, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) on a chilly Saturday afternoon.
The win improves Mount Holyoke to 6-5 overall and 1-2 in the NEWMAC. Wellesley dips to 4-7 and 1-2 in the conference with the loss.
Mount Holyoke held a slim shots advantage in the game, out-shooting the Blue, 23-21. The Lyons had a distinct advantage in turnovers, however, as Wellesley gave the ball away 18 times to the Lyons' 11.
The first half was closely played, with neither team taking more than a two-goal advantage. Mount Holyoke scored first, a Kirsten Kilburn unassisted goal, but Wellesley tied it on a free-position score from Mary Lemay. Julia Bell connected for the visitors at 20:16, but Wellesley answered with two-straight Meghan Peterson free position goals to take a 3-2 lead with 14:57 to play.
Mount Holyoke responded by out-scoring the Blue, 4-1, over the next seven minutes, led by a pair of goals from Bell. Kilburn and Naomi Miller each added scores in the surge, giving the Lyons a 6-4 lead with 7:57 to play in the half. Wellesley regained momentum in the final minutes, scoring two of the half's final goals, but Mount Holyoke held a slim 7-6 edge at the break.
The Lyons increased their lead to 8-6, just 2:15 into the second half, but Wellesley took over the game, scoring three times in three minutes to take a 9-8 lead with 19:52 to play. Nikki Sharkin scored twice during the Blue's run, while Claire Canty added a goal and an assist.
Down by one goal, the last 16 minutes of play belonged to Mount Holyoke, as the Lyons scored three times and kept the Blue off the board. Brianne Phelan tied the game at 9-9 on a pass from Catherine Ryan behind the goal, before Ryan and Phelan connected again to give the Lyons a 10-9 edge with 11:30 to play.
Holding on to the lead, Mount Holyoke played keep-away for much of the final 10 minutes of the game. Kilburn would add a score, with just under four minutes to play to increase the lead to 11-9, and Wellesley couldn't convert two free-position attempts in the final three minutes, giving the Lyons their first NEWMAC win.
Mount Holyoke's Kilburn and Bell combined for seven goals in the game, with Kilburn connecting four times and Bell, three. Bell added an assist in the contest, while Phelan and Ryan each scored once and assisted on two. Rounding out the Mount Holyoke offense, Miller scored twice, while Liz Randolph added a pair of helpers in the win.
Also for the Lyons, Phelan caused a pair of turnovers, while she and Miller each had a team-high three ground balls. Bell had three draw controls to lead Mount Holyoke, while in goal, Katherine Kayser-Hirsch made five saves in the win.
Game story courtesy of Lauren Ferrett, Wellesley Sports Information.


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Part 1 Standard Series – The Showdown in Shanghai
The world's best dancers compete for prestigious titles and prize money. This series covers both the Latin and Standard competitions of the last two regular legs of the series, held in Stuttgart, Germany, and Moscow, Russia respectively, plus the GrandSlam Finals in Shanghai. Dance legend Peter Maxwell hosts the series.
The GrandSlam competition uses a revolutionary judging system where the judges no longer compare one couple with the others on the dance floor. Rather, they focus on each couple individually and award points on an absolute scale for the quality of dancing. Combining athleticism and artistry, the 12 best dance couples perform Latin and Standard styles of dance, from the samba, cha cha cha, rumba and paso doble to the waltz, tango, slow foxtrot and quickstep.


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Accommodation List Hotels Guest Houses Cottages / Flats Holiday Parks Add your Hotel B&B etc Here for Free
Rhyl Seafront
Rhyl the Family Fun Centre of North Wales and now so easy to reach by road or rail.
A fresh new look railway station and Bus Terminus, at the heart of Rhyl's Promenade, awaits your arrival. Manchester and Liverpool Airports are both only a short distance away whilst the super ferries from Ireland connect with Holyhead with direct rail links to the resorts.
Travel the A55 expressway with direct links to the M56 - M6 motorway network and you could be here within a few hours of leaving home. Its that easy to get here.
Right:- Donkey rides at Rhyl
Safe and Sandy Beaches
Six miles of golden sands stretch between the resorts of Rhyl and Prestatyn where children have the freedom to build sandcastles, play ball or take a donkeyride whilst lifeguards, using the most modern equipment, patrol the shoreline to safeguard the families at play.
For those who enjoy the sea, take a trip into the bay or book for sea fishing at Rhyl's Harbour. The Lifeboat Station is open daily and has interesting displays and knowledgeable staff to give an insight into the work of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute.
Rhyl © Crown copyright (2013) Visit Wales
There's so Much to Do
Fun filled days of what to do next.... Ride the Rhyl Promenade Land Train from Rhyl Suncentre.
The Crown Green Bowling Centre, Events Arena with it's elevated promenade and "Fun maze" and the centre for many outside events, Sea-Life Centre, Rhyl's Children's Village with carousel rides, Vintage Car ride, Cadwalders Ice Cream Parlour, Fatty Arbuckles American Diner, Pizza Co Family Restaurant, Apollo Five Multiplex Cinema, the 80 metre high Skytower, following on to paddling pool, boating pool and miniature golf.
Prestatyn's Ffrith Beach Festival Gardens is planned that this will become a major tourist attraction for the future which should include boats, go karts, miniature railway, catering and other family attractions set in landscaped gardens with ample coach and car parking areas.
Right:- Prestatyn
Activities for All
Whatever your taste in holiday enjoyment Rhyl and Prestatyn offer many recreation facilities. Three Sports Centres, indoor bowls at North Wales Bowls Centre Prestatyn, outdoor Crown Green Bowls Tournaments in Rhyl and four Golf Courses set in stunning Wales countryside.
Tennis courts, windsurfing, sailing, cricket, swimming, squash, lake fishing at Bodelwyddan, sea fishing at Rhyl, gliding at nearby Rhuallt or cycle one of the many routes around the resort area. For walkers there are many coast and country trails and the start of the famous Offa's Dyke Path which runs from Prestatyn in the north to Chepstow in South Wales.
More information about our nearest neighbour, the seaside community of Prestatyn
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La Sportiva
Skwama Climbing Shoe
Find the best size for you
La Sportiva Skwama Climbing Shoe
The La Sportiva Skwama is a feature-packed advanced bouldering and sport climbing shoe that's known for a level of comfort unusual in such a sensitive high-performance shoe. La Sportiva have designed the Skwama to be adaptable across all types of climbing, and it will perform best on steep and overhanging technical routes that also include edging, smearing, toe hooks, and heel hooks. Probably their most versatile shoe for climbers seeking all-round high-performance rather than just single-area high-performance.
The Skwama's P3 rand system helps maintains the shoe's aggressive shape, and this combined with the split-sole designed to reduce deformation when edging still provides a decent level of edging stability and support in such a soft shoe. The Skwama really excels at toe and heel hooking, including both the S-Heel™ with an "incompressible rubber insert" to help create a solid and unmoveable hook on holds during torsion-heavy moves, and the elongated toe rubber that provides friction across the entire forefoot.
As for fit, the Skwama features a suede leather / microfibre upper which is lined only in the back. Being part synthetic and part leather, expect it to stretch up to half a size. La Sportiva recommend you fit the Skwama on the snug side for a performance fit. If you're looking for a similar shoe but one that's stiffer and more suited for all-round use, try the Otaki or Kataki shoes which are built on the same last as the Skwama.
Tech specs
|Upper material
Suede Leather
|Closure type
|Sizing and fit
Medium Foot
Yellow / Black
0.42 kg (Size 40 EU)
High Asymmetry
|Sole material
Vibram XS Grip 2
|Sole thickness
Lined (Back Only)
Vibram XS Grip2™
Rubber compound built for pure friction, recommended for use where maximum grip is the primary need - bouldering and sport climbing, indoor climbing, or extremely smooth, polished routes.
P3® Permanent Power Platform
After intensive abuse, downturned climbing shoes can start to lose their distinctive shape. La Sportiva's P3 rand system prevents from this happening so your shoe maintains its powerful profile, permanently.
Full Features List
• Patented S-Heel™ construction provides optimal heel hooking manoeuvrability and the perfect heel cup fit
• P3® patented technology coupled with the new innovative split-sole construction allows the sole to spread when weighted, reducing edge deformation
• Sticky rubber toe patch for toe hooks and scums
• AWARDS: Climbing Magazine - Editors' Choice 2017
30 product reviews
I got them to go out dancing in because they look so fetch. After a few minutes my dogs start barking but damn it I they don't make my legs look good!
They're also good for rock climbing which is a bonus if you're into that...
I'm incredibly impressed with the Skwama's, standing on small slippy holds (outdoors or in) is not a problem. Toe hooks (and specifically bat hangs) have never been easier, and as mentioned above I have quite wide feet which is why I was drawn to these over the Solutions (as I kept getting mass amounts of cramps due to the narrower design) and with these I can happily wear them all day. Initially took about 4 3hr sessions to break in but since then I've been super happy.
The only slight downside is the heel, I genuinely think it's kinda trash on certain difficult heel hooks, but for the most part if you technique is good, it works. I've had them 2 months and no massive signs of wear and tear, just slight fraying to the toe rubber on my left foot which is mainly down to me smearing my left foot up the wall rather than a a fault of the shoe (and I use them for about 9-12 hours a week, mainly indoor).
TL;DR Overall highly recommend for those with wide feet, but be aware for how easy them make toe hooks they make heel hooks harder.
big toe box is very comfort.and evry grippy,,perdect!
Great show for bouldering which excels at toe hooks and smearing. Been bouldering & sport climbing with it 2-4 times a week over the past year and has held up superbly (no holes in rubber)! I wear a 44.5 in my Nike street shoes and these fit fairly comfortably in a 43 without sacrificing the performance. Only the heel feels a bit too loose at times which could be improved.
Finally a very tight shoe that I can wear without pain with my Greek feet (2nd toe is longer then my big toe).
Will buy the Skwama's till the end of time!


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Town of Matthews
Attn: Accounts Payable
232 Matthews Station Street
Matthews, NC 28105
Billing Address Ship to
Town of Matthews Matthews Police Department
Attn: Accounts Payable 1201 Crews Road
232 Matthews Station Street Matthews, NC 28105
Before payments can be processed, all vendors must complete a Town of Matthews Vendor Application and a form W-9 to ensure IRS compliance. The Town of Matthews Vendor Application can be found here. Please submit following the instructions on the packet.