Supper, Sleep Clinic, Windows.

Last night I decided to make the Asparagus and Endive salad which I posted the day before, I even remembered to take a picture of it. Once we had dug in I thought of a better way I could have posed the picture, oh well, keep saying I am no photographer. Wed both enjoyed it and I can now really recommend it. The orange of the dressing really complements the ingredients. Endive can be a little bitter, but with the asparagus and orange, it is great.

Yesterday was also bowling day. I had lots of fun again, but I can’t say I bowled very well. My excuse was having had a sugar low before we left home and I was still feeling shaky (what was my excuse last week I wonder). One of our friends, who had previously gone through the same sleep treatment which I am going through now, asked if I had seen the article in the paper about the doctor at the sleep clinic, we don’t take the paper, so I hadn’t. Apparently he is being accused of incompetence which is very reassuring. Even the College of Physicians and Surgeons is involved which makes it even more serious. I am not sure the accusation is anything which affects my diagnosis, at least I hope not. Friday is when I go to the CPAP supplier to get fitted for my machine.

We were informed late yesterday that the workmen would be coming in the morning to install 3 new windows. The frames are somewhat rotted because this is an old building, I guess tomorrow they won’t be.

Asparagus and lobster, two of my most favourite foods, what combination could be better?


Asparagus and Lobster Crêpes with Fines Herbes Hollandaise Sauce

1 lb asparagus, ends trimmed
Cooked meat of 1 large lobster, or 2 lobster tails (about 1 1/2 lbs loster before cooking)
sprinkling of salt plus 1/2 tsp.
Fines Herbes
Hollandaise
2 Tbs white wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened and cubed
2 Tbs lemon juice
white pepper to taste
1 Tbs fresh tarragon, finely chopped
1 Tbs fresh chives, finely chopped
1 Tbs fresh chervil, finely chopped.

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. In a large pot, steam or boil asparagus until just tender, about 10 mins, cool under cold water, drain and set aside.
3. Coarsely chop cooked lobster, set aside
4. Prepare crêpes.
5. Divide the asparagus into 8 separate bundles. Place a bundle in each of 8 crêpes, sprinkle with salt and roll to enclose. Place asparagus in a glass baking dish, top with lobster and cover with foil. Just before serving, and no sooner, place in heated oven for 15 mins to warm through.
6. In a small saucepan over medium high heat reduce (boil) vinegar, water and 1/2 tsp salt until approximately 3 tbs remains, remove from heat.
7. Lower heat to medium-low, add yolks to pan and return to heat, whisking constantly until foamy and lightly thickened. Make sure not to scramble eggs; if the eggs begin to cook too quickly pull off the heat and whisk vigorously to cool slightly before continuing.
8. Begin to whisk butter into pan 1 cube at a time. Once all the butter is incorporated, whisk in lemon juice, white pepper and fresh herbs. Use immediately.
9. Place two asparagus crêpes on each plate and top each with some of the warmed lobster. Spoon hollandaise overtop, serve immediately

Servings: 4
Source
Source: Food and Drink Spring 2010

Author Notes
If preparing this for a dinner party, the asparagus, lobster, crêpes and vinegar reduction can all be prepared beforehand so that the only thing left to prepare is the hollandaise. Make sure to use a good quality butter so that the hollandaise has great flavour.

Have a great day

Making Soup, Racing Pigeons

I mentioned that yesterday we drove to Barrie’s Asparagus Farm and I bought some more asparagus. 4 lbs. actually.
I immediately chopped up two pounds of the fresh asparagus and added a little onion and some chicken stock to the pan in order to make the base for some more soup.

I cooked this until tender, not more than 3 minutes, I allowed it to cool somewhat and blended it. The picture looks grey, but I assure you the resulting purée is green.

This purée can now be frozen until I  want to do the rest of the soup, or I can go to the next steps of making a roux, turning it into a white sauce and then adding the remaining ingredients to make Barrie’s Asparagus Soup. I posted the recipe at the link. I actually ended up finishing it off and dividing it into meal portions and freezing.

I just found a headline about a record sale price for a racing pigeon, $400,000. For a bird?? I had no idea pigeon racing was such a big business. It was a bird bred in Belgium where, I read, the best racing birds are bred. It was sold to China where, apparently it will be used for breeding. The pigeon’s name was, appropriately, Bolt.  There is a headline on the same page about pigeon racing being Hamilton’s least known sport. Certainly news to me and Hamilton is only a few miles away. Come to think of it we used to see pigeons flying morning and night round here, presumably racing birds. I know there are lots of racing pigeons in England, didn’t realise there were any here. A lot of the top prices for Belgian birds are paid by China or Taiwan. If they buy a lot of the fastest birds, I would have thought they could have bred faster birds by now.

Last night we decided to finish off the Thai Chicken which I posted yesterday. This time, instead of using our indoor/outdoor grill we used the broiler and this time, the meat didn’t get scorched. Much better.

As you will see, I have posted a new badge which links to Stephen Tremp's blog, he is one of the hosts of the Get Healthy blog hop which takes place on May 29. If you would like to join in with any information about what you have been doing to improve your health or to maintain it, click on the badge and there is a Linky List where you can add your blog. Stephen explains it all as do all the other hosts on their websites.

This is a delightful salad and yet I cannot find a picture. Guess I should make it and photograph it, but home photos of food never look as good. Well mine don't at least.


Asparagus and Endive Salad

1 lb fresh asparagus , trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 tsp grated orange peel
1 Tbs Juice, orange, fresh
2 Tbs seasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs small shallots , minced
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp black pepper
8 oz Belgian endive, fresh, head , cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch strips (2 heads)

1. Place 1/2 inch of water at the bottom of a 12 inch pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add in asparagus and cook until tender yet crisp, about 2 minutes. Place in strainer, rinse under cold water, drain, and pat dry with paper towels.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the orange peel, orange juice, vinegar, oil, shallots, sugar, salt, mustard, and pepper until well combined.

3. Add the asparagus and endive to the bowl with the dressing. Mix well to evenly coat and serve.

Servings: 4

Tips
Try using a sugar substitute instead of regular sugar.
Source
Source: dLife

Have a great day