Thursday, January 22, 2009

Vacation, Oscars,

How annoying, I booked up two weeks in a cottage on Emerald Isle, North Carolina yesterday, then went looking for 'out of country health insurance'. Not one company will sell it to me this far ahead, so now I have had to cancel our cottage reservation. Once upon a time the insurance coverage Matt had from his employment used to cover us when we travelled, but not any more. The current employees would rather have that money in their pockets, along with several other benefits which used to be available and aren't any longer. At our ages we daren't travel without such insurance. The only place we can go to is the UK where we are still covered by National Insurance, thankfully. Or, of course, we can travel in Canada. Its a big country. Its also not as inexpensive as travelling in the US. This morning the Oscar nominations were announced. One film, Milk, got a lot of nominations, I am not a big movie follower admittedly, but I had never heard of this one before. Wall-e got a nomination in the animated category - I still have to rent that one - as did Kung Fu Panda which I enjoyed. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button got a lot of nominations. Although The Dark Night was expected to be nominated in the Best Film Category, it wasn't. If you are interested in the details click here and see who was nominated for what. Here is another fish recipe, fish being so very good for you, particularly wild caught salmon which is the most healthy fish around due to its high content of Omega-3 fatty acids. This is a very simple dish from Best Ever Three and Four Ingredient Cookbook. The original recipe calls for a whole salmon which you then proceed to clean and dress. I wouldn't bother and I suspect most of my readers wouldn't. Baked Salmon with Caraway Seeds. This classic Czech way of cooking salmon is very easy and gives excellent results. The fish cooks in its own juices, taking on the lovely warm flavour of the caraway seeds. Serve sprinkled with flat leaf parsley and lemon wedges for squeezing over the fish. 4 salmon fillets or steaks 1/2 - 1 tsp caraway seeds 3 Tbs lemon juice From the store cupboard 1/2 cup melted butter Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Place the salmon, skin-side down, in a lightly greased roasting pan. Brush with the melted butter. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle over the caraway seeds and drizzle with lemon juice. Cover the salmon loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven, lift off the foil and test the fish. (The fish should be opaque and flake easily. Return to the oven if necessary). Remove the foil and lift the fish onto a serving plate. It may be served hot or cold. Serves 4. Have a great day.

7 comments:

  1. Jo --

    So holiday in the UK ... with a stop over in Paris ...

    Marilyn

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  2. Yeah, I'm with Marilyn. It's a shame you cant go to Ireland but there are plenty of other nice places to see. And bloody miserable health insurers should be shot.

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  3. Ireland, North Carolina in the States Satima. Would love to come to the UK and France, but the same would apply to visiting France anyway. However, these days hopping around on aircraft is not cheap, especially not in the spring, summer and fall, that's one reason we usually go to the UK at Christmas.

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  4. Silly me, I have just clicked why you thought Ireland. Emerald Isle is an island of that name, together with a town of that name, off the coast of North Carolina. I never even thought of someone confusing it with Ireland I am so used to that area and name in NC.

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  5. heh heh - never heard of it! Of course, I've never been in that neck of the woods, although I lived in New England and West Virginia for a little while.

    Yes, you certainly don't want to get sick in the States!

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  6. would you come in France Jo ? If so i'm afraid i can't have any place to offer for a sleep but i'll drop up to Paris for a day to see you and Mat and Marilyn ^^

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  7. It would be wonderful to meet both you and Marilyn, but certainly this year, it is impossible. Maybe we can plan another visit to the UK and a quick trip to Paris, or of course you could all come to Calais for the day.

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