Friday, July 22, 2011

Its hot. Books, Geological Snippet.

Really, what’s to talk about, its hot. Even with our a/c running constantly, its hot. Outside the humidity has brought up our local temps into the 40’s Celsius. We are breaking local records for heat and there is apparently a greheatwaveat dome of hot air over a large part of North America and everyone is boiling. The last report I heard was 20 deaths, there may have been more since, although I hope not. Raleigh, NC is 101°F the last we heard. Toronto was at 34.4°C at lunchtime. Meanwhile friends in England are complaining about the wet – we could use some of that. Crops are dying in the fields from lack of rain, at this rate, maybe I will never get the corn I talked about yesterday. Cannot imagine why I thought it was already available. I guess I should thank my lucky stars that at least I don’t have to go anywhere in this weather. A friend said, its so hot, he saw a bird pulling a worm out of the ground with a pot holder. Our new thermometer read 36°C today.

I have just finished the third book in the Green The High King's TombRider series, The High King’s Tomb which I thoroughly enjoyed. Its odd to me how little I really enjoyed the first book, but seem to be enjoying the stories more as they progress. I have already started reading the fourth book and will then be biting my nails looking for the fifth which, by the look of the other publishing dates, may take a couple of years.

Although I have watched the programme before, I saw an episode of Geologic Journey II, I think I missed some because they said that Edinburgh Castle in Scotland is built on top of a volcano which has been extinct for 350 million years. I had never heard any of that before.

Despite the fact that we live so far inland, we do try and eat fish on a regular basis. This recipe is offered by Eating Well as a low carb dish for people with diabetes. It sounds good to me too.

Almond-and-Lemon-Crusted Fish with Spinach

Almond and Lemon Crusted Fish with SpinachFrom EatingWell: January/February 2011

Coating fish with nuts and baking it is an easy, foolproof way to cook it elegantly. And it is especially nice with a mild white fish like cod or halibut. The spinach turns a little yellowy because it’s cooked with the acidic lemon juice, but what you lose in green color is more than made up for in great flavor.

4 servings

Ingredients
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon, divided
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 1/4 pounds Pacific cod or halibut (see Note), cut into 4 portions
  • 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 cloves garlic, slivered
  • 1 pound baby spinach
  • Lemon wedges for garnish
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
  2. Combine lemon zest, almonds, dill, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place fish on the prepared baking sheet and spread each portion with 1 teaspoon mustard. Divide the almond mixture among the portions, pressing it onto the mustard.
  3. Bake the fish until opaque in the center, about 7 to 9 minutes, depending on thickness.
  4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not brown, about 30 seconds. Stir in spinach, lemon juice and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; season with pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the spinach is just wilted, 2 to 4 minutes. Cover to keep warm. Serve the fish with the spinach and lemon wedges, if desired.
Nutrition

Per serving :249 Calories; 13 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 8 g Mono; 46 mg Cholesterol; 8 g Carbohydrates; 28 g Protein; 4 g Fiber; 496 mg Sodium; 1025 mg Potassium

1/2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 3 lean meat, 2 fat

Tips & Notes
  • Note: Pacific cod, a.k.a. Alaska cod, is considered a good choice for the environment because it is sustainably fished and has a larger, more stable population.

Have a great day

Jo

2 comments:

  1. Hey, we got a bit of rain today.Lasted about 35 minutes. I loved it. We have 30-40% chance of rain the next three days. Bring it on. With the heat index, it's 101F right now. Looks like you guys are getting some cooler weather coming down from the north. Enjoy it.

    Sia McKye's Thoughts...OVER COFFEE One I liked was the o

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  2. Oh I will Sia, if and when it arrives. I am fed up with extreme heat. Glad you got some rain. We might tonight.

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