Monday, June 10, 2013

Plane Concert, Dog Potty, Jelly Fish

I don’t know if you saw it over the weekend, but a plane was stuck on the tarmac for 3 hours in Beijing so a quartet from the Philadelphia orchestra decided to take matters into their own hands.
Reports said the plane was still stuck for another 4 hours. They played American Quartet by Dvorak, they were interrupted once by a cell phone ringing!!!

Dog Potty
I thought I had seen everything until I saw this ad for a dog potty. I wondered how on earth you could persuade your dog to do its business on this piece of synthetic turf.
As you can see, there is a catch pan underneath and according to the ad, you can pour a gallon of water on the ‘grass’ and it goes right through, it is also odourless. So, all you dog lovers, rush out and buy one, do. I am sure Spot and Rover will be delighted. I suppose if you can get your pooch to use it, it will save a lot of accidents whilst you are out, but….. I also suppose if your canine friend wants to use it for more serious deposits, you can clean it up easily as well. One thing I don’t get, what about your male pooches? Shouldn’t it be provided with a small fire hydrant?

Rather a worrying story about the sickness of our oceans.jellyfish-bloom The jelly fish blooms which have occurred over the last 10 years is a good indication that the oceans are out of balance. Overfishing, rising water temperatures and ocean acidification create ideal environments for these sea creatures to thrive and multiply, Lisa-ann Gershwin explains. Jelly fish are like the canaries in mines but whereas the canaries die, jelly fish increase. She also says Unfortunately, the rise in jellyfish numbers is far from benign. Gershwin said that jellyfish are able to “take this damaged ecosystem and actually drive it to a much worst state.” The article is certainly worth reading where she explains what jelly fish are capable of.

Another British recipe using asparagus. Once again, read shrimp for prawns,  this recipe uses the huge shrimp we see here which are sometimes called Tiger Shrimp.

Tempura Tiger Prawns with Soy and Sesame Asparagus
Marcus Bean - British Asparagus

Pam Lloyd PR Asparagus Recipes (23rd & 25th November 2011)
"This is ideal for an easy starter for a dinner party, prawns in crispy batter with the soy and sesame asparagus is a lovely alternative way of serving asparagus that’s so easy and looks great."

Serves: 2

You'll need:
8-10 stems of asparagus
10 tiger prawns fresh (or defrosted)
100g self raising flour
50g of corn starch
50g or 50ml of cold sparkling water (more if batter is too thick)
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp of sesame seeds
50ml of good quality soy sauce (more for dipping)
What to do:
1
To cook the asparagus, trim the ends then place into boiling water for 1-2 minutes until cooked but still with a bit of bite (al dente). Then remove from the water and put into ice water to stop it cooking anymore and keep that nice green colour.
2
Now make the batter for the prawns by mixing the self raising flour and corn starch together, then add the sparkling water and whisk with a fork, the batter should be fairly light and not too thick. Add more water if it’s too thick, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
3
To cook the prawns heat some vegetable oil to 180c or use a small deep fat fryer.
4
Now pat the prawns down with a little kitchen towel to remove any moisture, then place in batter mix and drop into the oil, when golden in colour remove and place on paper towel until dry. For the asparagus, get your stems and slice each stem into 4 smaller pieces, then heat a pan, add a little oil and then the asparagus, sauté in the pan for a minute, add your soy sauce. Then your sesame seeds, cook for another minute, remove from the pan and serve straight away with your tempura prawns and extra soy sauce for dipping.

Have a great day
Jo_thumb[2]

16 comments:

  1. How cool is that! if I was stuck on a plane I would definitely want to have this group on board. Love a great classical quartet!

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    1. I thought it was great. Almost worth being stuck. I heard on TV that most flights wouldn't allow them to do that though, dunno how true that is.

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  2. I have been very lucky with my dog...never an accident. I suspect the day I have to buy a doggie pottie is the day I go back to raising birds.

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    1. I still think its a funny product to have.

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  3. So too many jellyfish spoil the dish?

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  4. I would own one, the doggie pottie, if I lived in a high rise, and had a patio, but we have plenty of yard, and our little girl uses it all. It's her domain, and I love watching her explore it. She sometimes prances through he yard to flirt with the dog next door. She's shameless, and then she makes a point to climb the large stones to survey her kingdom, the Queen of her kingdom. But the best of all is her 'poopy dance' - she makes me laugh. When she comes back the house she always does her little dance, so pleased with herself. Then it's into the bathroom for the cleanup! She's an angel, mommies little angel!

    Oh dear, how I run on and on!:)

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    1. We always insisted our dogs went to one area of the yard to do their business. What kind of dog do you have?

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  5. Yeah, I can see the male dogs peeing right off that grass mat.

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    1. Me too, maybe they are only intended for females.

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  6. Having just flown home from Fuerteventura Friday evening/Saturday Morning with the extended family from hell - screaming children with disinterested parents/friends (and these were 3-6 years old, not babies) I'd have loved to listen to the musicians instead.

    We use a (famous) low cost airline so am pretty sure the orchestra would have been charged to perform! (Ryanair)!

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    1. You must be like me Sue, if ever there is any kind of screaming baby or kid, you can guarantee I will be right by them whether it be plane, restaurant or anywhere else.

      I've heard of Ryanair? Are they really that skinflinty?

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  7. That Dog Potty cracked me up, Jo, as did your comments on its benefits. :) I needed that laugh!

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    1. Glad you found it funny, I certainly did. I can't imagine the training involved.

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  8. Thank you for the clip about the musicians. Also the Dog Potty. Only a very small dog might be able to use it. Not large dogs. Synthetic grass does not feel good, no wonder the poor dog looks so sad.

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    1. I think the whole idea of a dog potty is rather odd I must say.

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