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 great 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 Rider 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

From 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