Sea Creatures, Storms and Typhoons. Books.

I mentioned the Giant Octopus eggs being hatched in a BC aquarium, I didn’t register at the time that 300 of the eggs had hatched successfully. What on earth are they going to do with 300 Giant Octopi? I believe they grow really big. Talking of sea creatures, a lot was on the news about the penguin called Happy Feet who lost his way and ended up in New Zealand having ingested a lot of sand which he apparently mistook for snow. Happy Feet is now fully restored and was released some considerable distance from his home waters, they have a signal attached to him so they know he had trouble orienting himself and swam in a circle for a while but finally started heading for Antarctica. Now I read he has turned around and is heading for New Zealand again. They are hoping he is just feeding in a zig zag pattern. I figure they took care of him so well he wants to go back  to Wellington Zoo. I think they should have taken him a lot closer to home to release him.

The weather systems are causing quite a few problems. TS Lee which has now been downgraded to a tropical system, is causing a lot of flooding because of the amount of rain it is dumping in New Orleans at the moment, however, they are all breathing sighs of relief there because the new levies built since Hurricane Katrina are holding and doing their job. It also appears that Lee will help to hold off Hurricane Katya so that she may not make landfall after all, at least not according to the current 5 day projections. However, locally, at St. Jacob’s Farmer’s Market on Saturday, 5 people were injured in an isolated severe thunderstorm. These kinds of reports keep finding their way into the news lately, Mother Nature seems to have got it in for us lately, not forgetting what is happening in Japan with their tsunamis and tornadoes.

I finished the book I was reading, The Golden Key, it was a bit slow at the beginning but once it got moving I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is an old book written quite a few years ago by three authors who had an absolutely fascinating concept concerning magical paintings and what could happen with a young man who had no conscience.

A friend emailed me the other day and said she had made the following recipe from a well known Indian cookbook. My only complaint, my friend can get hold of fresh corn cobs easily as she lives in the country, I live in a town so its not so easy to get the really fresh stuff although I would really like to give it a try, she said its delicious and it certainly sounds it. I hope this picture looks right.

Corn, Tomato, and Potato Curry

This recipe from famed Indian cookbook author (and actress) Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking uses produce from the height of summer.
The flavours start with cumin and mustard seeds, then proceed with a herby shot of mint leaves, spicy green chiles, and the richness of  coconut milk. Yet the corn still stays crisp and fresh and plays beautifully off the sweet tomatoes and creamy potatoes.  Jaffrey's advice: make this curry "as hot as you can manage." The spicy, sweet, and sour flavours are marvellous.

Ingredients
Serves 4 with rice, 
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium cooked waxy potato, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 medium tomato, cut into 1/4 inch dice
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
1-2 fresh hot green chiles, or more to taste
2 cups fresh corn kernels
3 ounces coconut milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
cayenne pepper, to taste

Procedures
In a large (12-inch) non-stick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high
heat until shimmering. Add the mustard seeds and 1/2 teaspoon of the cumin seeds. Cook until the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the garlic and potatoes. Cook, stirring often, until the potatoes turn golden. Add the tomato, cilantro, mint, and green chile. Cook for 1-2 minutes longer, then add the corn and stir to combine. Add coconut milk, salt, add lemon juice. Stir and bring to a simmer, then cover and cook until the corn is cooked through.
In the meantime, toast the remaining cumin seeds in a dry skillet over high heat until fragrant and darkening in color, but not yet burned. Stir the toasted cumin seeds into the corn mixture and season with black pepper and cayenne to taste. Serve immediately.

Have a great day