Drowned Mobiles, Acai, Remembrance, Cooking.

I saw an incredible post which came from the Mail on Line which says that almost half the water damaged mobile phones in the UK are dropped in the toilet. Some are dropped in showers, others added to the dirty dishes or the laundry; a large proportion of this is caused by men who are 3 times as likely to drop their phones in the can, I am pleased to say. But when some mobile phones cost £400 that’s a lot of money to drop in the loo. Are people really unable to go to the bathroom without being on the phone and/or texting? What a sad comment on society. OK I’m old fashioned and although I carry a mobile or cell phone, it is only for emergencies, and nothing else. I am not even sure if I can text on it. We have a very simple phone as some people are technologically challenged around here. It is a phone intended for seniors, it does have some features like phone books and calculators, but not a lot else.

Sunday morning they were playing 2nd World War tunes and sounds including the sirens and sounds of flying bombs followed by Vera Lynn singing, I never liked her, but she certainly epitomises the war years and was known as The Forces Sweeheart. The sound of the sirens sent shivers down my spine. Even though I was only a littl’un at the time and don’t remember much about the war at all, I do remember the sirens and I didn’t live in a very populated area unlike those who lived in London. A very scary sound. Also played were segments of Churchill’s speeches. The man was a brilliant speaker and I never fail to listen when I have the opportunity. There was also at least one speech from King George VI, having seen the movie The King’s Speech, it was interesting to see how, in real life, he used his speech problem to control the pauses.

By the way, for those of you who were interested, I have stopped taking the Acai pills. At first I thought I was losing weight, I dropped 3 or 4 lbs., then the weight all came back with no change in anything I was doing. I persevered a bit longer but nothing happened except I started getting more cramps, something I am prone to, so I abandoned the whole thing. Since I have stopped I have lost 3 lbs. LOL.

It occurs to me that you might wonder why I avoid giving cooking times in recipes. There are several reasons, the first one being that they are not always accurate. The second, I quote a phrase from a restaurant we used to go to in the UK many years ago “Good Cooking Takes Time”. You have to set aside sufficient time to cook a meal, if you can’t afford the time, don’t bother. However, I recommend you do allocate the time, it is better for your health to eat well prepared food; making a social occasion of it with your family is very important too. Some things take a lot less time to prepare such as the recipe for fish given below. If you cook any fish too long it is inedible. Of course you can also do what I do, cook things on the weekend and freeze them for the rest of the week. Not that I have to stick to the weekend, but if you are working…

Pomegranates are not something I have ever bother with, my mother used to love them and so, I tried them, I found them way too much trouble for little reward. However, Michelle Luello, who spearheads Restore Family Nutrition, has posted an interesting way of dealing with them in her blog Smothered in Butter. Maybe I will have another go at them using her method. She also talks about chestnuts, which I love and as she mentions, in many large cities you find roasted chestnut vendors on street corners. The last time I saw such vendors was in Portugal where is was so full of all the wonderful Portuguese food I couldn’t take advantage of the chestnuts. One thing I really like chestnuts for is chestnut stuffing which I use for the neck end of the bird. To me its one of the best things about Christmas (or Thanksgiving) turkeys, as a youngster I used to help my mother make it and would eat as many chestnuts whilst peeling them as went into the stuffing. I guess she always bought more than she needed just for that reason. I know I have given the recipe before, but can’t find it, basically it is as follows:

Chestnut Stuffing
Mrs.  Beeton’s Cookery

2 lb chestnuts, or more if you want to pig out
1/2 pt. stock or water
1 oz. Butter
A good pinch of sugar
salt and pepper.

Cut off the tops of the chestnuts and bake or roast them for about 20 minutes (my mother always boiled them and so do I, makes them easier to peel). Remove both outer and inner skins, put into a stewpan and add the stock (no more than will barely cover them) simmer until they become tender and dry. Rub through a fine sieve (we didn’t sieve them but mashed them with a fork so the end result still contained chunks of nuts). Add the butter, sugar, salt and pepper and use as required.

Here is a second recipe for you - I love Arctic Char; we had a friend, who was a restaurateur, who smoked both salmon and Arctic Char and served them in his restaurant, Greystones, the smoked Arctic Char was better than the Smoked Salmon and I am nutty over that. Sadly the restaurant is no longer there and we have lost touch with the owner.

 

Artic Char Kale

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Arctic char, related to salmon and trout, is sustainably farmed, making it a "best choice" for the environment. It has a mild flavor and cooks up quickly. We like the taste and texture of Lacinato (a.k.a. Dinosaur) kale in this dish. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Servings: 4

Recipe Ingredients:

1. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2. 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
3. 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
4. 1/4 cup water
5. 1-1 1/2 pounds kale, tough stems removed, coarsely chopped (14-16 cups)
6. 1 pound skinned arctic char or salmon fillet, cut into 4 portions
7. 1/4 teaspoon salt
8. 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
9. 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
10. 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
11. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, or 1 teaspoon dried
12. 4 lemon wedges for garnish

Recipe Steps:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook shallot, stirring, until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add broth, water and half the kale; cook, stirring, until slightly wilted, about 1 minute. Add the remaining kale and cook until tender, about 8 minutes.
2. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper and place on the kale. Cover and cook until the fish is just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine sour cream, horseradish and dill in a bowl. Serve the fish and kale with the sauce and lemon wedges.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 335 calories; 16 g fat ( 3 g sat , 8 g mono ); 90 mg cholesterol; 14 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 35 g protein; 2 g fiber; 424 mg sodium; 1135 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (353% daily value), Vitamin C (230% dv), Potassium (32% dv), Calcium & Iron (24% dv), Magnesium (19% dv), good source of omega-3s

Have a great day