H is for Halibut, Powis Crest, Indians, Bunnies, Movie.

I mentioned a British crest on Friday. That evening we watched Jeopardy as usual and there was a question about a Welsh crest showing an elephant and a gryphon. I then wondered why a Welsh crest would have an elephant. It turns out it is the coat of arms of the Powis family in Wales.  The photograph is attributed to Wonky Knee, you can see it better by clicking the link. I am still not sure why there is an elephant, but it appears the family have close ties with Clive of India who’s son married a Powis so maybe that is the reason, its an Indian elephant. Gryphons, being mythical, appear on lots of crests so don’t cause me any surprise although being Welsh it could easily have had a dragon, there are Welsh dragons as well as Chinese.

A comment on Saturday’s post said what a conglomeration of subjects I cover, well I always have done so, which is why I was not sure about the A to Z challenge in the beginning, but having decided to do recipes starting with the appropriate letter, I am basically still writing the rest of my blog as usual. It is still fun to travel around the internet reading other people’s blogs, I read one on Saturday which dealt with Geronimo, I knew little or nothing about him. Seems Geronimo wasn’t his real name either. What a rotten life he had thanks to the Mexicans and the “whites”. As I commented on the blog, we had a lot to answer for. I wonder how many of us really know anything about the Indians who were here before us, or any of the races we Europeans “conquered”. I would think Columbus would be a dirty word to an Indian. I just read up on the history of the cry “Geronimo” yelled by paratroopers when they leapt out of the plane. Seems to be a couple of stories; of course it is in general use although you don’t hear it much today.

Our roast lamb was delicious on Saturday evening. We decided to have an hors d’oeuvre of smoked salmon after reading a blog about Gravlax, we had roast potatoes and cauliflower with my gravy and mint sauce and then I had a piece of carrot cake and Matt had a piece of plain cheesecake. Of course Sunday we started munching on our Lindt bunnies, I almost didn’t want to!!! Poor bunnies. I kept thinking of the cartoon – you know the one - well here it is anyway. Both of ours became deaf before they had any other problems. Needless to say, on Sunday we had leftover lamb and I have enough carrot cake to feed me for a while. I guess Matt only has 3 pieces of cheesecake so he will be hitting my carrot cake next. Oh well, its not good for me anyway.

After supper on Saturday I watched “We Bought a Zoo”  with Matt Damon, which I had rented on iTunes. Great little movie. A somewhat dysfunctional family sort themselves out whilst resurrecting a zoo at the same time. You can see a trailer on line if you wish, but I recommend it as a delightful entertainment, couple of sad bits, couple of scary ones and lots of happy ones. Lions and Tigers and Bears aplenty. That made me think of “Lions and Camels and Tigers, Brown Ale and sandwiches too” anyone know where that came from, without Googling of course. Something I used to quote a lot as a young woman.

Halibut is not the easiest fish to find, but when you do find it, its delicious. This is a very simple dish.

Mustard-Glazed Halibut Steaks

4 6-ounce fresh or frozen halibut steaks, cut 1 inch thick

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard

2 teaspoons snipped fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

Thaw fish, if frozen. Rinse fish; pat dry with paper towels. In a small saucepan heat butter, lemon juice, mustard, and basil over low heat until melted. Brush both sides of fish with mustard mixture.

Grill fish on the greased rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 8 to 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, gently turning once halfway through grilling and brushing occasionally with mustard mixture. Makes 4 servings.

Have a great day