Giant Panda Twins, Raining Frogs

National Geographic is keeping me entertained lately. Now I am interested in the birth of Giant Panda Twins in the Atlanta Zoo in the US and the fact that the zoo are having to help the mother nurse the cubs as it is so difficult for a mother Panda to make sure more than one cub nurses at a time. There is an article about it HERE which I find interesting reading. I had never realised it was so difficult for Pandas to raise their young. As you can see they are pretty tiny and they don’t open their eyes for 6 to 8 weeks so cannot see to find their way to the feeding station. Funny looking little squirts aren’t they? There is a Panda Cam here too.

Here’s one for you Ninja Captain, apparently fish, frogs and even alligators do fall from the sky, not apparently sharks though, they are too heavy. Must be quite small gators then. I must say I have seen fish jump into our boat at night, several of us were out in our boats once in NC and it was night time and the damned things were jumping all over the place. Quite big mackerel too, I was scared they could hit someone in the face and do some damage.

This recipe pre-supposes you can get nice fresh clams. It also works for oysters which I used to eat by the bushel in North Carolina. I have seen clams for sale here but I have never tried them, I am not about to pay a quarter per clam for something we could just walk out into the sound and rake up ourselves. Matt built a special fireplace in our back yard in NC where we could cook shellfish outside.

Pop-Open Clams with Horseradish-Tabasco Sauce

Contributed by Marcia Kiesel
4 first-course servings

"You can't get lazier than this," says Marcia Kiesel, who simply puts clams on the hot grill and waits a minute or two for them to open and start sizzling. Then she takes them off the heat and tops them with a spicy sauce spiked with horseradish and Tabasco.

1. 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2. 2 tablespoons drained horseradish
3. 1 tablespoon Tabasco
4. 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
5. 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6. 1/4 teaspoon sweet pimentón de la Vera (Spanish smoked paprika)
7. Salt
8. 2 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
9. Grilled slices of crusty white bread, for serving

1. Light a grill. In a small bowl, blend the butter with the horseradish, Tabasco, lemon zest, lemon juice and pimentón de la Vera. Season with salt.
2. Arrange the clams over high heat and grill until they pop open, about 25 seconds. Using tongs, carefully turn the clams over so the meat side is down. Grill for about 20 seconds longer, until the clam juices start simmering. Transfer the clams to a serving bowl. Top each clam with about 1/2 teaspoon of the horseradish-Tabasco sauce and serve with the grilled bread.

Have a great weekend.