Winter, Movie, Everest Trash.

It’s snowy, it’s cold and we are supposed to get lots more and everyone is complaining. You would think the Canadians living round here didn’t know we got snow in winter. I remember when we first came here in 1975, we used to have winters like this. We took up cross country skiing because of it, and we enjoyed it for a number of years; we got very disappointed if we didn’t get much snow in any winter. OK, I admit it’s easy for us these days because we don’t have to shovel all that white stuff away nor clean the car before we can go anywhere, but we didn’t find that too bad once upon a time. I do feel sorry for elderly people (of which I am one of course) whom I see out there working away in the snow. It makes me wonder if it’s worth owning your own home into your later years. However, they seem to think so.

Tuesday night I watched Lee Daniels’ The Butler which I rented from iTunes. I enjoyed the movie – I had no idea Reagan was so contra the black races. Although he was apparently quite friendly with the White House staff. What a great way of portraying the fight of the African American I just wished the guy at the beginning had got his comeuppance. I didn’t know that the White House employed so many butlers either. Must have been a fascinating life. It said it was based on a true story but I couldn’t find details. I couldn’t place some of the actors although I knew their faces. The movie kept me happy for a couple of hours or so anyway.

I see the Nepalese government is now insisting that if you trek the Himalayas, or climb Mount Everest, you bring back at least 8 kilos of garbage when you come back. Everest is becoming a huge trash dump and the Nepalese figure every climber/hiker discards that much junk on their hike/climb. They check you at the bottom to be sure you have that much trash with you. Your own trash, not someone else’s. I think its an excellent idea. Apparently some 230,000 visitors come to Nepal to trek their mountains – that’s one heck of a lot of garbage and I am glad they are doing something about it. An interesting titbit; Nepalese — who consider the mountain they call Sagarmatha to be sacred — sometimes attribute climbing deaths to bad karma earned through disrespecting the mountain. The Nepali language name Sagarmatha means "forehead of the sky," while the Tibetan name for Everest is Chomolangma, or "goddess of the snow." What lovely names.

I was going to post another brisket recipe, but then I saw this from BBC Good Food and it appealed to me more.

Special Seafood and Saffron Pasta

 

Serves 2

Mussels, scallops and king prawns make this shellfish supper for two a real treat - it works just as well with spaghetti or linguini

Ingredients

• 3 firm tomatoes
• 200g fusilli lunghi or another long, thin pasta shape
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 100g king prawns, deveined
• 100g scallops, halved if very large
• 300g mussels, shells cleaned
• 150ml white wine
• good pinch saffron, mixed with 3 tbsp hot water
• zest 1 lemon, plus juice ½
• 4 tbsp single cream
• small pack parsley, chopped
• 2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

 

Method

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and have a bowl of cold water to hand. Cut a small cross in the base of each tomato and add to the hot water, then after 15 secs, scoop out with a slotted spoon (but keep the water boiling for the pasta) and plunge into the cold water. Leave the tomatoes to cool for 30 secs, then remove. Use a small sharp knife to peel away the skin, starting at the base where you made the cross. Cut each tomato into quarters then cut out and discard the seeds and any membrane. Cut into small dice, then set aside.
2. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 2 mins less than it says on the pack. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan (you’ll need to use one with a lid) and add the garlic, sizzle for 2 mins until just starting to turn golden, then push to one side of the pan. Increase the heat and add the prawns and scallops, fry for 1-2 mins until the prawns are pink and the scallops are just turning golden, then scoop out of the pan and set aside on a plate. Add the mussels, white wine, saffron (with its soaking liquid) and some seasoning. Cover the pan with a lid and leave to steam for 3 mins until the mussels open (discard any which stay closed).
3. Add the lemon zest and juice and the cream to the sauce and check the seasoning. Drain the pasta and add this too, along with the prawns, scallops and diced tomato. Toss everything together, and bubble for another 2 mins, or until the pasta has absorbed some of the sauce and is cooked through. Scatter with parsley and pine nuts and give everything a final toss together.

Have a great day