There has been a lot in the news about Drones and their nuisance and even danger value. This is a positive use of drones which I found interesting. Scientists are using them to study
Beluga Whales in the North West Territories which enables them to do so without disturbing the local population. The study — underway in Paulatuk, N.W.T. a small community on the Arctic coast — combines technologies in new ways to collect data about the whales, avoiding methods like tagging and aerial surveys which hunters in the predominantly Inuvialuit community consider disruptive. Beluga are an important part of the local diet. The idea being to discover if they can make an in depth study without using the tried and true methods of yesterday. This year a section of Darnley Bay is being turned into a Marine Protected Area which will give some protection to many species including polar bears and arctic char who are among the many that come to feed once the ice melts every year.
Problem for BC wines in the making. Fast-moving wildfires in the heart of British Columbia's wine
country are threatening prized vineyards and orchards, with scores of residents forced out of their homes. Loss of vineyards will prove to be an economic disaster for BC. It takes many years to establish a good producing vineyard or orchard. This picture is taken in Oliver, BC and we have English friends who used to spend a lot of time staying in the area. Pretty devastating looking picture isn't it?
Sunday night we watched The Day the Earth Stood Still with Michael Rennie. I thought it was another movie, but in many ways it was similar. I just wish humans would be peaceful as requested in this movie and others I have seen. I am not sure if I ever saw this movie before, but I did enjoy it. The thought that our reaction to a space ship landing would be to surround it with armies, guns and tanks, is pretty terrifying. Of course the spaceman got shot by some dumb soldier who was scared. Typical reaction. Oh well. Maybe it will never happen.
This recipe comes from
Kevin at Closet Cooking who does come up with some great recipes. I have borrowed this one as I thought it sounded especially good. Kevin suggests serving this with steamed broccoli.
Mongolian Beef
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes Servings: 4
Tender stir-fried beef in a tasty sauce.
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pound steak (sirloin or flank), sliced thinly
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon chill sauce such as sambal oelek
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/3 cup water or beef broth
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 cup green onion, sliced
directions
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the beef and saute until just cooked, about 2-4 minutes.
- Add the mixture of the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, chili sauce, garlic, ginger and the mixture of the cornstarch and water to the pan and cook until it thickens a bit, about a minute.
- Remove from heat, mix in the sesame oil and serve over white rice or noodles, quinoa, etc. garnished with the green onions.
Option: Add some vegetables to the mix such as broccoli, peas, peppers, etc.
Have a great day
The fires in Idaho and WA, and OR too I believe, are just awful and heartbreaking. One of them has destroyed family cabins along Lake Chelan....ones that have been around 50 or more years. My friends were gloating about the awesome winter weather and I told them it was going to come at a high price this summer. Sad but true.
ReplyDeleteI know I saw that movie a couple of times, but a long time ago. Michael Rennie was in several episodes of Lost In Space. I believe Irwin Allen made the movie, and he also did LIS.
They are pretty terrible all these fires. Not much one can do unfortunately.
DeleteI don't think I eve saw Lost in Space.
Happy Anniversary JoJo
What a cool way to study wildlife without bothering them. Now if only we could do the same thing with land animals without making them want to swat it out of the sky.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to know how to make Mongolian beef. As things would have it, the wife and I were already planning to go to the Asian mart later today. I may have to get steak and some hoisin and try this out (with a side of Saturday's Tibetan dumplings).
It is cool isn't it Bryan? Funnily enough we watched a programme about the Arctic last night with Bowhead whales being caught by the Inuit. Sad really.
DeleteI think I'm going to move in with you. Matt doesn't cook much any more, sounds like you cook a lot. I could use a break LOL - sorry that's HaHa these days.
LOL, haha, hehe - it's all good to me. And you're welcome over any time. I cook about 4 times a week, and at least once a week I try something new. It's weird cooking for only 2 people, but it lets us be adventurous since neither of us is picky.
DeleteI know a lot of people probably say stuff like that - "I'm gonna try this recipe!" - just to win brownie points, but I am actually making this tomorrow. Just came back from the Asian mart. I got some great kobe beef steak, some hoisin sauce, and also, I got some beef bones because I'm going to make my own beef broth. I'll start slow-cooking that overnight so it'll be ready for tomorrow night. The rest is getting frozen for pho.
You do know you are supposed to roast the beef bones before you used them to make broth? Kobe beef steak even, I'm jealous. We don't have anything like that available round here, not that I know of anyway. I've never made pho either (did you know it's pronounced fear?" guess I'm getting somewhat lazy in my latter years. We are the same with cooking, or were, we cook and eat more or less anything.
DeleteI've always heard it's pronounced 'fuh'. At least that's how all of the Vietnamese folks pronounce it. And it's their cuisine, so I don't argue.
DeleteAnd I did know about the roasted bones thing... which is why when I make beef broth I buy the pre-cut bones that are roasted and ready for broth. And when I make chicken broth I get a whole roasted chicken, save the meat for another recipe, and then dump those bones into the pot. You're not the only one who likes to be lazy if they can. :)
Maybe the way I described it was wrong. Fuh is probably better.
DeleteI don't think we can buy roasted bones here, what a great idea. I do the same with chickens too although lately our store have produced an excellent chicken stock in boxes which is my go to for making soups etc.
I think drones could be used more in ways like that study. Those wildfires are scary. I'm not much of a beef eater but that recipe looks pretty good.
ReplyDeleteSusan Says
I agree with you Susan. I get fed up with the reports on the problems of privately owned drones. The fires are scary.
DeleteLuckily I eat everything - well almost.
Bad news about those fires.
ReplyDeleteDid you see the video of the bald eagle attacking a drone? Hilarious.
It is Alex.
DeleteNo, I didn't. I bet it was funny.
So much for first contact. This is why we need someone like Captain Picard to say hi there to aliens from outerspace.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Spacerguy. Of course the robot could neutralise all the armaments without much problem. He could also vaporise tanks if required.
DeleteFinally a good use for those machines. Can't say as I found anything positive about them until now. Great movie one of my favorites, the remake wasn't as good. Fires are never good. I think mother nature comes back better than we humans do.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good use, official usage is OK Yolanda, it's the idiot private owners who cause problems. I don't know the other version, was this the original or the remake? Fires can be pretty scary.
DeleteWildfire season is here for us in San Diego as well.
ReplyDeleteI remember the old movie from years ago. Not sure which one meant the most...the recent one or the b/w movie.
Hope you don't get affected by fires Susan.
DeleteI don't know if this is the remake, it certainly wasn't black and white. It was really good though.
Bad news about those fires. I hope they get them under control.
ReplyDeleteSeem to be getting some control on them Helen
DeleteBefore I became a pseudo pescatarian I always ordered Mongolian Lamb as the Chinese restaurant. Yum! I feel sorry for those vineyard owners. The man on the land certainly faces a lot of challenges. We get cyclones here which wiped out our banana supply one year. They were so expensive no one could afford them when usually they're a dollar a kilogram.
ReplyDeletePseudo? Not heard of Mongolian Lamb. Very true about the man on the land Pinky, they do have a rough time. That must have been a problem for the banana growers and eaters come to that.
DeleteThat is so interesting about the drones with the whales. I have seen drones being taken out by birds which is funny. I love those whales and feel sad about them being hunted although I prefer the native Inuit over the Japanese or other profit minded whaling ships. Of course I have seen this film, more than once and own the DVD. It has so many layers because it was made during the height of the Communist witch hunts. When you think of those times the film hits even more buttons. It is a brilliant science fiction film.
ReplyDeleteNever seen that, interesting that a bird could take one out Birgit. I feel sad that they are eaten, but the native species have been existing on those whales for centuries.
DeleteI might have known you would have the DVD. It is a great movie.
Heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteNot sure which you think is heartbreaking Ivy?
DeleteWildfires.
DeleteIn more ways than one I think Ivy. The wild animal impact as well as the human one.
Delete