Thursday, September 3, 2015

Big Blue Live, Bowling.

For the last three days Matt and I have been watching a TV programme on public television called Big Blue Live. Absolutely wonderful.  They brought us live shots of all kinds of marine life, because these animals are all congregating in the Monterey Bay area off the California coast. This area is full of food and this year there is more food available to the sea animals than usual - sorry, all the science did not stay in my head. If you go to this link you will see some of the fabulous shots they managed to get or were even sent in to them. There were superb shots of breaching humpback whales, lots of them surrounding the boat on which they were taking photos. Then yesterday there was the fascinating scene of 3 or 4 Killer Whales turning up and from the helicopter overhead you
could see the dolphins streaking away from danger, literally thousands of them. Then some humpback whales seemed to gang up on the Orcas to drive them away. There were lots of shots of the adorable sea otters, and many of the seals resting on land or flying through the waters. Shots of one bird which flies from New Zealand does a tremendous journey around the Pacific and ends up in Monterey Bay - in its total life it apparently flies the same distance as travelling to the moon and back, twice. And finally, tonight, we saw live pictures of a Big Blue Whale cruising into the area. They are the biggest animal that has ever lived on earth and there is a record of one really large female who was bigger than any dinosaur ever. Mostly they clock in about 100 ft. long. Can you tell how excited I was to see this show. I have long been interesting in the Monterey Bay Aquarium where they do such wonderful work with sea life. They also produce lists on a regular basis of what fish is currently sustainable and therefore a good choice for the table. Oops, I forgot the Great White Shark who visited too. There was a diver swimming with him and he couldn't have been less interested. However, we saw lots of pictures of bite marks on various animals that were there.

Having checked with the alley, there is no likelihood of bowling this week but we can bowl again on Tuesday (Monday being Labour Day and no doubt super busy). The Winter League is still a week and a half away. Starting on the 14th.

This looked like a good recipe for shrimp although if I served it with the shells on Matt wouldn't eat it, I wouldn't want to either. I don't see the point. However, your choice.

Yucatan Shrimp

  • Yield servings

 



Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • Juice of two large limes
  • 1 tablespoon Indonesian sambal (preferably sambal oelek, by Huy Fong, though sriracha will work as well)
  • Kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 pound large, fresh, shell-on shrimp
  • 1 teaspoon jalapeño, seeded and chopped (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Preparation

  1. In a small saucepan set over low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the garlic and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.
  2. Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter to saucepan. When it melts, stir in the lime juice, chili sauce, salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and allow the sauce to rest.
  3. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes or until they are just firm and pink. Do not overcook. Drain into a colander and shake over the sink to remove excess moisture.
  4. In a large bowl, toss the shrimp and chili sauce. Add jalapeño, if desired, sprinkle with cilantro and toss again.

Have a great day
 

21 comments:

  1. Glad you'll get to bowl again, soon. Can you believe it'a already Labor Day, where did summer go?
    Big Blue sounds lovely, will have to look for it - amazing the size - 100 ft. Wow!

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    1. Where does time go at all Yolanda? This year seems to be whipping by.

      The thing about Big Blue Live was that it was coming live from California for three evenings. I doubt it will be shown again. I could be wrong, but it was absolutely fantastic, I would so love to have been there. The Bay is absolutely teeming with sea life of all kinds right now.

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  2. Sounds like a cool show. As long as none of the animals were doing it. Although in that first photo, the sea otters appear to be saying 'Hey! Do you mind? We're having a moment here.'

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    1. It was fantastic Alex. Direct from Monterey Bay as it happened. The whole bay was just choc-a-bloc with marine life. That photo of the sea otters wasn't from the show, but there were lots of sea otters right off the shore by the aquarium where there are kelp fields which the otters love.

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  3. Yum with the shrimp; but I agree, I would not have the shells on either. Sounds like an interesting show to be watching on TV :)

    bewtty

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    1. It would be such a pain at the table wouldn't it?

      It was a great programme Betty.

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  4. I've been to that aquarium twice. I found it anticlimactic to be honest. It's very, very small. I went w/ my dad in 1988 and after I moved to the Bay Area my then husband wanted to go so we went and he was as disappointed as I was.

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    1. Now you've upset me JoJo, I thought it looked like a huge place in the video. Oh well, the ocean apparently doesn't disappoint. The aquariums up and down the East Coast are fantastic. I especially liked the one in South Carolina although the one near us in North Carolina was pretty good too. They showed one seawater tank which looked very impressive and huge. When did you last go? Maybe they have made some improvements since then.

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  5. I enjoy shows about animals and nature. Good stuff.

    We're headed into a 4-day weekend. Wishing you the best and boogie boogie.

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    1. In that case Ivy, you would really have enjoyed this.

      $ day? Only 3 day here. You enjoy it too.

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    2. That should have been 4 day.

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    3. Tim took Friday off so we could have an extended weekend. The next big staycation will be ten days during Halloween week.

      Time for me to go write up a pear bake. Do you like pears?

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    4. Yes Ivy I do like pears. Especially cooked in red wine. Jacques Pepin has a wonderful recipe for them.

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  6. I have a sketch of otters I bought from Monterey in 1995. I love otters.

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    1. They are such cute little beggars aren't they Pinky? Lucky you being in Monterey, would love to visit although JoJo (above) said she was disappointed with her two visits.

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  7. The show does sound excellent and I love nature shows. I love the otters. Glad you can get back to bowling next week. I bet you are counting the days

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    1. It was marvellous Birgit, all three nights of it. Seeing live shots of all these marine animals.

      Yes, you're right we are counting the days. Tuesday and Wed. next week then league bowling the week after.

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  8. That sounds a wonderful show. Pity it's not on here because it's the sort of thing my husband and I both enjoy.

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    1. Apparently it was shown in the UK Helen, but I guess the time factor would have been too different for Australia. It was wonderful to see.

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  9. That sounds a wonderful show to watch Jo ... the photography is usually amazing isn't it!

    All the best Jan

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    1. It really was Jan. Apparently it was on the BBC so pity you didn't get to see it. Wonderful pictures and some of them live.

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