Monday, June 27, 2016

Brexit, Heat, Cooking.

Interesting, on the news this weekend, it appears the British are waking up to what they've done and there have been so many calls for a re-vote that it crashed the government website. Even I voted for a redo. Unfortunately a lot of people who voted didn't really understand what they were voting for - unsurprisingly, it is pretty complicated. Many of the English tend to be xenophobic and really don't like anything unless it is English. Not that they have ever tried it, but it isn't English so it can't be any good. Of course I am English, but luckily that mentality is not one I inherited. Obviously from the votes, neither did 48.1% of the voters. On Good Morning America they said a second referendum is entirely unlikely. Pity. I also understand the government could veto the voting result too. I don't suppose they will. There are so many ramifications to the whole thing, it may not get sorted out for quite a long while.

In this area we have had pretty high temps over the weekend with it hitting the 30°C and our air conditioner running full blast. We haven't had a lot of rain lately either so I think we will soon be talking drought. There was quite a storm on Sunday night, but I think it was just lightning with a bit of thunder, no rain. I have avoided going outside. I am getting like so many others and hiding from the heat.

I checked out a scone recipe that I  used to make many years ago in England and find the only thing I don't have is baking powder. I really should try making them again instead of buying them. Maybe I should also try making Cornish Pasties too.

Although the asparagus season is not quite over for me, it soon will be, so I chose a Chinese dumpling recipe instead.

Pork-and-Shrimp Shumai

Plenty of ginger and scallions add terrific flavor to these juicy shumai dumplings from Andrew Zimmern.

dipping sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup black vinegar
1 tsp Chinese chili-garlic sauce

shumai

12 oz ground pork
6 oz raw medium shrimp—shelled, deveined and finely chopped
4 scallions, white and light green parts only, minced
3 Tbs minced peeled fresh ginger
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 Tbs Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
3/4 tsp kosher salt
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 package round dumpling wrappers, thawed if frozen
Napa cabbage leaves, for steaming
Blanched green peas, for garnish

1. Make the dipping sauce In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce with the black vinegar and chili-garlic sauce.

2. Make the shumai In a medium bowl, combine the pork and shrimp with the scallions, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine and salt. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

3. Lightly dust a baking sheet with flour. Hold a dumpling wrapper in your palm, keeping the rest of the wrappers covered with plastic. Place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of the wrapper and gather up the edges all around to form an open cup; the wrapper will adhere to the filling. Transfer the dumpling to the prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.

4. Repeat to form the remaining dumplings.

5. Fill a wok or large skillet with 3/4 inch of water and bring to a simmer. Line 2 tiers of a bamboo steamer with cabbage leaves, overlapping them slightly. Add the dumplings to the steamer and stack the tiers. Cover and set the steamer in the wok. Steam the shumai until firm and the filling is no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes. Garnish each with a pea and serve hot with the dipping sauce.

Yield: 3 dozen

Source
Author: Andrew Zimern
Source: Food and Wine

Have a great day

22 comments:

  1. It's really strange that there seems to be no 'exit' strategy, so apparently no one really thought the Leave vote would win the day. It seems pretty messy. Only time will tell if the pain was worth the gain or if there is a gain. Threw the world in turmoil, though, didn't it?

    That Pork-and-Shrimp Shumai looks yummy. Just right for a cool winter's night.:-)



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    1. It sure did throw the world into turmoil Denise. I firmly believe the decision was totally wrong, but then I don't like there any more.

      Does look yummy, I agree.

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  2. My jury is still out about the Brexit and the recent voting. I've become more educated about the whole thing and I'm trying to sort if all out. Some say it is good for them to get their country back. Others are in favor of it since the Bible for those that believe it says one day there will be one world government and this kind of shuts it down for a bit with that thought. I still have to read and study so much more but it is a lesson for all of us to really study what we are voting for and make wise decisions about it.

    betty

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    1. Interesting that you brought that up about the prophecy. I believe part of it was a united currency. So, this definitely shifts the unity. I am not sure what to think at this point. I guess they will have to work out all the kinks in the new order.

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    2. I can't see us settling down to one world government Betty, we have enough trouble with our individual governments. It really is a lot to grab hold of though. You are right Truedessa, they will have to work out the kinks unless the call for another referendum works.

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  3. Brexit really is a mess and it seems that even those who led the campaign have very little idea of what to do next. It was all about the slogan of "we'll get back our country" and very little about exactly how to do it and what that meant. I suspect the ramifications will go on for a long time.

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    1. Definitely a mess Helen. I don't think they really expected the vote to be for withdrawal. We will see what happens.

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  4. If they really want to go back to the 'good old days of merry England', maybe they should go back to having the monarchs rule the nation. Saw the news last night with a reporter saying the younger Brits feel like they are being ruined by the old folks who want a Britain that likely never existed in the first place.

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    1. I think they don't really know what they want Denise. It seems to be all speculation at the moment. According to an English friend, the exit vote was supported by those Brits who go to foreign countries for a vacation but take English food with them and drink in the British pubs.

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  5. I didn't even know that's what England was voting on till the next day. And the mere fact that Trump supports it made me decide it was a bad idea.

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    1. I didn't know much about the back story on this vote JoJo, but I did know what they were voting about. I agree with you about Trump.

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  6. Let's see if they can pick up the pieces now.

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    1. I do hope so Alex. The pound has already fallen badly which will affect our pensions apart from anything else.

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  7. I don't think most of the world has digested what all Brexit will mean. Politics are scary right now just about everywhere.

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    1. I don't think the British have either Susan. IMHOP politics are always scary. Especially in the States right now.

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  8. It's truly a sad state of affairs and the markets are reacting, but someone is getting richer for it, just not the 'regular' folk. Hope England can sort it out, but you're right, here in the US the election we're about to have could go wrong too. Folks get pissed and most of them don't even know the why, but here casting your vote for the person whose name you recognize is usually the case. So few go to the polls with any real knowledge regarding their choice! Sound bites are what folks remember and most of those are lies. It's a horrid state of affairs when you consider that this time we could elect a real monster!

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    1. I hope so too Yolanda. That is such a sad description of the electoral process but I think you are right. A real monster is a good description.

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  9. It's just been awful here Jo - here being the north of Ireland. We're devastated - with the exception of the DUP - the really right wing unionists and sadly they're likely to get the break up of the UK for their efforts and none of their constituencies are near the border with the South of Ireland. When people talk about getting their country back they don't seem to realise that the UK is not a country, it's a group of countries ... and it's so utterly devastating that the English vote can pull NI and Scotland with it. And Gibraltar for that matter. We're further away now from self governance than ever I can remember in my lifetime and people, myself included are so nervous that we'll see the border controls coming back again. Furthermore, the nastiness of comments on Social Media fills me with fear that our blackest days here are not so far away from coming back. I think it's time to bury our heads in the sand for a few months and hope that someone will see sense.

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    1. I have heard that kind of thing from several sources Fil although you have a special case in NI. I think a second referendum should be held and I even voted for it on the government page. You should do that too. If enough people vote for another referendum they might consider doing it. Apparently people crashed the government website over the weekend trying to see what's going on and asking for a redo.

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  10. Thirty degrees! Wow, I didn't think it ever made it to that temperature over there. We have been shivering here in temps from 2-10. It's a nice change to what we were used to. I have to warm the dogs' bed up with a hot water bottle before they get in it.

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    1. I remember one time, we were moving, and it went up beyond 33°C so as we were loading the van, we were also dipping in the pool. You have to warm up the dogs' bed!!!! You do spoil them Pinky.

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  11. I hate this heat! I'm basicLly inside too and Itis so uncomfortable. The Brits reLly shot themselves in the foot and so many had no idea what they were actually voting about. Time will tell how all will work out

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