Faucets and Shower head, Kimbap, Olympics,

The plumbers finally came around 11 on Tuesday. They assured us they would be there for a while. They were right, When I went to exercise class at 12:45 they were still there. They have installed a totally new shower/faucet system which has, of course, stopped the drip. I didn't realise though, all that dripping has left Matt's bath a right mess of lime/chalk all round the plug end of the bath. Guess it will take some work to get it back again.

We are having our kimbap lunch today. Tomorrow I will be writing about my thoughts on them. A friend is coming over for lunch with us to try the kimbap. I suspect that if she wanted to get some for herself at any time she would have to come into town to get it as she lives in Elora which is way to far for Jinah Allen, the owner of  Kimbop, to deliver I think. I made the mistake of looking up the nutritional value of kimbap and they are extremely high. I don't really believe it because they don't contain that much rice. However, I will have to pretend to myself that I don't know.

Matt has been watching a lot of the Olympics, I am half watching it. I was so upset to see the young Canadian on the uneven bars fall on her back. Ruined the hopes of the whole team of course. But it looked as though it could hurt even with the cushioning.

Hey, how about this for a coincidence. My new cleaner is Karen and our new exercise instructor is Karen as well.

The New York Times came up with some Brazilian dishes on Sunday so I just had to share them didn't I? I really miss my ability to buy shrimp like we did in NC, but this sounds so good, I might shell out for some very expensive ones here. Not sure about octopus mind you. There are a lot of ingredients which are unfamiliar but which can be obtained on line if nowhere else. Or I am sure one could find substitutes.

Moqueca (Brazilian Fish Stew)

This Brazilian dish may contain a few unexpected or even unfamiliar ingredients, but they are easy to find online and worth the search. The result is a tropical fish stew mellowed by slices of plantain and coconut milk and accompanied by the traditional hot sauce called piri-piri and farofa, the toasted cassava-meal accompaniment. Farofa is served all over South America with all kinds of dishes; this

version, with caramelized onions adapted from Felipe Amaral in Rio de Janeiro, was my favorite. You can serve the moqueca without the farofa, if you prefer, but it helps to sop up the soupy liquid from the stew.

INGREDIENTS
FOR THE FAROFA (OPTIONAL):

5 Tbs unsalted butter
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 ½ cups manioc or cassava meal, available online and in some specialty food shops

FOR THE STEW:

1 ¾ lbs black sea bass, filleted, trimmings reserved
12 oz large shrimp, peeled, shells reserved
Salt
2 bay leaves
1 small white turnip, peeled and diced
3 medium onions
4 large plum tomatoes
6 oz shishito peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic
? cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup chopped chives
1 green plantain
½ red bell pepper, cut in rings
2 green Cubanelle peppers, green frying peppers or 1 small green bell pepper, cut in rings
10 oz unsweetened coconut milk
4 Tbs dendê oil, or red palm oil, available online
6 oz cooked octopus tentacles, cut in thick slices, or raw squid in thin rings
1 long red chile pepper, for garnish
½ cup long grain rice, steamed
Piri-piri or other hot sauce, for serving

1. Make the farofa if desired: Melt butter in a skillet or shallow saucepan on medium heat. Add sliced onion, and cook, stirring, until it turns light brown. Stir in manioc and cook, stirring, 5 to 8 minutes, until it starts to toast. Cover and keep warm.

2. Make the fish broth: Cut each bass fillet in 4 or 5 pieces, cover and refrigerate. Place trimmings in a 3-quart stovetop casserole, preferably an earthenware pot. Lightly salt shrimp, cover and refrigerate. Place shells in the pot. Add 5 cups water; the bay leaves; the turnip; 2 onions, chopped; 2 tomatoes, chopped; half the shishito peppers; the garlic; and half the cilantro and chives. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 45 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

3. Heat oven to 450°. Cut a slit in the skin of the plantain, wrap in foil and bake 20 minutes, until flesh is tender. Cool.

4. Strain broth into a bowl, pressing on the solids. Discard solids and return broth to pot. Cook over medium heat until reduced to 1 1/2 cups.

5. Slice remaining tomatoes and remaining onion 1/4 inch thick and add to pot. Add bell peppers, Cubanelle peppers, remaining shishito peppers, remaining chives and all but 1 tablespoon remaining cilantro. Bring to a simmer and cook about 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

6. Peel plantain and slice it 1/2 inch thick. Add to pot. Add coconut milk and dende oil. Add fish and octopus, if using, and simmer 5 minutes. Rinse and dry shrimp and squid, if using, and add to pot. Simmer 3 minutes. Check seasonings. Strew remaining cilantro on top, garnish with a red chile and serve over rice directly from the pot, with farofa and piri-piri on the side.

Servings: 4

Author: Rikki Snyder
Source: The New York Times

Have a great day