Thursday, March 12, 2020

Shopping, Quiet Day, Cell Phone, Shower, Bean Sprouts Recall, Exercise Class,

Today was the day our cleaner comes and then I dash down to the grocery store and she brings it upstairs for me. She is such a super help. I could do with more people like that around.

Apart from the job of putting groceries away, it has been a quiet day and tomorrow will be another. I somehow managed to find lots I need to do though. Boring stuff but it has to be done.

This bloody cell phone I now own is driving me batty. It keeps ringing, just a short ring, and I don't know what for. I keep checking messages and stuff but I cannot find what it is notifying me about, if anything. So, if you find a future blog ranting incomprehensibly you will know what happened.

Thought you might like to know that the W I painted on the tiles in the shower seems to be working OK I haven't been fool enough to get in the shower with my watch on again.

Damn, I was intending to buy some fresh beansprouts for a recipe but I see they are on the food recall warning list today due to possibility of salmonella. Come to think of it, I ate some yesterday at Mandarin.

I went down to the exercise class and for a Wednesday it was busy, i.e. 4 of us, very often not too many people in the middle of the week. Because I seem to have twisted both knees now, I wasn't sure
what I would manage, but actually did quite well. Basically only one exercise I had to go a tad easy on although my hip was giving me gyp in another. Ain't old age wonderful. If you are getting on you know what I'm talking about, if you are still relatively young, you have lots of lovely aches and pains to look forward to. Oh, a couple of the members in the class assured us they had seen Robins. The American Robin, which is a thrush, is considered to be a harbinger of spring. It does have a lovely song, I honestly don't remember whether English Robins sing or not. It is of course called a Robin because it has a red breast which inspires comedians to say things like they had seen a robin but it turned out to be a pigeon with a chafed breast!!  No David, I am not trying to compete LOL. Although you probably think I should have included the Latin names.

Another quiet day tomorrow. (Thursday) maybe I can persuade myself to do a bit of sewing (repair work). The only housewifely duty I have ever been any good at is cooking and sewing has always been the bottom of the heap. At boarding school we had repair mornings on Saturdays and I used to tear off a button from my pyjamas and sew it back on, show it to the teacher and mostly I got away with it.

This looked quite a nice salad recipe - only thing is, I'm not sure we can get hominy round here. I do enjoy salads though and often have them for lunch.

Shrimp Salad with Hominy, Arugula and Lime

With similar ingredients you'd find wrapped up in taco, this brightly colored shrimp salad is light but
very much satisfying. Enjoy with chips and beer on a hot day.

VINAIGRETTE
1/4 cup lime juice
2 Tbs orange juice
1/2 Tbs shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Freshly cracked black pepper

SALAD
1 Tbs of olive oil
3/4 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 29-ounce can hominy, rinsed and drained
3/4 lb cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 avocado, quartered and thinly sliced
3 oz crumbled cotija cheese
4 cups baby arugula, packed
Salt Lime wedges

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk the citrus juices, shallots, garlic, cumin, cayenne, honey and salt together until combined. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil in a thin and steady stream until the dressing becomes emulsified. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper and set aside.

2. Pat dry and season peeled and deveined shrimp on both sides. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, heat for a minute or so, and drop in the shrimp. Cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side until shrimp are pink and slightly fried. Take off heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the hominy and sliced tomatoes to the mixing bowl and pour in half of the vinaigrette. Toss to coat and let sit for a few minutes.

3. Meanwhile finely chop the cilantro, thinly slice the avocado, and crumble half of the cotija cheese. Add the prepped ingredients to the shrimp and hominy mixture and fold in the arugula. Pour in the remaining vinaigrette and toss to coat. Season the salad generously with kosher salt and a squeeze of lime juice.

4. Transfer salad to a serving platter, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and serve.

Yield: 4 to 6

Author: SARAH BOLLA
Source: Food and Wine

Have a great day
 

14 comments:

  1. Hooray for quiet days.
    On alternate Thursdays I go into town to do a shift on the crisis line. It is valuable work, it is rewarding work, but I feel like chewed string now I am home. I do a supervisory shift from home in the off weeks.
    I hear you on the sewing. My mother was an expert. I am not.

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    1. That sounds like useful but extremely harrowing work Sue. Not sure I could cope with that.

      Yes, my mother was too.

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  2. The robin is our state bird and they are here all year round in Michigan. They have been chirping away the last few weeks. And the mourning doves are also looking to make their nests.
    I hate sewing even though I am very good at it and used to make my own clothes - out of being a poor college student, not cause I enjoyed it.

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    1. If they are with you all year round, we are not that much further north Denise so I wonder why they don't stay here.

      Wish you lived closer. I made a skirt once and that was the extent of my sewing.

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  3. Lots of robins around now, Jo. Bean sprouts seem to go on the list of foods not to eat, with a degree of regularity, but we eat them quite often (will tonight in fact in Pad Thai). I buy mine at T&T where they have them in bulk and I get just what I need for the recipe. If you hear of my demise tomorrow you will know why! In the meantime I will be talking about water birds at the Rockway Centre in Kitchener. One day I know I will see you at one of these events!

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    1. I haven't seen any myself yet David. Well, they are being recalled so you may not get them if you haven't already done so. What time are you serving the Pad Thai?

      What date for the Rockway?

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    2. Sorry I should have said today - but there are other dates coming up. Also, American Robins stay here in good numbers in the winter. They find sheltered ravines and micro climates and do quite well. Hillside Park in Waterloo has many all winter long.

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    3. Didn't know that David, thanks. Sorry I missed your talk, wasn't doing anything today either.

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  4. You're just going to have to go through your phone's setting and check every single app to see which one is sending you notifications.

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    1. I suppose Alex. I actually got a notification saying all I did was swipe those that I got did I want them to stop. I didn't say yes, but maybe I should have done. I'm a tad nervous in case there is anything important.

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  5. I hurt my knee and I have no idea how. It's annoying the snot out of me. Putting on a sock this morning about had me cussing a blue streak. The lift and turn of the knee seems to be the worst position right now.

    You should probably stay in and keep sewing until this corona bug passes. I'm not overly scared of it, but it almost seems engineered to attack the elderly. Be safe! I'd be lost without my grandmotherly kicks and wisdoms.

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    1. Mine is the same Liz. I do find the cannabis salve helps though.

      Don't you dare call me elderly. Just 'cos I'm 81. Grrr. Someone was telling me the other day, their dad is 104 and in great shape. It is amazing how many of us there seem to be these days. Our exercise class, in the building, is full of oldsters. Most of 'em older than I am.

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  6. They sell it in tins at one of the markets, I have not tried it yet.

    Saw a truly red robin not long ago. Bright brilliant red. Made more Instant Pot soup today. How fun is that tool.

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    1. Never seen it in Canada Ivy.

      I did Buttered Chicken the other night, had leftovers last night. I love the sauce for that.

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