Bees, Asparagus, Doctors, Berries.

Hey, I bought some more asparagus on Sunday and got half a pound free because I answered a question on Facebook. How cool is that. I also talked to Tim Barrie, the farmer, and he told me that they are installing bee hives at the back of their property. The apiarist will sell the honey in the farm store. I buy my honey there anyway. But I was delighted as this is so good for the bees. Tim was wondering how the honey would taste with the bees feeding on asparagus. I don't remember it produces a flower, but I guess it must. I know there are male and female plants from when I had a bed in England. Google to the rescue, that is the asparagus flower. Quite pretty isn't it? I wonder how long it takes to get an apiary set up and working.

I know doctors are busy people, but... We went to see Matt's cardiologist this morning for his annual

checkup - he's done a couple of visits for tests and this was the final one with the doc. His appointment was for 10:30. He was called in a tad late for yet another test. Then we were put in a room to await the doctor. We finally got to see him around 11:15 or maybe later. He did apologise for keeping us waiting. But, by this time, I was chomping at the bit. Having diabetes I try and always eat lunch around noon if I possibly can, also Monday is exercise class. In the end, I rushed home, threw some lunch together and bolted it down (didn't even have time to eat any asparagus) and dashed downstairs to class. The other women were quite amused when I said I hadn't had my asparagus yet.

I am a little teed with myself that when I was at  the farm they had some gorgeous looking raspberries and I didn't buy any. Matt bought some strawberries while he was out, but they were not local ones and, in my opinion, not as good.

Haven't done a salmon recipe in a while. Haven't actually eaten it myself in a while, other than smoked which I don't think of as the same fish. This recipe doesn't actually cover grilling the fish but it provides a link if you don't know how.

Grilled Salmon with Roasted Corn Relish

Cooking Light

Grilled chiles and corn give the relish a wonderfully smoky flavor that pairs perfectly with grilled salmon seasoned with just salt, pepper, and cumin. Serve with a mixed green salad to round out the meal.

• Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and 3/4 cup relish)

Ingredients

• 4 Anaheim chiles
• Cooking spray
• 2 shucked ears corn
• 1 cup diced tomato
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets

Preparation

Prepare grill.
Place chiles on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until blackened. Place chiles in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 5 minutes. Peel chiles; cut in half lengthwise. Discard seeds and membranes. Cut chiles into 1/4-inch strips.
Place corn on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 10 minutes or until lightly browned, turning occasionally. Cool slightly. Cut kernels from cobs.
Combine chiles, corn, tomato, cilantro, and juice; toss gently. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and cumin, stirring well. Rub spice mixture evenly over both sides of salmon. Place salmon on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with relish.

Have a great day
 

Bees, Bowling Again.

A very worrying report on Thursday morning. Bees are already in crisis with great losses in their numbers and now, just in the last year, there has been a 40% loss of colonies in the US. No bees, no pollination. No pollination, no food. If man doesn’t stop using toxic chemicals, there will soon be no bees left anywhere. The badge I display at the side is not a joke.  If bees die out so will we.

Thursday was our third bowling session this week. Wasn’t sure about it, but realising that an 87 yr. old friend had bowled that many times this week, I thought I should be able to do it too. I am pretty sure the 90 yr. old, who bowls in our leagues, bowls at least twice a week. Compared to them I am a spring chicken. Later: Having now done this, it wasn’t too bad. Legs a tad tired at the end of the day. Maybe my bowling arm was tired the whole time – it didn’t seem to be working very well!!! Matt did OK again though. We were joking about one friend who’s daughter said you didn’t get much exercise at bowling. We said we should challenge her to come and play three games.

This is a very tasty and very simple way to prepare asparagus. Must admit I had forgotten about it myself. Guess what I am going to do tomorrow with my asparagus ration. Yes, I eat it every day.

Asparagus with Anchovies and Garlic

Source: Eating Well

4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs minced garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 bunches asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbs water
2 tsp anchovy paste or 1 anchovy fillet, minced

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add asparagus, water and anchovy; cook, stirring often, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, 5 to 6 minutes.

Note: Farm fresh asparagus only takes 2-3 minutes to cook.

Servings: 4
Yield: about 3/4 cup each

Have a great day

Bees, Game of Thrones.

I have been carrying a bee preservation sign for a while and came across this one on Facebook. I think it is so important that we do something about this. Not enough people are taking it sufficiently seriously.

Apparently the Queen and Prince Phillip will be visiting the set of Game of Thrones on their upcoming visit to Northern Ireland. I read that the programme has been filmed in all kinds of places, including Malta where I spent a lot of time when my parents lived there. II have never seen the TV production although I have read most of the books. I’ve kind of lost track of where I got to though. It has been taking so long. However, the TV programme has become a big hit throughout the world – I have friends in Australia who say I should watch it without fail. I would have to find a way of seeing the beginning of course. However, I got a bit disillusioned when they killed off the bulk of the Starke family so not too sure I want to see it again. I like Tyrean Lancaster though, I think he is a wonderful character in the books. It is apparently unknown if the Queen is a fan or not.

Here’s a somewhat different recipe from Eating Well.

Tomato Gratin

Active Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes
6 servings


A gratin is any dish topped with cheese or breadcrumbs mixed with butter, then heated until browned—but it needn’t be heavy. This one has plenty of garden-fresh tomatoes and herbs, a touch of full-flavored cheese and a crispy crumb topping.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS
4 slices  whole-grain bread, torn into quarters
1 tablespoon  minced garlic
1 tablespoon  extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup  finely shredded Pecorino Romano or parmesan cheese
4   medium tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cup  chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon  freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a shallow 2-quart baking dish with nonstick spray.
Place bread in a food processor and pulse until coarse crumbs form. Add garlic, oil and cheese; pulse to combine. Spread the seasoned breadcrumbs on a baking sheet and bake until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, layer tomato slices in the prepared baking dish, sprinkling each layer with basil, pepper and salt. Bake the tomatoes for 10 minutes; sprinkle with the toasted breadcrumbs, and bake for 10 minutes more. Serve immediately.

Have a great day

Amazon and Art, Bees or Wasps.

In the news, Amazon.com is now selling fine art. I cannot imagine going to Amazon for expensive pictures. Not that I can afford them of course, but spending $4,800,000 or something with Amazon is mind boggling. On TV they are also talking about the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, buying the Washington Post. That surprises me because I believe newspapers will soon be a thing of the past.

One of the things I find somewhat irritating is the confusion in North America between bees and wasps. There is actually a lot of difference, but so many people persist in calling wasps bees. Just saw something on TV where they were talking about bee stings, or yellow jackets. They were wasp stings. One thing with a bee, if it stings you, it leaves its stinger in you and then the poor bee goes off and dies. You should be sure to remove the stinger from the site. The wasp on the other hand goes off to sting again. Personally I like bees, to me they are working really hard pollinating plants and making honey. Without them (they are dying off in droves) we will be in serious trouble.

I think probably Matt’s favourite fish would be swordfish. It really is delicious and in Europe it was described to me as being like a pork chop, it is certainly a very solid flesh.

Grilled Swordfish Kebabs with Sake-Orange Glaze

Source: Cooking.com

Grilled with a gingery Asian-fusion style glaze (a kind of teriyaki sauce), meaty swordfish makes a fine feast, indeed. For maximum grilling ease and colourful presentation, the fish is cut into cubes and alternated on skewers with cherry tomatoes. Serve the kebabs over a bed of rice, snow pea and mushroom salad tossed with a sesame dressing, and drink ice-cold Asian beers.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sake
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, crushed through a press
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1 tablespoon plain (unsalted) rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon oriental sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Three 1 1/4-inch-thick swordfish steaks (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
30 cherry tomatoes

DIRECTIONS
Combine 1/2 cup sake, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, orange zest, vinegar, sesame oil and red pepper in small, nonreactive saucepan. Bring just to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Stir remaining 1 tablespoon sake and cornstarch in small bowl to form smooth paste. Reduce heat and whisk cornstarch mixture into soy sauce mixture. Simmer until thick, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and cool.
 
DO-AHEAD TIP: Can be prepared up to 3 days ahead. Use cold or at room temperature.
Remove skin and dark-colored flesh from swordfish. Cut fish into 30 equal square or rectangular pieces. Divide fish pieces among 6 metal skewers, alternating them with cherry tomatoes, and positioning them so that their flat sides align, for more even cooking.

Meanwhile, prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Position rack about 6 inches above heat source.
Brush sake glaze over one side of fish and tomatoes. Lay skewers sauced side-down on rack. Cover and grill 1 1/2 minutes. Brush kebabs generously with glaze, turn and grill another 1 1/2 minutes. Continue to grill and turn kebabs until glaze is used up, fish pieces are nicely marked by grill on all 4 sides and are just cooked through while remaining juicy, about 6 minutes total.

Slide fish pieces and tomatoes off skewers and onto plates. Serve immediately.

Have a great weekend.

B = Bees and Bourekas

Last year I wrote about bees on the B day. Like many people I was very concerned about the loss of millions of bees every year and the fact that it was an unsolved mystery for so long. The loss of bees is a major threat to our food supplies, without pollination, plants will not grow and thrive – we are talking crops as well as flowers in the back yard or tree blossoms. However, it appears scientists are pretty sure they have identified the problem and figure the incredible disappearances were linked to a widely used pesticides known as neonicotinoids which people are now trying to ban. From what I read, not very successfully. Maybe people should become active in getting their governments to ban these chemicals. The EU is planning to ban them, but I gather Britain is not following suit at the moment, Canada is re-evaluating, if governments dither enough, I guess bees will completely disappear. HELP THE BEES.

I have eaten Bourekas in several places in the Mediterranean, Malta had their own version as does Greece where spinach is frequently added to the cheese mixture. I love them. We have made the Greek variety at home. The following are from a Jewish Cookbook. They make great snacks or can be used for appetisers.

Bourekas: Savory Cheese-Filled Pastries

By Faye Levy from Jewish Cooking For Dummies

These cheese-filled pastries are relatively easy to make — if you purchase the dough to make your feta-filled bourekas. Flaky filo dough makes the best bourekas, but you can also use puff pastry and pie dough. For the filling, pair a pungent cheese such as feta or Parmesan with a mild one such as cottage cheese.


Yield: 15 to 20 small pastries

1/2 pound filo dough (about 10 sheets)
1/4 cup farmers’ cheese or ricotta cheese
1/2 cup finely crumbled feta cheese
1 large egg
1/3 cup grated cheddar or Swiss cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Small pinch of salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/3 to 1/2 cup melted butter, for brushing dough
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, for sprinkling

1. If the filo dough is frozen, thaw it in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
   
2. Remove it from the refrigerator 2 hours before using it, leaving it wrapped.
   
3. Mash the farmers’ cheese with the feta cheese in a medium bowl until blended.
   
4. Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat it lightly.
   
5. Add the egg, cheddar cheese, oregano, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, then mix until combined.
   
6. Butter two baking sheets.
   
7. Remove the filo sheets from their package and unroll them on a dry towel.
   
8. With a sharp knife, cut the stack in half lengthwise, to make 2 stacks of 16-x-7-inch sheets.
   
9. Cover them immediately with waxed paper and then with a slightly damp towel.
   Work with only one sheet at a time, keeping the remaining sheets covered with the waxed paper and towel so they don’t dry out.
   
10. Remove 1 filo sheet and brush it lightly with melted butter.
    
11. Fold it in half lengthwise, to make a 16-x-3-1/2-inch strip.
    
12. Dab it lightly with butter.
    
13. Spoon 2 teaspoons cheese filling at one end of the strip.
    
14. Fold the end of the strip diagonally over the filling to form a triangle and dab it lightly with butter.
    
15. Continue folding it over, keeping it in a neat triangle after each fold, until you reach the strip’s end.
    
16. Set the triangular pastry on a buttered baking sheet.
    
17. Brush the pastry lightly with butter.
    
18. Follow Steps 10 through 17 with the remaining filo sheets and filling.
    
19. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
    
20. Brush the pastries again lightly with melted butter and sprinkle them with sesame seeds.
    
21. Bake them for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
    
22. Serve them warm, not hot, or at room temperature.

Have a great day

Bees Die and the South East Freezes.

At my age I am beginning to have thoughts like "I am glad I won't be here when that happens". The trouble is some of the things are beginning to happen already, like the disappearance of bees of all kinds and in particular honey bees. Millions of bees are dying all over the world. There was a programme on The Nature of Things tonight talking about this serious problem and what is being done about it. The value of bees is not just in honey, but in the fact that they pollinate plants and this is a basic function in the life cycle of this planet. Without plants there would be no food for some birds and animals, including the human animal, and life would alter dramatically. If you want to read more about it go to http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/natureofthings/. I just hope they find the solution before there are no bees left at all. Something I learned in this programme was that bees are shipped all over the US to do a pollinating job where required. Such as in the vast almond fields/plantations, in California. Funny, I thought most almonds came from places like Spain. Just shows what I know. We had snow again last night, when I went to bed the road was white which is a pretty good indication of what its like outside. It will soon clear today no doubt by the time all the local traffic and a few buses have driven up and down it. However, its the south eastern States which are really in trouble this winter. Florida, for instance, is just not used to freezing cold temperatures which is what they have now, and they are consequently worried about their fruit crop - oranges, grapefruits, lemons. However, this cold snap covers a large area of the States and there is already talk of increased food prices because of it. One picture we saw on TV was lemons on the trees being sprayed with water which created a kind of igloo around the fruit which helped to preserve it? That surprised me. I wouldn't have thought that would work. I don't think I'll be bowling this afternoon, Matt certainly isn't up to it and what with one thing and another, I am too tired. We finally got the Christmas tree down yesterday, which is a fairly big job in itself although I had taken all the ornaments off. At the moment all the decorations are in the spare room. I will worry about getting them into storage later. Matt messed about with the string of lights which had stopped working but couldn't get them to work again so yet another string goes out. I think we spend more on Christmas tree lights than on anything else. om fact we discussed getting on of those trees with lights built in but with our luck with lights they wouldn't last a whole Christmas. On Good Morning America, Emeril Lagasse was making soups which were quick and easy. When its so cold in such a large section of North America, soup sounds like a really good idea to me. I was going to share his recipes but they are not on the website yet so I went to my favourite recipe source - Eating Well and found a good soup there for a cold winter day. Ravioli & Vegetable Soup From EatingWell: September/October 2009 Fresh or frozen ravioli cook in minutes and turn this light vegetable soup into a main course. Look for whole-wheat or whole-grain ravioli in the refrigerated or frozen section of the supermarket. Tortellini can be used instead of ravioli as well. 4 servings Ingredients •1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil •2 cups frozen bell pepper and onion mix, thawed and diced •2 cloves garlic, minced •1/4 teaspoon crushed crushed red pepper, or to taste (optional) •1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted •1 15-ounce can vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth •1 1/2 cups hot water •1 teaspoon dried basil or marjoram •1 6- to 9-ounce package fresh or frozen cheese (or meat) ravioli, preferably whole-wheat •2 cups diced zucchini, (about 2 medium) •Freshly ground pepper to taste Preparation 1.Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add pepper-onion mix, garlic and crushed red pepper (if using) and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, broth, water and basil (or marjoram); bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Add ravioli and cook for 3 minutes less than the package directions. Add zucchini; return to a boil. Cook until the zucchini is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Season with pepper. Tips & Notes •Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Thin with broth before reheating, if desired. Have a great day and keep warm if you are in the chilly part of the world.

TV I have watched lately

Well boo hoo, one of my few favourites on TV has just ended until the BBC make some more, or Public TV in Canada buy some more, whichever is appropriate. I am talking about New Tricks which I told you about a day or two ago. This time they left us with a cliff hanger. Not necessary, its a good enough show without that.

I seem to be watching a lot more TV lately, this morning on Good Morning America the weatherman Sam Champion, went to beekeeping school and learned how to handle bees. He did get stung, once. They are trying to encourage people to keep bees at home - you can learn from the school and they they will mail you all you need including several thousand bees, through the mail????? Yes its true. As a dare, though, we were disappointed, we thought we would see him covered in bees as in the picture on the left.

To quote Good Morning America:

""I'm not real comfortable around a swarm of bees for some obvious reasons … but there's a major world crisis that I want to address. Millions of bees are dying because of a mysterious malady called Colony Collapse Disorder, and without bees many of our crops won't get pollinated. We're talking about $6 billion worth of crops here in America alone! And without that pollination, you can bet that the world's food supply is going to take a major hit," explained Sam Champion.

Some beekeepers in states reporting Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) have lost 50 to 90 percent of their colonies, often within a matter of weeks. This translates into thousands of dead colonies and millions of dead bees."

I would love to buy bees and have my own apiary, but it wouldn't work in an apartment. There appears to be a lot of interest in people buying their own bee colony, how about you if you have the space. Apparently you can get honey in about a month, great to have your own supply. Nothing nicer than a chunk of honeycomb. Yum. Did you know honey is the only food which doesn't spoil?

Another interesting segment on GMA this morning was about the ingestion of corn. They now consider it may be making us obese. Apparently corn is in practically everything we eat, even farm bred salmon is fed on corn. One of the few things which doesn't have corn in it is bananas. Animals are fed on corn, apples are polished with a wax substance containing corn, you name it, it probably has some connection with corn. Fast food is a particular culprit they said. There is a documentary film going the rounds right now. The National Corngrowers are saying the facts are already outdated because the film was made in 2005. If you want to read more about it click here and see what GMA has to say.

As for a recipe today, how about Cornish Hens? One of my favourites, so here is a good recipe.

Cornish Hens with Lime Spice Marinade

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 whole scallions, finely chopped
Grated peel (no white attached) of 1 lime
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
4 Cornish hens,

Instructions:
Combine the lime juice, olive oil, garlic, scallions, lime peel, black pepper, cayenne, chili powder, cumin, dry mustard, salt, and coriander into a paste.
Flatten the hens by pressing heavily on the breast, cracking the bone. Spread the paste evenly over the hens. Cover with plastic wrap and then weigh them down, using cans on a plate for instance. Marinate in the refrigerator 24 hours if possible. (This flattening allows the hens to cook evenly.)
Place skin side next to heat and cook on a hot grill about 20 to 25 minutes per side, turning occasionally to prevent overbrowning, although a little dark flecking is pretty and tasty.
If roasting, preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease or spray a shallow roasting pan with nonstick spray. Place the hens side by side, but not touching, in the prepared pan. Cook the hens, uncovered, until a meat thermometer measures 170°F. and the juices run clear, about 45 minutes. If you are using two pans, rotate them periodically to allow even browning.
The hens may be cooked up to a day ahead and refrigerated. Reheat under the broiler or in a hot oven.
Split the hens completely and place them on a serving platter, piled up in a circular pattern at 15-degree angles. Note: I just served them whole, they look better to me.

Have a great day.