This weekend is a holiday for Americans, last week it was a holiday for Canadians. For us it was Victoria Day which is often referred to as May 24th weekend which puzzles me as it is the 24th today so why wasn't it celebrated this weekend I wonder? For the Americans it is Memorial Day and a time when many of them remember those passed away in their families as well as members of the armed services killed in wars. Many people also
spend their weekend at the barbecue and there have been all kinds of programmes noting that fact in the last week or so. Unfortunately, living in an apartment, we are not allowed to have a barbecue so make do with an indoor/outdoor grill which works very well. In fact friends of ours, who also live in an apartment, have an electric grill on their balcony which they like very much. We have thought of getting one, but haven't done so yet. One problem I perceive is having a power cord running through the balcony doors allowing any bugs to wander inside at will. I do NOT like bugs etc. particularly indoors. Good Morning America had Chef Mario Batali grilling up a storm yesterday, if you would like to see his recipes
click here.
We had a phone call yesterday from our friends who are vacationing in North Carolina right now, apparently the weather has been great. In fact, looking at the weather map, the weather has been warm over most of the States but of course a lot of that has spawned tornadoes of which there have been many this last few weeks. The main reason they called was to tell us that the friend we went on a cruise with, is in hospital which is not very nice news. I am beginning to think NC isn't so healthy after all, our friends have been getting pretty sick over the past few years and we don't have too many left there any more.
I see Myanmar has finally agreed to allow some helpers in their country, I wonder how many have died because they didn't agree earlier. China is now talking of deaths up to 80,000 from their earthquake. They too have now asked for extra help but at least they sent in thousands of soldiers when the disaster happened and have allocated billions to rebuild the areas which were hit.
Yesterday I made the asparagus soup I posted and it was delicious. I can highly recommend it, very simple to make and worth the small amount of effort. I will be making more, in fact I may freeze some although the recipe calls for the tips to be kept whole, this won't work too well frozen as they will become a mush.
Tonight we are going to have an M & M Meats' Chateaubriand, they have them on special at the
moment so we bought some extra yesterday. I have mentioned them before and they are really very good and good for the money. It will be cooked on our indoor/outdoor grill. I am not sure what we will serve with it, I have about one serving of asparagus left - guess where I will be going tomorrow? Yes, they are open on Sunday. We don't bother with dessert when we are on our own although we frequently have a Ferrero Rocher chocolate each after dinner. Being a Saturday, we will open a nice bottle of wine too, not sure which one. I would like to open one of our Malivoire Pinot Noir, but Matt is saving them for a special occasion???
If you are having a barbecue, this is a good salad to have with it. I have made it several times and we enjoy it very much. If you are not sure how to properly segment or supreme an orange the way the professionals do it, here is a blog entry with pictures
click here which will help you. I tend not to cut the peel so square which wastes a lot of the flesh. I have posted this recipe before, but it bears repeating and can be prepared well in advance of the meal.
Fennel, Orange, and Parsley Salad
Everyday Food
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
5 x medium oranges
2 x medium fennel bulbs (8 ounces each), quartered, cored, and thinly sliced crosswise
2/3 cup fresh parsley leaves
2 tbsp slivered pitted black olives
1 tbsp olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1. Using a paring knife, remove the peel and pith of the oranges. Separate oranges into segments over a large bowl (to catch the juices), then add segments to bowl. Smoosh rest of orange to remove juice.
2. Add fennel, parsley, olives, oil; season with salt and pepper. Gently toss, and serve.
Have a great weekend.
I have been meaning to mention a site I have found where they have brain puzzles. I have at least three relative who had senile dementia at the end of their lives, one my grandmother so in the direct line and it is something I have been scared about for a long time. The site I have found is called Lumosity and they have all kinds of brain puzzles to improve your brain functions. You can try the site out free for a week and then you can join if you wish, either on a week by week basis or by the year. To reach their website click here and give their puzzles a try. However old you are, it is always worth stimulating your brain. The games are quite fun although one is math and as I have mentioned, I am a mathematical dummy.
May still isn't really keeping her promises, we have had lots of rain over the
last three days. A week or so ago I was wearing shorts, now I am back in long pants again. Come on already, I want lots of sunshine please. I think I am suffering from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). It seems to have been a very long winter and although spring has certainly sprung and there are lots of new leaves and green grass, we are short of sunny warm weather. Of course, in a week or two I will be complaining that it is too warm!!!
OK, I am off to market this morning - will add a recipe to this later.
Well, it is now about an hour later and I had no idea we would be in and out of the market so quickly. I mainly went for lamb's kidneys which you cannot buy anywhere else that I know of, there is a company, Charles' Meats, that specialise in lamb. I also bought some neck chops to make a hot pot which is something we love and again, I can't find that meat easily elsewhere. I was interested to see the asparagus was about the same price as Tim Barrie's although we saw red and yellow bell peppers at about $4 each. They sell practically everything at the market, however, I still miss the old market where they had places you could stop for a coffee and maybe a crêpe filled with paté or jam, or an Octoberfest sausage on a bun. I used to love watching the cooks making Black Forest Cakes, I think they brought the cakes in ready made, but they added fillings, icings and decorations at the market, used to be fascinating. Something I saw today was a pink loaf. I asked about it, it was just regular white bread with a die which people buy for fancy sandwiches etc. Wish I'd taken a picture now, I could have done with my new camera, didn't think of it at the time.
I wanted to wander a bit more, but Matt didn't so we came home. On the 
way we stopped at M & M Meats and got some of their teriyaki marinated pork tenderloins and some more Chateaubriands. We were given a sample of some mini quiches. I liked the double cheese one, but not the spinach one, it was very bland. With our purchase we were given a free Chocolate Fudge Cake - I hadn't realised that was on just for today, Matt said it was the only reason we went there, ridiculous!!!
Having talked about lamb's kidneys, here is a Spanish recipe for Riñones al Jerez pronounced 'rinyoness al hereth', or kidneys in sherry sauce which is one of our favourite ways to prepare lamb's kidneys unless we have a good old fry up for breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausages and kidneys etc. No - not baked beans - to me those are not a breakfast food.
Riñones al Jerez
Time Life Foods of the World
Serves 6
5 Tbs olive oil
4 oz finely chopped onions
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 small bay leaf
1/2 oz flour
6 Tbs beef or chicken stock
2 Tbs finely chopped parsley
2 lb lamb's or calf kidneys, split lengthways in half, trimmed of all fat and cut into 1 inch cubes
salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 Tbs pale dry sherry
Heat 3 Tbs oil over a moderate heat in a medium sized frying pan until a light haze forms above it. Add the onions, garlic and bay leaf. Cook for about 5 mins., stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and transparent but not brown. Add the flour and mix thoroughly. Pour in the stock and stirring constantly, cook over a high heat until the mixture thickens heavily and comes to the boil. Add the parsley, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 3 minutes. Set aside.
Heat the rest of the oil in a large frying pan. Sprinkle the kidneys liberally with salt and a few grindings of pepper. Then cook them in the hot oil for 4 or 5 mins. turning them about with a large spoon and regulating the heat so that they brown quickly on all sides without burning.
Transfer the kidneys to a plate and pour the sherry into the pan. Bring to the boil over a high heat, meanwhile scraping in any brown particles clinging to the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the kidneys to the pan, stir in the reserved onion sauce and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer a minute or two. Taste for seasoning.
Serve the kidneys at once, accompanied by saffron rice and garnished with strips of pimiento.
Have a great day.
