Bees, Mystery, Bowling.

Just come across an article stating that Canadian beekeepers are filing a class action lawsuit suing the makers of neonicotinoid pesticides for $400 million. I would like to think this would do something to alleviate the plight of bees. As many of you know, this is something I am very concerned about.

OK, here’s another mystery for you. Tuesday I didn’t leave the apartment all day. When I went to bed, I went to remove my earrings, one had disappeared. Couldn’t find it anywhere. Luckily no monetary value but sentimental certainly. Made by a young friend in NC, including seed seed pearls. Having spent Tuesday night and Wednesday morning looking for my earring pulling up cushions, moving chairs, we quit and I went to get dressed. When I picked up my bra, guess what fell to the ground!! How it got there I cannot imagine. I still haven’t found the coleslaw though.

Wednesday we went for our usual bowling which was moderately good, but only moderately. This is the last time we will bowl on a Wednesday this year as our winter league starts next Monday. Good thing, we didn’t really enjoy bowling two days running. We ended up bowling downstairs too which I didn’t like. Nothing wrong with the alley but we felt a bit lonely at first as we were the only ones there. Then we were joined by some handicapped people and finally a family with three kids. The littlest kept giving piercing screams!!! Not sure what the other two were doing out of school today, maybe their school didn’t start yet or I guess they could be home schooled. Didn’t think of that before. Having got myself a bowling app for my android, I went to use it only to discover the battery was flat. I charged the android the other day so am surprised it got flat so quickly. A bowling acquaintance has an app for his iPhone which is much better than the one available for an android. In both cases not much in the way of 5 pin bowling apps anyway, all for 10 pin.

This recipe was touted for kids, but I think many adults would enjoy them too. Not sure why they say capsicum instead of pepper. The recipe came from Food.com

Pizza Scrolls

By Stardustannie on May 21, 2007


Yield: 24-36 pinwheels

"A great afternoon snack! If you don't have a favoured pizza sauce use tomato paste and add some dried Italian herbs. Can be served hot or cold...great for the lunch box."

Ingredients

• 1/2 small red capsicum, chopped finely
• 100 g ham or 100 g salami, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce
• 2 sheets ready rolled puff pastry
• 
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200c.
2. Combine the chopped capsicum, ham and cheese in bowl.
3. Spread the sauce onto each sheet of pastry, leaving a 2cm border along one side, and sprinkle the capsicum mixture over the top.
4. Roll up the pastry to enclose the filling (like a swiss roll), leaving the plain edge until last.
5. Brush the edge lightly with water and fold to seal.
6. Cut each roll into 1cm rounds (use serrated bread knife) and place on lined oven trays.
7. Bake for 20 min or until golden

Have a great day

Corn Holding, A to Z.

I came up with, what I think, is a good idea yesterday. I maybe behind the fair, but anyway – when I cook corn I first cut off the stalk close to the cob then I microwave it for about 3 minutes with the husk still on. When it comes out the silks come off easily as do the leaves, however, having pulled the leaves back I realised they were cool to handle so I left them as the main way of grasping the corn to eat. Most of the corn holders I have ever had either don’t work very well or fall to pieces easily. I found this worked very well, one barely needs to hold the other end having a firm grasp on the leaves.

The mystery I mentioned yesterday, has still not been solved and looks like it never will be. No bowl of slaw anywhere. It has to have been thrown out but I cannot imagine either of us doing so for any reason.
Just lying down to go to sleep the other night and I started thinking about the A to Z Challenge for 2015, not sure why. I got an idea so had to turn on the light and write it down or I would have forgotten by the morning. So, I’ve even made a start on it, can’t believe it.

I love Kimchi and used to enjoy it a lot when I lived in North Carolina, there were many sources of Korean food in the area. I have written about the Asian shop I found here, but I am sure their Kimchi isn't as hot and spicy as the ones we used to buy. However, when I saw this recipe I thought it would be interesting to try. These are not pancakes like usually served in this part of the world.

Kimchi Pancakes

Contributed by Joshua Walker

• SERVINGS: 4

There are countless varieties of the chewy Korean pancakes called jun that can be served as an appetizer or side dish. For this version, chef Joshua Walker flavours the batter with both kimchi liquid and a little pungent black bean sauce.

Soy-Sesame Dipping Sauce

1. 2 teaspoons sugar
2. 1/4 cup soy sauce
3. 2 tablespoons black vinegar
4. 2 teaspoons jarred kimchi liquid
5. 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds

Pancakes

1. 3 tablespoons jarred kimchi liquid
2. 1 teaspoon black bean sauce
3. 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4. 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil
5. 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6. 1/2 cup chopped drained kimchi
7. 4 scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths (1/2 cup)

1. MAKE THE DIPPING SAUCE In a bowl, whisk 1 tablespoon of warm water with the sugar until dissolved; whisk in the remaining ingredients.
2. MAKE THE PANCAKES In a large bowl, whisk 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of water with the kimchi liquid, black bean sauce, salt and 1 teaspoon of the canola oil. Add the flour and stir just until a batter forms. Fold in the kimchi and scallions.
3. In a nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of canola oil. Scrape the batter into the skillet and gently spread it into a round. Cook over moderately high heat until golden brown and crisp on the bottom, 4 minutes. Carefully flip the pancake; cook over moderate heat until crisp and cooked through, 3 minutes longer. Transfer the pancake to a paper towel–lined plate to drain; serve with the soy-sesame dipping sauce.

Have a great day

Mystery, Farm Shopping.

Well, we have a complete mystery. The other night we had home made coleslaw for supper. There was enough for another meal so I put it into a storage container then into the fridge. Last night we were going to finish it off and it has completely disappeared. Not just the slaw, but the container as well. We’ve hunted around and cannot find it anywhere. Matt thinks it could have got thrown out accidentally, the slaw itself maybe but not the container as well. I am totally puzzled. Also a bit teed off losing the container.

We went to the asparagus farm yesterday to pick up some more honey. This time I bought a really big jar. I have been eating it with plain yogurt every night, absolutely delicious. I haven’t eaten raw honey in years and I have gone nuts over it. I also like to have honey available in case I get a sugar low. It is the quickest and easiest thing to bring my blood sugars back up. I bought myself a couple of ears of corn too, Matt doesn’t eat it. I had one piece and it was delicious. Picked the same day. The second corn won’t be quite so fresh, but not possible to keep going and getting just one cob for me. The last thing I got was some more spicy pickled asparagus. I keep meaning to save it then keep on opening the jar and eating it.

When I saw this recipe I was almost salivating it sounds so good to me.

Fried Shrimp Toasts

Contributed by Joshua Walker

• SERVINGS: 24 toasts

Chef Joshua Walker shallow-fries his shrimp toasts instead of deep-frying them, so they’re not as greasy as the traditional Vietnamese version. He likes to spread the shrimp mousse unevenly over the toasts before cooking them. “If the mousse is higher on one side, it gets crisper and more browned than the other side, which is more lightly cooked,” he says. “That’s the perfect contrast.”

Nuoc Cham

1. 1 tablespoon sugar
2. 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3. 2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
4. 1 small Thai chile, stemmed and thinly sliced
5. 1/2 small garlic clove, minced

Shrimp Toasts

1. 1 pound shelled and deveined large shrimp
2. 1 large egg
3. 1 tablespoon tapioca flour
4. 3 small Thai chiles, stemmed and chopped
5. 2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce
6. 1 tablespoon sliced scallions, plus more for garnish
7. 2 teaspoons minced garlic
8. 2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
9. 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
10. 24 baguette slices, cut 1/3 inch thick
11. 6 tablespoons canola oil
12. Cilantro, for garnish

1. MAKE THE NUOC CHAM In a small bowl, whisk the sugar with 1/2 cup of warm water until dissolved. Whisk in all of the remaining ingredients.
2. MAKE THE SHRIMP TOASTS In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients except the baguette slices, canola oil and garnishes and puree until nearly smooth. Spread the mousse on the baguette slices.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil. Add half of the toasts, mousse side down, and cook over moderate heat until golden, 2 minutes. Flip the toasts and cook until browned on the bottom, 1 minute. Transfer the toasts to paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining oil and shrimp toasts. Transfer the toasts to a platter, garnish with cilantro and scallions and serve with the nuoc cham.

Make Ahead The nuoc cham and shrimp mousse can be refrigerated separately overnight. Stir the shrimp mousse before using.

Have a great day