Showing posts with label Shrove Tuesday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shrove Tuesday. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Waste Shark, Instant Pot, Pancake Day,

News from World Wildlife Fund and Sky Ocean Rescue that Tuesday they launched Waste Shark which is designed to help clean up coasts and collect plastic waste. It is designed to collect 15 tonnes of waste a year which will be recycled and Waste Shark will roam through 5 km of water off the Devon coast. The Waste Shark has been tested in other countries according to the article. I am thrilled to hear this because the pollution of our oceans is a very big problem with huge islands of plastic accumulating in our waters. It is damaging marine wildlife much of which is found to have plastics in its stomachs. Apparently 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the water every year. I notice even my Cannabis suppliers have stopped using plastic for my shipments. Way to go Canntrust. Waste Shark is only a beginning, but it is a start dealing with a major problem.

Although it was Mardi Gras on Tuesday, until Hilary Melton-Butcher reminded me, I had forgotten it was Shrove Tuesday and therefore Pancake Day in the UK. By pancakes, I mean what are commonly known by the French word crêpes over on this side of the pond. I assume they still do, but they used to have Pancake races and I think the competitors were supposed to flip the pancakes as they ran. I used to be able to flip pancakes but I don't have the courage these days. Anyway, I pulled out my pan, mixed up some batter and dolloped some Nutella in the middle. They were scrumptious. I also have 4 left for the freezer.

This is an Instant Pot recipe.

Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta

3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 Tbs sriracha hot sauce
1 lb spaghetti, broken into smaller pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups water
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (can use frozen and thawed, then drained)
1/2 cup green onions, thinly chopped (on the diagonal)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, lime juice and sriracha

2. Combine spaghetti, garlic, olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 4 cups water in instant pot, then seal lid and set to cook on high pressure for 4 minutes.

3. Quick release steam, then stir shrimp and mayo chili sauce into pasta. Set instant pot to sauté and cook mixture for 2-3 minutes, or until shrimp os light pink and opaque.

4. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary, then serve with green onions and enjoy.

Servings: 6

Source: 12 Tomatoes

Have a great day
 

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Rhubarb, Bowling, Shrove Tuesday

I finally answered a question I was asking last May/June - yes cooked rhubarb does freeze well. I froze several helpings last year and kept forgetting about it. I finally ate some on Sunday and it was just as delicious as when I cooked it fresh. Asparagus doesn't freeze so well unless you have a commercial type freezing apparatus. It is OK but that's all I can say for it. In the States you can buy frozen asparagus which is good. For some reason I have never seen it round here.

Bowling didn't go too well for our team, only won 2 points. However, personally, I bowled pretty well for all three games even though I started the first frame of the second game with three gutter balls. I don't ever remember doing that before and I certainly hope I don't do it again.

Today being Shrove Tuesday otherwise known as Pancake Day in England I thought a pancake recipe would be suitable. These are English pancakes or what most North Americans would call crêpes. I am making this for supper tonight.This is a typical recipe where they say how quick is to make it. The fact that you first need two cooked chicken breasts you also need to have spicy tomato sauce ready made too. Then, no doubt, it would only take half an hour to get this on the table.

Panchiladas

What happens when you cross pancakes with enchiladas? Well, you get panchiladas of course! This delicious hybrid pancake is the perfect treat for dinner. Each pancake is packed with pieces of tender chicken, soft roasted peppers and a rich tomato sauce with a kick of spice thanks to the jalapeno
peppers. Top with grated cheese and bake in the oven for 15 mins until golden.

½ basic pancake mix
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1-2 tbs jalapeno peppers, sliced
2 roasted red peppers, chopped
200 g spicy tomato sauce
75 g grated Cheddar
chopped coriander, to serve

1. Make the pancake batter to step 1. Heat the oil, divide the mix in half and cook to the end of step 2. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the shredded chicken, jalapeno and roasted peppers and tomato sauce.

3. Once cooled, divide the chicken filling between the crepes and roll up. Put in an ovenproof dish, top with grated cheese and bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Serve scattered with coriander.

Servings: 2

Source: GoodtoKnow

Author Notes
Swap the chicken for other meats like shredded lamb or pork pieces
Have a great day 

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Unknown, Bowling, Pancake Day.

We seem to be getting more and more calls from “unknown Name” –Unknown phone the numbers are from all over the place and although I generally never answer them, they are becoming something of a nuisance. The trouble is, the odd time, they are from someone I know, like when my cousin called from California, as I said before, I don’t know what made me answer that one. Even my cleaner has a phone number with Unknown – I think it’s a cell phone. How many people do bother to answer calls from sources they don’t know. Maybe shut ins who are lonely and this is how they get caught in scams. Once in a while I do answer and I get someone selling duct cleaning, tough cookies Mr. I live in an apartment thank you. Wish I could get rid of this irritation. We are already registered for no advertising calls but presumably if they are Unknown, they can’t be stopped either. Don’t know how it works.

Today we are going to lunch and bowling with our Travel League. Missed last month, and afterwards were we glad as it’s the day our Angels Dinerbrakes went. We could have been out in the middle of nowhere when it happened, in fact, probably would have been. Today it’s all in town eating at Angel’s Diner and playing at Victoria Bowl. All of which are basically ‘just up the road’. I’d like to play well, but it doesn’t matter a damn because it’s just friendly stuff. Angel’s is a chain and seem to do pretty good food. There is one young man who often accompanies us and who often orders fish and chips. I frequently pinch a chip from his plate and this particular Angels has excellent chips, or French fries as they are known here. Not sure why. I don’t usually order any for me as they are not considered diet food, at least not on any diet plan I have come across.

I knew Pancake Day was fast approaching, Shrove Tuesday in case you don’t know. In England they used to have (maybe still do) Pancake races when people ran tossing pancakes in a pan whilst doing so. Diet or no diet I was planning to make some pancakes as I do enjoy them. Then I came across this recipe for one of my favourite foods. Tickled me, so very English to talk about elevating it to a “smart pudding”, dessert please. To me a pudding is something served in the nursery. This recipe comes from BBC Good Food. Do remember that caster sugar in the UK is very similar to the sugar we buy every day in North America. I see they give liqueur quantity by the tbs. well, if you like, we usually are more heavy handed when we make the sauce. We always used Cognac as well. My father used to say if you could bottle the sauce you would make a fortune.

Crêpes Suzette



 

Serves 4 - 6
This classic French recipe is a fine way to elevate the humble Crepes Suzettespancake into a smart pudding.
Ingredients
  • 1 x classic pancake recipe See Jacques Pépin
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar
  • 250ml freshly squeezed orange juice (2-3 oranges)
  • zest 1 orange
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp Grand Marnier or Cointreau
  • 50g unsalted butter

 

Method

  1. Prepare pancakes following the classic recipe - see 'Goes well with'. Fold the pancakes into quarters.
  2. Tip the caster sugar into a non-stick frying pan and set the pan over a low-medium heat. Allow the sugar to melt slowly without stirring and continue to cook until it becomes a deep amber-coloured caramel.
  3. Immediately slide the pan off the heat and add the orange juice – be careful as it may splatter and spit as it hits the hot caramel. Add the orange zest, lemon juice, the Grand Marnier and return the pan to a low heat to re-melt the caramel into the liquid.
  4. Add the butter to the sauce in small pieces, bring to the boil and simmer gently until glossy and reduced slightly. Add the pancakes to the pan and warm through. Serve immediately.
Have a great day.
Jo