Stars and Recipes.

For those of us who missed the feast of astral bodies in the past week, here is a fabulous picture taken at Uluru in Australia. This doesn’t show the supermoon though. Uluru looks a bit dwarfed here. It is, in fact, a very large rock. A place I would love to visit but would never want to climb as I don’t believe in contravening the beliefs of the aboriginals.


I sort of noticed our freezer the other day and I thought, what makes one think there are cooks round here? I usually print up a recipe which I am planning to prepare in the near future.


It’s difficult to get a proper shot because there is so little room between the freezer and the stove, especially with the new one which doesn’t fit into the space properly. In case you can’t tell, these are all recipes. The fridge looks much the same. I guess you will also realise we have been to Disney!!!

Being Friday it's a good day for a fish recipe. This is a McCormick’s recipe so obviously they use their own seasonings.


Sweet 'n Smoky Salmon with Orange Salsa

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons McCormick® Perfect Pinch® Salt Free Southwest Sweet 'n Smoky Seasoning , divided
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar, divided
1 pound salmon fillets

Orange Salsa:

2 cans (11 ounces each) mandarin oranges, drained and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Perfect Pinch® Salt Free Southwest Sweet 'n Smoky Seasoning

Directions

1. For the Salmon, mix juice, oil and 1 tablespoon each Seasoning and sugar in small bowl. Place salmon in large resealable plastic bag or glass dish. Add marinade; turn to coat well. Refrigerate 30 minutes or longer for extra flavor. Meanwhile, for the Salsa, mix all ingredients in medium bowl until well blended. Cover. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix remaining 1 tablespoon each Seasoning and sugar in small bowl. Remove salmon from marinade. Discard any remaining marinade. Rub salmon evenly with seasoning mixture.
3. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve with Orange Salsa.

Have a great day

U = Uluru and Uc Vit

Uluru, mistakenly called Ayers Rock by a large number of westerners, has always fascinated me. It seems to be a place located almost in the middle of nowhere, lying 335 km south west of Alice Springs; it is sacred to the local Aboriginal people, the Anangu. Wikipedia describes it as an island mountain and have reams of statistics and information. It is one of the two major features of Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park and is a World Heritage Site. Visitors have been climbing this rock for a while, much to the dismay of the Aboriginals and apparently there have been some abuses like a striptease on the top of the rock. The Aṉangu also request that visitors do not photograph certain sections of Uluru, for reasons related to traditional Tjukurpa beliefs. These areas are the sites of gender-linked rituals, and are forbidden ground for Aṉangu of the opposite sex to those participating in the rituals in question. The photographic ban is intended to prevent Aṉangu from inadvertently violating this taboo by encountering photographs of the forbidden sites in the outside world. It really annoys me to see abuses of such traditions and it is to be hoped that the Aboriginals will eventually get back ownership of the area and be able to stop people from climbing Uluru.

This is a recipe I found on Food.com. I am a sucker for duck and it is the first thing I choose at any restaurant that serves it. I am not 100% sure that this picture is the actual recipe, it is labelled as Uc Vit, but the title has other Vietnamese words with it. I don’t agree with Celticevergreen about the duck, it should definitely be cooked rare or medium rare.

Uc Vit (Sautéed Duck With Garlic and Oyster Sauce)

By Celticevergreen

Recipe from my grandmother's recipe box from some restaurant in Saigon, Vietnam. The recipe says that the duck should be cooked rare or medium rare. Medium to medium well would be better

Servings 4

4 duck breasts
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
10 green swiss chard leaves
4 1/2 cups steamed rice

Directions:

• Rub the duck breasts with salt and pepper and leave for 30 minute
• Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the duck until it is slightly crispy.
• Slice the duck into thick strips.
• The same pan, add a little more oil and the duck slices while sautéing the garlic, sugar, oyster sauce and pepper.
• Add the green mustard leaves and lightly toss them for 10 sec or until they are well-coated with the sauce. Remove the leaves and set aside.
• To serve, arrange the green mustard leaves on the plate and place the duck breast strips on top. Then pour the remaining sautéed sauce over. Serve with the steamed rice on the side.

Have a great day.