Thursday, April 28, 2011

Dalahast fest...

Painting completed over Easter leads to four Dalahast ( or Dala horses ) completed.

Here is my workbench for the afternoon.


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Thursday, April 21, 2011

And the winner is....

http://imbinitchy.blogspot.com/2007/11/tomato-basil-mussels-with-linguine.html

How do you like your mussels served ? Or do you fancy mussels at all ? Which variety mussels are your absolute favourite ? Did you cook them yourself or had them somewhere fancy ? Share, share ... do share them with me as I'm an absolute mussel fan.

Without a doubt, I would order a portion of them whenever I spot them. Be it served chilled, soup based, as an appetiser, cooked along with main dish or anything else in between - it had not once escaped me wherever I went.

A good mussel, is tender, springy and had a mild sea taste. Apart from New Zealand Green Mussels, which I get my supply here easily, the one that impress me most are Baby Mussels from St Michel, Normandy which I was fortunate to sample in the fame Le Pain Grille Cafe, Hongkong. Though small, it packs a punch of taste that is creamy, delicate, had the fresh from the sea taste and at the same time, slightly sweet.

Here's some interesting fact with regards to the colour of mussels.

Why do some mussels have orange meat and others have white meat? The orange-tinted meats are actually mature females, while the ivory meats are males and immature females. While some aficionados maintain that mature females taste better, there's no scientific evidence to back this up. Personally, I'm a fan of orange tinted meat too, as it is creamier and packs more taste.

I craved mussels again today so this was what I had for lunch today.

Here's the recipe.

~ 8 pcs New Zealand mussels
~ 5 clove garlic
~ 1/2 chopped onion
~ 1 portion linguine
~ 3 tbsp butter, unsalted
~ 1/2 can tomato pulp
~ 2 tbsp tomato puree
~ Handful of basil leaves
~ Salt & pepper, to taste

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Be a Zoo keeper for a Day


There is a fabulous school holiday program on at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. School age kids can be zookeeper for a day.

Whilst not inexpensive, if you count the entry to the zoo, lunch, morning and afternoon tea, special behind the scenes fully escorted tour with guide for 5 hours plus drink bottle and souvenir zookeeper hat and photo holding a zoo animal... you would not get any change from the $85 the Zoo charges for this activity. So all in all, it is good value.

The special zookeepers get to help clean the cages, hand feed the elephants, tigers, hold a baby croc, see Terri, Wes Bindy and Bob feed the big crocs in the Crocoseeium show. Chase around piglets, and kangaroos, and other assorted animals...

My daugter and her friends loved it....

Australia Zoo
Steve Irwin Way
Beerwah




www.australiazoo.com.au

Save Steve's place
The zoo is also highlighting the threat to a unique habitat located at the tip of Australia in Cape York peninsula from strip mining. More information here....
http://www.savestevesplace.com/

Steve Irwin never swore... he may have said crikey an awful lot, but he never uttered a swear word... some role model for young people ( even though he did crazy things) and that is something rather unique these days.

Definitlely something to ponder about....
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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Search for Utopia/ Mango Dressing.....

Trying to duplicate an amazing taste might prove difficult.. so where do I start.

How do you tell a ripe Mango.

Not by colour.... 

Smell the stem - if should smell fruity.

Feel the mango - it should yield slightly to pressure,

Then it is ripe for the picking and eating...

The first recipe I tried was:


 

Low Calorie Mango Salad Dressing

Ingredients

  • 150 g
  • ½ cup
  • 1 tsp
  • 2 tsp
  • 2 tsp
  • ¼ tsp
  • ¼ tsp
  • ½ tsp
  • ⅛ tsp
  • Flesh of about one mango
  • Water
  • Red wine vinegar
  • Rice vinegar
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt
  • Onion powder
  • Basil, dried
  • Cayenne pepper (optional)

Instructions

  1. 1. Puree everything, except half the basil, in a blender until super smooth.
  2. 2. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
  3. 3. Add the rest of the basil and mix.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Do I dare serve Mussels for the family dinner?

Preparation

Unless you know how fresh they are, always eat mussels on the same day you buy them. Carefully place the blue-black mussels into a sinkful of cold water and discard any that stay open when tapped. Pull away their beards and, if you are presenting them in their shells, it's a good idea to give them a good scrub, scraping off any barnacles. A final couple of rinses will ensure a sand-free meal. Mussels need very little cooking. Place them in the bottom of a large, heavy-based pan with a small amount of liquid and turn up the heat to steam them. As soon as the shells start gaping open, you know they are ready. Don't overcook them or you'll end up with rubbery flesh. Discard any that fail to open fully. Mussels are delicious with a wide array of flavours. Steaming them in vermouth or white wine - along with shallots, garlic and a few herbs - is traditional in some European countries. Or try them with a combination of South-east Asian flavourings such as coconut, ginger, lemongrass and chilli. The cooking liquid is half the joy of eating mussels, so have plenty of crusty bread on stand-by for soaking up.
Article by Vanessa Kendell

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Hypothermia - Arnaldur Indridason

Hypothermia  - by Arnaldur Indridason


A Reykjavik Murder Mystery


It is a cold Autumn night, the ice has already formed in chunks on Lake Thingvellirvatn... In a holiday cottage a Doctor's wife is found hanging. She has a history of depression and her Mother recently died of a terminal illness. But is it suicide... Erlender the gloomy and withdrawn Rejkjavik detective must decide. This case is unofficial, it won't change the outcome of the case and everything is clear cut. Yet Erlender pursues it like a murder case with a drive to find out why the woman's life ended in such an abrupt manner. As he begins to collects information, he again faces his own personal demons and confronts cold missing persons cases that have laid dormant for years with some suprising results....

The Good:  A wonderfully written Scandinavian crime mystery; a delight for continuing readers of Indridason as the character continue their own personal story; atmosphere plus in descriptions of Glacial lakes, blizzards and cold desolate landscapes..

The Bad:  Hard to find fault... but I am partial to this genre...

The Ugly: Predictable in parts, but not boring.... No happy ending.... but this is not ugly either...

Verdict: RECOMMENDED


Other titles by Indridason: ( these have been translated to English)


Jar city ( aka Tainted Blood)
Silence of the Grave ( to be read soon I hope)Fjármálastofnanir sem treysta sér ekki til að lána til sjávarútvegsfyrirtækja eða íbúa sjávarbyggða nema með veði í óveiddum fiski í sjónum sem „nota bene“ er sameign þjóðarinnar eru á villigötum og þá er eitthvað mikið að sem þarf að skoða upp á nýtt og til þess dugar ekki ímyndarherferð í kringum landið,“ segir Lilja Rafney Magnúsdóttir formaður sjávarútvegsnefndar Alþingis um hörð viðbrögð Landsbankans eftir að hún tjáði sig um umsögn bankans um breytingar á lögum um fiskveiðistjórnun. Stjórnendur bankans telja að hann tapi um 25 milljörðum vegna lána til sjávarútvegsfyrirtækja verði frumvarp um breytingar á fiskveiðistjórnunarkerfinu að veruleika.Fjármálastofnanir sem treysta sér ekki til að lána til sjávarútvegsfyrirtækja eða íbúa sjávarbyggða nema með veði í óveiddum fiski í sjónum sem „nota bene“ er sameign þjóðarinnar eru á villigötum og þá er eitthvað mikið að sem þarf að skoða upp á nýtt og til þess dugar ekki ímyndarherferð í kringum landið,“ segir Lilja Rafney Magnúsdóttir formaður sjávarútvegsnefndar Alþingis um hörð viðbrögð Landsbankans eftir að hún tjáði sig um umsögn bankans um breytingar á lögum um fiskveiðistjórnun. Stjórnendur bankans telja að hann tapi um 25 milljörðum vegna lána til sjávarútvegsfyrirtækja verði frumvarp um breytingar á fiskveiðistjórnunarkerfinu að veruleika.
Arctic Chill
Voices
The Draining Lake