Vad trist det är att vi har missbrukat jordens och havens resurser till det ytterstas gräns så att man ständigt måste uppmana sina medkonsumenter att avstå  från en mängd delikatesser.

Sedan några år är ålen bannlyst från mitt julbord (så många andras äter jag inte…) på grund av den akuta utrotningsrisken. Den odlade tropiska scampin undviker jag för att odlingen är förödande för de skyddande mangroveskogarna  längs kusterna i Asien, Afrika, Sydamerika och användningen av antibiotika i odlingen gör mig livrädd. All användning av antibiotika riskerar att sluta med att bakterierna blir resistenta och vi står där utan effektivt skydd när de riktigt stora infektionerna slår till. Tänk på att nästan allt som säljs som scampi är just odlade tigerräkor.  Läs mer om Tigerräkor på: WWF.

Så bra och tack för ni tar hänsyn till framtiden Citygross och avstår att kränga ål och scampi (tigerräkor) åt oss. Hoppas fler stora kedjor följer ert exempel: Vad gör ICA, Axfood, Coop?

Och ni som är intresserade av att samla fakta inför ett försvartal för ålen. Kolla på Tv 4 på söndag och programmet “Ett riktigt ålamörker” 19.20!

Une entrée étonnante: flan de scampi et sa sauce au jus d’orange. Je retiens surtout l’effet extraordinaire des zestes d’orange frits.

Une fois n’est pas coutume, du faisan rôti à la feuille de vigne. Pour rappel, nous avions déjà cuisiné du faisan bonne-femme. Les feuilles des vigne s’achètent sous vide dans la grande distribution. Les dattes et leur farce au citron se marient particulièrement bien avec la viande. Il manque peut-être un féculent ou un légume supplémentaire.

En dessert, un feuilleté de melon et son sabayon à la Kriek. Le melon (saison août) était fade et aurait pu être remplacé par de la poire ou de la pomme. Le sabayon à la Kriek demande une dépense d’énergie herculéenne mais se laisse déguster sans peine. On terminera pas des rochers (oups… j’ai oublié de les prendre en photo).

Delicious

Zu Kartoffeln, Pell- oder Salzkartoffeln, Bratkartoffeln, aber auch zu Reibedatschi/Reibekuchen passt das besonders gut, aber auch zu Salaten mit Tomaten, Gurken, Paprika, Zucchini, Feldsalat, Eisbergsalat beispielsweise.

Sauerrahm vermischen mit Prise Salz, Cayenne, Meerrettich und Spritzer Zitrone, dazu ein paar Shrimps -
leckeres, preiswertes und schnelles Topping.

Machen Sie aus Garnelenspießen mal was völlig anderes. Für zwei Personen:

• 4 Garnelenspieße (ca. 400g)
• 200g Feta
• 1 kleine Schalotte
• nach Wunsch 1 Knoblauchzehe
• 1 Chilischote
• Olivenöl
• Zitronensaft
• Salz, Pfeffer

Wenn es sich bei den Garnelenspießen um TK-Ware handelt, entsprechend der Packungsanleitung auftauen und gut abtupfen (Küchenpapier).

Den Backofen auf 220° vorheizen, in einer Auflaufform etwas Olivenöl verteilen und die Garnelenspieße hineinlegen. Schalotte, Chili und Knoblauch fein geschnitten darüber geben, etwas salzen, pfeffern und mit Zitronensaft beträufeln.

Den Fetakäse darüber verkrümeln und die Auflaufform in den Backofen geben. Warten, bis der Käse ganz leicht gebräunt ist.

Dazu passen z.B. Salat, Baguette oder Reis.

Being from a country with quick access to both the Pacific and Atlantic waters, it’s no wonder I love fish and seafood as much as I do. I could, and believe me when I say I’m not kidding, eat from the bounties of the sea on a daily basis. I love it all, or at  least I love every sea creature I’ve tasted to date. Would you like me to list them? There are the obvious, fish and crustaceans; then there’s all the shells–oysters, mussels, clams, scallops. I’ve had octopus, cuttlefish, eel, turtle, sea cucumber. Some others I only know in their Spanish names.

Believe me. I eat and love to eat lots of seafood. There are some I like much more than others, of course. There’s just never enough of them. Today my focus is on shrimp. Let me have a moment to think about that delicate, sweet, and that far away taste of the ocean. I’m hungry.

This is how I make Camarones al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp). My favorite thing about this recipe is how easy it is and how well the natural taste of the shrimp comes through. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients
1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Combine these ingredients in a bowl and set aside. In the meantime, prepare the following:

1 cp onion, diced
2 fresh cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cp parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cp beer or white wine
1 tbsp butter
You will need to use a saute pan with a lid. Heat the olive oil and add the onions. Cook onions until translucent and add garlic and parsley, cook for 2 or 3 more minutes.

Add the shrimp, tossing around and incorporating the onions. When the shrimp begin to lose their transparency, add the beer/wine. Stir very well to cook down the alcohol. Turn off the heat and cover with the lid, allow the steam and heat contained in the pan to continue cooking the shrimp. Uncover and stir it once more. The shrimp are done when slightly pink.

Serve it over white rice or with crusty French bread.
Cookingly yours,
Anamaris

Waiting for Scampi is like waiting for Godot, but with more breadcrumbs.

I have quite a few things to wait for at the moment. For one thing, I’m now an applicant for teacher training, as I sent in my form a few weeks ago. This means I am now waiting for them to respond, and I am in that odd position where I want to be interviewed (this position will change approximately five minutes before I meet the interviewers and then I will forget my own name).

I’m still applying for other things, but I am now just waiting for the days off where I can actually sit down and type out answers. I’m often knackered when I get back from work (a fact that seems bad when you consider it’s not exactly working a full day as of yet), and I end off crashing in front of the tv, sorting out the socks I am knitting and reading the Peter Kay’s autobiography.

To be honest, it feels weird to suddenly be productive during the day again. A few months ago, I was busy only on the weekends, and had at least 4/5 hours a day that were productive. The others were largely based around getting iplayer to work on a low connection and reading the newpaper, making sandwiches while getting angry with Jeremy Vine, or stopping to rip the days off the calendar. Now, I actually sleep in my bed instead of reading for hours.

I’m sure this point was going somewhere, but now I need to sleep.

Scampi Fries

A straight-backed, upright Tidyman from a packet of everyone’s favourite smelly pub snack, Scampi Fries.

I woke up this morning, to find my dog, scampi asleep on my desk, using my mixer as a headrest!

]]> http://onevaincookie.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/the-lady-and-the-scamp/ Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:11:02 +0000 Foxy Renard http://onevaincookie.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/the-lady-and-the-scamp/

So I’m not the world’s biggest fan of shrimp. I find it’s rarely cooked properly and I sometimes just plain find the taste… a bit cheap. In any case, when it’s good, it’s really good. Last night, my most excellent mother-in-law brought this over for her reno-and-cleaning-frazzled son and daughter-in-law. I’m sure the fact that it was delivered didn’t hurt its tastiness factor, but it would’ve been nearly as yummy if I made it myself, as it’s a super quick recipe. I think that you could also skip the shrimp and throw over penne or something for a basic Greek dinner, or cool the whole shebang for a tasty pasta salad. So many options!

Greek Scampi

The lemony dill deliciousness is refreshing, while the feta provides a heartiness that works in any season. Yum!

• 2 lbs of colossal frozen raw shrimp
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
• 4T olive oil
• 3C diced tomatoes
• 1.5C crumbled feta cheese
• 1.5 lemons, juiced
• 6t chopped fresh dill
• Dash of salt
• Dash of ground black pepper

Shell, devein, and rinse the shrimp as necessary, and prep all your other ingredients before you start cooking. Sauté garlic in oil briefly, then add the shrimp. Cook on medium for a minute or so. Add the tomatoes, feta, lemon juice, and dill. When the shrimp are pink and the tomatoes and feta have made a sauce? It’s ready, people. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and serve with basmati. (Dave likes white, but I prefer brown. The battle wages on!)

Final note: this recipe serves 4-6, and if you don’t like reheating shrimp (for the overcooking reasons stated at the beginning of this post), you might want to half the recipe. Or you might just want to remove the shrimp before you reheat your leftovers. It’s your call!

Ihr liebt Scampis essen?

Dienstags ist Scampis Flatrate essen im Abion Hotel direkt am Spree Ufer!

Preparazione: 25 minuti
Cottura: 15 minuti

INGREDIENTI

Per 4/6 persone

12 scampi freschi
300g di calamari già puliti ed eviscerati
2 zucchine
1,5dl di olio per friggere
50g di farina

Per la pastella:
2 tuorli d’uovo
240g di farina
2 pizzichi di sale

———————
Eliminate le teste degli scampi e sgusciate le code, tenendo l’ultimo anello.
Tagliate i calamari a rondelle sottili.
Con l’aiuto del pelapatate, ricavate delle striscie di zucchine.
Preparate la pastella versando in una terrina 35cl di acqua fredda, aggiungete i tuorli, battete rapidamente con la forchetta, quindi unite la farina setacciata con un colino fine e il sale.
In una pentola di ghisa fate scaldare l’olio.
Passate gli scampi nella farina, quindi nella pastella e immergeteli nell’olio.
Fateli friggere per 3 minuti e ritirateli con la schiumarola.
Procedete allo stesso modo con i calamari e terminate con le zucchine, senza passarle nella farina.
Disponete le frittelle su di un piatto coperto di carta assorbente da cucina.
Servite subito accompagnando il fritto misto con degli spicchi di limone.

They are getting all fluffy and independent. Their eyes opened today and they are running around, exploring the cage and coming out to eat Readybrek all on their own! They grow up so fast *sigh*

Jenn x

Jenn x

As you can see they are big enough to climb out the bowl now…. I have to really keep my eye on them!

Jenn x

They are turning beige and fluffy, and I think they will have their eyes open in the next few days, which is the cutest thing!

Jenn x

Ristorante Uliassi is located in the small resort town of Senigallia, on the Adriatic sea, a few kilometers away from Ancona. It comes highly recommended from Michelin Red Guide  (two stars) and the Italian Gastronomic Guide Gambero Rosso.

As I was on my way to Ravenna, I decided to stop by and taste the creations of the chef. I arrived just in time one late summer night, to experience the dying light and the emerging darkness.

My menu choice was the “Tuto Crudo”, meaning “Raw all the way”. This would highlight the qualities of the ingredients and the synthetic ability of the chef, as his contribution to the dish would be primarily the synthesis of the ingredients.

The first dish was oyster with potatoes and red onion ice cream with a leaf of chocolate.

The oyster was sumptuous in taste, full or aromas and it was perfectly supported by the tasty potatoes and the heavelnly onion ice cream. The leaf of chocolate gave the necessary bitter undertone.

The second dish was shrimp with duck foie gras and strawberry paste. The raw shrimp is sweet in its own way, ans the acidity of the straberry supplemented it in a harmonious way, while the foie added the body that seafood does not have.

I now come to one of the absolutely fabulous dishes of the evening and my entire life as a food lover. Frozen sea urchin eggs with cod tripe. What a pandemonium of tastes,  aromas and all of them encased on the tender silky texture of the cod tripe!

What followed was another absolute masterpiece, cuttlefish tagliatelle with pesto of nori seaweed. The cuttlefish was tender and tasty, drassed in the incredibly rich in aromas pesto of the nori! Heavenly, heavenly, heavenly!

The saga continued with “rossetti” which is some type of scampi with olive oil, scallions and pine kerners. It was the perfect calming down dish, after the wild extravagant taste of the previous dish. Back to “normal”, civilized, food!

We stayed on the scampi family, the next dish was scampi in their shell, with tamarind. I confess I am crazy for scampi in their shell, with minimal add ons, as you can really taste the sea in all its glory!

The next dish combined surf and turf, with glorious mouth melting smoked lonzino (a type of cured ham) accompanied by raw leerfish (lecchia), and pears soaked in grapa!

As we approach the end, leerfish is again on the menu, this type with coconut milk and olive oil!

The last dish of the menu was “esquisada di baccala”. Raw cod chunks (salted cod from San Sebastian in the Basque Country, quite possibly the best in the world), with potatoes, pendolini tomatoes and basil.This is a hymn to primary ingredients of the best quality, as the cod’s texture  is supplemented by the sweetness of the potatoes and the incredible acidity of the small tomatoes that have been blessed by the volcanic soil of Vesuvius.

The tirami-sou that followed was deconstructed and absolutely fantastic! The mascarpone was intense and ever present, the cream golden and thick, the chocolate dressed in coffee chunky and bitter! A caramelized wet biscuit on top provided the necessary absorbing agent.No cake needed!

Jenn x

So now I think I roughly know what sexes the babies are, and have also pretty much secured new homes for them! I believe there are 3 boys and 2 girls for definite, but the runt of the litter is still hard to differentiate but I will probably be keeping that one anyway. The 3 boys will be adopted by my younger sister, Sarah, and the 2 girls by my gorgeous friends Katrina and Danny!

I hope they will have as much fun with them as I do, but for now I still get to snuggle them as they are too young to leave just yet.

Here are the photos for today:

I love their feet <3

Jenn x