notsmokinjo

Meanwhile, Downunder were getting an Arctic blast and experiencing English summer weather it's currently 7°C... got down to 4 overnight... it's been a cold, dry winter down the bottom of Aus. @Cbdave is further up north than me so he's probably had higher temps. We are expecting snow in the Dandenongs this weekend, that's the outer suburbs of Melbourne.

Just spent over 4 hrs watching the Olympic Opening ceremony....there was some crap but that horse and video montage of Olympic history... chefs kiss. Even @Reciprocity favourite French speaking singer was perfect.

Eggplant parmigiana

Adam Gilchrist

Sumac

(.)(.) ... naughty naughty

@QuittingGirl ... it seems like a lot of steps but it's actually really easy. Times are spot on for perfect textures on the seafood so just follow those. Longest time is cleaning and boarding the mussels..if it's too much work skip them and add more prawns or fish. Spicy Seafood Stew Ingredients Rocket (Arugila) and orange zest pesto: Fresh rocket - 2 cups Zest of 1 large orange Pinch of salt - ¼ Tsp Pine nuts – ¼ cup (I give mine a quick toast first in a dry pan) Parmesan cheese (can Pecorino), grated - ½ cup Crushed garlic - ½ to 1Tsp, or use a small garlic clove if crushing fresh Pure extra virgin olive oil - ½ cup 1-2 tbl sps of the juice of one half of the orange Spicy Tomato Seafood Stew: Extra virgin olive oil - ¼ cup Brown onion, finely diced - ½ cup Celery - finely diced - ½ cup (I use fennel (the stalk parts and some bulb because my daughter gets sick with celery) small pinch salt - ⅛ Tsp White wine (I used a Pino Gris but a Sauv Blanc might work better) - ½ cup Butter - 1 TBSP Chicken, vegetable or seafood stock - 1 ½ cup Red chili flakes - ¼ Tsp Fennel Seeds - 1 Tsp Ground white pepper - ⅛ Tsp Thickened crushed tomatoes - 1 tin 1 tbl spoon tomato paste Scallops - 500g (about 15 pieces) Large prawns (shrimp)(I used banana prawns), cleaned and peeled - 8 to 10 pieces Mussels, scrubbed and cleaned and debearded – 500g (about 15 pieces approximately) Rockling (or similar firm white fish, snapper?) fillets cut into chunks – 300g (this is optional and not from the original recipe, you can add more and skip one of the shellfish if wanted) To make the pesto: 1. Place rocket, orange zest, salt and pine nuts in the bowl of a food processor already attached to its base. Pulse for a bit less than a minute to get the rocket and pine nuts roughly chopped. (I just use a stick blender and do this in a bowl because I don’t have a food processor**) 2. Add the cheese and garlic and pulse for 5 seconds two or three more times (maybe two more times if using the whole clove of garlic). 3. With the processor running, pour the olive oil in a fine stream through the lid opening.l 4. Transfer the pesto to a bowl and drizzle it with the orange juice, Stir and refrigerate. * It can be done several days in advance, just let it come up to room temperature before serving, so take it out 10mins early. ** I blend mine until it’s a smooth paste/dip consistency because my daughter wont eat lumpy pesto. Tastes fine this way too. To make the spicy tomato seafood stew: 1. In a large, deep pan or wok with a lid heat the ¼ cup of olive oil over medium-high heat for one minute. 2. Add the onions and celery and sauté for about 3-5 minutes stirring or tossing frequently, until celery is soft and onions are soft and translucent. Sprinkle the ⅛ teaspoon of salt and mix. 3. Pour the ½ cup of white wine and stir until liquid has almost evaporated and the remaining liquid looks thicker, about 2-3 minutes. 4. Add the butter and toss/stir. As soon as the butter has melted pour the 1 ½ cup of stock. Lower the heat to medium and mix in the ¼ teaspoon of red chili flakes, the ¾ teaspoons of fennel seeds and the ⅛ teaspoons of white pepper. Boil for 2 minutes. 5. Add the tinned tomatoes and tomato paste. Cover and boil about 5 minutes. 5.5 (if using fish, add the fish to the liquid and cook for 1minute) 6. Add the scallops to the liquid and cook covered for 2 minutes. 7. Add the prawns and cook covered for about 1 minute. 8. Add the mussels and cover again to cook for two minutes. O. Remove the lid and stir the content to distribute all the seafood within the sauce. Cook uncovered 3 to 5 minutes to reduce a bit the sauce. Serve immediately over plain rice, mashed potatos or polenta and drizzle with pesto and don't forget some chunky bread. I also serve with a Rocket salad (rocket, finely sliced fennel and onion, drizzle of citrus juice and some seasoning) and sauteed green beens or asparagus with toasted sliced almonds. (can use broccolini here too… should be just cooked so still crunchy for some texture. Have the pesto on the table to add more as you go.

Wonderin round with me head up me own arse. Giving all the wrong things priorities.

Congrats and welcome to the Lido deck.

00 naughty naughty

4

Common spotted cuscus

6

It's really easy. I'll post a recipe tomorrow.

6

Getting there. It's only taken me six months of site stalking to get up the nerve to post. Just struggled, long boring, depressing story. So many times I hear your words, just post a number. Gotta get to work. But I'll be back tomorrow.

Hi all, It's been a rough few years down here but I've stayed smoke free and I'm working hard to get my life back. A big part of that will be reclaiming all the good things. One being getting back n the train. I've missed you all terribly but just couldn't get passed the brain gremlins to log on and post. Really wrapped to see so many still here.

Liar, liar pants on fire

Terminate your smoking

OK... let's see if we can revive this.... A-z on chosen topic... topic runs for 24hrs OR until Z is hit at witch time someone pulls a switcheroo and changes the topic.... so let's start things nice and easy... SWITCHEROO....SWITCHEROO... Hit me with your A-Z of animals A is for Alatross

2. Bruises

Australia ... The Kinks What's the weather like?

Are you calling me a footy umpire?

10. Make a paper aeroplane and fly it out the window. Barbed wire.... wot not to do....

7. Cook