You can call it Abalone or Pāua, I'm cooking it

You can call it sea ears, muttonshells, ormer, abalone, paua or whatever you like

 Today, I'm cooking it the easiest way I know

These are from New Zealand

  

Cleaning them carefully

 

 

What a beautiful shell.

I collect these and have used them to make among other things

Exotic knife handle inlays!

Slice thin, and marinate in soy sauce for several hours

Stir-frying in ghee!

That's stir-fried abalone

 

 

This recipe is with whole abalone marinated with soy sauce and crushed dried red chillies

Love the iridescence of the shell!

Frying chicken spring rolls

The history of the spring roll originates in mainland China 

Where after the long winter months eating preserved food,

People would make and eat Spring Rolls!

 

Star Anise Cardamom Tea

For an amazing cup of Star Anise Cardamom Tea

All you need is fresh green cardamom, star anise, and something to grind the spices.

If you are in a hurry, use a tea bag for the tea.

I sometimes make a pot of tea, and grind the spices each time someone wants a cup of tea. 

Open and grind a whole green cardamom, and a very tiny bit of star anise

(less than a quarter teaspoon of powder with both spices together )

Remove the tea bag from the hot water, add the powder, add cream and sugar 

(we use half a teaspoon of condensed milk which is already sweet)

Btw, did you know that star anise contains shikimic acid 

which is the main ingredient that pharmaceutical companies use 

in the manufacture of Tamiflu (flu shot)? 

They wouldn't want you to know this.

I'm not suggesting that you will live forever or can avoid the flu with this or any spices, 

but we've never had the flu or the flu shot till date!

Although we are triple vaccinated 💉💉💉

we still use many spices for their taste more than their health benefits, in our cooking. 

For more of my recipes do a search on this blog with the words star anise

 Enjoy your cup of tea!

😊

 

Tastelize

Like painting, cooking is an art.

In order to get the desired results, 

you have to tastelize what the dish must taste like,

before you add spices into the pot! 

(yes if that word doesn't exist, you know what I mean by visualizing a taste :-))

Tonight, I'm cooking two dishes at the same time!

(I hereby request lexicographers to add the word  tastelize to the English dictionary). 

Thank you! 

😋

Beef with coconut, green chillies, potatoes, curry leaves, onions and black pepper.

It's all about temperature - 

heating the pan first to the right temperature,

then adding oil and heating it to the right temperature,

before adding the ingredients.

(No thermometer required, just experience!)

And so, nothing sticks to the pan, which by the way is not a non-stick pan!

Also cooking a beef stew with vegetables and coconut milk

While painting or cooking,

This particular ingredient is usually added to me, not to the dish.

😊😊

I know.... looks odd eh!

Glenmorangie in a Glenfiddich glencairn glass.

That's because the folks at Glenfiddich sent it to me as a compliment.

Have a great weekend!

Friends who went fishing gave us some fresh fish

I'm going to clean, cut, marinate, barbecue and fry it for them!

These fish are about 2 feet long.

Does anyone know what fish this is?

Marinating overnight wih a mixture of ground garlic, 

ginger, hot red chilly powder,

Kashmiri chilly powder, vinegar, turmeric, and salt

Frying it

And some on the barbecue

I prefer to grill meat like beef or goat with bone in it, rather than fish,

because fish is very fragile and can break up easily

Find more of my fish recipes here

Some call it banana chips, others say plantain chips, call it what you like, I'm frying them!

Cut the tips off

Peel the outer skin. This and the tips are the only parts you cannot eat.

Remove this part of the skin carefully.

This can be cooked, so don't throw it away!

But that's another dish

Add a little salt, and turmeric in a bowl of water and mix well.

This mixture will be used to salt the chips 

while it is being fried in the hot oil 

Heat about three cups of vegetable oil, almost to boiling temperature.

I use the back of a cheese grater, 

and slice the bananas into the hot oil

***Please do this next step very carefully as the whole mixture begins to rapidly boil

When the banana is almost cooked ...
(you can tell when it gets firm)
... Add 2 teaspoons of the salt water mixture to the oil,
And mix gently.
This is how the chips get salted.

This is what it sounds like when you add the mixture to hot oil

Here is another high fibre recipe that uses the whole banana, 

including the skin 

(shown on the right side below)

Happy eating!
☺

One thing you'll never regret as a parent, is teaching and encouraging your children to cook!

For example, this basil fried rice,

with yellow chicken curry

 

Or these pork dumplings, 

and a sauce to go with it

Or this steak!

With vegetables

No idea what it's called, 

But this baked dish with mainly Italian ingredients,

and some Ontario wine, 

is so tasty!

A good friend is someone who brings home a large live lobster ...

... And then we get started on cooking it

This is the largest lobster I've cooked!

The cutting board and my large knife look so little 
☺

What you need ...

Chop onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies. 

Fry the onions till they are light brown, then add the garlic, 

ginger, green chillies and fry a few minutes. 

Add Kashmiri chilly powder, clove powder, 

cinnamon powder, coriander powder, 

and 

when the mixture begins to stick to the pan, 

add a finely chopped tomato, 

and a little vinegar to prevent sticking to the pan.

Add the lobster which must be cut at the joints. 

For large pieces crack the shell so that the spices penetrate in for flavour. 

Mix very well to prevent sticking to the pan, 

turn off the heat, keep shut 

and allow to cook for about the time it takes to set up the table, 

and have a sip of Gewürztraminer

☺

Sharing is loving!

Barbecuing a whole chicken

Made a marinade with Kashmiri chilli powder, 

ground dried red chillies,

Soy sauce, half a fresh lime,

freshly ground garlic and ginger,

a little salt,

and 

a flat teaspoon of sugar.

The secret is to cut the chicken this way ...

make slits in the chicken, 

and marinate well under the skin

(I've started using gloves these days,

imagine after all these years of not using them)

Cover and keep the chicken for 48 hours in the refrigerator to marinate well

The chicken can be spread out on the grill because of the way I've cut it,

And it will cook well on the inside on low flame

Meanwhile, 

a Polish friend had given us a small bottle of Żubrówka Biala 
which they brought back from Poland. 
I added some Canadian ginger ale, 
squeezed some fresh lime and made a drink 
(this is not part of the recipe)

While I was focused on the chicken,   
A wasp flew into my drink.  I quickly rescued it and let it go!

Back to the chicken

Basting the chicken

Voilà! 

a  few minutes later,

 a second wasp flew into my Zubrowka Biala!

☺

No doubt, this is a tasty cocktail

(Here are the social wasps on the hummingbird feeder)

I rescued the second wasp ... 

And I must say, 

the Polish drink tasted good, after two Canadian wasps!

To wrap up the BBQ chicken story ...

You could add fresh onions 

(Anna hates it when I eat raw onions)

☺

Have a good week, friends!