Home cooked meals to usher in the new year

After a happening Christmas in Auckland, I decided to have home cooked meals to usher in the new year. It is wonderful when one can buy and cook delicious meals at home. I am truly fortunate...

Smoked salmon with pickled onions and dill

Dinner on 31 December 2009 was a simple affair. Smoked salmon with pickled onions, dill and capers, accompanied by potato and green salad. The dill and sweet yellow cherry tomatoes were freshly harvested from my garden.

Prosecco

Bought this bottle of Prosecco from Wine Direct in Auckland. Dry, sparkling white wine. Refreshing and easy to drink.

Fettucine with green lip mussels and tomato sauce

Dinner on 1 Jan 2010 was more elaborate. Bought a dozen of fresh New Zealand green lip mussels for NZD3.06 from New World. They were really plump and juicy. Mussels were first cooked in olive oil, white wine, garlic and butter. Once cooked, the flesh was removed from the shell. The cooking liquor was strained to remove sand and grit. Tomatoes were added to the strained liquor and cooked until soft before pasta and mussels were added.

Rose (pro: ro-say)

Had a glass of French Rose to accompany the pasta. This bottle was a Christmas present. Light, mildly fragrant, a great drink for summer.

Happy New Year!

Sigh... Sushi

So.. we're now living in a lovely little town (or city, depending on how you view it) that has great fresh air, no traffic jams, inexpensive real estate... but no Japanese food! I mean real sashimi, sushi that has raw fish... not canned tuna!

Sushi rice was easily obtained as was sheets of Nori and a bamboo mat for rolling maki. In desparation we scoured the internet on sushi recipes and tried to substitute fish with local foods. Instead of unagi (BBQ eel), we were able to buy local Manuka Smoked fish which was really tasty. Tamago (egg omelette) was not too much a problem.. and of course, a local Maori delicacy, kina turns out to be Japanese uni! Sadly, we have not found fish of sashimi quality in our local market/supermarket, but we have found a NZ supplier that will service online orders. (we have yet to explore this option)

So as you see, our first attempt was not so presentable - we put too much rice, didnt roll them tight enough and they fell apart easily. Still, they tasted OK to someone feeling deprived of Japanese food! The smoked fish made great beer food too! (note our lovely styrofoam temporary dining table!) On our second attempt, we made tighter and neater rolls and even managed more than 1 type of maki (note we have a proper table now!)



Until we can find really fresh fish, any desires for sashimi must be satisfied by a 1 hour drive to the nearest larger city which has a real Japanese restaurant. Sigh...

Chilblains

Yesterday evening, after my gym workout, my toes started to itch severely and became mildly inflamed. A few days ago, I noticed that my toes ached but thought it was just from the new boots. Then, I was told I probably have chilblains. Chilblains? What is that? So I decided to do a bit of research.

Chilblains is a cold-related injury (not involving freezing) resulting from damaged blood vessels exposed to cold & humidity. It happens more commonly in temperate humid climates. According to one research, “susceptibility to chilblains increases when ambient temperature is less than 10 deg Celsius and relative humidity is more than 60%.” Hmmm, why does humidity play a role here?

What’s the cause of it? Well, it may be idiopathic, meaning, the cause is unknown, or I may have poor circulation, which is probable. My extremities are always cold when room temperature is around 22 deg Celsius. That is why I take supplements that are suppose to improve my circulation.

Right now, my toes still itch & I have been scratching them. Advise from the internet is to avoid scratching them (yeah, right) and keeping them warm…better go put on my thick socks.

So I have chilblains. Does that increase my susceptibility to frostbite, which is a cold-related injury involving freezing? I have yet to find that answer.

Reference:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilblain
2. http://www.epodiatry.com/chilblains.htm
3. Onset of chilblains in relation with weather conditions. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. 2008 Apr-Jun;20(2):17-20. www.ayubmed.edu.pk/JAMC/PAST/20-2/Naeem.pdf
4. Frostbite, Chilblains, and Trench Foot http://www.medicinenet.com/frostbite/article.htm#chil