So what does one do on a snowy day? Me? With my original plans buried under the snow, one thing led to another, and I ended up with some creations that I wanted to share, including the story and recipes below.
Every vote counts. If you have a gmail address you can vote directly on the photo album, otherwise please email WBFN your vote for the top three
Although, my original plan of shoveling as my exercise of the day fell through as the inches piled up, I managed to fit in some outdoor time trying to capture with my camera the incredible scenes around me. When I found that many a WBFN members had also exercised their camera eye and shutter finger, the idea of a Snowpocalypse photo album was born. We would now like to invite all of you to help us decide which of our creations will be exhibited in the WBFN Gallery. Please cast your vote for the top three.
I knew it was going to snow today. How much was the question —between 1 and 6 inches, depending on the weather forecast I happened to hear. Nowadays, I am extremely risk adverse; I decided to go food shopping yesterday, just in case…
Sure enough, the snow started a bit later than forecasted, looking very light and not very threatening; only that it never stopped, and in a very short time two inches were covering the deck, and mounting. How was I to make the best of a cooped in day, without suffering too much from a cabin fever attack?
As I was planning to work on the Mosaic cover, I thought that it would be a good opportunity to take an online tutorial on creating a dreamlike image, featuring an egg about to hatch in a fantastic landscape. Well, OK, the tutorial was about a fairy floating in a field, but I decided that she would be replaced with an egg! A very fun experiment, but very time consuming, and requiring some leg-stretching breaks; no problem, I’m off to do some quick cooking experiments.
I am not sure of the success of my Mosaic cover, dreamy or not, but the food was absolutely delicious. All it took was a few Google searches and a pinch of imagination—after all, you do want to own the recipe!
As for my husband, he was alternatively working on some article and reading a book—that was the fun part, as he would periodically burst out laughing, and read to me. He highly recommends Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. He calls it “the best gossip book ever,” and the Economist reviews it as "A thoroughly researched, well-paced and occasionally very amusing read…The result is something that conveys the feel, or perhaps more accurately the smell, of one of recent history's most thrilling elections, and it does so better than any of the other books already on the market." Definitely on my-to-read-list, but that will be for the next snow storm, which is for next week, right?
All in all, not a bad day,Gilda Dadush
Tuna steaks
Serves 2
2 tuna steaks (~ ¾ of an inch thick each)
5-6 clove garlic, peeled and sliced
1 heaped tablespoon harissa*
2 fresh roma tomatoes, sliced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Gently fry the garlic cloves in a frying pan big enough to cook your steaks, don’t let them burn as they will become bitter. Add the harissa and fry some more. Add the tomato slices and gently brown on each side, remove from burner, transfer to a plate and keep warm.
In the same frying pan, cook your steaks over high heat, until both sides are cooked but the middle is still raw (2-4 minutes on each side)
Transfer to a plate, cover with the garlic tomato mixture, add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with mixed vegetables or salad
*North African hot sauce
Cream of zucchini cooked in coconut milk
Serves 6
2 medium size onions thinly sliced
8-9 zucchini (2-3 pounds) washed, both ends removed, and coarsely sliced
1 white turnip, peeled and sliced
½ tablespoon curry powder
1 can lite Thai coconut milk + 1 can of water
1 cup chicken broth
Salt, pepper, a pinch of cayenne
½ cup minced cilantro
Olive oil
Gently fry the onions until soft and golden. Add the curry powder and fry some more. Add the rest of ingredients (not the cilantro) reduce the heat, and cook until soft.
Puree all the ingredients in a blender. You may add some hot water to the desired consistency, adjust seasoning, and serve very hot with a sprinkle of minced cilantro to taste.