17/02/18

       Saturday again! I really think time has sped up because each week seems to go by soooo… quickly 😊
      Let’s see what there is to report from the Day Camp world? Well, we now have 17 Day Camps booked in four Provinces, which is pretty good for February. Still no Team Applications but we live in hope.
     This past week more work happened on the Program Manual. Arnee is busy typing away from the sheep farm in Ireland (ah the advantages of modern technology😊) so I’m REALLY trying to extricate the last missing Chapter submissions from some extremely tardy contributors. At the office level I’m also badgering people for both submissions to CTM’s quarterly Newsletter AND for reports for our upcoming AGM. Oh my, it is a good thing I have my lovely “Badger” mug to cheer me up, email and text badgering are no fun 😞
       I have also been sending out acceptance packages to various communities as well as reminders to others who expressed interest last autumn but from whom we haven’t heard a word since. Our February Day Camp Committee meeting is coming up on Monday evening so I’m thinking it is time to produce the annual “Day Camps Chart”, which I draw up on a large sheet of Bristol Board and which we then fill with post-it notes as the spaces for each Camp are booked. One of our greatest advocates, Linda Agustin from First Filipino Baptist Church, would like to be able to have a chart to take to an upcoming meeting where she is going to do some Team Member recruiting, so I’ve offered to make 2 charts this year. Hopefully the task will not take too long because I would like to spend a chunk of time tomorrow afternoon working on my 2018 Pysanky.
    Yesterday I got out all my supplies, cleaned the first dozen eggs and completed step one – drawing in the pencilled guidelines for the designs. So tomorrow I will begin the slow process of “writing” the patterns in beeswax.
  Today is another Bake and Blog Saturday although maybe I can make a start on the eggs if the baking gets finished early 😊 I’m making Moon Cakes because yesterday was the Lunar New Year so I plan to serve Chinese refreshments at tomorrow’s Board Meeting. It is going to be a full Sunday!!
I’m also baking some Amish Whoopie Pies and some baguettes, because they are so useful to have on hand in the freezer. Last Thursday four friends came over for our bi-monthly Miyazaki Movie Night. We watched Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind ,which is a sort of parable about environmental issues. I recently found a YouTube Channel called Japanology and since I have always had an obsession with all things Japanese I was inspired to make Nabe for our movie night supper and for
dessert a Japanese Cheesecake. Winter is the perfect time of year for having Nabe so I thought I would close of today by sharing the recipe I put together after gleaning ideas from the Japanology film on the subject. It is really quite simple to make and well worth the effort.
Seafood Nabemono
  • 1/2  cup dried shrimp
  • 1 piece Kombu (dried seaweed) approx. 6”x2”
  • 3 Tbsps. Tamari Soy Sauce
  • 2 large carrots peeled & roll cut
  • 2 cups Sunflower sprouts
  • 2 lbs. fresh fish filets (I used salmon and halibut)
  • ½ lb. firm tofu, cubed
  • 12oz. 100% buckwheat Soba noodles
  • 1 Tbsp. Sesame oil
First make the Dashi (broth) In a large pot combine 8 cups of water with the Kombu and bring gently to a simmer. Remove the Kombu with a slotted spoon before it boils otherwise the Dashi will become slimy. Stir in the dried shrimp and simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat, cover and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain in a fine sieve and discard the shrimp. While the Dashi is steeping, bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the Soba for no more than 5 minutes. Drain, place in a serving bowl and toss thoroughly with the sesame oil. Set aside. Return the Dashi to the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer. Add the Tamari and carrots and simmer for 15 minutes then add the fish and continue to simmer for approx. 10 minutes or until all
the fish is opaque. DO NOT OVERCOOK THE FISH!  
Lastly, reduce the heat to low and add the tofu cubes and sprouts, and cook until they are heated through. Nabe is traditionally cooked and served on a brazier at the dinner table with diners adding ingredients, sort of like a fondue party 😊
Even if you are not going to cook at the table it is still a good idea to place the pot on an electric hot plate so it stays warm as you eat. Each person places some of the cooked noodles in their bowl then adds the fish, vegetables and broth. Nabe is often served with Ponzu Sauce.
To make your own sauce: –
In a jug combine 2 Tbsps. each Tamari, Asian Fish Sauce, Lime Juice, Orange Juice and Balsamic Vinegar. Whisk well.  People add a little sauce to their bowl of Nabe, to taste.

This recipe makes 5 or 6 servings.

1 thought on “17/02/18

  1. Love the Badger mug. Perfect! Ha ha.
    Nancy

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