Skip to main content

Christmas Countdown 9 : Seafood

from www.cruisingdownunder.com.au
It can't really be only 10 days to Christmas. although today I witnessed queues of children and their parents waiting to chat and be photographed with Santa in a shopping centre. The scene seemed a little incongruous. There was a traditionally dressed Santa,  woolly red suit and  heavy boots and fur trimmed hat sitting in a beach hut, in a tropical resort setting with palm trees decorated with Christmas baubles. I thought that this summed up perfectly how Christmas is celebrated in Australia - some tradition with adaptions  and changes for the climate.  Probably the most popular change to accommodate the summer heat has been the inclusion of seafood for Christmas dinner. 
from www.abeachcottage.com.au 
Why seafood for Christmas? I think the original reason was it was too hot  to light the oven in the kitchen to cook a roast meat and vegetables dinner  ( Christmas temperatures can be up to 40 degrees C) and it was just too hot to eat it. It now can be argued with most houses having air conditioning that this reason is no longer valid? I guess the other reason is that beautiful fresh seafood is available here in summer . Besides it tastes good, and somehow seafood seems to suit the summer lifestyle of most Australian families. 


There is not much point in offering a seafood recipe as the most popular Christmas dish is lots of fresh seafood served  as a cold seafood platter. However, accompanying sauces and dressings  vary, for example, tomato based seafood sauces, aioli, avocado. lime and lemon based dressings. I think the ultimate accompaniment for fresh prawns is mango salsa. Mangoes are also a summer fruit in season at Christmas time, so the combination seems to be quite compatible. Here is  Chef Luke Mangan's recipe from www.lifestyle.com.au 
Mango Salsa


Now all that's left to do is "slip another shrimp on the barbie" for Christmas lunch.... 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading my blog and please share your thoughts about my blog post by leaving a comment.Your comment won't appear immediately as comments are verified before publication in an effort to reduce the amount of spam appearing. Anonymous comments will not be published.

Popular posts from this blog

Too Precious to Waste

 Stitched tea bags/ old doily "tea lights" - Wilma Simmons  More than a year ago, a decision was made.  The annual exhibition of NCEATA ( Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) 2015-2016 will have the theme "Mottainai". Mottainai in Japanese refers to more than just physical waste (resources). It is even used to refer to thought patterns that give rise to wasteful action. Grammatically, it can be used in Japanese as an exclamation ("mottainai!") or as an adjective phrase ("it feels mottainai"). There is no plural form. The collection of mottainai things could be called mottainai koto ( もったいない事 ? ). As an exclamation ("mottainai!") it means roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste." [2]  A simple English equivalent is the saying "waste not, want not." A more elaborate meaning conveys a sense of value and worthiness and may be translated as "do not destroy (or lay waste to) that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Christmas Countdown 3 ; Christmas tree # 23 - Mannequins and Motors

Mannequin   and Mercedes Benz logo Christmas trees  Advent Blog Day 23 - Mannequins and Motors ... or... What does a Mannequin have in common with a Mercedes Benz?   I have been in such a dilemma as I have so few days left and so many Christmas trees I want to feature.  So, in the spirit of balance today, I've combined a couple of categories into the theme of Mannequins and Motors -   winsome wonders and winning wheels ....  Mannequin and motor oil   Christmas trees  Hubcaps and Mannequin Christmas trees  Not satisfied with auto parts? Decorate with the whole car....  Mannequin and Mini Cooper cars Christmas trees  And tyres seem to be a popular choice and somehow they go beautifully with these 'green' mannequin trees...  Tyres and red ribbons  Tyres and baubles on mannequin Christmas trees  Red bird  wire form and sparkly tyres  Ch...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fragments

 Some days are just your lucky days - today I was very fortunate and privileged to open the first ever Australian exhibition "Fragments" by  UK  Fibre Artist  Sue Hotchkis .  Here is a little about the techniques of this amazing textile artist from her own website  ...  Working intuitively with print and stitch, marks, textures and colours are exaggerated, intensified to reveal the detail and complexity within the images. Materials are deconstructed using modern methods, ripped, burnt and dyed. Time is invested in their reconstruction; pieces can take from a week to several months to create. Whilst being aesthetically pleasing the work can also act as a metaphor for deterioration and ruin, associated with urban decay and ultimately death and loss. They evolve organically, built up with layers of print, cloth, paper, and stitch into three-dimensional abstract forms that hover between object and image; to create a unique, visual and tactile lan...
Post a Comment
Read more