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 It now can be argued with most houses having air conditioning that this reason is no longer valid?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 Anonymous comments will not be published.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

A Jaunty Josie from JOY - How did that happen?

  No new year’s resolutions , but I like the idea of words shaping a year …. I  did not choose JOY - I chose PLAY and CHALLENGE, which I think also fits the upcoming  Chinese Year of the  Horse…. “ The year 2026 signifies a fresh start, embodying the dynamic Year of the Fire Horse in the Chinese zodiac, representing energy, freedom, and innovation, coupled with a Universal Year 1 in numerology, signalling new beginnings and pioneering action “  How did JOY become the focus of this story?  Where better to start than with the weekly colour prompts  #coloricombo by EsteMacleod …these are published each Monday night ( Australian Eastern Summer Time) , so I’ve had  a week to work on these . Added to the colour prompts Este has also intensified the challenge by including a different shape or form each week.  This week, she chose the word/letters J O Y Between workshops, travelling and other projects, I spent a few hours cutting and   pa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks ....  The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and  message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or  my husband or from off cuts gifted to us  from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks.   Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt  or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...
3 comments
Read more

Wednesday's Child /2

Work in Progress - 3 of the 193 for "Stitched Up"- Wilma Simmons   The work for the "Stitched Up " Project  continues. See the previous "Wednesday Child" post for the background to this art project celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Newcastle Industrial School. I have been documenting the progress of my work, so I thought it might be interesting to share some of the early stages of the "stick dolls" ... Here are some of the beginning steps.. Sticks collected while walking the bushland in my neighbourhood  Drying and getting rid of any insects - oven heat 75 degreesC for approx 1-2 hours.  Trimmed and cut if necessary  Ends sealed with matte sealing solution.  Drying  - solution goes on white but dries clear.  First wrapping - foil to create a body shape  Second wrapping - stretch fabric.  Third wrapping - fabric strips  Some stitching - more stitching and embellishment to ...
Post a Comment
Read more