Showing posts with label Maritimes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maritimes. Show all posts

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Lose Lots of Weight With Lobster

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With only 90 calories per 100 gram Lobsters are the perfect food to keep in shape. Compare it with only one chocolate cookie that has 160 calories!  Lobsters are high in potassium, magnesium, Vitamin A, B12, B6, B3, B2, calcium, phosphorous, iron, zinc and amino acids.  When compared to turkey and chicken, they are very low in cholesterol and saturated fats. 

General Lobster Cooking Tips
Many recipes call for 500 grams of cooked lobster meat - two cups of diced meat.
Cooked lobsters have to be cooled, well drained, cracked, and the meat removed and chopped, before you could start making the lobster cakes.  However you can also use frozen lobster meat, which is sold in cans at some supermarkets or in seafood stores. Thaw and drain well before using.

Cooked lobster, available in many supermarkets on the Atlantic Shore, are easy to handle: thaw the tails, pat them dry, split them in half lengthwise, set them in a pan, brush with a touch of olive oil and cook in a hot oven eight minutes.  After cooling them, remove the meat from the shell and dice them up. Six tails, each 3- to 3 1/2-ounce (85- to 100-gram) yields enough.

Take an egg, mayonnaise, hot sauce, lemon juice, herbs and fresh bread crumbs to moisten, flavor and form the lobster cakes.  Cornmeal crusting will turn the lobster cakes in a lovely golden brown when cooked in hot oil.


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Lobster Cakes with Remoulade Sauce

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: About 16 minutes, 4 servings

Remoulade sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
5 tbsp finely chopped sweet mixed pickles and capers
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp dried tarragon
2 green onions, very thinly sliced
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
a splash or two Tabasco or Worcestershire sauce
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed. The remoulade can be made several hours before needed.


Lobster Cakes

6 (3- to 3 1/2-oz/85- to 100-gram) lobster tails, thawed if frozen and patted dry
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large egg, beaten
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 1/4 cups fresh bread crumbs
3 green onions, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup very finely chopped red bell pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce, or to taste
1/4 tsp dried tarragon
pinch salt
1/2 cup cornmeal
3 tbsp olive oil


Preheat oven to 425 F (250°C).  Line a  baking pan with parchment paper. Place the cornmeal in a shallow dish.  Dampen your hands with cold water and shape a 1/4-cup of the lobster mixture into a loose ball.  Set it on the cornmeal.  Sprinkle the top and sides with cornmeal and then gently form into a cake about 3 inches wide.  Place on the prepared baking pan. Repeat with the remaining mixture.  You should get 8 cakes. (Cakes can be made to this point hours before serving.  Cover and refrigerate until needed.)
To cook cakes, heat the 3 tbsp oil in a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium or medium-high. When hot, add cakes and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown and heated through.  Serve garnished with lemon wedges and parsley sprigs.


Lobster Cakes with Dilled Creme Fraiche on Greens
By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen
Source: Canadian Living Magazine: August 2008

Salad Ingredients
6 cups baby salad greens   
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil   
1 tbsp lemon juice    
Pinch each salt and pepper    

Dilled Creme Fraiche:
1/3 cup creme fraiche or 30% Sour Cream
1 tbsp minced fresh dill  

Lobster Cakes:
2 cooked lobsters (each 1-1/2 lb/750 g), shelled
1/2 cup  fresh bread crumbs    
1/4 cup finely diced sweet red pepper
1 tsp green onion, minced   
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind    
1/4 cup mayonnaise    
2 egg whites    
Pinch each salt and pepper 
1 tbsp vegetable oil (approx)  

Dice lobster meat to make about 2 cups. In bowl, combine lobster, bread crumbs, red pepper, green onion and lemon rind. Stir in mayonnaise, egg whites, salt and pepper. Form by scant 1/4 cupfuls (50 ml) into 12 patties; set on parchment paper–lined baking sheet. 
In large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; cook patties, in batches and adding more oil if necessary, until browned on both sides. Return to baking sheet; bake in 375°F (190°C) oven until firm to the touch, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, toss together greens, oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper; arrange on 6 plates. Arrange 2 lobster cakes on each; dollop with Dilled Creme Fraiche.



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Lobster Cakes with Lime Mayo Dipping Sauce
Lobster Cakes
1 egg
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp scallions, finely chopped
juice of half a lemon
1 cup mashed potato
1 cup fresh cooked lobster meat
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup bread crumbs
olive oil for frying
Combine all ingredients but bread crumbs and oil in a bowl and mix thoroughly.  Add lobster and mix until just combined. Form into 8 small patties.  Roll in bread crumbs to cover.  Heat oil in frying pan and fry on both sides until golden.  Makes 8 servings.

Lime-Mayo Sauce
1/2 cup real mayonnaise
3 tbsp of olive oil
Juice of one lime 
A few drops of favorite hot sauce
Mix all ingredients until smooth and uniform.

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Lobster at Home, Hardcover 
by Jasper White 



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Lobster at Home goes far beyond any other seafood cookbook. It explains everything from how to choose just the right lobster for a delectable dinner to how to extract every last morsel of meat from a cooked lobster. A treasure trove of information.  
Among this book's unique features:

  • a beautiful illustration showing how and when to select lobster, helping the cook know at a glance when hard-shells and soft-shells are available, as well as the best prices
  • a handy chart giving cooking times for each size of lobster
  • a list of recommended sources for mail-ordering live lobsters

Many recipes that call for the use of already-cooked lobster, such as appetizers, chowders, lobster salads and sandwiches, main courses, including those from great chefs. The author shows how easy and rewarding it can be to cook lobster at home.





More Lobster Books and Lobster Items
Just type in "Lobster" when you go to Amazon.com and you will get 285 pages of lobster items.  Try it out!  An amazing selection, from lobster steamers to crackers to signs, oven mittens, plates and lobster charms.  You can even order live Lobster for your Holiday Dinner.  Enjoy!

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Friday, August 1, 2014

Locals Know - Canada

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Many travelers and even locals are not aware how beautiful and amazing Canada really is.  Iconic images of Canada, such as Mounties, Moose and Maritimes have been overplayed.  Unfortunately tourism officials used only these cliché images to tout Canada worldwide and locally… Until five years ago - when a surprisingly fresh tourism campaign of Canada started:


Using photos and video submitted by Canadians to YouTube and to the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) directly, this campaign highlighted the best hidden travel gems across the country, such as

· A secluded canyon in Thunder Bay, Ontario
· A sparkling cobalt lagoon on B.C. ’s Sunshine Coast
· Desert sand dunes in Alberta

Touted in Forbes as one of the world’s top 10 travel campaigns, the CTC’s highlighting of Canada’s hidden gems have a timeless, place-less quality, underscored by the tag line, “Where is this?” While Canadians are accustomed to photographs of the Rocky Mountains, Niagara Falls and red-coated Mounties on Parliament Hill, there are amazing tourist attractions and sites that people might not know they exists in their home province.

Locals Know – Canada
The campaign gained popularity among travellers that are doing increasingly more online research. Fans have uploaded more than 2,000 “secret spots” onto the interactive website, which received 1.1 million page views – all within the first month.


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Saturday, July 19, 2014

Lobster Cakes Recipe from the Maritimes

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It Doesn’t Get Any Healthier
Centuries ago Natives caught lobster and spread them to fertilize their fields or used them as bait on their hooks for fishing.  Once considered “food for the poor” in colonial times, they were fed to children, prisoners, slaves and to servants, who exchanged their passage to North America for seven years of service to their sponsors in the New World.

Only 90 Calories
With only 90 calories per 100 gram Lobsters are the perfect food to keep in shape. Compare it with only one chocolate cookie that has 160 calories!  Lobsters are high in potassium, magnesium, Vitamin A, B12, B6, B3, B2, calcium, phosphorous, iron, zinc and amino acids.  When compared to turkey and chicken, they are low in cholesterol and saturated fats.  This delicious seafood also helps to reduce the risks of heart disease and stroke.


Lobster belongs naturally to the "Slow Food" movement, as one has to open the shells piece for piece and cannot wolf it down like a hamburger.  Low in calories, healthy and fresh - Lobster is all you can ask for in food.

Critical to the Livelihood of Rural Maritimes
The lobster industry supports many other sectors, such as boat builders, trap builders, marine supplies, engine repair, shipping, bait, marketing, legal, insurance and fuel, just to name a few.

In 2004 the fall lobster fishery on the South Shore of Nova Scotia hit rock bottom. To increase their stocks, Fishermen adopted a controversial plan, agreeing to release all female lobsters above a certain size.  A really hard decision, to throw money back into the water...  Seven years later, as a sure sign of renewal, catches have nearly doubled. 

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How Lobsters are Caught
Heavy, 90-pound lobster traps are hauled into the boats, each one filled with Green Crab or Red Fish bait.  Watching these fisherman doing their sweaty, hard work around these expensive boats (and licenses) one is wondering why lobsters can be sold so cheap in this part of the world.  In most European countries lobsters retails for around $ 40 - $ 50 apiece in restaurants, very expensive compared to North America's East coast, where you can purchase an already cooked lobster for less than $10 in grocery stores.

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Now in season, frequently enjoy them for supper instead of eating meat and fries.  If you are lucky, come along on a lobster boat to watch the harvesting, which an hour later will be cooked into a delicious meal.  Living next to a wharf, for me Lobster is the ultimate "1-mile-diet" - not a 100-mile-diet.

Everything anyone would like to know about lobster, including recipes can be found here:




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