24 Acton/Georgetown, Friday, May 4, 2007 Freshly shipped-in lobster makes for a decadent meal Gerry is writing today Lori If you are reguGysel lar readers of our column, you may & recall a few weeks ago, I wrote an Gerry article on friends of ours "cashing Kentner in" on a Christmas gift. Well, in April, we "cashed in" on a Christmas gift from my brother, Dan Calder and his wife, Doris. On Christmas morning, we opened a gift set of heavy duty lobster crackers and some long handled lobster forks, along with a gift certificate from an eastern Canadian fisher for an amount of fresh lobster! This was to be eaten at a "Lobsterfest" at their home. This sounded so yummy on December 25th, but we had to wait for the season and an appropriate available date for us both. So, April 14th was set. My sister-in-law, Doris, and I discussed how much to order so that we could enjoy leftovers. While we were going to this much effort to have it shipped in, we wanted to make it well worth the trip! Forty-eight hours advance notice is required and our eight one and a half pound lobsters and two pounds of fresh scallops arrived at their door. Fresh lobsters crawling around newspapers and seaweed in a Styrofoam box. I know when my Georgetown grandchildren had similar lobsters last year; they enjoyed watching lobster races on the kitchen floor before they went into the pot! Young boys would love that! Our dinner consisted of HUGE scallops cooked simply for a few minutes in garlic, parsley, white wine and lemon juice, then served with a Louis sauce (chili sauce and mayonnaise). The lobsters were plunged head first into a very large pot of boiling salted water for approximately 10 minutes. We watched them turn to a beautiful bright red colour. We only wanted salad and bread with our lobster and of course, warm drawn butter (also known as clarified butter). Clarified butter is nothing more than sweet, not salted butter, that has been slowly heated until it melts and the milky residue (milk solids) left behind, while the clear part is enjoyed. Once the butter has been melted, the milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan, just pour or spoon off the clear, yellow liquid and discard the white, milky part. Clarified butter is excellent for sautéing, as it has a much higher smoke point, because the milk solids have been removed. Lobster in drawn butter is really just a butter delivery system. Sweet, succulent, fresh lobster dipped in sweet clarified butter--what could be more decadent! We ate and ate until we had our fill. It is so rich and we ended up with half the original order in the fridge for the next evening. Hoorah! Lobster season lasts for several months-- some think the best season is spring/summer as you will see by the Kiwanis Lobsterfest here on June 1 and all the lobsterfests on the east coast, all summer long. In case you are interested, here are the names of the fisheries that ship: 1. O'Neil Fisheries Ltd., Digby, Nova Scotia 2. The Fisherman's Market, Halifax, Nova Scotia After all the lobster slurping, we relaxed for an hour or so and then finished off our dinner with a delicious bittersweet chocolate dip accompanied by fresh fruit and tiny almond cookies. What a great night! Have fun and keep cooking! (Lori and Gerry can be reached at whatscookin@independentfreepress.com) E A R LY I N T E R V E N T I O N I S THE BEST PREVENTION! Early intervention is essential when treating speech, language and hearing disorders. Left alone, children who are afflicted with early childhood hearing loss, or speech or language disorders are at risk of developing social, emotional, behavioural and/or learning problems. Identifying these problems, and finding the best treatment to help children adapt to their specific difficulties, is of utmost importance to the more than 5,000 speechlanguage pathologists and audiologists in Canada. This is a big part of the reason that May has been designated National Speech and Hearing Month. By educating the public about the signs to look for in babies and toddlers, these professionals hope to prevent difficulties for children as they enter their school years. About 4% of pre-schoolers have a significant speech or language disorder, in addition to those with hearing difficulties. This effort continues year-round, with the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (CASLPA) providing information to child care providers, health units, families, pediatricians and family doctors. By knowing the milestones of a child's speech, language and hearing skills, those closest to children will be more likely to spot any developmental differences, and question what that means for the child. A baby should, by the age of six months, be making sounds on its own and be responsive to other sounds. By age one, it should respond to simple questions (``Where is your nose?"), and be able to communicate using sounds and actions. By 18 months, a child should start using common words and simple phrases, and be able to identify certain objects. A lack of these abilities could indicate a problem. Besides affecting the child, the resulting difficulties in communication also have an impact on the family. If in doubt, contact a professional. More information is also available on the CASLPA Web site, www.caslpa.ca. THE GEORGETOWN CORY SOAL, HEARING INSTRUMENT PRACTITIONER Reg'd with the Ministry of Health, A.D.P. By educating the public about the signs to look for in babies and toddlers, these professionals hope to prevent difficulties for children as they enter their school years. (Photo CASLPA) 99 Sinclair Ave. - Suite 210 Georgetown, ON Cory Soal, R.H.A.D. WE CARE ABOUT YOUR HEARING! 905-873-6642 "The Professional Arts Building" Improving your quality of life. Hear More. · Hearing Testing · Hearing Aids (prescription and fitting and lifetime service) Say More. · Speech and Language Assessment · Individual and Group Therapy · Articulation/Speech Sounds · Language Development · Auditory-Verbal Therapy · Stuttering · Voice Therapy · Autism/PDD · Oral Motor Skills and Apraxia · Child and Parent Workshops · FM Systems and Assistive Listening Devices · Counseling and Aural Rehabilitation · WSIB, DVA, ADP Authorized Dispensary · Auditory Processing Testing 211 Guelph Street, Suite 5, Georgetown Call our Centre for upcoming programs. 905-873-8400 Providing therapy to children and adults in Halton, Peel and Wellington Counties 311 Commercial St., Suite 109, Milton Tel:(905)875-3345 www.hearsay.ca www.haltonspeech.com Mother's Day is Next Week! Surprise her with a message just from you... Your Message (up to 30 words) $22.00 Your Message with Photo $44.00 E-mail: features@independentfreepress.com Or call Amy (905) 873-0301 ext. 237 Lobster Dinner on May 12 The Salvation Army Georgetown Community Church, 271 Mountainview Rd., hosts a Lobster Dinner on Saturday, May 12. The menu includes lobster or half chicken dinner, baked potato, rolls, assorted salads, desserts and refreshments. Two seatings: 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Price: $35 for lobster, $25 for chicken. For tickets call Dianne, 905-873-0744.