Seared Scallops with Tomato Salsa

Gonna be a quick post here.

My eyes are so try now that they just won't allow me to keep staring at the monitor for another hour or so.

So here's a small whining I want to make today,

Every time people talk about Southern California,
The first thing that came to their mind is nice weather,
Well, after living here for 6 years...I'm actually kind of...sick of it?
Mmm...let's put it this way...I don't like it as much anymore.

The dryness is driving me insane!!!

What can I say, after all, this place is supposed to be a desert,
No trees, no rain, only sands blowing everywhere,
Somehow a long long time ago, someone decided to turn Southern California into a heavenly place to live,
Now everywhere I go, I see trees, flowers, even freaking swimming pools,
(Talking about water conservation here..)

Just like a mirage,
The only real thing remains behind all that pretty city planning - the dryness...there is no water vapor at all in the air...
I can't keep up with it anymore (Roarrrrrr!!)
It's been causing me dry eyes, irritated skin, and itchy nose...

Cough cough*

Bare with me here, the weather is absolutely driving me crazy,
Let's just move on to the recipe of the week, seared scallops with tomato salsa-

Ingredients?

6 large scallops
1/2 seeded and finely chopped tomato
(use ripe tomato, also try to avoid Roman tomato, it's too sweet for making this dish)
2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion
1 orange
(we gonna use 1/4 orange juice and some orange zest later)
3 teaspoons of finely chopped cilantro
(also prepare 6 extra cilantro leaves for garnishing)
1 tablespoon of ponzu sauce
1 teaspoon of sriracha sauce
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt

How?

Sprinkle some salt and black pepper on both sides of the scallops.

For the salsa, simply mix the chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, chopped cilantro, ponzu, sriracha, and orange juice together,
Set aside.

Cilantro leaves close up view (pretty huh?)-

Drizzle some olive oil in a nonstick frying pan, turn to high heat and wait till the oil gets really hot,
Add in the scallops, sear both sides till slightly golden brown,
Transfer them to the serving plate,
Place one cilantro leaf on each scallops, top with fresh salsa, and garnish with orange zest.
Simple and delicious!

One more picture here-


Cindy's rating: 9 (very yummy, not kidding here!)

L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates

What is this cat doing here??

Is he waving for something??

Cat: Come to mama.....come to mama meow.....

Those are the chocolate mice I got from Jimmy! Thank you!

The brown colored one is made with "dark chocolate ganache with freshly squeezed orange juice, covered with dark chocolate."

And the what colored one is made with "dark chocolate ganache with cinnamon, covered with white chocolate."

Close up view, it even comes with a colorful tail!

I haven't tried the chocolate yet, they are just too cute to be eaten!

Here's the website for these chocolate mice.

Meow~