Shrimp Bowl Surprise!

Wow, it's been a whole month since I last posted! I've taken some photos and created a few recipes, but somehow they never made it here. This one turned out so well and interesting. It makes me realize that if I just focus on an ingredient or two, then check the 'fridge and pantry to add what others I feel are needed, sometimes unlikely magic happens!

This idea started with wild caught Red Argentinian Shrimp. Then I wanted something fresh and green. I was thinking kale, but I finished that in another recipe a few days earlier. Then I spied tiny yellow-green cabbages. . .Brussels sprouts! Yes! Then I needed crunch, hence the walnuts and for a bland flavor and texture, garbanzos seemed right to bring it all together. . .

Slice then sauté the Brussels sprouts in a big spoonful of Costco's Kirkland Organic Ghee. (I've tried several brands and also made my own - this is the absolute best ghee!) As that starts to brown, add a bit of bone broth or a splash of cooking Sherry, then stir in about a cup of rough chopped walnuts. Simmer-sauté these together then add 6-8 big shrimp cut into smaller pieces and half a small, sliced onion. Stir-sauté this until the shrimp is almost done. Season - I use Lawry's Garlic Salt and my blend of finely ground black and cayenne pepper. Just before serving, stir in half a can of drained-rinsed-dried garbanzos. Cover, turn off the heat. Wait about 5 minutes, stir and serve. . .Lin

Shrimp, Sweet Potatoes and Green Onions

I try to always have a 2# bag of wild caught Argentinian Red Shrimp, from Costco, in my freezer at all times. I love it and crave it regularly. It can be quickly made into a healthy lunch or dinner. . .or have it for breakfast!

2T good quality ghee (clarified butter)

1 med. sweet potato

3 or 4 lg. green onions

8-10 shrimp - thawed

2-3T lemon juice

Seasonings: red and black pepper, Lawry's Garlic Salt

Peel and cube the sweet potato and rough chop-slice the green onions while melting the ghee in a heavy-bottom frying pan over low-medium heat. Add the vegetables to the pan, stir a little then cover. After a couple minutes, stir in the lemon juice and the shrimp. Cover and simmer a few minutes until the shrimp curl and brown a bit.

Dinner is ready 😃 . . . Lin

Shrimp and Vegetable Lo Mein (gluten-free)

Slowly simmer three millet-brown rice ramen noodle 'cakes,' separating them as much as possible since they tend to stick together if you don't stir while cooking. I cooked them in fresh boiling water with a little lobster flavor Better Than Bouillon. Don't overcook this.

Drain and put in a big baking dish while still hot. Mix them with the snipped green onion tops and 4oz. frozen peas. Add some toasted sesame oil to keep the noodles from sticking together.

4oz. thin sliced carrots
2 mini peppers
3 baby bok chop
~ use the chopped, crunchy white parts now - thin slice the green tops to add later
2 big garlic cloves
~ crushed and chopped

Sauté-stir-fry these in some toasted sesame oil for a few minutes then add:

8oz. thawed Argentinian shrimp
~ cut each one in a 2-3 pieces
4 green onions
~ the white part
the green leaves from the bok choy
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

Cover and turn off the heat while making the sauce.

3/4c peanut or mixed nut butter
1/3c sweet chili sauce
1/3c mushroom soy sauce
2-3T finely chopped candied ginger

Stir these together in a small glass bowl. Heat 20 seconds in the microwave. Check the flavors. I added a little garlic salt and black pepper

Gently stir the vegetables into the noodles, add the sauce and fold together until everything's combined and coated with the sauce.

Heat this until steamy in the microwave. . .Lin

Shrimp and Sautéed Vegetables

3 baby red potatoes

2T EVOO

a good sprinkle of my rosemary seasoning.

Sauté until the potatoes starting turning translucent.
Add the peas and whole or halved shrimps.

1c frozen peas

1/2 lg. purple shallot

7 big Argentinian red shrimp

Stir and continue to cook; covered,
just a few minutes, over low heat; until the shrimp is done.

I had my family over for lunch after church and thought that might be it for me regarding food for the day. Later I got hungry again and this came together fast.

I had leftover vegetables so this morning that + an egg became a really great breakfast. . .Lin

Asian Corn Crab-Shrimp Cakes - that almost weren't. . .

I so love coming home from a great market adventure, in an excited mood, then think, 'What-Am-I...Nuts?' as I unpack everything. As a Foodie, I seem to have little restraint at these places and it must look as though I'm stocking a small (or not so small) restaurant kitchen. My freezer storage space is minimal, and, in spite of intending otherwise, it seems it's always FULL.

There was that one time I was shopping, picked up a bag of frozen peas then put it back, knowing there wasn't even room for that! Before going to The Cities with my daughter for an Asian-International Market extravaganza, I checked. Hmmm, not a lot of space. Did I buy accordingly? Absolutely not. And yet, as Foodie luck would have it, I was able to fit everything in there and the freezer door actually closed on the first try!

I'm finding, there are things in ethnic markets that may be worth trying, but often, that's all it is - a one-time-adventure, which = a lesson learned. . .Case in point:

Asian Corn:  I think it's an acquired taste, or maybe if it's the only corn you've ever known, you might like it. Mine was wrapped in husks that were completely dried out, so I thought that was the problem. Yet, when I Googled Asian Corn I discovered the general consensus is, it's chewy and sticky. Amen to that, and I'd add, it doesn't have good flavor. Now I see why yellow and bicolor corn is called 'sweet' corn, this stuff is just blah. It has little flavor, but some crunch, so I wonder if my dogs will like it mixed with their dry food. . .Moving On:

Crab.  Ahhh, crab how I've loved thee. . .Giant King Crab legs, and the Dungeness and Red Rock Crab we caught on wonderful boating trips to the San Juan Islands. . .So, when I saw these, 4 for $3.27. . .well, you can imagine how excited I was. . .A sweet Asian gal saw them in my cart and asked where I'd found them.  I, in turn, asked how she fixes them. She was clear that they should be steamed, shell side down, only until they turn orange. Got it! Shell side down? "Yes, so you capture all the 'flavorful liquid'!" Okay, thank you so much! As I walked away I remembered a New England trip. Being Ooohhh, so excited over the prospect of having Real Maine Lobster! The whole Giant Crustacean bright red, delivered on a platter! On the first one (we did this at 3 different restaurants - some of us are slow learners) I started breaking apart the logical segments, claws, legs, body and tail. . .when suddenly my platter was almost overflowing with 'flavorful liquid', I quickly realized was liquid LOBSTER POOP.  Ugh, really/ How is this done? This monstrosity should be shelled, hosed down, broiled and brought back to me THAT way.

Prior to our trip, I had bought frozen Lobster tails at Aldi's and we chuckled the whole time eating them saying, this will seem SO LAME, once we're eating at a Lobster Shack in Maine. Little did I know what horrors awaited us out east 😳. . .Nope. . .I'll take clean, frozen, packaged Aldi Lobster tails ANY DAY!

My first attempt, earlier this morning:

I cooked the brown crabs and was surprised the house didn't smell disgustingly like bad cat food.  Ahhh, so exciting! It smells 'Like The Sea'. . .just like they say on the cooking shows. . .then came the cracking. Where's the MEAT? There'w NO meat in these poor, nasty looking bodies! And why does everything suddenly smell like AMMONIA?  UGHHHH. . .Ureic Acid. . .'flavorful liquid' ?? Into the garbage with that mess, except for some of the bigger legs and claws.

On to the Blue Crab.  The house already smells like a Stinky Crab Shack, might as well, right?

The fish guy had sort of frowned when I showed him the first package. They looked like little turtles, all sealed in plastic and banded like that. He had trouble with English, but I finally understood 'Crab' - but he frowned again.  He pointed to the Blue Crab, nodded and looked much happier.  Okeydokey, I'll also give these a go, I sure bought enough! Three packages..😳..I pulled one out of the freezer and they're steaming now.

I have no crab-cracker, not even a nutcracker or picker-outer tool, so I'll use scissor handles, a salad fork handle, and work on this a while.

Out of 4# of whole crabs, an hour+ of cracking and digging - I ended up with 3oz. of crabmeat! Now I see why crabmeat in those teeny cans is so expensive! The way I have this recipe scaled in my mind, I need 8oz. - Enter 5oz. of dependable Argentinian Red Shrimp to fill the gap!

So, starting again, combine the following in a big glass mixing bowl:

3 measly ounces of crab

5oz. Argentinian red shrimp-chopped

2 lg. eggs

3T EVOO

1/2T dry dill

1/2c corn flour

1t-1/2T Old Bay Seasoning

1/2c 'mortared' quick oats

3/4c mayonnaise

3/4c cooked-chopped Asian Corn

1/2T Better Than Bouillon-lobster

1/2c finely chopped green onion

2 lg. finely chopped fresh garlic cloves

Mix everything together in a big bowl. Line muffin tins with liners and fill each one half full. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. This made 24 mini-crabcakes. The Asian corn is WAY too chewy. Next time I'd use regular corn - fresh, frozen or canned. I also adjusted the amount of OBS and BTB, since these are too salty. The proportions listed here should be just right. New cooking adventures are always fun!..Lin

Coconut Curry Vegetable Cod-Shrimp Chowder

Oh my goodness!  This turned out so well. . .I'll eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

13-14oz. thick cod loins
None of those skinny little filets!
Carefully, rinse and pat dry. Season the cod generously with fresh ground black pepper, and lots of dry dill.

Vegetables: Carrots, Celery, Onion, Potatoes, Garlic - amounts as shown, AND 12-16oz. frozen, cut green beans.

First off, trust your instincts and get a feel for your vegetables, your mood, and the recipe for this particular, singular day, in your cooking life. Sometimes vegetables want to be cubed, julienned, chopped, or diced. . .Today it was all about slicing and chunking. Start with the ones that take longer to cook. 

Melt 2-3T pure, organic coconut oil in a 4 quart pot. Add the carrots and celery with a little of the onion to impart some nice oniony flavors (and wonderful aroma to your kitchen!) I cooked these, covered, on low heat for about 15 minutes, then added the rest of the cut vegetables. I got this sizzling, then added 2c of water. Once it was bubbling, I reduced the heat to low, covered the pot, and took my dogs for their walks.

2-1/4 miles and an hour+ later, I added the whole, seasoned chunks of cod, and the following:

2T Better Than Bouillon - lobster flavor
~ good luck finding this -or- use chicken or vegetable
1-1/2T± powdered cumin
1T± curry powder
1 14oz can coconut milk or cream

At this point I thought I was done. However, there was so much wonderfully flavored broth, it just needed more vegetables, so I added 2c frozen corn AND 2c frozen baby peas. Realizing I had used less than a pound of cod, I tossed in the remainder of a package of frozen Argentinean Red Shrimp, which was 8oz after thawing and draining. I covered this, let it come to a low bubble over very low heat, and cook it for about 20 minutes longer, before serving.

Hey. . .It's SEPTEMBER!!!

~!!~ Happy Soup Season ~!!~

(for those of you who need the justification of a 'season'. . .

put away your white shoes and pull out your soup pot!)

For me it's ALWAYS 'Soup Season'!

Be Bold! — Be Adventurous!

Happy Cooking! . .😁. . .Lin

Dandelion Greens and Spicy Sautéed Shrimp

a big bunch of well washed dandelion greens

bacon grease

6 big garlic cloves

3 green onions

3T real bacon crumbles

ground red and black pepper

4-6oz. frozen Argentinian Red Shrimp

*3/4c sour cream - optional

Steam the greens in a little water for 5 minutes. Add bacon grease, sliced garlic sauté a few minutes, then add green onions, fresh ground black pepper and some cayenne pepper. Cover and steam-sauté another 5 minutes or until the greens are almost cooked. Add the next group of ingredients, heating and stirring while it sizzles a little, adding *(sour cream) at the very end. Cover again, remove from heat to finish cooking for another few minutes. Serve like this or over angel hair pasta. . .Lin 

Mushroom-Pepper Shrimp and Pasta

3 mini peppers

8oz. mushrooms

4-5 green onions

6 lg. cloves of garlic

2T butter

1/2c Ajvar 

1/2c pasta water

8oz. Argentinian red shrimp

1/2c sour cream

Cook spaghetti or angel hair pasta to al dente stage.

Slice-chop the vegetables then sauté in the butter.

When the mushrooms are getting close to being done add the Ajvar and water.  Bring this to a simmer and add the shrimp, whole or cut in smaller pieces.  Cover and let steam-simmer just a few minutes, then just before serving, stir in the sour cream, bring it back to a simmer then serve over drained, hot pasta.  This made 3 big, delicious servings. . .Lin