Prawn Stirfry with Garlic and White Wine

What's better than cooking and listening to Etta James on a Sunday? For me, it's pretty good! I actually was thinking I wasn't going to share this little dish on my blog because it was just kind of thrown together. But guess what? It was pretty tasty, so here it is. The thing about a quick stir-fry is that you are the master. I like to just make things up as I go -- and so can you. For this one, I just used olive oil, white wine, a ton of garlic and a few other things. I had an advantage, though - I had a pound of fresh prawns. And you can't really go wrong there.

So here's what I did:

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh prawns, shelled and cleaned.
4 stalks baby bok choy
1 medim onion
1 red bell pepper
a few big splashes of olive oil
a few splashes of white wine
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 big tbls freshly crushed garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

• Heat a couple tbls in a heavy pan.


• Throw a tbls of garlic in the pan for about 10 seconds.


• Add the prawns, a couple pinches of the salt, and stirfry for a couple minutes until they are no longer translucent.


• Remove prawns from the pan.


• Add a little more olive oil to the same pan.


• Add another tbls of garlic with the crushed red pepper for about 10 seconds.


• Add the red peppers for about a couple minutes and then add the onions and bok choy (and another pinch of salt) and continue to stirfry for another couple minutes.


• When it's nice and hot and things look pretty stirred up, return the prawns and any extra drippings back to the pan with the vegetables.
  
• Now add a few splashes of wine and cover for a couple minutes.
  
• That's it! Just give a quick toss and you're ready to enjoy it.

Serving suggestion: Just spoon over Jasmine or Basmati rice (my favorites for white rice). Of course your favorite rice is the best choice! Also, I sprinkle some additional crushed red pepper on the top.

Enjoy!

Coconut Sticky Rice in Bananna Leaves

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I'm a huge fan of Asian foods including Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, etc. Recently, my friend Maggie took me - and a bunch of friends - to a great Malaysian restaurant in the Bay Area (Milpitas) called Layang Layang and it was out of this world! Back to the story behind this recipe...My son Jaye gave me a little Filipino treat that one of his friends made and I loved it. It was sweet, sticky rice wrapped in a little bananna leaf package. I loved it and told him that I was going to make it (even though I'd never made it before). So I did a quick Google search and found a couple recipes, but decided I'd just try it the way I imagined it would be made. I learned there are many different names and ways to make this: there's a Thai version called Khao Dome and the Filipino version, I believe, is called Pulut Inti. As you can see, I'm no expert, but I wanted to share my version since it was yummy and easy.

Feel free to provide tips if you're an expert at making this wonderful and fun treat!

Ingredients:

2 cups Mochi rice or glutenous rice (Japanese rice that is extra sticky)
1 can coconut milk
2 cups of water
about 5 tbsls brown sugar
1 package frozen bananna leaves - you can find them at most Asian grocery stores

Directions:

• Prepare rice according to package directions, except replace a portion of the water that it calls for with one can of coconut milk.
• Once cooked add the brown sugar, stir and set aside for about 20 minutes.
• Unfold a large bannana leaf and wipe off both sides.
• Cut pieces large enough to make packets that will be about 2 inches long and an inch-and-a-half wide.
• Place a spoonful of rice in the center of each piece and wrap like a little burrito (see the photo).
• Steam for about 45 minutes. You can use a pot with a wire rack that sits at the bottom, or you can use a steamer.
  

These are great as a snack and are very portable to bring to parties. Of course you can alter the recipe to be sweeter (or not). You can also use fresh coconut milk if you like. The great thing about this appetizer is that they are so versatile. I'm going to try a different version soon and I'll let you know what I discover.

Anyway - I hope you have fun with this one like I did!

"Lettuceless" Chopped Summer Salad

Summer - it's a good thing. Beaches, warm weather, festivities, and farmer's markets. I always feel a little healthier in the summer time because of the generous doses of sunshine and the abundance of the tastiest fruits and vegatables. I often notice that it's easier to prepare meals without having to cook. Salads are one of my favorite things to eat. If I don't eat a fresh salad at least every other day - something's wrong and I know it. The salad above is a good one, but you may notice that it doesn't include leafy greens of any sort (well, just parsley). I love to make/prepare lettuceless salads because I happen to love all the other stuff a little more than lettuce. This salad is an example of what I'm talking about. See what you think!

"Lettuceless" Chopped Summer Salad (for two)

Ingredients

• 1/2 c chopped, fresh parley (no stems)
• 1/4 c chopped celery
• 1/4 c chopped red onion
• about a dozen of your favorite chopped cherry tomatoes (I'm loving Baby Roma's right now). I like the way smaller tomatoes taste when you quarter them, or chop them in half.
• about a handful of pepitas (pumpkin seeds) - roasted and salted
• 1/4 cup shaved parmesan/romano cheese
• a few splashes of olive oil and red wine vinegar
• 1 whole lemon (squeezed)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 clove of garlic smashed and finely chopped

Directions:

• Chop all the veggies
• In a small bowl or jar, mix together the following: olive oil, vinegar, lemon, salt, pepper and garlic
• In bowl, toss the veggies with the dressing
• Put in serving bowl and sprinkle/garnish with pepitas and the shaved cheese.

Serve with some wonderful, warmed whole grain bread and a glass of sparkling mineral water with a squeeze of some of your leftover lemon. Enjoy!

Green Lentils and Green Peppers with Brown Rice

I LOVE LENTILS! I think they're such sleepers in the world of legumes because you don't really hear about them, they're sort of boring to look at, but when you go out of your way to eat them they can really wow you. They have a delicious flavor, satisying texture - and they're packed with nutrients. The best thing about lentils is that they are sooooo versatile and they do such a great job of absorbing flavors. I used to eat these as a child at my Grandma's house - she'd make green lentils with garlic, spinach (or dandelion greens) and italian sausage. Unbelievably good! I often make them like that, but recently I've been making lentils with a little bit of a curry spin. I made this version and even my son Jaye, who is definitely not a legume fan, gave them a nod. So here's a recipe I put together this week with fresh peppers I picked up at Farmer's Market - I had to buy them because I could smell them from several feet away. See what you think!

Green Lentils and Green Peppers with Brown Rice

1 c of green lentils
6 green peppers (cleaned and chopped). **I think the peppers I used are called cubanelle or bull-horn - they're the long, sweet green peppers that are shaped like the horn of a bull.
1 tbls freshly crushed garlic
1 tsp of corinader
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp green cardomom - (take the little seeds out a crush them prior to adding)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1tbl of kosher salt
a couple bay leaves
1 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
a few splashes of olive oil

**side note - the combination of spices I used could be found in "garam masala" which is a spice used in a lot of Indian cooking. There's some good information here if you're interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garam_masala

• First of all wash the lentils and set them aside
• On medium heat, add some olive oil to the bottom of a medium-sized pan.
• Saute the peppers for about 5 minutes until they are beginning to brown and soften. Add a little salt while they're cooking.
• Stir in the garlic for about 20 seconds and then add the lentils and stir for about a minute or two, adding salt, pepper.
• Add about a 1/2 cup of water and let it get to boil.
• Turn the heat down and start to season as it turns into a simmer.
• Add all the remaining spices, stir well and partly cover with a lid and simmer for about 40 mins stirring occaisionally and adding more water if necessary. It might look a little soupy for a bit, but the liquid should be mostly evaporated toward the end.
• I'd start the brown rice about now. Just cook your favorite brown rice according to the package directions. Remember it takes longer to cook brown rice than white rice.
• When the lentils are cooked, turn off the heat and leave them partially covered. They should be soft, but not necessarily mushy and should still resemble their original shape.
• Don't forget to remove the bay leaves.

Serving suggestion: No fancy suggestions here (not that anything I do in the kitchen is fancy since I'm more about simple and delicious) - it's just really great on it's own, spooned over steamed brown rice. I think this would also be great with a fresh tomato salad, with red onions, fresh parsley, olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar.

So there you have it! I'll add a couple more of my favorite versions - if you have one that you love with lentils, feel free to point us to your blog!