Coconut, Tomato, Shrimp....its not summer

Hey All,

I'm trying my best to keep on top of things, but alas, life is exhausting.  Exhausting is a good thing, it means I'm busy, doing stuff I enjoy, and the Happy Homo Homestead isn't falling into too terrible of disrepair.  We're both working our guts out, and maybe, just maybe, I can send "the thing from day 1" to production.  We'll see.  I LOVE my users, in fact I love all laboratory personnel.  That said, if anybody can break a thing, the team I'm working with will do it.  They've sent me back to "The Cave" with copious notes TWICE!  If nothing else, this has taught me to give up trying anything fancy and stick to very basic coding that does what the user needs it to do.  I appreciate the nuance of privilege based code, but the thing I'm working on is something that only the specified users can access anyway....*outloud eyeroll*

A while back, this recipe, from Slender Kitchen, caught my eye.  I like the flavor profile and shrimp are delicious.  It is definitely on the Vietnamese/Thai side, but the tomato adds a European touch.  The flavor is all around unique and tasty!  If I had to make it again, I'd let the tomato and stuff reduce A LOT!  It was a bit runny, although still delicious.

So here's how I did it/will do it going forward:

1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup onion
3 garlic cloves (this level is right, but I wouldn't hesitate to add more, minced)
2 tbsp ginger, minced (original recipe called for 1tbslp, I found it lacking, maybe my ginger was weak from freezing....I buy ginger when it is on sale, run it through the food processor, freeze it, and use it for recipes like this)
2 tbsp. basil, chopped (I used 2tblsp dried from the garden)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional, to taste, the original recipe calls for 1/8, I think 1/4 is perfect)
2 cups tomatoes, chopped (or 32oz freezer container, I gave up trying to can tomatoes years ago and just freeze them instead)
1 1/3 cup or 1-10 oz can coconut milk
2 lb. shrimp

Part of what turned me off to this recipe originally were all the references to lo fat, paleo, etc.  Its just cooking, c'mon, a bit of sense and you can adjust this recipe to any dietary need, INCLUDING VEGAN (hello, vegan shrimp are delicious!).

GENTLY, Saute the onions and garlic in the oil.  Just as the onions lose their color add the ginger, red pepper, and half of the basil.  I SAID GENTLY!  Don't burn your pepper and basil, it will taste like dreck if you do!

Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer.  Simmer for a good while, the sauce should be very thick (I skipped this part and paid the price with runny sauce).  We're talking hours here, not just one.  The sauce should be thicker than tomato sauce.

Reduce (or remove completely from) the heat and whisk in the coconut milk, again, gentle, because coconut milk can curdle.  Add the shrimp and cook until cooked through.  Shrimp are finicky, not enough heat, you risk food borne illnesses, too much, RUBBER!  There is plenty of heat left in that pan to cook even prawn(5-10ct) sized shrimp.

Sprinkle the remaining half of the basil over the top.  A drizzle of chili oil would be a nice touch!

I served it over RICE!

While I'm berating my own cooking let's talk about this horrible interface.  Google already rules the lives of those of us that hate Steve Jobs....remember when android was supposed to be Open Source....  Anyway, next time, I'm going to try linking images from Drive.  I might be catching on to this yet.

Rollout Muffins - Dried Cherry

Hey All,

Today was rollout day.  In my new gig, rollouts are that exciting and nerve wracking time when new code goes into the production environments.  We also have to be at the office and going by 6am, so it makes for an early day in order to minimize the impact on our users.

Because it can be such a drag getting up that early, I always like to do something nice for those days.  During my first rollout, I decided that it would be muffins to get us going in the morning.  To date we've had pineapple, cranberry orange, and blueberry.  This change order found me making Cherry Almond, as inspired by A Taste of Home.

It also gave me a good excuse to put my stand mixer to use.

These are super delicious, the dried cherries don't impart a lot of flavor, but add morsels of real cherry when you bite into one.  The cake is otherwise very nutty/almondy on account of the sparing use of almond extract.  They taste like nuts, not artificial cherry.  It makes for a wonderful flavor profile.

So here's how I did it:

1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon shortening
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk plus 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar, mix and let set until milk curdles, mix again before adding)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/2 cup whole almonds run through the food processor, divided

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Line 12 muffin tin cups with liners or coat well with oil or shortening.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In the mixer bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg.

Add about half the flour mixture and half the buttermilk and mix well.  Add the remaining half and mix until a muffin batter form.

Fold in the cherries and half of the almonds.

Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake at 350F 20-25 minutes (mine took 20) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool.

I hope you'll enjoy these to make a day brighter!

3Day

Hurry Curry

Hey All,

This one is sort of a funny story that goes back a million years.  I used to make this type of recipe relatively frequently, but somewhere along the lines I lost the recipe.  A while back I was having "Cook's Block" and my friend Kassandra reminded me how good Hurry Curry is.  I hadn't made it since then, but I happened to have a hankering, so Dr. Google to the rescue with this recipe from Simply Recipes.

I do things a bit differently by adding all the curry powder to the chicken.  This can be made with sour cream, greek yogurt, or a mix of the two.  Either way it always turns out great.

I hope you enjoy!

3day

Kooftah, Keftah, Morrocan Meatballs

Hey All,

I seem to be visiting this about once every year. I really need to fix that.

Today I made some Keftah and Lemon Rice, this is inspired by The Med. Its one of those that takes a bit, but is entirely worth it.

For the Meatballs:

1/2 cup cooked rice
Half a Large Onion chopped finely or run through the food processor
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork or hot Italian sausage (If you are using ground pork, add 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. If you use sausage, use HOT, the spices in regular Italian sausage don't work well for this recipe)
1 egg
8 dried apricots (I use dried nectaplums I dried from a friend's tree last summer. I dry things to crispy, to prevent mold, so I plumped them in 1/2 cup hot water, reheating in the microwave as necessary. It took about 2 hours.  Add the leftover soak water to the tomato sauce to enrich the flavor)

Mix that all except the apricots together in a bowl and let it set in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

When its time to cook, heat the oven to 400F.

Wrap a good sized amount of the meat mixture around each apricot and place on a lightly greased (pan spray is handy here) baking sheet. Here's a picture of what that looks like.

Cook at 400F for 20-30 min until cooked through.

The Lemon rice was a new experiment, next time I'll use less turmeric (this recipe reflects that change). I add turmeric to give it color, the picture in the recipe that inspired this was dreadfully beige/bland, so I added some turmeric to bump up the color....it also adds an interesting flavor that I rather like.

Lemon Rice:

2 cups white rice
1 Tblsp chicken bullion
1 1/2 tsp turmeric Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of that lemon + enough water to make 2 1/2 cups
1 tsp salt

Put that all in an instant pot and cook on the normal rice cycle. Let pressure release naturally.

Lastly the tomato sauce. Most recipes make WAY too much sauce, unless I have a need for Morrocan tomato sauce later, I make a half batch like this:

Morrocan Tomato Sauce:

2 Tblsp tomato paste (optional, but it bumps up the tomato flavor)

1/2 teaspoon fennel or anise seeds
1/2 teaspoon grated orange or lemon rind (I use 3-4 drops of lemon essential oil when I don't have a lemon handy)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon or a dash of ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon or a dash of salt to taste
1 14-15oz can tomato sauce

Place that all in a saucepan and gently warm for several hours. I put it on the warmer burner on high to med-high, stirring once in a while. When everything else is ready, it is hot and flavorful.

For the final dish, make a bed of rice, desired number of meatballs, and pour sauce over the top. Garnish with fresh or dried parsley if you like.

I'll spare the stories that cooks so often skip over and just say its been a good year. I moved to a new position that pays handsomely, is challenging, but doesn't make me nutso.

Welcome to 2019, I hope its a great year for you all!

3Day

GNOCCHI!

Hey All,

So I do stuff and junk, but I finally made Gnocchi and it worked.  I literally threw it all in a food processor, spun it together in the food processor until it stuck together, and pressed it out over a fork.  11 min in salted boiling water.  I did it 3 times to make sure!

One dish went to Nancy, Nancy brought me her square pan past Burning Man full of delicious with the promise I'd return it, I did this weekend (probably later than she'd have liked) full of spinach and chicken and gnocchi...Nancy knew Angelica before she died.  Ang always used to give me a lot of shit about being so young but cooking like I was an old woman.....she was "young" too, she was an inspiration and in my mind I still see her sitting on that chaise lounge at the Circle lounge, cattily pawing while all the boys just stared in wanton amazement!  Her hair and makeup were always flawless, her secret, it wasn't in the product, it was the careless way she literally threw it on because she was that beautiful!  God I miss that girl and her spirit....I feel honored that I was able to cook for us again, at least in spirit.  I miss you girl, happy Birthday weekend!

What the Eff is a Fruckie

Hey All,

Culinary fun continues with my gym and recovery folks and here at home.  Last week we did a "Prepare" event using on sale items and the coordinators flare for world flavors.  It was an absolute blast, but I'll refrain from posting her great recipes, in hopes one day she makes it big and will write a book about it or have a TV show.  I haven't made much else that has been inventive or especially noteworthy;  just good cooking to keep us fed.

Last week, I hit the motherload on brie.  Every once in a great while, NPS get outdated or near outdated cheese and sells it at ridiculous prices.  Case in point, 7oz. baby bries for $0.50.  Brie is definitely more my thing, so I only bought 2, but I may have fixed that today.  I made a grilled cheese using the brie for Husbear, and I made a grilled brie and pears with rosemary for me.  YUM!  Husbear was delighted with his ooey gooey grilled cheese with a unique flavor.  I'm easy to please with brie, so it was a huge win.  I should note, I bumped up the flavor by using half bacon grease, half butter to lube the frying pan.

Afterward we had a Fruckie.  As I've heard many times before, WTF is a Fruckie?  It is a delicious thing made with leftover corn chips, peanut butter fudge, and chocolate.  Sweet, salty, and I use semisweet or even super dark chocolate to make a delicious treat.  Its really quite simple, and I line the pan with tin foil, so its super easy all around.  I usually use what's left of a bag of corn chips, so 1 part = 1/4 cup in a 9x9 pan.  The link before uses a full bag of chips, a much larger pan, and is a horrible waste of corn chips that could be better used with that brie ;)

Put the corn chips in the foil lined pan.  Melt equal parts corn syrup and sugar together, just when it starts to boil, add one part peanut butter, mix well, turn off the heat and pour that over corn chips. I usually cook it for about a minute so its sets up harder when cool. Next put chocolate chips, or broken bar bits or whatever on top, the heat will melt it and let it spread....easy peasy and delicious.

There will be some of the chip bits leftover in the bottom of the pan.  If you have more corn chip remnants, use them again, or put them on ice cream.....that little bit of salt with all the dripped in sugar and chocolate is an amazing ice cream topping.

I'll keep writing more as things pop up, in the meantime, keep it simple and make good food!

Lotsa Love,

3Day

Nearly a year, new us

Hey All,

Holy smokes its been a long time since I've written here.  Things are generally good.  I accepted a Chemist position with the Utah Department of Health in the CDC funded LRN-C program.  Its nice to be back in the lab.  I work with a small, but great team.

I also have come a long way with addiction, recovery, and getting us back on track.  I've had a couple of setbacks, but have been generally sober and clean since November 23, 2016.  I owe a ton of that to Fit to Recover.  Fit to Recover (FTR) is the gym I started going to when things got really bad.  I found a supportive environment that asked only that I be clean and sober and try my best.  It started with one clean and sober day, then a couple more, and now I'm doing very well.  It was a great adjunct to the bizarre mish mash of treatment I had to pursue.  I'm done with the hard parts of therapy and counseling, now its continuation to success.

FTR is built on "Four Pillars" of recovery.  The four pillars are:  Fitness, Food/Nutrition, Service to others, and Creative expression.  I've found a fondness for their food/nutrition program.  Monday I gave a talk about menu planning and shopping.  It was super empowering.  I've moved out of my shell with service, primarily reaching out more with the gym, being supportive of new folks, and building new friendships around that.  I think I'll do more with the blog as creative expression.  The really cool part is that I happened into a treatment adjunct that has been show to improve treatment outcomes by 450%.  I'll have to pull the references later if anyone needs me to.

So to food:

First up, here's the link to my menu organizer.  It is a live document that updates frequently.  So if you wonder what my food world is looking like, check it out.  I also post sales information in my shopping list.

Today I made Granola.  I did the ginger apricot with the addition of 2 cups of crisp rice cereal.  Cereal is a great addition to add crunch and flavors.  I still have a few cups of yogurt, so I'll use that, a spoonful of peach jam, and the granola for breakfasts this week.  After that I'll make some vanilla soy milk.

I also wanted to talk about vinaigrettes.  This week Food to Recover is talking about balanced meals.  I'll admit, I struggle with getting my vegetables, but have recently started incorporating salads again.  I'm not a fan of having tons of bottles of salad dressing laying around, so have started making small batch vinaigrettes in a jar.  Its a single jar, usually only lasts a meal or 2 and is super easy.  Just throw in the ingredients and shake.

I do things a couple of different ways, so let's start with the basic vinaigrette.

Basic Vinaigrette
2 parts sugar
2 parts vinegar
1 part oil

This is the basis for tons of things, poppy seed dressing (poppy seeds and onion), sesame dressing (use rice vinegar and add 1 part soy sauce, 1/4 part toasted sesame oil, and sesame seeds), and tons of other variations.  Adding muddled fruit will give you a fruit vinaigrette.

Savory Vinaigrette
1 part sugar (more or less to taste)
2 parts vinegar
1 part oil

I use this for things like Italian vinaigrette (garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, a bit of minced bell pepper) or ranch vinaigrette (onion powder and dill weed).

Creamy Vinaigrette
2 parts sugar
2 parts vinegar
Mayonnaise to make creamy to taste, it doesn't take much and helps everything emulsify.

This style works well for just about every variation I've mentioned above....adjust the sugar for the savory ones.

I hope you all are well and eating good food.  I look forward to writing up more soon!

Lotsa Love,

3day