A rant about calories, and a recipe for Shrimp Curry

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. – Buddha

That's me on the left.

Let’s just admit it. We all have at least one secret. But did you know that many of the foods we put in our mouths have secrets as well?

It’s secret calories – or calories that you don’t realize are there – that put a diet off the rails. If you’re trying to drop a pound or even 100, it’s important to track each and every calorie.

To lose weight you must run a calorie deficit for what your body needs. Sources say that to lose 1-2 pounds per week you must consume 500-1000 fewer calories than you need to maintain your current weight, at your activity level.

I’m too sedate. To maintain my proper weight (several sources say no more than 150 lbs...), I should be consuming about 2,000 calories per day. I didn’t check before I started, but I bet I was up to 3,000. Now I’m trying to keep it to 1,500 per day to get results.

It’s not really that difficult if you know what you’re eating. For example, one serving (2 bars) of Nature Valley Crunchy Oats and Honey Granola Bars has 190 calories. A medium apple is only 100 calories; a regular sized banana is 105.

To burn the calories just in those granola bars you would have to walk for nearly an hour. 

Unexpected calories are in everything – from added fats and oils, corn syrup and coconut oil, to the most sneaky of them all: the serving size listed on the nutrition label. Even if you do check, the “serving” may be for 1 teaspoon of that item—nowhere near what you would normally use.

Even foods you may think are healthy (or healthier) can sabotage you. One Tim Hortons cran apple walnut bran muffin contains 350 calories. That’s more calories than 2 cups of cooked oatmeal. Don’t think you’re getting away better with a fruit explosion muffin. They’re 340 calories. (Source timhortons.com)

Spice mixture for the recipe.

And for goodness sake, watch out for nuts. There’s 410 calories in 1/2 cup of almonds. That’s apporaching the whole dinner recipe I’m posting today. Cashews are 320 cal per 1/2 cup and walnuts are just under 400 calories.

Calories even sneak in through the most innocuous ingredients – for example, garlic, ginger and spices. That splash of olive oil in the pan adds 120 calories per tablespoon. Who thinks of calories in them? Every. Calorie. Counts.

You have to be hyper-aware of what you’re eating if you’re going to keep a weight loss resolution. Write down what you eat. Cut back on the things you don’t need (like too much sugar and fat) and start putting better foods back in your diet.

Shrimp Curry, for One
Prep: 5 min  | Cook: 20 min  |  Serves: 1  | Calories per serving: 433
12 large shrimp, 31-40 per lb size (65 cal)

1 cup tomato purée (95 cal)
1/2 cup onion, chopped* (32 cal)
1 garlic clove, diced (5 cal)
Juice of 1/2 lemon (23 cal)
1 cup basmati rice, cooked (190 cal)
Spice blend:*
1 tsp coriander, ground (5 cal)
1 tsp cumin, ground (4 cal)
1 tsp turmeric (4 cal)
1/2 tsp ginger, ground (3 cal)
1/4 tsp cinnamon, ground (2 cal)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (2 cal)
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper (2  cal)
1/4 tsp salt

First, start cooking the rice. It takes 20 minutes (15 min simmer, 5 min sit).

In a saucepan, dry sauté** the onions. Then add the tomato purée, onion, lemon and spice blend (or curry powder). Let simmer on low for 5 minutes. Peel the shrimp, add to the sauce and let cook just until opaque.

Serve over the rice.

* Instead of making your own spice blend, substitute your favourite pre-made curry powder, and add the black pepper and salt.

** No one likes crunchy onions in their curry. To minimize this, add 1/2 cup of water while you sauté the onions. Cook until the water evaporates. Then cook a further minute; then add the tomato, etc.

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Shrimp in Vermouth Cream Sauce

A man seldom thinks with more earnestness of anything than he does of his dinner. – Samuel Johnson 

Deliciously satisfying, and ready in 20 minutes. This is always a winner.

This is a fantastic recipe, and also one that you can have on the table in less than half an hour. It's a godsend for anyone (like us lately) that are busier than a one-toothed man in a corn-on-the-cob eating contest. Although dining late is sometimes nice, having to do it every day gets to be tiresome. It also can interfere with your sleep. Not goof if your up late working and then up and at it again early the next morning.

Photo: Wiki CC

This recipe combines just-cooked shrimp with the intense flavor of tomato and vermouth. It's a wonderful combination. Vermouth is a perfect complement to seafood, if you didn't know…

Vermouth is a fortified wine that has been infused with herbs and/or roots. Wine has been infused with herbs for millennia. Although a 13th century German word, what we call vermouth today was first produced in the late 18th century in Italy and France. 

Vermouth was marketed as a medicinal drink in the 19th century. With an alcohol content hovering at 18% one can see why its consumption would make someone feel “better.” It wasn’t until later in the 1800s that it was used in classic cocktails like the martini.

Wine is used as the base for vermouth. Each manufacturer adds additional alcohol (sometimes in the form of aquavit) and their own special mixtures of herbs, roots, and barks. If you're brave, you can try to make your own, like I did. My recipe is here.

Vermouth is sold in two main types: sweet (red) and dry (white). Vermouth is an excellent substitute for white wine in cooking and is particularly good with seafood, as well as chicken and pork. When the alcohol is cooked away the flavour of the herbs remain.

Shrimp Linguine with Vermouth Cream Sauce

Let the sauce reduce before adding the shrimp.

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 10 min  |  Serves 4

1 lb shrimp

454 g linguine

1/4 cup butter

1 small onion, cut in half and sliced very thin

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomato halves

1/4 cup vermouth (white)

1/4 cup tomato purée

1-1/2 cups whipping cream (plus extra, see recipe)

The shrimp have just been added. Only let them cook until pink.

Salt and pepper to taste
grated parmesan

Bring water to a boil for the pasta. Cook according to package directions.

Heat butter in a sauté pan. Cook onion and garlic until beginning to brown. Add the vermouth, tomato purée and cream and let cook until thickened. It should be a little thicker than you think it should be. 

As the sun-dried tomatoes cook in the sauce it will take on a bright creamy orange colour.

Add the shrimp and cook until just through – no more than 5 minutes. They should just be pink. That may be even less than 5 minutes. Any more time and shrimp become tough.

Liquid will come out of the shrimp as they cook. If the sauce is still too thick you can thin it with a little more cream.

Serve the shrimp and sauce on the hot drained pasta with grated parmesan.

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Lemongrass Chilli Shrimp

I can make more generals, but horses cost money. – Abraham Lincoln

I took my last bag of shrimp from the freezer for this recipe. I imagine it will be some time until I have shrimp again.

It’s not because anything was wrong with them. It’s because it is getting increasingly difficult to rationalize buying them. They’re too expensive.

Shrimp used to go on sale at the grocery store, periodically. Now it seems far less often. One pound of frozen shrimp was between $8.99 and $9.99 normally, and when marked down would be about $5. Now they’re $9-10 on sale. A little too rich for my blood. I used to have 3-4 bags always in my freezer. Currently the count is zero.

So when using your last bag of “gold” you have to make something good, right? This recipe falls into that category.

As I have pontificated before, certain flavours make certain dishes “signature” to a specific cuisine.

Today my sights are trained on Thailand. That means some very specific ingredients: coconut milk, Thai red “bird’s eye” chillies, lemongrass, and fish sauce.

It’s easy to always have lemongrass and chillies on hand. Buy them and freeze them. That’s what I do, and have been for several years. They keep for a very long time.

Coconut milk should be a staple in any pantry. Canned, it just sits waiting to be used. Fish sauce keeps for a very, very long time, unrefrigerated. Truth be told I’ve had bottles well over a couple years old. I haven’t died.

Fish sauce can be an acquired taste. Butt it’s a staple flavour in many Southeast Asian cuisines, including Thai. It’s made from the fermentation of fish. Believe me, it tastes better than it sounds. It’s also something that, if it’s not there, you will miss.

You can look up about fish sauce if you want, but it’s not very appealing. Do so at your peril.

Remember me telling you a few days ago to buy unusual ingredients and find out how to use them later? Fish sauce is a prime example. Another is coconut oil. I bought a big container of 100% organic at Costco for cheap. It’s a solid at room temperature.

If you have them in your pantry your Asian food will never be the same.

I added my red pepper before reducing the sauce. If you would
like crispier pepper add it at the end as in the recipe.

Lemongrass Chilli Shrimp

Prep: 15 min  |  Cook: 12-15 min  |  Serves 4

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 lb shrimp, peeled

1 med onion, chopped large

3-4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 Thai red chillies, diced with seeds

1 stalk lemongrass, diced

1 can coconut milk

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp turbinado sugar (or light brown)

1 red pepper, seeded and sliced

1/3 lb snow peas, sliced in half

1 bunch green onions, sliced

salt and pepper, to taste

Prepare all the ingredients before-hand. Cook some white rice while you make the main dish. It will be cooked when the sauce is finished (20 min).

Heat the coconut oil in a wok. Add the onion, garlic, chillies and lemongrass. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Then add the coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar. Let cook until reduced to about half, 5 minutes. Then add the red pepper, snow peas, green onions and shrimp. Let cook until the shrimp are cooked through. This will take about 4 minutes.

Taste for salt and adjust. (Fish sauce is salty.) Add some pepper, stir and serve over rice.

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If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share using any of the links below. Feel free to comment. I'll always try to respond. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is that you credit me and share a link back to the original.

Phad Thai, the best recipe for it I know

I am easily satisfied with the very best. – Sir Winston Churchill

Photo: jay galvin, Flickr ccl

This is an old post of mine, stretching back to the early-ish days of 2011. I had only been blogging for a little over two months. It's even before I had a camera to take food shots! But it's so, so very good I had to repost. Because I currently have a craving for it. When you itch, I say scratch. So scratch we shall... with abandon.

Have you ever had a craving at home for Phad Thai, that amazing peanut-y pile of noodles that is such a staple of Thai restaurants? Well look no further for the solution. It’s extremely easy to make, and not too expensive if you have an “international” pantry. Like most Asian cooking, the devil is in the preparation. Prep for what seems like hours, and it’s ready in five minutes.

Tamarind. Photo: BBC World Service
Bangladesh Boat, Flickr ccl

You don’t actually chop for hours, just minutes. Finding the ingredients isn’t that difficult either. So what are you waiting for? I’m posting this recipe as much for me as for you. 

It’s an exceptional recipe for Phad Thai, and I always have trouble locating it because the basis is from a cookbook I don’t often use. In my opinion this recipe outshines most Phad that you get when you dine out, at least in Halifax…

The book in mention is “Hot Foods,” published in 2004 by Select Publications. It doesn’t refer to only spicy food, but any food brought steaming to the table. There’s many good recipes in it. 

I think I might have too many cookbooks. We used to run to Winners on weekends and buy marked-down cookbooks for about the same price as a food magazine. No ads, and far more informative and useful.

I have altered the basic recipe to more closely resemble one in a cookbook that I no longer have. It went away in a break-up, with many other things I valued. But they were only "things," not necessities. Apparently including the person who I told to leave...

My result is quite close to the one in my missing book, using the basics from “Hot Foods.” If you’re familiar with Phad Thai, and you look closely at this recipe you will see there are certain things that make Phad Thai, well, Phad Thai. 

This recipe has the balance “right.” An uncommon ingredient that brings it all together is tamarind. You can find it in blocks, or liquid form, in most grocery stores in the international section. So I tip my hat to the cookbook I do have that was the inspiration for this recipe.

Phad Thai

Prep: 20 min  | Cook: 15 min  | Serves 4

This picture is pretty close. Photo: Manuel W, Flickr ccl

250 g dried flat rice stick noodles

1 tbsp tamarind (either sauce or from a pressed block, finely diced)

1 2" thai red chilli, finely chopped with seeds

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1-1/2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp lime juice

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

2 tbsp oil
2 eggs, beaten

150 g (1/3 lb) pork, diced

1/2 lb shrimp

100g (3 1/2 oz) fried tofu puffs, julienned (optional)

1 bunch spring onions, chopped in 1/2” pieces

1 cup bean sprouts

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/4 cup coriander, chopped

lime wedges, to serve

Soak the noodles in warm water for 20 minutes, or until they are al dente. Keep in cool water to avoid sticking.

Combine the tamarind, chilli, garlic, sugar, fish sauce and lime in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat a wok with 1 tbsp of oil and swirl to coat the sides. When hot, add the egg and swirl to coat in a thin layer. Let cook, undisturbed. Roll up in the wok, remove and slice into thin strips.

Hear the remaining oil in the wok. Add the Chilli mixture and fry for 1 minute. Add the pork and fry for 2 minutes. Then add the shrimp and cook until just done. Blend in the peanut butter.

Add in the noodles, egg, tofu, bean sprouts and green onions and toss together until heated through.

Serve immediately with the peanuts, coriander and lime wedges in bowls on the table.

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If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share using any of the links below. Feel free to comment. I'll always try to respond. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is that you credit me and share a link back to the original.

20 Minute Shrimp with Vermouth Cream Sauce

There is more to life than increasing its speed. – Mahatma Gandhi 

Fast, and amazingly delicious.

That’s usually true, except when it comes to dinner, and then speed can be your friend. Not so much in the eating (take your time) but in the preparation. This is one of those recipes that you can have on the table in far less than half an hour.

This recipe combines succulent shrimp with the intense flavour of tomato and vermouth. It's a wonderful combination. Vermouth is a perfect complement to seafood, as if you didn't know…

This is my homemade vermouth.

Vermouth is a fortified wine that has been infused with herbs and/or roots. Wine has been infused with herbs for millennia. The word for vermouth originates from 13th century German. What we consider present day vermouth was first produced around the late 18th century in Italy and France. 

I have made my own, if you’re interested. The recipe is here. It was pretty good.

Vermouth was marketed initially as a medicinal drink in the 19th century. With an alcohol content hovering at 18% one can see why it would make someone feel “better!” It wasn’t until later in the 1800s that it was used in many classic cocktails like the martini.

Wine is used as the base for vermouth. Each manufacturer adds additional alcohol (sometimes in the form of aquavit) and their own special mixtures of herbs, roots, and barks. Yum...

Vermouth is sold in two main types: sweet (red) and dry (white). Vermouth is an excellent substitute for white wine in cooking and is particularly good with seafood, as well as chicken and pork. When the alcohol is cooked away the flavour of the herbs remain.

Simmer and reduce the sauce before adding the shrimp.

Shrimp Linguine with Vermouth Cream Sauce

Let the sauce reduce before adding the shrimp.

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 10 min  |  Serves 4

1 lb shrimp (454 g)

1 lb linguine (454 g)*

1/4 cup butter

1 small onion, cut in half and sliced very thin

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomato halves

1/4 cup vermouth (white)

1/4 cup tomato purée

1-1/2 cups whipping cream (plus extra, see recipe)

Salt and pepper to taste

grated parmesan

Bring water to a boil for the pasta. Cook according to package directions.

Only add the shrimp shortly before serving.
They only take minutes to cook.

Heat butter in a sauté pan. Cook onion and garlic until beginning to brown. Add the vermouth, tomato purée and cream and let cook until thickened. It should be a little thicker than you think it should be. 

As the sun-dried tomatoes cook in the sauce it will take on a bright creamy orange colour.

Add the shrimp and cook until just through – no more than 5 minutes. They should just be pink. That may be even less than 5 minutes. Any more time and shrimp become tough.

Liquid will come out of the shrimp as they cook. If the sauce is still too thick you can thin it with a little more cream.

Serve the shrimp and sauce on the hot drained pasta with grated parmesan.

* Depending on how many people you are serving, and how many shrimp you like, you may want to adjust this to a lesser amount.

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Feel free to comment. I'll always try to respond. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is that you credit me and share a link back to the original.

BBQ Cilantro Lime Corn & Shrimp

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. – Lao Tzu

Infused with buttery smokey flavour, lime, cilantro and cayenne.

Words to live by. Sometimes simplicity can bring you the greatest of joys. I’m learning that (sometimes the hard way) in our move to the country.

At the risk of repeating myself, one of the main reasons for us to move to the country was to reduce our expenditures and live a little bit more sustainably.

Many of us are doing it. In our case it was to move back to the village where I grew up and sort of reset the “start” button. It’s taking time, which I knew it would, but I’m hopeful, if not always confident.

The melted butter, shrimp skwers and the corn.

There’s an old Chinese proverb that states “Cheap turns out expensive.” It was cheap to move to the home we were to inherit, and it made sense, but last week’s expense was the news that we needed a new well. At about $8,000. And then we'll almost certainly have to treat it. We have a lot of manganese and iron here. Hmmm.

We had a dug well on the property but it seems the two of us – even though we don’t use a lot of water – taxed it beyond its capabilities. You can’t live without water. So in a drilled one will go at the end of this week, hopefully. It sucks not having water, believe me.

I’d better start digging up some more design clients to offset the expense of this well. Even though we had a financial cushion when we moved we don’t want to deplete it. Cushions tend to go flat if you sit on them too much.

My problem (in my past life PR would have called it an “opportunity”) is in locating these clients. I’ve been away from the area so long I’m not sure who to reach out to. I have to put a real push on this coming month. It’s a little disconcerting to have very little money coming in. I guess that’s where patience comes in.

I’m not complaining, really. It’s sort of nice to have down time after 23 years, but some work would be a good thing. But I believe we’ll be safe and comfortable if I/we think and act smart. There’s a lot most of us want, but don’t need. The trick is to make sure you’re still happy as you live a simpler life.

Luckily one of the ways that we can impact our lives is by growing some of our own food. We put in our first garden this spring and it is humming along. I have more beans to pick – possibly the last – and peas to shell. Carrots, onions and beets are swelling in the ground and tomatoes (cherry, heirloom, pink, yellow, Roma) are ripening on the vine. 

Don’t get me started on the cucumbers. If all the blossoms bear fruit we’re in for a pickle-making session like you won’t believe. And that’s only from a few plants.

Even our corn is starting to rocket up. It’s not as “high as an elephant’s eye” but hopefully it will continue to grow clear up to the sky. Local corn harvesting comes later in the season. For now we have to be content with imports. It’s not even available at farmers markets yet.

Simplicity comes in food form as well. Food should always be a joy and doesn't have to be complex. I don’t quite understand people that think preparing to eat is a chore. Sometimes a little time consuming, yes, but a chore, never. And delicious – always. Or at least it should be.

Food should be a pleasure, not only for the palate but also in the preparation. And simplicity has its place. Like in this extremely simple butter to be brushed on as you barbecue.

If you’ve never made “compound butter” you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to make and how much flavour it can deliver. In truth this is the first time I’ve physically used one on the barbecue. The smokiness of grilling really complimented the Latin flavours of the butter baste.

By now we’ve all seen corn grilled on the barbecue in its husk, but you can go old-school and strip it off. It certainly hurries the process along. In fact it cuts the BBQ time in half. But you have to tend it like a baby in bath water. As soon as it starts to brown on one side, turn it.

Since you’re already standing over the open barbecue you may as well cook something else that needs vigilance – shrimp. They take nearly the same amount of time as the corn.

Compound butter bastes are a great way to introduce a lot of flavour, and pleasure, with very little effort. If you grow some of your own food that's just the icing on the cake.

BBQ Cilantro Lime Corn & Shrimp

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 15 min  |  Serves 3-4

6-8 ears corn

1 lb shrimp (large or jumbo)

cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

juice 1/2 lime

3/4 tsp cayenne pepper

salt, at the table

Husk the corn and set aside. Peel the shrimp and skewer, spacing them with cherry tomatoes. Set aside on a plate. Mash together the softened butter, cilantro, lime and cayenne in a small bowl.

Heat the barbecue on medium low with the cover down. While the barbecue is heating, place the butter on the top rack to melt. As soon as it liquifies remove it. Then remove the top rack. You’ll need the space.

Place the corn on the barbecue and baste with the butter. While the corn starts to cook baste both sides of the shrimp skewers while still on the plate.

As soon as the corn starts to brown on one side, turn it, baste again and then add the shrimp skewers.

Keep checking both. You’ll notice the corn brightens in colour. Turn the corn to brown the top, bottom and sides. Flip the shrimp as soon as they are cooked on one side. Baste as you go.

The whole process should take no more that 15 minutes.

The amount of butter will do for 8 ears and 1 lb of shrimp. If you want some dipping butter for the table you may want to make a little more – maybe double.

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You know, I really like comments... I really do.

Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Red Eye Wet Steak Rub

I wear my Viking helmet because the horns define how sharp my brains are. If you try to rub me the wrong way, I will stick you with both of my horns. – Flavor Flav 

Yeah, OK... I don't quite follow that, but onward and upward. Here’s a recipe just in time for two of the biggest celebrations this year in North America.

This weekend Canada celebrates its 146th birthday. The actual date is July 1, but we will be celebrating all weekend. Next week, on July 4, the United States celebrates its founding. That falls on a Thursday this year, so most folks will be taking Friday off as well, making for a 4-day weekend. Hopefully we’ll be seeing a lot of our American cousins this side of the border.

So it’s going to be a big week, full of outdoor activities like going to the beach, camping and lots of backyard parties and cookouts with family and friends.

How about a good rub to accompany all that activity? By that I mean a barbecue rub. What you do in your own time is none of my business...

Rubs are a good alternative to barbecue sauces, and if they’re a good recipe can impart just as much flavour.

This is the mixture before adding the whisky.

My big problem with sauces is they often have a lot of sugar in them and tend to burn, especially over open flame like a barbecue. Rubs, with less sugar, not so much.

Rubs fall into two main categories: dry and wet.

Essentially both are mixtures of spices that are applied to meat before they are barbecued. A rub applied just before cooking flavours the meat. A rub applied hours before flavours as well as tenderizes the meat, depending on what’s in it.

Dry rubs contain only dry ingredients. Common ingredients are spices, garlic powder, onion powder, peppers and salt.

Wet rubs are the same, but as the name suggests also contains something wet, usually vinegar or oil. The combination is of a paste-like consistency. My rub contains whisky, just ‘cause.

Both types of rubs can be used just before cooking or as a sort of “marinade” overnight. The main difference is that wet rubs tend to stay on the meat better as it's being cooked.

Rubs are also kin to mixtures used in making the the finest of charcuterie. The rub imparts flavour over weeks or months instead of minutes or hours. The process to finish the meat is sort of “dehydration” rather than cooking.

Here’s a little trivia for you about the origins of barbecue. It’s actually Caribbean than Southern USA. Of course its popularity in the Deep South has now far surpassed Caribbean popularity.

The word "barbecue" is from the Spanish barbacoa and/or the French babracot, both of which come from the indigenous peoples of Haiti and Guiana. Both refer to cooking meat by draping it across moist wood over a fire until it dries out. 

The greens are mesclun mix, from our garden! Tossed in a
simple oil, vinegar & oregano dressing.

“Real” barbecue is still done in much the same way. Barbecue isn’t really slapping a piece of meat on our outdoor cookers. That’s grilling. 

Barbecue is a slow method of cooking in an enclosed space over low, constant heat. The slow cooking breaks down the connective tissues in the meat and tenderizes it. Anyone from the South who is reading this knows exactly what I mean.

Rub is perfect for real barbecue as well as the more common grilling. It’s also great for steaks cooked inside, if you happen to be reading this in the winter.

This rub is pretty flavourful, with a bit of a kick. You can adjust that kick with the amount of cayenne pepper you use.

The reason I called it “red eye”? Two reasons. First is the obvious colour. The second is because if you use the full amount of cayenne it ill certainly snap open anyone’s red, tired eyes!

If you want to try something other than barbecue sauce this weekend try a wet rub. This will work equally well on pork or chicken. Maybe even shrimp or some firmer, stronger flavoured fish "steaks."

Red Eye Wet Steak Rub

Prep: 5 min  |  Rest: 30 min  |  Enough for four steaks

2 tbsp whisky

1 tbsp  brown sugar

2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp cracked black pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 to 1 tsp tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp ground coriander

Mix all the rub ingredients together in a bowl. Distribute the mixture evenly over the steaks and, as the name suggests, rub it in.

Let the steaks rest on the counter for at least 30 minutes, or in the refrigerator overnight.

heat up the grill and you’re on your way!

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You know, I really like comments... I really do.

Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Pantry Surfing: Thai Shrimp and Shiitake Bake

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

10% inspiration, 90% interesting pantry contents.

I'm pre-emting the bread recipe I promised for today to post this recipe. The bread will be tomorrow's post. I promise.

I love a challenge – especially in the kitchen. We are still unpacking after our move, and we didn’t have time yet to go to a grocery store. So we’ve been relying on the pantry and freezer.

The night I made this I did some pantry foraging. What I found was a bit disappointing. Frozen shrimp and a can of soup. It was the most obvious combination that sprang to mind from what I initially saw.

That was my departure point. The inspiration for this dish came from a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup.

I really dislike using canned soups in dishes if it’s avoidable. This time it seemed I was destined to have something like mushroom soup bake.

While I was bemoaning the fact I had no mushrooms to make my own "soup base" it dawned on me I actually did. They just weren’t fresh. I had dried shiitake.

That changed the water on the beans. Shiitake mushrooms would not sit too well in a normal cream sauce. But what about a coconut cream sauce? I did have canned coconut milk. (Thank goodness.)

The dish swiftly started to veer towards Thailand. Chilli flakes, cilantro, lemon, fish sauce, ginger... The preparation could even stay the same as mushroom rice bake. Just switch out what goes in it to Thai flavours.

The baking directions came straight from Campbell’s (regarding time and temperature), but the rest of this recipe is completely re-imagined. This is essentially a Thai version of that awful cream of mushroom soup rice bake.

This delivered more than success. This will now be among the go-to recipes for whenever we have company and want to sit with them rather than fuss in the kitchen. 

The sauce could easily be made ahead and then combined with the rice and baked with little to no fuss. (Almost like a can of soup!)

It’s amazing what you can pull off with hardly any effort and a little inspiration. Always go where there is no path. Blaze a trail!

Thai Shrimp and Shiitake Bake

Prep 10 min  |  Bake 50 min  |  Serves 4

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 lg garlic clove, chopped

1 tbsp fresh ginger, diced

12 dried shiitakes, reconstituted (reserve 1/4 cup liquid)

1 cup long-grain rice

400 ml can coconut milk

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp dried cilantro

salt and pepper

1/4 cup fish sauce

juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Heat the sesame oil in a skillet. Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger until softened.

Slice the shiitakes and add to the pan with the reserved soaking liquid and the chilli flakes. Cook on high until the liquid has evaporated. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes until the mushrooms start to brown slightly.

Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the coconut milk and milk. Then add salt and pepper to taste.

Place the rice and cilantro in a 9” x 9” x 3” baking dish. Pour the mushroom sauce on top and mix well. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 35 minutes. 

Meanwhile, peel and clean the shrimp. Toss with some salt, the fish sauce and lemon juice and let marinate while the rice finishes its 35 minutes baking.

Uncover the rice, stir in the shrimp, fish sauce and lemon. Recover and bake an additional 12 minutes.

Let sit, covered for 2 minutes. Serve with a sprinkling of cilantro on top.

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