Sunday, November 09, 2003


Let's talk about food.....on to the questions folks! Have fun. (Question #4 has been asked before but I thought it was fun sharing recipes so let's do it again!)
1. How many 'meals a day' do you eat?
2. Do you enjoy cooking? Why or why not?
3. Who cooks most of the meals in your home? . . . . . and one more (optional) for good measure;
4. Share a favorite recipe with us.

1. During the school year I have three, because I've had my 2 cups of coffee and I'm out of the house between 6:30 and 7 am. In the summer, when I take my time with my coffee (a great appetite supressant) I usually don't eat until 11 or 11:30, and just have the 2 meals.

2. I really enjoy cooking when I have time for it. As a matter of fact, I just blogged about my next career; catering. If its a "rush" situation, for necessity only, I can take it or leave it. If there is time to be creative (I've never followed a recipe "to-the-letter" in my life, except for baking) it's enjoyable. As a matter of fact, all you family members out there, I'm planning on bringing back the Christmas party again. Keep December 20th open on your calendars!

3. Until my hubby was laid off from his job, I was the only cook in the family. When he had the time, and was taking over some of the household responsibilities, (as well he should!) he developed some "specialties". His favorite "medium" is soup; split pea, chili, chicken, turkey, beef barley, to name a few. He also makes goulash, a recipe of his mom's, and he has become quite the grill master. He has a great rub recipe he found on-line, and it's great for both pork and beef. He also rotisses a great turkey! He has even gotten so he can cook an entire meal and have all the components finished on time!

4. I have so many favorites! Here's one we just had a couple of weeks ago.

Shrimp Fried Rice

The key to good fried rice is to cook your rice at least 8 hours in advance. However you like to cook plain rice works fine; steaming or boiling. Another good way is to saute' the raw rice in a bit of oil, then add your liquid and a bit of stock base (I use chicken.) This imparts just a nice bit of flavor to the rice. When you finish cooking it, take the lid off, and let it cool to room temp, using a utensil to keep it from clumping. Cover and place in fridge until you are ready to assemble the dish. When ready, get all of your ingredients prepared.

1 bunch of green onions
garlic - lots!
red pepper flakes to taste
peas or peas & carrots, blanched to thaw
1 lb of fresh or defrosted shrimp, salad or cocktail sized
soy sauce
4 eggs, beaten (about 1 per every 1 1/2 cups rice)
any additional chinese veggies you can't live without
oil

Heat your wok or pan and add about 2 TBS oil. cook shrimp and remove if not already cooked. Add pepper flakes and heat. Add garlic and onions (reserve some onions for garnish) and cook about 1 minute. (don't burn it!) Add rice and heat through. When rice is hot, hollow out a space in the center of your wok, and pour in eggs. Scramble in center of wok until partially set, then fold into the rice. Continue cooking until eggs set (the hot rice will do a lot of it) Toss in cooked veggies and heat through. Add soy sauce to taste and voila!