Sweet-hot Coconut Shrimp

This recipe looks DELICIOUS. I can't wait to try it out. I got it from a Sunset Magazine. Unfortunately you have to be a member to view their recipes online. How snooty. So I've typed this in for all of us to enjoy.

Sweet-hot Coconut Shrimp

Prep and Cook Time: About 40 minutes, plus at least one hour to marinate shrimp

Makes: 8-10 small plate servings

• 1 lb. shelled, deveined shrimp (21 to 31 per lb.), rinsed and well drained
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• Sweet-hot chili sauce (recipe follows)
• 2 cups thinly sliced English cucumber

1. In a bowl, mix shrimp, coconut milk, and 2 tbsp. sweet-hot chili sauce. Cover and chill at least one hour and up to one day.

2. Thread shrimp onto 8 to 10 soaked wooden skewers. Place on a rack in a 10-by 15-in. broiler pan. (I think these would be good on the grill too.)

3. Broil shrimp 3 to 4 inches from heat, turning once, until shrimp are opaque but still moist-looking in center of thickest part (cut to test), 5 to 6 minutes.

4. Arrange the cucumber slices on a platter.  Set shrimp on top. Drizzle about 3 more tbsp. chili sauce over shrimp. Serve shrimp hot or cool with remaining chili sauce to add to taste.

Sweet-hot Chili Sauce

In a 1-to 2-qt. pan, mix 1 cup rice vinegar, 2/3 cup sugar, 1 tbsp. minced garlic, 1 1/4 tsp. red chili flakes, and 2 tbsp. Asian fish sauce (nuoc man or nam pla) or 1/2 tsp. salt. Boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is reduced to about 3/4 cup, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool. Makes about 3/4 cup.

Veggie Veggie Veggie!

Do you want your family, or yourself to eat more vegetables? Do you feel like you don't have the time, or know how to cook a good side dish of vegetables? Well look no further than Veggie Veggie Veggie! My brother Rich taught me this recipe. It's delicious, cheap and healthy. It does take some forethought though. You'll need to roast (bake) the vegetables for about 50 minutes, but it takes 5 minutes to throw it all together. If you did it first thing when you came home, and then spent that hour doing other stuff, you'll have a vegetable dish that is no hassle and well worth the wait. It also re-heats BEAUTIFULLY. So make extra, and have some for several nights. It's incredibly delicious, and guilt-free to snack on.

All you will need is:

• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Basil (or any herb you like)
• Vegetables!! My favorites for the dish are: carrots, broccoli and potatoes. Zucchini is also awesome, but you can literally use anything.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  If you want to stick with the time saving technique, then do what I do, and buy the packets of pre-washed baby carrots and pre-washed and pre-cut broccoli.  If you want to go gourmet, then use full-size vegetables cut to any size you wish. The bigger the chunks the more 'gourmet' the dish looks. 

Make sure you cut all vegetables to approximately the same size, so that they all cook at the same rate.  I prefer to economize and cut my vegetables into smaller pieces; They cook faster, and for parents with small children, they are easy to eat.  For the potatoes, my brother Rich recommends new or red potatoes, because you can easily leave the skin on and it tastes delicious. I have to admit that I use regular russet potatoes and leave the skin on. I like how it tastes, and so does Eric.

There are no 'amounts' to Veggie Veggie Veggie. Just add an equal amount of each vegetable, chopped to about the same size. Throw all of the vegetables into a mixing bowl and add olive oil. Add enough oil to make sure that the vegetables are lightly coated. You don't want them to stick to the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste, add any herbs you'd like; I use basil.

Mix well. Put in a pan. The pan you see in the picture is my only, and biggest pan. In a perfect world, you would spread the veggies out so that they weren't piled up on each other. Unfortunately on a boat, I don't have that luxury, and have to cook the vegetables longer in order to get the same amount of food I want to eat as I would in a regular 13 x 9 pan.

Bake on 400 for approximately 40-50 minutes. Depending on your oven, the size of the vegetables, and how high you stacked them, you'll need to cook them longer or shorter. The best way to tell if things are done is by sticking a fork in the potatoes. If it goes in easily, you're done. Potatoes take awhile, and it's very hard to overbake them, but very easy to underbake them, so take your time, and make sure they're cooked through.

I know the pan I'm using in the picture isn't very glamorous, but it works great! Enjoy!

Savoy Cabbage Gratin

I got this recipe from an article in Yoga Journal, and they got it from Georganne Brennan's book, Great Greens.  The recipe makes 4 servings, so I double everything, because I love having leftovers. Enjoy!

Savoy Cabbage Gratin

Makes 4 Servings

* I make this with Swiss chard and kale, but you can use any greens you have on hand

1 large yellow onion

4 tbsp butter, plus 2 teaspoons

1 head Savoy cabbage, about 2 pounds

1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsps each freshly grated Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses

* Use any type of cheese you want to experiment with here,

  next time I'm using Feta

3 tbsps dry breadcrumbs

1. Cut the onion in half lengthwise, then slice it into the thinnest slices possible.

2. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet with a tightly fitting cover, melt 4 tbsps of the butter over medium heat.  When it foams, add the onions, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pan, letting the onions sweat, stirring them occasionally, until they are nearly dissolving.

3. Cut the cabbage into very thin slices, add add them to the onions.  Fitting them all in the pan will seem impossible, but it will wilt considerably. Put the cover on and cook until the cabbage has wilted, about 10 to 15 minutes. remove the cover and continue to cook, stirring, until the cabbage is soft and translucent, another 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

5. with 1 tsp butter, grease a baking dish, and set aside.

6. Sprinkle the salt, pepper and flour over the the greens, and stir. Increase the heat to high, stirring still, then add the milk, a little at a time, continuing to stir, creating a sauce for the vegetables.   

7. When it has thickened, in about 5 minutes, spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish.  Mix the cheeses and breadcrumbs together and scatter over the surface. Dot with the remaining butter, and bake until the top is crusty and golden and the edges are bubbling, about 20 minutes.

8. Serve hot from the serving dish.