Red Curry Shrimp

Feel free to make your own curry paste.  It’s really easy and willl be worth the effort.  Recipe to follow.

1 (14 oz.) can Coconut Milk (Regular or Lite), (divided)

1 1⁄2 Tbs. Red Curry Paste (see recipe below)

1 Tbs. brown sugar


2 kaffir lime leaves, minced (Or zest and juice of 1/2 lime)

1 lb. large shrimp, shelled and deveined

2 Tbs. fish sauce

1/4 cup basil, chopped

1/2 head cauliflower for rice

In a wok or heavy skillet heat half a can of the coconut milk. Stir in red curry paste and cook until well blended. Add the remaining coconut milk, brown sugar and kaffir lime leaves (or zest and juice) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add shrimp, and cook until shrimp are orange-pink in color, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in fish sauce and chopped basil.

Meanwhile, shred the cauliflower and place in a microwave safe bowl.  Add a few tabespoons of water and microwave covered for about 6 minutes.  Serve shrimp over the “rice”

Red Curry Paste

6-8 dried red chilis

1 stalk Fresh lemon grass OR 1 ts Dried lemon grass

5 Garlic cloves, peeled

3 md Shallots, peeled or about 1/2 medium onion

1 ts Kaffir lime zest OR Lemon zest

1 ts Galanga, fresh or dried* (or use ginger if you can’t find galanga)

Directions

Cut the chili peppers into small pieces & soak them in a cup of cold water for 15 minutes. Separate the seeds & discard them.

Place the prepared chilies into a mortar or food processor. Add the remaining ingredients & blend well until a thick paste, like peanut butter is formed. If the ingredients are too dry, add a few drops of cold water. Put the curry paste in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

* If using dried galanga, soak in cold water for 15 minutes.

Makes 1/2 cup

Ole Mexico!! Last stop

Ok, one last stop around the world.  Mexico!!  I love Mexican food.  I miss Fajitas N Ritas.  I love cheap margaritas and decent food to soak up the alcohol.  So it was an amazing experience to be able to do this again.

Tonight was Chicken with Lime dressing, avocado mash, and a blackbean and corn salsa.  All Gluten Free, all dairy, soy and other evil nasty for me free. Again I prepped most of this last night, so I could enjoy hanging out with my friend who came up with his cute little puggie.  The lime dressing came together pretty easily with only one war wound.  My DH stabbed himself on the ip of his pinkie with my Global knife.  OW!!  He was in charge of juicing the limes.  I was a bit disappointed as these particular limes were not really giving up the juice.  They were thick skinned as well.  After 4 limes I got enough to juice to work with.  I decided to marinate the chicken in most of the dressing overnight and leave just a bit for the avocado mash.  The salsa was also done last night so the flavors had a chance to mix all together.

I made several modifications to the recipe.  The first was the marinating.  This called for 10 minutes.  No way.  Meat needs longer than that. The second was I actually forgot about the peppers and the lemon juice.  The funny thing was, no one missed it in the least, including me.  The avocado mash needed serious help.  The avocados were at the perfect point of ripeness.  They scooped right out of the shells and were pretty easy to mash all up.  I put the rest of the dressing in, thinking we were all set.  Nope - the recipe as it stood was bland.  It was really missing something.  I played around with it, adding salt, pepper and more lime juice (sweetened lime juice).  In the end I got it, but I think a bit more cilantro would make it dazzle. 

Oh yes, and the margaritas. :D Cocktails can be a bit of a challenge.  Some people are fine with grain-based alcohol, others, despite the distillation, cant tolerate them at all.  I do better with the potato vodkas than I do the grain based, for example.  But then there’s tequila.  White 100% blue agave tequila.  Mix that with some Cointrea and Rosa’s lime juice.  I’m a purist at heart so to me, that’s a margarita (unless you dd some awesome bitters or sour mix), but feel free to use Mr & Mrs T’s.  It’s gluten free. 

The dinner was really fabulous.  The salsa was well blended in flavour, so that was no issue.  Chicken was juicy and tender and the avocado really set everything off.  I konw this sounds complicated, but honestly, it was a snap to throw together.

The chicken recipe came from the SBD cookbook and the salsa came from my WW’s Cook it Quick cookbook.  Enjoy!

Chicken with Lime Dressing

For the dressing/marinade:

1/3 cup fresh lime juice (That took about 4 limes for me.  YMMV)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 Tbsp chopped scallions (green onion)

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (you can use other oil)

1 tsp sugar substitute

1/2 tsp salt

For the chicken:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2” thickness (I honestly didn’t bother - this just helps make it cook quicker)

2 medium avocados, peeled and pitted (I used 3 of the smaller black ones)

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp picante sauce

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil


1 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)

2 Tbsp gluten free flour (optional)

To make the dressing, combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl.

If you are marinating for a while, put the chicken in a ziplock bag with 3 tablespoons of the dressing.  Let marinade for at least 2 hours up to 24 hours.  Otherwise, place the chicken in a large glass dish with 3 tablespoons of the dressing.  Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

In a medium sized bowl, mash the avocados with 2 tablespoons of the dressing.  Stir in the lemon juice and the picante sauce.  Reserve the remaining dressing.

Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet.  Add the pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for 6 minutes, or until the peppers are tender and lightly browned.  Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Remove to a large bowl and add the almonds, if using.

Remove the chicken from the dressing and if desired, pat dry and sprinkle both sides of the chicken with flour.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook for 6 minutes each side or until done.  Place chicken on 4 serving plates and equally divide the pepper mixture, sprinkling over the chicken.  Drizzle the reserved dressing over each serving.  Serve with the mashed avocado.

Blackbean and Corn Salsa

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained (or the equivalent of dried beans that have been soaked and cooked til tender)

1 (10 oz) box frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 tomato, coarsely chopped

1 red onion, thinly sliced (I personally caramelized the onion - I don’t like raw onion)

1 (11 oz) jar GF salsa (any of your favorites that are gluten free)

1/3 cup red wine vinegar (I would throttle back on this - it’s really a bit much.  I ended up adding some Splenda to cut the tang)

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Combine everything and let sit for at least 15 minutes.  Serve.

Next stop - Vietnam

Tonight I was ready for a light meal.  I knew we were doing the Lemon Chicken tonight.  I had the chicken marinating last night and the nuoc cham made, all I had to do tonight was prep the salad and cook the chicken.  The chicken was gorgeous!  It was definitely high ranking in my favorites.  There was such a play of flavors with the chicken, the lemon, and garlic with the sugar, the cilantro, lettuce and green onion, the spice and heat of the dipping sauce and the cleansing of the cucumber.  YUM!!  All of it practically danced in your mouth.  The only thing I wasn’t keen on was the pea shoots.  They tasted like grass to me.  Maybe if they were blanched or something but in their straight out of the garden taste, they were not that nice for me.  I’ll admit - I’m picky when it comes to stuff like sprouts or shoots.  I really don’t like most of them because they taste of grass (at least raw).  So next salad, those will definitely be omitted.  The chicken recipe came from the 15 Minute low Carb Recipe book I have.  They only marinate for a few minutes, but I just can’t do that.  I love the intensity of the flavor (not to mention the tenderness) of meat that marinates for hours, even days.  But if you don’t mind that, feel free to marinate on the spot.  The salad recipe I found online somewhere (lost the bookmark to it unfortunately.)  I made some variations.  I diced the chicken up as it was better over the salad that way.  Plus I added several dashes of red pepper to the nuoc cham.  I wanted it to be spicy and have some bite to it.  Feel free to leave that out if it’s too hot or too spicy.

Vietnamese Lemon Chicken

1 1/2 lbs (750g) boneless skinless chicken (your choice of white or dark - I used breasts as they were on sale)

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp lemon juice (I just used the juice of a whole lemon and the zest)

2 tsp garlic

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Slenda (or sugar if you prefer the carbed up version)

2 tsp fish sauce (nuoc mam)  (i’ll admit - I used more)


1/2 tsp pepper

Oil

Nuoc Cham (see below)

If time permits, combine the everything save the oil and the nuoc cham and let marinate overnight.  Also, if you can, make the nuoc cham the night before just to get the flavors blended together.  If you are pressed for time, pound each piece of chicken until it is 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick.  Put them on a plate.

Mix together the lemon, garlic, splenda, fish sauce and pepper aand pour the mixture evenly over the chicken.  Turn the chicken so that all sides are coated.  Heat 1 or 2 Tbsp oil in a heavy skillet and add the chicken.  Saute 4 to 5 minutes each side, or until cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, toss together the nuoc cham - see below, but this takes no time at all to put together.

In the last minute or so of cooking, pour the lemon juice mixture remaining on the plate into the skillet, turning the chicken once again to make sure it’s all coated.  After a minute or so, remove from heat.  Serve with a little pool or a bowl of the nuoc cham to dip the chicken in.

Nuoc Cham (Spicy dipping sauce)

2 Tbsp fish sauce (I was a bit liberal with this)


2 Tbsp lime juice (I just used a whole lime)

1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar and again, I was a bit generous with the pour)

3 Tbsp Splenda

1/2 tsp minced garlic or 1 clove, crushed

1 tsp chili garlic paste

several dashes red pepper (optional)

Simply mix everything in a small dish.

Vietnamese Green Salad

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar or white rice vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

¼ teaspoon superfine (caster) sugar (I used Splenda for this)

4 cups oak leaf lettuce leaves—washed, dried and roughly torn (I ended up using escarole, as it’s what they had at the store)

1 oz (30g) snow pea sprouts

1 scallion—thinly sliced on the diagonal

15 thinly sliced rounds of cucumber—cut in half


2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves (I was generous with this and I’m glad I was.  It’s a great flavor enhancer in this)

MIX together the fish sauce, vinegar and sugar in a bowl until well combined (or shake together in a screw-top jar). PLACE all remaining ingredients, except the dressing, in a salad bowl. POUR the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine just before serving.

Balsamic Vinegrette

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp dired thyme

1/4 tsp salt


1/8 tsp pepper

2 tsp dried basil (or rosemary)

1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional)

1/4 tsp onion powder (optional)

1 tsp Splenda (or sweetener of choice)

Mix everything together.  Store in an airtight container, or clean salad dressing jar.

Steak Rub

2 tsp flour (any kind will do, I use tapioca)

2 tsp salt (sea salt if you have it)

5 Tbsp course ground pepper

1/2 tsp oregano (or italian seasoning)

4 tsp garlic powder

4 tsp onion powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp beef stock base (granulated)

Mix all together and store in an airtight container.

This is an awesome steak rub.  It can be a bit spicy, so feel free to throttle back on the pepper a bit.

Soy Sauce Substitution

2 cups low sodium beef broth

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon molasses

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger


1 dash black pepper

1 dash garlic powder

1 dash onion powder

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and boil uncover until reduced to 1/2 cup.  Store in refrigerator. Stir/Shake before using. (2-4 servings)

Found this on Recipezaar.com and thought it was a great replacement for soy sauce. 

Nutritional info per serving - 11 calories, 0 Fat, 3g carb