JGE 23 – Shrimp and White Cheddar Grits

Good Day,

And I am back.

I thought I was going to attempt my hand at Stir-Fried Chinese Egg Noodles with Shrimp and Asian Greens for supper tonight. I had already thawed out a pound of shrimp. And in keeping with Mother Hubbard I went to the pantry cupboard to search out some Chinese Egg Noodles.

Well staring me right in the face was a box of Quaker Quick Grits and right beside was a bag of Aunt Jemima Old Fashioned Grits. I had bought both at some point when I thought I would be somewhat adventurous. I think that I have tried to cook grits about twice in my life.

It then hit me, as I heard my sister softly challenging me, (from about 600 miles away), to try my hand at some Shrimp and Grits. Why the hell not? I thought I would try something a bit different from my go-to Asian stir-fry.

Of course I went on line and I did a “Shrimp and Grits recipe” search. Results tendered equaled 527,000 possibilities.

I read through a number and did some extraneous clicking and searching and I thought that I could pull off my version of a Shrimp and Cheese Grits recipe.

My ingredients –

For the Grits – 1 cup Aunt Jemima Old Fashioned Grits, (she definitely beat out Quaker Quick Grits); 2 cups Half and Half; 2 cups Chicken Broth; 2 tablespoons butter; sea salt and freshly ground pepper; 4 ozs of White Sharp Cheddar Cheese.

For the Shrimp – I lb. Shrimp; 2 tablespoons Butter; 2 tablespoons bacon grease; 1 onion; 4 small cloves of garlic; 2 tablespoons Parsley; freshly ground pepper; and 1 teaspoon of my homemade Scotch Bonnet relish.

I cooked the grits mixture for about 18 minutes and the shrimp and ingredients for about 7.

White Cheddar Cheese Grits and Spicy Shrimp decorated with some Cherry Tomatoes.

Damn was that good. And it was so good, that I would have to say that my sister is right… damn right.

I enjoyed and Jim's gotta eat.

Jim

JGE 22 - Scotch Bonnet Relish - Hot!!!

Good Day,

Well yesterday I completed the second harvest of my Scotch Bonnet pepper plants. Thank you very much J and B. To date I have harvested about four dozen peppers.

A new batch of Red Scotch Bonnet Relish has been concocted.

Scotch Bonnets (about 2 dozen), 2 large cloves of garlic, I red onion, 1 yellow onion, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, ½ cup of vinegar. All blended in my food processor…and my lips are burning. The purple red of the red onion created the orange color.

An earlier batch, Yellow Scotch Bonnet Relish, was brewed with about 2 dozen Scotch Bonnets, 1 yellow onion, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of vinegar and ½ cup of vinegar.

There’s something about the Scotch Bonnets that just make the relishes so, so good.

Scotch Bonnets are hot. They have a heat rating of 100,000-350,000 Scoville Units. In comparison most Jalapeño peppers range somewhere between 2,500 and 8,000.

It looks like there is going to be another harvest in the next couple of weeks.

Guess I am gonna lead-line my stomach. But the relish is so good. Really good!

Jim's gotta eat.

Jim

JGE 21 – Supper Tonight – Spicy Chicken, Sautéed Bok Choy with Mushrooms, Steamed Rice, and Banana Cake

Good Day,

Well guess what? Jim's gotta eat.

I was feeling extremely “chef-analogous”. And today, as it is getting colder in this State of endless sunshine, I noticed that the bananas on one of bunches that I had cut were getting ripe. I immediately thought Banana Cake. Forget the bread I wanted cake. Let me eat cake.

I discovered a recipe, a very simple one on a search of the Internet. Simple with a limited amount of ingredients: Bananas, of course, Eggs, Sugar, Butter, Baking Powder, Flour… and I added some Vanilla Extract. Mixed then 55 minutes in a 350° F oven. Damn, it is a good looking Bundt cake, from scratch.

My entrée, Spicy Chicken with Peanuts. Ingredients: Oil, Garlic, Shallots, Green Chilies, Dry-Roasted Peanuts, Chicken, and Green Onion. Sauce: Soya Sauce – Sweet and Regular, Fish Sauce, Sugar, and Water. Mise-en-place and then prepped my wok.

Side of Sautéed Bok Choy with Mushrooms. Ingredients: Baby Bok Choy, Oyster and White Mushrooms, Green Onions, Garlic, Red Pepper Flakes, Salt and Pepper, Oil, Coconut Milk.

Tandem woks.

Dueling woks. Ambidextrous.

Entrée and side served over steamed white rice.

Dessert – Homemade Banana Cake with Strawberry Sauce and Coffee.

I am satiated, and here's three for one.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

JGE 20 – Malaysian Chicken Curry – My Twist

Good Day,

I really had a hankering for some sort of curried chicken dish last night. I had some thawed out chicken breast and also some thighs just staring at me on the third shelf in the refrigerator.

I sometimes check Rasa Malaysia – Easy Asian Recipes website for ideas. I recently came across one which appears to have just been posted. And I really do like this site.

And of course I tweaked the list of ingredients and their quantities somewhat based on what I had in my kitchen: Onion, Oil, Yellow Curry Powder and Red Curry Paste, Chicken – boneless breast and thigh, Chicken Broth, Potatoes, Hard-boiled Eggs, Coconut Milk and Salt.

I fried the chopped onions in the oil and then added the curries. Next I threw in the cut up chicken. I used boneless and skinless. After a couple of minutes I added the chicken broth and brought the mixture to a boil. I then reduced the combination to simmer and added the potatoes and the hard boiled eggs. Yes and in this case the chicken went first.

I set the timer and took The Pack for a walk. We try to walk a mile every early evening. Usually takes somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes.

I added the coconut milk. I heated up some leftover rice and put everything into a bowl.

Excellent. And so simple.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim