March 9th, 2007 by alice
Tags: Cilantro, Dressing, Ginger, Salad, Sauteed, Shrimp
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4cupcilantro or Italian parsley, plus additional for garnish(about 1/2 bunch, stems removed)
- 1clovegarlic
- 1tablespoonpickled ginger
- 1tablespoonsoy sauce
- 1tablespoonrice wine vinegar
- 1/2teaspoonchili oil
- 1/4cupextra-virgin olive oil
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 2tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2lbmedium shrimp, cleaned and deveined(tails left on, about 16)
- 1clovegarlic, minced
- 1/4cuplime juice(from about 2 or 3 limes)
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 3largetomatoes
- 3avocados, pitted,peeled,and diced into 1/4 inch pieces
- 2tablespoonsfresh lemon juice
- 1English cucumber, peeled and diced into 1/4 inch pieces
DIRECTIONS
- Combine first 7 ingredients in a food processor and blend 30 seconds; scrape sides of bowl and blend 15 more seconds.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat.
- Cook shrimp 3 to 4 minutes, until just pink.
- Add garlic and lime juice and cook 30 more seconds.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove from pan and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil.
- Using a small, sharp knife, make an X on each tomato.
- Fill a medium bowl with ice water.
- Immerse tomatoes in boiling water 10 to 15 seconds, just until skin loosens.
- With a slotted spoon, remove tomatoes and drop into ice water.
- Peel skin; cut tomatoes in half and discard seeds.
- Dice into 1/4-inch pieces; set aside.
- Put avocado in a medium bowl and gently toss with lemon juice.
- Loosely pack 1/2 cup avocado into a 3-inch round cookie cutter, top with 1/2 cup tomato, and then add 1/2 cup cucumber, gently pressing each layer with a spoon.
- Carefully remove cutter.
- Repeat on each plate, and refrigerate until ready to use.
- (Alternate method: Gently mix salad ingredients and mound on plates.) Drizzle each tower with dressing, and add 2 shrimp.
- Garnish with cilantro sprigs.
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March 9th, 2007 by alice
Tags: Cranberry, Relish
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4cupbrown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/4cupmolasses
- 1/4cuphoney(use a rich flavored one if you can find it, mint, buckwheat, whatever, plus extra as needed)
- 2cupsfresh cranberries
- 1granny smith apples, cored,peeled if desired,and coarsely chopped
- 1largeorange, unpeeled,coarsely chopped,and seeded
- 1cupdried apricots, coarsely chopped
- 1lemon, zest of, grated or chopped
- 1lemon, juice of, including pulp,seeds removed
DIRECTIONS
- Combine all ingredients in a medium microwave-safe bowl.
- Microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes, and stir thoroughly.
- Repeat two more times for a total of 9 minutes, by which time the cranberries whould should have popped and the mixture should be close to boiling; if not, repeat one more time.
- Taste, and adjust sweetness with more honey.
- In the unlikely event that the relish is too sweet, add a little more lemon juice.
- The relish will probably be a little bit runny, at this point, but it will jell as it cools.
- Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled as an accompaniment to turkey or anything else.
- It’s also great with cream cheese on toasted bagels or English muffins.
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March 9th, 2007 by alice
Tags: Roasted, Soup, Tomato
INGREDIENTS
- 1tablespoonextra virgin olive oil
- 3lbs large ripetomatoes, cut in half crosswise
- 6mediumbell peppers, cut in half crosswise,ribs and seeds removed
- 2mediumvidalia onions, cut in half crosswise and peeled
- 2stalkscelery, chopped(no leaves)
- 4clovesgarlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 1/2teaspoonsodium-free seasoning(or to taste)
- 1teaspooncayenne pepper(or to taste)
- 2tablespoonssun-dried tomato paste
- 1tablespoontomato paste
- 4teaspoons choppedfresh basil
- 4teaspoons choppedchives
- 4teaspoons choppedoregano(if substituting dried herbs, use 1 teaspoon each)
- 1quarthomemade chicken brothor store boughtlow sodium chicken broth
DIRECTIONS
- In a bowl, toss together tomatoes, peppers, onions, celery, and garlic.
- Add pepper and salt-free seasoning to taste (add salt at when indicated, as it brings out the moisture).
- Place on a baking sheet.
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Roast until they start caramelizing and become soft, about 25 minutes.
- Cool, then discard the peels and seeds.
- Place the mixture in a food processor or blender with some of the chicken broth and pulse the purée to desired thickness.
- In a soup pot, combine the purée with the remaining chicken broth, sun dried tomato paste, tomato paste and cayenne pepper.
- Add half of the fresh herbs (if using dried herbs, add them all at this stage) and cook, stirring often, until just simmering.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkling each serving with the rest of the fresh herbs.
- Garnish with fresh or thawed frozen corn niblets, some fresh basil, cornbread crumble, thinly sliced artichokes or whatever garnish you like.
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March 9th, 2007 by alice
Tags: Gumbo, Okra, Shrimp, Tomato
INGREDIENTS
- 2lbsokra
- 1/4cupvegetable oil
- 2cups chopped peeled and seededfresh tomatoesor choppedcanned tomatoes
- 1cup choppedyellow onions
- 1cup choppedcelery
- 1 3/4teaspoonssalt
- 1/2teaspooncayenne
- 5bay leaves
- 1/2teaspoondried thyme
- 2quartsshrimp stockor water
- 2lbsmedium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- choppedparsley(to garnish)
- thinly slicedgreen onion tops(to garnish)
DIRECTIONS
- Wash the okra in cool water.
- Remove the caps and tips and cut into 1/4-inch rounds.
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Fry the okra, stirring constantly, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until most of the slime disappears.
- Add the tomatoes, onions, and celery and cook, stirring often, for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the okra and other vegetables are soft and the slime has completely disappeared.
- Add the salt, cayenne, bay leaves, thyme and water.
- Stir and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves and serve in deep bowls.
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March 9th, 2007 by alice
Tags: Lemon, Soup, Squash, Summer, Thyme
INGREDIENTS
- 2tablespoonsextra virgin olive oil
- 2largesweet onions, chopped
- 1leek, chopped
- 6clovesgarlic, chopped
- 6summer squash, trimmed and coarsely chopped(about three pounds)
- 4sprigslemon thyme, plus fresh sprigs for garnish(or 4 sprigs of thyme and 2 strips of lemon peel)
- 5cupssodium-free chicken broth
- 1/2teaspoonsalt
- 2-4tablespoonsfresh lemon juice
- hot pepper sauce
- parmesan cheese(to garnish)
- pine nuts(to garnish)
- lemons, zest of(to garnish)
DIRECTIONS
- In a 4-quart Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the onions, leek and garlic and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes or until onions are soft.
- Add the squash and lemon thyme and cook, stirring for 5 minutes.
- Increase to medium high heat; add the chicken broth and salt.
- Cook, partially covered, at a low boil for 20 minutes or until the squash is soft.
- Discard the thyme.
- Puree the soup in batches in a covered blender, then return to the Dutch oven and heat through.
- Add the lemon juice and hot pepper sauce to taste.
- Garnish the soup with shaved Parmesan, pine nuts, thyme sprigs and lemon zest.
- Serve hot.
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