Pre- Tsunami Meal. Orange Shrimp

Well, it's been a while.  So long in fact that I'm not single anymore.  That's ok.  Part of starting this blog was to record my random meals and projects and luckily I found someone who A) will eat my random suppers and B) is pretty good at throwing together a random meal himself.

I am trying to experiment with a bit more spice and some Asian flavors.  Another focus is on vegetarian and gluten free cooking since my boyfriend is on board with that.

Last weekend we had a tsunami warning.  Apparently this is something I need to get used to.  Right as we were finishing up our delicious meal the sirens went off.  Good timing.

I used a recipe for Spicy Orange Shrimp from Cooking Light magazine.  I only made a few adjustments.

  

1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp (I used frozen and counted out 6 per person)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup fresh orange juice (I used the juice and segments from one orange)

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (Tamari for gluten free)

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (I used coconut vinegar)

1 tablespoon chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek) (Sriracha)

2 tablespoons canola oil (Coconut Oil)

1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger

3 garlic cloves, minced (Didn't have the second time around)

1/3 cup chopped green onions

Preparation

Defrost shrimp if frozen and dry with a kitchen towel.  Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch; toss well to coat. Set aside.

Combine juice, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and chile paste, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced ginger and garlic to pan; stir-fry for 15 seconds or until fragrant. Add shrimp mixture; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add juice mixture and onions; cook 2 minutes or until sauce thickens and shrimp are done, stirring frequently. Serve immediately.

I served this once with white basmati rice and another time over mung bean threads that we cooked in a little bit of vegetable bouillon.  We also quickly steamed some bok choy, green peppers and carrot threads with garlic and soy sauce to serve on the side and had browned some sliced Japanese eggplant with coconut oil.  Everything was finished off with some toasted sesame seeds.  You can really experiment with these veggies.  We have been getting a CSA box from Hawaiian Chef so this is what we needed to use up.  

Overall this was quick, inexpensive and felt like a fancy dinner.  I'm adding to my go-to's although the mung bean threads can be a bit gelatinous so not great for date night.

sunday lunch

Today was one of those overcast days and it is now past 5 o'clock and I am still not out of my pjs. That's okay I got a lot done today.  I made lunch from items that needed using. I made roasted cherry tomatoes with whole wheat pasta and roasted garlic.  I would put up my own picture if I had charged my camera.  Oh well...This is one of my favorite recipes.  It is especially good for the summer time when you are up to your ears in little tomatoes.  


This is what they look like when they come out of the oven-minus the skewer.   You can use those that look all shriveled up and they taste just as good.  I just poured the pint of tomatoes into an oven safe dish that I had cranked up to 450.  I added a dash of sunflower oil, pinch of seasalt and dried rosemary.  Then I went upstairs and forgot about them until I smelled them.  You can't really mess these up- unless you really forget about them and come back hours later to black nuggets. I turned off the oven and decided that I wanted some roasted garlic to go along with it so I threw three cloves onto the pizza stone that was already hot and forgot about them too.  I never turned the oven back on and when I opened the door a bit later they were nice and soft.  Boil up whatever pasta you have on hand and you have yourself a delicious and light lunch. I really do love maintenance free cooking.  The creativity is endless.  You can add tuna, zucchini, capers, quinoa whatever you happen to have on hand that needs using.  Experiment.  Tell us how you adapt this meal to make it your own.