Month: May 2007

Thai Curried Shrimp with Mushrooms

This is a recipe that I probably won’t be fixing for Laurie and I anytime soon. But it’s an old one and a good one that I loved as a bachelor.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoon stir-fry flavored or vegetable oil
12 oz. fresh white mushrooms, quartered (about 4 cups)
4 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced (about 11/2 cups)
2 cups fresh broccoli florettes
1/2 cup green onions, cut in 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 can (15 oz) unsweetened coconut milk
14 oz. frozen peeled shrimp (uncooked)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Directions:
In a large wok or skillet heat oil until hot. Add white and shiitake mushrooms; stir-fry until just softened, about 2 minutes. Add broccoli; stir-fry until nearly crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add green onions and curry powder; cook stirring frequently, until curry is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in coconut milk, shrimp, salt and red pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Serve over hot cooked rice, if desired.

Spinach Rollups

Well it’s been a while since I’ve posted any recipes and they’re starting to stack up.
Laurie and I have had some really good food over the last few weeks since our honeymoon.
It’s been fun coming home, cooking a meal and enjoying it together. We tried these Spinach Rollups last week and I really enjoyed them but she wasn’t a huge fan. I think the spinach, sour cream and bacon turned her off.
The sour cream blended with the mayo quite well and it wasn’t very noticeable to me but she noticed it and the bacon – which was quite strong.
I made them up pretty quickly and took the majority of them to our friends at the hospital and they all enjoyed them, although Jose’s mother said, “¿Dónde está la carne?”
Good point I said. So next time I try this out I might replace the bacon with chicken strips or chopped chicken and see how it goes.
Here’s the quick and easy recipe:

Ingredients:
9 Burrito Size Flour Tortillas – i used regular size tortillas and used 20 or so
1 (10 oz.) pkg. chopped Spinach thawed and well-drained
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 (8 oz.) container Sour Cream
1 bunch Scallions or Green Onions chopped
1 (1 oz.) pkg. Ranch Dressing mix
1 (3 oz.) jar Bacon Bits

Directions:
Combine spinach, mayonnaise, sour cream, green onions, dressing and bacon bits; spread in tortillas. Roll up jelly roll fashion; wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 4 to 6 hours. Cut into 1/2 inch-thick slices. (I cut the wraps in half rather than into slices)

Branch Davidians believe TTC new government conspiracy

The famed Branch Davidians, known for their 1993 standoff with the Feds outside Waco, are taking up a new battle against the Texas Department of Transportation.
The Davidians see the Trans Texas Highway as a governmental conspiracy, with the planned super-highway running right over the middle of their Mount Caramel.
The property is right in the middle of the TTC 10-mile study area.

“It’ll go right through our buildings, where we live, right through this place I am standing – going to be a swath right through on this corner that runs right through our wellness center, our museum and even our cemetery,” Charlie Pace, the groups new leader said. “It is going to miss that neighbor’s house over here and that neighbor’s house over there. I think that is pretty strategic.”
“This is where the Lord puts the end to it,” he said. “God is going to judge this nation once and for all. And this is where the judgment begins, right here. We were judged here; the government is going to be judged here. That’s what God is saying.”

Listen to the story from NPR’s All Things Considered.

Democrats and Republicans shady about war spending

ChristianConservative has thoughts on how both parties are using war funding to play politics.

Democrats offered President George W. Bush a deal Friday which would have set a non-mandatory deadline for withdrawal from Iraq. He shot it down…
Now, maybe I’m misreading this. I *hope* I’m reading it wrong. But did our top majority leaders in the House and Senate just offer to set a deadline for troop withdrawals, then use voluntary non-compliance as a bargaining chip for getting something else they wanted?
This makes no sense. What are they playing at?…
This seems like a purely political move — the Democrats finally setting a timetable, then saying, “Well, we have some other things we want, and if we get them you don’t have to actually follow this timetable.”
The goal, of course, is to turn around later and say, “We set a timeline, and you didn’t follow it.”…
Unfortunately, the Republicans are engaged in, well, doing the exact same thing:
“The White House chief of staff said Republicans had offered a proposal that was essentially what received 52 votes in the Senate this week. It would establish a series of standards for the Iraqi government to meet, and condition the flow of reconstruction funds on progress toward achieving the goals…
One side of the aisle is doing the right thing. Both are acting for poor motives, and both are going about it in the wrong way.
Democracy at its finest, right?