Shrimp with Garlic and Cilantro

Here's an easy and very good recipe from Taste of Beirut.  Like usual, I couldn't find the correct ingredients, namely, the large raw shrimp, so I had to sub with medium cooked shrimp.  This was fine; I cooked the herb/oil sauce first and then just added the thawed shrimp at the end for 2 minutes to warm through.  You don't want to overcook shrimp (or any seafood) or it will turn rubbery.  We had this with steamed veggies and Parmesan Orzo.  Rice would also be good, to soak up the juices.  I reduced the olive oil, but the shrimp seemed to release a lot of liquid, because there was quite a bit of tasty "sauce" to go around.  

PS:  Don't skip squeezing fresh lemon juice over your shrimp; it really makes it!

Shrimp with Garlic and Cilantro

adapted from Taste of Beirut

1 lb large shrimps, peeled and de-veined*

1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

5-6 cloves of garlic, peeled, chopped and mashed in a mortar with a teaspoon of salt

1 bunch of cilantro, leaves chopped 

1 lemon, quartered

1 tsp coriander (optional) or hot tabasco sauce

1.  In a large skillet over medium heat, pour the olive oil; add the shrimp after 5 minutes and toss for a couple of minutes until pink on all sides. Transfer the shrimps to a bowl and fry the garlic and cilantro for a few seconds in the olive oil until fragrant. Place the shrimps back in the skillet and toss to coat evenly with the herb. Add the chili sauce or coriander if you like toss a bit and serve hot with quartered lemons.

*If using frozen shrimp, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.  If using fully-cooked shrimp, add the shrimp at the end just to warm through.  (So fry the garlic and cilantro until fragrant, then add the shrimp until heated through.)

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Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Soup)

This summer, in the States, we met up with my sister and her husband and we went out to a Thai restaurant together.  I've made some Thai food at home here and there, but have never been to an actual restaurant before.  Anyway, we ordered 4 or 5 things and shared everything.  Everything was supremely delicious, and one of my fave things of the evening was this soup.  I LOVED it!!  It was so good; such a delicious mix of flavors.  It was perfect.  

  

I knew I'd need to make this when I got home, and I also knew I wouldn't be able to find ingredients needed here, to make it.  So in the States, we stopped at an Asian food store and bought dried galangal (Thai ginger), dried red Thai chili peppers, Thai red chili paste, and some good-quality Thai coconut milk.  Last Friday at my local grocery store, there was fresh lemongrass!!!  I made this right away.  Because I used dried chili peppers and reduced the red chili paste, my soup doesn't have a lovely reddish tint.  It still tastes wonderful though.  Next time, I'm going to add more chilies and the right amount of chili paste.  

I love the blog I found this recipe on, The Daring Gourmet.  I'm planning on trying more recipes from her, some more Thai ones, and others.  I just ordered some spices from Penzey's so I'll be ready to make more Thai (and other ethnic) food in the future.  

(Note:  I made this again April 2014 and added more red curry paste, making it more red and more spicy!  I added some new pics.  My 2-year old LOVES this soup; he can't get enough.)

Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Soup)

adapted from The Daring Gourmet

1 /2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1½ tablespoon Thai red curry paste (can be found in Asian markets)

3 cups strong chicken stock

3 cups unsweetened coconut milk

1 large lemongrass stalk, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

6 thin slices fresh galangal or ginger

2 Thai chilies, seeded and cut in thin slices (use less if you prefer it less spicy)

2 tablespoons palm sugar or light brown sugar

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce

1 lb chicken breast, cut into thin strips

1 cup white button mushrooms, sliced thin

¼ cup fresh basil leaves, preferably Thai basil if you have it, thinly sliced

Cilantro, and/or basil leaves for garnishing

1.  Warm the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the curry paste, stirring until fragrant. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger, chilies, lime juice, and fish sauce and bring it to a simmer, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken strips and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the mushrooms and the ¼ cup basil and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add salt to taste if needed. Remove the lemongrass and galangal or ginger and serve immediately, garnished with fresh basil leaves or cilantro.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

The Black Forest Region (Germany)

After our trip to the US ended, we flew right to Germany to visit my parents and do some sight-seeing in the Black Forest.  We spent four days in the Black Forest in a charming little vacation home.  We went on a boat ride (above), saw a famous Black Forest House (below).  

 

Across the street from our vacation home was this charming little chapel.  We arrived on a Sunday and the bells were beautiful.  

We took a train to the nearest big city (Freiburg) and walked around for a while.  We came upon a beautiful market by the cathedral where they were selling fruits, veggies, olives, spices, beans, meats, cheeses, mushrooms, and even pickles!  We had to stop and buy some berries, and then we went back and got some more because the kids ate them up in less than 5 minutes.  (Fresh berries are not very abundant on our tiny island!  I think that's my son's hand in the pic, gesturing about how much he wants the blackberries.)

We took a cable car up to one of the highest points in the Black Forest and hiked around the top for a while.  It was pretty cold on the top, but beautiful purple flowers and wild blueberries were growing!  

We stopped at a quaint little town on our way home from that and saw these guys marching and signing through the town.  It was quite a sight.  I was only able to snap this pic from the car.

A sobering sight in the city of Freiburg were these metal squares in the sidewalks, pictured below, called Stumbling Stones.  These squares are situated outside of apartment buildings and they contain the names of Jews who were forcibly removed from these apartments during WWII.  If you click on the photo, you can see a larger view.  Their names are pictured, as well as their date of birth, and the date and location of deportation.  The name on the left, Henny, says he was deported to Auschwitz in 1943 and also assassinated that same year.  The name on the right, Rosa Bloch, says she was deported in 1940 but escaped and fled to the USA in 1941!  I would love to know her story.  

Ending on a happier note, here is a pic of a beautiful waterfall we hiked to (well, it was mostly a flat hike... lol).  This was a beautiful area and was being enjoyed by many.  We always enjoy visiting Germany; it's a beautiful country with so much to offer.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Steak Quesadillas

We're back from our vacation now, and I'll post more pics of that later.  We left our mini laptop with many of our summer pics at a hotel in Germany.  It will be returned to us, but our mail takes a while here.  I do have some Germany pics on my camera, but I haven't downloaded them yet.  In the States, at the end of our trip there, we visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and then spent a few days in Vegas before flying to Germany.  

Before our trip, about two months ago, I made these quesadillas with some leftover steak my husband brought home from a work lunch out to a restaurant.  The steak had been marinated in wine and garlic, I think, like typical Portuguese restaurant beef.  There was a ton of it, so I used some in these quesadillas.  The results were very tasty!  These would be good with leftover beef or chicken, even pork.

Steak Quesadillas

by What a Dish!

leftover cooked steak, cut into bite-sized pieces

shredded cheddar or pepper-jack cheese

flour tortillas

cooking spray

1.  Preheat a large griddle.  Lay out one of two tortillas and cover half of each with shredded cheese and chopped steak.  

2.  Fold each in half, and cook for a few minutes on each side until browned and cheese is melted (or however you cook quesadillas).  

3.  Serve with salsa, sour cream, and/or chopped fresh cilantro.

 **This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Goblin Valley & Arches National Park

Part of our US trip this summer that we really enjoyed was our visit to Goblin Valley State Park in Utah.  I visited here once when I was little and still remembered how fun it was.  Our kids loved it too- they said this was their favorite place we saw this summer while in the States.  It was hot, even though we arrived at 9am, but they had fun anyway.  I found shade for myself and the baby while they played and ran around.  Make sure you bring a lot of water if you visit here!

The kids were able to climb up and on some of the "goblins".  We didn't let them play hide and seek though, in fear of them getting lost in this very hot climate.  (PS:  The Killers filmed their vid for "Human" here!!  Vid at the bottom of this post.)

The day before Goblins, we went to Arches National Park, which is less than an hour away from Goblins.  Arches was beautiful, but so hot.  There is hardly any shade there, unless you're in the shadow of an arch.  We took a short hike to see two of them side by side (Windows Arches) and saw Delicate Arch from over a mile away, so it looked tiny.

One of the Windows Arches.

Delicate Arch from a distance.

  **This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Five-Minute Salsa

This salsa is quick and easy and also convenient to make, since the recipe calls for canned tomatoes.  With the lime juice and cilantro in there, it still tastes very fresh.  Wonderful with tortilla chips!

Five-Minute Salsa

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

1/2 small red onion, peeled and quartered

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1/4 cup drained jarred pickled jalapenos

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 garlic cloves, peeled

salt, to taste

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

1.  In the bowl of a food processor (or a blender), pulse the onion, cilantro, jalapenos, lime juice, garlic and salt until coarsely chopped.

2.  Add the drained tomatoes and pulse until combined. Don’t overprocess in this step if you want your salsa to remain chunky – just give it a few good 1-second pulses until everything is mixed. Place the salsa in a fine mesh strainer or sieve and drain briefly, if desired- I skipped this. Transfer to a bowl and serve. (The salsa can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.)

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Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese

I loved this version of the grilled cheese sandwich.  I made these quite a while ago; before I went on vacation.  They are as delicious as the other jalapeno popper dishes I've made (all from the Closet Cooking blog!)  

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese

adapted from Closet Cooking

makes 1 sandwich

• 2 jalapeno peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded (or use pickled slices)
• 2 slices sour dough bread
• 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
• 1-2tablespoons jack and cheddar cheese, shredded
• 
  
• 1.  Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Butter the outside of each slice of bread and spread the cream cheese on the inside. Sprinkle half of the cheese on the cream cheese of one slice of bread, top with the jalapenos, the remaining cheese and finally the other slice of bread.
• 2.   Add the sandwich and cook (turning once) until golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 2-4 minutes per side.  

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