Kit's Jambalaya

 (serves 4, or 2 voracious fishermen)

2 T butter

Shrimp and sausage ready to go!

2 T olive oil

1 T special BA spice (or Emeril’s)

1 C long grain rice (uncooked)

½ C chopped onion

1 T minced garlic

2 cans Rotel

2 C chicken broth

1 C V8 (2 small cans)

½ to 1 C frozen, sliced okra (no okra?  use peas or zucchini or just do without--it will be fine)

8 oz wild caught shrimp (raw or cooked—peeled—about  10 big ones)

8 oz Polska kielbasa or andouille, sliced in bite size pieces—(these are already cooked) (about 2 sausages)

Salt and pepper if needed

Melt butter and oil in saucepan.  Add onion and garlic.  Sauté until cooked through.  Add rice.  Stir to coat and let sauté a bit (1 min or so to let it absorb flavors).  Add special spice, broth, V8, Rotel, and okra.  Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes.  Toss, then add shrimp and sausage. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning and serve.

onions and garlic in butter and oil.

bubbling broth!

Cooking til done!

Asian Shrimp Noodle--PHO

Problem:  

How to create a reasonably authentic Vietnamese Pho for Number 1 Son to make on his Alaskan salmon fishing expedition?

This picture below is of Mr. Artifact approving of the solution. And it must be good. 
He is wearing a Greek fisherman's cap! :)

Considerations:

Keeping in mind that boiling water on a boat is verboten and uber dangerous; knowing that fishermen don't have time, patience or stomach for rich foods that require retirement to the salon for brandy and cigars; understanding that nutrition, hydration and salt/electrolyte intake are essential for peak physical performance.

Viola!  I think I my be developing something that will work.

Mr. Artifact and I test drove this tonight, and it seemed "do-able", tasty and nutritious.  Of course, Mr. Artifact warned that if this resulted in his demise that he had not yet refilled the transmission fluid or oil on the Herbie, so no one should attempt to drive it in the event he expired.

Basics gathered: sauces, veg and noodles

Cut the veggies into smaller bite-sized piecs.

Important:  lime, garlic and the protein!

Main ingredients:

• about 12  raw or cooked shrimp (I prefer raw, cleaned and shelled--frozen section is great or catch them!)  You could substitute any meaty fish like salmon, or chicken or thinly sliced steak or pork.

• 6 oz mixed stir fry veg (broccoli, carrots, snow peas) from the refrigerator section.  You can get these fresh also, in which case you would chop up about 2 C total. . . or. . . go with a frozen mix of same variety.  (The grocery store fresh veg come bagged in 12 oz  packages.)  Make sure to chop into soup size pieces if they are large.

• 1 bundle Udon noodles (they come in a pack of 3 bundles)

• 4 C chicken broth (one of those big square boxed broths is about 4 C)

• 1 T peanut oil (or other clear vegetable oil)

• 1 t sesame oil

• 1 t chopped fresh garlic

• 1 T Korean hot sauce

• 2 T fish sauce

• 1 T soy sauce

• 1/2 t five spice mix

Garnish:

• 1/4 C chopped cilantro
• lime wedges
• 2 diced green onions on the diagonal
• (you could also add avocado!  I did not have any . . . alas!)

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Pre cooking tips: helpful and paranoid:

Getting ready for fishing or an extended picnic or just planning for the weekday? The noodles will last a week in your fridge once cooked.  YOU NEED TO DO THIS ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.  Why not do it on shore?.  This makes cooking so much easier if you can just pull out a baggie of pre-cooked noodles.

Here is how to do it:  when you are on shore, cook the Udon noodles, drain, cool, and put into a baggie for use on the boat.  Noodles cook for 12-13 minutes in lightly salted water.  Drain, cool (run under cool water) and bag.

a useless picture of noodles boiling.

cooked and bagged noodles for the chippie who is on the ball.

• chop up cilantro, green onions and quarter the limes.  Put in baggie  (These will last about 4 days.)
• chop up veg and the garlic and put into baggie (a 3-4 day window)
• shrimps should be frozen before taking on board unless you get them fresh.  If fresh, eat or freeze within 24 hours.Thawed/fresh shrimp last about 24 hours.  .. don't fart around with raw meat.  Freeze if it will be longer.

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Process:

• heat peanut/veg oil and sesame oil in large saucepan/pot 

• Saute veggies and garlic for 2 minutes until veggies start to color more deeply

• Turn OFF heat and add hot sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, and five spice

• Add shrimp (if raw. . . if they are precooked, add when you add noodles)

• Add chicken broth

• Heat to a simmer/slow boil

• Add noodles (and shrimp if it is already cooked)

• Continue to simmer/boil 1 minute

• Take off stove. . .let set 2 minutes

• Ladle into big mugs (you might want some tongs to grab out the noodles)

• Add cilantro and green onions (if you have avocado slices, now is the time to add them)

• Serve with extra hot sauce

• Enjoy!

The finished pho with garnishes.  YUM

Snap Pea Shrimp Salad with Mangos and Creamy Lemon Mango Vinaigrette

Snap peas, lettuce, onions, shrimp, peppers, and mangos.

This salad is perfect for a brunch or a light summer supper.  I made it recently with Number One Daughter for a brunch at her house on a hot day in Texas.   We  found similar recipes on line that all suggested a ginger dressing, which was too strong a flavor profile and created a confusing taste juxtaposition with the other more traditional brunch dishes that we served. Instead, we opted for mangos and lemon to lighten it more.   Easy to make and very refreshing, this salad would also be good sprinkled with some sunflower seeds.  Enjoy!

Serves 4-6 as a main dish, more as a side

Salad
1 head Boston lettuce or Romaine  (about 4 C of lettuce)
12 oz fresh snap peas
1 lb raw shrimp (small size, but not mini salad size), peeled and deveined
4 green onions, diced
1/2 mango, diced
1/2 C finely sliced red, orange or yellow sweet peppers (1 inch matchsticks)

Tear or cut up lettuce into large pieces. Set aside.    Heat 2 quarts water to  boiling in large saucepan.  Boil snap peas for 2 minutes, drain, then chill in ice water.  Set aside to cool.  In a separate saucepan heat more water to boiling and add shrimp.  Boil for 1 minute or  until done (don't overcook).  Drain shrimp and chill in separate ice bath.  Set aside to cool.*  When you are ready to compose salad, drain peas and shrimp, pat dry and toss all ingredients in a bowl.  Best to compose right before serving so that the mango doesn't water down the salad.  Serve with Lemon Mango Creamy Vinaigrette (below) on the side.

 Creamy Lemon Mango Vinaigrette
3 large lemons
2 T white wine vinegar
2 T diced cilantro
1/2 mango diced
1 t pureed garlic
2-3 T sugar to taste

1/4 C walnut oil
1/2 C light olive oil

salt  to taste

Into a blender, put the zest of one whole lemon and the juice of three lemons (about 1/2 C of juice).  Add vinegar, cilantro, mango, garlic and sugar.  Blend completely.  With blender running, slowly add the oils.  Taste and add salt to your liking.  Adjust with more lemon, vinegar, sugar or oil.  I like my dressing very tangy in order to make an impact on the salad.


*Note on boiling peas and shrimp:  I came across versions of this recipe that recommended boiling the snap peas for 2 minutes and then adding the shrimp for a final minute into the pot with the peas.  A couple cautions about that:  first, depending on the size of your shrimp, they may be underdone and cause you to then over boil your peas, resulting in limp peas.  Second, the peas will become somewhat shrimpy tasting.  You may want this.  I prefer to keep the flavors distinct, so the extra work of boiling 2 separate pots was worth it.