Shrimp New Orleans
Mom’s Shrimp New Orleans
Mom used to make this a lot when we were in university. Then, twenty years later, I served it to them when they were visiting us in Florida. Mom said “This is delicious! I want the recipe!” It was HER recipe I was using!
It is quick and very easy – it will make you LOOK like a good cook. And – every ingredient is available in Kuwait.
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup uncooked regular rice
2 Tablespoons butter
Melt butter, add other ingredients above and cook, stirring in large skillet for 5 minutes.
1 can Tomatoes (28 oz)
1 package Spaghetti sauce mix
Stir above into skillet, heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer about 25 minutes, until rice is tender.
1 can artichoke hearts (14 oz)
1 lb shrimp
Stir into rice mixture and cook for 5 minutes.
You can spice this up a little more if it is too bland for you. It easily feeds 6 people with a salad and garlic bread or dinner rolls.
St. Patrick’s Day, March 17
Even non-Irish around the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick was the saint who converted the majority of Irish to Christianity, and legend has it, made all the snakes leave Ireland.
People have parties, make Irish stew and soda bread, and drink beer colored green with food coloring.
And – they tell Irish jokes.
Here is one of my favorites:
Even God Enjoys A Good Laugh
There were 3 good arguments that Jesus could have been Black:
1. He called everyone “brother”
2. He liked Gospel
3. He couldn’t get a fair trial.
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:
1. He went into His Fathers business.
2. He lived at home until he was 33.
3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his mother was sure he was God.
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus could have been Italian:
1. He talked with his hands.
2. He had wine with every meal.
3. He used olive oil.
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus could have been a Californian:
1. He never cut his hair.
2. He walked around barefoot all the time.
3. He started a new religion.
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus could have been Irish:
1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.
But the most compelling evidence of all – 3 proofs that Jesus could have been a woman:
1. He fed a crowd at a moment’s notice when there was no food.
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn’t get it..
3. And even when he was dead, He had to get up because there was more work to do.
You can find an entire website devoted to Irish Jokes by clicking here.
Fat Impairs Fertility?
Today’s (March 10) Kuwait Times
Fat lovers face slimmer chance of parenthood
PARIS: Love handles might help couples get a better grip but all that excess fat could dampen their chances of having a baby, a new study has shown. Researchers monitoring nearly 48,000 couples in Denmark between 1996 and 2002 found that when both parents were clinically obese, the risk of waiting more than a year before conceiving nearly tripled. The odds improved somewhat when the prospective parents were simply overweight, but even they had to persist in their efforts longer than their leaner counterparts. Obesity could even have a demographic impact in countries where the problem of fat has taken on epidemic proportions, said the study published this week in the British Journal of Human Reproduction
“If obesity is a cause of sub-fecundity . . . this reduced capacity to reproduce could become a serious health problem.” said lead author Cecilia Ramlau-Hansen, an epidemiologist at Aarhus University in Denmark, in an interview. “The heavier the population gets, the more problems we would see with infertility,” she said. Earlier research had already established a clear link between too much fat and levels of fertility hormones. In women, excess body fat has a negative impact on ovulation and conception; in men, it is linked with decreased semen quality and the level of reproductive hormones.
But this is the first study, which looked at the conception rate among obese couples, who are increasingly common. In the United States, 30 percent of the adults – some 60 million people – are clinically obese, according to the US National Center for Health Statistics. Within certain demographic groups, such as African-Americans, the rate is even higher. In Europe, Britain tops the list with 23%, nearly twice the rate in Germany, where 12% tip the scales into obesity, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The benchmark for obesity is the body-mass index, defined as one’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of one’s height in meters. A BMI from 18.5 up to 25 is considered in the healthy range, from 25 up to 30 is overweight, and 30 or higher is obese. The authors add a word of caution, saying they did not know how often the couples in their study had sex.
“We cannot exclude that infrequent intercourse has delayed conception in overweight and obese couples,” they say, delicately. In other words, more fat may mean less sex . . . so the fertility problem could lie elsewhere.”
Bringing in the Harvest, Kuwaiti Style
Fresh seafood is one of the great blessings of living in Kuwait. Visiting Fehaheel with a friend one morning, I was delighted to see a boat docked, and fish being loaded into trucks.
You have this old old style boat, and everything they are doing is state-of-the-art in terms of hygiene. The fish are all iced as soon as they are caught, and transported with more ice. Some of the fish is delivered straight to the fish market in Fehaheel, where auctions are held almost daily.
I am only missing Kuwaiti shrimp, which is now out-of-season, to protect the shrimp production for future needs. I am willing to sacrifice for the long-term greater good, and besides, I can still find fresh-frozen Kuwaiti shrimp in my local co-op.
Yesterday I had a new treat – hammour kufte. Have you tried it? I saw it at the Sultan Center, and decided to try it. I sauteed it gently, not sure how it would respond, until it was cooked almost through, then flipped it and cooked the other side. Total WOW. I am a believer! If you haven’t tried it, you are in for a treat. How can anything taste that good AND be good for you?
(Segue) Have you visited the Al Kout Mall in Fehaheel recently? I often take visitors there – it is SO different from Marina Mall and Sharq Mall. There aren’t the bands of teenage marauders there, children are kept under control by their caring parents, and the cafes and restaurants along the fountains are busy day and night, mostly with families and quiet people, not the people who are more concerned with being seen. The stores often have things that are already shopped out at the other malls. There is a serenity in the architecture, and the way it incorporates the waterfront location, and a feeling of everything coming together as it ought.
Sometimes I am the only Westerner I see, outside the Sultan Center.
I took a friend there who had lived in Kuwait a long time ago. She was astounded when I took her there. “This is FEHAHEEL?” she exclaimed. She was in wonder and in shock. She remembered Fehaheel as being at the end of the earth, and a dangerous place to be.
It can still be a dangerous place to be, on a Thursday or Friday night, in competition for a parking place. It will get worse, once the Rotana Hotel opens in the Manshar complex. And the signs for the Villa Moda at the Al Manshar Mall are now disappeared – is Villa Moda NOT coming to the Manshar Mall?
ALASKAN Smoked Salmon
For a girl who grew up in Alaska, smoked salmon is as good as it gets. I’m not talking about the refined kind of smoked salmon that they farm in Scotland and serve in cold slices in posh restaurants. I am talking about the kind of salmon that used to be smoked in everyone’s backyard in Alaska. Each family had it’s own smokehouse, and excess fish was heavily smoked to eat through the long winters. And so far, salmon is thought to be very good for your health.
We didn’t have a smokehouse. But our neighbors on both sides did. 🙂
When a friend told me the Sultan Center (no, I am not taking money from them, but really, they SHOULD pay me!) was carrying Alaskan Smoked Salmon, I could scarce believe it. She was right! My heart is full!
These packets actually hold much more than a can of smoked salmon, which is about the size of a can of tuna. So you can make BOTH of the recipes below, and have some left over for Smoked Salmon Fettucine!
Warning: Alaska smoked salmon has a very strong flavor. Not everyone likes it. Maybe you have to grow up eating it, but most of my friends love these two (very very easy) recipes below:
Smoked Salmon Spread
Sometimes one small can of smoked salmon has to go a long way. This helps, and is one of the all-star recipes. Another one that after you have made it a few times, you don’t have to look at the recipe any more – it is all guesswork!
1 can smoked salmon
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese
2 green onions, chopped (white and green parts)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tablespoon pickle relish
Salt
pepper
optional: a couple chopped capers
Mix all together and serve with crackers.
Smoked Salmon Mousse
1 can tomato soup
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
2 envelopes Knox Gelatine
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup (or one can) smoked salmon
1/4 cup cold water
Heat soup and add cream cheese, stir until it becomes all smooth and creamy. Remove from heat. Dissolve Knox Geletine in 1/4 cup cold water, add to soup and cream cheese mix. Let cool and add mayonnaise, onion, celery and shrimp. Pour into 1 1/2 quart mold and chill in refrigerator until firm. (I use two smaller molds) Unmold and serve with crackers.
Winter Cold Punch
We’re so romantic. Valentine’s Day found us sniffing and snorting, and coughing great big (highly unattractive) coughs. We did manage a great Valentine’s Dinner at a nearby restaurant. As we dined, we saw at least four young couples with tiny babies enjoying a romantic, candlelit dinner – it warmed our hearts. But we skipped date night, watched a movie and this morning I fixed up some hot punch to give us a psychological boost.
This is very much the same as the Christmas Rum Punch, but no rum, and lighter on the spices. It is full of vitamin C, goes down easy, and permeated even the stuffiest nose with the sweet smells of cinnamon and clove.
1 jar Cranberry Juice (Can be Cran-Rasberry, or Cran Grape, or what the Sultan Center has!)
1 quart/litre Pineapple Juice (Sultan Center has FRESH pineapple juice!)
1/4 cup brown sugar
12 inches cinnamon stick (4 sticks of the small Ceylon cinnamon sticks)
1 Tablespoons whole cloves
1 orange peel
Bring to a simmer, and quickly scoop out the cinnamon and clove pieces, or it will get too spicy. When cool, if there is any left, pour back into empty cranberry juice jar, refrigerate until the next time, and microwave until hot. It’s the combination of heat and Vitamin C that knocks out the cold/flu going around, and even better, it smells yummy.
Alison’s Clam Chowder
This is one of the first recipes in my collection. My very best friend from college taught me how to make it and gave me the recipe. You can get all the ingredients in Kuwait, and can buy Kuwaiti clams in the fish markets and at the Sultan Center.
Alison’s Clam Chowder
This is still one of our very favorite soups – especially on a cold winter’s day. Serve with a baguette (French bread, not a diamond!) and a green salad. It’s all you need.
2 strips bacon (beef or turkey bacon in Kuwait)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cans clams and juice (drain the juice, but save it)
2 cups water
4 cups milk
1 large potato
Sautee bacon slowly, so it releases lots of grease. Take out bacon, chop it up, and reserve it.
Sautee onion in bacon grease until soft. Cool, add water and clam juice, and chopped potato. Cook until potato is no longer hard, but not too soft.
Add milk and warm to serving temperature, add canned clams and reserved bacon pieces. Sooooooooo EASY!
Japanese Breakfast
This is for my husband. I know he reads my blog now and then, and I wonder how long it will be before he sees this?
The other night, we were out for our favorite “fast” food, which is Japanese food. Not just sushi, we love miso soup. When I am sick, miso soup makes my throat feel better. I feel like I am eating good health, with all those little tofu squares and that seaweed, I feel like the miso soup will make me better. I also love salmon teriyaki, and chawan moushi, and a variety of lesser known Japanese foods.
And my husband said “isn’t miso soup what Japanese people have for breakfast?” and I didn’t know. He though miso soup and rice, so today I looked it up on Google, “Japanese breakfast”, and here is what I found:
Japanese breakfast consists of steamed rice, miso (soy bean paste) soup, and side dishes. Common side dishes are grilled fish, rolled omelet, pickles, dried seaweed, natto, salad, and more. Actually, you can make any dishes to go with rice and miso soup in Japanese breakfast. As you see in the photo, it’s an etiquette to place a bowl of rice on your left and to place a bowl of miso soup on your right side at the table.
It was on Japanese Breakfast About.com, along with ads for Japanese condoms (they are different from others?), a sushi making robot, a Samurai hotel and recipes for steamed rice, miso soup, natto (fermented soy beans), Nori (dried seaweed), Tamagoyaki (rolled omelet), grilled fish and pickles.
It seems to me that Japanese food is going through an internationalization process – sushi used to be all about rice and fish, and main dishes were simple, often stir fried, but all in all, very healthy. Now, I am seeing sushis with fried stuff in them, mayonnaise (?????), and we were offered a green tea ice-cream for dessert . . . that just doesn’t strike me as Japanese. Is it?
But this is for my husband – in case you really read all the way down – YOU WERE RIGHT. (I am obligated by family law to say that.)
Kitchen Souk?
A reader wrote asking about where to find a cast iron skillet in Kuwait. I brought mine with me (if you use a cast iron skillet, you’ll understand*) so I haven’t been paying any attention to cast iron skillet availability here. I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen any in the local co-ops, and I can’t remember seeing any cast iron pans in the Sultan Center. City Center?
Is there a Kitchen souk in Kuwait, a place with lots and lots of pots and pans?
(A cast iron skillet is heavy metal, and a shiny grey when you buy it. You season it by rubbing it with oil and putting it in an oven on low heat for hours, even overnight. You never wash the skillet with soap, only with water and scouring pads, so you don’t lose the seasoned coating. When you have a well-seasoned pan, you carry it with you so you don’t have to start the process over! You can see a photo of my skillet at Cornbread and Chili)
In the Headlights: Added to the Blogroll
I don’t remember how I came across this blog, at some time in December, but I remember laughing my head off. After two months, I find that she still delights me every time I visit. Today at In the Headlights (a reference to a common English phrase “deer in the headlights” meaning that wild-eyed-I -don’t-know-what-to-do-next-so-I’ll-just-stand-here-frozen look) Riannan shares an e-mail from a friend with curmudgeonly rules for 2007, and earlier on the page, shares a site where you can have mittens, etc. knit out of your pet’s lost hair! Dying laughing.
(And no, she is not a relative of mine. I don’t know her! I just like her blog!)
This woman comes across some of the most amazing things. She, like me, is all over the map – salsa dancing, books, great recipes (the latest was Oven Baked Sesame Scallops, oh yum!), stories about friends, some of the funniest signs I have ever seen, and screwball ideas. She can give your day a lift.
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