Some Food Thoughts

I have been suffering from some pretty nasty lung infection for the last week or so, and have really not left my apartment in days, though I am slowly getting better. I have not eaten much and this morning is really the first time I have been hungry. I ran across these two recipes that I have made and enjoyed greatly in the past:

California Stirfry

Ingredients:

2 TBSP peanut oil

1 medium onion, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise

8 oz snap peas

1 red bell pepper, seeded, stemmed, and cut into thin strips

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, stemmed, and cut into thin strips

1 large garlic clove, chopped

2 tsp bottled Asian red curry paste

1 (14-oz) can unsweetened coconut milk

1 tsp salt

12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 TBSP hoisin sauce

Rice:

2⅔ cups water

2 TBSP honey

1⅓ cups Basmati rice

¼ cup golden raisins

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp mustard seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup thinly sliced scallion greens

Directions:

1.Heat a large wok over high.Just before the wok smokes add the peanut oil.Stir fry the onions, snap peas, and bell peppers until crisp tender, about 3 minutes.

2.Reduce heat to medium, then add garlic and curry paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk and salt, and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Add shrimp, turning once until browned.

3.Remove the wok from the heat and stir in hoisin sauce and salt to taste.

4.To make the rice: In a 3-quart heavy saucepan stir together the water, honey, rice, raisins, cinnamon, mustard seeds, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork and stir in scallion.Serve the stir-fry over the rice.

-----------------

Crockpot Beef Stew

Ingredients:

1 Beef chuck roast cut into 1-inch cubes

1 cup Baby carrots

1 onion diced

1 lb Red potatoes, medium

2 tsp dried rosemary

2 tsp dried thyme

3 cups beef broth

2 TBSP olive oil

½ TBSP Kosher salt

1 TBSP freshly ground black pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 TBSP tomato paste

1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp caraway seeds

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup flour

2 TBSP parsley leaves

DIRECTIONS:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Season beef with salt and pepper, to taste. Add beef to the skillet and cook until evenly browned, about 2-3 minutes.

Place beef and veggies into crockpot. Stir in beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire, thyme, rosemary, paprika, caraway seeds and bay leaves until well combined; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour and 1/2 cup stew broth. Stir in flour mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until thickened.