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Perfection In A Bowl – Leftover Veggies Soup

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Some of my favorite dishes are the ones that come together without set ingredients, without planning and without recipes.
I just go to the fridge and/or cupboard, look what’s available and what needs to be used, and just throw together what I think will fit and taste delicious. Such was the case with this soup. I had some krakauer sausage, leftover cooked broccoli, leftover cooked cauliflower and leftover fresh leek from previous dishes, and of course there are always onions in the cupboard and at least 2 or 3 types of cheese in the fridge. Throw it all together and in a few short minutes – a dish as good as can be 🙂 Life is Good !
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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transfer to soup bowl or soup plate, sprinkle ea bowl with 1/2 tblsp grated asiago and drizzle with 1 tblsp EVO

Perfection In A Bowl – Leftover Veggies Soup

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Preparation :
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: 2 cup leftover cauliflower, 2 cup leftover broccoli, 2 stalks leeks

: saute 1 ea medium size julienned onion in 1 tblsp EVO until translucent

: cut the leeks in julienne, add to the onions, saute 2 more minutes

: add 2 cups chicken stock, simmer until leek is soft but not mushy

: add 3 cup chicken stock to the broccoli/cauliflower, mix in a blender or with a hand mixer until very smooth, simmer for 2 minutes

: transfer the mix to a pot, season with garlic paste, dried oregano. 3 ea basil leaves, kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste, simmer for 2 minutes

: stir in 2 tblsp finely grated asiago cheese, simmer for 2 more minutes while constantly stirring

: add the leek with it’s stock

: add 6 oz sliced smoked sausage. simmer 2 more minutes

: add 1 cup heavy cream, check/adjust seasoning

: transfer to soup bowl or soup plate, sprinkle ea bowl with 1/2 tblsp grated asiago and drizzle with 1 tblsp EVO

: Perfection In A Bowl – Leftover Veggies Soup

: Perfection In A Bowl – Leftover Veggies Soup

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Banana And Cranberry Salad With Homemade Sugar-Free Banana Ice Cream

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If you are prepared, life (cooking) is easy ! 🙂
I usually have some sort of frozen dessert in my freezer for my (too frequently happening) sweets-craving-attacks.
More often than not, it’s some sort of frozen banana dessert, as it was this afternoon. I always have fresh bananas and dried cranberries in my cupboard, so this dish was an easy decision, and thanks to the ice cream in the freezer, a matter of a few minutes to execute 🙂
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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !
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P.S.
Obviously, there is natural fruit sugar in the ice cream and the banana/cranberry salad, but, besides the organic honey, there is no added sugar.
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P.P.S.
The ratios of fructose and glucose are pretty much the same in both fruit and table sugar.
Generally, there’s no advantage to substituting honey for sugar in a diabetes eating plan. Both honey and sugar will affect your blood sugar level. Honey is sweeter than granulated sugar, so you might use  a smaller amount of honey  for sugar in some recipes.
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Banana And Cranberry Salad With Homemade Sugar-Free Banana Ice Cream

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Preparation :
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: cut bananas into slices, drizzle with fresh lemon juice

: add dried cranberries, add a splash of organic vanilla extract, organic honey and brown rum (optional – alcohol will convert to sugar ! ), mix, let macerate for 1 hour

: Banana And Cranberry Salad With Homemade Sugar-Free Banana Ice Cream

: put one portion of sugar free banana Ice cream on a serving plate

: add banana/cranberry salad

: add a bit of sugar-free whipped cream, drizzle with fat-free chocolate sauce

: Banana And Cranberry Salad With Homemade Sugar-Free Banana Ice Cream

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Shrimp & Egg Fried Rice

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This is one of these dishes which, at least in my humble opinion, actually benefits from the usage of smaller shrimp, compared to the larger shrimp we usually prefer for a great dish. While you can make a perfectly wonderful fried rice with large shrimp, the smaller ones can be used in abundance for the same price as a few large ones will cost. The mouth-feel is just better when the ratio of shrimp to rice is 50/50 🙂
In the past, when the only shrimp available to me were large ones, I actually cut them into smaller pieces to get that specific mouth-feel. (For a more impressive presentation, you can always put a few uncut biggies on the top) 🙂
I enjoyed today’s fried rice as my breakfast, although it is an appropriate meal for any time of the day. I love rice for breakfast, usually in the form of congee with whatever is available, a tasty rice bowl (with whatever is available) or, as today, fried rice (with whatever is available) 🙂
“Whatever is available” can range from meats, seafood, fresh or pickled vegetables, eggs of any type, or – you guessed it – whatever else is in the fridge, freezer or cupboard 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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to serve, sprinkle with more scallion, add fried shallots and pickled mild chillies

Shrimp & Egg Fried Rice

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Preparation :
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: stir fry fine julienne of 1 med onion in 1 tblsp peanut oil until translucent

: add 2 cup small shrimp and stir fry until pink

: remove shrimp and onions, reserve

: stir fry 2 cup day old rice in 1 tblsp peanut oil until the rice make a popping sound, add 1/2 tsp garlic paste, 1/8 tsp ginger paste, chili paste and kosher salt to taste, mix well

: remove rice from pan, reserve

: season 3 whisked eggs with kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste, scramble in 2 tblsp peanut oil until set

: return the rice, onion and shrimp to the eggs, add 1 tsp sesame oil and 2 tblsp finely sliced scallions and stir fry until heated

: check/adjust seasoning

: serve as a main dish for one or divide for two smaller portions

: to serve, sprinkle with more scallion, add fried shallots and pickled mild chillies

: Shrimp & Egg Fried Rice

: Shrimp & Egg Fried Rice

: Shrimp & Egg Fried Rice

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Curried Pasta With Shrimp, Mushrooms, Veggies And Egg

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This dish is one of my “go to” dishes when contemplating endlessly without resolve in my mind what I will cook for the next meal.
Although I am a sucker for real curry, pasta sautéed in curry powder and “stuff” is something I can eat happily any time of the day, as often as twice a week.
Usually the basic ingredients are items I have always stocked in my fridge, freezer or cupboard:
Pasta, beef, shrimp or chicken, any type of vegetables, curry powder, a bit of kecap manis, chili paste, soy sauce or maggi seasoning, onion or scallion, eggs and herbs.
An added bonus to this dish is that it reheat’s wonderfully. (Some say it’s even better when re-heated) 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Curried Pasta With Shrimp, Mushrooms, Veggies And Egg (Sunshine On A Plate)

Curried Pasta With Shrimp, Mushrooms, Veggies And Egg

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Preparation :
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: whisk 4 ea whole eggs, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: cook and drain 1 lb pasta of your choice

: saute 5 oz of mushroom in 4 tblsp clarified butter

: add 1 lb headless, tail-less, peeled and butterflied shrimp, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste

: remove shrimp and mushroom from pan, reserve

: in the remaining butter, saute 1 lb of fresh vegetables of your choice, season with 1 tsp garlic paste, kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste, remove from pan, reserve

: add two more tblsp clarified butter, add 1 tsp garlic paste, 2 tblsp curry powder, 2 tblsp turmeric, 1 tblsp kecap manis, 1 dash of maggi seasoning, 1 tsp chili paste, kosher salt to taste, saute until fragrant

: add pasta, mix well, put pasta to one side of the pan, add the eggs, scramble until set

: mix the scrambled eggs with the pasta

: add the shrimp, mushrooms and vegetables, mix well, check/adjust the seasoning; serves 4

: (Sunshine On A Plate) Curried Pasta With Shrimp, Mushrooms, Veggies And Egg

: Curried Pasta With Shrimp, Mushrooms, Veggies And Egg

: Curried Pasta With Shrimp, Mushrooms, Veggies And Egg

: Curried Pasta With Shrimp, Mushrooms, Veggies And Egg

: Curried Pasta With Shrimp, Mushrooms, Veggies And Egg

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Filet Mignon With Sautéed Potatoes, Shiitake And “Hoi Sin Delight”

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For 50 years I have prepared and eaten Filet Mignon with either Sauce Bernaise or a Demi Glace derived sauce, such as Sauce Chasseur, Sauce Bordelaise, Sauce Chateaubriand, Sauce Perigueux, Sauce Robert, etc, just as any hot-blooded, french-trained chef would do 🙂
Yet yesterday, although I had demi glace at hand ( I usually make a batch of demi glace and freeze it in individual portions ), for this dish I wanted to try something new, especially something to go well with the shiitake mushrooms.
So I mixed together the following ingredients which are a staple on my cupboard :
” Hoi Sin Delight ” –
Hoi sin sauce, soy sauce, garlic paste, chili sauce, lemon juice and – hold on to your hat -ketchup ! From this I got one of the best sauces I ever had with grilled or sauteed meat. I liked it so much that from here on I will use this concoction often, whenever I need a quick and delicious sauce or dip for any protein – seafood, chicken, beef, pork or what-not. Even as a drizzle for fried rice or grilled vegetables, this stuff rocks !
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Filet Mignon With Sautéed Potatoes, Shiitake And “Hoi Sin Delight”

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: mix 2 tblsp hoi sin, 1 tblsp ketchup, 2 tblsp soy, 2 tblsp water, 1 tsp chili sauce, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, simmer for one minute

: Season 5 oz beef filets with kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: Sear in a VERY hot cast iron pan on both sides, finish cooking in a 350F oven until cooked to the temperatore of your preference, remove from pan, let rest for 10 minutes before serving

: meanwhile, saute potatoes in garlic oil until golden

: add reconstituted shiitake, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: when mushrooms are heated through, add a generous dollop of butter and chopped cilantro

: Filet Mignon With Sautéed Potatoes, Shiitake And “Hoi Sin Delight”

: Filet Mignon With Sautéed Potatoes, Shiitake And “Hoi Sin Delight”

: Filet Mignon With Sautéed Potatoes, Shiitake And “Hoi Sin Delight”

: Filet Mignon With Sautéed Potatoes, Shiitake And “Hoi Sin Delight”

: Filet Mignon With Sautéed Potatoes, Shiitake And “Hoi Sin Delight”

: Filet Mignon With Sautéed Potatoes, Shiitake And “Hoi Sin Delight”

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Fritto Misto

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It is time for me to confess: I am a food-shopping maniac. My kitchen usually contains enough fresh, dried, frozen and pickled food to feed a family of four for a few weeks. So, every couple of months I give myself the daunting task to empty my cup board, fridge and freezer completely in order to be able to start replenishing all over again. So today, after two weeks of feeding myself and Bella with all the goodies already in the house, I finally achieved my goal: (my iron-will was victorious) – all food is gone and tomorrow morning I will start a new crusade to the butcher, grocery store and farmers-markets to make sure I have again enough food in the house, just in case………. ???? – well, something, you never know.

(My friends who live in the neighborhood will remember that after the last major hurricane left our area for nearly three weeks without electricity, Maria and I hosted daily free lunches in our garden for 20 to 30 people, sometimes a lot more. Tasty food from the grill and fire pit and plenty of beer and even more wine, all nicely cooled in the lake. What a blessing our full freezer and pantry proved to be then ) 🙂

But, let’s get back to the topic at hand.
The remaining few things I had left in the freezer were some squid, a few small shrimp, a piece of cod filet and in the fridge a bit of greens, lemon, scallions, an onion and some grape tomatoes . Perfect !
Some oil, vinegar, salt and pepper for the salad, the seafood marinated with cayenne pepper, kosher salt, granulated garlic and dusted in rice flour, two chilies and the scallions thrown into the mix, then quickly deep-fried and Voilà – Fritto Misto ! Life is Good !
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Buen Apetito ! Viva Italia !
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