Eden's Wanderings and Wonderings

Jerry's choice for the Sunday Slow Suppers was this delicious Risotto. I have not cooked risotto ever until a week ago. I turned out pretty delicious, so I will defintely do this again. I have to use all this arborio rice after all.

I followed everything (almost) that the recipe called for... well, except that I used shallots instead of the yellow onion and I did not have white wine at home (is that terrible?) so I skipped that part.

Risotto al Granchio e Gamberi

Ingredients:
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled, deveined and each cut into 4 or 5 pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
6 cups chicken or fish broth or water
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cups medium-grain rice such as arborio, vialone nano or carnaroli
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 lb. fresh-cooked crabmeat, picked over to remove any shell fragments

In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté the garlic and 2 Tbs. of the parsley in 2 Tbs. of the olive oil, stirring once or twice, until the garlic is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, just until the shrimp are pink, about 2 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside. Add the broth to the saucepan and bring just barely to a simmer.

In a large saucepan or risotto pan over medium heat, warm 3 Tbs. of the oil. Add the onion and sauté until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until the kernels are hot and coated with oil, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and continue to cook, stirring often, until the liquid is absorbed.

Add the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and making sure the liquid has been absorbed before adding more. When the rice is about half cooked, stir in the tomatoes, salt and pepper. The risotto is done when the rice grains are creamy on the outside and firm yet tender to the bite, 20 to 25 minutes total. Rice varies, so you may not need all of the broth or you may need more. If more liquid is required, use hot water.

Stir in the shrimp and crabmeat and cook, stirring, just until heated through, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Remove the risotto from the heat. Stir in the remaining 1 Tbs. each oil and parsley. Spoon the risotto into warmed soup bowls and serve immediately.
Serves 6 to 8

This was really delicious and my son and his fiancee declared it to be so as well. We also enjoyed the left overs. Next time, I may use some scallops along with the shrimp and crab.

Congratulations to Kathy (TrekCapri) the new proud Mom to Elizabeth! Enjoy!

(Art from http://www.artie.com/20030925/arg-i-love-my-cat-120x79-url.html)

I followed the recipe that Shannon supplied us except for the squash. I could not find banana squash, so I used butternut squash instead. (Confession: I do not even know what a banana squash look like... but I am sure I did not see one at Safeway, LOL)

I also used red chard, as that was the only chard there was when I went grocery shopping.

Shannon's Squash, Pepper, Chard, and Corn Stew

1 medium onion, diced
3 – 5 garlic cloves, chopped
¾ pound banana squash, peeled and cut into pieces about ½ inch wide (I used butternut squash instead)
2 – 3 T olive oil
1 t. Greek oregano
1 green pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 T. flour
2 T. chile powder
½ t. cumin
1 c. dry white wine
2 c. broth of choice
3 – 4 c. tomatoes, diced
½ bunch chard, blanched and cut into ribbons with the tougher stems cut away
1 ½ c. frozen corn
¾ c. sour cream or yogurt to taste
Chopped cilantro and green onions for garnish

Very lightly sauté the onion, garlic and squash in oil in a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot, then add oregano, red and green peppers, flour, chile powder and cumin. Stir together and cook for a minute or two longer.

Add wine, broth, and tomatoes, then cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Add chard and corn, then cook for a further 15-20 minutes.

Taste for seasoning. If stew is too liquid, pour off liquid into a small saucepan and boil down until reduced and richly flavored.

Just before serving, stir in sour cream or yogurt. Serve sprinkled with cilantro and green onions.

I used sour cream and cilantro for garnish. I had this for dinner with some sourdough bread. Yummm. I had some for lunch the following two days. I liked it even more on the two days that I had the leftovers. Thank you for picking this Shannon.

Balanced

Prior to our (my daughter and I) visit to Asia this past summer, my daughter researched things she wanted to see, visit, and eat while in Singapore. Lazy me went along with all she wanted to do.... I enjoyed that way of traveling -have someone else plan everything. So one of the things that she really wanted to try while in Singapore was Chili Crab, a seafood dish that originated in Singapore. Thus the balanced crab - the life of which hang on a balance.

Ok, backtrack... on how we got to the crab.

One of the days spent in Singapore , we headed to the Merlion area, as we, actually she read it was one famous tourist spot.

Here it is.

My daughter took this photo of me. I tried to take one of hers in a similar shot.... but I failed (miserably) to get that effect. Wonder how much balancing was necessary to get his shot. :)

From the Merlion area, we took a cruise to see the sights from the water.... or of the water.

The boat had this Warning Sign. Each infraction looked like the moves involved lots of balancing. I was not going to try any of those shenanigans. LOL.

We decided to have lunch away along the way and we were on the hunt for Chili Crab, My two cousins were with us on this holiday.

So here we are. Poor Crab before... balancing to determine how much he or perhaps she was going to cost us.

Midway.... looking delicious... and balancing on its claws.

After.... :( he had to give up the ghost for us.

I have never seen a real Emergency Alert System come across the TV screen. Yes, I have seen lots of samples of what to do in case of real emergency... but just a few minutes ago a couple of these came across my TV set.

Scary. Warning was for people who are outdoors to take shelter immediately. Severe thunderstorms predicted just south of where I live... and here I am complaining about rain. I hope there won't be severe damage and people are safe.