What's For Dinner? 3/3/22

 Hello Again!

I'm back for another thrilling blog post.  Yesterday was simply glorious.  Sunny, mild temps (upper fifties) and I managed to get a pedicure in the early afternoon.  When I came back home I noticed this:

Our first crocus have opened along our driveway bed (which, yes, needs the dead leaves cleaned out of it).  It was so good to see these.  

These two were quite noisy at my office window (which, yes, is still very dirty).

Mabel's window ledge is just below this window and she loves to talk to the birds and sometimes will bang against the window with her paws.  LOL

Today is damp and grey.  It's not raining now, but it did rain overnight.  But it is still mild - it was 48 F when I came downstairs this morning.  When I opened the patio door for Mabel to come in (yes, she went out at 2 a.m.) there was yet another "gift" (vole) on the patio.  Quite the huntress!

Several folks commented on the curried shrimp chowder I made over the weekend, so I thought I would share that recipe.  It's one I got from Alicia Paulsen of the Posie Gets Cozy blog and it is a favorite of ours.

Curried Shrimp Chowder

• 2 slices of bacon
• 1 TBS EVOO
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1-2 carrots chopped
• 1-2 stalks of celery chopped
• 2 potatoes diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tsp curry powder
• salt & pepper
• 1 quart chicken broth (or veggie broth)
• 1 Cup corn - fresh or frozen
• 1 Cup peas
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 pound shrimp peeled & cut into bite sized pieces
• Fresh Basil
• 2 tomatoes chopped

Fry bacon in large pot till crispy.  Remove & drain on paper towels.  Pour off grease and add EVOO to pan.*

When oil is hot add potatoes, onion, carrots and celery.  Sautee until beginning to brown.  Add garlic and curry and sautee a few more minutes.  Add broth and simmer until potatoes are tender.  Add corn, peas and shrimp and then the coconut milk.  Simmer until the shrimp are pink and cooked.  Add the basil and tomatoes along with crumbled bacon.

Stir and serve.

*Note:  I cut my bacon up before cooking and just leave it in the pot with the grease.  Extra flavor!!

This is a great recipe to use up stuff in the frig - I've thrown in beans, turnips, sweet potatoes, etc.  It also make a lot!  I froze a big container of chowder and we have another large container in the frig for lunches (we both had some yesterday).

And here is a bonus recipe for the multigrain pancakes I made Sunday morning.  This is a great breakfast it you've run out of eggs - none in this recipe!  This is taken from a vegan cookbook Colin had while he was in college.

Multigrain Pancakes

• 1 Cup regular flour
• 1/2 Cup oats
• 1/2 Cup cornmeal
• 1/2 Cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Cups milk (I used skim milk, but have made with almond milk so they are vegan)
• 2 TBS molasses

Combine all the dry ingredients.  Whisk the milk and molasses together and combine with the dry ingredients.  Cook like regular pancakes.

I cut the recipe in half on Sunday (and there were still 2 pancakes left over) and added fresh strawberries.  In the past I've added apples or craisins.  All versions are good.  These are hearty and very filling.

Hope you enjoy these recipes.  Time for me to get going - it's Thursday which means I need to pull together financial reports and then distribute.