Tormented Kitchen

Tonight's dinner was my second mystery box. Our made-up rules for the mystery box are: 1. I can use anything in the mystery box, all or some. 2. I can use anything in the pantry, fridge, or freezer at home. 3. I have 1 hour to cook and serve. 4. I must prepare a meal that fits the time of day, such as dinner at dinner time. Here's what I got. Coconut milk, coconut juice, a whole coconut, Asian eggplant, mango, carrots, figs, and a Chilean sea bass fillet. I added from the "home stores" olive oil, limes, mint, curry paste, bell pepper, jasmine rice, plus kaffir lime leaves, potatoes and seasonings that aren't shown here. I made a lime mint vinaigrette to marinate the fish in after removing the scales. I later grilled the fish. I made curry with the coconut milk, carrots, potatoes, red bell pepper, mango, lime juice, red curry paste, and a splash of fish sauce. The fish took longer to cook than I wanted it to.  Fish always takes twice...

Let me preface this post by saying we (hubby and I) don't drink much. Actually we hardly drink at all except for holidays or the rare celebration.  So for me to have an actual recipe for an alcoholic drink is pretty exceptional. It all started many years ago...OK not really. I like the occasional Pina Colada, Margarita, or white wine.  I don't know how I really even started going for Mojitos. Maybe I heard something somewhere from a friend. I do recall one year for our anniversary, I had an outstanding Mango Mojito. Of course, the idea of making one at home, myself, totally slipped my mind until just now as I type this one up. Inspiration!  (Hello Kern's Mango Nectar! Meet my good friend Ronrico...) Ingredients for 1 drink 2 teaspoons granulated white sugar 5-6 mint leaves 2 slices of lime 2 shots light rum 1 Tablespoon spiced rum Sprite, Sierra Mist,. seltzer, soda, Club soda, 7-Up, or similar ice extra mint leaves for garnish Method 1. Combine sugar and ...

First of all, I was totally expecting to have a fantastic amount of good stuff to show off here. And then Things Didn't Go Well. It's not like a cut myself, but I had some big Uh-Oh's in the cooking process of my great Thai-themed dinner.  I had planned chicken satay, Lahp Moo (pork wraps), with peanut dip and jasmine rice. The only things that turned out right were the dip and the rice. Let me recount what went wrong. I was all over town because 1. Daughter went to preschool. 2. Son and I got breakfast then shopped for birthday party paraphernalia. 3. Took son to Dentist appointment. For a filling!  4. Lunch with hubby and goofy son (thank you nitrous gas) at evil Golden Arches Restaurant. (Please don't say the actual name! I'm so tired of the kids begging for pancakes and cheeseburgers!) 5.Shopped for food, including going to two different grocery stores because I forgot things the first time. Then we got home and I tried to cook. I overdi...

If someone told you to eat eggplant because it's good for you, what would you do with it? I've tried regular globe eggplant and it just doesn't taste that good to me. I've tried frying it, stuffing it, dicing it and adding it to casseroles and it has always fallen a bit short of my expectations. In my Thai cooking class, we made this dish using the thin Japanese eggplants. I've never eaten those before. And believe me, I was skeptical because my past eggplant experience was sketchy. But we made it, we all ate it and I was in utter disbelief! Eggplant that really tasted good! Even my husband liked it and he doesn't like regular eggplant at all. OMG! This is now one of my new favorite recipes. I even shared it with Grandma Rose. Pla Nuea Makreua Orn Ingredients 3 small Japanese eggplants canola oil for frying 1 lb beef tenderloin (same as filet mignon) 1 Tablespoon sliced shallots 1/4 teaspoon sugar 1 Tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla) juice of one lime 2 - 5...