Sick at Home, what to do.....Aha, Blog of course!

Ok I don't feel good, every time I breath in I cough, and the lack of oxygen is causing some mind wondering issues (of course Lightnin' will tell you that part is normal)!

I had been asked to give the Shrimp Stew & Grits recipe, so here's a shot at it (you see I usually don't measure out what I throw into a recipe so it's not always easy to backtrack):

4 strips of thick sliced, hard wood smoked bacon; chopped
2 lbs Gulf White Shrimp
2 stalks of celery; finely chopped
1 Pablano (or bell) pepper; finely chopped
1 small yellow onion; finely chopped
1 bunch of green onions (scallions); sliced on the bias (you know for presentation)
fresh parsley; chopped (for presentation)
1 package of cajun crab/shrimp boil
4 pints of cheap beer
1 lemon; quartered
4 Tablespoons of flour, approximately (for the roux)

Pour the beer into a pot, add crab boil and lemon, and bring to a boil. Add shrimp and remove from heat, allow to stand for 2-3 min. and strain off shrimp retaining about 4 cups of the liquid.
Hold both the liquid and the shrimp for later, (hey, put that shrimp back!) rinse out the pot and dab dry any remaining moisture.
Place pot back on heat and add the bacon. Allow it to brown and then remove to drain on a paper towel. Turn down heat and add the trinity (chopped pepper, yellow onion, and celery) to the remaining bacon grease, stirring to prevent too much browning (for a healthier version you could drain off the bacon grease and then back add a few tablespoons of Olive oil, but hey this is good I didn't say it was healthy!). Sprinkle in the flour, while stirring, until the roux thickens. Stir in the shrimp boil liquid, 1 cup at a time until the thickness of the stew is about the way you like it. Stir in the shrimp, turn off the heat, and put the lid on it.

For the grits I used Quaker Old Fashioned Grits. I'm sure you could probably use instant grits, but I like mine a bit more on the thick side so the old fashioned way is just fine for me. I followed the directions on the package, but left out some of the water to make sure they were nice and firm.
To serve add a scoop of grits to the bowl, and then spoon the shrimp stew on top. Garnish with a pinch of the parsley and a spoon full of the sliced scallions. Serve and enjoy!


Lightnin' decided that since we weren't together this past Thanksgiving (by the way this is the first time we have been apart on that holiday since we met 25 years ago next month!) that we should have one, but with a twist. She roasted the turkey and we served it with a fried pecan glaze that we got from Paula Dean.

It was awesome and went surprisingly well with all the normal fixin's.













Last weekend I taught yet another person how to brew beer. It's fun to teach others this art form, and even more fun to sample the good quality beers that they make after they get going on their own!



Here's the literature
































Here's the ingredients














Here's the tools













And here's the recipe








We'll know how it turns out in a couple of months, for you see we brewed a lager and it will need to cold age for a minimum of 8 weeks. This one will probably wait until my first trip home from China before I keg it.

By the way, what do you get someone who is going to China for a year?





Chopsticks of course, and a knife, spoon, and fork for when he gets tired of trying the chopsticks!














It's in the 30's outside and we've got snow on the ground. It's supposed to rain/snow all weekend too. I guess if I had to pick a weekend to be stuck inside, sick, this is the best one. I'll just keep a pot of water boiling on the stove (my hillbilly humidifier) and a fire burning in the fireplace, and my butt parked under a blanket in my favorite chair.