Food In The Fort

Just because you can’t imbibe in the middle of the day doesn’t mean your crustacean friends can’t. It’s a little known fact that shrimp love their rum. It makes them happy little decapods, and if you make this recipe you’ll be happy too. It’s simple enough that you can make it for lunch with no trouble at all, especially if you do the marinade the night before. It might seem a little steppy for a midday meal, but it all goes together very quickly and took me just about a half hour total. The taste, texture and wonderful aroma will beat the pants off a sandwich and chips any day.

I adapted this recipe from several I found around the net, adjusting the ingredients to our tastes. As I made it, the shrimp have a very strong flavor to them and not everybody likes that so feel free to make your own adjustments. And for heaven’s sake, enjoy it with a small shot of rum. We won’t tell your boss. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, Leo and I have had two very good dinners which were easy to assemble (one was especially easy for me since Leo made it by himself!) yet not the usual heat-and-eat fare that we often resort to on week nights. These meals left us asking, “Why don’t we do this more often?” To which I respond, “Cuz we’re stupid.”

Anyway, dear reader, I’m sure that you’re not stupid and you’ll want to make this recipe and Leo’s hearty crockpot fish stew over and over again. We love this shrimp dish (from the Thai: Simple and Delicious Easy-to-Make Recipes book by Lesley Mackley) for its sweet and spicy sauce and because one out of two children at my house will eat it. You can put it over 1-2-3-4 Rice or just serve it with instant rice or bread. Read the rest of this entry »

If your place is like mine, it’s oppressively hot in the summer, even with the air conditioning running. So the last thing you want to do is add more heat by cooking. Still, unless you want to subsist on a steady diet of deli meats and fast food all summer, you’re going to have to turn that stove on some time. Although, now that I think about it, eating more fast food would give me an excuse to loiter and soak up that sweet, cool, air-conditioned atmosphere… Ah, who am I kidding? They all kick you out after the first couple of hours anyway.

The key to summer cooking is to cook for as short as possible, do it as early in the day as possible, then forget about it and spend the rest of the day competing with the dog for the primo spot on the sofa right next to the A/C vent. This recipe fits the bill. To its advantage, it happens to be quite tasty too and literally takes under a half hour to make (including the time it takes the water to come to a boil). Now move over dog, it’s my turn! Read the rest of this entry »