The Good Plate

Archive for the ‘Sides’ Category

Flag of Mexico

Recipes in this Post

• Pork Loin Tacos
• Mexican Rice
• Avocado Relish
• Cilantro Onion Relish

So, a few weeks ago I was at the market and there was a package of Uncle Ben’s Taco rice in the Manager’s Special section. I thought, hey, why not? It might be good. I prepared it according to package directions on Tuesday. When Spane tasted it, he made a face. I tasted it, and I made a face, too. I even put Tapatio on it, and sour cream, and it still tasted like dirty, old socks. Mind you, I’ve never tasted dirty, old socks, but I imagine they probably taste like that rice – horrible. Moral of the story, don’t by Uncle Ben’s flavored rice.

After that debacle, I was determined to make good Mexican rice, but my stove, Bertha, is on the fritz. I had to find another way to make it.

I also had a pork loin roast, and I wanted to marinate it, but, it too, could not be roasted in Bertha. I had to find another way for that as well.

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Wontons and Dipping Sauce

In this Post

• Shrimp Stuffed Wontons
• Dipping Sauce

I Love Shrimp!

I wanted to make wontons for dinner tonight and stuff them with cream cheese and jalapeño, like I did with the Pope’s Hats. Since they have no meat, they are perfect for Fridays. But, on my way home from dropping Spane off at school, I stopped in at the local Hispanic market, where they had some lovely raw shrimp. So, I got some of that, and when to the local Armenian store to buy fresh cilantro, and fresh spring onions.

When I was a little girl, I had a severe allergic reaction to something, and I was tested and no one could figure out what it was. When I was in my twenties, I went to Encinada, Mexico and I again had a severe allergic reaction. Finally, a few years after that, I had one more allergic reaction. I thought about it, and realized that every time I had had a severe allergic reaction, I had eaten shrimp. But, I had been eating shrimp all my life, what was so different about those times? Then I realized each time that the sand vein had not been completely cleaned – I had eaten some of the sand vein. What is the sand vein in a shrimp? It’s their digestive tract, in other words, that’s where their poop is. There is also the “blood vein” (a euphemism for the ventral nerve cord) along the inner curve of the shrimp’s body that also has some nasty black stuff. I finally figured out after all those years that I was not allergic to shrimp itself, I was allergic to the sand vein, or to be more precise, the poop. I’m pretty much convinced that people who are allergic to shrimp are allergic to shrimp poop, not the shrimp itself, just like I am.

Why am I telling you all this? I am telling you this because, even if you are not allergic to shrimp poop like I am, there is still no excuse to leave the nasty digestive insides of shrimp intact. It may take a few seconds to clean, but it is well worth the effort, now that you know what that dark stuff is.

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Ham Steak, Mashed Yams and Sweet Peas

Recipes in This Post

• Ham Steak with Blackberry Mustard Glaze
• Mashed Yams
• Southern Sweet Peas

Recipes in Other Posts

• Peaches Raleigh

School is Going to Start Soon!

I was thinking today that school is going to start soon, so it is time to start making quicker dishes, eat dinner earlier, and get Spane to sleep earlier. That way, going back to school will not be such a big adjustment.

Our dinner tonight reflected a holiday dinner, but was much simpler, and not any where near as much food. Having a ham steak lets you get a nice thick slice of ham, with the bone if you like the marrow like I do, without having to buy the whole ham.

Did you know that the long, red skinned, orange fleshed vegetables Americans call yams are in fact sweet potatoes? They are. I like the orange sweet potatoes a little bit more than I like white sweet potatoes. They have more sugar and are moister than their whiter cousins. Even though American grocers label them incorrectly, they are not even distantly related to yams.

When I was a little girl, my mother would get sweet peas in their shells, and we would sit and shell them. The peas never made it to the stove, though, we ate them as we shelled them. I have yet been able to find big fat sweet peas like those, but I did find some with smaller peas, whose shells were still soft enough to eat, and I used those.

I also had some lovely peaches in the refrigerator, ice cream and a new jar of rose preserves. I made Peaches Raleigh for dessert.

Peaches Raleigh

Mushrooms with Wine Sauce

Love Mushrooms

I love mushrooms, and lately I have been finding nice big ones at the local corner store. I picked up six of them and decided to wait and have them stuffed for our meatless Friday meal.

The Nesco is the perfect appliance to cook them, as they do not dry out, and can steam in wine. Clean up is a snap, and your kitchen does not heat up.

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Recipes in this Post

• Chicken Kabobs
• Rice Pilaf

From Other Posts

• Yogurt Salad
• Secret Garlic Sauce

Hungry for Dinner!

Now that I had made those pixies, I was hungry for dinner, and I put the chicken kabobs on that I had started marinating earlier.

I have a wonderful rotisserie that I picked up at a church rummage sale for $15.00, brand new, in the sealed box. I can roast a whole chicken, or other piece of meat simply by impaling the meat in the central piece. That central piece also has a top from which you can hand skewers, and also comes with a square basket for smaller foods. I love my rotisserie.

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Chicken Croquetas

Cooking School

When Noelle and I went to see this cooking demonstration at William-Sonoma, I did not make these right away. I made them tonight because I had left over rotisserie chicken. Maybe I will ask Noelle over to share, on second thought, as I sit here eating one, no!

Now, what did I learn in making these? Well, first I learned that I don’t have to get my hands very dirty if I use a fork during the breading process. Then, when I tasted one, I realized I don’t have to wait until I go to Porto’s anymore – I can make these little rolled pieces of Heaven myself!

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