Cucumber and Shrimp Bites

Cucumber & Shrimp Morsels

These crunchy morsels are very quick and easy to assemble and make the perfect side dish at any meal. I used ready-cooked salad or baby shrimp, English (seedless) cucumbers and jalapeno flavored cream cheese. The drop of Sriracha sauce gives the perfect touch to these yummy appetizers.

2014 Valentine's Day Brunch

Brunch for Two
Clockwise from top left

Slow-Cooked Apple & Raisin Oatmeal
Plated Eggs & Shrimp
Cucumber & Shrimp Bites
Valentine's Day Vignette
Eggs in Red Pepper Rings 

Easy Meatball Rolls

Just Baked Meatball Rolls

Cross-section of a Roll

Meatballs & cheese wrapped in garlic bread. The frozen meatballs need not be thawed before assembling. They were simply delicious and the meatball inside the roll was soft and juicy.


Adapted from a Pillsbury recipe.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

An assortment of fresh ingredients are wrapped in Bibb Lettuce cups and dipped in sweet chilli sauce   This is a great starter and so easy to assemble.

Ingredients:
2 heads Boston/Bibb lettuce
2 stalks green onions
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 bunch fresh mint
2 large carrots
1 handful fresh bean sprouts
3 lemons or limes
½ lb. large shrimp, shelled and deveined
¼ lb. mung bean vermicelli (aka glass noodles)
Sweet chilli sauce (recipe below)

Directions:
Separate leaves of lettuce.
Chop green onions and cilantro.
Remove stalks from mint.
Grate two large carrots.
Remove tails from bean sprouts.
Wash and drain each of the above thoroughly.
Cut lemons/limes into eighths.
Blanch shrimp in boiling, salted water just until they turn pink.
Blanch vermicelli in boiling water for 2 minutes and drain.
Serve everything in separate dishes and let each guest assemble his/her own lettuce wrap to taste.
Use sweet chilli sauce for dipping the lettuce wraps.

Serves: 6-8
Preparation Time: 15 mins.

Sweet Chili Sauce

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 cup hot water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoon red chili paste, such as sambal oelek
1/2 carrot, finely shredded

In a blender, puree all ingredients, except carrot.
Add shredded carrot.
Pour into a small bowl and serve with Asian Lettuce Wraps.

Makes: 1 cup

I shared this recipe on:

Burmese Coconut Jelly Dessert - Kyauk Kyaw

Coconut Jelly
Kyauk Kyaw

Agar Agar is a popular dessert ingredient in South East Asian countries where it is used as a substitute for gelatin. Agar agar, a seaweed extract, is a good vegan substitute for gelatin which is derived from animal products. Agar agar comes in several different forms - flakes, strands and powdered.  The powdered form of agar agar is much more potent than the flakes or strands. It takes 1 tablespoon of flakes or strands to thicken 1 cup of water, whereas 1 teaspoon of the powder is sufficient to thicken 1 cup of water.

Burmese Dessert - Sanwin Makin

Cream of Wheat Cake Made With  Coconut Milk

I adapted this recipe submitted by Saw Saw Win on the Burmese Food Lovers' Kitchen group in Facebook. The amount of brown sugar has been reduced from 3-1/2 cups to 2 cups for those of us who have to watch our sugar levels, and the oven temperature increased to 375°F from 350°F.

There was a snow storm last night (about 5" or so) and when I looked out of the living room window this morning, I found that the young man who lives across the street from us was hard at work, removing the snow from our driveway with his snow-blower.  To thank him for his kindness, a few squares of this dessert and some oranges were hand-delivered to him by my husband.

DH was not able to describe the dessert to him except to say that the white things on top were white poppy seeds, so I called him on the telephone and gave him a list of the other ingredients just so he would know what he was eating. The young man is a chef and much appreciated the details!

Candied Ginger

A great mouth freshener after eating Burmese or any food. Tidbits of ginger cooked in a simple syrup, dried on a rack and then tossed in granulated sugar, this finger-food is very easy to make at home.

Beet & Vegetable Chops

Vegetable Chops - Beets, Carrots and Sweet Potato are boiled,
mashed and formed into patties, using besan (chickpea flour)
as a binding agent.

Ingredients:

3 medium beets

4 carrots

1 sweet potato

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup chickpea flour (besan)

2 tsp. plain yogurt or sour cream

1 tsp. salt

Cilantro, chopped

Green onions, chopped

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Method:

1. Cut root vegetables into chunks and boil in salted water for 15-20 minutes.
2. Drain vegetables and mash with a fork or potato masher until it resembles chunky mashed potatoes.
3. Add chopped onions, flour, yogurt or sour cream & salt and mix through.
4. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
5. Using a tablespoon to measure, drop vegetable mixture into hot oil and flatten to form a patty.
6. Shallow fry for 2-3 minutes on each side.
7. Drain patties on a plate lined with a paper towel.
8. Alternatively, chops may be baked on a cookie sheet (foil lined and greased) at 400F for 20 minutes.
9. Serve patties with lime and tamarind chutney. 

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