coconut shrimp & veggie quinoa

cooking with coconut milk is an easy way to infuse incredible flavour into your food. such a simple ingredient, but oh-so-yummy. coconut milk was just the thing i was looking for to add some pizzazz to my veggie quinoa dish. while i typically use coconut milk along with curry, i quickly discovered that night that coconut milk adds some fantastic flavour all on its own. it turned my quinoa dish from ordinary to extraordinary. :)

here’s how i made my thai-inspired coconut shrimp & veggie quinoa… another easy weeknight meal.

the shrimp:
– thaw 1 pkg (450g) frozen raw shrimp (peeled, deveined, tail removed)
– rinse well with cold water in colander

the veggies:
– 1 orange bell pepper (seeded, pitted, sliced)
– 1 cup frozen broccoli florets (thawed)
– set aside

coconut curry prawns & organic veggies

cooking is a bit of an escape for me… where you can whisk yourself away (haha, how punny!) and totally get ‘in the zone’ — madly chopping ingredients, experimenting with new and old flavours, and dreaming up new dishes. sometimes i like to take a culinary trip, cooking up dishes from different cuisines from around the world. this time i was inspired by thai cuisine and cooked up this thai fusion dish — balancing the traditional thai flavours of spicy, sweet, sour & salty.

veggies:
– brown 2-3 shallots (rough chop) w/ extra virgin olive oil (evoo) in wok on high heat
– add 2 cups baby organic potatoes (cut into halves) to wok
(tip: best to get an assortment of purple, yellow & red potatoes to add a punch of colour!)
– add 1 cup organic baby carrots (diced)
– season w/ lemon pepper (sour), ground black peppercorns. add some fresh cilantro leaves (rough chop).
– sauté on high heat, until potatoes & carrots are cooked.
(tip: try poking a potato w/ a fork. the potato should be relatively easy to poke thru w/o resistance.)

longanisa & kale nutted couscous

as this deepfreeze continues, funny how i gravitate towards my freezer for some foodie inspiration. or perhaps it’s my fear of frostbite that fuels my freezer frenzy these days. :)  no complaints here, as it saves me an arctic trek to the grocery store and keeps the culinary experiments interesting with all the random ingredients that i find in my freezer and pantry!

the elements of this filipino-moroccan fusion culinary experiment:
– free-range filipino pork longanisa sausage from the local farmers’ market (thawed from my freezer). native to the philippines, longanisa is a filipino pork sausage that is typically prepared for breakfast or as a side dish with rice. longanisa sausage is usually pre-seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic & vinegar.
– nutted spice couscous (from my pantry)
– baked kale chips (thawed from my freezer)
– lemon (thawed from my freezer)
– garlic & evoo (from my pantry)