Shrimp in Coconut Milk with Red Curry Paste

This is a quick and tasty meal that you will have on the table as soon as the rice cooker switches to done. Don't let the coconut milk scare you (like it always does my kids) because you can't taste it.

Shrimp in Coconut Milk with Curry Paste

1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce
1 1/2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled and tails removed
Jasmine rice, cooked

Stir the can of coconut milk and add 1 cup to a large skillet. Bring to a boil. Stir in the curry paste and brown sugar. Turn the heat to low and simmer the mixture for 2 minutes. Add the remaining coconut milk and fish sauce, and stir to combine. Add the shrimp and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, for 3 minutes, or until the shrimp turns pink. Spoon over Jasmine rice.

Optional: My husband and I like a little heat so after fixing the kid's plates, I mix in a little Thai Kitchen chili paste.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I wonder how many times I've made chocolate chip cookies in my life? I wonder what the world record for chocolate chip cookie making is? Okay, I'm probably not there but I have been making chocolate chip cookies and snicker doodles since the early eighties. Even though there are an infinite number of chocolate chip cookie recipes out there I usually end up using the Toll House recipe. Now they're gluten-free, but no one would ever know.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup shortening

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon water

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/4 cups sorghum flour blend or brown rice flour mix* (below)

1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 12 ounce package chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º. Mix shortening to soften then add sugars and blend until fluffy. Stir in eggs, water and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix together flour, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder. Gradually add to wet ingredients. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips. Refrigerate 1 hour. Use cookie scoop to place teaspoon of dough on cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Let cool 2-3 minutes before moving to cooling rack and cool completely. Store in freezer to maintain freshness.

*Carol Fenster's Sorghum Blend*
1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1 1/2 cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca flour
Store in airtight container.

*Rebecca Reilly Brown Rice Flour Mix*

2 cups brown rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch

1/3 cup tapioca starch

Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

Blueberry-Lemon Muffins

Whenever I see fresh blueberries I'm reminded of a visit to my friend Heather's home in Oregon several years ago. We ate fresh blueberries daily that were purchased from a produce stand near her house. I don't think I've ever eaten blueberries that tasted that sweet and delicious. Living in Nebraska, we don't have the same blueberry opportunities but with summer does come better blueberries in the stores.

This summer has seen blueberries selling at an excellent price so we have been eating them often. My favorite way to eat blueberries is in a simple fruit salad with strawberries and cantaloupe. A more popular way to get my kids to eat them is this Blueberry-Lemon Muffin recipe from Carol Fenster's 1000 Gluten-Free Recipes. I love the burst of flavor the lemon zest adds and the boys love the sugar topping. The modified tapioca starch helps create the perfect density and they puff up beautifully. They also freeze well. I wrap them individually in saran wrap and then into a ziplock freezer bag before freezing. Perfect for grabbing one on those mornings when you need breakfast to go -almost every morning I work.

Blueberry-Lemon Muffins with Lemon-Sugar Crust

Liquid Ingredients
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients
2 cups Carol Fenster's Sorghum Blend*
1/4 cup Expandex modified tapioca starch, or 1/4 cup Sorghum Blend
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and patted dry

Topping
Cooking Spray
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 375º. Spray the cups of a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat the eggs until light yellow and frothy. Add the rest of the liquid ingredients and beat until just blended.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients except the blueberries. Set the mixer to low speed and gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Continue mixing until the batter is smooth and thickens slightly. Gently stir in the blueberries.

Divide the batter evenly in the muffin cups and bake for 25 to 3o minutes. Muffin tops should be firm and the edges pulling away from the pan. Cool the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Make the topping by combing the sugar and lemon zest. Spray muffin tops with cooking spray and then dip them into the sugar mixture. Let stand on cooling rack for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

*Carol Fenster's Sorghum Blend*
1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1 1/2 cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca flour

Whisk together and store in airtight container.

Snickerdoodles

Summer vacation is here and I've started baking again!!!

First up: Snickerdoodles. My son says I make the best snickerdoodles in the world. Even though I think he has a pretty small point of reference, I'll take that praise anyway. They are delicious.

Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups Domata Flour
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cream the shortening and butter together. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in the eggs. In a separate bowl whisk together the Domata flour, cream of tarter, soda and salt. Gradually add to sugar mixture. Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 400º. In a small bowl mix together 2 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon. When dough is chilled use cookie scoop to make small balls. Roll balls in cinnamon and sugar mixture and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes.

Basil Pesto

As happy as I was a few months ago when all of my little herb seedlings started sprouting up, I was beyond thrilled when I finally got to use them. This weekend I put some of my fragrant basil to use and made a delicious pasta with basil pesto and grilled chicken. I found myself licking the spatula to make sure there wasn't a drop wasted and didn't even get a picture of it plated up because we couldn't wait to dive in.

I tend to only make pesto in the summer when I have my own basil so I never remember what recipe I like to use. This time I started with a Giada De Laurentiis pesto recipe from Everyday Italian.

Spaghetti with Basil Pesto & Grilled Chicken

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

1 garlic clove (I used 2 or 3 - love garlic!)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more

1 pkg. Mrs. Leeper's corn spaghetti, cooked al dente (reserve 1 cup of pasta water)

2 chicken breasts, grilled and torn or cut into bite-sized pieces

Pulse basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt and pepper in food processor until finely chopped. Gradually add olive oil while continuing to blend until it reaches a smooth and thick consistency. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Add pesto to pasta and mix. Add enough pasta water to thin to desired sauce consistency. Toss in chicken breast and serve topped with fresh grated Parmesan.

Photo:

"Basil - an Indispensable Herb of French Cuisine." Online Image. French Culinary Blog - Made in Cantal. No date. 9-27-09 .