Soul Food from a Northern Girl, now Living in the West

By Kathy D. Kirlin
Contributing Writer

I have a cold. I have succumbed, after trying most of the week to overcome the bug by sheer will power. It didn’t work.
My congested head cried out for some comfort food: spice!  The chili warms the body, helps with the head cold, and fulfills this spicy need that my soul desires.

This is what I made:

Spicy Shrimp Stir Fry:
Water chestnuts
Celery
Green onions
Pea pods
Cashews
Some shredded stuff I found in a bag at the bottom of the vegetable drawer.
Shrimp (I used precooked, cleaned, tail on shrimp, remember, I am sick, didn’t feel like peeling and deveining)

Spice: I used a home made curry blend, it’s on my blog at http://tiny.cc/spicycurry. II added a healthy dose of ancho chili powder to the mix.
Garlic chili sauce
Red curry paste

I dusted the shrimp with the powdered spices, let it sit for a bit while I prepped the rest of the ingredients. I diced the vegetables, about the same size. I left the shredded veggies as-is.
Heat oil in a frying pan, add the chili sauce and curry paste. After it sizzled a bit, I added the shrimp, some were still slightly frozen. I cooked it on high for a bit, then added the vegetables and cashews. At this point, one could add a slurry of some liquid and cornstarch to make a bit of sauce, I chose to keep it kind of dry; if using shrimp with no shells/tails, I would make it a bit saucy. But, as I have a cold… not feeling very saucy. I digress…

The rice is VERY easy and delish!
In a rice cooker, put a nice squeeze of lemongrass, yes, from the tube. Add a similar squeeze of ginger, yes, also from a tube. Remember, I have a cold. I didn’t feel like prepping lemongrass and ginger. Besides, fresh lemongrass is very difficult to find here. Unless I want to drive across town and shop at a different grocery store that charges more for bread, milk, and eggs, in order to pay for their fabulous deli and bakery. I suppose. I passed.

Add about a teaspoon of tumeric.

Then add the measured rice, I use a brown basmati… yum. Put in a small can of coconut milk (for 3 “cups” of rice, not a standard cup, but rather the measuring unit that came with the rice cooker).
Top with water to the “3” line.

Push the button. Done in about 45 minutes to an hour.

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[Editor’s Note: visit her blog here ]http://tiny.cc/kathyblog.]