Thai for Two.

It's What's Cooking Wednesday time again, folks...

so I bring to you this recipe from "Crazy Plates" by those two Canadian ladies I love, Janet and Greta Podleski (did you know they are actually the youngest of 6 girls! Wow. Imagine trying to get in the bathroom at that house when they were all growing up):

Thai for Two (Linguini, Shrimp, and Veggies in Plum sauce).

Here are your ingredients:

1. 4 oz. uncooked linguini



2. 1/2 cup each plum sauce and low-fat chicken broth



3. 1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar



4. 2 tsp grated gingerroot



5. 1 tsp each reduced-sodium soy sauce and sesame oil



6. 1 clove garlic, minced



7. 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes



8. 1 cup each carrots, zucchini, and red bell pepper, cut into thin strips



9. 8 oz. uncooked jumbo shrimp, peeled



10. 1/4 cup chopped green onions

Here are your directions:

1. Cook the linguini (but...I'd do this closer to the end so you can just plop it right into the sauce/toppings...otherwise it gets cold and sticky)



2. In a small bowl, combine plum sauce, chicken broth, vinegar, gingeroot, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside.



3. Spray a large, non-stick wok or skillet with non-stick spray. Add carrots, zucchini, and red pepper. Cook over med. heat until veggies begin to soften (about 4 mins.). Stir often (really, you should "shake" the pan like they do on the t.v. shows because it makes you look much, much, cooler than just stirring). Add shrimp, green onions, and sauce. Increase heat to med.-high. cook and stir until mixture is hot and bubbly, and shrimp is cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add cooked linguini to wok or skillet and mix well. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Verdicts:

Maddie said, "I don't like Ginger. Did that just hurt your feelings Mom?". Isn't she cute? I told her, "No, sweetie, that doesn't hurt my feelings, but `cha ain't getting anything else". She then managed to eat the rest of her dinner...as did Jamie when she found out that she wasn't getting any junk food (cookies) until she ate some healthy food (her dinner). There was nothing too hot, or too spicy, about this dish...so I wasn't letting them off. I figure if it is really spicy then I won't make them eat it, but if there is really nothing wrong with it then...no such luck.

Davey gave it a 7/10. He said "It would be an 8 if you made it with some beef." I said, "Mamma don't cook cow". And he said, "It would be a 9 if you made it with veal". {He likes to press my buttons. Can you tell?}. Then he told me about an episode of Anna Olsen's cooking show that he just saw in which she was using veal. So, of course, I went off about how cruel that was and how people are just ignorant about how these animals are kept and treated. It is just plain mean and heartless. Dave just sat there quietly smirking to himself.

Me, I say this was quite good. It had a lot of that ginger heat that I love. I think it would have been so much better had my noodles not been finished before everything else because then they just sat there getting cold and forming a big sticky mass before I could get them into the sauce. Next time, I will definitely make the noodles near the end of prep...but I'd for sure make this again. I seem to be getting over my fear of shrimp and I'm hearing more and more good things about the health benefits of shrimp so I'm glad to add some variety to my diet.

For more recipe ideas please go check out the Fairy BlogMother's site...the home of What's Cooking Wednesday. And, if you have a great recipe you'd like to share...feel free to join in the fun!!

Two side notes:

1) I just got listed on The Mom Blogs!!! Yay! So, if you like my site, please rate it up on the top left-hand side of this page. Thanks!!! All votes for "excellent" will receive their cheques in the mail promptly (JK!!!).

2) The other pizza mom called me!! So, she will hand out the pizza and I can be here to get my kids' bunk-beds when they arrive...and do my homework...and, um, maybe just run out to The Bay for a quick second to buy the frickin' KitchenAid Artisan Mixer that I have been obsessing over for days...weeks....years!!! It's on sale. And, frankly, I'm just getting sick of thinking about the damn thing. I think I'd really just better buy it already.