Healthy and Delicious!

Here's a recipe that's quick, easy, and healthy- and unexpectedly delicious!  Miss Ginger has been seeing a lot of different avocado/pasta recipes on Pinterest, so she decided to copy steal concoct one of her own!  It's avocado season, and she has read that they are good for lowering her cholesterol, so, hey- a delicious food with good PR that's not real expensive? What's not to love?

This dish has just a few simple ingredients, and comes together in a snap!

1 bag of Trader Joe's pasta- any shape (they only have one size! Love that place for it's simplicity!!) Of course, any pasta will work- but you gotta figure out how much!

9 Campari tomatoes, or an equivalent amount of another kind of tomato (if you use big tomatoes you will want to peel them and dice them. Camparis are too small to peel, so Miss Ginger just kinda sliced them. You could also you cherry or grape tomatoes.)

1 can Artichoke hearts, packed in water (not the kind packed in oil)

2 Avocados, sliced

Olive Oil (or I guess you could just use the artichokes with oil in them!)

1 lb Louisiana Gulf Shrimp- the only shrimp worth eating! 

garlic, old bay seasoning- to taste

Boil the pasta.  While it's boiling:

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat; add olive oil to cover the bottom. (Lesson from Momma G:  "Hot pan, cold oil- food won't stick. Always heat your pan first!") Add the tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and seasoning, and cook until the tomatoes release their water and it boils down by about half. Add the avocado slices and stir them in well; they will begin to break up and make the sauce creamy.  Add the shrimp and cook until done, about 5 minutes.  

Drain the pasta and combine with the sauce. 

That's it!  You just cooked dinner in about 15 minutes! It makes about 6 servings!

Enjoy!

Checking it Twice?

Not so much! Miss Ginger isn't doing much shopping this year, and actually, all that she is going to do was done today in one fell swoop at the grocery store! She's not doing the whole "gift exchange" this year with anyone, so there's not a single gift to wrap! Her gift to the friends and family who choose to share Christmas with her will be laughter, spirits, friendship, and a lovely traditional English Roast Beef dinner, with a bit of a Cajun twist! She can't help it- her cooking just turns out a bit spicier than what anyone in England could call "traditional"! She's also going to make another traditional English side that she's not done before: Yorkshire Pudding!

To tell the truth, she has made them before, only she called them by their common American name: "popovers". There's a few differences in the way "Yorkies" and popovers are made and served, but Miss G feels confident enough with her experience and technique that she can make them for a holiday meal without any worry. I think sometimes Yorkshire Pudding is made as one big dish kind of like a souffle, but the recipe Miss G has chosen makes individual servings that will ensure each guest gets plenty of crispy crust!

I'm not sure why the Brits call them "puddings", although I do know a pudding is much more than the blob of thick Jell-o® slop that we call pudding in the US!

What are you doing for Christmas this year?

Holiday Cooking with Miss Ginger- Part II

Now that all you Yankee biotches have choked down your nasty "steamed" or, (shudder) "boiled" cabbage, Miss Ginger is going to teach you the proper Southern way to cook cabbage! It's called "smothering", and you can "smother" just about anything. Most often Momma Ginger smothered cabbage, but she also smothered okra, pork chops, and chicken. But "smothered" cabbage was her best. I don't know if anyone else in the world uses that term, and I'm almost positive that you won't find it in any Martha Stewart books! But you'll use it once you've tasted cabbage made this way!
Start with a heavy dutch oven (GingerSnaps may recognize Miss G's heavy gumbo pot!). You'll need a bit of oil- or better yet, bacon drippings! Miss G uses olive oil year-round, but for holidays she can typically manage to come up with some bacon grease! (Momma Ginger used to keep bacon grease in a special stainless straining container until Daddy G's heart attack!)


Cut the cabbage into 4ths or 5ths, depending on size, and then 4ths or 5ths the other direction.








Once the cabbage is cut and the grease is hot, rinse the cabbage in water, then dump it into the grease. Sprinkle about a 1/4 cup or so of vinegar over the cabbage. Momma G used cider vinegar, Miss G uses rice wine vinegar, but any vinegar will do. This step reduces the "bitterness" you sometimes get with cabbage.



Season with your favorite seasoned salt, then stir the cabbage as best you can (the pot will be really full!) You just want to move it around enough to distribute the fat.
A little note about seasoned salt- the "gold standard" is Tony Cachere's Creole Seasoning. Miss G puts it on every thing. Emeril now markets something he calls "Magic Dust", but it's really just a late-comer copy of something Louisiana housewives have sworn by for years!
Add about a cup or so of water, cover the pot, let it come to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it cook. As long as you want to. The longer, the better, in Miss G's book. Get all your stirring done early, so the seasoning and flavor distribute while the cabbage is still firm. Don't stir it after it gets soft, or you will end up with mashed cabbage!

It's the tenderest, most flavorful cabbage you will ever eat, and it's the only cabbage Miss G will eat!