What to add in your Culinary Bag

Fresh ingredients are key to a proper start for any dish. When we have a garden, I am able to walk outside and grab a few items. I love easy access to the fresh vegetables. Coupled with it is convenient and a huge cost savings. First hand knowledge of methods used growing food is valuable and gives added peace of mind. Growing  your own vegetables makes for frequent farm to table menu options at your dinner table.

By the same token, planting in containers is an option too. Container gardening will yield a surprising amount for the space. With this type of gardening it is easier to manage the weeds. A green thumb comes in handy when growing fresh fruit and vegetables. If your minus a  farmer or green thumb, support the local farmers markets and cooperative farms in your area.

Together with fresh yellow squash and zucchini from the garden, you will have a wonderful partner for Grouper or snapper. Marry together with a bit of herbs, onion and garlic and ‘the party’s in the bag’. Fish is easy to cook. It is important that you don’t over cook.  No one wants to eat dry fish especially Grill Man. It would be better to pull out early and check than to over cook.

Additionally, cooking the fish and vegetables  in a culinary bag allows for minimal fat in this recipe. The seasonings are on the lighter side of my palate. This dish is also gluten-free if you have celiac or attempting to remove gluten from your diet. I hope that this will be dish that you will enjoy and share with others.

Alexa, Shout out to The Doobie Brothers.

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Waste Not Want Not Series:
potatoes, corn, carrots, garlic and  mushrooms

“Waste not want not” is a hats off tribute to my Irish Grandmother Theda Faye who was the Queen of Thrifty. In our childhood home, my Dad was not a fan of eating leftovers which certainly went against the grain of Theda’s Faye’s entire philosophy.

I recall hearing my Mother state that my Dad “refused to eat leftovers”. This would always horrify my Grandmother and would elicit comments  about how she would handle my Dad. Granny had her work cut out for her.

I am pretty sure that my Mom never took Granny’s suggestions.  Granny was a strong woman and not shy about sharing her opinion. Although, I am speculating entirely based on the premise that my parents are still married after all of these years.

As an adult, I realized that “leftovers” were only food ingredients that required repackaging in the kitchen and presented in a different recipe. This is easy to do whether you use the ingredients the next day or throw in a storage bag, and freeze for later. Always label your freezer ingredients for easy identification and date. I have learned this the hard way playing the freezer game of “what is that?”

The crawfish and shrimp boil over the weekend yielded an excess of shrimp, corn, potatoes, carrots, garlic and mushrooms. I peeled the leftover shrimp and threw in my freezer. This would be used later for Shrimp Dip. This shrimp recipe is my favorite childhood food memory and is hauntingly delicious. Warning: It is addictive.

The remaining ingredients from the shrimp boil would make a great addition to my shrimp chowder. I also wanted a one pot dish for dinner so that I could move to the “couch for a spell”. One pot was all the energy that I could muster. The fun-filled weekend had “worn me out”. Using the leftovers was great and a soup was what I needed, then my couch.

Of course, the recipe made from fresh ingredients in lieu of shrimp boil leftovers will be great too. If using fresh vegetables, add the  seafood stock to separate pot and boil until tender. Then prepare white roux and combine ingredients. Adjust the seasonings, since the boil process adds seasoning to vegetables.

Shout Out to Alexa for U2 for a bit of Bono.

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Fresh Gulf shrimp make amazing shrimp recipes. Shrimp is a great start to a delicious appetizer recipe or meal. I am fortunate to live near the Gulf Coast and fresh seafood is a special treat.  The shrimp, crabs, craw-fish, oysters and the wide range of  fish is a bonus when cooking and developing recipes.

It is a luxury that many may afford whether they buy or catch their own seafood. On the coast, we have multiple markets that offer the Gulf’s finest fish and shrimp for your dining pleasure. You may still enjoy our fresh seafood even if you live far away from the coast.

Most markets will ship seafood out-of-state fresh or frozen directly to your door.  No one should have to long for fresh quality shrimp or seafood, ever. Alabama Gulf Seafood  has a great web site that details how to find, catch, cook and see Alabama seafood.

On occasion, I have had the pleasure of fishing in Gulf waters off shore  and loved it. Being a guest on a charter boat is  always  exciting. There is nothing like a fresh catch whipped into a great recipe on board. A fish  that was recently swimming turned into a ceviche recipe before your eyes is “as good as it gets”. Add this to your list, it will get no fresher than that.

There is nothing like dragging in a big ‘ole fish. I am not a fan of the entire bait process but it is hard to fish without bait. The next time you’re in the area, charter a boat and  experience the joy. You not be disappointed, unless you’re a “lilly-livered-land-lubber”.

If your lucky enough to own a boat then you know what it is like to wander on the Gulf waters, as you please. Perhaps it helps to have “coördinates of fishing honey holes” or a great charter captain so that you always find and catch fish.

The Gulf is a great big place and fish know where to hide. Finding and catching fish is part of the challenge.  Sometimes it is hard to find a “mess of fish”. Find a local market and place your order. Fish and shrimp are plentiful and easy to manage for transport or preserving to cook your favorite fish and shrimp recipes.

Forrest Gump on Shrimp Recipes

Who could say it better than Gump? Forrest Gump said, ” Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it. Dey’s uh shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep-fried, stir fried, There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. ”

Shout out to Alexa for Light Jazz, it has been a long day and I need to start my shrimp recipe in a rich sauce.

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Fall events are happening everywhere. Many events are taking advantage of the nice weather outdoors. For an indoor outing, Fairhope has the Film Festival. It is about to start ramping up. Fairhope Film Festival starts November 10 and ends November 13.

From a huge collection of movies that include comedy, documentary, narrative, drama, thriller and  more will be at your disposal. Tossed in you will also find Panel Discussions and a cocktail event or two. Panel discussions have been my favorite every year. I love learning about behind the scenes of writing, creating, filming, shopping locations etc.

Support the arts. Check it out at www.fairhopefilmfestival.org. Great local event that is family friendly for teenagers and adults.  Check subject matter before making a movie choice decision and taking your child. Buying a ticket is a great way to support arts and Fairhope Community.

During Fall when the weather is turning cooler, soup is the answer. A quick review of the items on hand, called for a Corn and Crawfish Chowder.  Soup that you will want to cook again.

Shout out to Alexa for Ray LaMontagne. I love his music and great to cook with. And in a libation and voila, I’m smiling.

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