Innie or Outie

Most tomato-based or pasta recipes taste great with garlic bread, but that isn’t always easy to find over here or on-hand at the time. One easy replacement for garlic bread is this simple solution:

Quick-n-Easy Garlic Toast

Toast wheat bread in your toaster. (If you don’t have wheat bread, you can use white bread. But wheat bread tastes better.) When done, immediately spread minced garlic paste on the toast and then butter. Slice the toast diagonally into four pieces. Depending on the size of the entrée, serve one or 1/2 slice of toast per serving.

Crockpot Asian Shrimp Creole

1 cup diced celery
1/2 medium size onion (diced)
1 cup diced bell pepper
One 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
Two 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon minced garlic paste
1 tablespoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 cups medium size shrimp (shells removed)

Combine everything except the shrimp in a crockpot and cook on high. After 4 hours, add shrimp and cook on low for 1 hour. Serve over rice or pasta.

This recipe is simple and tasty!!!

Hearty Refried Bean Soup

1 medium carrot (sliced)
1/2 medium onion (sliced)
1/2 cup sliced canned mushrooms
1/2 pound hamburger
1 tablespoon minced garlic paste
2 tablespoons dried cilantro flakes
Two 16 ounce cans chicken broth
Two 16 ounce cans refried beans
Sharp cheddar cheese (grated)
Parmesan cheese (grated)
Guacamole flavored tortilla chips (crushed)

Mince carrot, onion, and mushrooms in food processor. Place hamburger in crock pot, top with carrot/onion/mushroom mixture. Add chicken stock and cilantro flakes. Cover and cook on high for three hours, stirring occasionally.

After three hours, thoroughly mix in refried beans. Cover and cook for one-half hour.

Serve in individual bowls topped with cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, and parmesan cheese.

This is a great on-the-go breakfast or snack!!!

Spicy Breakfast Burrito

1/4 small bell pepper
1/8 small onion
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1 slice bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 slice American-style cheddar cheese
One 10 inch or two 6 inch tortilla(s)
White pepper
Salsa

Mince bell pepper, onion, and bacon in a food processor. Then sauté bell pepper/onion/bacon mixture in olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat.

Meanwhile mix egg and milk in a bowl with fork or whisk. Add enough pepper to taste.
When onions are translucent, pour egg mixture into frying pan. Let brown, then turn over once with spatula.

While omelet is cooking, place cheese in center of tortilla(s) and heat uncovered in microwave for approximately 30 seconds each. (If using 6 inch tortillas, split cheese slice in half then place one half in each tortilla.)

Place finished omelet in center of tortilla (slice omelet in half if using 6 inch tortillas), spoon desired amount of salsa on top, and fold the tortilla burrito style.

If on-the-go, simply wrap the burrito in plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

Sea Chicken (Tuna) Stroganoff

1/2 medium onion thinly diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 6 ounce can tuna (undrained)
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon dried oregano flakes
1 tablespoon dried basil flakes
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt
16 ounces fettuccini
Parmesan cheese

Prepare pasta according to instructions.

Meanwhile, sauté onions and garlic in the olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat.
When onions become translucent, add tuna, tomatoes, tomato paste, lemon juice, parsley, oregano, and basil. Cook on low heat until pasta is ready, stirring occasionally.

Once pasta is ready, drain liquid and replace pasta in cooking pot on low heat adding the tuna/tomato sauce and yogurt. Mix thoroughly.

Place in serving bowl and top with enough parmesan cheese to meet your own taste.

This time of year one feels as though the sun is playing a game of peek-a-boo.  Here are some individual dipping sauces  to use in place of marinades for those who find themselves suddenly facing impromptu B-B-Qs.

Spicy Mustard Sauce(good for sausage, pork, and steak):
     1 tablespoon Japanese Kewpie Arabiki mustard (a nutty, whole grain, Dijon-style mustard)
     2 tablespoons smooth German mustard

Spicy Tomato Sauce (good for shrimp):
     ½ teaspoon minced garlic paste
     1 tablespoon chili sauce
     2 tablespoons ketchup

Spicy Asian Sauce (good for chicken, steak, and vegetables):
     1 teaspoon wasabi (Japanese green horseradish) paste
     1 tablespoon sesame oil
     3 tablespoons dark soy sauce

This recipe is almost like a smooth tuna pate. It can be used as a dip or spread. It even makes a great snack or light entree when used as a topping over rice.

Sea Chicken Spread

1 can of tuna – more commonly called “sea chicken” on Okinawa Finely diced white onion – use as much as suits your taste, but make sure it is very finely sliced
1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon soysauce
2 tablespoons dill pickle juice – dill pickles on Okinawa are still limited to very few grocery stores, so I found that the juice is a good substitute if a smooth final consistency is desired.
1 tablespoon dried parsley

Mix all the ingredients together with enough Japanese mayonnaise to obtain a smooth but firm consistency – the flavor of Japanese mayonnaise is very different from regular mayonnaise. If you can’t find Japanese mayonnaise, you might want to try adding a little lemon juice and regular mayonnaise.

Taki comes from a time on Okinawa, post WWII, when food supplies for the general population were limited and the coping mechanism was to throw whatever was available together.  This became known as chanpuru, a mixture of seemingly non-compatible ingredients.  The most commonly known is goya chanpuru.

I, on the other hand, was given a complete set of Good Housekeeping cookbooks as a wedding gift from my mother. (Since I possessed very limited cooking skills, she had hoped to spare Taki’s stomach.)  Although the gesture was well intended, the reality of the situation thirty years ago, when Taki and I were married, was that there was a very limited selection of Western- style food products available to the local market, in fact it was almost nonexistent. Instead, I learned to try and substitute various items.  And although the food line has improved greatly, there still is a lack of most of the main products in local supermarkets.

Over the years, this chanpuru-style of cooking has sparked some interesting recipes.  We decided it might be fun to share some of these “throw- together” home concoctions with other people who enjoy the art of creating new edibles. Every once in a while I will post one of our Chanpuru-No Rules-Cooking Recipes.  This is the first:

Guacamole

 1      over-ripe avocado
65   grams Old El Paso Taco Sauce
 3     teaspoons sour cream

Mix all the ingredients until smooth, then enjoy as a topping or dip.