About Me

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Born a mid western girl but an ocean girl at heart! My soul belongs to the sea....I am obsessed with the color TURQUOISE and all things beachy. I love nature, the outdoors, dogs,cooking,wine,art backpacking, cycling and reading. I also have a passion for photography and I absolutely love photographing the beach that is where my soul is happiest.! I hope you enjoy following me and my adventures so welcome to my blog, I hope you are inspired. HAPPY BLOGGING !

Friday, December 4, 2009

BRRRRR.... it's Fresh Friday!


Ok well I think we have to come to the realization that winter is upon us and you know what that means living in the midwest ... it means get ready to bunker down and try and stay warm and cozy for the next few months! So for me it means getting cozy with my dear friend cabernet :-) Now I ABSOLUETLY hate winter but I am going try very hard to stay positive and cheerful, it is quite a challenge when our winters are so brutal. So there will be many nights where I will light all my candles, turn on the jazz pour a glass of vino and dream of warm beachy places. Ah to Dream.... that is how I plan on getting through this harsh reality of winter in the midwest. I also plan on trying new yummy recipe so on that note here is my Fresh Friday recipe now I have to say this is one of my absolute favs!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

For the peanut sauce...

1/3 cup of water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tbs lime juice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 cup cooking sherry
2/3 cup peanut butter (your choice) to be healthy you can use smart balance.
blend all ingredients with a wisk and microwave until smooth.

In the meantime... saute in a wok
edamame
bean spouts
chick peas(aka garbano beans)
Shiitake mushrooms

Add 5-6 basil leaves
1/2 freshly grated ginger
2-3 fresh garlic gloves minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs cooking sherry

Cook all veggies to desired doness
serve in lettuce cups now I tried butter crisp lettuce and they are great just not so sturdy I suggest iceburg, not my favorite lettuce but it is actually great for this dish

add chopped carrots, chopped peanuts or cashews and dollop a little peanut sauce on each. Fantastic, you must try this dish I REPEAT If you like asian style food you will love this and will dream about it!

I think this dish would be great paired with a nice glass of Reisling just my humble opinion on wine and food pairings. The sweetness of the wine balances the spice in this dish.

Hope you have a great weekend and try to stay warm and cozy!

Cheers~