Shreamallion Spring Rolls

Delicious and only 4 Ingredients! (Minus spices used for cooking Shrimp and the dipping sauces) They look a little funky because I baked them instead of frying.
Ingredients:  Shrimp, Spring Roll Wrappers, Cream Cheese, Scallions
Spices used on Shrimp:  Salt, Pepper, Crab Seasoning, Dash of Cumin, Italian Seasoning, Paprika
Dipping Sauces: 1.  Peanut Butter, Brown Sugar, Water  2.  Greek Yogurt, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Dash of Hot Sauce, Ketchup, Mustard (sounds disgusting but is actually quite delicious if you can get over the fact that there is Ketchup and Mustard in the sauce!)

First, saute the shrimp in a pan with a spoonful of Olive Oil.  Add the spices and cook until firm. Let cool so you can handle. 

Did you know you can continuously re-grow your scallions?! Just put the white part/roots in a littlet water and place in sun :)  PREHEAT OVEN TO 375 DEGREES

The wrappers need to be soaked. I used a big pan with about 1 inch of water in it.  I also did one wrapper at a time.  They are definitely the strangest texture I have ever cooked with! Soak for about 1 minute and it becomes 'plasticy.' Place on a plate, and fill with 2-3 Shrimp, 2-3 Scallions and a stick of cream cheese. (For the cream cheese, about half the size of a normal Chapstick)

Place the rolls SEAM side down.  Bake until they are a little golden brown on the top (about 20-30 minutes). Let cool for about 4-5 minutes and they get a little bit harder so they are easier to eat. Surprisingly very easy dinner! And we still have gobs of Spring Roll Wrappers left because you have to buy a bunch at once!

Mardigan's Recommendation: Remain optimistic! This one doesn't provide many crumbs but something will fall! Eyes at the reaaaady!

Vegetarian Seattle Dogs in Haiti!

Because why not?? These are awesome! Go Seattle for being known for this type of hot dog.

Caramelized Onions, Cream Cheese, Field Roast Grain Meat Frankfurters and that's it!

Mardigan's Recommendation:  WAIT for a piece of the bun! Steady, steady, wait for it, give the eyes and drop! There it is at your paws!

Creamy Potato Soup topped with Scallions and Sausage

If you want a real homey feeling meal - this is it!  Try this easy creamy potato soup and pretend there is snow outside! Delicious!

Ingredients:  Potatoes (I used about 8-10 but the potatoes in Haiti are pretty small), 2 Small Onions, 1/2 Stick of Butter, Water (enough to fill up to the top of the potatos), 2 cubes of vegetable bouillion, 5 cloves of garlic, 1 heaping cup of Greek Yogurt, 3/4 cup heavy cream, 1 cup milk, Salt, Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Garlic Powder, 1 ounce white cheese (I used Cheddar), Sausage, Scallions

 -Start with all chopped potatoes in the pot.  Add the onions and garlic (just rough chop).  Cube the butter and add on top.  Add a dash of crushed red pepper flakes and break the boullion up over top.  Stir.  Salt the potatoes generously and fill with water until you can just see it through the potatoes.

-Cook on medium-high heat until it begins to boil.  Reduce to a simmer and stir frequently.

-After about 7 minutes add the dairy products: cream, yogurt, milk, and cheese.

-Let this simmer for about 5 minutes before you season to taste with pepper, salt, and garlic powder.
-The longer it sits on extremely low heat the tastier it gets! Garnish with scallions.

We added grilled veggie sausage on top! Delicious!

Mardigan's Recommendation: Pay attention early on...RUNAWAY POTATOES. Keep your focus on the ground furrballs. 

Twisty Poutine

This was inspired by my friend Beth who is admirably running a marathon and going to reward herself with the Canadian Dish - Poutine afterwards. If you don't know what poutine is l(I was unfortunately clueless) here is the wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine.  CAUTION: ONCE YOU LOOK YOU WILL BE STARVING!

I didn't have the ingredients to make a traditional poutine so I made a twisted version and it was delicious! And my husband is very grateful for Beth planting that idea in my head.

Ingredients:  Potatoes, Small Deep Fryer, Frying Oil, Old Bay Seasoning/Crab Seasoning, Gouda Cheese, Scallions, White Onions, 2 Cloves of Garlic, 1 Cup of Water, 4 Spoonfuls of All-Purpose Flour, 1 Spoonful of Butter, Salt, Thyme, Rosemary, 1/2 cup Milk

-First slice all of the potatoes as thinly as you can so that when they are fried they get nice and crispy.

-Slice 2 scallions, dice 1/4 of a white onion, and cube 2 ounces of gouda cheese. Set to the side.

-Place in large bowl with salt and soak in water.

-Get the fryer heating up.

-While that is heating, start the gravy.  Start with the butter, then add the flour to it and whisk it in.  Grate the two cloves of garlic into the water, add a few shakes of rosemary and thyme. Add about a spoonful of salt to the water mixture. Whisk in the milk to the flour/butter. Then slowly whisk in the water mixture and keep it on low heat. It should gradually thicken.

-The fryer should be ready.  Do a test with one fry to see if it sizzles. If so, add a handful in. Fry until golden/crispy - about 2-3 minutes, depending on your fryer.

-When finished take the fries out and sprinkly with old bay seasoning on a paper towel to get rid of any access grease.

-Keep an eye on the gravy - keep checking it and whisking or it will suddenly be too thick!

-Now is a good time to fry your two eggs. *If you don't know how to fry an egg, please contact me :)

-To assemble: a heaping pile of french fries, covered in gravy, then add the cubed cheese so it begins to melt.  Add the white onions, a few scallions and then top with the egg.  I added a little bit more gravy and scallions on top as a garnish. What a delicious treat!

Mardigan's Recommendation:  Oh boy Oh boy Oh boy! Those things they call 'fries' are wayyyy worth the wait! Remain calm!

Fried Philly CheeseShroom (or steak) Rolls

This is a great use for those WonTon/Spring Roll wrappers that can always be found by the Tofu and produce area.  We will definitely be using them more often, we love them!

 Ingredients: Mushrooms (or steak), Onions, 1 Clove of Minced Garlic, Salt, Pepper, 3 Spoonfuls of Soy Sauce, Penzey's Chicago Steak Seasoning (or any steak seasoning you enjoy),Wonton/Spring Roll Wrappers, Mozzarella or White Cheddar Cheese

 -Saute chopped mushrooms/meat and onions in spoonful of olive oil.
-Add one clove of minced garlic.
-Salt and Pepper to taste.
-Prepare the wrappers by laying them out. Have a small bowl of water out to seal the edges after you fold.
-Place enough of the meat/onions and a narrow slice of cheese in the center of the wrapper.
-Fold diagonally like an envelope. Then fold the sides and wrap upwards.  I like to use a little bit of water as a 'glue' to ensure that it won't open.

-Coat a large skillet with cooking oil.  Heat until it is cracking.  It should be hot enough that the oil sizzles.

-Place the rolls fold-side down.

-Cook each side for one minute, until golden brown. 

-Remove and let cool.

-Serve with marinara or au jus (easy to make)! Delicious!

 Jonathan's Recommendation:  You can put anything in these things! Lets do a grilled cheese inside of these! *I don't know about THAT idea, but you should expect other wonton/spring roll recipes.

Mardigan's Recommendation:  Steady! Steaddddy! The cheese is goopy and delicious! Stare down at your paws and something will magically appear! 

Scubed Salmon

Ingredients:  Dijon Mustard, Honey, Salt, Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Dash of Thyme, Dash of Garlic Salt, Spoonful of Brown Sugar

-Salt and pepper the salmon.
-Mix the ingredients for the sauce.  Don't forget to taste it to make sure it is awesome and balanced!
-Place sauce over salmon before you bake it in the oven.
-Bake at 375 degrees until cooked to your liking. You can check it with a fork periodically. Nothing is worse than overcooked fish so check it!

We served it over sweet potato puree! Delicious!

Mardigan's Recommendation: I love me some fish!  I should be in the McDonald's commercials!

Tumanco's

Bea Salsa:  Cannellini Beans, Mango, Peas, Red Wine Vinegar, Minced Garlic, Salt, Pepper, Lime Juice, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

-Rinse the cannellini beans if you are using canned.  Chop up the mango and thaw frozen peas.

-One clove of garlic minced or grated over the top.

-Combine all ingredients. Stir well. Add one or two spoonfuls of red wine vinegar.

-The salsa just gets better and better the longer it sits and marinates!

Tuna:  Marinated in salt, pepper, and Penzey’s Chicago-Style Steak Seasoning

-If you like your tuna extremely rare/sushi-grade, cook for 30 seconds only on high, in oil of your choice.  Do not put the tuna in the pan until the pan is very very hot!

Healthy Queso-Like Dressing:  Non-Fat Greek Yogurt (about 1 cup), with ¼ cup of Whipping Cream, 2 Limes Squeezed, 1 Dash of Cayenne Pepper, Salt

-I whisked all of these ingredients together for an entire minute, the whipping cream is better after it is all integrated with the lime juice and greek yogurt. Delicious!

Mardigan's Recommendation:  Surprises WILL fall out of the taco roll-up things! Stay calm!

Mascarpato Homards en Vermicelli Brown Rice Noodles

Somehow I whipped this up very quickly one evening, and it turned out to be DELICIOUS and super healthy and Gluten-Free! *I was pretty proud of myself for getting these homards out of the shells like this!

Ingredients:  Lobster Tails, Broccoli (Fresh or Frozen), Minced Garlic, 1/2 can of Tomato Paste (roughly two spoonfuls), 1 Spoonful of Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp. Butter, 3 Spoonfuls of Mascarpone, Noodles of your choice (Vermicelle Brown Rice Noodles are AMAZING, new favorite!), Garlic Salt, Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

-Boil the Rice Noodles in a pot of water with garlic and salt. These rice noodles really take the flavoring in the water, so be generous! Drain and let sit with about one cup of water on reserve for the sauce.
-Bake the lobster (salt and peppered) until firmly pink at 400 degrees. It will probably only take about 8 minutes.
-Saute about 3 cloves of garlic, minced in the butter and olive oil.  Add the broccoli and the water from the boiled rice noodles.
-Add the garlic salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
-When the broccoli seems to be pretty cooked, add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir well.
-Add the mascarpone last and stir completely.
-Serve with the lobster placed on top of the noodles! Yum!

Sorry for the lack of photos on this one! I wasn't initially planning it to be a blog recipe but it turned out too delicious not to share!

Mardigan's Recommendation:  Remain engaged and alert! If you cannot get ahold of anything else, there will at LEAST be some sauce splashed and splattered over the edges. Stay focused!

Spinach Berrtuce (Pasta!)

The name Berrtuce comes from Fettuce.  Fettuce is a wider noodle stemming from the Italian Pasta, Fettucine.  This homemade spinach pasta is pretty time consuming, but a great meal to make with friends or recruit your husband to help! And it sneaks in two whole servings of vegetables - kids won't even know! :)

Ingredients: 4 cups Flour (of your choice), 1 Packet of Frozen Spinach (10 ounces) *you can use fresh spinach if you want, 1 teaspoon of Salt, 1 teaspoon of Garlic Salt, 1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, 1 1/2 cups water *You can check consistency and add more if needed

-I used a breadmaker to mix up my dough, so if you have a machine to do the work for you! Do that - its easier and probably does a better job. ;)
Otherwise you will have to knead it by hand and then let it rest.
-After the dough was ready - the key to rolling it out was extra flour. Make sure to roll it out either on parchment paper with flour, or a clean table with flour. I added flour on top and on the rolling pin too, then roll away! My noodles were relatively thick because I lacked the patience necessary to cut and roll, however if you want very small and thin noodles keep rolling.
-I sliced my noodles in about half inch. sizes and tried to make them as long as possible.
-To dry we used a drying rack for pasta, and then also just a baking sheet and spread them out along the sheet.
-To cook, boil some water with a little bit of salt and then because the noodles are so fresh they only need to boil for about 3 minutes! They should begin to float to the top when they are ready.
-Drain and add your sauce of choice!   Add some fruit to any tomato based sauce to make it unique and burst with sweetness!  I added chopped granny smith apple to my tomato sauce!

Mardigan's Recommendation:  I don't know what flour is but there was a lot of it! It kept falling on the floor! I think the humans use it as a decoy - don't fall for it, wait for the real stuff to fall!

This is what happens when you ask your husband to help.