fried brown rice and favorite new kitchen addition

A confession—I didn't meal plan this week past Tuesday. I have been making brown rice more and I was inspired by a big bowl of leftovers, a bunch of asparagus and shrimp. (I even had to borrow an egg from a neighbor since I ran out this morning!)

Feeding tip: I couldn't remember the last time I had made fried rice so I "winged" it. I made the shrimp (I had 10) separately (which she likes) and added peas as a side (which she likes.) Remember, when introducing new foods try to have other foods that your child is likely to eat. It was awesome!

I cut and boiled the asparagus for about 8 minutes and cooked the rest while I boiled the water and waited.

Shrimp

Melt a pat of butter and a swirl of olive oil in a pan until just bubbling. Add the shrimp (I peel and devein myself which saves about $4 a pound) and fry about 2 minutes. I add a little smear of the above garlic paste to each one with a butter knife, then flip it individually and fry another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with a tiny pinch of salt. Watch not to scorch the butter. Super fast and easy.

Rice: (I "winged" it after not finding a recipe quickly.)

leftover brown or white rice

olive oil

1 medium chopped onion

1/2 inch ribbon of garlic and ginger paste

1 egg (or 2 if enough left-over rice)

splash of sherry or rice wine

2 Tbspns soy sauce

Heat olive oil in a wok or deep pan. Cook onion until glassy (about 7-8 minutes) add garlic and ginger and stir about 1 minute. (I used two wooden spoons.) Add sherry and cook about 1 minute. Add rice and break up/heat through. Add cracked egg to it all and mix until thoroughly cooked (3-4 minutes?) Dump in drained asparagus (and shrimp if you're not accomodating a kid) and mix and serve!

M tried some, closed her eyes, and smiled that it was delicious. She ate some asparagus, but ate mostly the rice, shrimp and peas. (and a piece of home-made bread.)

I LOVE the herb pastes. They are from Target and other stores and save so much time. I wrote about it last year, and this new try for 2009 has passed muster.