JUST FOR THIS WEEK A SUNDAY RECIPE POST - EASY SHRIMP FRIED RICE

There will also be one tomorrow.

In our house we enjoy shrimp and we enjoy fried rice.  We put these two things together in this recipe, which came from a food blog called Recipe Girl hosted by Lori Lange.  Her introduction reads in part, "...enjoy over 3,000 recipes, entertaining tips and travel adventures."  I will be going back to visit often, and you can visit the original recipe if you click here.   It will also show you a more complete nutritional value.

Easy Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe - 

Serves: 8 

Calories: 211 in a 1 cup serving

It always takes me a little longer than these recipes state, but are a good guide line as to how fast you can put a meal from prep to table, so....

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

 

2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil, divided

16 ounces medium peeled and de-veined shrimp (suggestions to use instead of the shrimp are pork, chicken, beef and I am adding tofu to this list, also scallops)

1 cup diced onion

1 cup finely diced carrot

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

3 cups cooked white rice

1 large egg

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

chopped green onions, for garnish (if desired)

 

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat. 

Add the shrimp to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp until pink and no longer translucent. Transfer the cooked shrimp to a plate and keep warm. Set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and stir in the onions. Cook the onions until softened, approximately 3 minutes. 

Stir in the carrots and cook for an additional 3 minutes or until softened. 

Add the garlic and ginger, cooking until fragrant.

Stir in the white rice and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the rice is crisp.

Push the rice to the edges of your pan making a well in the middle. Crack the egg in the middle of the pan and stir to scramble. Cook the egg and then begin to stir into the rice mixture.

Add the peas, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil to the rice stirring to combine. Cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. 

Stir in the shrimp and cook for an additional minute to warm through.

Serve immediately topped with chopped green onions (optional).

I would like to thank Lori for an excellent meal.  We enjoyed it very much.

We added three or four small, seedless sweet red peppers, and for a garnish I put a sprig of parsley on the top as I had no green onions.  

As we both like heat in an Asian recipe, we added a tablespoon of Chile paste.  A little goes a long way.

The condiments we used were Sweet Chili Paste and a dash or two of Ponzu Sauce.

Thanks for looking and have a great week.

BAR-HEADED GEESE

This is an old photo from April 2008 of a pair of Bar-headed geese.  I found them on a lake at a local, privately owned zoo.  They had a whole variety of different geese and ducks there but these two caught my eye on that trip.

I found very interesting information at a website called The Spruce, and if you are curious about these birds you can click here.

I gleaned a few interesting facts about them.

"They are one of the highest flying birds in the world and can fly above the Himalayan Mountains when it migrates, at heights that may reach 30,000 feet.

Their scientific name is Anser indicus (occasionally Eulabeia indica).

It's common name is Bar-headed Goose, Indian Goose and Gray Goose.  

They have a life span of 15 to 20 years.  

Size 28-30 inches and weight 4.4-6.6 pounds.  

Wingspan is 55-62 inches.  

These geese have a low honking call they use almost continuously in flight.  On land softer calls or small trills can occasionally be heard.

These geese prefer freshwater habitats such as bogs, open marshes, marshy lakes or river wetlands, as well as wet grassy fields or flooded agricultural areas.  

They are found in much of Asia and migrate seasonally.  

These birds are also part of exotic waterfowl collections throughout the world, including zoos and aviaries.  

Some feral populations have been established, most notably in Spain, Belgium and Finland, but regular escapee sightings are also recorded in Canada and the United Kingdom.  Rare escapees may be seen nearly anywhere.

During the breeding season, bar-headed geese can be found in appropriate habitats in Mongolia, western China, Kyrgyzstan, eastern Afghanistan and northeastern Pakistan.  In winter bar-headed geese migrate directly across the mountains to their wintering range in central Pakistan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and southern China, generally favoring lowland areas in winter."

I found it so very interesting to learn about this goose.  There is much more information about them at The Spruce.

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend.

MORE ON OUR VISIT TO WIDECOMBE IN THE MOOR

I am sharing more photographs from our visit to Saint Pancras Church in Widecombe-in-the-Moor several years ago.  My other post can be found here.

Saint Pancras is cruciform in shape and consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, north and south transepts, south porch and a 135 foot tower which contains six bells of various dates, the earliest going back to 1632.

The church was originally built in the 14th century in the late Gothic style, and was nicknamed "Cathedral of the Moors" because of its relatively large capacity for such a small village.  People would have to walk miles for services.   

It was also badly damaged in the Great Thunderstorm of 1638 which I mentioned in my previous post, in which during the month of October a ball of fire passed through the church (long before lightning rods were even thought of I suppose).  Wallboards in the church tell the story.  More details of this event can be found at this site.

This area is steeped in folk lore and superstition, and there are many ghost stories, one involving American actor Daniel Stern, though I could not find what this experience was about.  He said that he had 'an unsettling and possibly supernatural experience' there.  You might remember him from Home Alone 2, City Slickers, and he also narrated the TV show Wonder Years.  What I found interesting was that he had visited Widecome-in-the-Moor briefly back in 1980 when he was on his honeymoon.

I found the above picture on line, as I did the painting below, which shows the village as it was long ago.

So, who was Saint Pancras?  Pancratius was born at Phrygia in around AD290.  He was an orphan who at the age of 14 was taken to Rome by his Uncle, Dionysium, where he was converted to Christianity.  As with many saints it seems, he came to a sorry end around AD304.  You can read his whole story here if interested, which is where I got some of my information.

We were very happy that the church was open and had a good look around.  

 

On the old stone floor.

The following is an explanation of the above.

There were display cases with items from previous wars.

An impressive model of the church made by a local gentleman out of what looked like matchsticks. 

In the churchyard is the grave of novelist Beatrice Chase who lived for much of her life in a cottage close to the village.  Her real name was Olive Katherine Parr and she was a direct descendant of William Parr, the brother of Catherine, the sixth wife of Henry VIII.

This flower below is called a Narrowleaf plantain, a species of Plantains (Plantago), also known as English plantain, Ribwort plantain, Buckhorn plantain, Lamb's tongue and Buckhorn.  It's botanical name is Plantago lanceolata.

Below is the Golden chain tree bloom I mentioned in my other post, link already provided.

Near the entrance of St. Pancras there is a giftshop and out front is a 15-inch naval shell.  It was donated to the village after the First World War, to thank the villages for supplying troops with sphagnum moss.  This grows in abundance in the damp Dartmoor conditions and is said to have healing properties.  It was used as an emergency field dressing for injured troops.

Lastly, a few more scenes of the English  countryside.

The next photo was taken of the Church in the distance, center of photo. 

I have one other post about the church which I will share as soon as I can put it together.  I had a wonderful time researching and finding out some of its history, and there is a lot more I have learned but it would take another dozen or so posts and I think I will stop here. 

Thank you so much for looking and enjoy your day.