Continuing the celebration – January 20, 2017

The past few weeks have been so hectic that I haven’t been able to get back at it and post the rest of the New Year’s Eve dinner menu! I’ve been traveling, we have been doing a TON of projects at home and the time has just been flying by. Here are a few things that have been keeping us busy:

View from the plane on the way to London – certainly makes the lengthy flight better 🙂

                    

Some of our DIY coaster creations!!  We had a blast with this project, and I can see us doing more of this in the future – those clay ones take some practice to perfect!

Now on to the delicious FODMAP-friendly Shrimp Pad Thai recipe.  For those of you with an intolerance for cabbage, you can either leave that out or substitute thinly sliced peppers or another vegetable. The beauty of this dish is that it is easy and quick to prepare and chocked full of vitamins and minerals. For those of you who are no-carb, you might want to try Shirataki “Miracle” Noodles; they are in the refrigerated section and offer zero carbs, zero fat, and gluten-free.

FODMAP-friendly Shrimp Pad Thai Recipe Click Here

 

 

 

 

Welcome the new year – January 2, 2017

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and spent time with family and friends. I had time with both and enjoyed some quiet time in the city as well.  Below is a snap of my favorite mulled wine from Jamie Oliver; friends of mine make this every year at our Christmas gathering, and I love it!

A few pics from city wandering and a trip to the Whitney to check out some art.

As for New Year’s Eve itself, it looks like one of two options for me – attempting to make a difficult, new recipe or ordering gluten-free Domino’s :).  This year was the new dish option, and I am so glad I did that!  I made gluten-free, low-FODMAP Pork and Shrimp Spring Rolls and gluten-free, low-FODMAP Shrimp Pad Thai.  I’ll share the Pork and Shrimp Spring Rolls today; look out for the Pad Thai later this week.


Gluten-Free, Low-FODMAP Pork and Shrimp Spring Rolls

Makes 10 – 15 rolls

Ingredients

   

Spring Roll

1 large carrot

4 -5 scallions, green end only

1 inch ginger, chopped finely

3 garlic cloves

1 1/2 cups red cabbage

1/4 lb. pork

1/4 lb. cooked, de-shelled, de-veined shrimp

1 tbsp. canola oil

1 tbsp. rice vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp. gluten-free soy sauce

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Rice paper wrappers / spring roll skin

10 -12 basil leaves

Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup gluten-free soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. chopped ginger

1 chili pepper

Directions

Spring Roll Filling

Shred carrots, chop scallions and ginger and slice garlic cloves in half.

Heat wok or frying pan over medium hear.  Add canola oil and warm through.  Add scallions, ginger and garlic to the oil and cook for 1 – 2 minutes.

Add the pork to the frying pan and cook through completely.

Remove the garlic from the frying pan, and add carrots and cabbage to the mix.  Cook for several minutes until the cabbage wilts and carrots soften.

Add the shrimp and heat through.

     

Add rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar per measurements above.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for several minutes until the flavors come together and some of the sauce is absorbed into the vegetables and meat.

Set the filling aside while making the dipping sauce and preparing the spring roll skin.

Dipping Sauce

Slice chili thinly, removing seeds if desired to cut back on the heat. Place in a small mixing bowl.

Add remaining ingredients into the bowl and whisk together until fully combined.

Spring Roll

This may take some trial and error to get the feel of the spring roll skin.  I would encourage making 2 spring rolls at a time to ensure the paper maintains its form.

Slowly dip a spring roll skin into hot water, covering the entire surface. The spring roll skin should begin to soften and become pliable.

Place on a cotton dish towel for ~30 seconds.

Slowly peel the spring roll skin from the dish towel and bring to your serving plate for creation of the roll.

Place 1 – 2 basil leaves (depending on size) in the lower part of the spring roll skin.

Add about 1 1/2 tbsp. of the filling into the spring roll skin, on top of the basil leaves.

Roll the skin, folding in the sides as you go.

Serve with dipping sauce.  Enjoy!  Let me know how you like it 🙂