Cuke & Tomato Salad

Rough chop cucumbers and tomatoes (any color you like).

Add plenty of salt, lemon zest, and dress with lemon juice.

Yummo!

Sambal Meatballs and Rice

Feeling like I should make something different, and having many items
at home that I needed to use up, I decided on this Indian dish. I made it very spicey.
Of course, you can always tone down the spice if you need to. I also served
it with a side of cucumber and tomato salad to tone down the heat of the main
dish.

First, I started with the Sambal. I had many serano chilies, jalapenos, and habeneros. And though I would have
loved to have my seranos be red to give the
sauce a great color, I was happy with the flavor
of the green ones.





I used 6 serano chilies and one large habenaro; minced them up very fine.
I minced up 2 med shallots, very fine. One clove of garlic, minced very fine.
I mixed these together and added some tamarind paste, chili powder, tumeric
and a touch of cardamom, cinnamon and cumin. Then I sauted all of that in a bit
of olive oil. After a minute or two, I added lemon zest and the juice of half a lemon.
Then I set aside.

Next, I made my meatballs. I used a mixture of venison and beef, but you can
use whatever you like. I sauted some minced sweet onion, jalapenos and seranos,
and garlic, then added it to the meat. I also added corriander, cumin, brown sugar,
soy sauce and the juice of the other half of the lemon with some zest. I mixed in
one beaten egg and blended it all together. It was a very wet mixture, so I added
some plain bread crumbs, but you may not need to. You could also add cheese
to them as I think that would be yummy! I formed all my meatballs and fried them
in a good non-stick pan with a touch of olive oil.

I aslo made some white rice, using chicken broth instead of water, salting it well.

To serve, I just put the meatballs on the rice, with the sambal on the side. As I ate it,
I mixed the sambal into my rice, which was wonderful. I probably would have been
happier with a brown rice, but I didn't have any.

All in all, it was a wonderful meal!
See the salad recipe in the next post-

Sweet & Sour Chicken

I tried to call Mark before going to the store, but he left his cell in the truck. I had an idea

that he did not like sweet & sour, but thought, "well, I can't reach him, sooo...".

However, I did not make this like a typical Sweet & Sour dish with breaded meat

and lots of sauce, and Mark liked it, so I will keep it in mind for future meals.

First, I cubed some chicken breast and marinated it in Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar,

Lime juice and Zest, Basil, Chile Paste and Ginger.

Second, I rough cut all my Peppers, Onion and Pineapple. I used one each of red, yellow

and green pepper.

Third,  I made my sweet and sour sauce with Soy sauce, Honey, Rice Wine Vinegar and

a touch of Tomato Paste.

Fourth, I made my Jasmine Rice. I sauted some Green Onion, Red Pepper, Carrots and Garlic

in a little Olive Oil. Toasted off my rice for a minute, then added Veggie Broth. Brought it to a boil, then covered to simmer till done.

Fifth, I fired up my substitue wok. I don't have a wok, so I used a large saute pan.

I added Olive Oil and browned my chicken quickly, on high heat; being careful just

to brown it, not cook it all the way through. Added the Peppers and cooked them

till they started to get soft. Added the Onion and cooked till just softening. Then

added the Pineapple and Sauce. Cooked till just warmed through.

Since Mark expressed his opinion that normal swwet & sour is drowned in sauce, I

used very little, just enough to coat the meat and veggies (and pineapple).

I served that over our lovely, fragrant Jasmine Rice. It was very yummy and not much

was left for lunch. I guess Mark is fine with my version of this chinese carryout staple.

I hope you all will enjoy it, too