inner zen

deveining shrimp can actually be somewhat relaxing. I think it's because it takes so long and I'm not quite an expert at it. One shrimp at a time, carefully, gently, slowly work a sharp point of a fork between the flesh and pull out the tiny strand of black.

I repeated this shrimp recipe from before, but used a different kind of hot pepper. Still turned out very savory.

cooked good thyme rice with real chicken stock I made from chicken soup. Didn't taste half as good as before though, possibly because the chicken stock is a bit on the light side. Hm...will use canned chicken stock and/or chicken bullion next time.

today's recipe is plantains!

//Sweet pepper and plantain//
ingredients
-2 ripe plantains (outside can be dark brown/black, inside should be somewhat firm)
-1 bell pepper
-1/4 stick of butter
-a few tablespoons of sugar
-clove and cinnamon were recommended on the online recipe I used and modified. too bad I didn't have the above spices.

preparation
1. peel and slice plantains (1/3 inch wide or something like that)
2. slice/dice bell pepper to the size of your liking

cooking directions
1. melt butter in pan
2. add plantains, coat with butter, stir often so they don't burn. keep at it for about 5 min.
3. add peppers, keep stirring
4. after about 4-5 min. add sugar. since the pan may be dry at this point, you can add a tiny bit of water to melt the sugar and soften the peppers a bit
5. cook plantains until golden brown.
6. serve

notes
sweet and soft plantains for home cooking! makes for a very tasty side dish. don't you get sick of the deep fried variety available at all restaurants after a while?