Here in Tampa, my favorite restaraunts are Trang's Vietnamese, Sumo Thai, Bombay Massala, Don Vincente, The Parisian Cafe, and Au Rondez-Vouz (Where my daughter works...check out their chocolate crossants!)

My favorite easy recipe is for Ctanberry chicken in the crock pot. Combine a can of craberry sauce (Whole berry or not..I like the berry) with 8 oz of catalina salad dressing, season with garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper and a bit of oregano (or a good mixed seasoning containing those) and add 4 or 5 chicken breasts, stirring to coat. Put in crock pot and cook on high for at least 4 hours. Depending on the crock pot, you might want to add a bit of water at the end.
You can make it in the oven too, but it's the simpleness of making this while I'm at work that is such a pleasure.

Celebrating the carambola tonight.
Just finished dinner, and I must say, very tasty.

First make yourself a carambola cocktail.
Slice off the ribs of 8 starfruits.
And the greenish ends.
*note...Do Not ever buy carambola from a grocery store! Never. For any reason! . You will not like them.
Grow them yourself, get them from a friend, or find a good farmer's market or fresh roadside vendor. This is important.
Slice the fruits lengthwise into segments.
Now remove the seed pockets with all the seeds, which pull out easily.
Blend the pulp with 2 cups of water until liquefied.
Strain the juice, discard the solids.
Add the juice of 1 key lime and 1/2 cup sugar.
Taste and adjust, more water? Lime?
Now, put a shot of rum in the blender, a few ice cubes, and a glassfull of carambola juice. Blend until icy and frothy.
Sip.

Now you're ready to begin dinner.

This is dinner for two. Adjust portions as necessary.

Two chicken leg quarters, oiled, salted and peppered.
Bake at 350 for 45 min.

Meanwhile make the carambola sauce.

Saute 1 onion (minced)
1 TB minced ginger
1 Goat's Weed Chile (minced) OK, you don't have Goat's Weed? Why not? Use a Jalapeno then.
2 carambola chopped, seeds and ribs removed.
Juice of 2 Key Limes.
2 TB Honey.
Simmer and add a bit of salt & pepper.

Mix another drink.
Sip.
Relax.

Now go pick some fresh Malabar Spinach.
Wash it and remove the stems.
Chop it up.

Have another sip or two.

Chicken nearing being done?
No?
Have another sip. Or two.

OK, now put about half of that Carambola Sauce on top of the chicken. Broil for about 10 minutes more (or less).

Heat up a skillet with a small slice of butter.
Toss in the Malabar Spinach and saute briefly.
Add just a dash of dark sesame oil and soy sauce.

Everything's done!

Let it rest while you finish your cocktail.

Then garnish with starfruit slices, serve and enjoy.
I did!

Treefrog

It's 10 AM and you guys are making me hungry!! Everything sounds delish! Gone to hunt for peanut butter crackers to hold me till lunch.
Marion

Your recipes sound delicious! The other night I took chicken breasts and cut them into fingers, then marinated them in key lime juice. Coated them in sweetened grated coconut, then cooked until done in butter. Delicious, even if I do say so myself. DH really liked it too and it's one I'll be doing again. We sipped on white wine while this was fixing. : -)

FlowerLady

I really enjoy ethnic foods..Indian, Persian and Thai are a few of my favorites.

I really like fruit salsas/chutneys with chicken and/or seafood.

Treefrog, Your dinner sounded very good! : )

Flowerlady, Anything with Coconut and I'm there!! : ) lol

Tropicalfreak

My favorite is my father's catfish chowder. It is a recipe that is a secret to our family, but it is a wonderful dish with numerous shots of Tobasco sauce and fredh cornbread.

My other favorite is chicken soaked in buttermilk then rolled in coconut and grilled served with my style dirty rice. I cook the rice in coconut milk and then add freshly chooped scallions, baby fresh green peas, slivers of carrots and small pieces of mushrooms. I place the chicken on top of the rice and then add a mango, papaya, pineapple, and kiwi salsa on top, topped with chopped mint and chives. It is heavenly.

Treefrog I can not wait to attempt your dish. It sounds our of this world. I love learning new ways to ytilize and feature the fresh fruits and veggies we grow in our gardens. Linda

This is my original creation. Mind you this is from a person who doesn't like to cook.

"EBONY DELIGHT"

First. Take 3 ingredients of your choice and place in a pot, add enough water to just cover the contents. Turn on high and go back to doing what ever it is you would rather be doing. Painting a portrait, gardening, sewing etc. When the house fills with smoke run quickly to the stove and remove the pan from the heat. Spoon the top l/3 into a bowl and throw the rest into the garbage can. Soak the pan in heavily salted water for 3 days after whitch you throw out the pan because you can't get it clean.

Burned rice just the other day again, and just can't get the pan totally clean. Don't want to throw it out as it's one of my revere ware pans, and I don't have to many pans left.

Ya goofed up Linda...........
Since you can`t share the catfish recipe, You will have to feed it to us someday............... LOL

No problem, as I can make a lot in a short time and it is special

One of my favorite recipes is one my mom learned when we lived over in Okinawa. This is the version of the recipe we make since the person who taught my mom never wrote down their recipe. The recipe is originally from the Philippines.

Shanghai Lumpia or Wontons

Ingredients:
lb. lean ground beef
½ lb. lean ground pork
1 large onion
5 to 7 fresh garlic cloves
(2) 8 oz. cans of water chestnuts
(2) 9 oz. bottles of oyster sauce
Lumpia or Wonton wrappers (can be found in oriental food stores)

Directions:
Chop the onion into fine pieces and put in a large frying pan. Peel and mince the garlic (easiest way is to use a garlic press), then mix it together with the onion. Add a little olive oil and fry the mixture until it is lightly browned. The onions may take on a greenish tone due to the olive oil. Once the onion and garlic is browned put it in a large metal bowl. Make sure that the bowl is large enough to hold all the recipeÂs ingredients and still have room to stir them.

Grind or mix the beef and pork together and put in the same frying pan that was used to cook the onion and garlic. Cook the meat until it is completely done. The cooked meat must be in small pieces. Put the meat into the bowl with the onions and mix together.

Chop the water chestnuts into small pieces (be sure not to puree them if you use a food processor) and add them to the bowl. Pour one of the bottles of oyster sauce into the bowl and stir all the ingredients together. Add in as much or as little of the second bottle of oyster sauce as you want. The mixture should be moist but not to the point that it starts to look soupy.

Wrapping:
Make sure to have a large, clean table or countertop to work at. You will need a small bowl of water per person.

If using wonton wrappers, lay out about a dozen wrappers and place a spoonful (do not overfill the spoon) in the center of each one. Using a finger spread water on the edges of the wrapper and then fold it in half over the mixture. Seal the edges of the wrapper together, making sure to squeeze out any air pockets first, and the place in a storage container. Be careful not to rip the wrapper. If you do, then take out the filling and throw the wrapper away. Any rips in the wrapper will cause the wonton the split open and filling the spill out during cooking.

If using lumpia wrappers make sure to get a type that easily peels apart. These wrappers are extremely thin and will rip. Use the same amount of filling as with the wonton wrappers. When rolling up the mixture it is expected for the wrapper to rip some when starting but there canÂt be any rips in the outer layers of the wrapper. The finished lumpia should resemble a medium sized egg roll.

Putting the filling in the wrappers is very time consuming. We usually make it a family project and make several containers of them at a time since we only make them once or twice a year.

Stack the finished wontons/lumpia in large flat plastic containers. Place sheets of wax paper and poster board between each layer of wontons/lumpia to help keep them from sticking together. Makes approximately 200 wontons/lumpia. Store the containers in the freezer. When you want to cook some, heat up a pot of oil and add the wontons or lumpia to the hot oil frozen. Cook them until the wrapper is golden brown.

Karalynn,

I made wontons for the first time on Sunday and now I see your post! I have become vegetarian and I was looking for new recipes so I bought some wonton wrappers. I used a stir fry cabbage/carrot,onion/garlic/ginger filling and they were very good. I put the wonton in a pan with very little oil and cooked them for a couple of minutes, until the bottom of the wrapper was golden brown and then put water to cover them half way up and let the water evaporate. They were good, like the ones I had eaten in Japanese restaurants, not fried and not just boiled. We ate them with soy sauce.

I have lots of Swiss chard and I am looking for new recipes. Yesterday I sauted some with one cubed potato, onion, canellini beans and tomatoes. They were good. I put some bacon in my husband's and he liked them too. What else can I do with them?

Has anybody tried Tempeh? It is like a soy bean cake. I found it at Whole Foods, next to the tofu. I bought one that had carrots and pepper mixed in and I stir fried and I liked it a lot. It is not soft like tofu, it is more nutty so I liked it better. I am going to give it to my husband for dinner and I hope he will like it.

Carmen

I forgot to add the recipe for the sweet and sour sauce.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon dry mustard
1 ¼ cups water
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2/3 cup currant, plum, or apple jelly
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

Directions:
Melt the butter in a pan. Add the flour and dry mustard to the melted butter and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not let the mixture brown! Remove the pan from the heat. Add in the water, vinegar, soy sauce, jelly, and sugar. Return the mixture to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil and thickens. Once the mixture has thickened it is done.

Hopeful,
For your Revere Ware pan: Cover the mess in the pot with an inch or two of water. Add "Dip It II" and boil for as long as half an hour. DO NOT allow to boil dry. Pour out the water and try to scrape the mess with knife or SOS. It will be more brittle than it was and come off more easily. Repeat as necessary until clean.
For cooking rice I use Corning Ware and the microwave: 1 cup rice and two cups of water. Microwave 5 minutes on high and 15 minutes on half power. If 1 1/2 cups rice and 3 cups water, microwave 7 minutes on high and 20 minutes on half power. Microwaves differ so you may have to play around with the settings a little but I have had a lot less mess since using this method. Hope it works for you.
Cath