Mr. Hawthorne Woks For Wosie.

Here's the dinner Mr. Hawthorne made for me. And it's just too bad it's nighttime when I was shooting this picture under artificial lights, because if this had been in sunlight you'd want to eat it off your computer screen.

The other night,

I was all cooked out

and wanted somebody to cook for me.

Luckily, Mr. Hawthorne

was able to step up to the plate and deliver.

We have shrimp in our freezer year round,

so Mr. Hawthorne decided on a shrimp stir fry.

Notice his quick and easy method

for peeling and de-veining the shrimp.

He just cuts down the back of the shell

with a pair of kitchen scissors

which takes out the vein

and he can just pull off the shell.

The nice thing about stir fries

is their versatility.

All you need is a meat

and whatever assorted vegetables in your fridge.

In this case,

we had bok choy.

The other veggies and flavorings Mr. Hawthorne

rustled up for our stir fry

were yellow pepper, celery, red onion, and garlic.

Have your wok nice and hot,

then add 2-3 tablespoons of oil

I prefer a good quality peanut oil,

but I noticed the gallon-sized one

was going for $26.

That's a bit steep for me.

Duke's is cheaper,

but I don't like Duke's at all.

I do not stir fry with olive oil, ever.

I usually use Canola oil,

for the higher smoke point.

Mr. Hawthorne prefers a vegetable oil

for it's superior browning capabilities

when you're batter-frying.

My inspired contribution to the stir fry

was the addition of a few tablespoons

of Thai Chili Sauce. We always under cook our veggies. Remember, they keep on cooking. These vegetables might have cooked for 60 seconds before the shrimp were added. (And all the vegetables cooked for the same amount of time. Cut your stir fry vegetables into same-size pieces so the cook times will be basically the same.)

Mr. Hawthorne tossed in the shrimp, stirring the entire time.

Then he added my cornstarch slurry with soy sauce. About 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/4 cup cold water, and 1/4 cup soy sauce. Pour in gradually and let thicken. And you need to do this before the shrimp is cooked all the way through ...

... so that the shrimp is slightly curled, opaque, and is just cooked. Do not overcook shrimp. It destroys the flavor and makes the shrimp tough and rubbery.

Here's my delicious dinner. And I say "delicious" because food is always so much better when someone else cooks it for you. I kin jest taste all the lurve. Oh, and Kathy, don't hate me because I'm beauti ... uh ... still eat white rice. Small steps. Small steps.

I loved this. The sweet, light, oceany goodness of the shrimp with the crisp tastes and fresh textures of the assorted vegetables (And, yes, their tastes were crisp and their textures were fresh.) was all balanced with and tempered by the comforting rice and the mild soy, then the Thai Chili kicked in and it was a whole nuther story. Excellent! Thank you, Mr. Hawthorne.