Skillet Cajun Cabbage and Rice

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (you can also omit the oil to make this dish fat-free by sauteing using small amount of water)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10 ounce) can Rotelle (diced tomatoes
with mild green chilies), un-drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup long grain rice, uncooked
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup water
1 head Napa cabbage, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the oil (or simply use water if making the recipe without fat) in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Sautee green pepper, onion, and garlic until the vegetables have softened, about 8 minutes.

2. Stir in Rotelle, tomato sauce, rice, salt, basil, oregano, the cayenne, white pepper, black pepper (adding more pepper to taste, if desired) and 1/3 cup of water; heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce is gently simmering. Sprinkle chopped cabbage on top without stirring, turn heat to medium-low (you do not want the tomato sauce to burn) and cover tightly with a lid (if the cabbage is too high, smoosh a little with the lid until closed; the cabbage will cook down).

3. Cook 15 minutes, then remove lid and stir (make sure to get browned bits off bottom). If mixture looks to thick, add a little more water. Cover and cook another 5 minutes or until rice is soft and cooked-through. Stir one last time, and serve immediately!

Makes 6-8 servings depending on portion size.

Fernanda Gerhardt's Martini Prawns

Ingredients:
24 medium-large prawns, peeled and deveined
1 egg white
1/4 cup cornstarch
julienned carrots (about 2 bags)

Sauce:
3 T sugar
1 T orange juice
1 T water
1 T white vinegar
7 T mayonnaise
1 t Japanese 7 flavor chili powder
2 T Vietnamese garlic chili paste
1 T tobiko

Preparation:
Defrost the shrimp, if necessary, and pat dry.
Beat the whites of the egg, and add a little salt and pepper.
Blanch carrots in boiling water for a few minutes and drain.
Put the blanched carrots in the bottom of a martini glass, adding a spoonful of sauce to each glass.
Coat the shrimp with the cornstarch and deep fry in oil (canola or peanut) in small batches until done (1 to 2 minutes in a deep fryer).
Once the prawns are cooked, coat them with the sauce (if you are making several batches, keep them warm in the oven).
Top the carrots and sauce with the cooked, sauced pawns.

You can also serve them family style on a large platter of blanched carrots.