Welcome to the first of the actual “column” of “From the Home Kitchen, here on The Man Who Ate the Town.

A few weeks ago, Stephanie, Trey and I made this Asian treat for dinner. Szechwan Shrimp and a Broccoli with Garlic Butter and Cashews side. Sweet, slightly spicy (our choice) and very delicious. We don’t rate our food in any way other than: “would we make it again?” and in this case, it was certainly a resounding yes.

The Recipes:

Szechwan Shrimp (from FOODGU1 on All Recipies)

• 4 tbsp water
  2 tbsp ketchup
  1 tbsp soy (we backed it to half and used lower sodium sauce)
  2 tsp cornstarch
  1 tsp honey
  ½ tsp crushed red pepper
  ¼ tsp ground ginger
  1 tbsp vegetable oil (we subbed olive oil)
  ¼ tsp chopped green onions/scallions
  4 cloves of garlic minced
  1 pound of shrimp, tails removed

1. In a bowl, stir together water, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, honey, crushed red pepper, and ground ginger. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in green onions and garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in shrimp, and toss to coat with oil. Stir in sauce. Cook and stir until sauce is bubbly and thickened. Serve over rice. 
3. Makes 4 servings. About 20 minutes total time. 142 calories/serving.

Broccoli with Garlic Butter & Cashews (from SALSIEPIE on All Recipes)

• 1½ pounds of broccoli but into bite-sized pieces
  ⅓ cup butter
  1 tbsp brown sugar
  3 tbsp soy (we backed it to half and used low sodium sauce)
  2 tsp white vinegar
  ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  2 cloves of garlic minced
  ⅓ cup chopped salted cashews (I put a handful in a resealable bag and used the bottom of a glass spice jar to crush the cashews, worked perfectly)
• We also added mandarin orange slices to the mix because this is an Asian inspired dish and I thought it would be a great addition and I think we all felt that it was

1. Place the broccoli into a large pot with about 1 inch of water in the bottom. Bring to a boil, and cook for 7 minutes, or until tender but still crisp. Drain, and arrange broccoli on a serving platter.
2. While the broccoli is cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Mix in the cashews, and pour the sauce over the broccoli. Serve immediately.
3. Makes 6 servings and can stand on its own as a dish. About 20 minutes total time. 187 calories/serving.

These two dishes were a very wonderful one-two punch if you’re in the mood for some good Asian dishes. It was healthy (especially when we backed off the low-sodium soy sauce), too. That’s what we’re trying to do with the cuisine we choose for our family cooking adventures: have a bit of time together, listen to some records, choose healthy but very tasty meals and just have fun.

If you’ve never used All Recipes, I’d highly recommend it. You can find just about anything there. Many of their recipes have video demos as well. You can visit their YouTube channel for more videos. I also recommend any videos by Food Wishes and Chef John. He’s entertaining and insightful. I’m a member of the All Recipes site and a subscriber to the magazine. I am not endorsed by All Recipes and this isn’t a paid or implied advertisement for them, I’m just a fan and get a lot of food recipes from there.

I hope this sounds intriguing to you. I’d love to hear that you tried it for yourself, if you modified it, if you did or didn’t like it, and I would love to see your pictures of it. Send it to our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram page. Or, you can email me at tim@themanwhoatethetown.com. Tell me if you don’t want me to publish any of it. It can be public or we just have a conversation about it in private. Either way is perfectly fine.

Thanks for reading and thanks for listening!
Slàinte Mhath!