Cyclefest 2015, Biking Necklaces + Honey Garlic Shrimp, Spicy Shrimp & Coconut Rice Recipes

This past weekend I volunteered to help with Cyclefest. It is the main fundraiser for the high school mountain bike racing league that Ellie used to belong to. As has become tradition, I made necklaces for the female guest speakers and I was the official photographer at the gala dinner. Ethan asked me why I still volunteer since neither of them are racing anymore. I told him that I will believe in and value what they do, that it feels good to be able to still be a part of something like that. That seemed to satisfy him.

The color combinations needed for the necklaces were a bit more challenging than in the past. Kate, the director of the league, has me make the necklaces to make the rider's team kit. It is getting a bit harder because I am running out of the colored spoke nipples. They have not been regularly used since the early 1970's and so get them (unless I want to buy 1,000 of one color at a time) is getting more difficult. Also, there are some colors, such as hot pink, that don't occur in stone or crystal beads. I usually end up using glass beads to fill in those colors. That was the case with the necklace for Sonya. In the end, I was very happy with how both necklaces turned out. Both Sonya, the professional racer, and Lilly, one of the student racers, both seemed to like the necklaces. Lilly wore hers while she was speaking. It feels good to see the stuff I make be enjoyed.

Ethan had last night off, so he came home for dinner. He brought along a loaf of the wonderful bread that he is making these days. The dough for that loaf had been in the fridge for a few days before being cooked and so it had an almost sourdough taste to it.

I had shrimp that I had intended to serve at the graduation party at our house, but that evening was a little crazy, so it never made it out of the fridge. Here's what I made with it instead:

Spicy Shrimp
via: Food52

1/3 cup Sriracha
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 handful cilantro, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish (omitted)
1 teaspoon sugar
(1/4 tea Liquid Smoke flavor, the one from William Somona, the the one from the grocery store)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds large shrimp (16 to 20 count), peeled and deveined


Mix together the Sriracha, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, cilantro, and sugar. Season aggressively with salt and pepper. Put in a 1-gallon plastic bag, add the shrimp, and mix together in the bag. Marinate in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours. Or longer. Heat a grill. Skewer the shrimp (4 to 6 shrimp per skewer) and grill until pink and delicious, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove the shrimp from the grill, slide the shrimp from the skewer using a fork, and pile on a serving platter. Sprinkle with finely chopped cilantro, and throw a few toothpicks in a few shrimp. Watch them disappear.

* I think everyone enjoyed this one. It was spicy, but not unreasonable.

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Honey Garlic Shrimp
via: The Cooking Jar

Serves: 4
1 lb. shrimp, skin off and tail on
Sauce:
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
½ teaspoon ginger, minced
(1 TBL Olive Oil - I measured this out before I measured the honey so that it would help the honey slide out of the spoon easily.)
4 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce


Combine the sauce ingredients and divide into half.
Marinate the shrimp with half of the sauce for 15-30 minutes. Discard marinade.
Over medium high heat, pan sear the shrimp on both sides in batches of 2 until browned, about 1 minute per side.
Using tongs, rub the shrimp into the caramelized bits on the bottom of the pan.
Dish and serve hot drizzled with the remaining sauce.

Everyone liked this one, especially Ellie.

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Coconut Rice
via: Half Baked Harvest

1 cup uncooked jasmine or basmati rice
1 cup light, canned coconut milk
3/4 cup coconut water
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsweetened, flaked coconut
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Add the coconut milk and coconut water to a medium size pot. Bring to a low boil and then add the rice, salt, unsweetened coconut and coconut oil. Stir to combine, then place the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook ten minutes on low and then turn the heat off completely and let the rice sit on the stove, covered for another 20 minutes (don't take any peeks inside!). After 20 minutes remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.