Ki, where is your imagination? I saute or grill shrimp in massive amounts of garlic all the time. I also often just cook up a pound of shrimp in Old Bay, make my own cocktail sauce and snack on them. The only reason these big, bad boys are "special" is that they were almost the same price I usually pay for "large?" shrimp. I eat a lot of shrimp. Although I normally loath fried fish, I have a really good recipe for beer batter fried shrimp if anyone is interested. I only make it maybe once a year, but it's super yummy. Some where around here, I have a really good recipe for stuffed shrimp. I should try to find it. Did I say I eat a lot of shrimp? I've also been getting large lobster tails for $4 each, every couple of weeks, at the grocery store this summer. Been eating a lot of them too. Lobsters go really well with asparagus. (Kevin, drooling is unbecoming:) Okay, back to the quiche, I think I'll try that. Freezing small amounts is a great idea. However, although I can cook, I don't bake and don't own muffin pans. I don't even own a cookie sheet. Can I buy little pie crusts or something, maybe tart shells, or would they be too sweet? I have phyllo dough, is there some way I can use that? That's a good idea Kevin, about pre- sauteing mushrooms and freezing them but I eat mushrooms the way most people eat chips. I even put them in scrambled eggs. If they go bad, it's because they got "lost" in the back of the fridge. Yum, Vietnamese spring rolls. What is that sauce they give you with everything in Vietnamese restaurants? Now that would be super yummy too. It's the consistency of broth and maybe the color of beef broth. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I don't think the dip included with Mark's link is the same sauce I'm thinking of. I think the sauce I'm thinking of has fish stock as a base, maybe. Mimi, Arthur can't say anything about buying food in "pounds". They sell everything by the kilo over there (2.2 pounds). The heads of lettuce in the grocery stores there were the size of basket balls. The fish market I would go to didn't sell prawns in small, smaller, tiny, super tiny, and too damn small to clean. They just sold the big, bad, super jumbo sized prawns. Okay, they still had their heads, and that may have skewed my perception of their size. Nah, I didn't eat the heads. Okay, tonight for dinner, I sauteed green onions, garlic, mushrooms, scallops and crab meat. Then I made a Marsala sauce and at the last minute added some fresh spinach leaves and gorgonzola. I served this over wild rice (pasta wasn't doin' it for me tonight, oddly) and had asparagus too. It was pretty yummy but needs some work. This weekend, I'll try the recipes you have suggested when I have more time.

Is simply asia the name of the spice blend, or the brand? The brand Simply Asia has spice blends on their website, but then are further broken down into Kung Pao, etc. But then, their spice is in packets not jars. I'm curious because I'd like to acquire it or replicate it? Something like that. I love an Asian sauce on zucchini then grilling it. This sounds like it'd be perfect for what I want. :)

Here are some sauces I sometimes make on the weekend and refrigerate, if I plan on stir-frying later that week. STIR FRY SAUCES Each recipe makes 2 servings but can be doubled. BASIC STIR FRY SAUCE 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil 1/2 tsp. minced garlic 1/2 tsp. minced ginger 1/2 cup chicken broth 1 Tbs. soy sauce 1 Tbs. brown sugar 1/8 tsp. Tabasco 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 1/2 tsp. lemon or lime juice 1 1/2 tsp.cornstarch 1 Tbs. rice wine or sherry Heat the sesame oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry 15-30 second over medium heat to bring out the flavor. Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bring just to a boil, stirring. Dissolve the cornstarch in the wine and whisk into the sauce. Heat until sauce thickens and reaches a full boil. Simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside. GARLIC SESAME STIR FRY SAUCE 1/2 tsp. pepper 2 Tbs. soy sauce 3 Tbs. chicken broth 1 Tbs. sugar 2 1/4 tsp. lemon juice 1/3 cup sesame oil 2 1/4 tsp. minced garlic 1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 1/2 tsp. water Combine the pepper, soy sauce, chicken broth, sugar and lemon juice. In a small saucepan heat the sesame oil. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute until soft but not browned. Add the soy sauce mixture and bring just to a boil. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let boil 20 seconds. Remove from the heat. SZECHUAN STIR FRY SAUCE 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil 1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger 1/2 tsp. minced garlic 1/2 cup chicken broth 2 whole anise stars 1 1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar 1 Tbs. soy sauce 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tsp. hoisin sauce 1/8 tsp. Tabasco sauce 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp. pepper 1/8 tsp. 5 spice powder 2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbs. water Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and saute 1 minute until softened but not browned. In a bowl combine the remaining except for the cornstarch mixture. Add them to the saucepan and bring to a simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove star anise. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let boil 1-2 minutes. Taste and add more Tabasco if desired. Adapted from The Frog/Commissary Cook Book by Steve Poses, Anne Clark and Becky Roller

2 lbs. shrimp 1/2 stick of salted butter 1/4 cup EVOO 3 cloves of garlic minced (or to taste) Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs chopped fresh parsley Pepper Fresh Lemon Melt butter with EVOO in an iron skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute until garlic is transparent. Add the shrimp, and cook until cooked through, but do not over cook or the shrimp will turn to little rubber thingies. Add about 4 T or so of chopped fresh parsley. When the shrimp are cooked through, add just enough bread crumbs to soak up the butter and oil and sticks to the shrimp. Add pepper and salt to taste and lastly just squeeze about a half of lemon over the shrimp and serve immediately with a spring greens salad and lots of garlic bread. We obtained this from a 5* restaurant (Siples Garden Seat) in Clearwater years ago before the owner retired. It is by far our favorite shrimp recipe. This restaurant was probably the single most beautiful place in all of Pinellas County Florida, but now I hear it is a parking lot. What a crying shame. PVP