Sweet and Spicy Sunday

10/10/06

On Sunday I realised the fridge was almost bare. I had to go shopping but I simply couldn't face it. I also knew we had some big cooked prawns that needed eating and some fruit left over from my fruit basket. It was like Ready Steady Cook - what can I make with what I've got? We were starving so I decided to concoct something simple, sweet and spicy - and fast. I sliced a yellow pepper and stir-fried it with slightly old and floppy pak choi and fresh ginger in some chilli-infused olive oil. Meanwhile I chopped up a few rounds of the big pineapple and the end of a pack of cherry tomatoes (I didn't have a lot to work with!). I squeezed the juice of a lime and poured it in to the wok, adding the prawns, pineapple and cherry tomatoes to warm through and a pinch of crushed chillis at the same time. It smelt and looked surprisingly nice, but it needed something else, and I suddenly knew where I was headed - a South Asian-inspired soup. I sloshed in half a can of coconut milk, grated some nutmeg on the top and some black pepper, left it simmering for a couple of minutes and voila! It was ready. It may have been hastily shoved together from a mishmash of fridge and cupboard ingredients, but it was delicious. I knew I should get my camera to record its colourful prettiness, but I'm afraid I couldn't wait to eat it. Yes - my greed won. I am ashamed. Next time, maybe I'll have the willpower to wait...