Fires in Myrtle Beach, $15 Dare, Bowling

It seems like South Carolina, Myrtle Beach, is having a very bad time with fires now. Lots of film about it on GMA this morning. People running from their homes with fires in their back yards - some quite devastating stories are coming from the reports. No rain expected for at least a week. For those of you who don't know the area, Myrtle Beach is a big vacation spot in the States with a particular emphasis on golf. We drove through there once, very touristy area; very popular with families and golfers. At last reports some 70 homes have been destroyed with no end in sight and over 19,000 acres destroyed. We have been involved in fires in the Carolinas, there are pine trees everywhere you look and once they start burning, its very difficult to stop them. After today there will only be one more Friday Senior League Bowling until the winter season starts all over again. We have a 'banquet' for the Monday and Friday senior leagues on the 4th and what bowling takes place that day will not be serious stuff (if any of it is that serious) with bingo bowling, which I think is great fun and other fun stuff. We will be awarded a few cash prizes, never a lot of money, $5 here and maybe $10 there and end up eating around 4:00. However, some of us will continue bowling in the summer league starting the following Monday, May 11. This goes on til mid July, I think, and then we have a few weeks break with the leagues starting in September again. We will not be here for that of course as we will be in North Carolina for a couple of weeks at the end of September. Can't come soon enough (at least once the asparagus season is over LOL). I was really looking forward to getting some of the African recipes made by Cat Cora on the $15 Dare segment of GMA. In particular there was a shrimp dish which she called Mafe Cuomo (Chris Cuomo being one of the anchors). I don't know what a mafe is, apparently a very African dish, but it looked good and I am hoping to make it in the near future. I was going to give you another shrimp recipe, but we didn't get round to making that last night, decided to leave it til the weekend, so I will share it on Monday if we think it is good. Wolfgang Puck's recipes are up on the website too this morning and we will certainly be having a go at them as well. In particular I think the pork and oranges sounded delicious. Mafe Cuomo

4 tbsps. olive oil, divided

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

5 carrots, diced

4 ribs celery, diced

2 tsps. dried thyme

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. red chili flakes

12 oz. bag of a fresh vegetable medley (pre-cut cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots)

2 c. chicken stock, plus 1/2 c. chicken stock

1/2 c. peanut butter

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined, shells reserved

Salt and pepper

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large stockpot over high heat. Add onion, garlic, carrots and celery, and sauté until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add thyme, coriander, cumin, ginger and chili flakes along with the vegetable medley and cook for three minutes. Add 2 cups of chicken stock and simmer just until vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes.

In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine 1 1/2 cups water and the reserved shrimp shells. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Strain liquid into stew.

In a medium sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over high heat until smoking. Add shrimp and sauté for 3 minutes. Shrimp should not be fully cooked. Add shrimp to stew to continue cooking.

In a small bowl, mix together peanut butter and the 1/4 cup of chicken stock with a wire whisk until incorporated. Stir in to stew.

Bring stew to a boil and simmer until shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes.

Serve immediately.

*Recipe courtesy of Cat Cora

Have a great day.