Food Friday : Spicy Peanut Coconut Sauce, served two ways

Ok, full disclosure ... I love this Peanut Coconut Sauce so much that I could eat it by itself with a spoon! But I reserve that guilty pleasure to licking the spoon before it hits the dishwasher. Do I lick the bowl too? um .. maybe.

Today I will show you how we recently had it as a dipping sauce for grilled shrimp and in a noodle and stir fried vegetable dish.

Ingredients for the Sauce:
1/2 cup peanut butter *
165 ml coconut milk, which is a small can = 5.6 oz, just under 3/4 cup **
1 tablespoon soy sauce (add more at the end if you'd like it saltier)
2 tablespoons wine vinegar, red or white
3/4 teaspoon sugar (or less)
1 inch piece of ginger, minced
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 scotch bell pepper, minced (we like things spicy, but you can adjust the amount you use)
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro (aka coriander)
Water to thin, if required

* I used natural crunchy style peanut butter that is just ground peanuts with no sugar added, so if you don't have this kind, you might want to adjust the sugar in the recipe to your preference.

** without realizing it we had bought the reduced fat version of coconut milk, so I checked the ingredients, and it is really just normal coconut milk mixed with water! The recipe worked just fine with it too.

Put everything into a saucepan over medium heat. Lightly simmer for 5 minutes. That's it!

Serve as is, alongside grilled shrimp (we leave the shells on while cooking to retain moisture), or cooked pork or chicken.

Themed Thursday : I See Faces

I began this series last summer with the photos of the building, gardening sheers and train crossing. However the first of these faces that I ever made eye-contact with was the bathtub person. She and I had been gazing at one another for a long time now. (And, for the record, I have tried to convince her to cheer up!)

My Doll Francie

ass="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4887" title="Francie-Barbie-1966-4" src="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Francie-Barbie-1966-4.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="640">Some years ago, my friend Colleen gave me this cute little case, that contained a vintage Barbie doll and some clothes for her. She's actually not Barbie herself, but Barbie's modern cousin Francie.Also contained in the case was a fact sheet, stating that Francie was introduced in 1966 and her original outfit was a polka-dotted top and gingham bikini bottoms. Apparently she was also the first Barbie doll with bendable knees and 'real' eyelashes. Further research indicates that she is a teenager and therefore has a thinner frame.All of the clothes that came with her appear to have been handmade except the yellow off-shoulder dress, which has a Barbie tag inside and a little metal zipper at the back.

Much Love Monday : Hearts on a Porch

During the week I came upon a cute blog called Much Love, kept by Anna. On Mondays, she posts a picture of a heart, and a statement about something she loves. To quote her, "Much Love Monday is a weekly blog post series, intended to start off each week with some positivity instead of the typical Monday blues!" Can't really go wrong with that attitude, right?

She invites others to link up, so I decided to join ...

Here are some photos I took last week of a porch in my neighbourhood. This little house exists in the city amidst all the condo towers and house demolitions/reconstructions going on all around it.

Walk With Me – Part II of a walk in Downtown Toronto