My Last Dinner Party in Kathmandu

By Crivenica
 

Living in Jakarta is definitely different from living in Kathmandu. I’m not saying life is better in Jakarta compared to Kathmandu, but the faster pace of life, the night life, the food scene, the crazy traffic, and our new jobs definitely make a big change in life style.

David and I have been back in Jakarta for two weeks and I think we’ve been more social in these past two weeks than we had been in most of our two and a half years in Kathmandu. We’ve been out most days and nights seeing long time friends and family. and eating at different restaurants for each meals. I even went to a live show of one of my favorite bands that happened to be in Jakarta on their world tour last Tuesday night, unplanned. Without doubt, there are more things available in Jakarta, but boy, am I tired! I’m accustomed to my simple existence in Kathmandu, so I better get used to these changes and adjust fast.

I’m sure once we move into our new place, get settled, and get immersed in our work, things will slow down some. However, getting fully settled may take time. Our shipment won’t arrive for another month or so and I know we just need to be patient, but I can’t wait until we’re done turning the new apartment into our home and I’ll be able to cook and bake again and invite friends to enjoy the results. 

The weekend before the movers came to pack out our Kathmandu house, I realized that it would be awhile until I could do any serious cooking and baking again. Good thing that our friend, Dotty and her son, Nico, came from Bangkok to stay with us that weekend. Their visit gave me an excuse to bake and cook. I had cleaned out most of the refrigerator content at that time and found a bunch of bananas that I threw in the freezer for future baking. In no time, those bananas turned into banana chocolate muffins and bread loaf. But that was not the end of my baking that weekend. We were having mutual friends of Dotty’s and ours over for dessert that Saturday night. Obviously, I had to serve something else and people always like pies, right? So I baked the familiar and always popular apple pie, but because I’d been craving some banana cream pie, I baked that one, too.  It was a very satisfying baking and eating experience for me, especially when everybody was loving the pies. 

 

After baking for a whole day, I kept the dinner entree simple by cooking a well-tested recipe that is one of David’s and my favorite dishes - Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya. This is a very easy to make rice dish cooked with tomatoes and their juice. This recipe was originally shared by Chef Emeril Lagasse, the famous celebrity chef, who is mostly known for his Creole and Cajun cooking style. I’ve been eating and cooking it for almost a decade, thanks to Chef Emeril and my OM (other mom), Carol. It’s a well-rounded tasty dish with a good mix of tartness and sweetness from the tomatoes, savory from the sausages, and a bit of kick from cayenne pepper. So, though I’ve never been to New Orleans, I can get a bit of Louisiana in my kitchen from time to time. Here’s the recipe for you try out. 

Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya

Ingredients:

1 lb. good smoked sausage (like mild chorizo or andouille)

1 lb. shrimp

2 tbs yellow onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 cup green bell peppers, chopped

4 bay leaves

2 cups tomatoes (canned or fresh), peeled, seeded and chopped

1 tbs garlic, minced
2 tbs vegetable oil

2 tsp thyme

2 cups long-grain white rice
5 cups chicken broth (or I just use water. it's fine)
1/2 cup green onions (or scallions, green part only), thinly sliced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper 

Cooking Directions:

Peel shrimps and de-vein them. Seasoned with salt and cayenne pepper (just enough, don't put too much). Set aside.

Cut the sausage lengthwise in half, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Set aside.

In a large Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat.  Cook the sausage and stir for two minutes. Then add the onions, bell peppers and celery. Season with salt and cayenne. Cook, stirring until the vegetables are wilted, about five minutes.

 Add the washed uncooked rice, stir. Then add the bay leaves, tomatoes, garlic, thyme and cook, stirring, for two minutes.  Continue and add the broth/water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes. Five minutes before done, stir in the shrimps and cook until shrimps are all the way cooked (about 5 minutes or so).

Stir in the green onions, remove the bay leaves, and serve hot. This dish actually gets better as leftovers because the flavors become more robust. I hope you’ll try to make it because so far everybody I’ve cooked this for always loved it.

Anyway, I know that I’m still looking back at my life in Kathmandu and it’s visible in several of my last postings. However, be assured that there will be more exciting postings to come because our next chapter in Jakarta can only get better!