Many thanks to you my friends for making this my “Big 4-0” entry a success and without further ado, here are your Q’s and the A’s from the bottom of my heart.

For LaDonna –

• How did you and Bobby Meet ~ Country Dancing and our first dance ever was the two-step

• What is your favorite main dish recipe ~ Fried Rice is right up there. There are times I like to leave out the shrimp in this dish and make a nice Cashew Chicken mixture to pour over the top of the fried rice. Unfortunately I can’t put my fingers on that Cashew Chicken recipe. I think it’s in storage.

Note: Bobby’s has reservations made at my favorite Japanese restaurant where I’m going to have some yummy fried rice with my favorite filet mignon, medium well please, with some wonderful veggies too.

Shrimp Fried Rice

Servings Per Recipe – 4

Ingredients

3/4 cup uncooked white rice

1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons sesame oil

1/2 small onion, chopped – “I prefer scallions”

1/2 clove garlic, chopped – “I like to add more than just that”

1 and 1/2 cups small shrimp – peeled and deveined

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 carrot – peeled and diced

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup green peas

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons soy sauce – “We prefer the low sodium kind”

DIRECTIONS

Cook rice according to package directions. While rice is cooking, heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in sesame oil and stir in onion. Fry until golden, then add garlic. When garlic is lightly browned, mix in shrimp. Fry until shrimp is pink.

Lower heat to medium and stir in celery, carrot, green pepper, and peas. Fry until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in beaten egg and cook just until egg is scrambled and firm.

When rice is done, mix thoroughly with vegetables and stir in soy sauce. Adjust seasoning to your preference and serve immediately. I always have to add more soy sauce to mine and Bobby likes it just the way it is.

My Two Cents Worth (regarding rice) – I don’t care for overcooked gooey rice so I keep an eye on it (and there is a difference between the wonderful sticky rice that I so loved in Korea and overcooked gooey rice), I love cooking any and all rice in chicken broth – brings out some kickin’ good flavor, let me tell ya. My favorite rice is Jasmine – just love that stuff cooked in chicken broth and eating it just like that served with vegetables on the side. Back to this stir fry recipe – I like to chill the rice before the stir fry. I think the chilling part allows the rice to firm up. Sometimes I make up the rice a day ahead so that it’s nice and chilled for the stir fry part.

• If you graduated from college, what was your major ~ I didn’t finish college but had a really big start in Graphic Arts. College ended for me when Bobby and I moved to Korea some 8 + years ago – then pottery came along about a year after our return from Korea (a little over 4 years ago) and I never looked back.

For Mary Ellen-

• Who was the teacher who had the most influence on your life ~ That Teacher will always and forever be my fourth grade teacher Miss Lucas. She reminded me of my mother and that’s why I loved her so much. She was always kind and pleasant and she exuded sunshine from within. She never picked favorites, she believed in us and she inspired me to always do my very best! I still remember wishing I could keep her for my teacher forever.
• Who did you have a crush on in high school ~ No harm, no foul but I prefer to leave it at that in here.
• If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world – where would you go ~ Hawaii – so far we’ve been there 3 times and have stayed on Oahu, The Big Island and Maui. So this time I would like to try Kauai ~ There are many other places we want to visit too but I think Hawaii will always be at the top of my list.

For Rochelle –

• What is your favorite Book – Pottery On The Wheel by Elsbeth S. Woody – I was told by a professional potter (before I even took my first pottery class) that this was the book that taught them everything they learned about pottery. I rushed out to make my purchase and continue to pick it up over and over again. When I was a kid my absolute favorite book was Curious George Flies a Kite. But anything to do with Curious George was always a favorite of mine.
• Who is/are your heroes – Bobby is my #1 hero; I look up to him each day to make the big decisions of our life. I’ve followed him to the ends of the earth and back with excitement around each corner and look up to him for guidance all along the way. Bobby, He’s my #1 daily Amazing Hero! There are other heroes like my parents that I look up to and am so blessed and thankful for their love and support in my life. There is another very personal hero that touches my heart. Krysia Stronski, she’s a potter with passion – she’s a potter with passion, I say! Her work lives up to her name and every gallery in the area knew her and the best galleries carried her work. Her work is also displayed up and down the east coast. But there was one thing about her that no one could capture (IMHO) and that was her way with clay. I could ALWAYS point out her work in a room full of pottery as could her following; and know it was hers without even seeing her signature. And I gravitated to her pieces like none other. I was honored to take 3 of her pottery classes and learning from this remarkable master is priceless! She is my hero, she believed in making a positive difference to those around her, she believed in me and spent extra time alone with me, she’s made a great impact on many lives; she gave of her time to mentor others when she could have been creating masterpieces of her very own. And she shared her knowledge freely to help others advance. She is one amazing lady, my hero, Mrs. Krysia Stronski.
• What is your least favorite household chore – Ironing

For Anita –

• When is your spiritual birthday – Around 8 years of age
• What is your favorite hobby – At the moment, looking for a house plan. This is a lot more fun than I ever thought possible! But in about 6 or so months from now when our home is complete, pottery will be the ultimate favorite hobby.
• If you could get in a time machine who would you like to see from the past – I’m a genealogy nut – so it would have to be my Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather (that’s 5 greats for the record) Alexander Born in Scotland in the year 1745. That’s as far back as I can go. I would love to visit with him to see what his life was like, who his parents and grandparents were. And why he sailed the deep blue to Virginia all those years ago. I would love to ask about his voyage and who he came with. Who were his friends and what he did during his life. And of course I could not leave out asking him all about my 5th great grandma too! And I’m sure upon meeting with him that I could come up with loads more questions and I’m sure he would have many wonderful stories to tell. Details, details, I would want to know all the details!