Spirit Jars & Tornado Prawns

Tornado warnings surrounded us on all sides this morning. We also had more than three inches of rain in one hour, along with lightening, thunder, and wind. I started out the day making two Spirit Jars to hopefully ward off ill effects from the storm. Each jar is about seven inches tall and the top has a small reservoir to smudge sage or burn incense.


Later I decided to cook up some local prawns we obtained the day before. I wanted to use garlic, ginger, and coconut milk for Gary because those ingredients are supposed to be good for the gallbladder.

Tornado Prawns

1 lb fresh large prawns, cleaned and deveined
4 tbs butter
3 tbs olive oil
2 tbs capers drained well
10 mushrooms slided medium
1 stalk celery chopped fine
1/2 yellow bell pepper chopped fine
1/2 inch cube fresh ginger chopped very fine
2 clove garlic chopped very fine
6 ounces canned unsweetened coconut milk


Shell the prawns, butterfly them removing the vein and set aside. Measure 2 tablespoons of capers and set aside to drain on a paper towel. Slice the mushrooms into medium pieces. Chop the stalk of celery fine. Chop half a yellow bell pepper fine. Peel and chop a 1/2 inch cube of fresh ginger very fine. Chop 2 clove garlic very fine. Measure out 6 ounces coconut milk.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan on low heat. Add one tablespoon olive oil and add the sliced mushrooms. Saute the mushrooms till barely rest of the butter and the remaining olive oil. When melted add the celery and saute for about two minutes, next add the bell pepper and saute for a minute more, then add the chopped garlic and ginger to the pan moving the celery and peppers aside so the garlic and ginger are resting in the butter and olive oil and saute them till the garlic just starts to lightly brown.

Immediately add in the butterflied prawns placing them against the pan bottom moving aside the sauteed vegetables. Use your spatula to flip the prawns to cook them on each side two to three minutes till barely done. Quickly stir in the coconut milk and the previously sauteed mushrooms and stir just to distribute ingredients evenly. Cover lightly and cook another minute or two. Do not over cook. Serve with a wild rice mixture and a green salad.


The ginger, capers, garlic and coconut milk combine to make a unique and complex blend for the palate. We had a glass of Oak Leaf Sauvignon Blanc along with the meal. ThE wine was less than $3 at a Walmart superstore but the grapes were grown in dry, gravely soil of Livermore, California and it was quite acceptable. Comments and suggestions are welcome.