A Birthday at the Beach with some Spicy Prawns in Garlic Sauce

Cannon Beach, Oregon Haystack Rock

The beach has always been a special get away in our relationship. There was a first weekend away together to Cannon Beach, Oregon in the beginning. A birthday proposal @ Pacific Beach, Washington a couple years later. Countless returns to Pacific Beach for any possible long weekend we could find after. And the past five years spring break on the beaches of Cabo in Mexico have become a needed renewal to get through the end of year of busy teaching & principaling schedules.

When we need to reconnect we often plan a trip to the beach. And a holiday birthday with a guaranteed 3 day weekend hadn't rolled around in a few years but this year for 11-11-11 it did and what better excuse to plan a get away

 than all of those ones tied up in another double digit birthday.

We did wait until the last minute as we tend to do, but we got lucky and found a good deal on a simple little cottage in Cannon Beach. It fit our requirements: budget friendly, walking distance to the beach and a full kitchen.

We headed out Friday after a quick jog on the UPS track. We took the route through Portland to hit Whole Foods since cooking was the plan for the weekend.

We picked up our meal essentials

 and arrived into town just at check in time to find our cozy spot for the long weekend.

Since it was a celebration we toasted with a bottle of Oregon Sparkling wine and some great cheese.

When G was in the "wooing" stage of our relationship way back when... he made me our now favorite Garlic Prawns during one of our many beach get aways. And that's what I wanted this year for my birthday meal.

So I flipped on the fire and relaxed

while G slaved away in the kitchen.

 I did contribute by opening a bottle of California Chardonnay that we picked up in Napa at the Oakville Grocery to have with our spicy meal.

And setting a cozy table for us to eat at.

Since we knew our space would be limited we tried to keep things simple too which is why Whole Foods is so awesome...

you can purchase the perfect veggie side dish...just steam and it's ready and fresh with no left overs or prep needed. You gotta love that on vacation.

G hadn't made these garlic prawns for us in a few years. But it's always so great to come back to recipes you know are fabulous and guaranteed good. It's a comfort food just because you can rely on it. Served with Jasmine rice it's one of my favorite meals that my honey makes for me. It was a great stormy weekend birthday at the beach!

Recipe:

Prawns in Spicy Garlic Sauce (adapted from San Francisco Encore):

1 lb. medium prawn cleaned & peeled

1.5 tspns corn starch

1/4 tspn salt

Dash of pepper

1.5 tspns chili paste with garlic

1.5 Tblspns ketchup

1 1/4 Tbslpns oyster sauce

1 Tblspn sugar

2 Tblspns white wine

1.5 Tblspns sesame oil

2 tspns finely chopped garlic

1 green onion, chopped

Add cornstarch to clean prawns with salt & pepper. Mix well. Set aside.

Mix the chili paste, ketchup, oyster sauce, sugar, white wine, and sesame oil. Heat a wok or skillet. Add the oil and garlic. Stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the prawns and stir fry for 2 minutes over high heat. Add the sauce and continue cooking for for an additional minute. Remove to serving platter and garnish with green onion.