Sweet & Sour Shrimp

1/4 c water

1/4 c ketchup

2 Tb. rice wine vinegar

2 Tb. coconut palm sugar/brown sugar

3 Tb. soy sauce

3 tsp. grated ginger root

3 Tb. minced onion

3 small carrots, sliced thinly and at an angle

1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled & deveined

1 Tb. chopped chives

1/2 c  mild fruity salsa (Private Selection Freestone Peach & Mango Salsa)

1 1/2 c chunks of fresh pineapple

2 - 3 Tb. vegetable oil

1. In a container, combine water, ketchup, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce & grated ginger. Stir and set aside.

2. Pat shrimp dry with a paper towel. Lightly salt and pepper.

3. In a skillet with high sides, heat 2 Tb. vegetable oil, place shrimp in pan in a single layer. Cook shrimp for about 2 minutes; turn and cook the other side for about a minute. The shrimp should be just cooked through. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.

4. Add more oil to pan if needed. Saute onions and carrots until cooked through.

5. Add ketchup mixture and salsa to pan and cook together until mixture starts to boil. Add pineapple chunks to the mixture and cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes.

6. Put cooked shrimp back into pan and cook for another 1 minute to warm shrimp through and absorb the sauce. Sprinkle chopped chives over shrimp just before serving.

7. Serve over steamed basmati or jasmine rice.

8. Makes about four servings depending on how hungry you are. Recipe can be doubled.

Note: This is a very forgiving recipe. You can use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar if you don't have rice wine, and you can use more if you like your sauce more tangy. My mom cut her onion in wedges but hubby doesn't like big chunks of onion, so I dice mine. If you don't have salsa, just increase your wet ingredients and add chili flakes for the heat, you can adjust according to your preference. Don't like carrots? Use sliced peppers. See? Very adaptable recipe.