Coal swamp stir-fry

4 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 pounds Peeled and deveined shrimp
1 pounds Fresh fern fiddle heads
½ pounds Diced wild mushrooms
¾ teaspoon Sea salt
3 Cloves garlic, crushed
1 small Piece fresh ginger, grated
½ teaspoon Dried crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon Palm oil
J.M. Hartman Ph.D.
A Paleontologist
From the Ordovician Ooze (BBS)
In the Heart of the
Middle American Coal
Swamp (Indiana)

Directions

Use a large wok. Heat wok with palm oil until almost smokimg. Add fresh fiddle head fern tops. Stir rapidly with a bamboo stirring spoon for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, shrimp and seasonings. Continue to stir gently after heat is lowered to just warming for about five minutes, covering occasionally for the steaming effect. Serve immediately.

NOTE: Western Indiana bituminous coal would be perfect as a heat source for this savory collation since, of course, it is the end product of the Pennsylvanian (Carboniferous to you non-Yankees) coal swamps from whence this invention originated. We must note that the condiments included, with the exception of sea salt, are only for the more sophisticated palate of the Holocene cogniscenti. In truth, with the exception of the salt, all condiments may well be omitted.

This is one of the few truly Paleozoic dishes that could be served with absolute accuracy. Palm oil (used as an early type) could be substituted with an oil from a cycad or other appropriate vegetable oil, remembering that much petroleum was being produced at this time period. 'Tis not a good thing to make part of ones diet, however, as noted by one who consumes mineral oil, or some of those who eat basically the same thing in test market potato chips.

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