Big Shrimpin'

I couldn't think of a name for this post, but since it features a shrimp recipe, I decided to name it after this show on the History channel that my brother and mother are apparently obsessed with. I haven't seen it myself, but I hear it has even more suck-you-in-ness than Deadliest Catch. And that is a show I have been sucked into for hours on end.

Anyway, it's taken me a while to get around to this; I've had a lot of things on my to-do list since I returned to Tucson a week ago. I did massive amounts of cleaning and apartment downsizing yesterday, and it occurred to me that in the process I must have lost my shopping list from last week. No big deal, really; I was pretty inefficient as a shopper last week, and I went to Sunflower three times, I think, in as many days. Also, I have a car now, which means I don't have to be as locked in to a shopping plan. Having a car is really spoiling me, though. After things start settling down around here and I get into the groove of the new semester, I hope I'll get back to biking to the store. But anyway, here's the menu I'm in the midst of right now:

Cauliflower & chickpea ragout x 4

Pork shoulder with braised cabbage and onion x 3

Miso soup with tofu and soba noodles x 3

Tuscan white beans and shrimp x 3

Gnocchi with spinach pesto x 3

Pan fried chicken with fresh "slaw" x 4

Spiced carrot and lentil soup x 4

Miso glazed shrimp with rice x 2

As you can see, I'm trying to alternate meals featuring meat with meatless meals in an effort to be...I don't know. Something. I guess I have the impression that it's a little healthier to do it that way. It's more interesting, in any case.

Last night I made Tuscan white beans and shrimp. In trolling the internet for shrimp recipes (I never cooked shrimp myself until recently, but I've decided I really like to use it), I came across several that combined shrimp and white beans. It didn't sound all that interesting of a combination to me, to be honest, but I was intrigued by how many recipes seemed to be out there. I figured there must be something in it, so I thought I'd give it a try. I came across a recipe on Dragon's Kitchen that looked like the thing I wanted, with an Italian spin. I modified Dragon's recipe in some ways because I didn't have everything the recipe called for--also, the original recipe uses a LOT of olive oil! I've got nothing against liberal use of olive oil, but this sounded excessive and like the result would be, well, oily. I did it my way, and I really liked how it turned out. This is another one of those meals that I would definitely make for a special dinner. It's light, and flavorful, and it seems very elegant, but it's actually incredibly simple to put together and doesn't take a lot of ingredients. I definitely encourage you to give this one a try.

Tuscan white beans and shrimp

2 cups white beans, such as cannellini or great northern (either canned or pre-soaked and cooked works)

12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup crushed tomato

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 cup packed baby spinach leaves (the original recipe calls for basil, which also sounds good--a combination would probably work well)

Juice of half a lemon

about a tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

dried basil (if you didn't use fresh), salt and pepper to taste

You need two skillets for this recipe. Put the beans in the first skillet and drizzle with olive oil. Add enough water, or reserved liquid from the can if you used canned beans, to keep the beans moist. Let them sit over low heat just to keep them warm while you prepare the shrimp. Stir occasionally to make sure they're not sticking, and add more liquid if need be. In the second skillet, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Cook the shrimp just until it is pink and opaque, about a minute. Tossing it while you cook produces better results. Use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp to a bowl. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet and cook until the garlic begins to turn golden. Add the tomato and spinach (or basil) and stir to combine, and cook for about a minute. Add the lemon juice and spices. Return the shrimp to the pan and toss well in the tomato sauce, and cook just long enough to reheat. Toss with the beans and serve. This makes three servings, with 4 shrimp per. Enjoy!

Still Divorced, Still Sexy

Happy New Year! As you may have noticed, I have not updated this blog in quite some time. The past few months have been especially hectic for the Sexy Divorcee, and life intervened, as it sometimes does. In a future post, I may go into that, but we'll see. The important thing for me vis-a-vis this blog is just to get posting again. I will probably be blogging less often, but as I get readjusted to life back in my own little apartment I do want to get back into the habit of posting not only recipes but also my meal plans and shopping lists. I went grocery shopping today--when I got home yesterday there were only condiments, a partial tub of light cream cheese, and (THANK GOD!!) enough coffee beans for my morning French press--so I will update you with shopping list and meal plan probably this weekend. So here's a quick post for the new year.

One of my dearest friends ever, who blogs at Still Life and who is way more motivated than me and a more ambitious cook than I am, sent me a little chapbook-style cookbook as a "Valentine's" present (I think it came in March or maybe April) that she had compiled of some of her favorite recipes, some of which were totally original. There are some wonderful things in this book, and I love it a lot. It's one of the nicest presents I think I've ever gotten. But...I really haven't made very many of the recipes in it. But I was looking at her recipe for Aubergine-Chickpea ragout, and thought, hm. That's the perfect thing to get me back on track with healthy cooking and eating after the holidays. Of course, being me, I tweaked it. In fact, it bears very little resemblance to the original, except for the presence of chickpeas and tomato. It doesn't even have the eggplant...er, aubergine. Still, I was pretty happy with the result, which kind of has a North African vibe (in my imagination, anyway), and I still must credit my friend for being the inspiration.

This recipe is totally vegan, but I think it would probably be awesome with some chunks of lamb in it, or as an accompaniment to grilled chicken or lamb.

Cauliflower-Chickpea Ragout

½ head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized chunks

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 large carrot, diced

1 small red onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup crushed tomato (from can…freeze the leftovers)

2 whole cloves

¼ tsp each ground (adjust blend to taste):

cinnamon

paprika

cumin

coriander

cardamom

zest of 1 lemon + 1 tbsp lemon juice

salt to taste

In a good-sized pan, heat a swirl of olive oil over medium heat. When it shimmers, add garlic. Saute, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds and then add onion. When the onion begins to soften, add the spice mixture and stir into the onion. Add half the tomato and the carrot and cauliflower. Stir until the vegetables are well coated with the tomato. Add the remaining tomato (and a little water if necessary), lemon juice, and salt and cook over low heat, covered, for 20 minutes or until vegetables are desired tenderness. When the vegetables are cooked, add the lemon zest and chickpeas and cook until warmed through. Serve over rice. 4 servings.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Let's hope we're all still here a year from now, and that the world does not end, Mayan calendar or no Mayan calendar.

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

What a beautiful September day in Tucson! After two days of heavy monsoon rain, the air was fresh and clear this morning, with a steady--dare I say it--crisp breeze. It felt almost fall-like. Let's hope it keeps up. Anyway, it was great weather for riding to Sunflower Market. Let me say a few words about Sunflower. I think I might be in love. If you've never been to one before (as I never had until two weeks ago, when I happened to go with a friend), it's kind of like a Trader Joe's on a bigger scale. Like Whole Foods, it has a lot of natural and organic options, and bulk grains and nuts and things, but like Trader Joe's, you can actually afford the prices and the people who work there are very nice. They had everything I needed (except 1% milk quarts, so I went with skim). The produce section is great, and so is the meat counter. I found fresh andouille sausage, which they never seem to have at Safeway. The cost was pretty close to the $70 range I was predicting; the total bill ended up being $74.23. I suspect that I would have spent at least $100 at Whole Foods for the same items. So here's that list again, with some notes:

1. Bacon (1/2 pound bulk)
2. Pork (3 lbs boneless pork shoulder)
3. Andouille sausage (1/2 pound)
4. Quart of 1% milk (not available in quart size so I got skim)
5. 1/2 quart of lowfat plain yogurt (Nancy's brand)
6. 1/2 gallon of orange juice
7. Frozen lima beans
8. Coffee beans
9. White rice
10. Walnuts
11. Peanut butter
12. 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
13. 2 15-oz cans chickpeas
14. 2 15-oz cans red beans
15. Fresh fruit (2 6-oz cartons of raspberries and a pound of pluots)
16. Lemons (3 for $1)
17. Limes (3 for $1)
18. Cherry tomatoes (1 pint)
19. Avocados (3)
20. Bell peppers (3 green)
21. Serrano peppers (2)
22. Celery
23. Fresh basil
24. Salad greens (red-leaf lettuce head)
25. Whole-wheat pita bread
26. Freezer bags

So here's what I'm going to do with this stuff. As I mentioned previously, I plan my menu out for two weeks. To be more specific, I plan for 28 meals: 14 dinners and 14 lunches. (Breakfast isn't included because it often doesn't involve cooking. On most school mornings when I'm pressed for time I just have a bowl of oatmeal of a smoothie or something.) I allow for about four meals eaten outside the house in the course of two weeks (one dinner + one lunch out/week), which means I need to shoot for 24 meals. Because I am not about to make 24 separate meals, I come up with seven or eight recipes yielding 3-4 servings each (or more if it's freezable) that complement each other in terms of the ingredients required, the amount of prep time required, and the variety of flavors, to stick to and stretch out over the two weeks. Usually I'll have a couple things that are a bit heavier on meat and other things that are mostly vegetarian, some things that are more labor intensive and some that are quick and easy. I also try to incorporate at least one new recipe into the mix. It's not unusual for me to end up with more of one thing or less of another than I anticipated, but it works surprisingly well. Finally, if I do things right, I'll end up with at least one "transitional" recipe that will get me through the end of the two weeks into the next shopping cycle.

So my menu items for the week are as follows. Recipes that are new to me are italicized; transitional recipes are in green:

Tuna salad pita sandwich x 1

Ratatouille with chicken and rice x 4 (possible extra for freezing)

Puerco pibil and rice x 4 (adapted from Robert Rodriguez; possible extra for freezing)

Summer succotash with bacon x 3 (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Red beans and rice with andouille sausage x 4

Angelhair pasta with walnut pesto and chicken x 4 (hopefully extra pesto for freezing)

Kofta (Middle Eastern spiced meatballs) and rice x 2

Channa Masala (chickpea-tomato curry) x 2

Et voila! 24 dishes from 8 recipes, all of which function as complete meals within themselves including vegetable, protein, and a starch.

Since ratatouille is going to be my dinner tonight, let's end with my ratatouille recipe. Ratatouille is a highly-spiced vegetable stew with a tomato base traditional to French and North African cuisine. It's a good choice for a weekend meal because, though it is not difficult, it takes a bit longer to prepare. The cooked vegetables freeze well, so this is also a good recipe to double, so that you can freeze half and turn it into an easy meal sometime in the future. Ratatouille pairs well with rice, but could also be served with some rustic bread or couscous, or even a chunky pasta like rigatoni. Because ratatouille is pretty hearty, I prefer to have chicken with it instead red meat, but I imagine it would be tasty with beef or lamb kebabs. To turn it into a balanced vegetarian meal, add a can of drained chickpeas to the pot just before serving.

Because I don't have a grill, I plan to saute my chicken. If this is something you're unfamiliar with, it's quite easy. It works best if you pound the chicken breast first so that it's of an even thickness. You don't want a thick part staying pink inside. Place the chicken breast in a freezer bag or wrap well with saran wrap (maybe a couple of layers--there's nothing grosser than having pulverized bits of raw chicken flying at you). Beat the shit out of it until it's about a quarter inch thick. You can use a mallet, or if, like me, you don't have one, a rolling pin or the bottom of a small sauce pan will do. Heat a little olive oil in your skillet. Rub your chicken breast with a little olive oil and a spice rub of equal parts cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper (this is something you can mix a quantity of and have lying around so you don't have to measure the spices out every time). Place the breast in the skillet and cook about five minutes on each side. That's how you saute a chicken breast. Easy. On to the ratatouille:

You will need:

Olive oil

1 yellow onion, sliced in thin half-moon slices

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium eggplant*, peeled and cubed

1 zucchini, cubed

1 yellow (summer) squash, cubed

2 cups crushed tomatoes and juice (about half a 28-oz can)

(Optional: 1/4 cup pitted green or kalamata olives)

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground cloves

salt and pepper to taste

In a deep skillet, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until the onion begins to soften. Add the eggplant and cook until the eggplant softens, stirring constantly. This is important, because eggplant is a squirrelly vegetable. It can suck up oil like a sponge, with the result that half your eggplant chunks are oily and the other half are bitter and dry. Stirring will ensure that it is evenly coated with oil. Once the eggplant is soft, add the remaining ingredients and, stirring, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1/2 an hour to an hour, until the vegetables are all soft and the sauce has thickened. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve. Yields 4 servings.

*You may want to salt your eggplant cubes before using them. Salting draws moisture out of the flesh and makes it less bitter and easier to cook. Toss the eggplant with salt and let sit in a colander for an hour. Rinse the pieces well and squeeze them in your hand to expel moisture. Pat dry with paper towels or a clean dish towel. You can do this with squash, too.