thoughtful consumption

Dry shrimp run

Before I served the shrimp from this week’s delivery to guests, I thought Chris and I should try it out. So I defrosted and cleaned a handful.

Then I set out making a garlicky-tomato sauce. I started with sautéing some minced garlic in olive oil.

I added a little red wine, a can of diced tomatoes, and some salt and pepper. (Some crushed red pepper would have been good here, too.) Once the tomatoes had cooked down and become saucy (about 15 minutes on medium), I turned the heat to low and added the shrimp.

Nothing CSA in here but the shrimp: tomatoes with herbs from a can, garlic from a jar, and wine from a bottle.

I left the shrimp in there for about 10 minutes.  (When they’re cooking on low like this, you can be sloppy with the timing. You can tell they’re done when they get a little firm. Or you can taste one. Or two.)

And here’s our supper…

The shrimp were excellent. They had far more shrimp-like substance than the ones I get at the grocery store. (It could be that I don’t buy the right shrimp, though.)

Eating them was like recovering a memory: “Oh yeah. This is what shrimp tastes like.” So I’m sold on these little guys and will look for them in the Farmers’ Fresh online store later in the season.

Mushroom and (sour)cream pasta

We had some leftover pasta, so the next night we made a mushroom-cream pasta dish with garlic and lemon thyme.

mushroom pasta, salad, and half of a leftover baked sweet potato

I cut up the oyster mushrooms and sautéed them in olive oil with some garlic and salt. When they were soft, I added some white wine and let it cook for a minute. Then I reduced the heat, added the lemon thyme and the end of a container of sour cream, and let it cook a couple of minutes more. Using sour cream for a cream sauce instead of regular cream worked great – another wonderful tip from How To Cook Everything. I never have cream around, but there’s usually a little bit of sour cream languishing in the fridge.

Our supper tonight: garlic shrimp, baked butternut squash, salad, and beer bread. And whatever delicious chocolate dessert Joy’s bringing!