good things happen when... curry is involved

Through this blog, I hope to share some culinary moments and adventures. As you can see from the previous posts, they could be delightful experiences in restaurants. But for today, I will share a beautiful home-cooked moment. Over the summer, I have re-discovered a love for cooking. I love how cooking slows your mind down and helps you engage in being present: the visual colors, the exotic tastes, the energy that comes forth from putting something together in a pot.

As a sweet gesture, I thought I'd make my boyfriend a home-cooked meal that would be simple and tasty. I went to the local grocer and picked up some shrimp (1.5 lbs), green beans, potatoes, carrots, fresh basil and this amazing ten minute simmer sauce. After an intense sweat session spin class, we scampered home, and I halved the jumbo shrimp, thinly sliced the carrots and potatoes, and snapped the ends off the green beans. And, I cooked the shrimp in the curry sauce while adding some honey (to balance off the curry flavor) and black pepper.

Once it was about halfway cooked, I added the veggies in order of thickness. No soggy veggies here! Put the potatoes first, then the carrots and the green beans last. And let it come to a boil and then simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes. The prep and cooking actually took about 30 minutes. (Yeah, so much for ten minute simmer! It's those darn veggies that always take the most time. )

While this dish simmered, I cooked a pot of jasmine rice. This is a good partner with the curry because it creates a nice "bed" for your veggies and shrimp to soak up all the sauce. Stir your rice and check on it because rice loves to stick to the bottom of the pot. You'll have to check on the tenderness of the veggies. Once you know that the potatoes and carrots are at a soft consistency, you can slice up some basil and throw it on top of the dish.

Plate your food, and you are good to go. The beau loved the sauce so much he came back for seconds! :) It's a very easy dish and you can substitute veggies and meats to play around with very different combos. Exotic, healthy, and colorful - yummmmm.

(Photo is courtesy of flickr!)