Z's Cup of Tea

It’s a skill to take photos on the go and not add extra time to the prep or cooking time, often I’ve only one shot and that’s it – it’s even harder when I take the final, what I call representative, shot and it’s someone else’s serving. (I can spend all day taking pictures of my dinner until it’s cold, I don’t care. I’ve written about this before.) Such was the situation last Saturday when I was making dinner as I simultaneously coaxed the food to pose for photographs while at the same time trying to avoid getting my camera lens steamed up. Trying to do this all faster than usual so that we all could watch the third episode of Sherlock sooner, a BBC drama that has modernized Sherlock Holmes and it is stellar. The stories, the acting, the photography, are excellent and everyone is riveted for the entire ninety minutes of an episode. Now we all have to wait until autumn of next year – not April, as previously thought – to see what happens next and it’s sheer agony to have to wait.

One of my favourite scenes from Sherlock, in the first episode A Study in Pink. The version in the unaired pilot is even funnier, when John Watson discovers Sherlock hasn’t eaten in several days:

Sherlock: “The brain’s what counts, everything else is transport.”
John: “You might consider refueling… So, do you have a girlfriend who feeds you up sometimes?”
Sherlock: “Is that what girlfriends do? Feed you up?”

***

I have a special relationship, for lack of a better word, with this dish. Clipped out of an issue of Martha Stewart Living from 2004, my family and I made it several times and it quickly became a favourite. One time when I was making it on my own back then, I was low on one of the spices and I ended up using half a teaspoon of cayenne powder to compensate.

It wasn’t until afterward that I learned cayenne is very potent and a little goes a long way – no one could believe I’d used that much and as it happened, I was the only person who ate that particular batch as it was too hot for everyone else.  It’s a story that has gone down through the years, shocking everyone to whom it has been told (“You used how much?!”), and through that one incident cayenne has become infamous in my household – maybe I should say that it’s not so much I have a special relationship with this dish, but with cayenne. I like spicy food.

Never fear, though – my little mishap does not influence this seafood dish. It does has cayenne, but a quarter of a teaspoon will only give a little heat – it won’t set your mouth on fire. The original recipe has a tablespoon of flour, but we didn’t find it necessary even back when we were making it before we became gluten-free. I don’t remember how it came about but one day the Cajun seasoning was replaced with Mexican chili powder, either we ran out or decided to do something different, but whatever the case, we’ve stuck to the chili powder. The cooking time has been significantly reduced by sauteing the vegetables in the beginning longer and only simmering it for ten minutes rather than thirty.

Printable recipes I’m in the process of going through all the recipes on Z’s Cup of Tea and creating printer-friendly versions. As of now, I’ve removed the print button at the bottom of the post as it only prints the entire post, not just the recipe. I was shocked when a reader left a comment on my last post saying it was five pages – too long! The print button is from a relatively new WordPress.com update and as much as I loved seeing it, I can’t use it if it’s not functional in the way I want it to be.

One year ago: Coconut Flour Gingerbread Cake (SCD & GFCF)

New Orleans Shrimp
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

Serves 5 to 7

Ingredients:

Glug of olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 to 4 stalks celery, chopped crosswise (smilies)
2 sweet bell peppers, cored and deseeded, sliced lengthwise into strips
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth, or 1 cup boiling water mixed with 1/2 buillion cube
6 whole, tinned plum tomatoes, chopped or 1/2 (28 fluid ounce) tin diced tomatoes
Small handful parsley or cilantro, chopped (plus extra for garnish)
1 1/2 tsp. Mexican chili powder
1/2 tsp. sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Thawed, cooked shrimp or prawns, about 1 pound

Method:

Heat olive oil in a medium pot with onion, celery, and bell peppers over medium heat. Sauté vegetables until onion is translucent and the celery and peppers soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, spices, and salt. Bring to a boil  and reduce heat to a simmer, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve over fresh rice or quinoa (or on its own if SCD) and divide shrimp among bowls, garnishing with extra chopped parsley or cilantro. Enjoy!

~~Linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays~~