*$2 extra.
Sorry, my long history of reading Chinese Food Take-Out menus makes me automatically write that next to the word "shrimp."
It's a simple dish really, anyone can make it, and chances are you already have the ingredients in your kitchen to make it right now. All I did was take a page from my girl Christinadoeslife, who took her page from Robb Wolff, a guy who knows a lot more about the paleo lifestyle than even yours truly, the Prince of Paleo, the Captain of Cavemen, the Ugga of Bugga. Here's what the lovely Christina shared with her readers:
christinadoeslife:
Here’s a link to Robb Wolf’s paleo food matrix in PDF form.
Pretty much it's a guide that Robb Wolf put together to show you that your variety of meal choices are endless. Take one or more proteins, one or more veggies, one or more fat (fat, as in cooking oil), and one or more herbs & spices. Combine in a frying pan, and you will almost never screw it up, and it'll also almost always be delicious.
I just decided to see what I had in the fridge tonight, and took out everything that HAD to be used up (even with the green bags, most organic food still spoils in a week or so). I took out some broccoli, some mushrooms, some celery, a shallot (my first shallot!), and some dino kale (aka, black kale, more like a spinach than the curly variety of kale I normally make the kale chips out of). Okay, those are all going to be my veggies for tonight's dinner.
I was in the mood for a taste of the Mediterranean (maybe it's because I've been reading so much of my new Italian friend Susie's blog lately, check her out: http://allmyhorizons.tumblr.com/), so I chose olive oil for my fat. Perhaps I would have chosen coconut oil had the cilantro I took out not already spoiled, and moved the whole feel of the dish over to Southeast Asia, but it was not to be. The cilantro gave it's life for my "No-Peanut Noodles" and trust me, it did not die in vain. 'Cause that sucker was goooood! Go, look, I'll wait: http://cookingcaveman.tumblr.com/post/2126474702/panning-for-gold-and-striking-oil and then: http://cookingcaveman.tumblr.com/post/2128615995/new-improved-thai-no-peanut-noodles
Once I decided I would be making broccoli, mushrooms, celery, shallots, and kale, I started to shape the dish in my mind. I figured shrimp would go best with these ingredients, so I defrosted one of the bags of Wild Caught Shrimp from Trader Joe's I keep in my freezer for just this occasion! I try to have two or three bags in the freezer at all times, they're quick to defrost, and already cleaned, so any meal can be made quickly! Okay, we have our protein now, the shrimp, we have our veggies, we have our olive oil as a fat, and now we just need to spice it up! We know it's going to be Mediterranean, so I took out some lemon juice, garlic, some oregano, and some black pepper. Bell peppers might go nicely with this too, but I don't have any, but I do have some jalapeno, so let's throw some southwest into the dish, just to mix things up a little. Besides, I'm going to want it to be hot anyway (because that's what I do), so this will also replace the crushed red pepper flakes I would have inevitably reached for.
Okay, I'm ready to cook. First step, let's take the kale, and throw it all into the food processor, stems and all, and make a variation of my healthy rice (see in archives: Replacing Rice). Into a pan with olive oil it goes, and let it cook on low, give it a toss now and then, while making the rest of the dish. I know the first time I made this rice, I added garlic and black pepper to it, but I'm thinking it's better to keep this base of the dish plain, and let all the other flavors, including the sauce, enhance and add to it's flavor. I also only used the stems last time, but dino kale is less leafy, so keep the leaves for a nice mix of textures.
In a separate pan, heat some more olive oil (be generous, you stingy bastard), and throw in some finely chopped (use the food processor again, that's what it's there for, lazy bastards unite!) shallots, celery, and garlic. Quarter your mushrooms, and break your broccoli into bite sized pieces and throw those little bastards in there too! Toss in the jalapeno while you're at it, plus the spices, this dish is fool proof! Keep stirring, and don't forget your healthy rice either, you don't want the kale to burn. Once the veggies start to soften (you don't want it too soft, it'll be mushy, and all the nutrients will be cooked out), either transfer the food to a plate, or just do what I do, move it all around to the edges of the pan, clearing room for your shrimp that will go in the middle. Add some more olive oil if needed, and add your shrimp. Once they turn to a bright color, flip, just a couple of minutes on each side. Once done, add your lemon juice to add flavor and deglaze the pan. Mix it all up with a wooden spoon (get all those yummy bits off the bottom).
Now serve, like you would any dish you serve over rice. First a layer of healthy rice, then a helping of Paleo Surprise (with Shrimp*), be liberal with the sauce (add more olive oil and lemon juice if needed, you don't want it dry). Take a look:
Yummy! This meal can be made any time you're stumped for what to make for dinner. Almost any combo of ingredients in your fridge can be a tasty, satisfying, hot meal. Thank you Robb Wolf, Christina, Susie, the producers, the Academy, the Hollywood Foreign Press, and all you people up in the balcony, this one's for you! Ugga-Bugga.
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