Return, & Shrimp and Pineapple Curry

      I'M BAAACK! I guess its been a couple years now. Things got in the way, work, study, school, new relationship, all awesome things but they took up time. Well... study and work paid off. I am now in med school year 2! Also, now engaged to a most wonderful person who makes me inadvertently smile all the time (D). More about those things later (I feel like I could write a book on these past two years)! 

      I have recently decided that it would be a great outlet to have something creative in my life, that can break up the endless hours of studying (okay I havent actually studied hours in about a week... but back to it tomorrow!). I remembered my old rusty food blog, with its mediocre pictures and Im-too-tired-and-not-creative-or-verbose-enough descriptions, and I had a glimmer of an idea. Maybe I could do a couple GOOD posts a month, and not stress about content or frequency? Use the blog for ME and if anyone loves it along the way... well thats just icing on the [gluten free] cake! I do hope some of you love, or at least like, the blog. If nothing else I hope you find it instructive in at least one thing. Extroverted and Socratic by nature, I hope nothing more than to bring smiles, joy and learning to myself and those around me! 

      The pictures may not be any better, and I am trying harder at making it worth reading a little but... its mine. Its mine and there may be others like it, but this one is mine. On to the recipe part...



Since about 6 months ago I can remember proclaiming to a friend at school mid conversation "Your parents have a curry tree?! OMGZ get me some please?" 

Well dear friends, that day finally arrived. I was stopped in the parking lot at school as said friend (okay Satish it was you) yelled from a lunch carpool "Hey I have your curry leaves!" then hastily drove off because a big scary truck was waiting behing them. 

A few electronic communications later, I has received my leaves. They were just waiting for me in the cafeteria... in an unassuming plastic bag. The plastic bag somehow made the curry leaves inside better by comparison. A regular old supermarket bag, filled with olfactory goodness! Okay I know they are just leaves but...

I havent had fresh curry in like 2 years! Mostly from not making it, then from unavailability in my corner of podunk, USA. 

I instantly knew what I would do. Shrimp and pineapple curry. I have made it a few times, each time from memory... so I cant guarantee that this time was the same as my first go around. 

It is delicious either way. 

Shrimp and Pineapple Curry
Ingredients (looks long but I wrote it a different way so its not that bad, I promise!): 
Shrimp 
     peeled, tail-off (fresh or frozen)- 24oz
Pineapple
     fresh and cubed-16 oz
Onion
     1 small, chopped
Carrot
     1 large, chopped
Pepper (capsicum)
     1 yellow, orange, or red, chopped
Garlic
     2 cloves, diced
Coconut oil
     A couple tablespoons
Coconut milk
     14 oz (1 regular can)
Spices
     Turmeric- 1 tablespoon
     Coriander seed- (ground) 1/2 tablespoon
     Chili powder- 1/2 tablespoon
     Fenugreek- 1/2 tablespoon
     Asafoetida- 1 teaspoon
     Mustard seed- 1/2 tablespoon
     Salt- 1 teaspoon
     *if you dont have all these dont fret, just use ~2 tablespoons curry powder...  at the very least if you pick one spice to use, make it the turmeric. 
Tomato paste
     (optional) 1-2 tablespoons
Curry leaves
     Fresh, a handful
Cilantro (garnish)
     handful, roughly chopped
Jalapeño (garnish)
     1 pepper, sliced very thin
Spinach/ cauli-rice (for serving)
     or
Regular basmati rice (if non paleo)

Directions: 
1. Heat a large pot over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon coconut oil. 
2. Add onion and carrot to pot and fry until golden, about 5 min. 
3. Add garlic and saute about 3-5 mins more, stirring frequently.
4. Add all dry spices *except mustard seed*, fry for about 1 min (will be dry). Add coconut milk and tomato paste and stir to combine. Simmer for about 10 mins, or until carrots are almost cooked through. 
5. While curry is simmering, heat another tablespoon coconut oil in a pot or pan (with a lid!) over low-medium heat. When oil is heated, quickly add mustard seeds and fresh curry leaves and put lid on pot. You will hear mustard seeds sizzle and pop! After about 30 seconds of popping, stir. Cook another 30 seconds to 1 minute and remove from heat. 
6. Back to the curry mix... add pepper, pineapple, and shrimp. Warm through. 
7. Add mustard seed/curry leaves/ oil mixture into the curry pot. Stir to combine and allow to heat 1 more minute, just until the shrimp are warmed through. 
8. Serve over or along side spinach, cauli-rice, or basmati rice. Garnish with cilantro and jalapeño. 

It is delicious!!! 

Things I learned his time around:
- my new iPhone 4s (hand me down) takes better pics than my old digital camera...
- which leads me to crave one of those fancy DLSR cameras that I probably dont know how to use and certainly dont have the funds to buy... BUT THE PICTURES!!! Oy. 
- The curry is the most beautiful shade of orange, I should have called it orange curry... that may get confusing though so I stuck with the main ingredients. 
- I should get a proper light reflector, or maybe even a photo light box... that would be great. I fortunately dont need the blue filter anymore since I lost it. 
- I should shoot during the daytime, natural = best light. 
- Apparently photo editing matters not, as I decided cropping is too much work right now, so enjoy the backgrounds!!! 
- Even with all this I feel great having made three beautiful things: a beautiful meal, a happy D that said my dinner was delicious, and a nice blog post. 

Until next time.