Burmese Chile Prawns with Cucumber and Avocado Salad

Are you fast in the kitchen? I'm super slow. No matter how much I wish I could be an ingredient ninja, I just can't seem to get things located and prepped very quickly. I took a knife skills class a few months ago, which helped a little, but I think the issue stems more from disorganization than a lack of dexterity.

I'm working on making more 30-minute paleo dinners to share here on A Calculated Whisk. To make sure I'm representing things accurately, I time myself as I cook, which really highlights my lack of culinary efficiency. For this recipe, I started timing, assembled most of the ingredients for the marinade, and then realized I couldn't find a sharp knife to cut the lime in half. I paused the timer while I located a chef's knife and washed it, because I thought you, my wonderful readers, were likely to already have a clean knife on hand. Several other misplaced items and dirty dishes slowed me down and I didn't stop the timer every time, but I still managed to make this meal in JUST over 30 minutes (if you're making rice, you may need an extra 3-5 minutes to get that measured and set up).

So, even if you're less than speedy in the kitchen, like me, you can have this dinner on your plate in just about half an hour.

Today's recipe comes from Sue at Couscous and Consciousness. I was assigned her blog for this month's Secret Recipe Club reveal, and had so much fun browsing through her delicious recipes. (I was also excited to read that Sue is a yoga teacher. I love yoga and have been trying to do at least a few sun salutations every morning. I wish I could take a class with Sue, but she lives in New Zealand, so it would be quite a commute.)

Sue's food is colorful, creative, and usually on the lighter side, so there were a lot of tempting options to choose from. She also has many internationally inspired dishes, which makes browsing her site really fun. For this month's reveal, top contenders included bengali aloo with lemon turmeric aioli, roasted apricot gelato, and plum and cardamon cake. Even though I'm not much of a salad person at all, I also found myself wanting to try this salmon with green tea soba noodle, broad bean, and radish salad and this watermelon and feta salad with preserved lemon dressing.

Squash Noodles with Everything Pesto (and an egg on top)

It has been a very long time since I've posted a recipe, and I'm hoping these squash noodles with everything pesto and a fried egg on top will at least partly make up for it.  Things have been busy at school, and it's getting harder and harder to blog often and stay on top of my readings and projects.  However, I am sure you do not want to hear about that.  I bet you'd rather hear about this brunch (dinner? lunch? midnight snack?) recipe that's paleo, grain-free, vegetarian, and ridiculously delicious.

I have to admit that I was unsatisfied with zoodles (zucchini + noodles = zoodles) for a long time, due mostly to unrealistic expectations.  Anyone who tells you that zoodles taste just like regular pasta is either totally lying or has a vastly different palate from mine.  You can't expect these to taste like linguine.

Bacon, Arugula, and Avocado Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette

My last post was about inspiration, and this one is about exhaustion.  Not the discouraging kind of exhaustion that makes you feel like there's no end in sight, but the kind of exhaustion that leaves you cheerfully spent at the end of the day--content, but without much left to offer.

I started my first external placement for graduate school last week, and I'm in schools working with kids and teachers four days a week for ten hours a day.  (In case you haven't heard me mention it, I'm working on a master's in speech and language pathology with dual certification as a reading specialist).  I am learning and doing so much that I do not know where to put all my thoughts and ideas.  I have plenty of notebooks and folders, but there's not enough space and time to capture everything I want to hold onto.  Do you ever feel that way?  Please tell me about your own exhaustion in the comments so I can feel a little less alone!

Pan-Seared Chicken, Orange, & Walnut Salad

Next Friday is the one-year anniversary of my very first blog post (note the cringe-worthy photos).  Even though I didn't know much about blogging back then, I totally stand by that first recipe--the lemon curd is so delicious.  It's amazing that this site, which is such a big part of my life now, didn't even exist just one year ago.

To celebrate, I made us a salad.  If you don't think a salad is the proper way to celebrate a blogiversary, you're right--I don't think of salads as celebratory, either.  I totally have plans for an over-the-top grain-free cake for next week, but thought I would balance things out by making this nutritious salad first.

My favorite part of this salad (other than the gorgeous hue of the Cara Cara oranges) is the creamy dreamy dressing.  I'm pretty boring with dressings, and usually just make a simple balsamic vinaigrette, perhaps with a touch of honey or Dijon mustard if I'm feeling fancy.  However, I do have a soft spot for rich, creamy dressings.  I wondered if I could make a great creamy dressing without any dairy, so that people with allergies (or people doing a Whole30 or strict paleo) could eat it.

Fresh Mozzarella & Strawberry Grilled Cheese

Have you had any strawberries lately?  The ones I've been getting are so good that I couldn't resist putting them in my grilled cheese!  You have to try this.

This sandwich is inspired by a salad I made last week that got eaten before it could be photographed.  It was a strawberry spin on caprese salad, without the tomatoes, because I just can't stomach raw tomatoes.  Anyway, the salad had strawberries and little balls of fresh mozzarella, a balsamic drizzle, and some julienned basil on top.  It was delicious.

Today when I was thinking about lunch, I wondered how the flavors of that salad would do smushed between two slices of butter-kissed bread.  Answer: they do really well.  This recipe is boyfriend-approved, which is great except for the fact that I had to share my sandwich with him.  I recommend you make and eat this in secret, because anyone who tries it is going to want more.

Ingredients (makes 1 sandwich):

2 slices of bread (I used Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain German Wheat)
3-4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
2-3 strawberries, sliced
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Pinch of salt
Butter for cooking

Layer half the cheese on one of the slices of bread.  Top with the strawberries and drizzle the balsamic vinegar on top.  Top that with the remaining cheese, a sprinkle of salt, and the other piece of bread.

Heat some butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Cook the sandwich, flipping halfway through, until the bread is golden and crisp and the cheese is melted to your liking.  Serve hot.