Curry Butter Shrimp

An easy and flavorful meal made from pantry staples, curry butter shrimp 

takes ten minutes to make and is gluten-free and paleo-friendly.

I've kind of been boycotting grocery stores. Weekend before last I went to Florida for a wedding, and since getting back I have not set foot in one. I finished up my last week of my last internship for graduate school this past Friday, we're getting ready to move down to Chattanooga this coming weekend, and I'm exhausted. Ben has been kind enough to pick up essentials like coffee, eggs, fruit, and bacon for us, but the eggs ran out yesterday.

What's a girl to do without any eggs for breakfast and with a long day of packing ahead of her? The answer is definitely not grocery shopping. The answer is curry butter shrimp! Yes, I ate this at ten in the morning. No, I have no regrets. #dinnerforbreakfast may not be mainstream yet, but just you wait and see!



I didn't do a 30 Minute Mondays post yesterday because I wanted to announce my cookbook (Paleo Planet is available for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and indie bookstores near you!). This is even better, though, because this is like 10 Minute Wednesday--not as alliterative, but much faster. Not counting the rice or cauliflower rice, this meal comes together in just ten minutes. (And, true confession, I didn't even make this rice. It's left over from the Indian food we ordered last night.)

Curry butter shrimp is a flavorful pantry recipe that requires almost no chopping (except for the cilantro--but if you're really anti-chop you could just break that up into little sprigs). Melted butter or ghee is mixed with Thai curry paste to form a fragrant sauce for cooking the shrimp. A tiny bit of maple syrup and fish sauce add just enough sweetness and umami to complement the rich butter and spicy curry.

Kratiem Prik Thai Short Ribs with Quick-Pickled Carrots

Wintry weather has already made an appearance in Boston; we had our first snow, albeit a small one, last weekend.  I hate being cold outside and abhor feeling cold indoors even more, but I also, like a true New Englander, am always reluctant to turn on the heat.

My best solution for cold days at home is to have something in the oven pretty much at all times.  And since I can't always be making and eating desserts, my favorite thing to do is braise meat or chicken.  The cooking time is nice and long, so it will really warm up your house (or at least your kitchen).  The bonus effect of this heating strategy is that you will also be really well fed.

Paleo Pad See Ew

I love Thai food, and my favorite dish to order is Pad See Ew.  It's kind of like Pad Thai's lesser-known but cooler little sister, and it's so good.  It's traditionally made with wide, flat rice noodles and dark sweet soy sauce, and often has broccoli, carrots, egg, and some sort of meat or tofu.  I'm not totally sure why, but I'm completely in love with wide, flat rice noodles.  They're just so big and chewy, and a great vehicle for soaking up whatever delicious sauce they're paired with.

This paleo version of pad see ew is made with homemade "noodles" that are actually tapioca crepes sliced into strips.  They work perfectly in this dish.  The texture is not exactly the same as the texture of rice noodles, but it's pretty close!  Coconut aminos and honey make a delicious paleo and gluten-free replacement for the dark sweet soy sauce.  

Quick Curried Pumpkin Soup (Paleo, Gluten-free, Vegan)

I'm on a really big soup kick right now.  It's so comforting to sit down with a bowl of soup on a chilly fall day, especially a soup that's both kinds of hot: warm and a little spicy.  The only problem with soup is that it sometimes takes a while to make.  Not this one, though.  You can have this soup on the table in less than 15 minutes!  It's a deliciously creamy, warmly spiced fall soup that has a depth of flavor not usually achieved in super fast recipes.  If you have a well-stocked pantry, you can whip up this soup at a moment's notice.  It's great for lunch when paired with a big salad, and would also make a great Thanksgiving starter!

I used homemade chicken stock made from a rotisserie chicken for this soup.  It was my first time making chicken stock, and I'm so glad I took the time to do it!  It made the whole house smell wonderful, and I felt like I was being really frugal.  I froze some of the stock in an ice cube tray, so now I have a bag of homemade stock cubes to use to make sauces and other recipes.  This recipe will also work with store-bought stock, though--the real flavor star here is the curry paste.

To make the soup vegan or vegetarian, just omit the fish sauce or use a splash of coconut aminos instead.  The soup will still be nice and flavorful with just the curry paste, stock, and pumpkin.  You can even omit the sunbutter or almond butter if you're out, but it adds a nice richness to the soup.