You’d think after living here for 14 years I would have made shrimp & grits several times by now. I did tonight, though, with a Moroccan twist, using this Serious Eats recipe.
Moroccan Spicy Shrimp
From Hank Shaw
Ingredients
- 1 lb. large, peeled deveined shrimp
- 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
- 4 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. paprika
- 1 tbsp. ground coriander
- 1 tbsp.ground cumin
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. cayenne (less if you want it milder)
- Salt
- Juice of a lemon
Directions
- Salt the shrimp well and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic. Turn the heat down to medium and sauté the garlic for 1-3 minutes — don't let it burn.
- Add all the ground spices and stir well to combine. Cook this, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
- Turn the heat up to high and add the shrimp. Stir to combine and cook, stirring constantly, until the shrimp turn pink. This shouldn't take more than 4-5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and toss to combine. Serve at once. Serves 4-6.
While I quickly cooked up some of these…
…I made a bowl of grits with diced tomatoes, onion, and garlic. All the different spices in this dish give such a simple recipe so much flavor. The whole thing took less than 20 minutes to make and would have taken even less time had I not dropped the shrimp twice, knocked over a bag of grits, and let 3 cloves of garlic burn. Clearly, I was trying to work too fast. 
Speaking of speed, I have been highly irritated by all things slow today.
- slow laptop
- too many slow drivers on the way home
- too many slow people walking around the gym
- a slow woman who felt it was safe to walk in the middle of the parking lot
It’s not that I’m impatient, really. I just know that when I want something, I am on a mission and I don’t like things blocking my way. I’m like Hurricane Xtina and everyone around me needs to get on their evacuation route.But on the other hand, I absolutely cannot stand the feeling of being rushed. Does this make any sense?
In blogger news, I met two readers this weekend! On Friday night, Jessica approached me at Trio wearing a blue wig! She was at a Bachelorette party and everyone was wearing different colored wigs. On Saturday night, I met Mo, who I didn’t know was a reader. That made me super happy. Thanks to both of you for saying hello! That’s just one of the many reasons I keep blogging. And yes, I have been absent for a few days because I needed some time to focus on other things like work and friends. 
Sometimes you just have to check yourself before you wreck yourself. 
What is your #1 favorite thing about blogging?
Do you ever feel the need to take breaks from blogging? What helps you regain focus?
