Shrimp Curry

I must pause to inform myself that June is prepared to walk out the front door and not look back, while July is pounding at the back door impatiently waiting to enter. Where does the time go?  As a child, I remember thinking that the days lasted forever.  As an adult, I'm fighting the clock on a daily basis in an attempt of desperation to add a few more house to my day. 

This afternoon, for example, I had a nice long list of items to accomplish before calling it quits for the day.  Of course, that entire list was thrown out the window as soon as I noticed a problem with my refrigerator. First, the freezer seem to have a bit more frost than normal on its inhabitants.  Then I noticed a lot of condensation in the refrigerator, followed by a strange feeling that the food items inside didn't feel cool to the touch like they normally would on a warm summer day.  To confirm my fears, I borrowed a digital thermometer that we use for outdoors and put it inside the fridge and placed the digital readout on my counter top so that I could keep a close eye on it.

Meanwhile, I decided it was best to prepare dinner because if it was determined that there needed to be a fridge/freezer evacuation, I had best beef up my stamina for the hours ahead of me.  So I flipped through my copy of Easy Everyday and found a simple recipe for Shrimp Curry that I just so happened to have all the ingredients for.  Mind you there are a ton of different curry recipes in the world and this has no fancy title to it, but it delivered a full and "bright" (as my husband labeled it) flavor and it was prepared and ready for eating in a very short amount of time--as long as you remember to start cooking the rice first, of course. 

Admittedly, the only ingredient I didn't have was the turmeric and had to omit this from my preparation, but honestly I didn't miss it.  I also opted to leave out the mild red chili as my husband and I have different tolerances for hot and spicy.  I provided crushed red pepper flakes for him to sprinkle on after-the-fact which he enjoyed while I was quite satisfied with my full, bright, not-so-hot & spicy flavor.  This shrimp curry was enjoyed on a bed of steamy jasmine rice with a side of naan and a glass of wine. 

I swear for that every bite of food that I enjoyed, the temperature on the digital readout for the fridge continued upwards.  As it hit the 60 degree Fahrenheit mark, I placed my plate in the sink and began the evacuation procedure, tossing my list of things to do in the drawer to be tackled another day. On a brighter note, I needed to clean out my fridge anyway.  Here's to hoping that as July barges in the back door she doesn't find the need to bring the bill for a new refrigerator with her.

Shrimp Curry
Adapted from Easy Everyday
Serves 4

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 mild red chile, chopped (omitted in my preparation)
1 teaspoon turmeric (omitted in my preparation)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 lb frozen cooked & peeled shrimp, defrosted
14 oz can of chopped tomatoes
juice of 2 freshly squeezed limes
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
rice, to serve
lime wedges for serving


For the quickest simultaneous preparation, start cooking the rice first.
Heat the oil in a large pan, then add the onion, garlic, ginger, and chile, and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.  Add the turmeric, curry powder, coriander, and cumin and mix well.
Add the shrimp and cook for 3 minutes, stirring well.

Pour in the tomatoes and lime juice, season, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
**At this point, taste the sauce.  If the flavors are there but not to your desired strength, you can add more curry powder, cumin, and coriander (in their respective ratios) without destroying the dish.  I added more of each as I enjoy the bold flavors.

When the desired flavor and consistency are reached, add the cilantro and serve on a bed of rice. 
Last but not last, pour yourself and glass of wine and enjoy.