Cajun Shrimp Boil with Spicy Garlic Butter Sauce

             I imagine this is what they eat in New Orleans most nights. This is yummy and fun, as long as you like eating with your hands. It was inspired by the Yabby Hut, the original crayfish joint of CO, tucked away in Lakewood. They tie a bib around your neck, dump a huge bag of steaming, spicy shell fish on your table and hand you a roll of paper towels. It’s a unique carnivorous experience. At first it was a little weird for me. It forces you to understand you’re really eating another creature, which I think is important to remember and appreciate. We should be more in touch with where our food comes from. If you can’t handle ripping the head off your shrimp, you probably shouldn’t be eating seafood or meat. May have gone a little far, anyway…

          So this is my homemade version of the Yabby Hut’s deliciousness. You can find the Zatarains Crab boil next to the seafood counter in most grocery stores. While Sam and I ate most of this in one setting, it could easily serve 3-4 people. Be prepared to get real messy.

Cajun Shrimp Boil Recipe

Ingredients

6 cups water

5-7 small yellow or red potatoes, quartered

2 pounds raw large white shrimp in their shells, 10/15 ct. (the little pink guys won't give you the same effect)

1/8 Cup vinegar

1 small lemon cut into slices (save a slice to juice for the sauce)

3 garlic cloves, smashed

1 Tablespoons Old Bay seasoning

1 Zatarains Crayfish, Shrimp & Crab boil

1 teaspoon sea salt

Spicy Garlic Butter Sauce Ingredients

6 Tablespoons organic butter

6 large garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoons cayenne (Go with 1/2 teaspoon if you prefer less spicy foods. You can always add more)

2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning

1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Sea salt & pepper

Directions

1.)  Put water, 1 t sea salt and potatoes in a large pot and boil gently for 20 minutes.

2.)  While the potatoes are boiling, gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients. Add vinegar, lemon slices, 3 garlic cloves, Old Bay, Zatarains and the shrimp to the pot. Boil on high for 1-2 minutes, until shrimp are pink.

3.)  Remove the pot from the heat and let potatoes and shrimp sit & steep while you make the sauce.

To make the Sauce:

1.)  Melt 1 T of butter in a small sauce pan. Add minced garlic and cook on medium low for 2-3 minutes, being careful not to burn.

5.)  Add the remaining 5 Tablespoons of butter, Old Bay, cayenne, Worcestershire,

lemon juice and dash of salt and pepper. Melt and stir.

6.)  Drain the shrimp & potatoes and pile on a big plate. Reserve about 1/3 cup of the spicy garlic butter sauce for dipping. Pour the rest of the sauce over the shrimp and potatoes.

7.)  Get some napkins and go to town!

                                 Before                                                                              

                                              

                                                                                                                  After








If you try this, add a comment on how it turned out.

Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (& my first Crossfit comp)

Snow day! Great reason to lie on the couch all day and interweb it up (I've been littering facebook like a champ). Which is what I’d be doing no matter the weather because I am sooo Sore! I’ve been really sore before, like after climbing for a week in Indian Creek, slogging up and down a 1000 ft. scree slope in Canada, or 5 days backpacking on Austrian limestone. I think this might beat those. In fact the only reason I’m not crying, like I was on day 3 in Austria, is that I can sit on the couch all day.  
          You see, yesterday, I participated in my first Crossfit Competition, The Women’s WOD Fest at Crossfit South Denver. It was a blast and so humbling! The ladies were amazing; the judges/coaches were wonderful and very entertaining. I came in last place, but with few regrets. I accomplished more than I thought I could. I’ve got some nice welts from the KB clean and jerks, by far the worst part. Here’s a video for fun (the video quality is pretty poor but the music is awesome!):

        Afterwards I had ice cream, cookies and pie! (Plus, some salmon and asparagus) To top off my bender, this morning I got French toast from a restaurant I hadn’t been to in years. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my scrumptious memory. I was craving nutrition. I ended up eating my eggs and only 3 bites of French toast. So, at home I whipped up some pumpkin muffins that seem so carbolicious, but are grain and sugar free.

I’ve made these muffins without separating and whipping the egg whites and they came out delicious, but dense. So that really is an optional step. Funny story, I ended up whipping the egg whites by hand with a whisk because I broke my electric mixer while mixing tile thinset last month. The bathroom tile looks great, but I need a new handheld mixer.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe (makes 12 small muffins)

Ingredients

6 medjool dates, pits removed

1 Cup pumpkin puree

1/3 Cup coconut oil, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons almond milk

2 Tablespoons honey or maple syrup

4 eggs, whites and yolks separated

1/2 Cup plus 2 Tablespoon coconut flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ginger

Dash of nutmeg or allspice

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 Cup dark chocolate chips

Topping Ingredients:

1/2 Cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cupcake/muffin tin with paper cups.

2.     In a food processor combine dates, pumpkin, coconut oil, egg yolks, vanilla, milk and honey/syrup. 
      Mix well.

3.     In a large bowl combine coconut flour, spices, baking soda and salt.

4.     In a medium bowl whip egg whites until very soft peaks form.

5.     Pour liquid mixture and chocolate chips into coconut flour bowl and mix well.

6.     In 2 batches, fold the egg whites into the mixture. Fold gently by slicing the middle with a flat rubber spatula and scraping to the outside of the bowl. Turn the bowl slightly and fold again. Keep folding until only very small white spots remain.

7.     Pile muffin mixture into cups. It will fill them up completely and then some.

8.     Mix the topping ingredients and sprinkle on top of muffins.

9.     Bake at 350 for 40 - 45 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean and tops are browning.

10.  Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then take out muffins and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Egg Muffins

          I was just digging through my tattered and food-covered recipe journal. It’s a combination of scribbles on random pieces of paper, pages ripped out of magazines and barely legible instructions. Often there’s no title, so I have to figure out what a recipe is by the ingredients. About a year ago, I finally admitted that the memory method wasn’t working for me. I would make some amazing dish and thinking I’d remember, never record anything. Trying to duplicate it some time later, left me with almost inedible food (I say almost because I hate wasting food and will eat or save everything).  Finally, I got fed up and gave in. Now deciphering my old scribbles usually pays off in something delicious.

          Anyway, reading through it just makes me wish I had more time to bake and cook. It’s filled with forgotten gems. Many things I’m working on making grain-free. I’ll just have to wait until summer time. In the meantime I’ll have to keep juggling and try to use my time efficiently (not one of my specialties). So here’s a time-saving recipe. This took an hour in the evening and provided breakfast for Sam & I for 3 days. These definetely helped me get out the door on time in the morning.

Baked potato note: I’ll bake a bunch of potatoes (sweet and white) at the beginning of the week and keep these in the fridge. For breakfast I’ll chop up a potato and sauté it with some veggies and eggs. It cooks up really quick and gets nice and crispy. Often, I’ll take a cold baked sweet potato and eat it like an apple for a snack.

Egg Muffins Recipe - Makes 6 full-sized muffins or 12 cupcake-sized muffins

Ingredients

12 eggs

2 cups chopped potato & veggies, for example:

1 baked potato, diced 

1/4 of a small onion, diced

1 small bell pepper, chopped

1/2 broccoli head, chopped

4-5 slices tempeh bacon, chopped (optional)

1/3 Cup grated organic cheese, plus some slices for the top (optional)

1 tomato, chopped

1/3 Cup chopped fresh herbs (I had a combination of green onions, cilantro & parsley)

Coconut oil

Salt and pepper

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 325 & place oven rack in the upper third section.

2.     Heat coconut oil, saute potato and veggies on medium for 5-8 minutes.

3.     Scramble eggs and grated cheese in a big bowl. Add some salt and pepper.

4.     Divide sautéed veggie mix into the bottom of the muffin tin.

5.     Pour egg mixture over top.

6.     Sprinkle fresh herbs & tomatoes on top. Top with cheese slices if using.

7.     Bake for 35-45 minutes, until an inserted knife comes out clean.

                                                 Pre-cooked

They’ll puff up and then fall a bit as they cool. Re-heat or eat cold for breakfast or a protein packed snack.