Coconut, Tomato, Shrimp....its not summer

Hey All,

I'm trying my best to keep on top of things, but alas, life is exhausting.  Exhausting is a good thing, it means I'm busy, doing stuff I enjoy, and the Happy Homo Homestead isn't falling into too terrible of disrepair.  We're both working our guts out, and maybe, just maybe, I can send "the thing from day 1" to production.  We'll see.  I LOVE my users, in fact I love all laboratory personnel.  That said, if anybody can break a thing, the team I'm working with will do it.  They've sent me back to "The Cave" with copious notes TWICE!  If nothing else, this has taught me to give up trying anything fancy and stick to very basic coding that does what the user needs it to do.  I appreciate the nuance of privilege based code, but the thing I'm working on is something that only the specified users can access anyway....*outloud eyeroll*

A while back, this recipe, from Slender Kitchen, caught my eye.  I like the flavor profile and shrimp are delicious.  It is definitely on the Vietnamese/Thai side, but the tomato adds a European touch.  The flavor is all around unique and tasty!  If I had to make it again, I'd let the tomato and stuff reduce A LOT!  It was a bit runny, although still delicious.

So here's how I did it/will do it going forward:

1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup onion
3 garlic cloves (this level is right, but I wouldn't hesitate to add more, minced)
2 tbsp ginger, minced (original recipe called for 1tbslp, I found it lacking, maybe my ginger was weak from freezing....I buy ginger when it is on sale, run it through the food processor, freeze it, and use it for recipes like this)
2 tbsp. basil, chopped (I used 2tblsp dried from the garden)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional, to taste, the original recipe calls for 1/8, I think 1/4 is perfect)
2 cups tomatoes, chopped (or 32oz freezer container, I gave up trying to can tomatoes years ago and just freeze them instead)
1 1/3 cup or 1-10 oz can coconut milk
2 lb. shrimp

Part of what turned me off to this recipe originally were all the references to lo fat, paleo, etc.  Its just cooking, c'mon, a bit of sense and you can adjust this recipe to any dietary need, INCLUDING VEGAN (hello, vegan shrimp are delicious!).

GENTLY, Saute the onions and garlic in the oil.  Just as the onions lose their color add the ginger, red pepper, and half of the basil.  I SAID GENTLY!  Don't burn your pepper and basil, it will taste like dreck if you do!

Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer.  Simmer for a good while, the sauce should be very thick (I skipped this part and paid the price with runny sauce).  We're talking hours here, not just one.  The sauce should be thicker than tomato sauce.

Reduce (or remove completely from) the heat and whisk in the coconut milk, again, gentle, because coconut milk can curdle.  Add the shrimp and cook until cooked through.  Shrimp are finicky, not enough heat, you risk food borne illnesses, too much, RUBBER!  There is plenty of heat left in that pan to cook even prawn(5-10ct) sized shrimp.

Sprinkle the remaining half of the basil over the top.  A drizzle of chili oil would be a nice touch!

I served it over RICE!

While I'm berating my own cooking let's talk about this horrible interface.  Google already rules the lives of those of us that hate Steve Jobs....remember when android was supposed to be Open Source....  Anyway, next time, I'm going to try linking images from Drive.  I might be catching on to this yet.