the power of flavorful foods in hard times

Some of you may have read that my mom broke her hip and had replacement surgery at the end of March.  Well, last Thursday, she fell again, and this time she fractured her pelvis.  There isn't much they can do about it.  It's just a long and painful recovery, so today, I moved her into a skilled nursing home for what we hope will be a finite recovery time of one month.

So, under those circumstances, and with the tech writing stuff in high gear, I have been missing in action for about a week.  I have been, once again, living on odds and ends in the fridge, and whatever fast food I can find that isn't too awful.  So, needless to say, I was hungry tonight.  And tired, and in no mood to assemble anything but easy, soul satisfying food that didn't require a trip to the store.  So, it was time for another door knock dinner, and it was time to use some of the produce I had purchased last week, for dinners that never happened when all hell broke loose.

another advantage of a nice big cutting board -- mise en place

I had a small head of orange cauliflower (love the color), a bunch of green onions, a small bunch of rainbow chard, and some garlic in the fridge.  In the freezer I had shrimp, and both ginger and lemongrass (which freeze beautifully and last forever), and in the pantry both basmati rice and coconut milk.

Indian food is often comfort food in my house.  It's fast, satisfying, packs a little bit of spice and heat, and lots of veggies.  So, I sauteed the cauliflower with a bit of red chile paste, some garam masala, the ginger, garlic, and lemon grass.  Then, once that had taken on a little color, and the spice had infused the cauliflower, I added the green onions and chard.

cauliflower, chard, aromatics and spices wilting in the pan.

From there it was as simple as the addition of a teaspoon of salt, half a can of coconut milk, and ten or so thawed frozen shrimp. Heat on low, I let those shrimp cook very slowly, and soak up some of the flavor of the spices while the rice cooked.  Start to finish, about 40 minutes to the table.  Could have done it in 30, if I had felt like hustling, but this dinner was about slowing down, sipping a glass of wine, and putting something soul nourishing on the table.

think of it as a cross between Southern and Indian

I have no idea if there is anything even remotely like this dish in India.  But it combines great, nutritious, colorful South Carolina shrimp and greens, the texture and spice absorbing richness of cauliflower, and the exotic spice flavors of India into one easy, satisfying dish.

I can only hope this is an omen of better days to come.