Shoulder.

I am sorry if I haven’t made it to visit everyone in the last day or so. I have had a bad shoulder for some years. It comes and goes, right now it is visiting me with a vengeance and I am feeling quite sorry for myself. I went to a specialist a few years ago and was told there wasn’t anything he could do. It was a holiday yesterday, but maybe I will call the doc today and see if there is anything new. The result being, I may not be around too much and my blogs may be a bit sparse for a while. Sorry everyone.

As I mentioned, it is a holiday weekend here in Canada, Victoria Day or May 24th weekend (nowhere near the 24th this year) and so we have fireworks. We had them on Saturday night, we had them on Sunday night and we have them on Sunday night (whilst writing). Sunday night they even went on til about 1 a.m. I sounded like someone was letting off bangers in a barrel or something. Idiots. I always worry about the animals and birds. Wild ones in particular. They must be terrified.

I was looking for something for supper and decided I might try this. Not today though. Not in the mood. We did have fish, a simple recipe I found which turned out to be delicious. I bullied Matt into cooking it.

Garlic Shrimp With Asparagus and Lemon

By Cookin-jo
Servings: 3

About This Recipe

"This easy sauté uses one pan and is ready in under 30 minutes but the result is wonderful. A real taste of spring with the asparagus and lemon. Adapted from Fine Cooking magazine."

Ingredients

1 lb shrimp, medium to large, peeled and deveined
1 pinch black pepper, to taste
1 lemon
4 tablespoons olive oil or 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 medium garlic cloves, sliced thinly
3/4 lb asparagus, tough ends snapped off and cut into 2 inch lengths ( about 2 cups)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Directions

1. Place shrimp on paper towels and dry very well.
2. Sprinkle shrimp with a bit of the pepper.
3. Using a vegetable peeler, peel off strips of the lemon peel and then cut the strips into very thin long pieces; be sure to peel only the yellow part of the peel, not the bitter white part.
4. Cut lemon in half and juice it into a small dish, removing seeds.
5. Heat a deep 12 inch skillet (preferably NOT non-stick) over medium high heat for 1 minute.
6. Add 2 Tbsp of the oil and heat until it's shimmering hot -- just a few seconds.
7. Add the shrimp in a single layer and do not disturb it; let cook for about 2 minutes until browned.
8. Turn shrimp over and brown the other side, about 1 1/2 minutes, then transfer to a plate. Shrimp should not be cooked through.
9. Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, stirring for 30 seconds.
10. Add asparagus, lemon zest strips, red pepper flakes and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes.
11. Add chicken broth and cover, simmering for 1-2 minutes until asparagus is almost done.
12. Stir cornstarch with 1 Tbsp water and stir into the pan.
13. Add shrimp back to the pan and cook another 1-2 minutes until done.
14. Stir in 1 Tbsp lemon juice, then taste and add more juice and pepper if needed.

Have a great day