Curry Lentin Soup version 2 with Chipotle marinated Shrimp

So sorry for the long delay, I haven't been cooking much, and have had unfortunate priorities of my free time that have taken me away from blogging.

Anyone who lives in Minneapolis can tell you that it's still winter. Or at least very early spring. After a week or two of mild weather it's been raining/snowing/freezing since the middle of April. When I left my house this morning, May 2, there was freezing rain pellets falling on my head. So what was originally planned to be ginger lime shrimp with sesame carrot salad was instead chipotle and chili marinated shrimp with yellow curry lentil soup. Unfortunately I didn't actually write down exactly what I did. So I'm going to attempt to get this down, to the best of my skills, before I forget any ingredients. I'll edit this post in the future when I refine the recipe.

This was a perfectly portioned meal for 3 adults.

Shrimp - 18 pieces 26x30 devained (I removed the shell myself, having forgotten what a pain that is, I wont be doing it again)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
1 heaping teaspoon fresh Ginger paste
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Penzeys Chili 3000
1 teaspoon diced garlic
2 medium chioptle peppers, canned in adobe sauce
(note - I think this marinade would be great with pork or chicken as is, for beef I would replace the sesame oil with balsamic vinegar)

Mix everything together, crushing the peppers with the back of a spoon, add the shrimp, coating completely, cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. I let mine go for 3 hours. Skewer the shrimp and cook on a grill for about 5 minutes on eat side, or until shrimp are firm and opaque.

Originally I was planning to make curry scented lentils. This was a last minute change of plans after I was told by The Man that sesame carrot salad was simply not going to be enough with 6 shrimp, and really wasn't the best choice on a cold windy day anyways. He was right, and this ended up being a much better option, and the taste was perfect with the shrimp. Once again, I wasn't paying a lot of attention to what I was doing, but this was so quick and so delicious I'm going to get it written down, and try it again soon so I can refine the measurements. I really need to start measuring things while I'm cooking.

1 cup red lentils
3 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons dehydrated roasted garlic pieces
1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and stir often for 20 minutes. Serve hot. Yes, it really was that simple. I'm not sure how it would work with other types of lentils, since it's my experience that red are softer.

I served the shrimp on the side of the soup, because I wasn't sure how my family would enjoy them combined, in the future I will simply set the shrimp on top of the soup, as I fully intend to make this meal again.

Being a good neighbor

I've never been the kind of person who gets along with my neighbors and hangs out in the yard, until now. Living where I do now, The Man has been here for a few years and knows everyone, so we find ourselves doing exactly that. Half of our summer has been spent having a glass of wine in the backyard while talking to the neighbors over the fence. Their kids walk our dogs and mow our lawn (for a price) and we all keep an eye on each others houses. It's so domestic it hurts.

So, tonight is our block party, and TM (The Man) decided that our contribution should be Jucy Lucy's. Earlier this summer we had a cook off with a few of our friends with both professionals and non professional's in the food world cooking. I won neither category, which is fine with me, because I have some amazing cooks in my life. However it leaves me wondering what I can do to make my Lucy's better. Tonight I am going traditional; American cheese, light on the seasoning, because there are young children on the block and I want everyone to be able to enjoy it. Next time though... I'm thinking Greek. The farmers market in downtown has some good ground lamb, it would be amazing stuffed with Feta and then topped with Mozzarella (like how I capitalize my cheese names? I really like cheese) and fresh spinach. Hopefully I can test it out soon, and I'll let you know how it goes.