Category: Uncategorized

A little better, all the time. Damn – might be a song there somewhere, huh? Am learning, slowly but surely, how to manipulate stuff like block editors and all that folderol – bottom line is this place is going to be simple, but it’s gonna be clean, functional, and common sense – at least that’s the aim.

I came up with the snazzy new logo too – purty sleek, huh?

For now, all the hundred of posts that make up my work here are all in light below this one. That’ll do for a bit, but it won’t stay that way – makes for a too cluttered home page, methinks.

You’ll find a sidebar now, with boxes for searching, subscribing, most recent posts, contact, and page links. All of that will get gussied up soon. If you’re reading this, welcome. If you’re not subscribed, maybe do that, and we’ll keep in touch. If you’ve got site or post or whatever feedback, let me know – it’s all good.

Now, it’s rainy, cold, and grey outside, so it’s time to think about counteracting that. Clearly comfort food is called for, don’t you think?

Cheers!

Sunday night, responding to the ’what’s for dinner’ query, M said ’use those damn shrimp!’

So I did – we always have citrus, baby onions, garlic, and herbs out of our garden, and some very bice chiles from our CSA. so shrimp in a spicy, tangy, garlicy sauce over Carolina Gold rice sounded perfect. By request, here’s what I made.

Urban’s Garlic, Chile, Lemon & Herb Shrimp
1 Pound peeled & deveined Shrimp
1 Serrano chile, fine diced
1 Jalapeño chile, fine diced
1/2 Cup Sweet Onion, fine diced
5 fat cloves Garlic, minced
1 large lemon, zested, cut in half
Fresh Herbs – I did lemon thyme, chives, Greek oregano.
2 Cups House Chicken Stock
2 Tablespoons Avocado Oil
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
1 Tablespoon AP Flour
Sea Salt & Ground Pepper

In a heavy skillet over medium heat, add oil and heat through.
Add onion and chiles, sauté until onion starts to go translucent.
Add garlic, sauté until raw smell dissipates.
Deglaze pan with stock, bring up to a robust simmer.
Add shrimp, and let sauce return to a simmer.
Combine butter and flour, then add enough sauce to make a slurry – add to sauce and whisk with a fork to incorporate.
Reduce heat to a bare simmer and cook until sauce thickens slightly, about 15 minutes.
Add herbs, lemon zest and juice, two finger pinch of salt, 8-10 twist pepper – test for balance.
Serve over rice, and you’ll likely want a hunk of bread so you don’t miss any sauce.

Annie Lovejoy is her name, and northwest gardening, sensible living, and life balance is her game. she writes a wonderful weekly blog that touches on a lot of that, and this week, my Parmigiano Stock got a nod. check it out, and if youre not subscribed to her blog, well – ya aughta be.

We’re still under construction, as you can see. i experienced a rather debilitating attack, which required changing hosts, recovering content, and basically rebuilding from scratch. I’m getting there, slowly but surely, so your patience is greatly appreciated! in the meantime, all my old content is here, so feel free to poke around.

along with a whole new look and layout, there’ll be lots of new posts coming soon.

Cheers, Urb

Turns out being an essential service takes a lot of time and energy, and well… the new website isn’t coming as quickly as I’d thought. Ah well – it shall in its good time, and meanwhile, there is a wealth of stuff to peruse right here on the trusty ol’ blog!

Dig in, enjoy, and as always, if you’re in need of a specific recipe and don’t find one here, hit me up – I’ll be happy to work something up for you.

Meanwhile, stay the fuck home, stop hording TP, masks, and cleaning supplies. Take care of yourselves, and one another. We will get through this as a people and a world, if we just do that. Peace to you.