out of pajamas, into kitchen

Finally feeling better -- transitioned from the snowman pajamas to a pair of yoga pants and actually ventured out of the house. Destination? The grocery store, of course.

I bought a ton of food, including the ingredients for tonight's dinner of sautéed shrimp with poblano peppers, mushrooms and toasted cashews. (Yet another sign of recovery: I am cooking!) This was a little something I made up all on my own, and it was delicious, extremely easy and super fast. Here are the details:

Shrimp with Poblano Peppers, Mushrooms and Toasted Cashews
Serves two, with no leftovers

• 1/2 cup raw and unsalted cashews, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (I also added a little ghee, or clarified butter -- I like how ghee tastes)
• 1-inch piece ginger, sliced very thinly or grated
• 1 poblano pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced (I used criminis)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 lb. shrimp, rinsed (I was lazy and got the already peeled and deveined kind)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Before you begin cooking, make sure everything is prepped and close by, because this recipe goes fast -- you'll want to have all of your ingredients in order and ready to go.

Toast the cashews, either on some aluminum foil in the toaster oven (watch them closely -- they'll toast quickly) or in a small skillet on low heat. Set them aside to cool.

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the ginger. When the ginger starts to brown, add the poblanos, combining everything with a wooden spoon. Add the mushrooms, paprika and a little salt and pepper, stirring again with the spoon to make sure everything gets coated with spices and that nothing is sticking to the pan or starting to burn. Add the garlic. Add the shrimp. Shake the pan around a lot (don't you love how technical I am?) or use the spoon to make sure the shrimp cooks evenly. As the shrimp cooks, it will start to turn orange. Right before it's finished and when there is still a tiny bit of grey left, add the cilantro. When the shrimp is fully cooked (which maybe took me four or five minutes, tops), remove it from the heat.

Serve over rice (I used brown basmati). Garnish with the toasted cashews and a lime wedge.