I have been sitting at my desk now for a good twenty minutes, just kind of staring at my screen, wracking my brain for just how to start this Cajun Garlic Lemon Butter Shrimp post. I’ve said this before, but the first line of every single post is typically the hardest for me to write. I just need a starting point and from there I can usually keep going. WATCH THE HOW-TO VIDEO:
After twenty minutes of coming up with nothing catchy, I figured I’d just start with the truth. My brain is full of thoughts right now, but no good starting lines, so we’ll just randomly dive right into things! Cool. 🙂
If you guys follow me on Snapchat or Instagram then you know I started to shoot the recipes for the cookbook this weekend. I’m only shooting a handful of recipes this week, I just need to make sure I get to use all the killer summer tomatoes and peaches that are currently taking over my local farm stand before they disappear for the season. The rest of the shots will happen in September. Here’s the thing, I have been stockpiling new props for “cookbook shoots only” for the last six months. For a while, I was actually being good and not using them, but then I got tired of using the same props over and over, and well, the inevitable happened, I broke into the sacred “cookbook only” props and started using them for blog photo shoots and other projects. NOOO… like why did I have to do that? Now I am scrambling to find new props that you guys have never seen before. No joke, I have all my family members searching high and low for dishes and surfaces. My phone is constantly buzzing with new photos of this and that. This all started with my brother Brendan and his girlfriend Lyndsie. They live in Portland, which is the land of awesome pottery and vintage packed flea markets. I asked them if they would be willing to shop around for me and they jumped at the chance. I mean, this is Brendan’s and Lyndsie’s thing. Soo for the last week they have been all over the place looking for new items for me to shoot with. They even made the drive up to Seattle to roam around there for two days. They found some goods, but trust me, I am picky, and prop shopping is not the easiest task… they did good though! On Saturday I was texting with Kai (my younger brother who is closest to me in age), he mentioned that he and Cait (his girlfriend) were going to World Market…oh man, he should have never told me that. For some reason when he said it like a light went off in my head, “oh my gosh, he’s in LA, they can totally find me some awesome stuff”. After that he basically had no choice other than to help me out and shop till they dropped. Poor Kai, Cait’s a pro shopper, but Kai? Well, he’s just a really, really good sport. I couldn’t believe they spent all day looking, like that’s not an easy thing to do, and they sent me a gazillion photos. They didn’t end up getting all that much, because like I said, I am really picky when it comes to dishes, but their efforts where super impressive, and what they did find was cool. Soo really what I am trying to say is that my family members are awesome and I love that they will always have my back… one of the bonuses of being part of a large family. 🙂
And that was my weekend in a nut shell. Many other things happened, but all in all it was busy, and good. What did you guys do???
OkOK. Let’s talk about this big bowl of comfort right here. We are sadly nearing the end of August. Asher starts school tomorrow. For me this means slowly introducing more comfort foods, while still retaining their summery vibe. So guys, say hello to the bestest shrimp piled over the creamiest, most perfect cheesy corn polenta. Honestly, this is what late summer dinner perfection looks like. The shrimp is possibly the simplest thing ever, it’s also so fast to make. PLUS, it is totally delish! But then, how could anything covered in cajun seasoning, garlic, lemon and butter not be insanely amazing!?! Most of the time when I make shrimp, I pair it with one of three carbs, rice, pasta or polenta. Since I really wanted to include some summer corn in this recipe I knew I had no choice other than creamy, buttery polenta. I mean, DUH. The polenta is a must… A MUST. You spoon the saucy shrimp over top and it’s just beyond perfect. Spicy, buttery, slightly cheesy, creamy… and filled with summer corn and fresh basil. Yes please!
Monday Dinner = Done and DONE ? PS. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite bloggers in the Bloglovin 2016 awards…Half Baked Harvest is nominated for best food blog, yeah!! PSS. I’ve also been nominated for the SAVEUR Magazine 2016 Blog Awards for Most Inspired Weeknight Dinners! I would be so grateful if you would go and vote for your favorite blogger. You can vote everyday from now until August 31st! ?
