My first CSA box arrived on Wednesday, and it was packed to the brim with produce from Johnson's Backyard Garden, a local organic farm in Austin. I'm going to enjoy cooking up all of that fresh green goodness. My plans for each item have already been hatched. I started out by using some of the incredibly gorgeous broccoli tonight in a simple Chinese style stir fry.

I had some beautiful shrimp stock in my freezer, that I was thrilled to finally find a purpose for in this dish. I have been holding out for handmade ramen, but that's a project that is still on hold, pending some free time. With The Austin Taco Experiment on the way, and ChefHangout.com starting to pick up speed, noodles just aren't in the cards. It's thoughts like these that make me realize that I'm a little food obsessed. Most people who are pining away for free time probably dream about laying in the grass counting clouds, reading a book by a babbling brook, or maybe even (gasp) relaxing on a sunny beach somewhere. Me? I dream about having an entire afternoon to myself so I can wrestle rock hard alkaline dough into endless strands of ramen. Now THAT'S livin'.

Just look at this stuff! After I blanched it in salt water, it turned as green as can be.

Shrimp & Broccoli Stir Fry

Ingredients

1 pound large shrimp

8 ounces broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces

1 cup stock (seafood or chicken is best)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon hot chili paste

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

a splash of white wine (if you have it)

1 tablespoon cornstarch in 2 - 4 tablespoons cold water, mixed into a slurry

salt & pepper to taste

cooking oil, as needed

Directions

Blanch broccoli in salted, boiling water until just tender. Drain and shock with cold water. In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 or 2 tablespoons of cooking oil over medium heat. Add the shrimp, and sear on both sides until just cooked. Remove from pan. Add the stock, wine, chili, soy sauce, sugar, and spices to the pan. Heat until simmering, then whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Cook, while whisking for 1 - 2 minutes. Taste, and add salt & pepper or hot chili paste as needed. (If you are using homemade stock, you'll definitely need some salt.) Add the broccoli to the pan and toss with sauce until heated through. Add the shrimp, and toss until heated. Serve immediately over rice or noodles.

I keep forgetting to recharge my SLR (it died during a day trip to San Antonio earlier this week), so you'll have to feast your eyes on these tiny photos instead. They are a lot less defined, but so painterly, don't you think? Gotta love Instagram.