Shrimp with Green Beans

I am in love with our health store that is just down the street. It is Sunflower Farmers Market, it is only in the west right now, but they are quickly growing. I love everything about them. They have great deals on everything and it's fresh and local and just so convenient with it being down the street from me. If you live near one go on Double Add Wednesdays, because you get two weeks worth of deals on one day! Some of my friends complain about the prices there, but you have to know when to shop and Wednesday is the day. I go into a regular grocery store and I can't bring myself to buy anything in the produce and meat departments. I look at a sale sign for $1.20 per pound for apples and I just pass them by because I can get them for $.88 a pound at Sunflower. I love their meat and eggs. I don't have to worry about where they came from or what they were fed before they became food. Their eggs are the best, they don't make me sick and they are super cheep (no pun intended). They have the best selection of gluten free foods by volume and we love their bulk section too for cheep snacks. We spend very little money on groceries for the three of us. We spend about $60 a week. I'll talk more about that another day, but if it wasn't for this store I know we would be spending more.

I love sea food, especially shrimp, but unfortunately we can't always afford it or it's not always fresh. At Sunflower I can get them frozen and wild caught, which is a huge plus and I can get it for under $4 a pound too. I don't know about you guys but farmed fish is just gross, it just tastes like dirt. I love getting a big bag of shrimp and then only taking out what I need. I can take out two shrimps and cook them up in some oil and lemon for a sushi lunch or add them to pasta. When buying shrimp all you need to know is the number per pound. That number will also tell you the size of the shrimp. For the recipe below I say use U21, that means it takes 21-25 shrimps to make a pound, that is about a medium size shrimp. So if I say U12 that means the shrimp are big. U25-30 are tiny, great for shrimp cocktail. If you can get them de-vained first, but if not, just use a knife to cut the back of the shrimp then a tooth pick will get that vain out.


Shrimp with Green Beans
1/2 lb of U21 uncooked shrimp
1 cup frozen green beans
2 Tbs water
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp mirin or lemon juice
1 tsp tapioca starch
Salt and pepper to taste


Add olive oil to a skillet over medium high heat. Clean shrimp and the the shells off if desired. I left the shells on because they protect the shrimp during cooking and add a nice flavor. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Once the shrimp are pink on once side, flip them over. Once the shrimp are almost cooked on the second side add the green beans with the water and stir. Add garlic, mirin or lemon juice and stir together. Once green beans are thawed and warmed through, whisk in the tapioca starch to avoid any lumps and to scrap any brown bits that are on the bottom of the pan. Mix in with pasta or serve by themselves. Serves 4.