saucy summer shrimp with creamy polenta
plus a rundown of all the things I'm *digging* at this moment
Happy September! Who else is feeling just a bit giddy about this new month?
I think most farmers will agree with me that August is brutal, and we’re usually very ready to see it in the review mirror. Though honestly, the past month wasn’t nearly as rough as seasons past, thanks to the fact that I’m taking the fall season “off” – and as we enter September I’m *definitely* leaning into fall (and I miiiight have already enjoyed a pumpkin spiced latte in a particularly weak moment last week).
So instead of planting like crazy for fall, this week on the farm we’ve been focused on keeping up with harvesting our late summer crops (peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, okra, etc), along with tackling weeds and putting the majority of the farm “to bed” by getting everything cleared out and covered with tarps. The mornings and evenings have been deliciously cool and dreamy, and I’m soaking up every bit of these early fall vibes.
hey… I have some questions for YOU!
As we enter a new month and feel the first hints of cool fall breezes, I want to take a moment and ask YOU, the fabulous readers of this newsletter, a few questions that will help me continue serving up the content you *actually* want to read.
So please take this SUPER quick, 3-question survey where you can tell me *exactly* what you want to see in this newsletter! I write every week with YOU in mind, and I’m so grateful for your honest feedback.
Okay, if you can’t already tell, I’m *very* energized by the start of a new month (and IDK, maybe it’s the full moon energy? too many iced coffees?), cause I have another new thing to announce for this lil newsletter…
I’ve been wanting a place to share all the things I’ve been reading / listening to / watching / vibing with… so starting today (!) on the 1st Friday of the month, I’ll have a new series called *What I’m Digging* where I share ALL the things I’m loving (both related to garden/cooking and totally unrelated). Ready, set, let’s dig in.
Reading – I just finished reading The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese, and I CANNOT stop thinking about the characters and the vivid world that Verghese creates, which is based in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast. The book follows three generations of a family and its evolution over seven decades, and it’s filled with all the things you want in a novel… passion! tragedy! love! loss! medical mysteries! betrayal! loyalty! A heads up that this is a big, long tome of a book, and yet it never feels like a chore to dive back into and you’ll be sad and yearning for more when it ends.
Watching – Right now I’m enthralled by Growing Floret, a breathtakingly beautiful documentary series that follows Floret, a family-run flower farm in the Skagit River Valley, WA. Floret’s fearless and wildly generous leader is Erin Benzakein, and I’m inspired by her dedication to preserving (and more importantly, freely SHARING) knowledge around growing and breeding flowers and saving seeds. You can stream Season 1 & 2 of Growing Floret on Discovery+, (HBO)Max, the Magnolia Network, and Prime Video. And be sure to follow Floret on Instagram, where Erin shares TONS of flower growing + seed saving info (not to mention every photo / video is a literal feast for the eyes).
Listening – This week I’ve been binge-listening to the first few episodes of Search Engine, a new podcast from PJ Voigt. In each episode, PJ dives into a new question (there’s no question too big, too small, or too weird), and takes listeners through a winding journey where you’ll be delighted, bewildered, and most likely learn some new things. My personal favorite so far is the episode called Wait, should I not be drinking airplane coffee? ;)
Wearing – A major shout out to my Dovetail overalls, which are still going strong and are comfortable + durable as ever, even at 8 months pregnant! I love love LOVE everything from the team at Dovetail, a woman-led company that specializes in clothing made to fit women’s bodies. I mostly wear their overalls, but they also have a huge range of work-wear from pants to shirts, coats, gloves, etc.
Okay, what are you digging these days? Or any thoughts on anything I just shared? Let me know in the comments.
Time to get cooking! Keep reading for this week’s banger of a recipe, Saucy Summer Shrimp & Creamy Polenta.
As someone who lives in the south – and who has deep southern roots on my mom’s side of the family – shrimp and grits is a dish that’s always been a staple in my life. There’s something so comforting about digging into a bowl of warm grits topped with a rich, complex sauce filled with fresh shrimp and veggies (and that tastes even better when eaten at a bustling table surrounded by people you love). So today’s recipe is my take on classic shrimp and grits, which I’m calling Saucy Summer Shrimp & Creamy Polenta.
(BTW – I’ve always been confused about the difference between grits and polenta… so what’s the diff? Well, I did some research for us, and according to Bon Appetit, both grits and polenta are made from ground corn, but the main difference is the *type* of corn. Polenta is made from yellow corn, while grits are normally made from white corn (or hominy). And where polenta tends to be more course, grits typically have a finer and smoother texture. Now you know!)
When it comes to making this saucy shrimp dish, it’s all about creating layers of flavor – starting by frying up the bacon, then quickly cooking the shrimp in the bacon fat, followed by sautéing all the aromatics, and then creating a fabulous, tomato-filled sauce to bring it all together. With each step, you’re cultivating layers of complex flavor that will have you licking the bowl clean.
Full disclosure, this isn’t a 15-minute “set it and forget it” type of meal, but it’s still super straightforward and can easily be accomplished on a busy weeknight… and it’s also totally impressive enough to be a show-stopper meal on a special occasion.
Keep reading for the full recipe, which is available to ALL subscribers this week.
PS – To continue getting access to the full recipe *every* week (plus lots of other bonuses), consider upgrading your subscription. You support allows me to continue this work!
Saucy Summer Shrimp with Creamy Polenta
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1lb shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails removed (thawed if from frozen)
2 teaspoons Old Bay (or up to 2 teaspoons of other preferred spice mix)
4 slices bacon, diced
1 yellow onion (or 2 shallots), finely diced
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup heavy cream or half & half
PREPARATION
Begin by patting 1lb shelled and deveined shrimp dry with a paper towel and tossing them in a bowl with 2 teaspoons of Old Bay (or your preferred spice mix) and set aside.
Cook 4 slices of diced bacon over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet. Cook until crisp, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and set aside. Carefully pour the bacon drippings from the skillet into a small heat-proof bowl, then measure out 2 tablespoons bacon drippings and add back to the skillet.
Warm the skillet with the bacon fat over medium-high heat and add 1lb seasoned shrimp, cooking until just cooked and no longer translucent – about 3 minutes total, flipping as needed to make sure all sides are cooked. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp to a bowl and set aside.
Add another tablespoon or two of your reserved bacon fat (or you can use butter or olive oil) into the skillet where you just cooked the shrimp. Add 1 diced yellow onion, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat until softened and beginning to brown, 4-5 minutes.
Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and stir until well combined and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup dry white wine to the skillet and use a flat wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet (that’s where all the flavor lives!)
Once the wine has reduced by about half, a minute or two, stir in 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock and 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes to the skillet. Bring to a simmer and stir in 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional, but this will help thicken the sauce). Simmer over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, allowing the sauce to thicken a bit.
Add the bacon and shrimp that you set aside earlier back to the skillet, along with ½ cup heavy cream, and stir to combine. Simmer gently for 2-3 minutes, or until the shrimp has warmed through and the sauce reaches a consistency to your liking. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed – you may want a little more salt, or if you need a bit more acidity add a splash of red wine vinegar.
Serve warm over some creamy polenta, and top with some fresh chopped herbs for a bit of green!
*Note: I highly recommend serving over some warm creamy polenta, which you can easily whip up in a pot on your stove next to your skillet as you prepare the saucy shrimp.
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