Spicy Shrimp with Edamame, Asparagus and Wheat Berries

There are only 11 episodes left on Oprah. ELEVEN. Does anyone else experience heart palpitations over this fact?

Are you hosting a party? Attending a party? Can I attend yours? Should I host? Stop obsessing?

Moving on to food.

This recipe = to die for. Try it on a weekend when you have an adequate amount of time to cook the wheat berries. Last time I cooked them I thought, “ohhh I’ll whip these up in a jif!” Four hours later I’m sweating over my saucepan, adding water every 15 minutes and screaming, “WHY WON’T YOU COOK? WHY DO YOU HATE ME? IS IT MY HAIR?”

But really, they’re extremely healthy for you, and combined with seasonal asparagus, spicy shrimp and the cooling zippiness of mint, you might just break out in song.

Well, that might just be me.

Spicy Shrimp with Edamame, Asparagus and Wheat Berries:

What it takes for 2:

* 1 cup of wheat berries (soak them for an hour or two before cooking)

* 20 frozen shrimp (thawed, peeled and deveined)

* 1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed and cut in 1/4-inch pieces, on the diagonal

* 1 cup edamame (shelled)

* 3 large mint leaves, roughly torn

* 2 Tbs. sriracha sauce

* 5 garlic cloves, divided and minced

* 4 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

* 1 tsp brown sugar

* coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

* juice from half a lime

Take your thawed shrimp and throw them in a zip lock bag. Add the sriracha sauce, 2 Tbs. oil, 1/2 the minced garlic, a pinch of salt and the sugar. Let marinate about an hour.

Bring 4 to 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the wheat berries and cook, stirring occasionally, about an hour and a half. Add more water if needed.

When the berries are nearly done, bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Throw the edamame in and cook about 5 minutes. Drain. (Or if you’re impatient like me you can cook them early on, then throw into an ice bath to stop the cooking.)

In a medium skillet, bring the remaining 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil to a medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and saute until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.

In the same skillet, drizzle a little more oil, if needed, and arrange the shrimp in a single layer. Sear for 2 minutes on one side, flip and sear 30 more seconds. Remove from heat.

To serve, top a helping of wheat berries with the asparagus, edamame and shrimp. Spritz with lime, top with mint and get ready for glory.