Shrimp Civeche

One thing that I really love about living in Northern California, is the access to such a wide variety of fresh foods.  Within a 100 mile radius, this area produces almost every fruit, vegetable and meat one typically eats.  Olive groves for fresh olive oil.  Fields of artichoke plants.  Acres of citrus trees. Miles of pasture lands for animals.  Tomato fields.  Fresh and salt water fish.  Rice paddies.  Dairy farms.  You can even grow some varieties of bananas! If I were to go on a strict locavore diet, I don't think I would really miss out on anything at all.  Everything I love is grown around here. 

I'm still surrounded by bags of fresh lemons, so they are making their way into almost everything we eat.  And, even though it's only mid March, the temperatures have been creeping their way into the mid to high 70s!  When it starts to get warm outside, I only want to eat cold foods.  I decided to make my take on a shrimp civeche.  It was great eaten as is, but I also enjoyed it on a bed of butter lettuce leaves and scooped it up with organic tortilla chips. 

Shrimp Civeche

1 pound very small cooked shrimp, rinsed (I used 100 count shrimp)
2 Tbsp salt

Juice from 3 limes 

juice from 4 lemons
1 red onion, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, large stems removed and chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and diced

1 bunch of radishes, diced

Green Tobasco to taste
1-2 avocado, peeled, seed removed, cut into small chunks

Fresh butter lettuce (optional)

Organic corn tortilla chips (optional)

 

Place shrimp in a large glass bowl (do not use metal). Mix in the lime and lemon juice, red onion, cilantro, cucumber, and radishes. Refrigerate until ready to serve (at least 1 hour)  Right before serving, add the Tobasco and avocado. Serve chilled on a bed of fresh lettuce or as a dip with organic corn tortilla chips.  Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.  

Pesto tuna salad

I was looking for new ways to use up all the spinach pesto that I made and I found this cool list from the Food Network called "50 Ways to Use Pesto."

I'm always looking for new ideas for lunch and #25 caught my attention: Pesto Tuna Salad. 

I'm not a huge tuna fan, especially when I was a little kid and my mom let me watch 60 Minutes sometime, and once they had a report about bugs in your food and tuna, ketchup and peanut butter were the top three buggiest foods on the market.  I stopped eating all three right then.

***GAG***

But since I'm on such a restricted diet, I'm giving some old foods another chance to earn their way back into my diet.  Tuna is really good for you, so I'm really trying to learn to like it.  I can't eat tuna the way mom used to make it with mayo and pickle relish, so I'm searching for new recipes that fit in my restrictions.  

I made the recipe, but found that it was still too "dry" for my taste.  I kept adding pesto a tablespoon at a time and ended up adding between 1/3-1/2 cup of pesto.  I ate it with gluten free rice crackers and cucumber slices, but this would be delicious on top of a salad.  It was really good, and I would definitely eat it again.

Pesto Tuna Salad

2 cans drained tuna

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup diced red peppers

1/3 - 1/2 cup spinach pesto

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Salt and fresh ground pepper 

Mix all ingredients together. Can be chilled.  

Before adding the pesto

 

  

Thai Lemon Shrimp

I have found a new love of coconut milk recipes, but not yet a love of curry, so I get very excited when I find a non-curry coconut milk recipe!

I found this amazing recipe and modified it to what I had on hand.  I'm sorry there's no picture to go with it.  We inhaled this so quickly and I didn't think you all wanted an after the fact picture of lonely shrimp nubs.   

Thai Lemon Shrimp

1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 lemon and 1 lime, juice and zest
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 small jalapeño whole
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup light coconut milk
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 tsp oil

Mix all but shrimp in blender or food processor. Marinate shrimp in sauce for about 30 minutes in the fridge.

Heat a pan over medium high heat and spray with your misto or add a teaspoon of your favorite higher heat oil (I prefer coconut oil).

Discard the marinade and add the shrimp to the skillet and cook until shrimp are done, about 2-3 minutes.  Do not overcook or your shrimp will be rubbery. 

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Lemon Shrimp Pasta with Roasted Asparagus

After the disaster I had the other day, I decided to play it safe and cook something I know and love...

...PASTA!

When I first started eating GF, I was really bummed and thought that I would never be able to eat pasta again. 

SAD!!!!

Now that many more people eat GF, be it for allergies, intolerance, or a diet fad, GF products are becoming more and more accessible and more and more tasty.  Trader Joes carries some yummy brown rice pasta that tastes so much like real pasta, you don't even notice that it's not the real thing! 

I still wasn't feeling incredibly inspired, so I went to one of my favorite cooking blogs, For the Love of Cooking, for inspiration.  The author Pam always has amazing recipes that are light, fresh, and flavorful.  I looked through all her pasta recipes and found this yummy sounding recipe for Penne with Shrimp and Roasted Vegetables in a Roasted Garlic Lemon Sauce. I was inspired to recreate this using only the ingredients I have in my house! 

Lemon Shrimp Pasta with Roasted Asparagus

(It tastes much better than it looks)

1 bunch asparagus - ends removed, cut into 2" pieces
3 small bell peppers - seeded, cut into bite sized pieces(red, yellow and orange are pretty)
1lb pasta
1 tin anchovies in olive oil
1 pound shrimp - thawed, peeled, deveined, tails removed
2 tbl fresh pesto
1 bunch green onions - chopped
1 can Artichoke hearts - drained and quartered
1 can black olives - drained
1 pint Cherry tomatoes - sliced in half
Juice of 2 lemons

Preheat oven to 400*.  Place asparagus on a baking sheet covered in foil (or use a stoneware large bar pan) and bake for about 15 minutes until veggies are soft.  Remove from oven and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package.  Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid.  Drain pasta, rinse if desired, and set aside.

Heat a large, deep skillet over medium high heat.  I always use my giant enameled cast iron skillet from Costco (Thanks, Mom!!!!).  Add entire tin of anchovies, including olive oil (be careful, it may splatter).  Allow the oil to heat and the anchovies to melt, about 2 minutes.  Add shrimp and pesto.  Stir constantly until shrimp begin to turn pink, about 2 minutes.  Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.To the skillet, add green onions and cook briefly, about 30 seconds.  Then add artichoke hearts, black olives, cherry tomatoes, and roasted asparagus and bell peppers, and heat, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add pasta and shrimp and toss (use tongs, it makes it way easier than the pasta spoon scoop thingy).  Squeeze two lemons over the top.  Add a little bit of the reserved pasta water if needed.  Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Enjoy!!!



Shared on: Food on Friday

Seared Scallops with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

I love seafood.  Sushi is by far my favorite food ever.  I'm not talking about a deep fried cali roll but actual fresh fish made into an amazing piece of sashimi, nigiri, or an inventive roll.

I also love cooked seafood.  Crab.  Shrimp.  Lobster.  Salmon. Trout.  Anchovies.  I love it all.

Growing up so close to the ocean, and into a family that loves to fish, I have had the privilege of eating such a wide variety of seafood.  I've had fresh abalone hours after it's been pulled from the ocean.  I've eaten fresh lake trout pan fried the same day it was caught.  I eat seafood every chance I get.  I've eaten at fine dining restaurants overlooking the Ocean, and fish tacos in my car from a local fast food place.

When I eat something amazing at a restaurant, I am always determined to recreate it at home.  I can't afford to go out and eat sushi, or salmon, or lobster.  But I can afford to make that stuff at home on a fairly regular basis.

Last week, I made some amazing Grilled Pineapple Salsa.  It was sweet and spicy.  It reminded me of being back in Hawaii.  Hawaii also has such wonderful, fresh seafood. Instantly I knew that this had to be paired up with an amazing seafood dish.

I had a bag of scallops from Costco in the freezer.  These are the big scallops, about 8 count per pound!  I grabbed out 8, placed them in the colander, and ran cold water over them to thaw them quickly.

When they were thawed, I dried them off on a paper towel.  Seasoned them lightly with salt and pepper and quickly cooked them in a hot skillet with a little bit of coconut oil.  You have to be so careful when cooking scallops.  A few seconds too little and they are mushy in the center.  A few seconds to long, and they end up rubbery and taste like a tire.

As soon as they were done, I placed them on top of a bed of lettuce and crisp cucumber slices.  Topped them with the chilled pineapple salsa, and sprinkled a tiny bit of raw goat feta cheese on top.  I wanted to add some avocado slices, but I was all out.

It.was.delectable.  Hubby said it was light and refreshing, yet filling.

This is one of those dishes that makes you genuinely sad when you finish your plate.  I could eat this every day, all summer long.  

Seared Scallops with Grilled Pineapple Salsa Salad

1 lb fresh/thawed large sea scallops

salt and pepper

1-2 tsp coconut oil

Grilled Pineapple Salsa

4-6 cups mixed baby greens

1 cucumber, sliced thinly (peel and seed if desired)

2 ounces raw goat feta cheese, crumbled

Pat scallops dry.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat a large skillet or grill pain over medium high heat. Add coconut oil.  When oil is hot, add scallops gently to the pan.  Cook 2-3 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown and just barely cooked all the way through.

Divide lettuce among plates or salad bowls. Add several cucumber slices.  Top with hot scallops and pineapple salsa.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Serve immediately!