The shrimp is gone…what next?

I buy shrimp frozen at Costco. It says on the bag that it’s farmed…and a product of Thailand. U.S. farmed or wild-caught shrimp is on the “good alternatives” list, but the shrimp in Thailand tends to wreck havoc on the mangrove swamps and may have other health and environmental drawbacks.

So tonight I declared we would use up our frozen shrimp supply, unknowingly purchased from Thailand. In the future we will search for a more sustainable source of shrimp, either U.S. farmed or preferably shrimp raised on inland lakes.

As for cooking it? A few weeks ago, Hubby and I were feeling lazy and--rather than marinating the shrimp and hauling out the grill--we just made it inside on the grill pan with some evoo and s&p. This week I added oregano and garlic and it wasn’t really worth the extra effort. My previous go-to recipe for shrimp was from Everyday Food Magazine, entitled Orange-and-Thyme Grilled Shrimp. This is yummy, but sometimes you forget to marinate the shrimp, or maybe orange and thyme isn’t what you’re going for.

I love to grill outside, but there are pros and cons. Pros include not heating up the kitchen by using the stove, outdoor grill flavor, the outdoor/bbq atmosphere. But, if you don’t want to haul out the grill, soak the skewers, skewer the shrimp, go outside…this works quite well. This Simple Grilled Shrimp recipe is perfect for either mood—it would work fine on the grill outside, too.

Simple Grilled Shrimp

Shrimp: 4 oz per person (the Kirkland’s bag of shrimp, sized 21-25 per pound, lists a serving as 4 oz or 6 shrimp)

Evoo, salt, pepper

Thaw the shrimp, rinse and dry. Put in a mixing bowl or a ziplock bag. Add 1 tsp evoo per serving. Salt and pepper to taste (about a pinch of salt and a turn of the grinder per person). Toss to coat.

Heat the grill pan on medium-high. Cover with shrimp. Don’t crowd it, do multiple batches for feeding a crowd. Cook until pink, about a minute per side. Don’t overcook! Shrimp get rubbery if you overcook them.

Tuscan Zucchini Pasta

Last April, while Hubby and I were in Italy we, and his Mum, took a cooking class. We learned a few recipes, but our favorite remains this zucchini dish, which 15 months later we still make about once a week! It has changed quite a bit for us: I add the garlic later or it tends to burn. Also, I add ricotta and the starchy pasta cooking water. I can’t usually get my hands on ricotta salada, so I skip it or sometimes, if I’m feeling particularly decadent, I add a soft goat cheese. This gives it a sour but pleasantly complex flavor.

Our Tuscan Zuchini Pasta was inspired by a dish we learned from The della Donna Company, entitled “Pasta Sicialiana con le Zucchine”. Our instructor was a Mississipi native living in Tuscany at Castello di Poppiano, a twelfth centry castle, converted by Ikea magic into a modern kitchen complete with a wood-burning hearth. I went back to look at the recipe today, and was flooded with memories of the sweet garden Elaine had and the wonderful lesson she gave us. Over time, we have made Pasta Siciliana con le Zucchine our own, and dubbed it Tuscan Zuchhini Pasta—not nearly as elegant sounding but makes us smile every time to remember that night and the amazing smells and tastes. Not to mention the delicious wine!

Tuscan Zucchini Pasta

Serves 2 as main course, 4 as a side dish.

8 oz air dried pasta

(WARNING! You will want to save some cooking water before dumping the pasta!) Cook according to package directions, until al dente.

2 medium zucchini: sliced thinly

3 cloves garlic, minced

Red pepper flakes, a pinch (more if you like spicy, probably 1/8 – ¼ tsp)

Big pinch of salt

Coat a sauté pan with olive oil at medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, salt and red pepper flakes and coat in the oil. Leave undisturbed 2-3 minutes. When it begins to caramelize (turning brown), add the garlic. Turn heat to medium. Cook until zucchini is caramelized but before garlic burns.

2 Tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Stir in the parsley, turn off the heat. Set aside.

Reserve 1 c pasta water, drain the pasta (REMEMBER TO SAVE ABOUT 1 CUP OF COOKING WATER!). Do not rinse, do not coat in olive oil (there is plenty in the sauce).

Assemble:

Put the pasta back in the cooking pot. Add…

¼ cup goat cheese, feta, or ricotta salada

¼ cup ricotta

Zucchini mixture

Stir together, adding reserved pasta water as needed just to melt the cheeses and make a creamy sauce. May not use all the water.

Serve!

Cucumber and Onion Sandwiches

As a child, practically the only way you could get me to eat a cucumber was on a cucumber and onion sandwich. I'm still not the biggest fan of the cuke, but I love-crave-need for this sandwich! What makes It a cucumber and onion sandwich is the cucumbers and the onions. Beyond that, anything goes. Use any kind of cucumber. Try red, white, yellow or Vidalia onions. Substitute cream cheese for the mayo. Try sharp cheddar, mozzarella, asiago or provolone. A dill havarti would be wonderful…mmm! Or, I guess some people don't like cheese? Whatever you do, don't skip the pepper!

I like to write my recipes in the order that I do things. However, for the ease of shopping, I'll start with an ingredient list…

2 pieces of whole grain sandwich bread

1 cucumber (I prefer English)

1 onion

Mayonnaise

Pepper

Cheese – 1 oz

Cut the cucumber and onion as thinly as possible. I use a mandolin.

Spread mayonnaise on each slice of bread. Add a few grinds of pepper to taste.

Pile with as many onions and cucumbers as can fit on one slice of bread. Top with cheese, then the second piece of bread. Dig in!

If you pack your lunch, don't assemble this sandwich ahead of time. Instead, to pack for lunch:

Mix a tablespoon of mayo with a few sprinkles of pepper and pack in a small condiment-sized container as you would for salad dressing. Pack the cucumber and onion in a small 1-cup container with a square (2-inch) folded piece of paper towel above and below. Tuck the cheese on top. This should keep everything dry. Pack the bread in a baggie. This should allow about 2 days of storage before it all gets mushy. Assemble when you're ready to eat!

Feeding the Freezer

Something I do whenever I get a chance is to feed my freezer. I "process" food so that I have it on hand for weeknights. This makes menu planning much easier! I'll keep adding to this post as I include things on my menu.

Rhubarb: slice up (1/4") in 1 cup portions. I usually use rhubarb to make a compote for ice cream: Put 1 cup rhubarb in a small saucepan with 1/6 cup of sugar for 10 minutes, mix or shake to coat. Cook it on medium high for 5-10 minutes until it becomes a chunky sauce. It's great hot, cold or room temperature over ice cream or yogurt. Doubling works well.

Strawberries: slice up in 1 cup portions. Use in smoothies, add sugar to macerate and use as a fruit sauce on yogurt or ice cream, over angel food cake, on pound cake. My favorite smoothie: ½ cup of strawberries, ½ a frozen banana, 2 Tbsp ground flax seed. Put it in the Magic Bullet or your favorite blender and add vanilla soy milk to the top (about a cup). Blend until smooth.

Fajitas: Real Simple magazine developed this amazing steak fajita recipe. It's great in the summer over arugula or other greens. I add guacamole from Trader Joe's if I can't find ripe avocados to slice up….also tomatoes and frozen corn.

Pizza crust: I make pizza crust, adapted for my bread maker (and my refusal to use all-purpose flour). Sometimes I freeze the dough as described in the linked article and thaw it to make calzones, but I find it so convenient to freeze the crusts like this.

1 1/2 cups warm (115 degrees) water

4 ½ tsp active dry yeast (2 packets)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 cups white wheat flour

2 cups whole-wheat flour

4 tsp gluten

Place all ingredients in the bread-maker in the order listed. Put it on the "pizza dough" setting. Turn dough out onto a floured surface (use some extra white wheat flour). Depending on the pizza size you want, you can use part or all of the dough. I usually do one large pizza that night, and then form the rest into individual-size pizzas for the freezer. If you use a rolling pin, your crust will be thin and crispy. If you stretch it the style will be more "hand-tossed". Here's what I do: Score the dough in half. With one half, stretch to fit on a 9 x 13" cookie sheet. Place it in a warm place to rise. With the remaining dough, score into 6 equal pieces. Place a piece of parchment (don't use wax paper, it will not come apart as easily once frozen) onto a cookie sheet small enough to fit flat in your freezer with about 2 inches of clearance on the top. Stretch dough to fit, no larger in diameter than what will fit into a 1 gallon freezer zip lock bag. Lay down another piece of parchment. Continue with each circle, laying it on top of parchment. Cover the last piece with parchment. Leave it in a warm place to rise, then place in the freezer. When frozen (wait 4 hours or overnight), transfer to a large, 1 gallon ziplock.

To use, thaw the number of pizza crusts needed (1 per person), cover as desired, and bake at 450-degrees for 18-20 minutes. It doesn't need to thaw first. These work well for grilling pizza, too!