Shrimp with Corn Relish Salad

The original recipe for this was from Cooking Light magazine. I changed it up by throwing it on a salad (made this ages ago, back when we still had fresh local corn!!) The recipe was overall good, but had some major flaws that I will tweak next summer. The biggest issue was the saltiness. An entire Tablespoon of fish sauce really just overpowered the delicate flavor of the shrimp with saltiness. I would either cut back the fish sauce, or eliminate it altogether. Normally I love salted food, but I find that shrimp (and most fish too) really just dont need the salt. If you like plent of salt on your shrimp, then by all means, keep the fish sauce though!

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced jalapeño pepper (about 1 small)
1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined medium shrimp (I used large/jumbo)
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

1. Whisk together Lime, fish sauce, and sugar and set aside.

2. Heat a medium wok over high heat until hot/smoking. Add oil and swirl to coat. Add next 3 ingredients and stir-fry until shallot begin to brown (approx 30 sec). Add shrimp and stir-fry 3 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through. Add corn and stir-fry until corn is just heated through (approx 1 min). Stir in lime mixture and serve topped with cilantro

Basil Shrimp Linguine

This recipe is the cover photo for Everyday Food: Great Food Fast. This cookbook is from my FAVORITE cooking magazine: Everyday Food by Martha Stewart. This dish was awesome. SO easy, and fresh, and quick, and GOOD! I later made it again using chicken breast (cut into bite sized pieces) which was also yummy.


Ingredients

Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails removed)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
6 teaspoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 pound linguine (I use whole wheat)
1 1/2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces, plus extra leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions

Season shrimp with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 4 teaspoons oil over high. Add shrimp; cook until opaque throughout, turning occasionally, 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; set aside.

Make sauce: To the same skillet, add remaining 2 teaspoons oil and garlic; cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add canned tomatoes and their juice, along with 2 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes have softened and are saucy, about 15 minutes. Remove sauce from heat; stir in cherry tomatoes.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain; return pasta to pot. Add tomato sauce, shrimp, and basil; season with salt and pepper, and toss.
Serve immediately, garnished with basil leaves, if desired.

Recipes to Rival: Thank George's Bank

July's Recipe's to Rival challenge is a dish that includes: toast, fish cakes (made with potatos and cod), poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce. Of those components, the only item I had any familiarity with was... well... the toast! So this was a challenge for me! I loved that this recipe, while challenging in the techniques, was QUICK! The ratattouille took (well, for me at least) hours, and daring baker challenges generally seem to take days! I was able to make this entire dish in less than 2 hours - without rushing.

And it turned out great! It sure does look like a hot mess in my photos, but I blame that primarily on the eggs. I am clearly not a poached-egg chef! I wasnt a huge fan of the taste of the whites (with the vinegar from the water, and the water-logged effect) but I did love the yolks mixing in with the dish. I think I would prefer it with eggs over easy or sunny-side-up (which, coincidentally, I can cook effectively!). I made the food-processor hollandaise sauce and loved it, but Ryan found the lemon taste to be too strong (I though the tang was a nice note in with all the rich eggs and butter myself).

Many other members had issues with the batter for the fish cakes being too runny. Mine was ok. I couldnt really shape them with my hands.... but it also was not so runny that I could not form them in the pan. I think the reason why is: I didnt use leftover mashed potatos, but just boiled potato and mashed it roughly with a fork. Also, I didnt measure my potatos but used 2 medium supds - and likely that was over 2 cups. I also had a bit more cod that 1 pound (I had a choice of being over or under, I chose over) but I used the same amount of cream (I used half and half since it is what we have) and egg, though I mistakenly added the melted butter to the batter instead of reserving it for the pan.

My first run of cakes (and the batter made WELL more than 4 cakes - unless your cakes are each teh size of a small pan!!!) fell apart on me, but then I got the hang of it... treating them like pancakes seved me well (small scoops of dough, medium to medium high heat, and dont touch the patty until you are ready to flip so it gets a nice sear).

I did struggle with the eggs though. I tried the technique suggested on the boards of using a large spoon to help 'shape' the egg and it did help... a little... but my whites were still everywhere!

Overall, we both really enjoyed this dish! I loved how the flavors all came together and enjoyed the new techniques (who knew that Hollandaise was so easy? not me!). Very rich and decadent... but yummmmm!

Definitely a great challenge!

Note: follow the link in the beginning for the recipe!

Clear-out-the-pantry Coconut Curry Soup

A while back I made this soup to use up a variety of things in the fridge before going bad... SO yummy!

First, I sauteed 4 green onions, chopped, in olive oil in a pot. I added 1/4 a white onion, diced that was in hte fridge too. Minced a little leftover fresh ginger, and added about 1 can worth of cocnut milk - combining the two open cans in hte fridge (one regular and one light) plus 1 cup of stock. I added a splash of fish sauce. I soaked and chopped some dried lemongrass. I added 2 tsp of red curry powder and about 1-2 tablespoons of fish sauce, and a splace of rice vinegar... and let the whole thing simmer for a bit.

In a separate pot, I cooked about 1/2 cup of jasmine rice according to pkg directions.

Then add 1 pound of shrimp - thawed, peeled, deveined - to the soup and simmer until shrimp is done through. Sreve with a scoop of rice and topped with chopped cilantro.

This was so good! Nice kick from the curry but the coconut helped cool it a bit.

Chilean Sea Bass

I went to Whole Foods for my annual trip this weekend and brough home some fabulous fish - including gorgeous Chilean Sea Bass. It was pricey to half is in the freezer and we each had about a quarter pound. It was to DIE for. SO GOOD. And how fancy is that photo?!

I cooked the fish simply - pan fried with a little EVOO over medium high. It didnt take long - maybe 10 minuts or less total. Nice and crispy crust. Fab.

I served it over a wilted spinach saute:

I heated 1 cube of garlic (the frozen kind) with oil and 1/4 a yellow onion, diced. Once soft, I added 1 small yellow tomato, diced and a handful or chanterelle mushrooms, chopped. Once those were also soft I added some pine nuts and turned the heat to low. Fold in baby spinach (about 1/2 a bag) and toss with feta. Yummm.

PITTSBURGH Dinner Salad

This round of Homegrown Gourmet is hosted by The Tempered Woman. She chose the theme of POTATOS. Hmm. I was unsure what I would make for the potato to represent our hometowns... I asked if sweet potatos, my fav, were allowed. Check. Finally it hit me. Potatos - fries - salad. Yes. Thats right. FRIES - SALAD. You see, in Pittsburgh, the standard salad is usually lettuce (iceberg) topped with fries and ranch. Yet people still say "Im on a diet, Im getting a salad" :)

I was introduced to this strange phenomenon when I moved to da Burgh for college, and it is the norm to ryan since he is from the area. I always felt this was a sign of the problem in America - even salads have greasy fries atop them.

So I submit to the honorable Chairwoman, a healthied-up Pittsburgh Salad.

The salad consists of: Fresh torn romaine and red leaf lettuce tossed with a little (about half the norm) Good Seasons Italian made with Raspberry Vinegar. I topped them with diced mango, avocado, sliced almonds.

Then I cooked 1 pound of shelled and deveined thawed shrimp, tossed in 1/4 cup of honey and 1/2 cup of orange juice plus a tablespoon of oil in a hot pan until just done.

As for the star - the POTATO:

I took a large sweet potato and peeled it, and chopped into fries. We both love sweet potatos: they are a super food and much healthier than regula potatos and the sweet flavor is just fab.

I cooked them in some olive oil in a hot pan until brown and crispy and done through. I let them sit on a paper towel to soak up some oil and then tossed with kosher salt.

They were the crowning glory to our dinner salads. Ryan was quite thrilled to see an homage to the Pittsburgh salad, reminiscent of his home. And I must say - I never cared for Pittsburgh Salads in their traditional format, but this was great! The color was beautiful and the potatos went really well with the other ingredients. I may do this next time I make this salad!

Asian Shrimp Stew with Steamed Rice

OK first things first. Star this post, print it, commit it to memory, whatever. It is FABULOUS. Make it like tomorrow. Love. IT.

This is from Everyday Food Magazine. My sister also subscribes and she made this a while ago and has been bugging me about how good it was, so finally I made it too. Wow. I should listen to her more often (Moira - just testing to see if you are reading this ;) )

Serves 4

Prep Time: 30 Min

Total Time: 30 Min

Avoid overcooking vegetables.

1 Cup long-grain white rice

2 T cornstarch

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 T sugar

1 T vegetable oil

2 yellow bell peppers, in one inch pieces

1 onion, cut in one inch pieces (I used red since I was out of yellow)

4 garlic cloves, sliced

2 T minced peeled fresh ginger from a 2 inch piece

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (I misread and used 1/2 tsp - it was definitely spicy, especially for this spice-averse girl, but I could eat it and it was still really good. So if you like a kick, go with 1/2 tsp)

4 scallions, thinly sliced (separate whites and greens - I skipped since I didnt realize teh white were to be cooked)

salt

1 pound shrimp (raw, peeled, thawed, deveined, tails removed)

1-2 tsp rice vinegar

Directions

1) Cook rice according to pkg, set aside covered. Meanwhile, place cornstarch in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in coconut milk, sugar, and 1 cup water. Set aside.

2) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add peppers, onion, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and scallion whites. Season with salt. Cook, tossing frequently, until vegetables are crisp tender, 6-8 min.

3) add coconut milk mixture to skillet. Raise heat to med high. Boil, stirring occassionally, until thickened, 1-2 min. Add shrimp, and cook just until opaque, 3-4 min. If necessary, adjust consistency with a little water. Season with vinegar and salt to taste.

4) Fluff rice with fork. Serve shrimp stew over rice, garnish with scallion greens.

SO. FAB.

I don't like CAPERS!!!

So this month, Kate is hosting Platinum Chef Challenge, and her five ingredients are:

Leeks

Lemon

Cream

Rosemary

Capers

I had all sorts of great ideas and felt very inspired by this grocery list. So inspired that I made my entry THAT DAY. But I have waited to post my results. Why? Well. I learned that I really. Truly. Not at all. Made me gag. Needed to eat a chocolate bunny to get the taste out of my mouth. Dont. Like. Capers!!!!!!!!!

I think that had I discovered a love of capers. Or even a like. I would have enjoyed my dishes. I was tempted to try something else for a more palatable result, but that would mean including capers. Again. NOOOOOO!!!

I made two dishes though, both incorporated all five ingredients. The first was an asparagus soup, and the second a tapenade of sorts. Ryan really liked the tapenade (he does not share my capers aversion apparently).

Roasted Asparagus-Capers Soup

1 bundle of asparagus, trimmed, washed

3 sprigs of rosemary

1 lemon

4 cups stock

1 bundle leeks, trimmed and carefully washed

4 oz craime fraiche

2-3 tablespoons capers

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

scallops

bacon

Roast asparagus in an oven at 450 degrees tossed with oil, rosemary sprigs, and thinly sliced lemon for about 15 minutes or until slightly charred.

Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, heat oil over medium and add chopped leeks. Stir occasionally until slightly browned. Add stock and simmer about 10 min. In batches if needed, puree the stock/leeks and asparagus in a food processor or blender to smooth. Stir in cream to taste. Salt and pepper to taste.

In a small skillet, sautee the capers until slightly brown. Stir into soup. (Optional) Sear bacon wrapped scallops.

If desired, top with bacon-wrapped scallop.

Caper Tapenade

In a blender, combine 2 T drained capers, and the 'leaves' from 1 sprig of rosemary. Set aside.

Sautee thinly sliced whites from 1 large (or 3 small) leek with olive oil to caramelize. Combine with the caper-rosemary mixture. Squeeze juice from 1/2 of a lemon over, and stir in craime fraiche. Serve with multigrain bread.

Coconut Risotto with Shrimp and Green Sauce

I saw this on another blog and knew I needed to make it that very night. And my instincts were good - it was SO YUMMY! I loved it. Shrimp + coconut + lime + cilantro + avocado? Seriously... cant go wrong. Those are all some of my most favorite flavors.

The rice was nice and creamy and the sauce had a nice bite from the lime. Definitely making this one again! My changes (very few) in italics!

Butterflied Shrimp on Coconut Risotto with Avocado, Lime and Cilantro Cream

For 4 Servings:

Risotto:

1 cup arborio rice

1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk

2 - 3 cups chicken stock

1 Tablespoon sliced green onion

1 Tablespoon neutral oil

1/4 cup shredded coconut - toasted (I forgot that this went in the risotto and only topped it with a sprinkle... I didnt bother toasting it either out of time constraints but next time I would)

Shrimp:

12 large shrimp - tails on and butterflied (sliced down the back nearly all the way through) (I used more since this was our main entree - 1 pound for 2 ppl)

1 Tablespoon neutral oil

Cream:

1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves

1/2 small avocado

1 Tablespoon lime juice (I used a bit more than this... wanted a bit more of a zip)

1/4 cup sour cream

Make the risotto:

Saute green onion in 1 T oil briefly. Add rice and toast lightly. Mix coconut milk and chicken stock.

Add stock mixture to rice one cup at a time - letting rice absorb stock before adding another cup.

Add the toasted coconut after the second cup of stock. Stir nearly constantly. (omitted - forgot!) When you get to the 20 minute mark, check the rice for consistency.

Once the rice is al dente and creamy, you're done. You may or may not use all of the stock.

Keep warm.

Make the cream:

Combine cilantro, avocado, lime and sour cream in a blender. Puree until very smooth.

Make the shrimp:

Pan-fry the shrimp - cut side down - until lightly browned. This will take about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water to the pan so the shrimp will finish cooking and curl slightly. This will take just another 2 minutes or so.

Serve the risotto topped with shrimp. Place a dollop of cream on each shrimp and garnish with a sprinkling of toasted coconut and a cilantro leaf.

Sea Bass over Wilted Spinach

How fancy does THAT sound? ;)

The sea bass - Ryan loves it and they had some nice pieces at the place I go for fish and beef. We both prefer fish simply prepared and pan-fried so I seared the fish in olive oil with lemon juice on high then dropped the heat to medium to med low and covered with a grease catcher and let cook for about 15 min. Meanwhile.

The spinach was from an Everyday Food recipe in the March issue. It was featured under roasted salmon and I think that it would be fab with salmon simply prepared too. The recipe serves 4 - I halved it for the two of us and it was just right. Healthy too! Lots of iron :)

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 bags (5 ounces each) baby spinach
1/2 cup feta, crumbled (2 ounces)
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add as much spinach as will fit; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing spinach and adding more to skillet as space becomes available, until tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; drain off excess liquid. Stir in feta, pine nuts, and lemon juice. Serve fish with spinach saute.

Very nice! Served along with roasted asparagus and some GAWGEOUS freah strawberries from stop and shop (spring REALLY must be on the way...)

BTW: asparagus is coming into season. OMG it tastes so much better in season than out of season. Noticeably sweeter and just yummier. So. GO GET SOME ASPARAGUS! :)

Striped Bass with Pineapple Salsa

Ryan picked up some nice striped bass from our local fish place. I was tired and not up for something too fancy but wanted to do a little more than just pan frying with lemon... I got a few suggestions and ended up making a pineapple salsa to top the pan-fried fish with lemon and olive oil ;)

Salsa:

fresh pineapple (peeled and cored) diced (about 2 handfuls)

1/2 *small* red onion, diced

1 mango firm but ripe, peeled and diced

Lime juice from 1 lime

6-12 mint leaves, minced (to taste)

Combine salsa and set aside (let it sit out for a bit so the flavors mingle)

Striped Bass:

the filets I used were skin on and I cooked them that way.

Squeeze lemon over both filets and place them skin up in a hot pan with a little olive oil. Sear for 2 min and flip to hit each side for a minute, then flip to skin side down. Lower heat to medium low and finish fish (took about 15 min for my thick filets). Top with salsa to serve!

We really liked this - I love fish paired with fruit (or other sweet flavors like balsamic) and Ryan loved a nice meaty fish like this. If you like fish like tuna, salmon, and swordfish, you would probably like this one too. Nice and meaty but still a mild flavor.

Sunshine Salad!

Winter's take on my summer berry salad that I loved so much! As I said in August, I am not such a big fan of salad for dinner but this is totally the exception. YUM! I have been thinking about this dinner for a week or so and it did not disappoint!

My initial idea was because clementines are in season and then I went from there. Well, the clementines didnt really mesh with the other flavors but the rest was perfect together. Mangos are clearly NEVER in season in New England so by that logic... they are always in season right?

Very good, highly recommend especially if you need a shot of sunshine to perk up the winter doldrums!

I thawed and shelled 1 pound of raw jumbo shrimp. Then shook them up in a container with about 1/3 cup of OJ and 1/3 cup of honey and a splash of canola and then put the shrimp in a skillet heated to med high (discard extra liquid). Saute until cooked through then remove from heat.

Meanwhile, prepare lettuce (I used romaine, boston, and red leaf - fresh not bagged - it keeps MUCH longer and tastes better too I think) and toss with italian dressing (I use good seasons, made with raspberry vinegar) Use less than half the dressing you would put on a regular green salad.

Top the lettuce with blueberries, diced avocado, diced mango, sliced almonds, and Shrimp (I would have teh clems for dessert or on the side)

Great meal for weeknights too - quick!

Tip for dicing mango/avocado: score the dice when the peel is still on the slice of mango/half of avocado then use a large metal soup spoon to scoop the fruit out. Voila! WAY less messy

Brown Rice and Shrimp Bowl

Another Everyday Food Mag recipe, this was yummy and a nice take on 'take out at home.'

Serves 4

Salt and pepper

1 cup long grain brown rice

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1-2 lemons)

2 T rice vinegar

2 tsp brown sugar

1 T olive oil

1 pound peeled, deveined, thawed shrimp

1/2 pound snow peas trimmed and halved on the diagonal

1 piece (1 inch long) fresh ginger peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 avocado pitted and cut into chunks

1) In a large pot bring 2 cups of salted water to a boil. Add rice, cover, reduce heat to low and cook until rice is tender and water is mostly absorbed, 45-50 min.

2) In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

3) When rice is almost/totally done, heat oil in a large skillet over med high. Add shrimo, snow peas, and ginger, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until shrimp are opaque throughout and snow peas are bright green. 2-3 min

4) divide rice among bowls. Top with shrimp mixture and avocado. Serve Sauce on the side.

Loved the sauce on the side - I liked mine very lightly sauced and Ryan was more heavy handed. This let us make our dish the way we wanted. Yum!

Shrimp with Tarragon Tomato Sauce

This is another Rachael Ray Recipe from "Just In Time," page 184.

This was another really yummy one, and it has veggies in it that are well hidden for anyone who doesnt like them ;) I wanted to use some Rao's Marinara but I didnt actually have any on hand when I got home so Rao's Vodka sauce instead. Very yummy and I think you could use whatever your fav sauce is successfully.

2 T olive oil

2 carrots finely chopped

2 celery ribs, finely chopped

6 white mushrooms, chopped

3 shallots, finely sliced

2 pounds uncooked shrimp, thawed, shelled, deveined

1/2 cup white wine

15 oz tomato sauce (I used the whole 24oz jar)

5-6 sprigs of fresh tarragon, leaves stripped and chopped

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add carrots, celery, mushrooms, shallots and saute about 7-8 minutes. Add shrimp and cook until pink and almost firm (3-4 minutes). Season with salt and pepper. Add wine and deglaze.

Add teh sauce and tarragon and heat through.

We ate it over whole wheat Linguini - excellente!

Soy Glazed Salmon

This is another (yes ANOTHER) Everyday Food recipe from the Jan issue. WOW. This was AMAZING. I love salmon and am always interested in new recipes since we have it so often. I have never broiled salmon before (crazy huh) but I think I need to start, this was great!

The only change I made from the recipe was I used skin-on salmon filets instead of the steaks since that is what my store had. Still was yum! Oh and only 2 pieces of salmon but used the same amt of dressing. So easy, so quick (the recipe says total time is 15 minutes and that was actually ACCURATE), we both wished we could have second helpings of it!

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 T soy sauce

1 T honey

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

4 salmon steaks

1) heat broiler with rack 4 inches from heat. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, honey, and ginger.

2) Place salmon on prepared sheet; brush with soy mixture. Broil until browned on top and opaque throughout, 5 to 6 minutes.

Artichoke Shrimp

NOTE: This isnt a pretty dish. My photos arent great bc, well, it just isnt pretty. But dont let that deter you - it tastes FAB.

This is one of my favorite meals and I can not believe it has been so long since I made it last. I came up with this years ago when I was on South Beach and wanted a hearty dinner with lots of roughage while still diet-friendly. I add noodles for ryan or anyone else who wants them.

These quantities made just enough for 5 people with only a tiny bit left over.

in your largest skillet, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil with 1.5 onions, chopped, and 4 cloves of garlic, smashed. Heat over medium until onion is transluscent. Add 6 plum tomatos, diced, and 2 bags of baby spinach (add in stages - as the spionach wilts you can add more). Add 2 cans of Artichoke hearts, torn in half and drained. Add 6-9 more tomatos, 2 pounds of shrimp (thawed, peeled, deveined), and a generous handful of pine nuts. Cover and cook stirring occassionally until shrimp is opaque through.

Add 4 oz of feta, crumbled, on top and cover for 1 more minute until its softened. Stir and top with the remaining 4 oz of feta to serve.

Great plain or over noodles!

Gambas al Ajillo

I saw this recipe on An Olive Tree Grows in Manhattan, a blog with so many unique yummy sounding dishes. It is simple but seems authentic and was fabulouso.

Please go to the link to read the details on this dish! Basically, it is shrimp wiht olive oil, lots of garlic, and some red pepper flakes, just enough for a little kick that even I can handle! The recipe is so simlpe it almost seems silly to write it out, but its so yummy - try it!! Great with bread to soak up the oil (instead of serving break with butter or oil)

3/4 lb of medium sized shrimp, peeled

1/4 cup olive oil

8 cloves garlic, minced (I used crushed since I dont have the patience to mince 8 cloves!)

2 tsp red pepper flake

Salt

1. Heat olive oil in a medium pan. Add garlic, shrimp, and red pepper flake. Salt to taste. Mix to combine.

2. When the shrimp are almost completely opaque, flip them over and cook until done. Enjoy!

Taste of the Tropics Shrimp

I found this recipe on the Paved with Good Intentions Blog and thought it looked yummy - I love fruit with seafood! It was very yummy!! The only thing I would change it I would use much less onion in the marinade- it was very strong. The Mango tempered it though :)

Broiled Shrimp

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup parsley

1/4 cup basil

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tbsp creole mustard (couldnt find this so I used southwestern instead)

1 tsp dried mustard

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

24 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

1) Combine all ingredients in ziplock bag, refrigerate one hour.2) Heat broiler. Broil shrimp 4 minutes, turning over half way through.

Mango Salsa

1 Tbsp canola oil

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 jalepeno seeded and chopped

1 tsp crushed ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1 ripe mango, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/6 cup fresh orange juice

1 tsp light brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1) Combine all ingredients but salt and pepper.2) Place in fridge for 30 minutes to let the salsa do the flavor tango.3) Season with salt and pepper

I served it with jasmine rice, and cooked the remaining marinade in a saucepan until slightly reduced and the onions were softened (and the raw seafood was cooked!) and mixed that with the rice, it was great!

Oh My Darlin' Clementine Salmon

I saw this recipe on the Good Things Catered Blog and used it as a jumping off point for a new salmon recipe. I am really picky with salmon - I have 2 recipes (one of which is just lemon juice and olive oil heehee) that I love and well nothing else seems to ever measure up. This was really good though - elevates my basic lemon salmon. For the original recipe, see the link. The main things I changed were the type of salsa (since we dont really care for cucumber salsa) and the cooking method (I finished in the pan instead of oven).

Ingredients:

2 salmon filets

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 c. dry white wine

1/8 tsp orange zest (I did zest of 2 clementines)

1/8 tsp lemon ( I just did zest of 1 lemon)

1 small garlic clove, minced

salt and ground rainbow peppercorns

Salsa

1 tomato, chopped fine

2 clementines, sections cut in thirds

1/3 a red onion, finely chopped

Directions:

Heat heavy saute pan over medium high heat .

Add olive oil to pan and swirl to coat. Add salmon, to hot pan and cook until browned, about 3 minutes.

Season top of salmon with zests, garlic, and salt and ground pepper. (I combined it in a bowl and them mixed and spooned onto

Flip steak in pan and cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Remove skin from bottom of steak and discard (I used skinless).

In the meantime, mix tomato, chopped clementine, red onion, in a small bowl and set aside.

Add white wine to pan and swirl to coat. Flip salmon steak in pan and swirl to pick up bowned bits in pan halfway through. Cook till salmon is done through. Top fish with fresh tomato mixture and serve.

Pumpkin Corn Chowdah

For this round of homegrown gourmet, I chose the challenge to be SOUP. And what better way to make a soup representative of New England than to make a chowder (something enw for me too!) I ahve no interest in dealing with clams so I thought I would put my own twist on it... I added corn, since corn chowder is a classic, and 1/2 a local pumpkin, some bacon and local tomato for color. I topped it with lobster, and Ryan and I had a fabulous, albeit not so healthy, meal!

Pumpkin Corn Chowder

6 oz bacon, cooked in soup pot, removed and crumbled (leave the fat)

1 large onion, diced (add to pot on med high with bacon fat, stirring)

1/2 a smallish pumpkin, peeled, seeded, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

4 ears of corn, kernals cut off

3-4 med to large red potatos, chopped into bite sized pieces

Let cook, stirring, about 5 min. Add 3-4 cups of stock (more for a thinner broth, less for thicker) and let the soup come to a boil. Cook until the pumpkin and potatos are cooked through. Add 1 cup of half and half, 1-2 tablespoons fresh thyme, and the bacon. Chop up 2 small tomatos into small pieces and stir in about 5 minutes in. Let simmer until thickens slightly (about 5 more min). Serve, topping with Lobster meat (optional)