Fresh Bounty

So one of my favorite things to do on vacation is... eat in! Yeah, seriously, I do enjoy the occasional meal out, like the scrumptious Lobster dinner I had while eating out tonight! But mostly, i enjoy having the time and leisure to cook whatever I want while on vacation and not worry about having it all ready and on the table by  like during the work week for my family. 

Here in upstate NY the veggies always seem extra packed with flavor and sweetness because of the shorter growing season... maybe its my imagination but seriously, I look forward to the road side farmers stands in the Adirondacks all year long! 

So a few nights ago I made a simple Shrimp Pasta with some delicious and sweet tomatoes. Mom and I ate on the back porch enjoying the sparkly view of the lake visible in little blips through the filter of trees. 

30 Minute Shrimp Pasta:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Serves: 2

1/2 bag 25-30 count size shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1 package Quinoa Pasta (12 oz)
1/2 bag Baby Spinach
3 cloves garlic minced
2 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 juicy fresh large tomato

1. Thaw shrimp in cold water- may need to empty and refill with cold water again after 10 minutes. (Peel and devein if not already)
2. Fill large stock pot with water to 3/4. Put on stove to boil
3. Mince Garlic and place in large skillet with butter and olive oil, heat to low-medium.
4. Place pasta in boiling water to cook.
5. Once garlic and butter/olive oil has cooked 3-4 minutes, add shrimp.
6. Cook shrimp over medium heat til just pink, add all the baby spinach and let shrimp continue to cook while spinach wilts.
7. Once pasta is cooked drain.
8. Toss pasta in skillet with shrimp and spinach. Salt and pepper to taste. Add diced tomato and toss to distrubute evenly.

9. Plate and serve with parmigiano!

Enjoy!

Blanched Kale Salad and Lemony Shrimp

Last night I had one of those... hmm, what to cook nights. And after looking through the fridge and freezer I threw together a tasty and healthy dinner of Blanched Kale Salad and Shrimp with Mushrooms in a Lemony sauce. 

I love Kale... but not raw. I just have a really hard time getting past the deep earthy mineral-y flavor. So  my way of getting around that while still maintaing all the nutrients of raw Kale is to blanche it! Its so easy! Then I just make whatever dressing I'm feeling like and mix it up and ta-da! A beautiful bright green and still crunchy Kale Salad with a much milder flavor. 

Kale Salad:

Serves 4

Prep Time: 10 min

8-10 Large Kale Leaves- de-stalked and chopped into 2 inch pieces

1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

1tbsp Lemon Juice

1-2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 fresh corn on the cobb- just the kernels sliced off and quickly sauteed for 2-3 minutes

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes quartered

1. Place chopped kale leaves in a large heat safe bowl, pour near boiling water over kale just enough to cover. 

2. Using tongs swirl kale, making sure all leaves are submerged. Wait 30 Seconds

3. Drain water and refill with cold water from the sink- add 2 cups ice cubes

4. Using tongs stir kale to make sure the ice water reaches everything and then drain. Squeeze excess water from kale leaves. 

5. Loosed kale by gently rubbing leaves through your fingers. Add Balsamic Vinegar, Lemon juice and Olive Oil. Stir kale to incorporate evenly, then add corn, tomatoes, and Salt & Pepper to taste.

Serve immediately or store in a sealed container the fridge for up to 2 days. 

Shrimp with Bacon and Mushrooms in Lemon Sauce:

Serves 4

Prep Time: 20-30 min

Cook Time: 20 Min

1 bag shrimp, peeled and deveined

6 Large Baby Bella Mushroom- sliced 1/4 inch thick

6 slices bacon- cooked and chopped (I use the Oscar Meyer precooked)

3 cloves garlic- minced

1/4 cup white wine

4 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lemon- zest and juice

1. Thaw shrimp in cold water for 20-30 minutes ahead of time

2. Heat skillet to medium high, add 2 tbs butter and 1 tbs olive oil. Once heated add mushrooms- cook until nicely carmelized. About 6-8 minutes

3. Put mushrooms in prep bowl, cook or reheat bacon depending on if using raw or pre-cooked. Drain any excess oil.

4. In same pan as mushrooms and bacon, add 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. Add minced Garlic. Add Shrimp. Turn heat to medium. Add 1/4 cup white wine, lemon zest and lemon juice.

5.  Cook shrimp in sauce until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. 

Serve over rice, pasta or a salad!

A Habana Cafe Inspired Recipe

So as you may remember in a recent post, I had delicious meal at my favorite Cuban restaurant, Habana Cafe while in Gulfport Florida back in May. So when I put some rice on to cook and was looking around trying to think of what I wanted to make for dinner, I thought black beans and shrimp and then I thought, Cuban Black Beans and Shrimp!

And voila! About 30 minutes later I was sitting down to my own homemade version of that oh so memorable meal after a quick search for how to make Cuban Black Beans!

Shrimp in Coconut and Butter Garlic Sauce:

1 Bag Raw Shrimp (I used the 20-25 count size so they were about the size of my thumb, fairly large)
1 lemon
4 cloves of Garlic diced
1-2 tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
2-4 tbs unsalted butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup white wine (Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay works well)
1/2 tsp salt and 1/2-1 tsp black pepper

1. Thaw shrimp in cold water. Yes, COLD not warm, cold water! (They actually thaw much faster in cold)
2. Mince Garlic
3. Once shrimp are thaw, put Coconut Oil and Butter in a pan and heat to medium. Add garlic while pan is still heating up.
4. Let garlic cook 1-2 minutes (just want to soften, not crisp or burn!)
5. Add Shrimp and wine. Zest lemon and squeeze 1/2 lemon into pan. Add salt and pepper
6. Cook shrimp til tender but not overdone... about 2-3 minutes per side at Medium(4-6) to High(6-9) heat.

Serve with black beans over rice, use liquid as a sauce over rice. Option- serve rest of lemon in wedges to be squeezed over plate.

Cuban Style Black Beans:
via Marta of Babalublog
This is not exactly like Marta's but her's laid the base for how I made mine!

2 Tbsp. of Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1/4 Large red onion diced
1/2 Red bell pepper diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 can of black beans 
1/4 cup of red or white wine
1 tsp. of sugar 
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 packet of Goya seasoning with azafran- *I didn't have this so I just used a pinch of saffron from my stash and 1 tsp Cumin!
salt and pepper to taste


1. Dice onion, pepper and garlic. Heat black iron skillet to medium with Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. Toss diced veggies in.
2. Let veggies cook 3-5 minutes on medium to medium low heat.
3. Partially drain black beans but leave some of the juice in can (if you like your beans more swimming than don't drain at all)
4. Pour wine into pan and stir veggies. Then add black beans.
5. Add seasonings- sugar, Goya Seasoning or Cumin and Saffron, oregano,salt, pepper
6. Let cook on medium for 5-10 minutes or let simmer on low while you cook rest of your meal!

Serve alone or over rice!

I made this recipe in about 30 minutes! It was simple but definitely in the Delicious of the Most category!