Beginning with this recipe from Rick Bayless…

We made some yummy shrimp tacos. Of course, we changed a few things. For example, we didn’t have any dried peppers, so we used regular old standby, Gebhards chili powder. There is no substitute for fresh dried peppers or even single variety chili powers like ancho and guajillo. But an American mom of Mexican heritage told me to use Gebhardt’s and if I don’t have the other kinds I still do. We used that and chipotle powder.

It kicks all those fancy one from the expensive foods stores, which all add cloves or cinnamon, which I hate. I like my chili to be chili flavored.

We saved calories by not making the sort of quesadilla wrapper that Rick suggests. Wish we didn’t…sounded delicious.

We did make the tangy peanut avocado salsa, which was good. Kelly liked it more than I did. If I’m going to spend calories I will go for cheese every time.

The shrimp for the tacos came out fantastic!

OOOPs we forgot to take the picture of the finished tacos. Try Rick’s original recipe and let us know what you think.

Mary

PS – I LOVED THESE TACOS. ~ Kelly

I have been neglecting my posting lately since I have been all wrapped up in tons of things. One of those things has been a family wedding/vacation to California. Going back to LA is always a bit of a whirlwind and a ton of fun! Add to that my beautiful cousin’s wedding and you have a lot to do and people to see. More to come on that soon, but you can’t do much better than hanging here for a bit!

Since I just got home and am getting back into the swing of things, I thought I would go simple and semi-homemade for dinner. I have been craving shrimp cocktail since I saw it at the fish market in LA, so I thought I would have that in conjunction with a version of my favorite salad.

I (shamefully) bought some shrimp cocktail already prepped from Whole Foods to save me some work. I just took some time to doctor the sauce to my taste a bit and put it in nice dishware as my mother would do. Turn on the broiler and slice a zucchini lengthwise and fairly thin. Place on a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Place in the broiler and be sure to keep a close watch, turning the zucchini once and cooking until you reach desired doneness.

They may get crispy if you let them. Next, I chopped a fresh tomato from our garden and sliced a couple strawberries to be added to some mixed greens. Dress with a squeeze of lemon, a light drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of grey salt and some fresh black pepper. Add the zucchini to the top and enjoy immediately. Some toasted bread adds just a little something! So easy, and it feels good to eat something light and healthful after a trip!

Kelly

Looking for something quick and easy for dinner? Look no further! By combining some of this week’s CSA items with some extra veggies and lovely shrimp, we got an easy stir fry. I found a bottle of sweet chili sauce in the fridge and thinned it with a little wine and fresh orange juice.

We used our CSA garlic scapes for some fragrance and bite, some amazing CSA sugar snap peas (I wish I had a whole bushel!), organic red bell pepper, some CSA greens, an artichoke heart, and an orange left over from a race goodie bag.

Try to keep the veggies the same size. Cook on medium high heat starting with the garlic, then larger veggies, then shrimp, then greens. Toss in sauce when you add the shrimp. Try not to overcook, it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. Serve over rice or on its own and enjoy!

Kelly

Since this is a new year, we have been trying to get off on the right foot dietwise. Our Crossfit gym is doing a fitness challenge called Vision Quest and we have joined the team. Part of the challenge is doing the Zone diet. CrossFit generally encourages eating either Zone or Paleo diets for maximum results. We were told that people get the best results with the Zone. For those of you who don’t know about the diet, it started in the 90’s  with research provided by Dr. Barry Sears. The concept is a diet ratio of 40:30:30  Carbs:Protein:Fat. It has been a big challenge for us, especially since we like to cook. Getting the proportions right can be difficult (and honestly, a bit boring.) This week I am taking it as a challenge to get creative and find a way to cook “In The Zone!”

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

(Adapted from Gavan Murphy)

RECIPE:

1 medium spaghetti squash (preferably organic)

1 lb medium wild, locally caught shrimp (21-30′s) P&D’s (peeled & de-veined)

1 cup pasta tomato sauce (whatever you like, but I always have some homemade in the freezer: stay tuned for tips)

1 tbsp capers

1/2 lemon- zested

chili flakes (as much as you can handle)

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds from the interior. Drizzle the flesh with olive oil and season with S&P. Lay each squash half flesh side down on a foiled oven tray and pop in the oven until a knife pierces the flesh easily. Smaller ones will take less time to cook than larger ones so check them after about 45 mins.

Once ready, remove from oven, let cool enough to handle and using a fork gently scrape out the ‘spaghetti’. Place in a colander over a bowl to drain some of the liquid. Set aside for later.

Place tomato sauce, capers and zest in a saute pan and gently simmer shrimp until pink and firm to touch about 5-10 minutes, approx. When ready to serve add spaghetti squash to sauce and toss to coat.

In order to get the zone portions right, I measured the squash separate and added the sauce and shrimp on top. This dish came out perfect and will become a staple in our house! (If you are not watching your figure, you could certainly substitute pasta, but the squash is excellent!)