Honey Lime Shrimp

The first vegetable I ever grew was a jalapeno. Yes, it’s technically a fruit, you got me. I was so proud of the 4 or 5 plants that had grown on my tiny apartment porch three stories above traditional soil! I was also a little confused what to do with my harvest as I don’t eat jalapenos or any chiles.

I know: why would I grow peppers if I don’t eat them? To look at them. Have you seen a jalapeno? They are gorgeous! This darling little plant flowers and fruits all season long, yielding perfect little unblemished shiny ornaments that change from grass green to purplish-brown to screamin’ fire engine red. I am told they’re fine at any of these colorful stages, but I wouldn’t know since I don’t eat jalapenos or any chiles. With immense self-control I would leave the jalapenos alone until they were that delicious red and then…

I decorated with them. Is that a total waste? I dried them and made wreaths and decorations for other culinary gifts. One day, however,  I was out of thread for wreaths, and I decided to throw a few into the empty brine from a jar of olives. When I gave them away I was told they were exquisite! I can neither confirm or deny such claims as I never tried them because (say it with me) I don’t eat jalapenos or any chiles.

Over the next few years I made it my mission to learn to enjoy foods with a bit more heat and perhaps a few… gulp… chiles.

Much to my amazement, I succeeded to a modest extent. I still don’t have a burning desire to pop a whole jalapeno in my mouth, but I discovered that there are many types of heat and some I appreciate more than others. No need to shun them all! I also learned that once some of that heat was tamed, the chile could be very useful in seasoning a dish. If you like a lot of heat, be sure to include the seeds in your dish. I tend to discard them because I don’t eat... oh yes, I can now eat jalapenos!

Before I move on to my recipe, let me tell you there is no more simple, fool-proof plant to grow successfully than a little jalapeno from the stand in front of the hardware store. You can do it. Try one or two: it’ll be like enjoying a little slice of gourmet sunshine all summer on your porch! Instead of just surviving summer – you’ll revel in it. Nothing embraces all the heat of summer like a screamin red pepper plant. Oh, and you should make this shrimp dish…

It’s a hot July afternoon; not only will my honey lime shrimp use up one of the gorgeous jalapenos growing in that pot on the porch, it won’t heat up the kitchen in the 4 minutes it takes to cook. Throw some corn on the cob in the microwave (approx. 2 min each; cook with husk/silk intact), slice a gorgeous Mr. Stripey or Brandywine tomato and pour some lemonade. Summer perfection!

Honey Lime Shrimp
serves 2

1 pound medium or large shrimp
1 lime juiced
1 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves sliced
1 jalapeno finely diced (I used a green one here)
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp honey
1 Tbsp fresh oregano minced
salt/pepper
olive oil

Peel and devein shrimp and place in a large bowl.

Whisk lime juice, olive oil, garlic, jalapeno, 2 Tbsp honey, and oregano in a small bowl. Pour over shrimp and marinate for half hour. Sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet on medium high. Add enough olive oil to coat.

Pour shrimp and marinade into skillet making sure shrimp is spread evenly. Cook 3-4 minutes turning halfway through.

Remove from heat. Stir in remaining teaspoon of honey. Serve warm or room temperature.

Gazpacho with Tarragon

I came to a conclusion one day as I tried desperately to remove the unnatural orange evidence of my disgusting snacking from my fingertips and the steering wheel of my car: Even some of our favorite treats are just better in limited quantities. I remember as a child savoring each of the 9 and a half Cheetos in the tiny lunch-box-snack-size bag and hoping I could make them last as long as possible. When the last one was gone I was always left desperately wanting more. Nowadays, when I travel alone, I don’t always want to stop for a meal. I have been known to give in (I know it’s wretched) to the temptation to stop and grab a soda and chips, and keep on trucking. Of course, you only find the “big grab” bag in the store and at first consider this an indulgent treat. But somehow, the Cheetos in the big grab aren’t nearly as good or satisfying as the few in the restricted little snack bag.

I find the same issue with ice cream: cute little sugar cone is fantastic! Big o’ Waffle cone with too much stuff mixed in (not a Cold Stone fan) and the ice cream dream is just lost. The giant bananas. Though I love bananas, I find myself sick to finish those monsters they sell sometimes!

French Fries
Mac n’ Cheese
Hummus
Dessert Wines
Coconut Shrimp
Garlic
Cherry Pie
Steely Dan
…a little is great, but they can all lose their charm in over-abundance. Do you know what I mean?

Gazpacho
I want to adore Gazpacho! This beautiful chilled soup is so striking drenched in hot summer color. It is bountiful in goodness and poetic in it’s seasonal perfection. It is old world charm! However, Gazpacho tends to fall short of such high expectations for me. So, I worked on figuring out my favorite combination of ingredients first. I don’t like my gazpacho overly spicy, so I made some adjustments; and I’m crazy for cucumber, so I increased the ratio. I found to my immense pleasure a couple of years back, that I love tarragon. At the suggestion of an old weight watchers recipe, I incorporated this lovely light herb with a cool-summer-busting-anise-like flavor.

Next, I had to find the right texture for me. It is perfectly accurate and acceptable to serve Gazpacho as a chunky bowl of finely diced produce or completely blitzed to a smooth puree. It’s really subjective, so make your own decision. I like mine fairly well processed, but with enough texture left to be able to idntify the ingredients by site.

Finally, I came back to my highly scientific Cheetos Observation: If I encounter a massive wall of tomato I’m quickly turned off, but if I serve a delicate portion of Gazpacho in an equally delicate vessel, it becomes a favorite summer treat. I have a beautiful set of espresso cups and saucers that make a perfect serving for a multi course summer dinner. I most often ladle a small portion into the crystal-clear well of an oversized wine goblet, where I can see every colorful morsel of fruit, herb and spice.

So here’s my recipe for gazpacho. It makes two normal servings or four Vivianne servings!

1 large tomato seeded and chopped
1/2 large cucumber – seeded and chopped (I peel half & leave the rest intact)
1/4 red onion diced
1 small garlic clove minced or pressed
1/4-1/2 sweet bell pepper seeded and diced
1 Tbsp fresh tarragon
1 6oz can tomato juice
1 Tbsp tarragon vinegar
1-2 Tbsp olive oil

Throw it all in the blender and pulse to desired consistency. Salt to taste. Chill in refrigerator 30 minutes or more. I always enjoy mine more the second day! Serve with fresh cracked pepper and homemade croutons or toastpoints.

Homemade Strawberry Pudding

Have you ever wondered how gelatin or pudding does “it’s thing”? or where it comes from?

One day I was wondering how it thickens up or, more precisely, I wondered if in a pre-preservative-rich-bioengineered-atomic age it was possible to make pudding or Jello? (Let’s remove Jello from the contest. It’s tasty, but weird enough to dwell only among the foods of “tomorrow” or a laboratory.) This sent me on a quest through every cookbook I own in search of at least one homemade pudding recipe that didn’t at some point require the opening of a box patented by the Jello company. Though I own a robust collection of cookbooks, I found only one such recipe. A pictureless recipe for Wild-Strawberry Pudding is found in the final pages of Country Living’s “Picnics and Porch Suppers” cookbook. I tried it and liked it, though I admit I remembered more about my impression of the color rather than the flavor. I was truly happy to find a way to make this familiar comfort food without all the unsavory sounding characters, like Xanthum Gum or *eek!* Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate.

Years later I came back to this recipe for a peculiar niche reason.

We tend to only eat produce at my house in it’s natural North American season of harvest. That means we go crazy with strawberries from April through June while doing without the rest of the year (Raspberries in May-June, Blueberries in July, Figs in July-August, etc.). It is during specific months that we can select and pick our own produce from a local grower and eat the sweetest offering of nature at its most delectable state. These berries are from seed that is carefully bred for flavor. Grocery berries are bred for shelf life and physical shape. What does that mean? My strawberries taste incredible, but won’t last long once picked.

In a frenzy of delight we gorge ourselves on strawberries the first days after picking, but even then there are always leftovers. I begin frantically searching for recipes using strawberries especially if the berries can be in a softer state. I have to say, compared to other fruits, there aren’t a lot of these recipes. It makes sense; strawberries are so good in their natural state, why would you cook them?…unless of course, you find yourself with two quarts of quickly softening fruit you can’t find a use for fast enough!

So, I came back to the Strawberry pudding recipe.

It is delicious and super-infused with fresh strawberry flavor. However, I have to say it is still the unusual color that fetches the greatest attention right away, at least for me. Pudding is such a humble dessert, and yet when this one is finished I continue to find myself captivated by the incredibly sophisticated and sexy pool of mauve silk in front of me. It’s the color you imagine a Joan Crawford evening gown must have been in 1947. Luscious. Quite appropriate, because that’s just the way I would describe the flavor of this beautiful creamy concoction.

Strawberry Pudding
adapted from Country Living Picnics & Porch Suppers

Makes 4 servings

1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups milk
1 cup strawberries
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp berry liqueur*, brandy or vanilla extract

*I’ve used some current liqueur (Chambord) I had on hand. Remember when Kir Royale was the “it” drink of 2001?

• In the top of a double boiler, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually stir in the milk. Plae over boiling water and cook, stirring constantly, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the mixture thickens to a pudding consistency. Cover and cook over simmering water for 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

• Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, puree the strwberries. Strain through a fine strainer; discard the seeds and pulp.

• In a small bowl, gradually beat in half of the hot pudding mixture into the egg. Beat the egg mixture back into the pudding mix in the double boiler and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove the pudding from the heat and stir in the liqueur and strawberry puree. Divide the pudding among 4 stemmed glasses and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for several hours, or until firm.