Happy Monday, folks.
I’m pleased to report that the sun is shining on this Monday afternoon in Lexington. After a weekend where I’m not sure the sun even rose, blue skies are a welcome reward, even if they had to come along with the first day of the work week.
So let’s jump back to last week, when it was wonderful and warm. Remember that? We ate our first outdoor dinner of the season on Thursday night, taking advantage of longer days and higher temperatures. Although I had to bust out some blankets at the end of the meal, it was a welcome taste of pleasant things to come. I cannot wait for summer evenings spent outside. And for many, many picnics, even if my non-ground-sitting-husband must bring along a chair.
Anywho, onto the food. A first meal outside should be full of fresh ingredients, yes? Yes. We knocked out a day’s serving of fruits and vegetables in one meal, I believe. It was excellent. I wish we could eat like this all the time. For our main course, we served shrimp tacos. One of our friends prepared this meal for us a few weeks ago, and I was thrilled to make the same thing for another set of friends. We served our shrimp topped with tomato, red onion, avocado, mango, and kiwi. It sounds like a crazy combination, but it’s seriously delicious.
And for a side dish: fruit. Lots and lots of fruit. Oh, so good.
Oh, and chips and salsa. But that goes without saying, right?
Right.
Without further ado, here’s the recipe for the awesomeness we consumed (and will continue to consume tonight as we finally get to eat the leftovers). I’m listing all of the ingredients for the shrimp and fixings, along with the rice recipe. You want it all.
Shrimp Tacos
adapted from How Sweet It Is
serves 6
1 lb raw, deveined shrimp
2 tablespoons EVOO
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 mango, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
2 kiwis, chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
tortillas
Cilantro Lime Rice
adapted from Skinny Taste
1 cup brown rice
juice of 1/2 lime
2 cups water
1 tsp salt
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
3 teaspoons EVOO
For the rice:
In a small pot, add rice, water, 1 teaspoon EVOO, and salt. Boil on high until most of the water evaporates. Then reduce to low and cover about 10 minutes. Turn off the burner and keep it covered an additional 5 minutes.
Combine chopped cilantro, lime juice, rice, and remaining oil. Toss to combine.
For the shrimp:
Combine salt, pepper, garlic, and cumin. Sprinkle it over the shrimp. Put the flour in a small bowl and lightly coat the shrimp with flour. Heat the EVOO in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the shrimp and brown on each side, 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove the shrimp and let drain on a paper towel.
For the fixings:
Chop all your fruits and veggies. Put them in a bowl and spritz with lime juice. You can mix them all together if you like, but I kept them separate in case my guests were picky. They weren’t.
Pile everything on your tortilla. Do not expect it to remain in your tortilla. I’m terrible at eating tacos. Everything inside just winds up on my plate. So feel free to skip the tortillas altogether and try some burrito bowls. Yum.
Hope you’ll be enjoying an outdoor meal sometime soon!
-Ally
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