Superfood Summer Salad

Now that Liz and I have dabbled a little in the world of vegetarianism, we’ve discovered some things that are really, truly, fabulously tasty and extremely healthy for your body.  In fact, having only began this change 4 days ago, I’ve already lost almost 5 pounds.  That’s insane.  And awesome.  Needless to say, so far I have NO regrets about the change, and I feel great.  Also, we’ve really sort of bonded over some of the amazingly tasty things we’ve eaten so far.  This particular recipe is my lunch this afternoon (chowing down as I type this), so Liz hasn’t even tasted it yet.  I think it’ll be a pleasant introduction.

Since I’m sort of in the middle of several things today, this will be a somewhat brief entry compared to many of my others.  Mostly though, that’s because this recipe is not one of my own.  it comes Ambitious Kitchen, where I imagine I will probably venture for ideas on the regular now that I’ve tried this superfood salad.  She mentions the salad is great for lunch (I can vouch), or as a side for dinner, maybe alongside a nice grilled fish.

The salad is comprised of tons of veggie superfoods, like kale, spinach, quinoa, edamame, avocado, and a lemon vinaigrette that’s to-die-for.  Per usual, I did adapt a few teeny things, but not because I didn’t like any of the stuff that was in it already.  Any of the ingredients followed by a (*) are the ones that were adapted.  That’s primarily because the ingredients were either more readily available, or I had them in the fridge already.  You can compare it to the original recipe.  Here’s the rundown:

• Quinoa
• Kale
• Baby spinach*
• Cherry tomatoes
• Toasted raw sunflower seeds*
• Avocado
• Mango
• Edamame
• Minced white onion*
• Fresh garlic
• Lemon juice
• Olive oil
• Sugar
• Salt
• Pepper
• Basil

Pacific Shrimp Tacos

There are a few things in my repertoire that I feel particularly proud of.  These are one of those things– and these can also be made with breaded tilapia.  In fact, these are pretty similar to my famous fish taco cups, which make a great party appetizer, and they always have everybody talking for months.  That, though, is a recipe for another day.

My Pacific Shrimp Tacos have a chipotle slaw and juicy chunks of mango that give the blackened shrimp a spicy, savory, sweet flavor.  Add to that the texture of the creamy, buttery avocado, and you have a killer bite.  Here’s how to do it:

SLAW:

• 2 C. Shredded Cabbage/ Slaw mix (you can use pre-bagged or slice your own.  I recommend Napa Cabbage if you slice your own)
• 1 tbs. Sauce from a can of Chipotles in Adobo Sauce
• 1/2 C. sour cream
• 1 tbs. fresh lime juice
• 1/4 C. pureed avocado (just use a couple slices from 1 whole avocado)
• 1 tbs. cilantro
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• Sea salt

When you’re making the slaw, combine everything but the cabbage in a food processor and pulse until smooth.  Then, in a medium bowl, toss the cabbage in the mixture until it’s evenly coated.

SHRIMP (cook these last so they don’t get cold and gross):

• Uncooked shrimp (if you can get it peeled and deveined, awesome.  If not, you’ll have to do that.  See the video below)
• Blackening Spice (pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, thyme, oregano, basil, onion powder)
• Olive Oil

If you have never peeled shrimp for cooking, here’s a tutorial.

His shrimp still have the head on them, but I’ve never used whole shrimp like this.  One additional step is that you’re going to also want to pinch the tail off of these, or you’ll be biting into shrimp tail inside your taco, which would be nasty.  Basically, once you’ve got the shrimp peeled/ deveined, toss them in olive oil and sprinkle them with blackening spice.  You can put them in a freezer bag and shake to coat if you like, to save on the mess.  Then, spread them on an oiled baking sheet and put them under a broiler at 500 degrees.  You’re going to have to watch these, because they cook up pretty quick.  When the ends touch and they’re opaque white and pink, they are done.

ACOUTREMENTS/ TRIMMINGS:

• Taco-sized flour tortillas (Mission brand are good… and be careful to buy good, soft ones if you’re not making them yourself)
• Fresh Cilantro, chopped (comes in a huge bundle for less than a dollar)
• Fresh, Ripe avocado, cut into slices (Tutorial for cutting an avocado below)
• Fresh, ripe mango, diced into 1/2″ chunks (Tutorial for cutting/ peeling a mango below)
• Fresh Lime
• Diced red onion (optional)

How to pit/ slice/ peel an Avocado:

How to cut/ peel a Mango:

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED:

1. Once you’ve got your slaw and cold ingredients all prepared and ready to go, go ahead and cook up your shrimp.
2. Lay out your tortillas and put some slaw on those bad boys.
3. Next, you’re going to put some mango and a few slices of avocado on them.  If you want onion, go ahead with that too.
4. Get 4-5 of those shrimp and line them up on your tortilla (remember, you’re going to fold this over so you can eat it)
5. Top it off with some cilantro and a squirt of lime juice.   Time to enjoy the fruit of your labor. 🙂