Tropical Shrimp Tacos

Since the weather has been chilly and snowy, I'm feeling the urge for all things tropical. Dreams of sunshine, beaches, pineapples, little umbrella drinks, and fresh produce keep me going through the seemingly endless winter months. Pineapple is one of my favorite fruits and always makes me think tropical, so I decided to make something with a pineapple marinade. A quick check of the freezer showed me I had a bag of shrimp, so shrimp tacos it is. Toppings included my perfect refried beans and the marinade was nearly the same as the perfect pancake syrup, with a few additions.

Ingredients:
1 pound shrimp
Tropical Shrimp Marinade (below)
Toppings of your choice: rice, beans, coleslaw, onions, peppers, fruit compote, avocados, salsa, ranch, go crazy!

Tropical Shrimp Marinade:
Juice of 1 lime
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup honey
4 tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 can of pineapple chunks plus juice
Squirt of sriracha

Step 1: Mix all your ingredients in a small bowl.

If you don't have a garlic press (like me) you can just use a fork to smash the garlic.

Give the marinade a whisk to incorporate the honey and Sriracha and mix everything together. (PS, you can save the marinade to use it one more time. I put a pair of pork chops in for the next day, and they were also delightful! Served over some extra rice I made. Efficiency.)

Step 2: Peel off the tails and let the shrimp marinate overnight or during the day, at least 4-6 hours.

Step 3: In a frying pan, cook the shrimp over medium heat on one side until it begins to get brown and crispy. Flip and cook another 5-10 minutes.

You want that gorgeous color and crunchy covering. I stir fried bell peppers, onions, corn, and the rest of the can of pineapple chunks to go with the shrimp. I also made some plain rice, and my Perfect Refried Beans to round out the meal.

Layer all your toppings in, and enjoy! I loved the sweetness of the pineapple, and the shrimp don't have a fishy taste at all. If I had cabbage I would have made coleslaw and a chipotle ranch sauce, but I guess I'll save that for another time.

 

What's your favorite thing to do with shrimp?

Pineapple Pancake Syrup

While maple syrup is delightful, sometimes you feel a little bolder at breakfast time. When I get bored or simply want something unexpected, I make up my own syrups. Since I had a huge amount of leftover pineapple upside down cake and sweet potato pancakes from breakfast at Snooze in Denver (which could be a huge post in its own right, seriously GO THERE, it's amazing), I decided to make a pineapple-y syrup to go with them. This would be a great syrup to make and have breakfast in bed for Valentine's Day (or the Saturday following).

Ingredients:

1/2 can pineapple chunks

1/4 cup pineapple juice from can

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup orange juice

Step 1: Put all ingredients into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer 5-20 minutes, until it thickens to your liking.

These were the sweet potato pancakes, so those got extra love: melted marshmallows!

Step 2: Pour over pancakes. Stuff yourself silly, and smile. I bet this would taste great over my Perfect Pancakes too.

What's your favorite way to top pancakes?

August's new food: Young Thai coconut pina cooladas

I have a friend who is Asian, and as such eats some foods I, as an American, have not yet tried. I was over her family's house, and I was offered coconut milk. I said sure, not realizing they meant a real coconut, which her aunt promptly chopped open with a giant butcher knife, stuck in a straw and handed to me. Fresh, raw coconut water is strange at first, but very refreshing. It has a hint of sweetness, and is supposed to be helpful in reducing inflammation and fever because of its cooling properties.

So now my friend and I had two young coconuts to take home, and I had to make something out of them. I considered coconut cream pie (not the kinda cheater version I made earlier) but it usually uses a more mature coconut because the flavor gets stronger with age. So the other thing that naturally comes to mind (for those of age) was pina cooladas. I'd never liked them much, but hey, it's probably better when I make it, most things are. =)

 Ingredients:
Meat of 2 young coconuts
1 can pineapple chunks with juice
~1/4 cup lemon/lime juice
~1/3 cup cherry rum
Lots of ice

 Step 1: Cut at an angle around the top of the coconut. Then stick a knife point into the hull, and cut a circle out of the top. Pop the top off with the knife and enjoy the tasty juice, or use it in the drink or other smoothies.

 Step 2: Scoop out all the meat with a spoon and put it into a bowl or right into the blender.

 It might be difficult, so use the spoon to pry the meat from the edges first.

 Step 2: Add the coconut meat, pineapple, lemon or lime juice and rum. (To taste)

Step 3: Add ice and blend well. Pour into a beverage container and enjoy!

This would be adorable for a party with some pineapple wedges or maraschino cherries. I read some recipes that used cherry juice or cherries too, hence the cherry rum. The coconut is smooth and cool, the pineapple acidic and bright, the cherry sweet and tart and the lemon juice adds that citrus zing. A great summertime beverage, and quite healthy for you too (minus the booze part).

Make your own pizza, male and female style

You may think I'm weird for saying this, but I don't like pizza that much. I know, how un-American of me. I will eat it if it's around, and I get an occasional craving for a weird one like chicken bacon ranch, but in general if asked what I want for dinner, the answer will not be Little Caesars. My current boyfriend could literally live off pizza and burritos. So we found a compromise, making our own pizza. That way I can have the things I want on it (veggies) and control the sauce, and he can have what he wants (as much meat as possible) at the same time. This is our version of men are from Mars, women are from Venus, in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 tube pizza dough (about $2 at grocery store)

1 jar pizza sauce (~$2)

Toppings of choice: Female half

Spinach & mixed greens

Onions & peppers julienned

Zucchini

Mozzarella cheese

Pineapple

Toppings of choice: Male half

Deli ham

Ground beef (pre-cooked, left over from burritos actually)

Bacon

Mozzarella cheese

Pineapple 

Step 1: Cook the meat if needed, spray a 9x13 oven safe pan. Roll the pizza dough out flat and press to the sides of the pan.

Step 2: Spread on as much sauce as you like. I don't like most pizzas because I end up scraping a cup of sauce off my slices, so I put it on thin.

Step 3: Layer the toppings.

 

 Step 4: Cover in as much cheese as you can handle. Because cheese is sent from heaven to make all foods taste better. Some calories are just worth it.
Step 5: Bake at 425 for ~20 minutes or until crust is brown and crispy and cheese is bubbling.

This recipe is as varied as your imagination, nearly any meat or vegetable can be a pizza topping, so if you like it then go crazy! You can use veggies left over from other meals. It's easy to make a vegetarian (or even vegan without the cheese) pizza. You can fold the dough in half to make a smaller deep-dish pizza. Try a bunch of variations and find what you like best.  No matter what you put on yours, its likely to still be much cheaper and healthier than a purchased one.

Thai chicken peanut curry

I had been dying to try out my new Thai cookbook since moving to Colorado, and had a craving for it all week. I looked through it yesterday, and found a recipe for Peanut Chicken Curry for which I had all the ingredients but a few. So I went to the store on the way home from class to pick up those things and whipped up a surprisingly easy and oh-so-tasty dinner!

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1 can coconut milk

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp diced garlic

2 tbsp curry paste

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup crushed peanuts

1/2 small cucumber, peeled and seeded

3 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp brown sugar

RICE

2 tbsp lime juice

1/4 cup green onion

1 cup rice

1 cup chicken stock

Cilantro, if you can find it. King Soopers didn't have any. :(

 

Step 1: Dice the onion small, cook in a frying pan with 1 tbsp oil for 1-2 minutes. Add coconut milk and chicken stock. Simmer 2 minutes.

 Step 2: Dice up the chicken.

 Add diced chicken, garlic and curry paste. Bring to a boil and simmer about 10 minutes.

 Step 3: Cut up pineapple, cucumber and crush peanuts. Meanwhile, boil or microwave the cup of rice in chicken stock.

 Step 4: Once chicken is cooked through, add pineapple, cucumber, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar and peanuts. Simmer 1-2 minutes and serve immediately.

 Step 5: To cooked rice, add lime juice and onions (or cilantro) and fluff.

Cilantro would definitely kick the rice up a notch, but no complaints here! Sure cucumber, chicken and pineapple seems like a weird combo, but it really is delicious! Sweet but complex, the flavor is fantastic! The original recipe calls for fish sauce, lemongrass and lime leaves too, but I don't think the taste suffers at all by omitting them. Prep took about 15 minutes, cooking took less than 30. Totally worth it!