Saturday, July 19, 2008

Saturday Supper

Summer Shrimp with Lima Bean & Fresh Tomatoes over Lavender Quinoa
Served with a Tossed Spinach Grape Salad

This recipe was inspired by things found in my pantry, fridge, and freezer. I scoured my lot and my creative juices just flowed. A Saturday late afternoon inspiration for, what I think to be, a wonderful delicious healthy meal for my family. Let me share with you.

Here are the ingredients I found:
Quinoa, Fresh Garden Tomatoes (picked this morning), frozen lima beans, frozen uncooked shrimp with tail-on. I have fresh herbs growing in our yard, so of course I knew I would be adding these along with my recipe. I chose the herbs that follow that familiar song, "Parsely, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme"!


The freshness of most of the ingredients permeated the dish. Fresh tomatoes make a difference. I love garden fresh tomatoes --- there is just no comparison to a store bought tomato.
Fresh herbs (easy to grow) was a lovely addition to the dish and I LOVE having them readily available to use in my cooking.


Summer Shrimp with Lima Beans and Fresh Tomatoes
*************************************************************

1 pound uncooked shrimp
1 1/2 cups lima beans fresh or if frozen thawed
3 medium fresh tomatoes diced or wedges
olive oil
5 cloves garlic minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbs fresh sage chopped
2 tbs fresh rosemary chopped
2 tbs fresh thyme chopped
2 tbs fresh parsley chopped



In a pan on medium heat, drizzle olive oil. Add garlic, pepper flakes,
sage, rosemary, and thyme. Saute for about a minute. Add shrimp
and lima beans. Heat through until shrimp is cooked through. Turn off heat.
Add fresh tomatoes to the shrimp mixture. Spoon shrimp mixture
over quinoa. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and
shaved parmigiano romano cheese. Serve and enjoy.



The touch of adding parmigiano romano at the end just adds a touch sharpness and saltiness to the dish. I love the flavor it adds.

Lavender Quinoa
2 cups Vegetable Broth or water
1 cup Quinoa
4-5 lavender sprigs

Take of the flower of the lavender. Place all ingredients into a 1 1/2 quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until all broth or water is absorbed (10-15 minutes). When done the grain appears soft and translucent, and the germ ring will be visible along the outside edge of the grain.

I used the Provence Lavender from our yard in the quinoa recipe. It is fragrant and gave the quinoa a light delicate flavor to the grain. It was nice touch to the dish.

Alongside the main dish, I prepared a refreshing spinach salad. This was delicious and the girls gobbled this up too. This was easy to make with just a few simple ingredients. A taste of sweetness from the grapes and bitterness of walnuts rounded out the fresh crispness of the spinach.

The Spinach Salad: Fresh from the garden grown spinach roughly torn, Red Seedless Grapes (halved), homemade candied walnuts, thinly sliced red onion, shaved parmigiano romano cheese. I served a poppyseed dressing on-top. Delicious!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts with Thumbnails