Colorful Shrimp Salad

Last week was all about simplification, but life does need celebration!  This week’s recipe is a very festive and colorful dish to bring to any celebration.  The recipe is at least 20 years old and was given to my mom by a very fun loving person.  To my amazement, this recipe is perfectly acceptable for my children and their food allergies and is also gluten free.  They ate it and they loved it!

I also couldn't help but notice the striking similarity of shapes and colors of this salad with another recent celebration.  To celebrate my parent’s birthdays, my sister and I indulged them with an art adventure at SAGE Art Academy in Pueblo, Colorado.

Shrimp Salad Appetizer

2 pounds medium raw shrimp

1 lemon thinly sliced to maintain the cross section

1 orange, thinly sliced to maintain the cross section

1 cup pitted black olives, well drained

1 medium red onion thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped pimento

Marinade

¼ cup canola oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon salt
½ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 bay leaf, crumbled
Dash of cayenne pepper
¼ cup chopped parsley, loosely packed
1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Shell and devein shrimp.  Bring 1 quart of water to a boil and add shrimp. Cook for 3 minutes, drain at once, rinse in cold water, drain again, and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine lemon slices, onion, black olives, and pimento and toss well. 

In a smaller bowl, combine the ingredients for the marinade, canola oil through mustard seeds.  After dressing ingredients are combined, add them to the bowl with the citrus slices.

Combine shrimp with the marinade and cover and chill for no more than 3 hours. 

Serve with toothpicks and arrange on a large platter atop a bed of fresh, clean, dry leaf lettuce.

Simplicity Matters

Simplicity matters in many areas of our lives and often times we can feel overwhelmed by making our lives more complicated than is needed.  Living with food allergies is rarely simple, so seeking simplicity in meals can make a big difference in the everyday aspects of managing a restricted diet.  I manage to personally turn the simple into complicated, so here are some lessons I have learned:

Keep it simple stupid:  I am cooking for a child; it does not need to be a 5 star meal every time.   What he really wants is a warm tortilla with melted cheese…not the whole enchilada.

    Chill:  Bake ahead and keep those muffins and cupcakes in the freezer.  Pull out the treats when you need them for special occasions and birthday parties.

    Tried and True:  Weeknights are generally not a great time to experiment with a new recipe, keep to the menu items that they love and try new things on the weekend.

    Communicate: I sent my son to school with a new flavor of the coconut yogurt, but didn’t eat it because it was chocolate and not vanilla.   Oops! Adding variety in their diet should be done at home in case they have any questions.   They do depend on parents for guidance and reassurance.

    Have an Extra Epi-pen:  We limped along with one for a long time because I was primarily with my son, but now that he is older and going to and from activities with different drivers, we needed an extra one for my husband and grandparents.

    Plan Ahead:  I think I have stated this rule in many different contexts.  Bring special food items with you when you travel and keep a stash of food allergy friendly snacks in the car. 

    Plan B:  Have a backup plan in the case you need one.  Ours: Fritos and bean dip can be found at any gas station in America.  Questions about what to eat for lunch, dinner, snack, etc. are solved.

    Have Fun:  If you are less stressed, your child will be less stressed also!  Go and play with your precious child.

       Support Each Other: It’s easy to feel like no one else “gets it”.  I am pretty sure that I don’t totally get what it would be like to deal with juvenile diabetes, ADHA, seizures, etc.  Our friends and neighbors have challenges, too. 

       Breathe:  Inhale saying “chill” and exhale saying “keep it simple stupid” and repeat.

Lucky Soup

Eating black eyed peas at New Years is a tradition in the south.  Sharing in a meal of black eyed peas traditionally brings a year of luck and prosperity.  This tradition dates back to the Civil War and folklore has it that this bean plant, along with collards, were the only foods left behind by Sherman’s troops.  Confederate soldiers and slaves survived on these simple foods.

Since I grew up west of the Mississippi, I only occasionally had seen or ate this unique bean.  After spending a year in the south, I found these beans at potlucks, celebrations, and learned about the tradition of eating it at the New Year.

This year, my family celebrated the New Year and my son’s birthday with a hearty soup of black eyed peas, corn bread, and wedge salad. 

Lucky Soup

2 cups of dried black eyed peas soaked overnight in 4 quarts of water with 1 teaspoon of salt.

Or

3 cans of black eyed peas drained and rinsed.

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

1 TBSP olive oil

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

3 cups broth

1 16 oz. bag of frozen okra (or fresh)

greens are great in soup

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 can of sweet corn, drained

2 cups of chopped collard greens, chard, or kale.

Sauté onion, garlic, and ginger until soft in olive oil.   Add dried spices and quickly stir for 30 seconds to temper spices.  Add beans and 3 cups of chicken/vegetable broth.  Add tomato, okra, and corn. Simmer for one hour.

Toppings: fresh cilantro, diced green onion, sliced radishes, cooked chicken, Tabasco

Happy Birthday!

Like a mentioned earlier, we had cornbread and wedge salad.  Our cornbread is a Krusteaz mix that substitutes the egg with a flax egg. A wedge of iceberg lettuce is my son's favorite salad and since it was his birthday, I was happy to oblige. He chose homemade cookies for dessert and I made the recipe from this blog, Chocolate Chip Cookies+.