Sundried Tomato and Basil Hummus on toast with Avocado and Shrimp

This didn't include ingredients from my produce box, but was really good so I thought I would post it. I think it would be great as an appetizer served on toast rounds or flat bread.

Yesterday was kind of hot, I wasn't super hungry and really didn't feel like cooking, especially since we didn't have charcoal so I couldn't grill. Chris didn't have any objections so I made Hummus to spread on toast, with avocado and sauteed shrimp.

I increased the garlic by half (seeing a pattern yet?), and had a little extra sundried tomato that I decided to through in rather than keeping 2-3 pieces that wouldn't be good for anything. It was great.

Everything would have been perfect except the shrimp were a little off. But if they hadn't been off it would have been delicious!

Bottom Line: 4.9 Stars

Linguine with Prawns, Zucchini Sundried Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

I love this recipe. It's a go to recipe and probably one of my top 10 (I think I'll do one of those posts later). Chris and I make it all the time. It was taken from a Food and Wine cookbook that my Grandmother gifted me some time ago. It's fast and delicious, and we think that the addition of zucchini makes it even better than the original recipe. When we're flush we make it with scallops, when were middling with prawns and when we're skint...we don't make it (pine nuts and shell-fish are just too pricey). :(

In addition to the zucchini I have made two additions. Once I've added the garlic and zucchini I add some white wine, it goes well with the shell fish and makes the sauce a little more saucy. Then at the end I add Pecorino Romano or Parmesan, because who doesn't love cheese on pasta?!

If you're making this with scallops follow the directions, make the scallops and set them aside, they are too delicate to cook in the sauce. With the prawns just add them at the end (before the last of the parsley and pine nuts get stirred in) and let them finish in the pan with the sauce. No matter what do not overcook shell fish. It's a crime. If I had my way it would be punishable by death.

Bottom Line (with scallops): 5 stars

Prawns w/ Avocado and Blood Orange Salsa

Ooooh man. This was GOOD. Like top 5 home-cooked meals ever good. I think all the stuff I made would be great made into tacos with a little rice added. That being said it was really good just on it's own. I've had blood oranges before, but these were so sweet and so tangy they practically sizzled on your tongue! The salsa was such a nice counterpoint to the buttery-ness of the prawns.

I served it with black beans, which don't look so pretty in the pictures, but really they aren't the focus anyway! I really need to learn something to do to doctor canned black beans besides simply warming them up. I like them better than most other beans, but they are still sort of ho-hum unless you take the time to really make them from scratch.

I added about half a cup of cilantro to the mix, and I think it was a good thing I did. Who ever heard of fresh salsa without cilantro. That's just crazy talk. In the future I will also add a little cumin and maybe a touch or oregano. Also, my blood oranges were teeny-weeny so I used four of them. Chris thinks that they need to be chopped rather than segmented so their distribution is more even throughout the salsa. I sort of liked pairing a wedge with each prawn, but I see his point. I'll try it next time and update. I'll also add photos to this post and the previous one this weekend.

Long day = Simple dinner

Chris and I both had long stressful days yesterday. I had to take our puppy Jaxx to the vet and had to work at the lab, and Chris has a big deadline coming up for work. Not to mention we were out of prawns so I couldn't make what I was planning on.

Instead we just had broiled steaks, sauteed zucchini and pasta for dinner. Really easy. 20 minutes. Zucchini was cooked in olive oil and garlic, seasoned to taste.

Tonight we dine on PRAWNS!