Shrimp with polenta

Calvin loves shrimp so I'm always looking for new ways to use it. I found this recipe in Healthy Cooking as Makeover Shrimp and Grits, but thought Polenta would be a better flavor so I made that and some other changes to the original recipe. We loved it, so here's my version.

Shrimp and Polenta

Yield: 4 Servings
Prep Time: 30 min
Cooking Time: 15 min

Ingredients:
  ● 1 cup uncooked polenta
  ● 2 center-cut bacon strips
  ● 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  ● 1/4 tsp. pepper
  ● 1 lb. uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  ● 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
  ● 4 green onions, chopped
  ● 2 garlic cloves, minced
  ● 2 tbsp. lemon juice
  ● 1/2 cup chicken or veggie broth
  ● 1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  ● 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  ● 2 tbsp. reduced-fat butter

Directions:
Cook polenta according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine flour and pepper and coat shrimp; set aside. In a large nonstick skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp then remove to paper towels to drain. Saute mushrooms in the bacon drippings until tender. Add the onions, garlic and shrimp; cook and stir until shrimp turn pink. Stir in the lemon juice, broth, cheeses and butter into the Polenta. Serve topped with shrimp mixture and bacon, crumbled. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts (based on preparation with grits cooked with half and half): 1-1/4 cups grits with 1/2 cup shrimp mixture equals 423 calories, 12 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 165 mg cholesterol, 784 mg sodium, 46 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 32 g protein.

Mediterranean Salmon

This week I received a link via email to an article suggesting that the Mediterranean diet can help with seasonal depression. I like Mediterranean foods, so I can get on board with that. We tried this one last night and it got a thumbs up all around. Strictly speaking it's not all Mediterranean, but it's a step in a pretty yummy direction.

Mediterranean Salmon and Noodles

Ingredients:
• 1/2 package of fettuccini (about 4 servings)
• 2  Tbsp. olive oil
• 1  lb. skinless, boneless 1-inch thick salmon, cut in 8 pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6  cups fresh baby spinach
• 2  red and/or yellow sweet peppers, roasted
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and cut into halves
• 1 cup mushroooms, sliced
• 1-1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
• 1/2  cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing
• Feta cheese for garnish

Directions:
1. Roast peppers. I do this in my gas oven by setting temperature to 400 and placing them on the lowest rack (no need to wait for the oven to preheat) directly over the flame vent. Turn every five minutes until skin is blackened and blistering. Remove from oven and immediately place in a covered dish. After at least fifteen minutes, remove from dish, peel away blackened skin, remove stem and seeds, and rinse. You can skip this step by buying a jar of roasted peppers, although I've never bought them so I can't recommend one way or another.

2. Prepare pasta according to package directions.

3. Meanwhile, brush 1 tablespoon olive oil on salmon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat an extra-large skillet over medium heat; add salmon. Cook 8 to 12 minutes or until salmon flakes, turning once.
Remove salmon; cover and keep warm.

4. Add spinach, sweet peppers, mushrooms, and remaining oil (if necessary) to skillet. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes, or until spinach is wilted. Drain pasta; add to skillet along with tomatoes and olives. Add dressing; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide spinach-pasta mixture among four bowls. Top with salmon. Serves 4.

Baked sole with asparagus (and a lot more)

This one has a short story behind it. Calvin and I, shopping this morning without a full shopping list, found ourselves listening in on a conversation between a customer and the man working the seafood counter at Whole Foods. You wouldn't think it could be all that exciting, but it turns out that the man working the seafood counter at Whole Foods used to be a chef. A chef who worked mostly with seafood. Apparently Whole Foods pays him more than whatever restaurant he left who knows how long ago. We like seafood, and there's no doubt it's good for you, so Calvin and I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and came home with something I'd never fixed before and had no idea how to prepare—sole filets—and a short description of how an ex-chef working the seafood counter at Whole Foods might prepare it. The words I heard were butter, chives, bacon, feta, flour, salt, pepper, and asparagus. A few internet searches later and this is what I came up with. My own concoction, even. Jon said it was good, so we'll be trying it again to make sure it wasn't a fluke. I had to guess on the cooking time, so I took an average from other recipes. I think it may have been too long, so I'll check into that next time.

Baked sole with asparagus

Ingredients:
  ● 4 sole filets
  ● 4 strips turkey bacon
  ● 1 cup feta cheese
  ● flour
  ● salt & pepper
  ● 1 bunch asparagus
  ● dry white wine
  ● 4 cups water

Directions:
1. Heat medium pan over medium-low heat. Add bacon and saute until golden brown, turning once. Remove from pan and set aside. Keep drippings in pan.
2. At the same time, in a medium sauce pan bring water to a boil. Reduce heat and add 12 asparagus spears. Simmer for 1-2 minutes to blanch, then remove stalks from water immediately and set aside.
4. Rinse sole filets and pat dry. Dust with flour, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn over and repeat. Lay one strip of bacon on top of each filet, then sprinkle each with ~1/4 cup feta. Lay 3 asparagus spears at one end of the first filet, then roll filet around asparagus, bacon, and feta. Place seam side down in a small glass baking dish. Repeat for each remaining filet. Pour enough wine into baking dish to cover bottom. Spoon a little wine over each filet. Bake, covered with tinfoil, at 400 for 15-20 minutes, or until fish is flakey and opaque.
5. When fish has 5-10 minutes left to bake, reheat bacon pan then add enough wine to just barely cover bottom and deglaze pan. When wine starts to simmer add remaining asparagus spears saute until fork tender. Do not over cook. Serve alongside fish. Brown rice and pomegranates are good on the side.

Bulgur salad with grilled shrimp

We're always looking for new things to try, especially things that are fresh, include grilling, and/or can help us fill in our vegetarian menu collection. While this is not a strictly vegetarian meal, it at least fits the "eating less red meat" bill for us at least. Plus shrimp is one of Calvin's favorite foods, so this is bound to become a summer favorite around here. It was pretty yummy.

Bulgur Salad with Grilled Shrimp (from Healthy Cooking, by Taste of Home)

• 1 cup bulgur
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 8 pieces green onions, chopped
• 1 cup fresh parsley, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, minced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1-2 tsp fresh gingerroot, minced
• 1-2 tsp coriander, ground
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 1/4 lbs shrimp, cooked, peeled, deveined

Place the bulgur in a medium bowl, add boiling water, stir, then cover and let stand for 30 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed; drain if necessary. Add cucumber, onions, parsley, and mint. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, oil, ginger, coriander, salt and pepper. Pour over bulgur mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl and chill.

For the shrimp, the recipe just called for grilled shrimp. We bought fresh frozen (hilarious) shrimp, already shelled and deveined (who wants to do that part anyhow?), and thawed it in the refrigerator. Before grilling I sprinked the shrimp with some paprik and salt and a spritz of lemon juice, then placed them on skewers. We grilled them over medium hot coals (organic wood charcoal) for 1-2 minutes per side, which meant cooked through and slightly blackening on the outsides.

Serve shrimp hot and salad cold. Now, I have seen recipes that call for topping with fresh mint leaves, mixing some feta, or serving over a bed of baby arugula (Bobby Flay in particular has a very similar recipe with some extra finishing touches that look devine), so we'll probably play with this a bit in the future.