seafood

Seared Cod with Tangerines and Kale

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

The kids have been a little difficult lately.

Firecracker just turned 2.5 and I don’t know if there’s some cognitive leaping happening, physical growing, or it’s those 2 year old molars working their way in but his ability to listen and obey has taken a turn in the wrong direction. It’s been highly frustrating and our patience levels keep getting lower by the hour. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t nap and when he’s tired he becomes destructive and a bit of a Tasmanian devil. His ability to sleep through the night, a skill he’s never conquered, has reverted back to coming to our bed 2-4 times meaning none of us are getting the sleep we need!

Treat meanwhile is definitely working on teeth, he’s constantly hungry, and the cough he had at the end of the year has crept its way back into our lives. He’s following his brother around like a hawk and has developed quite the skills for climbing and “jumping.” There’s no room for a lapse in childcare with that one!

With two tired and hungry boys on my hands, my husband deserves a lot of credit on the execution of this recipe. I quickly made them a blue box of macaroni and cheese in the middle of trying to make our dinner. I pull out the freshly purchased cod from Whole Foods while my husband feeds the boys and I discover that one of the fillets was not deboned. And we don’t have proper fish cleaning tools. The adults switched places.

In a mode of determination, my husband grabbed a clean pair of pliers, washed them, and got to pulling. We’d definitely be “chopped” for execution skills as that fillet looked a bit mangled. He then proceeded to season the fish with S+P and sear it in olive oil while I get the kids cleaned up, put in pajamas, and started the bed time routine. I even stuck him on photography duty while I sat with Firecracker until he fell asleep.

He was able to eat his fish and accompanying salad warm while watching Treat and then getting him to fall asleep.

By the time I made my way back upstairs I had a cold plate waiting for me. And you know what, the fish was delicious cold! It was such a light, refreshing, and healthy meal.

The dish was inspired from a recipe in Giada de Laurentiis’ cookbook Happy Cooking. We followed her method for cooking the fish, but the salad co-star was changed. I omitted the olives, used dried oregano instead of fresh, and the main difference, used kale from the farmer’s market instead of arugula.

I prepared the salad first, allowing the kale to marinate in the dressing while the rest of the meal was prepared. It’d been a long while since I’d last had kale and it was a nice surprise to realize how much I like the dark green!

Seared Cod with Tangerines and Kale

Ingredients:

  • 2 tangerines
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tbsp + 4 tsp olive oil, divided use
  • 4 C chopped kale, stems removed
  • 4 6-oz filets cod

Steps:R

  1. Using a paring knife, cut of the top and bottom of each tangerine. Follow the curve of the fruit to cut off the entire peel. Place a strainer over a small bowl. Segment the tangerines over the bowl then squeeze the juice out of the remaining flesh.
  2. To the tangerine juice, whisk the mustard, oregano, and 4 tsp olive oil. Reserve 1/4 C of the dressing. Toss the kale and tangerine segments in the dressing. Set aside.
  3. Season cod with S+P. Heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear cod, flesh side down, for three minutes. Flip, an cook another three minutes. Serve alongside kale salad and drizzle with reserved dressing.

Seared Cod with Tangerines and Kale | Sew You Think You Can Cook | http://sewyouthinkyoucancook.com

Blogger CLUE: Citrus Shrimp

~ lk529 ~ 24 Comments

blogger CLUE

After a month of endless desserts and party foods the Blogger CLUE crew and I are on the hunt for healthy foods to bring in the new year.

This month I was tasked with searching through Wendy’s blog, A Day in the Life on the Farm. As her blog name suggests, Wendy lives on a farm where she and her husband are fairly self sufficient. They raise chickens, turkeys, and pigs for meat, have hens for egg laying, and have fruit trees and gardens on their 12 acres of land. I’m exhausted just thinking about it! Isn’t retirement supposed to be relaxing?!

I am very familiar with Wendy’s blog as I have worked with her in many events and blogging clubs. Surprisingly though I’ve not actually cooked anything from her recipe box. (She’s ambitiously tackled my Busia’s recipe for pierogi for a Secret Recipe Club post.)

I really wanted to return the favor of celebrating Polish cuisine and make her recipe for beet soup. I was pretty excited about it, too, and I don’t tend to get excited about soup. I went to the grocery store on a Sunday (something I tend to avoid). Kroger was packed! Post-holiday fridge-restocking was on everyone’s mind that afternoon many items were out of stock (I snagged the last carton of organic whole milk!). The missing ingredient that threw me into a tizzy was beets! How was I to make beet soup without beets!? Granted, there were some golden beets that looked pretty sad. I pushed my cart to a corner of the produce section, trying to be as out of the way as possible, and frantically searched through some of the other recipes I’d book marked from Wendy’s blog: between grilled mahi mahi, cranberry chicken, and spicy citrus shrimp, I decided on the shrimp.

This shopping curveball was a huge blessing in disguise. This shrimp dish is incredible! I served it over rice as dinner. It’s a perfect weeknight meal that I will be returning to. I had to swap the mango for pineapple due to allergies and the pineapple was my favorite part. I liked that the fruit wasn’t cooked with the shrimp, it was simply warmed through from the sauce, a perfect compliment to the flavors.

Citrus Shrimp

Ingredients:

  • 12-14 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • juice of 1 orange
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1/4 – 1/2 tsp chile paste (I used Gourmet Garden)
  • 1/2 C diced pineapple
  • 1 scallion, sliced

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. Pat shrimp dry and toss in the flour. Place in a glass baking dish.
  3. In a small bowl whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, salt, and chili paste. Pour over the shrimp.
  4. Bake shrimp for 7 minutes. Flip the shrimp and bake another 7 minutes.
  5. Add the pineapple and scallions to the shrimp and toss to combine, thickening the sauce.
  6. Serve over rice.

*This recipe is modified from Wendy at http://adayinthelifeonthefarm.blogspot.com/2015/02/triplesbitesspicy-saucy-sexy-bites-for.html*

citrus shrimp for blogger clue from sew you think you can cook

Here’s a list of the other players of Blogger CLUE this month:

Chipotle Lime Shrimp with Strawberry Salsa

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

They say you eat with your eyes first.

That must be true because viewing the stunning food photography by Jessica of How Sweet it is caused me to try this intriguing flavor combination: chipotle, strawberry, and black beans.

I admit, I added the black beans – the addition that really had my husband scratching his head. Instead of eating this Mexican Monday meal as tacos, we had tostadas. And tostadas call for refried beans to act as the “glue” that holds the meat and toppings in place. I didn’t think traditional refried beans would really be the way to go with shrimp so I opted for refried black beans. I’m very relieved to inform you that it worked!

I cut some serious heat from the original recipe and I still found it to pack on the spice. Because I freeze my chipotle in adobo in ice cube trays I never know until the cube thaws if I have just sauce, just pepper, or a combination of both. Jessica’s recipe calls for the sauce to be in the marinade – instead I had a pepper which I cut in half and tossed in the bag. This method is a great alternative if you don’t want too much heat but still want that smokey spice from the chipotle peppers. Additionally, I only used half of one (large) jalapeno instead of two whole jalapenos in the strawberry salsa – by all means, if you like it spicy add as much jalapeno as you like!

Chipotle Lime Shrimp

Ingredients:

  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, halved
  • 2 limes (zest and juice)
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp

Steps:

  1. Place all ingredients in a bowl, cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
  2. Cook shrimp 2 minutes on each side. I did this on a lightly greased grill pan. If you cook the shrimp in a skillet, add 1 tbsp of olive oil.
  3. Serve shrimp with strawberry salsa (recipe below) in a taco with lettuce and cheese or as a tostada with refried black beans and cheese.

Strawberry Salsa

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz fresh strawberries, diced
  • 1/2 red onion, finely diced
  • 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
  • 1/4 C fresh cilantro (I used Gourmet Garden lightly dried cilantro)
  • juice of 1 lime

Steps:

  1. Combine all ingredients and season to taste with salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

*These recipes are adapted from Jessica at http://www.howsweeteats.com/2014/04/chipotle-lime-shrimp-tacos-with-strawberry-salsa-you-can-totally-preorder-my-book/*

Chipotle Lime Shrimp with Strawberry Salsa | Sew You Think You Can Cook

#SundaySupper: 5 Ingredients or Less

~ lk529 ~ 18 Comments

My favorite thing about the many blogging groups I’m in, besides the feeling of community and support, is that they give me direction. I like having a “homework assignment” to help inspire a new recipe or give me that push I needed to cross something off the culinary bucket list.

That being said, when I saw the theme for today’s Sunday Supper hosted by T.R. of Gluten Free Crumbley, I’d already had my recipe conveniently in the oven! Unfortunately, it wasn’t a success.

I’d never worked with puff pastry before and while I let it thaw ahead of time the dough remained raw in the center around the salmon. I felt like a contestant on Chopped praying to my oven to cook. After multiple trips in the oven the puff pastry wasn’t getting any closer to being cooked and I didn’t want to compromise the salmon. We loved the salmon and cream cheese filling so much that I knew I’d be giving it another try.

I thought about trying the recipe using seamless crescent roll dough, but I didn’t know if the salmon would cook through in time so instead I turned to my Sunday Supper family for advice. Stacy of Food Lust People Love asked if  my fish was cold. The answer was yes. As was the cream cheese center. I made the recipe again the next week while the baby arugula was still good. I let the cream cheese come to room temperature, left the salmon out on the counter for 30 minutes, and more thinly rolled out the puff pastry. Success!

Salmon in Puff Pastry | Sew You Think You Can Cook (2)

Salmon in Puff Pastry

Ingredients:

  • 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
  • 2 skinless 6-8 oz salmon filets
  • 1/3 C cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/3 C chopped baby arugula

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
  2. Roll puff pastry to 1/8″ thickness.
  3. Mix cream cheese and arugula, season to taste with S+P.
  4. Place one salmon filet in the center of the puff pastry and season with S+P. Spread the cream cheese mixture top of the salmon. Top with the other piece of salmon. Fold the puff pastry over the top of the fish, trimming any excess.
  5. Transfer the fish to the prepared baking sheet and spritz with cooking spray (optional).
  6. Bake for 30 minutes, or until puff pastry is golden and fish is cooked through.

*This recipe is adapted from The Illustrated Kitchen Bible*

Salmon in Puff Pastry | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Drinks

Appetizers and Snacks

Main Dish

Side Dish

Desserts

Recipe Substitution Tips by Sunday Supper

8387592742_f6164fd5a8_oJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the#SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

#SundaySupper: Retro

~ lk529 ~ 30 Comments

I have a confession to make. And it’ll probably show my age, or lack there of. The theme for today’s #SundaySupper is Retro. That means food from the 50’s-70’s. I was stumped. The only thing I knew about retro food was from a challenge on Next Food Network Star one season. The contestents were given a dish considered retro and had to modernize it. And from that the only dish I could recall was Tuna Noodle Casserole. (Oh, I think pork chops and applesauce is one?)

So, that’s what I made. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I’d never had tuna noodle casserole, at least not that I can remember. The only time I eat canned tuna is as a tuna salad sandwich from a sub shop during Lent. This casserole was a perfect opportunity to try something new Friday night. I was very pleased to not only enjoy it hot out of the oven, but reheated in the microwave! I never, repeat, never eat leftover fish. Leftover shrimp is iffy, too. But when my husband reheated a bowl for lunch and it smelled amazing I had to get myself a serving, too.

And now for a little history behind Tuna Noodle Casserole: This casserole dish became popular in the 50’s due to it’s simplicity, quickness, and low cost of packaged ingredients. This comfort food staple became a potluck standard. (Source: Wikipedia)

A big thank you to Heather of Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks for hosting this fun event! Be sure to scroll past my recipe to see a list of blast-from-the-past recipes. I am looking forward to seeing the gang’s retro recipes and expand my little culinary world.

This casserole makes six servings.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 lb wide egg noodles
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 3/4 C milk
  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 1 tbsp spicy mustard (I used El Diablo Steakhouse)
  • 1 C frozen peas, thawed
  • 1/2 C shredded Parmesan cheese, divided use
  • 2 cans (5oz) tuna in water, drained and flaked

Steps:

  1. Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
  2. Preheat broiler.
  3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion and carrot until carrots are almost tender. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir until flour is absorbed and mixture is thick.
  4. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Melt in the cream cheese and 1/4 C of the Paremsan. Add mustard and season to taste with S+P.
  5. Remove from the heat and stir in the noodles and tuna. Place casserole in a lightly greased broiler-safe casserole dish. Top with remaining Parmesan. Place under the broiler for 5 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

*This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light at http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/tuna-noodle-casserole-0*

Tuna Noodle Casserole Sew You Think You Can Cook

Bodacious Breakfasts and Appetizers:

Made in the Shade Main Dishes:

Swell Side Dishes:

Dreamy Desserts:

The Bee’s Knees Beverages:

8387592742_f6164fd5a8_o

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the#SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Pineapple Shrimp Stir Fry

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

My 2015 New Year’s Resolution of developing a new recipe every month is batting 100 right now. Sure, month 3 has only just begun, but you can’t get a perfect score if you don’t get the first two. (Or as my Grandpa Ray would say whenever we played cards, “You can’t win ’em all if you don’t win the first two.”)

In February my hand was forced. It was Ash Wednesday and there was a lot of snow on the ground preventing trips to the grocery store earlier in the week. I took stock of what I had in my freezer and pantry and decided to work on my original recipe! I did manage to get to both Ash Wednesday Mass and the grocery store so I could pick up some chow mein noodles to give my original stir fry a little somethin’-somethin’.

11008433_10102770035154211_4726077019926716777_nMy mother-in-law was visiting over the long weekend and thanks to the snow storm (I think it was Octavia?) Tilly got an extra 5 days with her grandson. Because of a bitterly windchill of -25 degrees F I took advantage of the situation and left the little man at home where it was warm. I have to say, as crazy as it sounds, I missed him terribly during Mass.

For Valentine’s Day we had Chocolate Kahlua Fondue for dessert and one of the dippers was pineapple (perfect combination). I used the leftover pineapple in my stir fry. I had cooked frozen shrimp in the freezer – I’ll have shrimp cocktail for lunch – which were also used. I would suggest using raw shrimp in stir fries so the shrimp doesn’t get too rubbery but in a pinch, it’s perfect! I wanted to go for the sweet and spicy combination that makes stir fries so popular so I added some Sriracha. To date I’ve always thought that there’s never enough Sriracha in recipes, so I used a full tablespoon. Being heavy-handed with the popular chili paste provided a great warmth to the dish, the perfect amount to slowly build with each bite. The acidity and sweetness from the pineapple combatted the spiciness quite beautifully.

An Original Recipe

Pineapple Shrimp Stir Fry

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 small red onion, sliced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2″ piece of ginger root, grated
  • 3/4 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp fish sauce
  • 6 oz chow mein noodles, cooked and rinsed according to package directions
  • 1 tbsp Sriracha
  • 1 scallion, sliced

Steps:

  1. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. When hot saute the onions and carrots. When the onions soften add in the garlic and ginger and stir fry for 60 seconds.
  2. Add the shrimp and saute until they turn pink and are completely cooked. Add in the pineapple and cook until warmed through.
  3. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, and Sriracha. Bring to a bubble and toss in the cooked chow mein noodles. Coat noodles in the sauce. Garnish with scallion.

Pineapple Shrimp Stir Fry | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Shrimp and Grits

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Today is Mardi Gras and I am better prepared for it this year! Last year I scrambled to find something festive to post. That ice cream was such a hit I even made it again this year with improved execution even! It’s amazing what a year in the kitchen can do to one’s intuition. As they say, “Practice makes perfect.”

But on to this year:

Instead of looking at doing something festive I decided to do something cultural. New Orleans has the biggest parties for Mardi Gras – celebrating for the entire week! Cajun and Creole cuisine reign supreme in southeast Louisiana. These popular food cultures include favorites such as beignets, gumbo, jambalaya, and po’ boys. I decided on shrimp and grits. There’s a little more work and takes more time than I’d typically do for a weeknight dinner, but the effort was absolutely worth it and the kitchen smelled amazing, too. We absolutely loved this dish and it made for great leftovers, too.

This dish makes 6-8 servings!

Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb shell-on, deveined shrimp
  • 1/4 C vegetable oil
  • 1/3 C flour
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can (6oz.) tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 tsp creole seasoning
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 1/2 C milk
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 C uncooked quick-cook grits

Steps:

  1. Make shrimp broth: Peel shells off the shrimp and put in a pot. Cover with 4 C water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes. Strain, pressing on the shells. Reserve broth and discard shells.
  2. Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring constantly until a light brown. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add in 2 C of the shrimp broth from Step 1. Scrape the bottom of the pan. Add in the Cerole seasoning, bay leaf, lemon juice, and Worcestershire. Reduce heat to low and cook 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. In a pot over medium-high heat, bring milk and 2 1/2 C of water, and salt to a boil. Reduce heat to low and stir in the grits. Cook 10-12 minutes.
  4. Add shrimp to the pot and cook about 10 minutes, or until the shrimp is cooked through. Add as much of the remaining shrimp broth as needed to reach desired consistency.
  5. Serve shrimp overtop the grits.

*This recipe is adapted from Angela at http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/creole-shrimp-grits*

Shrimp and Grits | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Brown Sugar Honey Mustard Glazed Salmon

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

I have one more (at least to date) #10DaysofTailgate sponsor bonus feature for you today.

Today we’re using El Diablo Jalapeno Mustard in place of Dijon in one of Bobby Flay’s recipes. And thanks to Gourmet Garden I don’t have to grate the ginger myself!

My husband has a man crush on Bobby (yes, we’re on a first name basis over here… okay, maybe we’re not.. but we can pretend!) and this recipe looked like the perfect way to polish off the frozen salmon in my freezer. And the perfect way to use some of the wonderful Hot and Spicy Mustards from El Diablo. I imagine that the Mango flavor would work perfectly in this dish, but as I’m allergic to mango I opted for the Jalapeno flavor. It added a great bite to the salmon and complimented the ginger pretty well!

Judge all you want, but frozen fish is a great option. Especially now that we don’t live down the street from a seafood market. Or by the sea. I also love that buying frozen seafood means that it won’t go to waste. I can’t tell you how many times we’d purchased fresh fish to find that something else came up and it went bad before I cooked it up.

Brown Sugar Honey Mustard Glazed Salmon

Ingredients:

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. In a small saucepan over medium heat melt butter into brown sugar and honey. Remove from heat and whisk in soy sauce, olive oil, mustard, and ginger.
  3. Place salmon in a baking dish and brush with the glaze. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until salmon is cooked through.

*This recipe is adapted from Bobby Flay at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/salmon-with-brown-sugar-and-mustard-glaze-recipe.html *

Brown Sugar Honey Mustard Glazed Salmon

Disclaimer: I received El Diablo Hot and Spicy Mustards and Gourmet Garden herb pastes through the #10DaysofTailgate event, however all opinions are my own.

Eating the Bible: Fishy Business

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

May the angel who redeems me from all harm bless the youths, and may they be called by my name and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, and may they multiply like fish, in the midst of the land. Genesis 48:16

This passage is confusing. Why would Jacob bless his children to multiply like fish? And better yet, why “in the midst of the land?”

One of the references Rena makes in Eating the Bibleis that fish live their lives away from the influence of humans so by association Jacob’s descendants should live their lives without the influence of those around them. I like this explanation as it can relate to keeping Faith. While Lent is a time to renew your Faith it is prudent to remember that regardless of what is happening around you, your Faith must remain unshaken. Like fish, you must live your life apart from worldly influences.

Arrabbiata Tilapia

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb tilapia filets
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 large onion, choppped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • red pepper flakes, to taste
  • 1/4 C chicken stock
  • 1 C crushed tomatoes with basil
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp fresh parsley

Steps:

  1. Season fish with salt and pepper. Squeeze with lemon and set aside.
  2. In a large skillet over medium high heat saute onion in olive oil for 4 minutes, season with salt. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, saute for 30 seconds. Add chicken stock and tomatoes to the onions. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Stir in sugar and parsley. Put fish in the sauce and cook on low heat for 10 minutes, or until fish is cooked. (Cooking time will vary depending on how thick your filets are.)

*This recipe is modified from Eating the Bible by Rena Rossner* (Rena served her fish atop a bed of rice. I opted for a side of potatoes because I had a bag sitting on my counter.)

Arrabbiata Tilapia

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

Eating the Bible: Eternal Dust

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Each year during Lent I try to reconnect with my faith. I am not the most religious girl, and I don’t often enter into conversations regarding religion and in no way offer to convert someone. I have an almost all-encompassing view of God. I was raised Catholic and when I do go to church I attend the local Catholic Church – I like the rhythm of mass. And while I don’t always agree with the Catholic viewpoint, I still get something out of each homily.

I see religion as a human’s way to understand life, as a way to provide a purpose to human existence. I do believe that there is a God – I don’t have an image of God, and I definitely don’t provide Him with a human quality – more of a giant ball of light and energy. I believe that every religion is actually one in the same (not I’m not trying to spark a debate here), and that different cultures and peoples choose to understand and believe in their vision of God differently.

With my blog I have decided to take a different outlook on my Lenten journey this year. It’s been a long time since I’ve given something up (candy, soda, fast food, etc) and instead I look to adding something to my life – usually it’s going to Church each Sunday (as I don’t do that weekly) or reading the New Testament. But with the blog I thought it’d be great to add a food aspect to my journey. I’ve never failed a Lenten promise and I don’t want to set myself up for failure here, so two times a week (Wednesdays and Sundays) I plan to cook a recipe from Rena Rossner’s Eating the Bible.On those days my posts will be in the evening after supper.

Rena took it upon herself to enrich her bible study through food. These recipes are inspired by the Old Testament. And even though Lent is about the 40 days Jesus spent wandering in the desert, renouncing the Devil and Temptation and ends with Holy Week which marks the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Easter!), I can still find Rena’s cookbook to help me slow down and think about God. While she references many stories from the Old Testament, she provides “food for thought” both in recipes and in questions to ask about God.

The first recipe that I’m trying from Eating the Bible is Eternal Dust which was inspired by Genesis 13:16. 

“And I will make your progeny like the dust of the earth: so that if a man could count the dust of the earth, then your progeny could also be counted.”

I feel this recipe applies greatly to Ash Wednesday. During Ash Wednesday mass, ashes are placed on our forehead in the shape of a cross while the words from Genesis 3:19 “Remember that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.” are said.  Ash Wednesday serves as a reminder of earthly mortality and repentance to God.

Rena decided to make a spice rub, or a spice “dust”, as a compliment to this bible study. She titled her spice blend “Earthly Seasoning”.  I used this “Earthly Seasoning” on roasted shrimp and broccoli which I served over rice.

“Earthly Seasoning” is a mix of 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp dry mustard, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1 tbsp cumin, 2 tsp black pepper, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp cayenne, and 1 tbsp sugar.

Earthly Seasoned Shrimp and Broccoli

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
  • 3/4 lb broccoli florets
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, divided use
  • 2 1/2 tsp “Earthly Seasoning” (recipe above), divided use

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Toss broccoli in 2 tbsp of olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Season with 1 1/2 tsp “Earthly Seasoning”. Roast for 10 minutes.
  3. Gently toss shrimp in remaining olive oil and seasoning. After broccoli has been roasting for 10 minutes flip broccoli and add the shrimp to the baking sheet. Cook another 8-10 minutes, turning half-way.
  4. Serve over rice with a squeeze of lemon.

*This recipe is modified from Adam at http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2009/02/roasted_shrimp.html*

Roasted Shrimp & Broccoli

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.