Shrimp, Scallop, and Veggie Kabobs with Mint Pesto

I'm tired of blogging. I need to stop procrastinating and just write about things when they are fresh in my mind! But, it's too late for that now. Last Wednesday I made some kabobs on the grill and they were pretty tasty.

I made shrimp, bay scallop, cherry tomato, and one with red onions and green peppers. I marinated the shrimp and scallops in a mint pesto (mint leaves, parsley leaves, almonds, water, olive oil, and garlic-- in food processor) which was surprisingly good. I would make it again-- especially on a lamb burger or something!

I served the Kabobs with a spinach and arugula salad with edamame, pecans, and goat cheese. It was kind of a weird combination, but all I had on hand. The dressing was balsamic vinegar mixed with some of the mint pesto. I saved the extra to drizzle on the Kabobs.

I have nothing else to say about this and feel like I sound like a robot. So.... I'm going to be done now.

Chorizo and Seafood Paella

I love me some paella! Actually I love any one-pot meal that is flavorful and spicy and healthy and full of surprises. I always forget about making them (probably because they are not very friendly if you are cooking for one or two, and require a crowd of at least six), but last weekend I was inspired. By no means is this dish a traditional paella in any way other than the type of sausage and seasonings I used. If I were to swap out the chorizo for andouille and the saffron for cajun seasoning, this could have just as easily been jambalaya! I didn't follow a recipe when I made it, nor did I measure anything, so this is all just from memory... hopefully it's accurate, because man oh man was this yummy! If you are making your own paella, definitely experiment! You can skip sausage altogether (but in that case you should sautee the veggies in 2 TBSP of olive oil), you can add chicken, you can add other seafood, and you can definitely switch out the veggies!

Chorizo and Seafood Paella -- serves 6 (or in my case, 2 with many leftovers)

• 2 (local!!) chorizo sausages*
• 1/4 lb shrimp
• 1/4 lb bay scallops
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 Spanish yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3-4 threads saffron
• turmeric
• paprika
• cayenne
• parsley (save some for garnish)
• secret ingredient: 1 TBSP cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice 
• chicken broth

*My chorizo sausages were made from local pork (so exciting!) and were uncooked. They were about the size and color of brats. Typically, you will find cured or smoked chorizo near the deli counter which will be thinner and much darker in color. You can basically follow the same instructions as the fat will still be rendered from them. 

Slice the chorizo thinly and put in the bottom of a large pan (I started in a cast iron skillet, but had to switch to a larger dutch oven by the time I added the rice). As the fat is rendered out of the sausage, add in the onions and garlic. When they are translucent, add in the peppers and the seasonings. Add the chocolate in too-- this was the first time I've ever put chocolate in paella, but I saw it on an episode of Grill It with Bobby Flay and decided I had to try it!  Then, pour in the frozen peas, the canned tomatoes, and the rice. Allow the rice to cook without any extra moisture for a few minutes so it can absorb some yummy flavors. Then, pour the broth over the whole thing and let it simmer for 20 minutes; add more broth as necessary, or if there is too much, just let it cook longer. This dish is high maintenance in that is has many ingredients, but it's low maintenance in that it cooks in one pot, and you really can't over cook it (well, the only thing you can overcook is the seafood but if you followed my directions you haven't added it yet!) Right before serving, put the seafood on top of the rice mixture and allow the flavorful steam to cook it. I put the shrimp on about 7 minutes before eating and the scallops on about 5 minutes before and they were both perfect! Garnish with parsley, and enjoy! (But watch out, it's very hot).

Friday night Lenton dinner

I'm not Catholic... but I am dating someone who is, and most of my family is, so I am used to following the lenton tradition of not having meat on Fridays. While I am okay eating purely vegetarian stuff, I know that the man in my life prefers a little protein. So, this evening I made the two of us seared scallops with fettucine in a white wine sauce.

The entire meal took about 12 minutes to make. I think I spent longer waiting for the water to boil than anything!

1. Boil water.
2. Do prep work for other stuff: Smoosh up a few garlic cloves (I smashed and then roughly chopped), get scallops dried off, remove their little foot, and lightly salt and pepper get out some butter, parsley, a lemon, and some red pepper flakes).
3. Put the pasta in the water (I did 1/2 pound tonight and I always add a glug of olive oil and some salt)
4. Heat up a non-stick skillet. Melt 1 TBSP of butter and then put the scallops in. When the bottom half is no longer translucent, flip them over. Then I turned the stove down to Medium and threw in the garlic. Once the scallops were done on the other side I moved them to a plate and poured in some white wine (which I had handy since I was drinking it... ha), the juice of half a lemon, and another TBSP of butter. A few shakes of red pepper flakes too.
5. Reduce wine sauce and about a minute before pasta is coming out, throw scallops back in.
6. Drain pasta and put in serving dish. Pour wine sauce and scallops over, as well as a big handful of chopped parsely. Toss. Serve with parmesan to taste.

DELISH! It was light but filling-- the lemony garlickly buttery sauce went so well with the rich sweetness of the scallops.

It helped that we were both starving when dinner was put on the table, but we cleaned our plates in no time!