Shrimp

I love seafood. One of my favorite shellfish to eat is Shrimp. I love shrimp and always have. I used to gobble up shrimp cocktail at any event that had them. When we first introduced London to shrimp she did not like them. I was shocked to think that MY daughter wouldn't like shrimp! So I brushed it off and decided that I would make them again anyways and give it to her and see what happened. She ate them and now she loves shrimp. Just goes to show you that you can never stop trying a food with kids. Their taste might change, the sauce might be different etc. I read this little quote in a baby book that I am reading that said, "Never let the kid pick the menu unless they are buying the food." I thought a lot about this and with my child I disagree. London is a great eater and so therefore when I ask what we should make for dinner her responses range from macaroni and cheese, homemade, to eggplant parmesan, to salmon. Her menu is wide and always tasty. For the average child however this quote would be advice I would give the parent. Don't let them decide or you will be eating chicken nuggets and fries every night of the week. (Don't get me wrong, chicken nuggets and fries are great, once in a great while.) So that is my kid food tip of the week. You pick the foods and once they are old enough they learn to eat or go hungry. I feel that this needs to be carried out at all meals, not just dinner. They will eat if they are hungry, so don't worry if they don't eat because most likely like my kid and most of my friends kids, yours most likely have never known the word hungry like the kids of Haiti know hungry.

Enough babble, on to the shrimp. Tonight's menu is Lemon Pepper Shrimp over Orzo. Shrimp is really high in cholesterol so if you are watching your cholesterol I would suggest avoiding this recipe. And the way I made it isn't the lowest in fat content. So this one is for a special occasion.

First step is I peeled, cleaned and deveined the 1/2 pound of shrimp. Then I placed in a bowl/bag with lemon juice from one lemon, 2 garlic cloves smashed, about a 1/4-1/2 cup olive oil and some fresh ground pepper. I mixed it up and placed in the fridge for a few hours. The lemon juice has a lot of acid in it so it will start to cook the shrimp. When you take the shrimp out of the fridge it will be pinkish due to that cooking. (This is how Ceviche is made in case you were wondering, lemon and/or lime juice.)

With this marinade you can do a number of things. You can put the chicken on skewers and grill them either on a grill pan or outside. You can saute them and serve over pasta or rice. I made a scampi and served over orzo. Here is how I made my scampi:

1 cup uncooked orzo

2-3 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1 or 2 cloves or minced garlic

lemon juice

pepper

thyme

Cook your orzo according to package directions but don't add the salt or fat.

Heat your pan on med heat and melt the 1 tbsp butter. Add the shrimp and sauce until almost done and then transfer to a plate. Add the olive oil and 1 more tbsp of butter to the pan. Add minced garlic and let cook for a little but don't burn your garlic. Add the shrimp , lemon juice and pepper. (Don't add the marinade, just the shrimp.) Let simmer until shrimp are done, only about 2 more minutes.

Once your shrimp are done and the orzo has been drained, which should have been done before, add the shrimp and butter/oil to the orzo. Add a little bit of thyme and Voila! Eat and enjoy! I also served with some roasted asparagus.

Namaste!