Summer Deliciousness and My Culinary Muscles

Pretty much everyone who knows me knows cooking is not necessarily on my radar. Thank goodness Marco loves to cook, or else I would probablly not eat at all! Well, I had a few days off and decided to try out some fun summer recipes. Here are two of my favorites. Flexing my culinary muscles actually felt pretty good! Enjoy!

Shrimp Ceviche



• 1 pound medium-small shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used ½ lb)
• 2 Tbsp salt
• 3/4 cup lime juice (juice from 4-6 limes)
• 3/4 cup lemon juice (juice from 2-3 lemons)
• 1 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 serrano chile, ribs and seeds removed, minced (I used a Poblano b/c Serrano is too hot for me )
• 1 cup chopped cilantro (I used much less b/c I don’t like cilantro)
• 1 cucumber, peeled diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 avocado, peeled, seed removed, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
Method
1 In a large pot, bring to a boil 4 quarts of water, salted with 2 Tbsp salt. Add the shrimp and cook for 1 minute to 2 minutes max, depending on size of shrimp. (Over-cooking the shrimp will turn it rubbery.) Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon and place into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.
2 Drain the shrimp. Cut each piece of shrimp in half, or into inch-long pieces. Place shrimp in a glass or ceramic bowl. Mix in the lime and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate for a half hour.
3 Mix in the chopped red onion and serrano (or poblano) chile. Refrigerate an additional half hour.
4 Right before serving, add the cilantro, cucumber, and avocado.

Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream



Ingredients
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
...• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 3 drops green food coloring (optional)
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. In a large bowl, stir together the milk, cream, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and peppermint extract until the sugar has dissolved. Color to your liking with the green food coloring. (I used 4 drops)

2. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. After about 20 minutes into the freezing, add the chocolate chips. After the ice cream has thickened, about 30 minutes later, spoon into a container, and freeze for 2 hours. (put in the back of the freezer)

Our Greatest Fear, from A Return to Love

Our Greatest Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light , not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make and manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Marianne Williamson
“Our Greatest Fear” from her book “A Return To Love”

Raindrops....And the Dog

It has been raining here all week. I can't really remember the last time this happened when it was so consistently wet. I like the rain. It's a nice change from the usually monotonous weather. Even thought I like the change, I am realizing more and more that I could probably not live on the east coast again. It's not like there is a realistic chance of that anyway, but it's still the unfortunate realization that I am now a west coast girl.

Bella, the best dog in the history of the world, hates the rain. She refuses to go outside to potty and she doesn't like the feel of the raindrops on her or the smell of the rain. I know this and still try to take her out and shield her with the umbrella. It's quite a scene, I'm sure....me following her around holding the umbrella over her as she tries to circle around and find her spot. She usually starts out like it's not so bad, then changes her mind mid-circle and darts across the backyard back to the door. Then she's all wet and stinky. So, yesterday we set up the potty pad even though she knows she is not allowed to potty in the house. I just felt so bad for her. She holds it all day long while we're at work (usually....she is a very spiteful dog and we will sometimes come home to a surprise in front of the fridge) and when she wouldn't go in the morning, I knew there is a 9 hour gap until she'll have the chance again. So, we set the pad right by the door she uses to goes out. Being the creature of habit she is, she decided to pee in front of the refrigerator instead. It was seriously a gargantuan sized pee! We have those large 16" tiles in the kitchen and she covered like 6 of them, not including underneath the fridge! Of course it catches in the grout and just keeps spreading. It was everywhere!

So, yes, I like the rain, but it ends up turning my dog into the peeing queen of the west so I am ready for it to be over. We were smarter today and left the potty pad in front of the refrigerator...