A nice day called for a lil taste of summer. . .

Shrimp tacos with mango salsa, guacamole 'n slaw
(please excuse the camera phone quality pic)

The pic - from the top: Assembled shrimp taco in a hard shell. Slaw, Guac, Mango Salsa, Shrimp on a soft, corn tortilla.

So, this is my first blogged recipe. I was going to post up my homemade pizza rolls (inspired by a recipe I saw on Food Network). There's a couple of them left over so I may have to take a pic and blog that recipe next.

Shrimp tacos is an easy, light, crisp, colourful dish with a nice kick..perfect for a nice sunny day! Chris called them "tacos from heaven". Ha ha ha.
There are a few steps but I made it a bit easier on myself by buying the slaw pre-made and making the mango salsa a day in advance..which is actually much better so the flavors really have time to mix and develop.

The problem I think I have trying to post a recipe is I don't measure stuff out for the most part..I'll give it a go anyway.

Mango Salsa

• 1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 small, red onion diced
• 1 jalapeno, diced
  
• Juice of 1-2 limes (depends on the size)
• Bunch of chopped, fresh cilantro (maybe 1/2 cup?)
• Salt to taste (I use sea salt - pink Himalayan, fine crystals)
  

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. I then transferred it to a sealable container and left it in the fridge overnight.

NOTE: this goes great with fish, not just shrimp. When Chris and I went out for dinner a couple weeks ago, he had mango salsa atop some delicious salmon. Yum!

Guacamole

• 2 ripe avocados, seed removed, peeled and chopped
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 serrano chili
  
• Juice of a lime
• Some chopped cilantro
• Salt to taste

Mix up all the ingredients in a bowl. Depending on how chunky you want your guac you can just chop the avocado or do as I did...use a potato masher to mix it all together.

NOTE: The amounts for the ingredients is REALLY rough and approximate cause I never measure things when I make guacamole. Just do everything to taste pretty much.

Shrimp

• 2 lbs shrimp, peeled, tails removed. Bags of shrimp were "buy one, get one free". The size was 41/50ish I think. You can leave them whole but to cook em super fast and easier to stuff taco shells, I halved em length wise.
• Cup of chopped cilantro
• 3-4 minced garlic cloves
• 1-2 limes, juiced
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
  
• Salt to taste

I mixed up the last 4 ingredients to make a quick marinade then threw the shrimp in REALLY QUICK. Since there's lime juice, I didn't want the shrimp to sit in the mixture too long or they'd end up cooking. They probably only sat 10 mins or so.
I heated up a pan on med-high wish some olive oil and flash fried the shrimp. I did it in 4 batches to keep the heat in the pan. They cooked in maybe a minute before I transferred them to a bowl.

Assemble the tacos!

• Warm up either hard or soft shells. I did both using corn tortillas.
• Spoon some guac, shrimp, mango salsa and (store bought) slaw onto the shells.
• EAT!

It seems like a lot to do but I swear, it isn't! There are also a lot of ingredients used over in the different components so not only is the dish simple, it's also pretty cheap to make (:

The tacos are crunchy 'n fresh and the heat was perfect. Reminded me of a warm summer day but they really can be enjoyed whenever you want! mmmm MMMMMMMMM!

Choppin' like a champ

I was first exposed to the immaculate knives made by Global when I lived in Vancouver. My cousin and her boyfriend had a small set. At the time I had always been under the impression the look of a good knife has a wooden handle with the metal of the blade running through it. I don't remember what that's called but anyway...I was wrong.
After doing some research online, Global seemed to pop up everywhere as the leading brand for knives from the amateur cook like myself to chefs everywhere.
I went on a search to see where I could grab one and I ended up on ebay.
I bid on one and won. Then came on the anxiety.


It wasn't until AFTER I won the item and was waiting for it to be shipped that I realized FAKE globals are sold all over ebay and you've got to be extremely careful. I paid like $20 less than what the chef's knife goes for in stores so I was worried.
When it was delivered, I ripped open the package, examined the knife and *phew*...A REAL KNIFE!
I started chopping whatever I could. It chops meat like butter, vegetables with ease and made peeling and segmenting citrus a breeze.
Anyone who knows me knows I absolutely LOVE to cook and my knife makes the experience of being in the kitchen even more wonderful.

Vino blanc

I love wine and lately I've been drinkin lots of it.
I appreciate both white and red but white has been where it's at.
Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc stay stocked in the house. They're dry, citrus-y AND DELICIOUS!
What I like about em is they go down pretty smooth, get me feelin nice annnd go GREAT in dishes...such as the italian sausage/chicken/mushroom penne I made a couple nights ago.
We don't spend much on a 1.5 litre bottle either...less than 10 bucks for a decent pinot.

By summer, I will master how to make red and white SANGRIAS (my staple drink when living in Vancity).

Also worth a mention is Riesling..nice 'n sweet.

NC has some great wineries...I especially love Duplin.

I Reminisce Over 'Couv

I recently lived in Vancouver, BC for a year and over the last lil while, I've been missing it like crazy!!!!

I grew up in Winnipeg, MB...a smaller, laid back, kinda slower paced kinda city. During my childhood and adolescent years, my parents would send my sister and I to Vancouver to visit our cousins and other fam during summer holidays. I have ALWAYS loved BC and always will. I'm thankful and proud to have called Vancouver home.

It's the pace of the city, the mountains, the beaches, the food, the culture, the shopping, everything!!!!

Vancouver wasn't only my home, it was my FIRST home away from home, from living in my parent's house. It was a milestone moving out to the coast. I had recently graduated with my degree and was ready to start my nursing career. I was fortunate enough to get a cute lil condo right in the heart of Vancouver. YALETOWN! Steps away from downtown, the beach, Granville Island....LOVED living there.

Vancouver is considered by many to be the best place to live on earth. Other than the high price of living there, IT REALLY IS THE BEST FUCKING PLACE TO LIVE.
I left (maybe just for the meantime) cause as they say. . .happiness is only real when shared. I have some great friends in Vancouver but I missed my immediate fam and Chris! I made the decision to come to Raleigh to take a new route in my career and of course be with mi amor and closer to his fam.

So, here's a visual of just SOME of the things I miss and love about Vancouver.

Starting with the view from my condo ( BC Place, parts of the water/science world) and my bathroom sink *tear*:



The mountains, especially Grouse cause I climbed that sunnovabitch a few times!



FOOOOOOOOOD!! The food in Vancouver is AMAZING. I've got some pics but go to vancouverslop.com instead!

Ok, pause. I'm a few glasses of vino in and trying to post pics is a lot more daunting of a task than I thought. Maybe I'll come back to this but for now. . .if you haven't been Vancouver, PLEASE GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Things I'm feelin at the moment. . .

this post is to list off the things I'm really digging right now with the plan/reminder to do a separate post on each. In no particular order:

1. OPI nail polish (see previous post)

2. White wine

3. The Farmer's Market

4. Snow in Raleigh

5. Global chef's knife

OPI nail polish

Okay....
So I've never really been into doing my nails til maybe the last couple of years. While living in Vancouver, I really got into doing my nails but I had the pink/white acrylic set goin on (and LOVED them. Thank you Nam from Element Spa for Nails. I'll never forget you!!!).

Since I'm trying to be a lil more money concious, I'm painting my own nails these days with once in a while trips to the salon to pamper myself and have someone else do em for me.

Either way, I AM ONLY FUCKING WITH OPI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I used to do my own nails, I SUCKED! I'd get polish EVERYWHERE, it never goes on evenly, etc, etc.

With OPI, I've found I don't run into those problems. Their formula is awesome! Goes on smooth, doesn't chip as easily and not to mention, THEY'VE GOT AWESOME COLOURS!!!!

I really like their collab with Sephora.
I LOVE their "Mr. Right Now"




Today I bought one of my all time fav shades: Lincoln Park After Dark


as well as You Don't Know Jaques. I was going to buy Metro Chic at Sephora but this was a tad cheaper at Trade Secrets and I like the darker shade.


(Images courtesy of sephora.com, celebritybeautybuzz.com, kaboodle.com)