Saturday, July 31, 2010

Mangoes, Mangoes, Mangoes! AND Pumpkin Seed Crusted Shrimp

One of my patients brought me a box of mangoes this week! Sooooo thoughtful AND delicious. Thanks NA!

I love mangoes. Not only because they are delicious and sweet but also because they evoke great childhood memories. Every year my parents would bring around 10 guys from St. Lucia to work on the tobacco farm and every year a couple of them would bring a couple of boxes of mangoes for us. We would keep them in the fridge and almost every night after dinner mom would peel and slice a few mangoes for us. Oh how I wish mom would peel and slice my mangoes now! Ha! They are slippery to peel and of course that pit in the middle doesn't make it easy but they are worth it.

I usually just peel the whole mango and slice and eat but if I'm making a salad or need the mangoes to look good I slice in half around the pit, score the mango half into squares and then edge the knife underneath to release the squares.

Since I have a box of mangoes, Chris and I are having a mango salad for dinner tonight, along with my favourite way to eat shrimp. Sometimes when we're entertaining I'll do Pumpkin Seed Crusted shrimp as one of the appetizers as they are quick and tasty. We're also starting with the Fresh Salad Rolls that are in my cookbook, Delicious Detox (www.deliciousdetoxcookbook.com) on page 54.

The mango salad is featured in this August's Zawada Health newsletter which will be available on the website on Wednesday (www.zawadahealth.com under Newsletters) and below is the recipe for the Pumpkin Seed Crusted Shrimp.

1/4 cup unsalted and raw pumpkin seeds, chopped coarsely
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
12 medium shrimp, peeled

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Butterfly the shrimp by cutting down the center back of the shrimp, being careful not to cut all of the way through. Open the shrimp and flatten the two halves so that it resembles a butterfly. Remove the vein. Season shrimp with a sprinkling of salt and pepper and brush the tops of the shrimp with Dijon. Dredge the shrimp in the coarsely chopped seeds to create a coating on one side. Transfer the shrimp to the baking sheet and bake until cooked through, about 12 minutes.

This recipe is from an old Christine Cushing tv episode on the Food network. I wrote it quickly down while it was on tv and still have this tattered piece of paper in my recipes folder.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Surprise Visit and Injury TLC

Friday morning my sister Angela surprised me with a visit. She lives in Edmonton and I just went there to visit her 3 weeks ago but she needed some TLC so decided to come home.

She has been active her whole life, playing volleyball at the university level and then doing pro beach volleyball for a few years before yoga became the center of her world. She now owns a couple of Moksha studios in Edmonton and is seriously the best instructor ever! :)

Anyway she was missing beach volleyball so decided to start up again only to re-injure her back. She has a herniated disk that WAS under control. Her body wasn't dynamic anymore because she had been so focused on yoga - long stretchy muscles - which is the opposite of volleyball muscles - short, quick, dynamic. So even though she is super strong and lean, her body was not ready to quickly transition to volleyball.

We had such a great weekend. In between a shopping trip, some good food and drink, and lectures on healthy eating, I used a couple of homeopathic remedies with her to get some of the inflammation down and did some acupuncture. RICE was also key - rest, ice, compression, elevation. She leaves tonight... short but sweet visit.

Oh and she loves animals and being outside so Sunday morning we walked through High Park because I wanted to show her the petting zoo. A cute little zoo (FREE!) with bison, peacocks, wallaby's, sheep, etc. If anyone is looking for something to do (with or without kids) High Park in the west end of Toronto is fabulous. Huge pond with tons of geese, lots of green space to have a picnic, free zoo, HUGE childrens playground, lots of off-leash areas for dogs, and some nice running and cycling loops. A Dream in High Park is also playing again this year - Romeo and Juliet is the play they are putting on this year. It's pay what you can for a couple of hours of Shakespeare outdoors. Chris and I did this a couple of years ago with another couple to see As You Like It. We packed a picnic and sat on the lawn watching the play. Lots of great options.

Love you Ang!!!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

It's Hot and Humid.... Let's Not Turn the Oven On

Delicious raw berry crisp recipe..... It's hot outside. It's humid. I love it. This is what summer used to be! All the hot summer days growing up on a tobacco farm... this would be the time of the year that dad would be starting to get out the irrigation pipes and start setting up to water those plants! What a fun time of year it used to be. Ah to be a kid again (or a teacher!) with no cares and enjoying those hot summer days.

In the midst of this beautiful weather the last thing most people want to do is turn on the oven. Here's a quick (REALLY QUICK) dessert you can whip together right after dinner or if company is coming!

INGREDIENTS:
6 cups mixed berries, such as blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and sliced strawberries
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, more or less to taste depending on sweetness of berries
1 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup pitted dates, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a (7- x 11-inch) dish, toss berries with maple syrup. Put pecans, walnuts, dates and cinnamon into a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Scatter nut mixture over berries and serve immediately, or chill until ready to serve.

I got this from the Whole Foods website. Great idea. Stay cool.