Seasonal Cooking with Karina Alexander

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Shrimp with Roasted Asparagus (Serves 4)
Ingredients:

– 1 pound of raw, deveined shrimp
– Tamari or soy sauce
– 3 tbsp. crushed giner
– 5 tbsp. olive oil
– 4 tbsp. sesame oil
– 1 pound cleaned asparagus (you can use green beans too!)
– fresh pepper and kosher flake salt
– Extra olive oil for coating

Directions:
– Marinate the shrimp in enough tamari or soy sauce to coat, ginger and sesame oil. Put in
refrigerator for at least an hour
– Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and coat a sheet pan with a drizzle of olive oil
– Preheat a large skillet with olive oil and place the marinated shrimp in the hot pan- cook until the shrimp turn pink and curl up
– Coat asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on cookie sheet and roast for 20 minutes or till tender and browned
– Serve with quinoa salad

Quinoa Salad
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
– 1 cup quinoa
– 2 cups vegetable broth
– ⅓ cup crushed almonds
– 6 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:
– Bring vegetable broth and quinoa to a boil in a saucepan
– Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes
– Let cool to room temperature and add crushed almonds and olive oil
– Serve with the cooked shrimp and roasted asparagus

Strawberry Compote with Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
– 1 cup of arborio rice
– 3 cups of milk
– 1 pint of fresh strawberries- cut up
– 2 cup of sugar
– 2 vanilla beans- scraped
– 2 tsp. cinnamon
– 1 tsp. grated orange zest
– ½ cup of water

Directions:
– Bring arborio rice and milk to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes or until tender
– Stir frequently
– Add 1 cup sugar, vanilla bean, and cinnamon- stir
– In another small saucepan, bring water, 1 cup of sugar, orange zest and cut strawberries to a boil- reduce to
a simmer until thick
– Serve rice pudding warm with a dollop of compote

Cooking seasonally is not as difficult as some may think it is. The farmers market is always a great place to shop year round and most of the vendors have great recipe ideas on how to cook the produce you buy. When in doubt, think minimally cooked vegetables coated in olive oil or fresh fruit sliced or cooked down into jams or compotes.

Regardless, produce always tastes better when in season and not shipped from halfway around the world.

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