Assembled ingredients for Paprika-Garlic Shrimp Tacos

Why wait for Taco Tuesday, when you can have tacos today? Or even tomorrow? It has been pretty hot here in Ottawa, so I have been leaning towards meals with limited oven or stove time. So even though it seems that there are many ingredients needed to make this specific taco recipe, I am sure you already have most of these ingredients in your fridge/freezer. I am also a sucker for dips as snacks, so avocado and salsa are pretty much permanent ingredient that I have on hand. 


Now, don’t feel like you have to make your own guacamole for this recipe. Buying guacamole is perfectly fine in my books (I also have really loved Farm Boy and all their products here in Ottawa)! In fact the salsa I used in this recipe is store bought. 

Paprika-Garlic Shrimp Tacos

Feel free to make your own tortillas or buy store bought ones. We have this huge bag of masa harina that I bought when we first moved to Ottawa, so I really needed to use it. You can get a more detailed method of how we make our tortillas over on my blog post Quick and Easy by Step Homemade Tortillas if you want home made. Masa Harina is also gluten free (just make sure the package says gluten free) as it is made of corn. The brand I use is Maseca.


In terms of planning, make the guacamole, grate the cheese, and assemble salsa and veggies into bowls before cooking the shrimp and making the tortillas. That way, you can start assembling and eating once the tortillas are finished cooking.

Paprika-Garlic Shrimp with mushhroom, garlic & onion

Paprika-Garlic Shrimp Tacos Ingredients

Paprika-Garlic Shrimp

• 300g (2/3 lb) shrimp- zipperback, deveined D*I used pacific White Shrimp
• 1 large mushroom (or 3 smaller ones) sliced
• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 4-5 cloves garlic (diced)

Guacamole

• 2 ripe avocados
• 2 tablespoon lime juice
• zest of one lime
• 1/2 of a red onion (diced)
• salt & pepper to taste

Homemade Tacos (makes 9 small tortillas, 3-4″ in diameter)

• 1 cup masa harina (also can use corn flour) 
• 3/4 cup water

Other ingredients:

• 1/2 cup grated cheese (your choice) *I used Balderson Cheddar
• 1/2 cup salsa (your choice)
• 1 cup arugula 

Ingredients for Paprika-Garlic Shrimp Tacos – featuring some of my wheel thrown bowls!

Directions for Paprika-Garlic Shrimp Tacos

1. Prep guacamole – In a small bowl mash avocados, lime juice, lime zest, salt & pepper together. Stir in red onion. Set aside in refrigerator while prepping rest of the taco fixings.
2. Follow the instructions to defrost the shrimp.
3. Peel the shell off the shrimp.
4. Use a paper towel to absorb excess liquid.
5. In a small bowl place the shrimp and mix in 1/4 tsp paprika, then set aside.
6. Heat a pan to medium-high heat. Add in 1 tablespoon of oil. 
7. Once the pan is hot, add in the chopped garlic and onion. Once onion starts to soften, add in the other 1/4 tsp of paprika. 
8. Continue to stir, and then add in the sliced mushrooms. Cook mushrooms until softened and browned along with the garlic and onions. 
9. Add shrimp to the pan. Cook until done (approximately 5 minutes; Shrimp is cooked when it curls).
10. Once shrimp is cooked, place in a dish and set aside. 
11. Make the tortillas by mixing together 1 cup masa harina with 3/4 cup of water (for more visual pictures see my post here).
12. Roll 9 balls that are approximately ping pong or golf ball in size. Cover them loosely with saran wrap while rolling to keep them from drying out. Place saran wrap/parchment paper on top of each ball. Using a flat bottom pan, sandwich the ball between some saran wrap or parchment pap. The saran wrap will prevent the dough from sticking. Flatten each ball to make a tortilla 3 1/4″-4″ in diameter. 
13. Cook each tortilla on a pan (medium-high heat); approximately 50 sec each side. We use a cast-iron pan but a regular pan will work too.
14. Place cooked tortillas in a stack, and cover with a kitchen cloth in order to keep them soft and warm. I used a brie baker to keep the tortillas warm and wrapped a kitchen towel around it.

Assemble your tacos and enjoy!

We started with a fresh salad (Traditional Wedding Salad) with julienned carrots, cabbage and red peppers mixed with pepper. It was pretty refreshing and had a slight pepperiness to it from the pepper flakes. 

On the day we went for lunch (a Friday), in addition to the salad there was a vegetable curry soup, chicken curry, breaded cauliflower and peas, lentil zucchini and chickpea curry, braised kale and cabbage and a cinnamon infused rice pudding for dessert.

Our host told us that the food at Narayanni’s is Indian South African fusion. Which means that there is no dairy in their dishes. They attempt to source as many of their vegetables locally as possible. During the lunch, to keep quality high, they have a reduced number of dishes compared to their dinner buffet. In addition to being dairy free, every single dish is gluten free and there is even a sign about how they only use natural ingredients, no preservatives, MSG or artificial food colouring. 

For an additional price, you can also choose to add their homemade chai and/or roti, both are made fresh to order. I do love how crispy and warm the roti was when it arrived. It was also great to use the roti to sop up the sauces on our plates.

Each of us definitely had a favourite from our lunch here. Dan really enjoyed the bone-in chicken pieces as he found that it had more flavour compared to boneless pieces of of the chicken curry. I, on the other hand really liked the braised cauliflower dish. Tasty and not spicy!

In general, the spice level at Narayanni’s is pretty tolerable for diners that are used to a bit of heat in their food. There are also non-spicy dishes to choose from such as the vegetable dishes. We enjoyed our lunch meal there and would certainly go back if we were in the Whyte Ave area on a weekday lunch.

A week later Dan went to Narayanni’s for lunch with a co-worker. He said that the quality was just as good and there was a slight variation in dishes. Their bill ended up being around $40 for the two of them with the addition of the two chais and roti.

Narayanni’s
10131 81 Ave.
Edmonton
(780)756-7112
Lunch Buffet: Tuesday – Friday 11:30am-1:30pm

Aren’t these mushroom shaped potatoes the cutest? A few weeks ago, EarthFresh Foods sent me some of their potatoes to try. I received their organic yellow baby potatoes in the mail (yes! potatoes by mail!). For a little over a week, I couldn’t quite figure out what to do with them. Then one Saturday morning, inspiration hit! Admittedly I was also craving brunch food items and was starting to get hungry. 

These mushroom looking potatoes can be created from any type of baby potatoes and would be perfect for a quick breakfast or as a side dish for dinner. 

Carving the Potato Mushrooms

1. Wash and dry the baby potatoes. You can leave the skin on for these potatoes. First make a small cut down one side of the potato. Turn the potato and make another parallel cut (2nd cut). Next, turn the potato again and make a 3rd cut (this will be perpendicular to the first cuts). Make another cut slightly away for the 4th cut but parallel to the 3rd cut.
   
2. Then, gently run your knife around the base of the cuts to create the stem of your potato mushroom.
   
3. Here is the final result!
   
4. We also made a quick video to help demonstrate the creation of these potato mushrooms. This might be easier to visualize. 

Cooking the Potato Mushrooms

1. Place the cut potato mushrooms including the square bits (your potato hash) into a bowl. I poured a tablespoon or two of some rosemary olive oil that I had made this summer and mixed it into the potatoes along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
   
2. Cook the seasoned potato mushrooms in a cast iron pan or bake them in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
   
3. Serve your potato mushrooms along with your choice of breakfast or brunch food items or as a side dish for dinner.

   

I have found that EarthFresh foods is also sponsoring a pretty cool giveaway until May 31, 2016 at this link. In the meantime, I am hoping that you have a chance to try making these potato mushrooms yourself!

Creamy hummus dip

Hummus Ingredients

• 1 can of chick peas drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup of tahini (tahini paste)
• Juice of 1 lemon & zest
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• sea salt to taste
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas and then place into the food processor.
2. Zest the lemon, then set aside.
3. Juice the lemon.
4. Add the tahini, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic cloves, olive oil, salt & pepper (to taste) to the chickpeas in the food processor.
5. Puree until it is smooth. It should look creamy.
6. Add more olive oil, salt & pepper as needed.

This hummus dip makes about 2 cups. Typically, I bring one cup to the function I’m attending and save the other cup at home in the fridge.

This hummus dip is super creamy and has a decent garlic flavour balanced with the lemon along with a hint of tahini. Tastes great along side home made pita chips (brushing olive oil on pita bread cut into wedges & baked) or if in a rush grab a bag of sea salt chips from the local store. Feel free to adjust the lemon, tahini or garlic amounts to your tastes.

Lastly, if you end up with leftover hummus dip use it to make baked hummus chicken! I will certainly blog about this the next time I make it, as it was a last minute inspiration (see below). Not only does baked hummus chicken tastes similar to baked chicken made with panko or bread crumbs, but it’s gluten free! Pat dry the chicken, then slather on the hummus. Bake the hummus encrusted chicken at 375F for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear.

Gluten free oven roasted hummus crusted chicken

Now that summer is finally here alternative dinner options are welcomed! Crepes are nice light fare and are perfect for summer! What I love about crepes is that they can actually be eaten savoury or, what we often see, sweet.  The crepe recipe that we have gotten lots of mileage from in our household is the one from Jacques Pepin.

• 2 large egg
• 3/4 cup All purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter + more for pan (we actually do not put butter in our batter but use it for cooking on the pan instead)

1. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, flour, milk, salt and sugar until smooth. The batter will be thick.
2. Whisk in the water, oil and melted butter (the butter can be skipped if you want)
3. Heat a 6-inch pan (or any flat pan- we use a stainless steel one) or a non stick skillet and rub with a bit of butter. Tilt the skillet to distribute the butter evenly.
4. Add about 2 tbsp of batter (we use a ladle to put in how much we need; as long as it thinly covers the entire pan). Tilt the skillet to distribute the batter evenly.
   Pour away any excess batter back into the bowl.
5. Cook over moderately high heat until the edges of the crepe curl up and start to brown. approx. 45 sec.
6. Flip the crepe and cook for another 10 seconds, until a few brown spots appear on the bottom.
7. Tap the crepe out onto a baking sheet (or parchment paper)
8. Repeat with remaining batter to make up to 12 crepes. You may need to butter the skillet a few times as time progresses.

This recipe can be used to make savoury crepes by skipping the sugar and filling the crepes with slices of cheese, sandwich meat, spinach leaves, tomatoes, mushrooms and more!

For dessert crepes you can put chocolate, strawberry/better compote (made with frozen fruit, butter & sugar in pot on stove top), or any types of fruit. Enjoy!!

• 1-2 roasted red or yellow pepper (can use the canned ones) – sliced
• 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 onion (diced)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 can of chickpeas (rinsed & drained)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup dried cherries

Directions:

1. Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh sieve under cold running water (this helps prevent the quinoa from slipping away as you wash & makes it easier to drain the water out). 
2. After rinsing, drain water from pot.
3. Add 2 cups of water to the quinoa.
4. Bring the water to a boil (stir occasionally), then decrease to low heat and cover.
5. Allow the quinoa to simmer while covered for 15 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed.
6. Fluff quinoa with a fork, turn off heat and cool quinoa to room temperature.
7. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onions once hot and cook onions until they are soft & appear translucent.
8. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for another minute or two.
9. Remove garlic & onion pan from stove and allow to cool to room temperature.
10. Lastly, assemble the salad. Combine the quinoa, roasted red pepers, chickpeas, dried cherries, salt, pepper,  and lemon juice together. You can also add some more olive oil to mix everything together. 
11. This Quinoa & Chickpea Salad can be eaten straight out of the fridge, room temperature or even warm.   Enjoy!

I found a lot of inspiration for quinoa recipes from this book: Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood