Trip to Tallahassee

One of my good friends and co-workers, Desi, moved back to her home town of Tallahassee, FL. It's been about two months since she moved back, and another friend and co-worker of mine, Jamie, misses Desi just as much as I do. Last weekend we went down to Tally for a girls' weekend.

Once we got to Tally, we didn't waste much time. After cleaning up a bit, us three ladies went out for sushi at Jasmine Cafe. We arrived just before the Friday night rush, and sat at table in the middle of the top level of the restaurant. One of Tallahassee's trendier spots, Jasmine Cafe had an impressive sushi menu with a great selection of rolls. We had a nice waitress who helped us choose a great bottle of white wine to go with our meal. The sushi was delicious, and the wine was a great pick. Cafe Jasmine was a great way to catch up.

Saturday we headed out to St. George island. Just as we were getting close to the island, it started raining. The three of us ate our lunch under the pavilion while we waiting for the rain to stop. When it the rain slowed to a mist, we hit the sand. Jamie and I enjoyed frolicking in the choppy waves with our inflatable pink rings. Desi took the nap of her lifetime. After drying off and lounging to the sounds of the beach, it started raining again, and the wind picked up. When Jamie and I got goosebumps, we decided we'd been voted off the island. We packed up and headed off the beach. On our way out, we passed by a fresh seafood place to pick up fresh scallops and shrimp for dinner. What is more fresh than seafood fished a mile up road?

As we worked our way back towards Tally, we stopped at another beach, complete with full sun. We kept the seafood on ice, and headed for the sugar sand. This time I got in the nap of my life.

When we got home, we cleaned up and started fixing dinner. This is what we came up with.

Girl's Weekend Seafood Special
* 2 pounds of large shrimp, peeled and deveined
* 1 pint of scallops
* 1/2 package of spaghetti, cooked, with a dash of EVOO poured over it.
* white wine (dry)
* 2/3 a stick of butter, cut into smaller pieces
* salt and pepper to taste
* 3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1. Prepare your seafood and get your spag going- it won't take long to cook the seafood.

2. In a skillet, begin melting butter over medium-low to low heat (depending on how well your burner heats). Butter has a low smoke point, meaning it will burn easily. Keep stirring the butter to avoid burning. When the majority of the butter has melted, add the wine until a medium-thickness sauce has been created. Add the garlic and seafood.

3. The seafood is cooked when it is opaque. Cooking it on too high of a heat or past the opaque coloring will make the seafood tough. Serve over pasta. Enjoy!

Along with dinner on Saturday, we celebrated Desi's birthday before going out on the town. We made a gluten-free chocolate cake using Whole Foods cake mix, substituting rice milk for the dairy. Rich and delicious, this was the best thing to snack on all weekend long.

Sunday we canoed up river. We got to see so many beautiful things- river, turtles, birds, and manatees (!). We canoed up river with a mama manatee and her baby. It was amazing. Sunday night we ate a shmorgasboard of grilled things at Desi's parents house- smoked chicken, veggies, potatoes, apples. Her dad a gave me a little lesson on how to smoke things on the Webber, so sooner or later I'll try it out and post it on here.

Monday morning Jamie and packed the car and started the sleepy ride home. Atlanta greeted us with a monsoon- www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/09/22/southeast.flooding/index.html?iref=newssearch

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

Everyone has a few odd things that they do. My dad is full of little things that make him, well, Dad. He has predictable slapstick-like one liners that go hand in hand with specific situation. Dad has little Buddha-isms. For instance, when my college-age nephew got a facial piercing, he told me first and swore me to secrecy so he shock the family members one by one. When my father saw the piercing, I asked him what he thought. His response went something like this: "In this life, we all have different paths to walk. Mine may be difference from his. If this piercing is part of walking his path, than that is okay with me."

For some reason, Dad subscribed to tons of magazines. He started getting women's fitness magazines, men's fitness magazines, gossip magazines, national geographic magazines, music magazines, Buddhist magazines, and on and on and on. I am gifted the cast-offs and the magazines Dad has read. I started to thin out my stash, plucking the recipe sections out of the fitness magazines. I was also hoping to aquire something seafood-related for the last few weeks of Lent. Amoungst other things, I aquired a few shrimp recipes. I chose this one for Friday's dinner.

This Friday is the last Friday in Lent. Why not enjoy this delicious shrimp dish? Found in January's Fitness magazine, it claims shrimp to be "incredibly low in fat and rich in protein and important minerals like zine, which helps support a healthy immune system. " They recommend serving it with rice or orzo. Why not over rice pasta elbows?


Baked Shrimp With Tomatoes and Feta Makes: 4 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 14.5-ounce cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1/4 cup finely minced flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh dill
1 1/4 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and let sauce simmer for about 5 minutes, until tomato juices thicken. Remove skillet from burner. Stir in parsley, dill and shrimp, and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle feta over the top. Place skillet in oven; bake until shrimp are cooked through and cheese has melted, about 12 minutes.

* Nutrition facts per serving: 295 calories, 34 g protein, 12 g carbohydrate, 11 g fat (4 g saturated), 2 g fiber