Afternoon Delights

"Skyrockets in flight...afternoon delight." That song has not left my head since I watched Starsky and Hutch last week. Yesterday was delightful. A pleasant afternoon in my swimsuit sitting by the pool. A rum drink and my favorite book. No, I do not partake in afternoon rum drinks daily, even though it is more than acceptable at this latitude. It was my last day of freedom before I start work at the wine shop today and I felt like celebrating.

I am rather enjoying the book that I am reading; Don't Stop The Carnival by Herman Wouk. He is most known for his WWII novels, but after spending 7 years at one stint on a Caribbean island, he was inspired to write a fiction about island life. As the story goes, a New York press agent named Norman Paperman gets antsy and decides to make a change. He leaves New York, risks everything and plunges into debt to take over a resort hotel. From day one things have been going wrong and trying to get anything done on a Caribbean island is proving more difficult than he imagined. I find the book comical because I experienced more than a few of his examples while we were in the Bahamas. You kind of just have to roll with the punches and never be in a hurry to check things off your to-do list. When things go wrong, you can't let them be the end of your world. I love the islands, but they are definitely not for everyone. Especially a fast paced New Yorker like Norman Paperman. We'll see what happens...

I hope I don't end up overdoing it with the shrimp recipes. I just love shrimp. I think shrimp is fantastic. So light, such great texture. It doesn't get tough like beef or chicken or pork. It has a very unobtrusive flavor and is just heavenly sauted in butter. If you do not love shrimp like I do, you can always, always substitute a protein alternative of your choice. Sauted tofu is excellent. Do what you want. That's my theory with cooking. I just whipped this one together the other night. Dave is busy with a solar energy class so I have been on my own for dinners. This one is great because you can minimize it down to one serving, or bulk it up to serve the whole fam. You can add refried beans to the base, shredded cheese or salsa. Tostadas like this are so versatile. I probably make 5 different versions, but this one turned out really good. I found it doing a search on Saveur.com which linked me to Food & Wine. I have chipotle chili powder on hand because I make a dynamite crab dipping sauce with it. It's one of those investments to your spice cabinet that you won't be sorry about. It has a really wonderful smoky flavor that can be used with all kinds of Mexican style dishes as well as a unique addition to your beef chili and spice rubs for chicken and fish. I will give you the crab dipping sauce recipe at some point too, so you might want to think about making an addition of chipotle powder to your spice collection.

Chipolte Shrimp Tostadas

Serves 4

1 tsp vegetable oil or olive oil

vegetable oil for frying

4 corn or flour tortillas

salt

1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 tsp chipolte chili powder

1 tbsp butter

4 cups shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix

1 medium tomato, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch dice

2 green onions thinly sliced

1/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice

1 Hass avocado, thinly sliced or cubed

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

lime wedges for serving

In a medium, deep skillet, heat 1/4 inch of vegetable oil over medium high until it is hot. Fry one tortilla at a time until lightly golden on both sides, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

Preheat a grill pan over medium high heat. In a medium bowl toss the shrimp with 1 tsp of oil and the chipolte chili powder. Season shrimp with salt. Melt butter in grill pan and add shrimp. Saute until they are cooked through, about 4 minutes.

In a medium bowl toss cabbage with tomato, green onion, sour cream and lime juice. Season with salt. Set the tortillas on a plate and top with the cabbage slaw, chipolte shrimp, avocado and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.