fruits of labor: summer shrimp

here is the fruits of my labor - that is if you consider going to the summer farmers market an act of labor - there were so many different vegetable, flowers and fruits among other things that i had to remind myself to be conservative and buy only what i though i could use over the next few days - so here is what i bought - umm delicious. and below is the recipe for what i made


for summer shrimp
2 shallots minced
2 tbsp pre or home made pesto
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/3 cup of fresh basil ribbons
3/4 to a 1lb of tomatoes cut into large bite sized chunks
(i used - 2 palm sized yellow tomatoes, 1 smallish heirloom tomato, and a small dark purplely red tomatoes - just use the freshest you can get)
3 garlic cloves minced
1 jalapeno minced
3-4 small summer squash cut in small chunks
shrimp - i figure 5-6 per person
1 cup of qunoia
half of a small block of feta
salt and pepper

begin by cutting the tomatoes up into large bite sized chunks. add them to a bowl with half of a minced shallot, 3tbsp of olive oil, 2tbsp of pesto, the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. combine all together gently and set to the side.

get the pan on for qunoia and cook according to instructions. when qunoia is done add about half to the tomato mixture stir to combine. to the remaining qunoia add the feta, basil and lemon zest & season with salt and pepper. then combine every thing together again.

while the qunoia is cooking begin the next step -for this i used my wok, but a large saute pan would be fine (*cooking times and temps may vary slightly) go once around the pan with a drizzle of olive oil, add the remaining shallot, jalapeno and a dash of salt to the pan. cook on low heat until the shallots have begun to soften, add the garlic and continue to cook until the shallots and jalapeno are cooked through and soft. turn the wok up to medium and add the summer squash. toss to coat and continue to stir frequently- the wok cooks quickly and you want them to cook evenly. when the summer squash is just tender,approx 4-5 minutes, push to the sides of the wok and add shrimp down in the middle. let them cook here for about 1 minute then combine everything and cook until shrimp reaches desired doneness - approx 3 minutes.

place a scoop of the qunoia and tomato mixture on a plate or bowl, then place some of the shrimp mixture on top of that, sprinkle with a few leaves of basil or parsley.