I was talking to Atlanta Mom today, and she commented that she finds it much harder to cook in the summer than the rest of the year. I totally agree. Not just because it's so hot that it's hard to make yourself turn on the oven or stand over a stove (side note: I've never understood how grilling outside solves this problem. It's just as sweltering outside, and then you stand over a fire?! I don't get it. I'd much rather grill in the spring and fall.), but also because our routine is completely thrown off. We make more weekend beach trips, we have more company, we meet friends for impromptu dinners at the pool. We're outside more often, which means I have less time to be inside cooking, and I'm not searching as hard for activities for the boys, which means I'm not planning meals or foods they can cook with me as our afternoon entertainment. Overall, it's just harder to plan.
That said, here's a great summertime menu for you. It just feels like summer to make and eat it, which I love.
Oven roasted shrimp: 1 lb wild shrimp (please! no farmed shrimp!), peeled and deveined. Toss with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Roast on baking sheet in oven at 400 degrees for exactly 8 minutes. (If you peel and devein your shrimp the night before, put them in a resealable baggie and then on top of a bowl of ice in the fridge. Then when you come home from work the next day, it's the easiest and fastest thing in the world to toss them with the olive oil, salt and pepper, and throw them in the oven)
Serve with sliced tomatoes and fettuccine tossed with pesto. Given my over-achieving basil plant, I've tried a lot of pesto recipes out there, and this one is truly the best. But that said, the high quality jar stuff can be pretty darn good as well.
Happy eating!
