SHRIMP AND AVOCADO SALSA

I found this 1939 advertisement on eBay:

The Bread Diet — “a safer way to gain alluring slenderness.”  It “cuts down excess weight without starvation, fatigue or nervous strain.”  Imagine enjoying TWO slices of bread with every meal AND losing weight!  Not only that, but look at what you can do with the energy you’ll get from 2 slices of bread:

That’s right — you can wash windows for an hour!  So maybe you can’t shatter the glass ceiling — at least you can clean it!  Know what else you can do on 2 slices of bread?

That’s right — you can iron for an hour! No wonder women started working outside the home — who wants to stay home and eat bread and iron and clean windows?  By the way — how long do you think I could wash windows or iron on a pint of Blue Bell Cookies & Cream?

One more benefit of the Bread Diet is that it apparently helps you grow freakishly long legs:

So how’s that New Year’s diet going?  Have you already abandoned it for the Bread Diet? I’m pleased to say that I have managed to stick with my New Year’s diet.  One of my favorite “diet” foods is shrimp — Gulf coast wild caught shrimp, to be exact.  3 ounces of shrimp has only 76 calories, 15 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat, and 1 gram of carbohydrates.  I don’t know if that provides enough energy to wash windows for an hour, but then again, I don’t really care.

Inspired by the vintage ad and New Year’s diet resolutions, here’s a simple recipe for Shrimp and Avocado Salsa that we really enjoyed.  Pick a ripe, but firm avocado and handle it gently so as not to turn the salsa into guacamole.  This would make a good Super Bowl appetizer.  (I suppose if you’re really trying to watch it, you could scoop it onto a lettuce leaf instead of a tortilla chip, but then it would be Shrimp and Avocado Sadness.)

5 from 1 reviews
SHRIMP AND AVOCADO SALSA
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • ½ pound cooked wild-caught shrimp, cleaned, deveined, and coarsely chopped
  • 2 large firm but ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and diced
  • 1 small serrano chile, seeds and ribs removed, minced
  • Juice of 1 small lime
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus sprig for optional garnish
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients in a medium bowl, and gently fold together until combined, taking care not to mash the avocados. Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with cilantro sprig, if desired. Serve with tortilla chips.

 

VERMICELLI BOWLS WITH VIETNAMESE GRILLED PORK

Who’s ready to go bowling?  Vermicelli bowls, that is.  These are going to be right up your alley.  (You didn’t think I was going to spare you bad bowling puns, did you?)

OK, let’s get the ball rolling.  Start with dried vermicelli — rice or bean thread — found in the asian aisle of most grocery stores.  This bean thread one is the one we like to use:

Use one bundle for each vermicelli bowl, and perhaps throw in an extra bundle for good measure.  Place the bundles in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them.  Allow the noodles to soak about 5 minutes until soft and pliable, while you prepare the other ingredients.  Transfer to a colander, rinse with cool water, and drain.

For the base, I like to mix together shredded romaine lettuce, red cabbage, Thai basil, and mint to keep it interesting and colorful.  For each serving, use about 1 cup romaine, 1/4 cup of red cabbage, and 1 tablespoon each coarsely chopped Thai basil and mint.  Place a heaping cup of the mix in each serving bowl:

Top with noodles:

Now comes the fun part, when you get to customize the bowls to your liking — you can top your bowls with julienned cucumbers, bean sprouts, lime slices, chopped salted peanuts, cilantro, green onion, sliced jalapeños — whatever tickles your fancy — and of course, the pickled carrots and daikon that you prepared.  And, don’t forget to add a protein!  The first time we made these we used boiled shrimp and it was surprisingly good.

Can’t imagine I’d strike out with grilled tofu or chicken, either.  But the protein that bowled us over is Vietnamese Grilled Pork (recipe follows).  We’ve made it both on the grill and broiled in the oven, and although the grilled one is the hands-down winner, the broiled one was still delicious and works fine for those who don’t have access to a grill.

Grilled on left, broiled on right

Serve your vermicelli bowls accompanied by a small bowl (about 1/4 cup per person) of Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dipping Sauce to pour over everything.

The recipe for Vietnamese Grilled Pork isn’t difficult, but does require about an hour to marinate.  If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes to help keep them from burning.  Pro tip — partially freeze the pork to make it easier to thinly slice. 

I wasn’t familiar with sweet or thick soy sauce, but I was happy to find it in the asian aisle at the grocery store.  It’s thick, like molasses, and sweet, and it’s worth seeking out:

Strike while the grill is hot, get that pork marinating, and get ready to enjoy a delicious vermicelli bowl.

5 from 1 reviews
VIETNAMESE GRILLED PORK
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce (preferably Three Crabs brand)
  • 3 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon freshly-ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce (also called thick soy sauce)
  • 1 pound pork tenderloin
Instructions
  1. Mix together all ingredients except pork in a large bowl. Slice pork into thin slices (easiest if partially frozen) and add to marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. Meanwhile, if using wooden skewers, soak in warm water for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat grill or broiler. Skewer the pork, and grill or broil until pork is cooked through and marinade has caramelized and is a deep brown color.

 

Skewered and ready for the grill

Grilled and ready to go bowling