After a strangely gray and rainy May, June arrived in the Rocky Mountains with a bang! Well, first we had to get over that whole tornado thing and a few pretty crazy hail storms, but summer is serious now. We have had some steamy days lately–days that are perfect for popsicles and napping under a shady tree and declaring war on your family members.
^Oh yeah, we did! And this was only the first batch–three more followed!
My husband also decided that this needs to be the summer of lawn games at Chez T., so he purchased a badminton net AND a croquet set. Never mind that none of us knows how to play either of those games. Hey, it’s called a learning curve.
^This is my “I’m gonna kick your croquet butt” pose.
I must say that my maiden voyage into the world of lawn games was not very successful. In fact, I came in dead last, even though I cheated when no one was looking. That’s something you need to know about me if we’re ever in a croquet death match. I cheat. Blatantly and without remorse.
^Guess who gleefully kicked everyone’s butt at croquet?
But that’s okay. I didn’t expect to be graceful or even mildly competent at lawn games. I was too busy plotting my sweet, sweet, revenge.
^Sweet dreams are made of…revenge.
After cheating at croquet and pummeling my kids/husband in the Water Balloon Fight of the Century, I was kind of worn out. It was also still far too hot outside to crave anything heavy. I retreated to the kitchen and told myself that maybe, maybe after a little refreshment, I’d feel like cooking.
^Well, hello there. I am delicious! And dangerous. At least the adult version.
I didn’t feel like cooking. Nope. Life was just to full and summer was too gorgeous and, as I know, all too fleeting. I did muster up the energy to whip up another batch of ceviche, though. After a day in the sun, it’s the perfect thing to feast on. A dear reader suggested that my next ceviche recipe feature shrimp, and that suited me just fine. Eagle-eyed readers will see that *gasp!* there is no avocado in this batch of ceviche. I was too lazy to run to the grocery store, even for avocado. I did have a couple of ears of corn around, so I decided to grill those suckers and throw them in the ceviche, along with some summer tomatoes, and I loved the addition of those things. The corn gets that smoky char from the grill and summer tomatoes–oh, I could wax poetic for days about summer tomatoes. There is nothing better than a summer tomato. Except for summer sweet corn. And summer peaches, which will be coming soon and I can’t wait.
Some of you have been very kind and concerned about our Mozz-man, and I can happily tell you that his cough is gone, but he is still not 100 percent. His energy is quite low and it’s causing me some distress; this is our little white bullet of energy and verve! He should be far more interested in chasing rabbits and sniffing/digging in my newly planted garden than napping in the shade, but I’m hoping that he will return to his regular shenanigans soon.
Speaking of shenanigans, we packed up ukelele girl on Sunday for a week at sleepaway camp. She really advocated wanting to try it, which left me shaking my head a little because when I was young, my idea of the worst nightmare ever!! was summer sleepaway camp. My parents tried a few times when I was a kid to encourage me to attend sleepaway camp, and my reaction was always a resounding, “Holy crap. Nooo!” She is, and always has been, a much braver creature than I.
^She did bring her ukelele. No iAnything, but ukelele.
I must say, the house is quiet without her. She is our fireball, our tilt-a-whirl girl, and admittedly, we all feel a little lost without her. My husband and I are taking the opportunity to focus on our Hummingbird, though, and do some special things with her. We went to the movie Inside Out and highly recommend it. There will be tennis and a trip to the zoo and probably more ice cream that we’re comfortable admitting to. I might even let that little Minx beat me at badminton. Maybe.
Hope you readers are squeezing every drop of juice out of your summer. I love you krazy kats.
Shrimp and Grilled Corn Ceviche
serves 4-6 as an appetizer, 2-3 as a main course
1 pound shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 jalapeno peppers, diced (remove seeds, if desired)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
grated zest of one lime
salt and pepper (or tajin*, if you can find it)
2 ears fresh sweet corn, shucked
olive oil
1/3 cup cucumber, seeded and diced finely
1/2 cup tomato, seeded and diced
3 tablespoons fresh parsley or cilantro, diced
glug of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Cut the shrimp into bite sized pieces. In a medium bowl, combine shrimp, lime and lemon juice, lime zest, shallot, garlic, and jalapeno. Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes to an hour.
Brush corn with olive oil and season with salt and pepper (or tajin). Heat grill to medium. Grill corn until charred slightly, turning occasionally, for a total of about 8 minutes. Remove from grill and let cool. Using a sharp knife, remove corn from cobs.
In a large bowl, combine corn, cucumber, tomato, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Using a slotted spoon, remove shrimp from citrus juice mixture and add to other ingredients. Add about a tablespoon of the citrus juice to the bowl, add a good glug of olive oil and mix well. Taste for salt and pepper.
Serve with tortilla chips.
* tajin is a lively spice mixture of salt, chiles, lime and other goodies. I never knew it existed until we hosted a group of girls from Mexico for a few summers. It’s awesome on grilled meats, sprinkled on ripe mango and jicama with a squeeze of lime (one of our Mexico girls’ favorite snacks), in salads or as a seasoning for…ceviche!
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The last few weeks have been pretty damn humid here so we’ve been eating tons of ceviche and crudos too. I don’t mind the heat, but I hate turning into a human Slip N Slide from just walking around outside!
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