Sweet Pea Guacamole and Bay Shrimp Pita Sandwiches
I’m staring at the keyboard trying to decide what to write when I hear my name being called out. Dad’s in the kitchen making himself breakfast and needs my help opening the bottom of the toaster.
“How did you do that?” he asks.
“I pulled back the tab that said ‘pull back to open.’ ”.
“Even with my glasses I couldn’t read that.”
This eyesight thing is pretty cool. The action sequence in my favorite blockbuster, the hummingbird nest in the pine tree out back, the ability to read instructions: all these things I spy with my little eye and take for granted, how I would miss them if my eyesight was gone.
Would the sound of the light saber be as thrilling without the glow? And how wonderful is it that I can see and notice that tiny bird (whose wings make a sound not totally unlike a light saber) zooming in to its wee nest? And life is hard enough with instructions, who will be there to read them for me when I get old(er) and grey (er)?
Guess I best plan ahead. Good thing that I was just sent a new cookbook, Eat Right for Your Sight. A cookbook full of recipes designed to, yes, you guessed it, help reduce vision loss from macular degeneration. And, if you were wondering, yes, can eat mac and cheese for better vision.
You can also eat peas. Mmmm, peas. I love them. Every spring I look with envy at the neighbors who planted early and already have blossoms and peas while my garden has small shoots not even tall enough to wend their tiny tendrils around the lattice. Thank goodness for frozen peas and new inspiration.
The recipe I had to try was Sweet Pea Guacamole. Even though I question whether this should really be called guacamole I can say it is delicious. Since I was already planning on pairing this with Oregon Shrimp (also good for the peepers) I upped the heat and changed out the citrus. And knowing I was going to make the ‘Guacamole’ in the morning and serve the sandwiches in the afternoon I didn’t bother to fully thaw the peas.
Sweet Pea Guacamole and Bay Shrimp Pita Sandwiches
This makes a little over two cups. I used about ¾ of a cup for three full pita sandwiches and the remainder proved to be a delicious sauce for pasta dinner.
ingredients
- About ½ cup parsley (some stems are okay)
- About ½ cup cilantro (some stems are okay)
- One small seedless mandarin orange well washed (peel and all) and cut in half
- 2 T EVOO
- 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, sliced
- ½ tsp. hot sauce of choice
- 1 tsp. cumin
- ¾ tsp. kosher salt
- ¾ tsp. chili powder
- Several grinds of fresh ground black pepper
- One 12-ounce bag of frozen peas- thawed or at the very least no longer rock hard.
- Radish, red onion, and cucumber for filling/garnish
- One cup chilled thawed Oregon Shrimp
- Hot sauce to taste
- 3 pieces of pita bread
instructions
- Combine all ingredients but peas in the bowl of a food processor fitted with its metal blade. Whir until ingredients are well incorporated and orange peel and garlic are well minced. Add the peas and continue to process to desired consistency.
- To make the sandwiches simple prepare the pea guacamole, slice some veggies of your choice, toss about a cup of thawed Oregon (or bay) shrimp with a few shakes of hot sauce (I used Crystal because it’s not too hot and nicely vinegary, alternately for less heat you could toss the shrimp with almost any tangy vinaigrette or even just a bit of mayo). If using pita bread assemble the sandwiches as soon before eating as possible.
Adapted from Eat Right for Your Sight
Sweet Pea Guacamole and Bay Shrimp Pita Sandwiches
Ingredients
- About ½ cup parsley some stems are okay
- About ½ cup cilantro some stems are okay
- One small seedless mandarin orange well washed peel and all and cut in half
- 2 T EVOO
- 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves sliced
- ½ tsp. hot sauce of choice
- 1 tsp. cumin
- ¾ tsp. kosher salt
- ¾ tsp. chili powder
- Several grinds of fresh ground black pepper
- One 12-ounce bag of frozen peas- thawed or at the very least no longer rock hard.
- Radish red onion, and cucumber for filling/garnish
- One cup chilled thawed Oregon Shrimp
- Hot sauce to taste
- 3 pieces of pita bread
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients but peas in the bowl of a food processor fitted with its metal blade. Whir until ingredients are well incorporated and orange peel and garlic are well minced. Add the peas and continue to process to desired consistency.
- To make the sandwiches simple prepare the pea guacamole, slice some veggies of your choice, toss about a cup of thawed Oregon (or bay) shrimp with a few shakes of hot sauce (I used Crystal because it’s not too hot and nicely vinegary, alternately for less heat you could toss the shrimp with almost any tangy vinaigrette or even just a bit of mayo). If using pita bread assemble the sandwiches as soon before eating as possible.
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