Yummy Thursdays: Shrimp Avocado Salad

Besides trying to post everyday, I also thought it would be fun to have some new columns here on the blog. We already have Designer Quote Monday (did you see this Monday's by Albert Hadley? I thought it was hilarious), last week I introduced Dream Destinations with a tour of gorgeous Nantucket homes and interiors, and today I'm kicking off Yummy Thursdays. While Sequins & Linen is mostly about design, it's also about me! My passions, things I love, and that definitely includes cooking. I spend more time looking for new recipes to try out and reading cookbook reviews than I care to admit. So how about we just make it a regular feature? Sometimes I'll write about dishes I have made and other times I'll post recipes that have caught my eye.

Today we'll start off with a wonderful, simple dish I made over the weekend. It's super easy to make and tastes sooo good!


Shrimp Avocado Salad
(Recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen)

• 1 lb. cooked shrimp
  
• 4 Roma tomatoes (or 2 regular tomatoes)
• 1/4 cup cilantro or flat leaf parsley
• 2 avocados (if very small, use 3)
  
• 2 teaspoons jalapeños
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 can sweet corn
• 1/2 cup black olives

Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Take the tails off the shrimp and chop them into small pieces. Do the same with the tomatoes (get rid of the seeds first), the cilantro, jalapenos, onion, and olives. Peel, seed and dice the avocados, tossing them with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Place all of these ingredients in one large bowl. Add the corn.

2. To make the dressing, just combine all the ingredients in a small container and pour it over the shrimp-avocado mixture. Mix with a spoon until it's all coated with the dressing. Taste it and add a little salt or pepper if needed.

3. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour, and then serve with chips or toast. Or even in a flour tortilla, burrito style!

It's such a refreshing salad and it's also perfect to serve as appetizers! To serve, I cut slices of french baguette about 1/2 inch thick and toasted them in a preheated oven (400 F) for about 8 minutes (I don't like them toooo toasted). We also had some Tostitos Scoops leftover from a Cielito Lindo I made before, so we used those too. Don't they look cute?? Perfect finger food!

photos: Ana Elizabeth

"I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding." Philippians 1:9 NLT