The lemon tree in our backyard has just a few lemons remaining. It is a small one but always yields a ton of fruit. Having such a tree at our disposal means having a supply of fresh organic lemons when in season. I recently discovered that the lemon leaves have a place in the food scene as well with teas or when grilling meats. The leaves themselves are not edible but can impart a lemon like flavor, much like kaffir lime leaves.

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Citrusy Shrimp with Couscous & Asparagus

by Cheri April-28-2016

A lovely shrimp dish made with lemons.

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 8 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup whole wheat couscous
• 1 pound shrimp- raw- cleaned & deveined
• 3-4 tablespoons- divided olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup -chopped parsley

Instructions

Couscous: Bring 2 cups water to a boil in medium-sized saucepan. Remove from heat, add couscous, 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper, stir quickly, cover with lid and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with fork and 1 tablespoon lemon juice, set aside. Quick Marinade for Shrimp: Combine 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, olive oil, shallots, 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add shrimp. Let sit for 5 minutes. Preheat a grill pan or grill. (I used a grill pan that covered two gas burners). Toss asparagus lightly in 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add to grill and grill until your desired tenderness. (I like mine crisp-tender) Remove from pan, set aside. Grill shrimp, turning in 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp. Citrus sauce: Whisk together honey, parsley, remaining lemon juice and olive oil. To plate: Place a scoop or two of couscous on each plate, add asparagus and shrimp, drizzle with citrus sauce. Enjoy!

Details

Prep time: Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 20 mins Yield: 2 servings

It's time once again for the cottage cooking club to come together and posts our thoughts and experiences for the month. We are a group of international blogger's bound together by our love of fresh seasonal veggie dishes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's cookbook, "River Cottage Veg". Our group is meant to be a project aimed at incorporating more vegetable dishes in our everyday cooking, and is and has been inspired by our dedicated leader Andrea ofThe Kitchen Lioness. Each month Andrea picks one recipe from each of the 10 chapters and then we pick and choose as many as we have time for. Sadly this is our last month of cooking from this wonderful book as we have completed the 220 recipes in “River Cottage Veg”.

But never fear in May our little group will start two more of Hugh’s books. One is titled "River Cottage Every Day" and the other one is "Love Your Leftovers". Please join us! Our motto for the month of April is: “Last but not least”.

The first recipe I prepared was the roasted potatoes and eggplant. Roasting vegetables in the oven helps them to caramelize just a little and gives them extra flavor. The potatoes were nice and crisp and the eggplant was soft and silky. Garlic was added at the end and roasted 10 more minutes. When removed from the oven the veggies were given a squeeze of lemon. Hugh also recommends freshly grated lemon zest, hot smoked paprika or chopped herbs. I will be preparing this dish often as I loved the combo. Also this was simple and easy to prepare.

While my sister was here we prepared this sunflower sesame brittle chew. While this was completely different from what we had grown up on as kids we both loved the flavor. I substituted honey for the brown rice syrup and our batch turned out more chewy than crunchy. Not sure if I used too much honey, or if I should have baked for a longer period of time. But I did end up baking them 10 minutes longer anyway. The brittle is salty and sweet and reminded me a little bit of a Larabar but way better.

Did you know that blueberries are only 100 years young? Blueberries are one of the few fruits native to America.  Blueberries are a  wonderful source of Vitamin C.   As we all know, Vitamin C is necessary for growth and development of tissues . A great antioxidant as well!  Another added bonus is, they help improve memory.  Let's get to my dessert made with fresh blueberries,  of course, I had to slip in some dark chocolate, which is also a great antioxidant.  See, healthy desserts!

Yes, graham crackers are used in this simple dessert.  Imagine how many different flavors we can use to create these sweet babies. We feel like we are eating healthy yummy desserts.  My husband told me last night, he loved these. Delicious! Just look at the added benefits!

I love the addition of dark chocolate.  I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate.   

              
                        

Please join me: Rustic and Refined Dwellings- The Heart of the Home Tweak it Tuesday

Sorry for the absence.  I just needed some time away to grieve for our Sasha. I have been trying to work on a few things on my blog.  Adding Mailchimp for my newletters - posts, instead of Google's Feedburner. Boy, that can be a chore! I wanted to share my Patriotic salad I made for the 4th of July.  This salad is great!  Healthy and so easy to make. Grilling the watermelon adds a different texture.....and yes....I cut out stars. You can use any cookie cutter and get creative.
  
 I baked 3 berry cobbler for dessert.

Naturally I served vanilla ice cream with the cobblers. My husband and I grilled Brats,  hot dogs and chicken kabobs.

Better late than never.  I want to thank each and every one of you for your heartfelt messages, hugs and cards. Thanks for being a reader of Life and Linda.  We all have our ups and downs.

I hope I have  MailChimp set up properly.  Let me know if you have any issues. Stay tuned for my Oriental Tablescape.

             
                         

What woman  doesn't like being a  Diva now and then?  This table is created for lady friends who wanted to feel like a Diva!  Hot pink and black are dramatic colors and so fun!  Throw in some leopard and cheetah and we are there. Definitely looking forward to this fun day!

I decided to use our breakfast room for this fun table, since it has a  round table.  I am using different chairs than usual and for a switch up, I turned them around.  Adding leopard print and hot pink glitter ribbon.  Each setting has a Divalicious gift bag.

The tall glass vases are filled with water.  I added a few drops of red food coloring to make them pink.  I topped them off with a round rose ball.

Hot pink and black striped napkins really tie in with the table theme.  They sit elegantly in our black Zgallerie glasses we bought last year.

Small black picture frames are used as place settings. Black and white patterned chargers  were layered with black dinner plates,  and the girl's dessert plates on top. Pink champagne glasses.  Gotta have the bubbly!

The centerpiece is beautiful pink, fuchsia, and white roses.  They are sitting in a glass vase, I covered with a toddler's lacy, layered skirt.  They fit perfectly around so many of my glass vases.  Drama!

The gift bags are different with pink and black paper.

Perfect for a girlie Valentine Day.

We girls love chocolate, love to shop, find great sales, be pampered and enjoy being a Diva! Thanks for visiting my Divalicious table setting.

                                      

I am joining the following linky parties: Table it @ Rustic & Refined Make It Pretty Monday @ The Dedicated House Amaze me Monday @ Dwellings-The heart Of Your Home You're Gonna Love It @ Kathe With An E Tuesdays At Our Home @ Maria Elena's Decor What's Up Wednesday @ Chalk it up to Better Luck What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage Valentine Par-ty @ Bargain Decorating with Laurie The Foodies Friday and Everything Else Party @ Designs By Gollum