White Bean Salad with Grilled Shrimp, and an Anniversary

2 months ago Steven and I celebrated 2 years of marriage with a trip to Nantucket, Cape Cod and Boston. We had a wonderful trip, filled with delicious seafood and wonderful Italian in Boston's North End.  We biked, and swam, and ate and wandered all over Eastern Massachusetts.  Part of my gift to Steven (along with a copper mug for his prized Moscow Mules) was this book with beautiful photos of Turkey, and lovely recipes.  Of all of our travels, Turkish food is probably my favorite.  The flavors are fresh and
Mediterranean, with a distinctive hint of spice.

I recently made (and adjusted) this recipe from the book.  Pictures of the Eastern Seaboard below.

Looking across Nantucket Harbor

White Bean Salad with Grilled Shrimp

Adapted from Turkey

• 2 cups dried white beans or 1 can unsalted white beans
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact

Marinade

Served with Whole Wheat Flatbread

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
• dash of chili powder

Dressing

• 3 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large pinch dried chili flakes, or to taste

• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup Italian parsley leaves
• 2 tomatoes, cut into thin half moon slices

1. Soak dried beans overnight and drain.
2. Put beans in saucepan and add just enough water to cover, bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat 50-60 minutes or until very tender.  Drain well.
3. Soak 4 wooden skewers in water for ~30 minutes.
4. Whisk together all marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add shrimp and toss to coat.  Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
5. For the dressing, combine garlic, tahini, chili flakes, lemon juice and zest in a small bowl.  Allow to sit 10 minutes.  
6. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet, add beans and saute over low heat for 5 minutes.  Add wine and continue to cook until liquid has evaporated. Salt to taste, then remove from heat and set aside. 
7. Heat grill to medium.
8. Re-whisk dressing, then slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking. 
9. Combine beans and dressing in a large bowl and toss to coat.
10. Add olives, onion, parsley and tomato and gently combine.
11. Thread shrimp on skewers and grill for 2 minutes each side.  
12. Divide salad and serve topped with shrimp

Nantucket

Provincetown, Cape Cod

Boston, MA 

Safaris, Chili-Lime Chicken and Uninspired Cuisine

And now we continue the South African adventures.  Warning: lots of photos at the end.

After leaving the coast we headed to Swaziland where we spent 2 days staying in the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary at Sondzela Backpackers.  We enjoyed staying in cool rondavels, seeing wildlife from a bicycle, and exploring the Swazi culture.  After that we headed to Kruger National Park, where we did self drive safaris and two guided drives.  We were fortunate to see all of the Big 5 (African buffalo, Elephant, Rhino, Lion, and Leopard), named such because of their difficulty to hunt.  We also saw many other amazing animals and birds.

The food in most of South Africa is best described as uninspired.  It wasn't particularily bad, but it certainly wasn't unique or good.  This is partially due to the country's complete lack of a national cuisine, except for a strong affinity for meat and braai.  The mix of influences (Dutch, English, Indian and French) do not meld, and leave a scattered mess.  So the recipe today is my kind of braai or barbeque, Chili-Lime Grilled Chicken.

Chili-Lime Grilled Chicken
Serves 2

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sirracha
• 1 lime, zested then juiced
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger (you could also use fresh)
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 boneless-skinless chicken breasts

1. Combine oil, sirracha, lime zest, lime juice, ginger, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
2. Whisk until combined.
3. Add chicken breasts and coat with marinade.
4. Allow to sit at least 30 minutes, but up to 5 hours.
5. Heat grill or grill pan to medium-high.
6. Grill breasts 3-5 minutes each side until cooked through but still juicy (time will vary depending on the size of the chicken.
7. Allow to set 5 minutes before serving.

Mountain Biking Safari

Zebras on the safari

Swazi Dancers

Sondzela Backpackers

View from our Rondavel

Rondavels at Sonzela

Rhino Crossing

Sunset

Lioness

Giraffe

Elephants at the Watering Hole

Kenz and I having Sundowners: Rum and Ginger Beer

Baobab

Leopard

Roasted Potatoes and African Mountains

Lovely day of hiking at Monk's Cowl

After landing in Johannesburg, camping out in the car rental office for 4 hours, greeting our dear friends Matt and Mackenzie, and loading up our much too small Nissan Micra, we headed south for Lesotho and the Drakensberg Mountains.

Lesotho provided some annoyances ($25 fee for somehow missing the entrance stamp, threat to go to jail, cold room with no light in the bathroom, horrible roads), but was also home to jaw-dropping views and a taste of a relatively unspoiled culture.  We spent our short time there enjoying the beautiful scenery in one of the National Parks with a short hike and blessed coffee on the deck of the luxury lodge (out of our budget of course).



After leaving Lesotho we stopped in the Dutch-influenced Clarens for lunch, and then drove to the Champagne Valley where we would spend the next 3 nights at Tranquility Farm in a cottage.  We spent our days hiking, and our evenings cooking our own meals, sharing wine, and laughing.  To my joy, just outside our cottage were flourishing rosemary and thyme bushes.  While Matt and Steven used the braai (barbeque), I made one of my all time favorites: roasted potatoes with onions.  I ended up making these many times sometimes in an oven, but often wrapped in foil and thrown right into the braai coals.


Roasted Potatoes with Onions, Rosemary and Thyme

• 6 medium red potatoes, diced to 1-inch cubes
• 1 medium yellow onion, cut into half-moons
• 3-5 sprigs of rosemary, stalks removed to yield about 2 tablespoons of leaves
• 3-5 sprigs of thyme, stalks removed to yield about 2 tablespoons of leaves
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2.  Combine potatoes, onion, rosemary, thyme and olive oil in a large roasting pan and stir to coat all ingredients with oil (I think your hands work best for this).
3. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
4. Roast 45 minutes, checking for softness of the potatoes and caramelization.
5. Remove and season with more salt and pepper to taste.

6. To do in the braai coals: Wrap all ingredients aluminum foil.  Cover with another layer of foil. Nestle into the coals and allow to cook for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.

Lesotho Sunrise

Rondavels and Frost in Lesotho

Hike to the Black Hole

First hike in South Africa: Monk's Cowl

Cathkin Peak

Our Cottage

Morning Goose Parade at the farm

Tugela Gorge

Ladder climb on the Amphitheater/ Tugela Gorge Hike

Squinty eyes with the Amphitheater in the background. (photo: Mackenzie)

The Amphitheater (photo: Mackenzie)