Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Yesterday we finally had a break from the heat and humidity, and I was able to step outside without feeling like I had entered a sauna! It's those days that you really have to take advantage of in the incredibly humid summers of St. Louis, so I took the time to drink my coffee outside with a good book. In the summer time, I love making refreshing dinners that don't take too much time so that I can spend my time engaging in summer activities! I recently had lemon garlic shrimp at BARcelona tapas restaurant, and I figured that such a refreshing and simple dish would be easy to recreate--and I was right!

Ingredients
Olive oil
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
6-8 oz pre-cooked shrimp (it was about a half a bag of frozen shrimp for me)
Chopped parsley for garnish
1/2 a lemon

Procedure
1. Heat a bit of your olive oil in a frying pan with minced garlic. Stir the garlic around until you smell its aroma.
2. Add the shrimp and heat it on both sides for two minutes each.
3. Squeeze your lemon into the frying pan and stir the shrimp around to ensure it gains its flavor.

Add parsley for garnish and voila! you've got your lemon garlic shrimp. You can add this to rice or pasta, or you can just have it as an appetizer. Either way, this refreshing dish won't make you break too much of a sweat in the summer heat!

Enjoy!
-Sema

Cantaloupe Popsicles

 The perfect way to beat the heat is with an ice cold popsicle. But why buy them when you can make them? With cantaloupe season upon us, it's not hard to find them in the grocery stores. But instead of just cutting them up to eat them, you can spice things up and turn them into a healthy popsicle! This recipe only requires four ingredients, and can be eaten in popsicle or sorbet form.

Ingredients
1/2 a cantaloupe
2 tablespoons honey
2 1/2 tablespoons water
Juice from 1/4 of a lemon

Procedure
1. Cut the cantaloupe into small pieces and lay them on wax paper. Freeze it for a few hours or until frozen.
2. Add the cantaloupe, honey, water, and lemon into the blender. I didn't add all the cantaloupe at once, since adding it gradually helped the blender work better.
3. Add the mixture into popsicle molds with a popsicle stick and freeze until completely hardened.

Voila! You have a refreshing snack to enjoy out in the sun!

Enjoy!
-Sema