Shrimp Ceviche...and Easter Sunday!

Hi everyone...in order to keep this staggering food blog of mine going, I must be honest with you, and mostly with myself; that I'm never gonna make the Top 9 on Foodbuzz!...Foodbuzz?...oh, how sad!...there is no more Foobuzz, so I don't have to worry about the Top 9!

Although we all remember how nice it was to be part of that 'fun' circle, meeting each other way back about 4 years ago, buzzing each others' posts...and actually even meet each other in person, at the Foodbuzz Festival events, in San Francisco! Great memories...but that's all in the past!

This post may seem out of place...or I'm out of touch; but this amazing and refreshing...all fresh veggies, and the most delicious fresh Florida shrimp marinated in fresh Florida lime juice, and the freshest chopped cilantro, also Florida product, like everything else fresh Florida grown products.
As for every holiday you may well know that not only in our immediate family do we celebrate both holidays...for Passover (no photo)...and Easter, but we always celebrate with our wonderful and best friends, who also celebrate both holidays!...so you see; we all get along, and still believe in one GOD!

I watched both the Ten Commandments movies...the Hollywood fancy version with Charleston Heston, and the most recent one on the UP channel, and the recent one was quite intriguing...realistic, and more accurate. Unlike in the old one where Charleston Heston came down from Mt. Sinai with totally white hair and beard; in the more recent one...he still had the brown hair and beard!
Also, with the Passover movie...I was very shocked to see the 1960's version of Jesus with a short straight hair...only covering his ears; and the 'blue eyes'...that was a shocker to me with the Middle Eastern Jew...could not understand the part at the Last Supper...only 8 disciples?...what happened to the other 4?...guess they didn't fit into the picture screen?...also I watched the Book of Ruth movie...that was another Hollywood glamorous festive movie...among some of the others. So, I spent an entire week of 'reconnecting' with the biblical people!

I feel bad for having to post these quick photos that I took...just didn't have a chance to take time to stage my photos; but I must admit that this shrimp ceviche...which I cam up with at the last hour of desperate attempt, to bring something to the Eastern celebration!

Maria's beautiful home...we started out with my Shrimp Ceviche...

A few of us started out early, as usual, it's always a 'feast' at holiday; Easter is one of the biggest holiday for Italians and it is such a joyous tradition!

Such a sweet and gracious lovely hostess...Maria

Nonno Sal, (Maria's husband...carving the lamb roast, which was specially purchased from an Italian meat market. It was perfectly done...medium, rare, to medium. Lamb is a very traditional Easter treat especially in Italy and Greece!

A typical festive Italian holiday table setting; can't leave out the kids' table!

Great company, fantastic foods, we are so blessed to have great friends who are like 'family' to us!

My daughter Lora's traditional Easter wreath that she makes every year! Isn't it gorgeous?...almost too pretty to eat!

Lora's Italian Ricotta Pie...so flaky and delicious with the ricotta, and chocolate chunks filling...yumm!

Thank you for all your good wishes; Hope all of you had a blessed and Happy Easter!

Shrimp Ceviche

recipe by; Elisabeth

2 cups grape, or cherry tomatoes diced

2 cups English seedless cucumbers diced

1 cup scallions sliced thin, including the green part

1/2 cup tomato juice

about 1 or 2 Serrano chili, sliced thin (optional)

juice of 2 limes

1/2 cup tomato juice

a handful of finely chopped scallion

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, add sea salt and pepper to taste.

For the Shrimp ingredients

2 lbs of large shrimp peeled, deveined, and chopped

juice of 4 fresh limes

Marinate shrimp and lime juice for 30 minutes. Add shrimp to the ceviche, and serve with fresh tortilla chips.

Serves 12

Mango-Lime Sorbet

'Rainy Days, and Mondays'...is precisely what is happening here, in S. Florida at this very time! It is a lazy day...or I should say morning. I'm watching the Olympics as I'm typing my post...barely able to take my eyes off the T.V...watching the water polo with U.S. and Hungary...with a 4 - 0 ...Hungary leading! (ending with 11-6, Hungary winning!)

Very strong defense from Hungary! ...last night I watched the women's volleyball...U.S. against Italy, with U.S. pummeling the Italian team, wow!

Mango season is just about over now...I saw 3 lonely mangoes leftover on the mango tree, but we did get quite a few even towards the end to make some more mango creations. Nothing compares to fresh fruit sorbet...I love sorbet, more than ice cream...because of the light texture and pure fruit flavors along with the citrus fruit, such as lime! You really just have to know the formula, in making sorbet. It has to be equal amount of sugar and water for the simple syrup, which you just bring to a boil, and cool down, even best to chill several hours, or overnight!
Just add the chilled fruit puree with the cold simple syrup, and the lime juice, and you're good to go, mixing it in your ice cream maker.

Mango-Lime Sorbet
recipe by; Elisabeth

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups water
4 cups mango puree
juice of 3 limes
a pinch of salt

In a medium saucepan, bring water and sugar to boil.
Stir frequently, just until sugar melts, and water comes to a full boil. Set aside to cool.
Peel and dice about 4  mangoes...more if needed to make 4 cups of puree. Add the juice of the 3 limes to the puree. Cool the the simple syrup in the fridge for several hours, ore overnight, before adding to the puree.

Combine the simple syrup and the mango puree in in the ice cream maker, and mix for about 20-40 minutes. Next...with the mango sorbet in the ice cream maker cylinder, put into freezer...no more than 40 minutes.



Spoon sorbet into a quart size plastic container, and freeze until firm! It is the best sorbet, that you can make homemade with other fruits as well. I would love to make a strawberry, or blueberry sorbet. Next, on my list!

Speaking of which, I totally wiped out my blog list by mistake...always messing around, fixing things. Now, I have to add my favorites...one-by-one. I did not intentionally wipe your blog out, will get my list back up soon, since I rely so much on my regular commenter friends.











Linking to: Full Plate Thrusday, @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage

                Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherines Corner