10th Anniversary -- Hail to the Shrimp Salad from Leslie Budewitz

LESLIE: We're celebrating the 10th anniversary of Mystery Lovers' Kitchen this week, with reprises of recipes we posted early on, and a fantastic giveaway. My first post here was August 4, 2013, as a guest, celebrating the launch of Death al Dente, the first in the Food Lovers' Village series. That series is set in fictional Jewel Bay, Montana, based closely on the town where Mr. Right and I live.

I've got no idea how many times I've posted since then -- probably at least one more guest post, then on the 1st, 3d, and 5th Tuesdays since January 2015. There are now five Food Lovers' Village mysteries, two Village short stories, and four Spice Shop Mysteries. And I have absolutely adored sharing the recipes from their pages, along with many of our household faves and new discoveries, with you.

This salad is a definite keeper in our house. One of its attractions is its flexibility -- you can use a mix of herbs, whatever is fresh in the pots on your deck. It's a meal-in-a-bowl that won’t keep you slaving over a hot stove for hours, and it keeps well. Plus, it’s perfect for a summer potluck!

(A 2-pound bag of shrimp from Costco is just right for this salad – but don’t tell Erin Murphy, my protagonist. She worked as a grocery buyer at fictional competitor SavClub before coming home to Jewel Bay, and still shops there whenever she can!)

Whether you've been cooking with the Kitchen Crew from the beginning, or you've just discovered, us, I hope you're having a delicious summer!

HAIL TO THE SHRIMP! SALAD

2 pounds medium shrimp, cooked and peeled, thawed
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ to 2/3 cup olive oil
1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 celery heart, with leaves, sliced 1/4 inch thick
6-8 green onions, with about half the green stem, thinly sliced
1 red or yellow bell pepper, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 cucumber, peeled, quartered, and cut into 1/4 thick slices (an English cucumber is great, but a garden slicer works well, too)
1 pound or more cherry or grape tomatoes, any color, halved
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
1/4 cup, more or less, of fresh herbs: a combination of chives, basil, parsley, and oregano is excellent

Make the dressing: Thaw the shrimp and place in a medium bowl. Combine the lemon juice, salt and pepper, and mustard in a small mixing bowl. Pour the olive oil in slowly, whisking so the dressing doesn’t separate. Pour half the dressing over the shrimp and mix well; cover and refrigerate.

Prepare the vegetables: Cook the beans in boiling water 2-3 minutes, until tender-crisp. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Chop the remaining vegetables and place all veggies and herbs in a large bowl. Pour in the remaining dressing and stir to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate if you’re making this ahead.

About half an hour before serving, add the shrimp to the vegetables. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt, pepper, lemon juice, or herbs as needed.

To serve: Serve in pasta bowls or mounded on plates. This salad is also nice over mixed greens. Slice up a crunchy loaf of bread, open a bottle of a crisp Pinot Grigio, and raise your glass. Salut!

                                     
                                                              Seasoned shrimp

                                     
                                                  Chopped ingredients ready to go

                          
                               A delicious summer salad to enjoy on the deck or patio

From the cover of CHAI ANOTHER DAY, Spice Shop Mystery #4 (Seventh St. Books, June 2019): 

 Seattle Spice Shop owner Pepper Reece probes murder while juggling a troubled employee, her mother's house hunt, and a fisherman who's set his hook for her.

As owner of the Spice Shop in Seattle's famed Pike Place Market, Pepper Reece is always on the go. Between conjuring up new spice blends and serving iced spice tea to customers looking to beat the summer heat, she finally takes a break for a massage. But the Zen moment is shattered when she overhears an argument in her friend Aimee's vintage home decor shop that ends in murder. 

Wracked by guilt over her failure to intervene, Pepper investigates, only to discover a web of deadly connections that could ensnare a friend - and Pepper herself.

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries, and the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories. Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village Mystery, won Best First Novel in 2013, following her 2011 win in Best Nonfiction. Her first historical short story, "All God's Sparrows," won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story; read it on her website. A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by my website and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook where I announce lots of giveaways from my cozy writer friends.

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ENTER OUR 10th ANNIVERSARY

10-BOOK (+ TOTE BAG) GIVEAWAY!

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featuring Mystery Lovers' Kitchen authors!

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2-WEEKS OF FAVORITE, RETRO POSTS!

We're throwing a two-week party to celebrate a decade of blogging at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. Every day (through July 13), one of the authors of MLK will post a retro "anniversary" recipe from our blogging past. Stop back each day to see what we post. Each time you leave a comment on a post, you'll earn an extra entry in our drawing and increase your chances of winning our grand prize package. Be sure to use the entry form above to register with our contest *and* be sure to leave a blog post comment. (You must do both to be entered.)

GOOD LUCK and...

HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY,

MYSTERY LOVERS' KITCHEN!

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