Day 11: The Gourmet Bus Ride

So those of you who have been following this blog will know that I'm in Syracuse right now for a little family 'vacay' that involves my dad's annual kosher Chinese banquet at my synagogue Saturday night. With Amtrak's inflated train fares, I've been riding by bus for my home excursions, most recently Greyhound because Megabus has only three times available for Syracuse. Anyway, most people usually end up buying something at the bus station or they pack a boring lunch of crackers and cheese or peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. Well not only am I mostly gluten free nowadays thanks to my sister's new diet, those two options were just not happening. Therefore, I prepared a big salad for us to share (and yes, it really was a big salad, not two small salads mixed together in one big container, for those of you Seinfeld fans out there, myself included). I unfortunately forgot to photograph it due to the lack of time, but rush or no rush, the salad definitely made the uncomfortable bus ride more bareable.

Tangy Shrimp Verde Salad
Makes 2 servings

14 pre-cooked frozen shrimp
3 c. Romaine lettuce
1 c. fresh spinach
1/2 c. chopped palmitos
1/2 c. chickpeas
1 small head of broccoli

Dressing:
1/4 c. lime juice
1/4 c. Balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp dried mint (or fresh if you have it)
1/2 tsp dill

1) Thaw shrimp in a bowl in the microwave on high for 4-5 minutes and remove the skins.
2) Chop up Romaine, palmitos and broccoli and rinse in a colander with the fresh spinach.
3) Place in large tupperware, topping it with the palmitos and chickpeas
4) Arrange shrimp on top in a circle so it's pretty (again, sorry for no photo example)
5) Pour dressing on top and let it soak into the salad in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes
6) Remove salad from fridge and serve immediately (or when you get onto a bus--but pack an ice pack if you don't plan on eating it within the next several hours as you don't want the shrimp to give you an upset stomach from being in room temperature for too long, although the lime juice should preserve its freshness for a while). 

Enjoy and Bon Appetit! Stay tuned for my gluten-free cupcakes that I'll be making soon!