This is a fun dish in the South American style of using round chunks of sweet corn on the cob. If you’d prefer, slice the kernels off the raw ears after husking and add them to the baking dish when you add the shrimp. For a variation, toss the finished dish with cooked pasta.
Ingredients
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes or more to taste
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pint red cherry tomatoes
2 ears sweet corn, husked, cut crosswise into 1-inch wheels
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
Crusty bread for serving
Directions
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine the white wine, lemon juice, garlic, teaspoon of salt, and pepper flakes. Whisk in the 1/2 cup of olive oil. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels, add them to the marinade, and toss to coat.
Step 2
Place the tomatoes and corn in a large glass or ceramic baking dish and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Roast for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to split.
Step 3
Tip the bowl of shrimp with its marinade over the tomatoes and corn and stir to combine, spreading out the shrimp in a single layer.
Step 4
Roast for an additional 15 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque and cooked through. Stir in the cilantro or parsley. Serve with crusty bread to mop up the juices.
Roasted Shrimp with Corn and Burst Tomatoes Recipe, Spotlight on Corn, Handling Shrimp Safely and How to Protect Against Wildfire Smoke
There’s no time of the year like August, when summer gardens are at their height and freshly grown produce is in abundance. I love this week’s recipe because it’s an unusual take on tomatoes and corn—a tasty change of pace from traditional salads, yet oh-so-easy to prepare.
This is a fun dish in the South American style of using round chunks of sweet corn on the cob. If you’d prefer, slice the kernels off the raw ears after husking and add them to the baking dish when you add the shrimp. For a variation, toss the finished dish with cooked pasta.
Ingredients
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes or more to taste
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pint red cherry tomatoes
2 ears sweet corn, husked, cut crosswise into 1-inch wheels
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
Crusty bread for serving
Directions
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine the white wine, lemon juice, garlic, teaspoon of salt, and pepper flakes. Whisk in the 1/2 cup of olive oil. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels, add them to the marinade, and toss to coat.
Step 2
Place the tomatoes and corn in a large glass or ceramic baking dish and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Roast for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to split.
Step 3
Tip the bowl of shrimp with its marinade over the tomatoes and corn and stir to combine, spreading out the shrimp in a single layer.
Step 4
Roast for an additional 15 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque and cooked through. Stir in the cilantro or parsley. Serve with crusty bread to mop up the juices.
Yields 4 servings
Healthy Ingredient Spotlight
Shrimp Safety
Shrimp is not immune to the wild vs. farm-raised debate. Often, both the harvesting/farming practices and the country of origin need to be taken into consideration. According to industry watchdog group Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, giant tiger prawns farmed worldwide in indoor recirculating tanks with wastewater treatment are a “Best Choice.” This is a sophisticated farming method that minimizes the release of chemicals into the environment and the chances of disease outbreaks. You might see these shrimp sold as freshwater prawns, freshwater shrimp, and giant river shrimp. Whiteleg shrimp farmed in the U.S. are another farmed Best Choice.
In terms of wild, northern shrimp caught with traps in Nova Scotia, Canada, are a Best Choice, with very few concerns about habitat or ecosystem impacts. You might see these shrimp sold as great northern shrimp, Pacific pink shrimp, pink shrimp, and salad shrimp.
Most wild-caught shrimp from the U.S. are considered a Seafood Watch “Good Alternative,” but avoid ridgeback prawns from California and shrimp caught with skimmer trawls anywhere in the Gulf of Mexico with the exception of Florida.
Seafood Watch-assessed sources of shrimp and prawns from Argentina, China, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nicaragua, and Vietnam are on its “Avoid” list due to concerns over catching and/or farming practices.
When possible, buy shrimp that’s been eco-certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), or Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP). You can easily check to see whether a particular species or source is safe on the Seafood Watch website.
Healthy Kitchen Nugget
Quick-Cooked Corn
Got an abundance of corn on the cob? Here’s a fast and foolproof way to cook it: Fill a stockpot three-quarters of the way with water, add a tablespoon of salt, and bring to a rapid boil. Add your shucked corn, cover the pot tightly with a lid, and take the pot off the heat. After seven minutes, the corn will be ready to serve.
Buying tip: Choose corn with the husk still on since it protects the kernels. Husks should be a bright green color and should hug the cob. Peel back just the tip of the husk to be sure that the silk is still moist and the kernels are bright yellow and/or white, depending on the variety.
For Your Best Health
Why Fermented Food Is Fab
There’s no doubt that fiber is good for health, but new research that compared the effects of fiber to those of fermented foods found that fermented foods can have unique—and rapid—benefits for the all-important gut microbiome and the immune system. Consuming foods and drinks such as yogurt, kefir, fermented cottage cheese, kimchi and other fermented vegetables, vinegar, vegetable brine drinks, and kombucha tea led to greater microbial diversity, with stronger effects from larger servings. “This is a stunning finding,” said Justin Sonnenburg, PhD, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. “It provides one of the first examples of how a simple change in diet can reproducibly remodel the microbiota across a cohort of healthy adults.”
For 10 weeks, the study participants followed either a high-fiber diet rich in legumes, seeds, whole grains, nuts, vegetables, and fruits, or a diet high in fermented foods. During the follow-up, four types of immune cells showed less activation in the fermented-food group. Also, levels of 19 inflammatory proteins measured in blood samples decreased, something not seen in those on the high-fiber diet. One of these proteins, interleukin-6, has been linked to conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and chronic stress.
“We expected high fiber to have a more universally beneficial effect and increase microbiota diversity,” said Erica Sonnenburg, PhD, a senior research scientist in basic life sciences, microbiology, and immunology at Stanford. “The data suggest that increased fiber intake alone over a short time period is insufficient to increase microbiota diversity…It is possible that a longer intervention would have allowed for the microbiota to adequately adapt to the increase in fiber consumption.”
So, this isn’t an either-or finding—rather, it suggests that we enjoy both types of foods. High-fiber diets are linked to lower rates of mortality, while eating fermented foods can help with weight maintenance and may decrease the risk for diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. In fact, the researchers will soon test whether high-fiber and fermented foods can work together to boost the microbiome and immune system.
Fitness Flash
Protecting Against Wildfire Smoke
You don’t have to live on the West Coast for your lungs to be affected by the fallout from this season’s wildfires as the smoke travels across the country. As much attention as these horrific fires have received, few people take enough precautions to avoid the toxic smoke and particulate matter that can easily find their way into the lungs and bloodstream. Here are some steps suggested by three Stanford experts: Kari Nadeau, MD, PhD, director of Stanford’s Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy & Asthma Research; Mary Prunicki, MD, PhD, the center’s director of air pollution and health research; and Lynn Hildemann, PhD, professor and department chair of civil and environmental engineering.
Before you go outside to exercise or just run errands, know the outside air quality—track it easily with an app or website. When the Air Quality Index is high, stay inside as much as possible. When you must go out, an N95 mask can be effective at keeping out particulate matter.
Know your indoor air quality, too. See if your utility company offers a home energy audit—free in many areas—to assess how well-sealed your home is. The audit should identify energy-saving measures to better secure areas where smoke could get in.
If you have central A/C, run it on smoky days—its filter is designed to trap dust and small particles, so it offers some protection. Change all air filters in your home regularly. Be sure to use true HEPA filters—those with a high-efficiency particulate air designation—designed to remove 99.97% of airborne particles. It should state this on the box. Skip packages labeled “HEPA-like” or “approaching HEPA” quality. If possible, invest in a high-quality air purifier for your home. If you can’t purify your entire home, pick one room to focus on and maintain healthy air quality there.
The beauty of these potatoes is more than skin deep—they’re rich in antioxidants. Leave on the skins for maximum nutritional benefits.
Ingredients
2 pounds Peruvian purple potatoes, scrubbed
3 tablespoons Pear Balsamic Vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup red onion, peeled and diced
1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced (optional)
1/2 yellow or orange bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
3 tablespoons each chopped fresh cilantro, parsley, and chives
Directions
Step 1
Boil the potatoes in salted water until just tender—20 minutes or so, depending on their size, but don’t overcook. Drain, let cool slightly, and quarter them. Transfer to a large bowl.
Step 2
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard, salt, and black pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the mixture emulsifies. Pour the vinaigrette evenly over the potatoes while they’re still warm. Gently fold in the olives, onion, jalapeño (if using), bell pepper, and herbs. Season to taste with more salt and black pepper.
Peruvian Purple Potato Salad Recipe, Spotlight on Potatoes, The Other “Utility” Knife and Spiritual Fitness for Brain Boosts and Protecting Your Skin
This week’s Olive Oil Hunter Newsletter delivers the goods with a delicious and surprising twist using richly colored Peruvian purple potatoes. And their beauty is more than skin deep!
Note: Specialty potatoes are often available online if they’re not at your local market. And if you can’t find purple ones, you can substitute any brightly colored variety.
The beauty of these potatoes is more than skin deep—they’re rich in antioxidants. Leave on the skins for maximum nutritional benefits.
Ingredients
2 pounds Peruvian purple potatoes, scrubbed
3 tablespoons Pear Balsamic Vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup red onion, peeled and diced
1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced (optional)
1/2 yellow or orange bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
3 tablespoons each chopped fresh cilantro, parsley, and chives
Directions
Step 1
Boil the potatoes in salted water until just tender—20 minutes or so, depending on their size, but don’t overcook. Drain, let cool slightly, and quarter them. Transfer to a large bowl.
Step 2
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard, salt, and black pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the mixture emulsifies. Pour the vinaigrette evenly over the potatoes while they’re still warm. Gently fold in the olives, onion, jalapeño (if using), bell pepper, and herbs. Season to taste with more salt and black pepper.
Yields 4 to 6 servings
Healthy Ingredient Spotlight
Potatoes Get More Colorful
Americans don’t get enough fruits and vegetables, except when it comes to our beloved potatoes—we each eat about one pound every week! Potatoes are considered starchy because they’re calorie-dense, but a medium-sized potato, skin on, still delivers on nutrition: 35% of a day’s vitamin C needs, 30% of vitamin B6, and 25% of potassium, plus 4 grams of fiber and 5 of protein. Most of those nutrients are in the skin, so keep it on, even when making mashed.
Potatoes have been getting more and more colorful, and each color is a sign of its antioxidant content, just as it is for berries. Beyond Yukon golds and red-skinned potatoes, purple varieties are becoming easier to find. Even the US Agricultural Research Service got into the act by creating Huckleberry Gold, with a purple jacket, a fine-textured yellow flesh, and a significantly higher level of antioxidants than those Yukons.
As with pasta, it’s what you put on your potato that counts. Cleveland Clinic registered dietitian Andrea Dunn suggests: “Try a drizzle of olive oil with chives instead of sour cream, butter, and salt.”
Healthy Kitchen Nugget
The Other “Utility” Knife
Think of it as the unsung hero in your utensil drawer (chances are, it’s hidden somewhere in the back). The grapefruit knife, often the same length as a dinner knife, is unique because both edges are serrated and the blade itself is curved. This makes it not only ideal to cut out the sections of a citrus half (oranges and lemons as well as grapefruit), but also to stem peppers, from jalapeños to bells, and even strawberries, with a neat edge. It’s especially handy when you want to keep a pepper intact for stuffing, since you can maneuver the blade around the inside to cut away the ribs. If you don’t already have one, a grapefruit knife is just a few dollars, and you can find many options online.
For Your Best Health
Spiritual Fitness for Brain Boosts
According to researchers Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD, of the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation in Tucson, and Andrew B. Newberg, MD, of the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, “spiritual fitness,” a new concept in medicine that centers on psychological and spiritual well-being, may reduce multiple risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Spiritual fitness weaves together basic, psychological, and spiritual well-being, which is often practiced independent of religion. Drs. Khalsa and Newberg analyzed existing research for their review, “Spiritual Fitness: A New Dimension in Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention,” published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, and found positive connections between spiritual fitness and brain health. Psychological well-being includes having a purpose in life, and according to one study, people who feel this strongly are 2.4 times more likely to remain free of AD than people who don’t. In another study, having a purpose in life was linked to better cognitive function as people age.
Because stress, with its physical, psychological, and emotional effects, may elevate AD risk, stress management is important to help reduce it. Drs. Khalsa and Newberg highlighted a practice called Kirtan Kriya, a 12-minute singing meditation that involves four sounds, breathing, and repetitive finger movements. It not only helps improve sleep, decrease depression, increase well-being, and improve mood, but also may increase blood flow to areas of the brain involved in cognition and emotional regulation. Practiced long-term, it may increase grey matter volume and decrease ventricular size to help slow brain aging.
“Mitigating the extensive negative biochemical effects of stress with meditation practices, in tandem with the creation of heightened levels of spiritual fitness, may help lower the risk of AD. Small shifts in one’s daily routine can make all the difference in AD prevention,” Dr. Khalsa and Dr. Newberg conclude.
You know all about warming up and stretching before exercise to avoid injury, but you might not realize the risk that the sun poses, especially on hot, sunny days, and not only in terms of dehydration. Your skin is especially vulnerable to sunburn when you’re active outdoors, especially when you forget the sunscreen. In addition to being a risk factor for skin cancer, sunburn affects thermoregulation and the dissipation of excessive heat—that also makes it a risk factor for heat-related illnesses, according to Frank Perna, EdD, PhD, of the National Institutes of Health, and David Conroy, PhD, of the Penn State Cancer Institute, writing for the American College of Sports Medicine. Even though sweating plays the vital role of cooling you off, it also shortens the time it takes UV exposure to cause a sunburn.
Consider these smart precautions:
Protect your skin with a variety of approaches—sunscreen, protective clothing, and working out in shady conditions and/or avoiding peak UV times.
Apply sunscreen regularly, and don’t be skimpy with it. “Some dermatologists recommend higher SPF sunscreen for athletes because of sweat effects on photosensitivity and the common finding that most people only apply about half the recommended amount of sunscreen,” write Drs. Perna and Conroy. For less mess and to be sure it’s properly absorbed, apply it before going outside. The CDC recommends using a broadband sunscreen with SPF of 15 or greater and reapplying it every 80 minutes or every time you towel off. Carry sunscreen with you even if you don’t have specific plans for outdoor exercise—you never know when someone will toss a Frisbee your way at the park.
Choose exercise apparel with a UPF rating to shield skin. Add a hat to protect your scalp. And remember to wear sunglasses with UV protective lenses—sunlight can accelerate cataracts.
