recipe box Wednesday

Today it's time to change up Recipe Box Wednesday.  Usually I pull a treasure from the old wooden recipe box I found at a yard sale, but it no longer feels as inspiring as it once did.  And since I have abandoned my earlier idea of cooking through one of my many cookbooks each month (rather lazy, I guess) I will share a new recipe with you each Wednesday from my vast collection.

This week's gem is from this cookbook:

The first book signing I ever attended was in 2000.  Susan Branch was promoting this particular book, but I also brought along all of the other books of hers that I owned:  "Christmas from the Heart of the Home", "Heart of the Home-Notes from a Vineyard Kitchen", and "The Summer Book".  I had admired her artwork and her sweet writings for years, and to meet her in person was incredible.  She was exactly as I had imagined her, and kindly signed all of my books and listened to me babble on (which is just how I roll when I meet famous authors, apparently...)

I have since added more of her books to my collection:  "Vineyard Seasons" and "Autumn".  All of them are beautifully handwritten and painted, and I never fail to have a smile on my face when I am done looking through them.  And all of the recipes I have tried are amazing too!  In fact, many of hers are our family favorites, from her mashed potatoes to her heavenly waffles.

And today, I share this recipe with you.  Doesn't it sound yummy?  And healthy too : )

SHRIMP AND SPINACH WITH LINGUINI

1 1/2 lbs. large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
3 Tbsp. olive oil
4 lg. cloves garlic, pressed
scant 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. salt
6 oz. linguini
6 c. fresh spinach, washed and dried, stems removed
freshly grated parmesan
Preheat oven to 400.  Put a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta.  Wash and pat shrimp dry.  Put them in a shallow baking dish along with the sliced peppers.  Put olive oil into small pan over med. heat and add garlic, red pepper flakes, fresh lime juice, and salt.  Cook 4 minutes, stirring often.  Pour over shrimp and peppers and stir gently.  Spread shrimp and peppers evenly in dish and bake 15 min.  Meanwhile, cook linguini according to pkg. instructions.  Tear spinach into bite-sized pieces.  Drain and rinse pasta, put in a large bowl, pour shrimp over and toss gently.  Add spinach, toss again, and serve with parmesan.  Serves six.  Good cold too!  314 calories per serving, 9 g. fat, 28 g. protein, 29 g. carbs, 39 g. sodium