Garlic and Italian Parsley Shrimp

In the past I’ve been really disappointed at all my attempts to cook shrimp. After visiting Boston’s Mercato del Mare/ North End Fish Market (http://www.northendfish.com/) and picking up half a pound of fresh raw shrimp for about $6, I quickly realized the trick is just having fresh ingredients. Below are the ingredients I throw into a freezer bag to marinate the shrimp for about 10-30 minutes. Exact amounts are not necessary- if you don’t like lemon, don’t use as much or use it at all. If you love lemon, feel free to give a heavy hand! You want to make sure your mixture is enough to cover and coat the shrimp nicely. And trust me on the Italian parsley- it has a distinct taste to it that really adds unique flavor to the shrimp!

• Raw deveined, tail- on shrimp (~6 per person)
• Olive Oil
• Freshly minced garlic
• Italian flat parsley, chopped
• Lemon juice
• Freshly grated lemon rind
• Salt and pepper to taste

To accompany:

• Whole wheat pearl Israeli couscous (or whole wheat penne pasta, angel hair, whatever you prefer!)
• Halved cherry tomatoes
• Minced garlic
• Freshly grated robusto cheese

While this is marinating in the fridge in its freezer bag, I like lightly spray a pan with olive oil and sautee minced garlic and halved cherry tomatoes. I also simultaneously cook up some whole wheat pearl Israeli couscous with some lemon juice squirted in. When the couscous is finished, pour your tomato mixture on top and without cleaning the pan, dump in your shrimp to cook.

For best taste and texture, don’t cook too long! It should take about 2 minutes per side or until the shrimp have turned opaque and the tails pinken.

Place shrimp atop couscous and tomatoes, drizzle olive oil pan leftovers over your plate and polish with freshly grated robusto cheese. Yummers!!!

Wild Blueberry and Lemon Rind Whole Wheat Pancakes

In addition to exploring new cosmetic products, I’ve recently embarked on cooking endeavors. Not that I haven’t cooked before, I’m just now making a concerted effort to catalog what I do and how much I add as I have always been a fly- by- the- seat- of- my- pants kinda person in the kitchen. Today with the threat of Hurricane Irene which ended up being kinda a bust in these Beantown parts, I took it as a cue to cook up some fabulous pancakes. You can whip em up too- super easy, super yummy.

Wild Blueberry and Lemon Rind Whole Wheat Pancakes

Enough for 2 hungry people

• 1 cup Whole Wheat Pancake Mix (I got mine from Whole Foods)
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon oil (I used canola)
• Sprinkle of cinnamon
• Freshly grated lemon zest (about 1 tablespoon, not packed)
• Fresh wild blueberries

Gently mix the batter sans berries until all flour is moistened and clumps are not visible. Pour into pre-heated pan. Sprinkle as many blueberries as you desire. Depending on the diameter of your cake in the pan, cooking times will vary. The biggest indicator of the flippage point nearing is when you see these beautiful little bubbles emerging through the batter:

Flip and cook until both sides look cooked through. Be sure your pan isn’t too hot when starting out- this will just burn your pancakes. Slowly crank up the heat to a mid-range to cook your pancakes pretty quickly and evenly.

Top with whatever ya want- just some syrup (I highly recommend some good quality Vermont sappiness), lil butter, whipped cream, strawberries, more bluerries, bananas… whatever your little heart desires. These do run on the sweet side, though, so be forewarned! Any leftovers can be wrapped up in foil and reheated in the microwave.

Happy pancaking!

Update: I just ate the reheated leftovers which did not have blueberries in the batter because I, um, forgot to throw them in. The pancakes were not as sweet and tasted DELICIOUS. I had frozen organic strawberries that I defrosted in the fridge- I plopped some strawberries and goo on top of the pancakes with a little syrup and nuked for 1 minute. Perfection! So, in summation, use the batter sans blueberries for a less sweet breakfast treat.

Biore Pore Unclogging Scrub

I knew nothing about this product when I purchased it except that it was part of a cheap duo deal at CVS. I wasn’t really in the market for any kind of cleanser or scrub, but I figured eh, why not. And thank the lord I did.

Never did I ever think a cleanser could do so much. Especially a cleanser under $10 that I had no expectations for. It smells and feels absolutely luxurious- it’s creamy and luscious, yet punctuated with exfoliating beads. When I couple it with my CVS brand single buff-puff square, it does fabulous things.

The stuff cleans your face completely and leaves it feeling invigorated, fresh, and super clean. What you won’t expect is how differently your face will look days later. I was astonished by my diminished pores and the absolute improved texture and color of my skin. When I traveled for a few days without this stuff, my face quickly looked blander, greyer, and broken out. I will certainly cram this stuff into a travel-friendly 3 ounce bottle before I go anywhere from here on out.

The salicylic acid in this scrub helps to keep acne at bay and to refinish the surface of your skin.  While this is all well and good, you will experience some dryness along the way. All this resurfacing doesn’t happen magically- the reality is that it will slough off your skin. So be prepared to exfoliate flakies and moisturize like it’s your job and you’ll be fine.

So if you appreciate and strive for beautiful flawless skin, trying Biore’s pore unclogging scrub will be worth your while.

I’m Not the Only Person in Love!

So I just cracked open Allure’s October 2010 featuring their “Best of Beauty” products. We’re talking 232 products that were field tested by their coterie of beauty editors. A quick perusal had me pleased with their primer selection: L’Oreal Paris Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base! I touted my love for it in this review and am pleased for their equally resplendent review: “The mousselike texture fills in wrinkles and pores better than traditional liquids, creating a truly even, supple canvas.” Word.

Coming Soon…

…the Boston Belle’s take on Maybelline’s The Falsies as well as Maybelline’s The Colossal Volum’ Express. Also: Maybelline’s SuperStay Makeup 24Hr Micro-Flex Formula and A Make Up For Ever foundation roundup which will seriously question all the hype for HD Invisible Cover Foundation while lauding Mat Velvet + Matifying Foundation. Also: drugstore concealer (Maybelline’s Dream Mousse and Maybelline’s Instant Age Rewind Double Face Perfector) and last but not least, Lorac’s Behind the Scenes Eye Primer. So much to review, so little time, and a real job that is about anything but beauty… c’est la vie!

A Burnt and Bummed Belle

I hate to admit it: I think my pits don’t like the DeoDry Dry-Effect Deodorant from The Body Shop that I once loved so much. After 2 weeks of perfect usage, it was starting to sting after application. I then noticed I had a distinct deod-striped burn goin on. Now, it seems that once every summer I get horrible razor burn and weird cyst things that I need to treat with antibiotics, so maybe this is a similar summery reaction. All I know is that I’m resigning to the pricey Lavanila while this stingy situation hopefully resolves itself

Coffee: A Belle’s Best Friend

by The Boston Belle

So I was just tweeting about my favorite Boston coffee source, Polcari’s, and couldn’t help but also tweet about the absolutely best travel mug ever: Contigo’s AUTOSEAL. I know, I know, this is not mascara or primer, but if you’re like me, girlfriend needs a little oomph in the morning to get that process going. And with Contigo, you can be a spendthrift belle and take your favorite coffee- iced or hot- on the go!

Contigo has exactly what I’ve been searching for to no avail throughout my caffeinated travails of yore- a stainless steel container and spill-proof technology. Now these two are not only hard to find in combination, but they’re hard to find simultaneously while actually *working*. And don’t even get me started on price points. You know you’re making an investment when purchasing such an item.

Enter: Contigo. Unlike OXO and other cheap attempts, Contigo knocks it out of the park with a BPA free stainless steel inner wall with vacuum seal technology- all for under $20. When I saw it on the shelf at Target I thought- this, like all the others, has to be too good to be true. A quick perusal on my blackberry of reviews of this bad boy led me to impulse buy. And what a good buy it was.

This thing keeps my coffee hot and seals it in with no leakage. I’ll toss it in my Mary Poppins purse- no worries! For realz?! Can it be true?! I almost want to put it through a barrage of tests to see I’m not just fooling myself, but then I realize I have better things to do with my time. This kid works better than anything I’ve tried before, I am simply astounded. One trick: be sure to depress the autoseal button while screwing on the lid (as directed by the informational insert) to release any initial air pockets. This should decrease any potential for splooge.

The product says it will keep 16 ounces of liquid hot for four hours and cool for 12- I’ve only tried it hot and that has been the case. After I started using it, I looked up more reviews on my lappy which only corroborated my thoughts on this gem. You can find it at amazon.com for about $5 cheaper than the Contigo website. Contigo also has a wide range of products for water and kiddie cups- if these items are nearly as good as their coffee mug, I would buy them up like candy.

So next time you have to apply your powder on the T or take your joe on the road, know that Contigo will be there to provide you the perfect vessel for your favorite ambrosia.