Shrimp Spinach and Squash Salad

So I’ve got some good news and some bad news.

The good news is, I had some more tests this week and they’ve ruled out an ulcer as the mystery ailment. The bad news is, this means more tests! Yipee!

I guess the other good news is that during the test they took a biopsy, and they’ll use that to test for gluten intolerance. I haven’t talked about it here, but gluten intolerance has been one of the things I’ve been–for lack of a better word–scared of, since this whole testing process began three months ago. I have a deep dark love for bread and baked goods (I know you’re not surprised out there) and the thought of giving them up was just a bit much for me. Yes, I know there are tons of AWESOME gluten free baking blogs and recipes out there, but my fear of the unknown is greater than that knowledge at this point. But at least in two weeks I’ll know for sure, and I won’t have a reason to spend hours trolling the internet, trying to decide if I’m exhibiting symptoms of gluten intolerance or not. So it’ll be one less thing to worry about, which is something I’m always grateful for.

I’ll have to say, there was quite a humorous element to the tests. They had to knock me out, and despite my insistence at the time that I was *absolutely fine* afterwards, I find that today I remember nothing at all between when I finished and when I woke up from a totally unplanned nap about six hours later. No I didn’t go right to sleep–I scheduled a follow-up appointment, went to Starbucks and Whole Foods with Noel, and apparently did some chores. And then sat down and passed out–for three hours. When I saw Noel last night, he reminded me of all these things and I was like “really, we did that?” It was sort of embarrassing to have to call the doctor’s today and admit I had no idea when my follow up was, since I had been so out of it. Lucky for me, the receptionist just chuckled and said “happens all the time!”

Shrimp Spinach and Squash Salad
Adapted from Everyday Food

But I’m not going to forget to share this lovely pasta salad with you–Noel added it’s picture to my beautiful new header so I couldn’t forget! This is what I was supposed to make when I made the impromptu dessert. It too was welcome at the table, because who doesn’t love a light and lemony pasta salad with shrimp?

Ingredients:

1/2 lb short pasta, such as fusilli
1 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced crosswise
1/3 cup roughly chopped pitted Kalamata or Noicoise olives (I left these out, because I couldn’t handle the idea of chopping olives)
4-6 lightly packed cups baby spinach
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (about the amount from one lemon)
Juice of 1 lemon
2-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lb large shrimp, peeled & deveined

Directions:

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain pasta, transfer to a large bowl, and toss with squash, olives, spinach, lemon zest and juice, and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon oil. Season with salt & pepper. If you are planning on refrigerating the salad and serving it later cold (as I did) add the extra olive oil now and stir well to coat the pasta.

In a large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high. Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until opaque throughout, about 3 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Top pasta with shrimp and toss. Taste, and season with salt and pepper. If you are serving later, cover tightly with plastic and keep in fridge until just before serving!

And don’t forget, you can still enter the Eat Local Contest!! If you haven’t done so yet, pop over here and enter…I’ll keep it open through Saturday at midnight!

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