Cheap and Easy Shrimp and Tomato Salad

Day two of Costco week showcases one of my favorite purchases at the store: tomatoes on the vine. I’ve seen them with a variety of names: campari, amorosa, this time they’re labeled “cocktail” tomatoes. Whatever they are called, they’re always small, perfectly ripe, and totally delicious. Being Costco, they come in a rather large box, but you’d be surprised how fast they can go – especially when you’re a starving artist. One of my absolutely favorite t treatment of ripe summer tomatoes is simple yet crave-able.

• 6-7 tomatoes, sliced into quarters
• 3 very thin slices of red onion
• 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• a few generous pinches of kosher salt
• a few generous grinds of black pepper

I toss all of the ingredients into a bowl and let it sit on the counter for at least 15 minutes for the flavors to meld before eating. Though the salad is amazing just as it, I was feeling exceptionally adventurous (indulgent? loose?) this week so I decided to splurge on a bucket of Costco’s fantastic cilantro lime shrimp – $13, easily enough for 4 applications. I added about 10 shrimp to the salad and let it marinate with everything else –  unbelievably fresh and delicious. I’ve been eating quite healthy lately so I just ate it straight up, but if you were to add some crostini to the mix, you would not be sorry. Now you may notice that this recipe is a bit small. That is because the first and only rule about fresh tomatoes is to NEVER refrigerate them. So, however you decide to prepare them, make only as much as you plan to eat. I promise you, putting this in the fridge will destroy it.

Next I’ll be taking this same concept and transforming it into outstanding shrimp tacos. Like, really REALLY outstanding. You definitely don’t want to miss it.

Hope everyone is having a good week!