Shrimp with Mint Pesto & Quinoa

there is no clever title, no play on words...

I know i've said this before, but this year, i'm dedicated to trying to be a better CSA participant...

No, really.  stop laughing.  i mean it!

this is the first blog installment of 'things i was skeptical of but made anyway just cause otherwise the ____ was going to go bad and big nicks is only a phone call away if it sucks'

lucky for us, it didnt suck. in fact, i think that we might even buy mint one day, just to make it again. easy, fresh, fairly healthy... what could be better?

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Shrimp with Mint Pesto & Quinoa
courtesy of Bon Appétit, via Epicurious, modifications by me

(The original recipe was written to be an appetizer, but after a tiny bit of tweaking, was super-easy to turn into a meal.)

3/4 c quinoa, rinsed
1 1/2 c water

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 head spring garlic, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons (packed) Parmesan cheese
1/2 tablespoon coarsely chopped jalapeño chile
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cups (packed) fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/6 cup extra-virgin olive oil

12 large uncooked shrimp (about 1 pound), peeled, deveined, tails left intact (note: our lb of shrimp had about 20 shrimps in it!)
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 head spring garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

***

For quinoa:
Bring water to a boil
Add quinoa, reduce heat to simmer.
Cover & cook for 20 mins, stirring occasionally to ensure it is not burning to the bottom of the pan

For mint pesto:
Combine first 6 ingredients in processor. Using on/off turns, process until mixture is smooth.
Add mint leaves and lemon juice; process until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl.
Add oil and process until mint pesto is smooth and creamy.
(Can be made 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate.)

For shrimp:
Preheat broiler.
Sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper.
Whisk oil, garlic, and parsley in medium bowl to blend.
Add shrimp; toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes.
Arrange shrimp in single layer on broiler pan.
Broil until opaque in center, about 2 minutes per side. (note: we left ours in for about 5-6 minutes. but i'm also the person who, despite knowing better, orders tuna cooked well... so, yeah...)