CUISINE Summer Flavor

Pico de Gallo:

3/4 cup Roma tomatoes, diced into 1/4-inch pieces 3 tablespoons white onion, diced into 1/4-inch pieces 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped fine 1 teaspoon jalapeno, minced fine, with seeds 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Guacamole:

2 medium avocados, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 1/4 cup pico de gallo 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon jalapeno, minced 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Shrimp Tostadas:

12 ounces Omaha Steaks Wild Argentinian Red Shrimp, thawed 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon cuminPhotos courtesy of Getty Images 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup canned refried pinto beans or refried black beans 4 tostada flats 1 cup shredded romaine lettuce 1 cup guacamole 1 cup pico de gallo 2 tablespoons shredded Cotija cheese 4 cilantro sprigs 4 lime wedges To make pico de gallo: In bowl, mix tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice and salt. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. To make guacamole: In bowl, mix avocados, lime juice, 1/4 cup pico de gallo, garlic, olive oil, jalapeno and salt. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. To make shrimp tostadas: In bowl, combine shrimp, olive oil, chili powder, cumin and salt. Marinate in refrigerator at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Clean and season grill grates. Grill shrimp 2-3 minutes per side until lightly charred and opaque. Heat refried beans and spread 2 tablespoons beans on each tostada flat. Spread shredded romaine lettuce on top of beans followed by guacamole and remaining pico de gallo. Top each tostada with 3-4 grilled shrimp and sprinkle with Cotija cheese. Garnish each tostada with one cilantro sprig and one lime wedge. ❂

Summer Flavor

Shrimp-licious

Celebrating summer with sizzling meals starts with flavor that

takes center stage when dining on the patio or firing up the grill. Call over the neighbors or simply enjoy family time with your nearest and dearest by savoring the flavor of warm weather meals.

For seafood connoisseurs, Grilled Shrimp Tostadas with Guacamole and Pico de Gallo offer an easy way to add shrimp to the menu. Just fire up the grill and allow seared seafood to mingle with fresh, homemade toppings for a light summertime bite. GRILLED SHRIMP TOSTADAS WITH GUACAMOLE AND PICO DE GALLO Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Servings: 4

WITH COUNTERTOPS ... MATERIAL MATTERS

IT’S TRUE. There are hundreds of beautiful materials in the marketplace for kitchen countertops, vanities, shower surrounds and fireplaces. Favored options include granite, engineered stone, porcelain, marble, dolomite, and quartzite among others.

Understandably, it is very important to focus on what choice looks best for your design project. What is often lost in the decision-making process, is which material will perform best for your space and lifestyle, and which should be avoided.

At Great Lakes Granite Works, we feel it’s in the consumer’s best interest to be informed about the different material choices. Many times, a material is chosen by a designer and sold by a slab warehouse. Although a fabricator cannot be responsible for a material’s performance after installation, they do work with the material, and understand how it fabricates and often will get performance feedback and care questions from the homeowner.

Quartzite, for example, is one of the hottest materials being used in the marketplace today. Did you know that quartzite is a compressed and heated version of sandstone and sandstone is more porous than quartzite? This is just one example of the different yet important qualities these materials may have.

There are five stages to measure the difference between the two, as one gradually becomes the other. For this reason, White Macaubus and White Lux, are more porous than Taj Mahal.

As new and beautiful materials are brought to market, the need for experience, time and research is important to understand how they truly perform.

GRANITE AND MARBLE When Great Lakes Granite became the first fabricator in West Michigan 1994, granite and marble were exclusively the materials of choice. Because of our extensive experience, we can easily advise what to expect performance wise with a dark honed granite, how to fabricate granite around a fireplace to avoid heat cracking, or what you need to know before putting marble your kitchen.

At www.Greatlakesgranite.com you can find more information about materials and the process we follow for a project. Hopefully you will take away from this page how important it is to inquire about material characteristics and performance while making a selection. The very best fabricators, designers and builders will try to educate themselves and you as new choices continue to come to market.