Gambas Al Ajillo & Sidewalk Paint

George, the Kitchen Goddess posted a fabulous prawn pil-pil tapas recipe the other day and it got me thinking about a lower fat version. I've been trying to cut down on carbs lately and this is a perfect low carb treat. I came up with this variation of Gambas Al Ajillo, the traditional Spanish tapas. This makes one portion, so multiply as necessary. It reminds me of sitting in rustic town squares in Spain last summer, sipping Sangria and munching on tapas. Heaven. To cut down on fat you could always use the ingredients as a marinade instead and grill them. A quick, healthy and easy summery recipe!

Calories: 169 Fat: 10g Carbs: 6g Protein: 14g

Ingredients:

• 8 medium raw prawns, shelled
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 2 tsp olive oil
• Splash of sherry or sherry vinegar
• 2-3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• salt and black pepper to season

Heat up the olive oil in a pan and add the garlic to sizzle. Add the shrimp and saute for a minute each side. Add the chili and sherry and turn heat down allowing to gently saute until shrimp are cooked through, but not tough. About another minute should do it.

Remove shrimp to a serving plate and drizzle with sauce. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately with wedges of lemon and if you're not watching carbs, some nice crusty bread to mop up the sauce! :)

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I usually have quite a supply of sidewalk chalk as the kids love it and stay outside for hours. We finally ran out last summer and I haven't found any to replace it yet. I thought about making some, but since I didn't have any plaster of paris lying around, that was not an option, so I made sidewalk paint instead! This is too easy and has been keeping the kids happy all morning!

You need:

• 1 1/2 cups cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 cup water
• food colouring
• small containers, 1 per colour
• paint brushes or sponges

Mix the cornstarch and water until it's slightly thickened. Add a few drops of food colouring to each container and top up with the cornstarch mixture. Stir to mix, add more food colouring if necessary.

Let the kids go to town with it! :) It washes off just like chalk!

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