Coconut Ginger Taragon Cockles and Grilled Shrimp with a Shaved Fennel, Tomatoe and Pomegranate Seed Salad w/Orange Pomegranate Vinegrate

Today we decided to go walk around and do some shopping and pick me up some boots and video game goodies.  I got myself a PlayStation3 Move for Christmas so wanted to get another game and a remote charger.    I digress....

While shopping we managed to work up an appetite so we decided to stop by Union Market and pick up some goodies to make ourselves lunch.   I started stumbling around and getting ideas and I picked up a relatively long list of recipes to concoct a nice, bright and refreshing lunch on this soggy winter day.

So check it out....Here are my ingredients:

One Baby Fennel

18 Cockles

6 Shrimp

1 Orange

Sea Salt

White Wine Vinegar

Ginger

Saardines

Pomegranate

Taragon

Tomatoes

Serrano Chili

Coconut Milk

I decided I wanted to start by making Coconut Ginger Taragon Cockles and Grilled Shrimp by simply cutting up ginger, the chili, some taragon and putting it in some coconut milk with the cockles and the shrimp.   Once the shrimp was nice and orange I moved it to a VERY HOT grill so I can give it some nice char marks and give the shrimp a bit more bite.

Then I shaved the fennel and quartered tomatoes for the salad.    I picked out some cranberry seeds and mixed it all up.   I whisked together a vinagrette with olive oil, juice of one orange, pomegranate juice/seeds and white wine vinegar.   I tossed it all and sprinkled some sea salt and cracked pepper on it.   

I finished the dish by garnishing the cockles with some fennel and plated it up.  Here is what it turned into :)

 YUM YUM

My wife tasted the salad and said "You need to make this like EVERYDAY"

hehehe