My Commons Life

News & features about the Vanderbilt Commons from the students who live here

Jayden Henry

Shrimp Ceviche Recipe

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When you’re hungry and want to make something fresh on your own, it’s important to have solid, reliable recipes. As a personal seafood lover, I really appreciate this recipe, which was graciously shared with me by a previous geography teacher. The best thing about this meal is that if you’re wary about eating totally uncooked seafood, the recipe calls for cooking the meat while still preserving the characteristic taste of ceviche. I really hope you like it!


Ingredients:
1 large red onion
3-4 tomatoes
cilantro
1 lb of shrimp (jumbo, uncooked, with tails)
5-7 limes
1-2 lemons
salt & white pepper

Step 1:
Cut the red onion into Julienne slices
Using a pan, heat water on a stove until warm (not boiling)
Place onions in warm water for approx. 2 minutes to blanche
Remove from water and set aside in a bowl
Discard that water


Step 2:
Fill pan with water and heat until warm (not boiling)
Cook shrimp w/ the tails on until they turn lightly pink (NOTE: if your shrimp is not deveined, be sure to devein them before this step)
Pull shrimp from pan and place over ice to halt the cooking process
DO NOT discard this water – keep it warm on the stove

Step 3:
While the shrimp is cooling cut the tomatoes into quarters
Discard any interior of the tomato that is too watery
Cut quarters into smaller chunks
Add tomatoes to the aforementioned bowl of onion slices
Add salt and pepper to taste


Step 4:
When the shrimp is cooled, pull the tails off and place them into the warm water on the stove
Cut shrimp into smaller pieces and add to the bowl of tomatoes and onions
Add several tablespoons of the warm water from the pan with the tails (you may include the tails to enhance the flavor)


Step 5:
Cut lemons and limes in half
Squeeze all lemons and limes into the bowl w/ the shrimp, tomatoes, and onions
Cut up cilantro and add to bowl to taste
Add more salt and pepper to taste (add more shrimp juice if necessary)


Step 6:
Mix together well, cover, and refrigerate
Enjoy! This dish should keep for about one week.

Extra:
A very small (fingernail size) amount of ketchup can be added for color
A small amount of hot sauce may be added for taste

Top 5 Discounts You Can Use as A Student

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As we begin the academic year, you’ve probably already spent a fortune buying items for your dorm room, classes, and wardrobe. Luckily, there are many discounts, free items, and experiences that you as a student at Vanderbilt can take advantage of to lighten the load on your wallet.

5. – Something to use- Free Headspace subscription

As you move into an environment where the rigor of your courses will increase and you are bombarded with literally thousands of new people to get to know and interact with, it is understandable to feel overwhelmed and let your mental health take a backseat in terms of priorities. Headspace is a digital platform filled with content to improve your sleep, assist in meditation, and enhance your focusing abilities. Every student at Vanderbilt has completely free access to this app, so it’s a great resource when you need to take a break and relax.

4. – Something to ride- free rides on WeGo

It may seem hard at first to explore Nashville in terms of transportation, as cars are not permitted for freshmen and ride sharing services can be quite costly. With a physical Commodore Card, all Vanderbilt students can ride WeGo, Nashville’s public transit system, for free! There are 26 local and eight regional bus routes with stops conveniently placed near campus, including right off Commons, leading from the outskirts of the city to directly downtown. Additionally, public transportation lowers your personal carbon footprint so you can feel good about helping the environment when riding the bus!

3. – Something to learn from – Free NYT and WSJ subscriptions

When working on assignments or projects for class, you may have to cite news articles. All students have access to free subscriptions to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal through the Library, which can be used on a computer as well as your phone. This makes it easy to read and cite articles for classwork, or simply for leisure.

2. – Something to wind down – $5.99/month Spotify premium + free Showtime and Hulu

When you’re relaxing after a long day, you can listen to music and watch movies and television shows at a discounted price! As a college student, you can not only subscribe to Spotify premium, but also Hulu for only $5.99 a month. All it takes is verifying your campus email on the platform and logging in.

1. – Something to see – Frist Art Museum and National Museum of African American Music

If you want to take in something cultural downtown, you can visit Frist Art Museum and the National Museum of African American Music for a low cost. Tickets to Frist are only ten dollars when you present a student ID, and on Thursdays between 5 PM and 8 PM, you can visit for free! Better yet, Vanderbilt students can visit the NMAAM for free at any time just by presenting a student ID! Take advantage of these opportunities to widen your cultural horizons.