Grapefruit & Mint Shrimp

Shrimp with grapefruit & mint butter.

It tasted much better when it was warm. I should have de-veined them, but having to peel the darn things was work enough. I think the grapefruit and mint would've worked better as a shrimp marinade, but I was working with already steamed shrimp we had for dinner on Sunday.

Grapefruit and mint is a great combination, but I think it works better on stinkier proteins.

Pacific Saury

Canned pacific saury on a bed of spinach topped with lightly pickled radish and onions in mayo.

Some relatively crazy things come out of the kitchen when you've got limited resources. This really just tasted like tuna salad. I mean, the fish and the mayo were really the taste makers. I like saury better than tuna just because it's fattier. Tuna is too dry in my opinion.

I like the fishiness of fish. MMM.

Spinach and Cheese Sauce

Sauteed spinach and onions with cheese sauce (butter, cheese, milk, cracked pepper).

I swear, cheese makes everything better. The sauce was so reminiscent of "mac n cheeze" it caught me off guard. I suddenly expected to taste the carbs, but there weren't any.

Oh, and it never fails to surprise me how much vegetables shrink when heat is applied. It's pretty amazing.

Vintage GE Clock

The alarm clock I bought on eBay finally arrived today!

I plugged it in and it is seriously one of the neatest things I've seen in a while. It's kind of hard to describe. The numbers are created by a light that shines through slits, and the slits are covered and uncovered mechanically it seems. I can't stop staring at it.

Now I can know what time it is when I wake up in the middle of the night.

Green Pea Salad

Green peas, onions, scallions and mint tossed in olive oil and grapefruit juice plus a little ground pepper and topped with feta.

I actually had this on top of some spinach and it was pretty filling. Mint and peas are a great combination, but I wish I had some fresh mint. Well, I suppose fresh is always best. In addition, I've been substituting grapefruits for lemons since I don't have any lemons on hand and I do have grapefruit. The bitter quality of grapefruit is an interesting addition. I think it might have done better without it, but you have to make do with what you have.

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

I love the way that this man writes. Each word is weighted and placed so beautifully in the sentences that seem to have a rhythm both natural and metered like footsteps. Like feet that leave footprints in virgin snow, crunch, crunch, his words have imprinted a part of my mind, which had yet to be touched.

Aren't we all Guy Montag at times? Rudely awakened from our sense of reality and disturbed by our own faults and shortcomings? Somehow so keenly aware of how small and insignificant we are. All of a sudden knowing nothing and at the same time knowing only that singular fact. Lost and alienated. Isn't that just the human condition?

I hate the human condition.

Radish & Apple Salad

Radishes, apples and scallions tossed in plain yogurt and mayo seasoned with salt and pepper to taste and a little acid to keep the apples from browning.

I actually had this salad with some tuna, and I think the tuna overwhelmed the delicate flavor of the radishes. Plus, I think I added too much mayo. The original recipe calls for sour cream, but since I didn't have any on hand I had to make do with what I had.

Whatever the case, I enjoyed the salad just because radishes are so pretty. That fact alone makes everything okay.