1. As I was sleepily texting back and forth with Ernie this morning, he asked me if I wanted to go out to breakfast. I delightedly said yes, pleased that he was feeling so good. Of course, moments later Owen called and needed to borrow the car. Oh well. Breakfast at home with my baby is quite lovely too. Besides, leftovers from last night’s dinner with a fried egg on top were pretty great, so I can’t complain. It actually was better than it was last night. I’d been rather disappointed with my dinner efforts, or lack thereof.
2. I cooked shredded zucchini with some beautiful red peppers in some olive oil, threw in cumin, cayenne, ginger, Penzey’s sweet curry powder and, unfortunately, more salt than I meant to. Once it had cooked into a bit of a sauce I added shrimp, stirred until it was cooked through and served it over rice. Eh. It was ok. I used a bit too much cayenne. It wasn’t bad but when I think of last time I made shrimp and we were tapping our plates in delight, well, it was a tad disappointing. I just wasn’t feeling it last night. This morning however, topped with a fried egg, and with the cayenne having mellowed overnight, it was much better.
3. These are the shrimp we’ve been getting from Schnuck’s. They are really good and wild-caught/product of US. I think right now they’re $13.99 and it makes for two full meals for the two of us. Recommended because they taste so damned good (and I’d rather not support the Asian shrimp industry).
4. In other news, we finally have a working downstairs bathroom again with the side bonus that our house no longer smells like a sewer. Other side bonus: going up and down the stairs so much has been good for my calf muscles. Unexpected expense not so great but I’m happy it’s finally taken care of. Having sewage in one’s shower is not optimal so worth the money.
5. On another grocery note, I bought some jarred ginger because I love ginger and always let it go bad. Ginger can really pack a punch (which I like) so I added just a bit to what I was making the first time I used it. I tasted it, hmmm, added more, then more. It just doesn’t taste very gingery to me. Last night I put in a huge heaping spoonful in the sauce. I swear, I couldn’t taste it. The company is all ABOUT ginger, they’re CALLED the Ginger People. I just don’t get it. It was kind of a splurge so a bit of a disappointment.
Ginger hack I learned on the internet: peel a big chunk and throw it in the freezer, then use a fine grater to grate what you need directly into the pan/pot when you cook. Much easier than chopping fresh garlic and it doesn’t go bad. FYI!