Mushroom Risotto

Last night my sister-in-law chided me for the lack of a recent blog post, admitting she only signed up on Google's blogroll to follow my blog(s) and therefore keep up with how I (and Seth) are doing. I was touched, but could only think of the most pitiful excuses to explain the lack of posts: "I was packing and arranging things in Maryland"; "Seth and I have driven 2500 miles in a moving van over the past week"; "Moving van."

Really, no excuse at all, considering I do have a Jetboil and over the weekend we picked up Seth's camping stove. However, before the torture of driving (for a week) in the most uncomfortable of automobiles (I'd actually prefer a matatu over that Budget truck) I did manage to make a large saucepan of simple, creamy mushroom risotto, simultaneously satisfying my joy of cooking with wine (how I've missed it) and proving that I now truly dig mushrooms.

Satay Sauce with a Touch of Fire

 

Not one to be easily discouraged by my own tastebuds and refusing to believe that I no longer like shrimp (at least not all that much) I gave in to the roommate's request and made shrimp tacos for dinner last night. I managed to eat two but when I tried a shrimp on its own I spit it out. Spit it out! I think my tastebuds have made an exchange of shrimp for mushrooms and can't help but feel cheated. I mean, I am glad I now like mushrooms, but at the expense of beautiful, delicious shrimp? It's just not fair.

A woeful state, I know, but fortunately my love for peanuts is still going strong. Salted, honey-roasted, chili; butter, brittle sauce: I love peanuts in any form. I am eating some chili-coated peanuts right now. I once had a Slovenian try to convince me that peanut butter is, really, actually, quite disgusting, but he did not understand both the deep love Americans have for goobers and my own personal dedication to that modest little nut. I eat peanut butter straight from the jar (having no need for bread or crackers as a vehicle) and, if given the chance, will do the same withe satay sauce because, really, actually, it is warm, spicy peanut butter that happens to go well with noodles rather than strawberry jelly.

Angel Food Cake with Blueberries

Monday was Seth's birthday - the big 3-2 - and the first birthday we were able to spend together (last year I was in Uganda, the year before in the States.) My Thai cookbook includes a recipe for Shrimp Pad Thai (Phat Thai.) Seth had expressed interest in it back in December and, not to keep on the edge of your seat, that's what I made him for dinner. It would also have been the subject of this post except I had trouble juggling the order of ingredients and couldn't be bothered with taking pictures of the process. Plus I overcooked the noodles and, honestly, I didn't like it. Seth and Ryan loved the dish but I thought it was slightly bland and I think it's possible I don't like shrimp much anymore. That possibility horrifies me so I'll ignore it for now and give you some cake instead.

Tuna Two Ways

Browsing through my recent posts I realize that the vast majority are cookbook recipes, as though I don't cook anything of mine - at least, nothing worth sharing with you. And that's not true, it just happens that when I make something off the cuff I don't pay much attention to what I am doing and so when requests come from my husband or friends to remake a certain dish I attempt to retrace my steps and, more often than not, am left with a blank. I am sure I am not the only one! But for the past couple weeks I have been watching MasterChef America and MasterChef Australia (which, by the way, I think is much better than the American version) and decided that, damn, I need to cook my own recipes more often and earn my keep.

And then the Sultan Center had fresh Saudi tuna on display so I decided I would also tackle my fear of cooking fish. Never a recipe for disaster, right? I am not uncomfortable with all seafood: I love shellfish and find preparing them fairly easy, except for maybe scallops and lobster. Fish, on the other hand, just seems tricky and temperamental. Maybe it will come out dry, maybe raw, maybe with hidden little bones - and what's this poaching in oil thing I've heard about? Fascinating.