Cooking and Dog Stuff

It's no secret that I'm not the best chef. What's really frustrating about it is the fact that I almost always follow a recipe, and things still don't come out great. Sometimes I try to make things without recipes, but that almost always turns out disasterous. But I'm proud of the dinner I made myself tonight. Alex isn't home, so I decided to cook some shrimp. Easy as pie, and totally yummy. Behold:

1/4 lb. linguini

1/2 lb. shrimp

S & P to taste

flour (I used Wegman's Pan Searing Flour- it's just flour with sea salt and white pepper)

oil (I used Wegman's Basting Oil-- it has garlic, thyme, and parsley in it)

1 chopped shallot

minced garlic

a little butter

a little cream

Salt and pepper the shrimp. Toss in flour. Heat oil in pan. Sear shrimp on both sides; remove from pan. Add shallot and garlic, and cook until soft. Add butter and cream. Bring to a simmer for a few minutes. Pour over shrimp and linguini, and mix it all up. Sprinkle with grated parm.

The whole thing probably would have been totally bland if not for the preseasoned oil and flour, but I'll take the help where I can get it. Just knowing what spices to add to what dishes seems to be most of my problem.

Who knows? Maybe this shitty job situation will make me a really good cook! MAYBE I will decide to ditch teaching all together and go to culinary school! Or MAYBE I will still eat more ramen noodles or boxed macaroni and cheese than anything else.

*****

Coconut seems to have developed an obsession with the computer cursor. As I sit here writing this, here is what she is doing:

If I shift my body, she walks around me to the other side. If I sit so the computer screen is facing away from her, she peeks her head around the side. She is relentless, and it drives me crazy! I can't even get away from it if I sit with the computer at the desk, because she jumps up the side of my leg.

At least she doesn't beg for food...