One of my favorite things to cook (I’m starting to cook more as a house husband) is scallops and shrimp. I found a recipe online that uses garlic slivers, olive oil, paprika, parsley, chicken broth and pepper flakes, along with a half pound each of the shrimp and scallops. It’s a simple recipe, that involves slivering garlic cloves, cooking them in oil, then taking them out, adding pepper flakes and paprika, then dropping the seafood in the peppery garlic oil. Once cooked for a couple of minutes (or less) the seafood is removed. You add the broth and get it warm, then you add the parsley and drop the seafood in a bowl and smothering it with the sauce. It’s DAMN good. We buy the seafood at Costco, due to cost and convenience. I get the tiger prawns instead of shrimp. Ever since I was a kid, shrimp was a luxury reserved for the holidays, and I associate cooking it with Christmas. Plus, Heather freaks out when she eats this, and I like it when Heather freaks out. Leta isn’t that into seafood, yet.
So we kicked off the holiday season with this dish, Heather adding some rice noodles to the mix. Damn fine. I put a little too much paprika in this time and the pan was a little hot, but the blackened shrimp made us both levitate slightly with joy. Ain’t nothing wrong with happy culinary mistakes.
Leta loved all her presents, especially all the learning toys. She’s very into letters and numbers, recognizing 98% of them 98% of the time. It’s really crazy to point to a letter and hear her little voice speak it. The number “2” has about six syllables the way she says it. She’s also into stacking her new wooden blocks and destroying the stack with sound effects. Her Lego building blocks will probably see more use from her parents, but she seems to love them just the same as the wooden ones. Such is the benefit of multiple grandparents.
Heather loved her socks. Actually, I decided not to get her socks, but to get her something involving socks. I also got her a flash for the D70, which you’ve already seen if you have read about the Fecal Family Players. The flash is the Nikon SB-800 AF Speedlight, which caused Heather to crap her pants, solving decades of bowel problems. Thanks to all of the readers who enabled me to not only afford such a gift, but also the justification. It’s to improve the photos for the sites, after all.
I’m loathe to mention what Heather got me and not just because it caused me to crap my pants also, solving nothing but that empty feeling one has when one is wearing crap-free pants. Sitting up in Duchesne watching the SNL short, “Lazy Sunday” (Google video link, iTunes link [free download while it lasts!]) was sweet. I only link to it because Heather and I have been asking each other ad nauseam “The Chronic, what?” I’m hoping that no one has heard this publicly. If so, our legal teams will be getting in touch.
Again, thanks to all the readers of blurbodoocery sites for enabling such a wonderful christmas haul. Your readership has helped me stay at home and for this, I’m beyond thankful. It’s amazing to be more involved in Leta’s life. I hope your holiday season has been full of good things and warmth and joy.
