Regina Noctis

http://www.gaijin.com/abyss/index.html

I didn’t have enough time to get all the way through in one sitting. Have to go get dinner cooked, after all. Another new thing I haven’t tried before. But definitely worth going back for!

I’d want Psycho Cousin gone from here just because of the constant shouts of “HOOOOOOOOooooooooooome!” I could deal with it at first, but now it’s seriously starting to get on my nerves.

I suppose that I should be grateful that it’s all I’ve had to put up with from him so far, rather than gripe.

But dammit, I want to lock a ball gag on him so he can’t get the thing off, just so he’ll be quiet!

I tried something new for dinner last night, and I’m wondering now why I looked at that recipe for three years before I got around to cooking it.

1 pound raw large shrimp in their shells
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
the leaves from a bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
salt to taste
the juice from half a lemon

lemon wedges to serve

Remove the shells, legs, head, and tails from the shrimp. Cut along the back with the point of a sharp knife and remove the dark thread.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the garlic, and cook until it becomes aromatic, about 30 seconds. Stir in the cumin, ginger, paprika, and cayenne pepper, heat for about 30 seconds, then add the shrimp. Salt to taste. Fry quickly, stirring, until the shrimp turns pink. Stir in the cilantro and lemon juice, heat for about 30 seconds, then serve the shrimp with the cooking juices spooned over and accompanied by lemon wedges. Serves 4.

Bear in mind that all measurements are approximate, since I tend to cook this on the “do it until it looks right” method.

1 pound spaghetti noodles
1 package hot Italian sausage (about five links) cut into bite-size pieces
1 package proscuitto or ham, shredded by hand into strips
1 bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
4 eggs, thoroughly beaten
1 stick butter, melted
1 large tub grated fresh Parmesan cheese

In a skillet, fry the sausage until cooked through.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a full boil, cook the spaghetti until al dente, drain, and return the spaghetti to the pot.

Add the butter to the noodles and toss. Add the egg and toss. Using a slotted spoon to avoid most of the sausage fat, add the cooked sausage. Add the ham and parsley. Toss. Add the parmesan and toss. Serve immediately.

Notes: For those with more delicate stomachs who can’t take the heat of hot Italian sausage, I will use sweet Italian sausage and add 1 clove of crushed garlic while it’s frying to make up the flavor difference.

The true secret to this dish is adding the egg at the correct time. The pot and the spaghetti need to be hot enough still to semi-cook the egg, but not so hot that it turns the eggs into scrambled eggs. If the pot and the noodles aren’t hot enough, the egg will not combine properly with the butter and Parmesan to create the creamy sauce. Practice is the only thing that gets that timing down. People are usually quite willing to eat the practice batches while you’re perfecting your timing, however, so don’t let the fact that you still need to get the timing down stop you from practicing.

Apparently, not all that much when it comes to LJ.

I decided to check the pizza meme against everyone from my friends list that has entered their preferences.

And I need internet connectivity on said computer.

In the time I’ve been here, there have been a number of things that I’ve wanted to rant about. Typically extrovert of me… I have a need to work my feelings out “out loud,” even if that’s only written into this journal.

But I’m not going to have any kind of serious opportunity to do so until everything is squared away and I have some kind of connectivity for my computer. I’d hog this computers, my mom’s, for far too long if I tried to do it all here and now.

Besides, I’m not comfortable writing where she might come in and look over my shoulder at any time. Some of the ranting includes her.

Even calling someone isn’t really an option. There is nowhere I can go to talk privately. This is a part of why I’m currently debating whether or not to give up and get a cell phone. I’ve always said that I would never have one of the damn things, unless I had a job that required me to have one. But the ability to go elsewhere to talk without the rest of the family listening in is looking very attractive. However, that time isn’t now, either, any more than the internet connectivity for my computer is.

I’ll just have to push it aside and keep on going until ranting is a possibility again. I just wish that I was better at doing so.

The dumbest part of this is that he and I have had a similar conversation before, back when we were both in high school. Apparently, he didn’t remember that I shot him down on this subject before.

“Hey Fruity!” (He never calls anyone by their names anymore. It’s all “Fruity” or “Pimp” or “Ho.”)

I ignored him.

“Hey Fruity! What’s wrong, you not talking to me?”

I ignored him.

He tapped me on the shoulder. “Hey, you mad at me and not talking to me?”

“I’m irritated at you. And I won’t be answering you unless you use my name. Get used to it.”

“Hey, you one of those girls that thinks women’re equal to men?”

“Yeah, pretty much. Equal but different.”

“You’re wrong, eh.”

“I would expect a subhuman moron to think so.”

“Women can’t do everything that a man can do. But men can do anything a woman can do.”

“Anything?”

“Yeah.”

“Men can do absolutely anything women can do?”

“Yeah. Like I can do anything you can do, but you can’t do everything I can do.”

“Okay, prove it.”

“What?”

“Ovulate. Menstruate. Get knocked up by some guy. Go through menopause. Develop cysts on your ovaries. Any of them. You’ve got your choice.”

“Hey, that’s not what I meant!”

“You said anything. Those are all things I’ve done or will do sometime. Or could do. Get on it.”

He went away.

Morpheus

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