(no subject)
Jul. 9th, 2005 05:56 pmIn the Weather News of Limited Interest category, it is hot here. Very, very hot. And shall continue to be, for the next few days at least. I'm running my piece-o'-crap portable air conditioner, which has, at the cost of massive electrical consumption, managed to bring the indoor air temperature down to maybe six degree below the outdoor air temperature. But really, I'll take every degree I can get.
I had as a houseguest last night the wholly delightful
arallara, who's at about the halfway point on her Great Cross-Country Trip. It was most excellent to just have some relaxed, unpressured time with her to sit around, gab, drink wine, cook stuff, and gab some more; Aral's one of those people who's utterly comfortable to be with, and with whom I never have to stress about oh, god, do I have enough conversational gambits scripted out to keep things going?. She headed out early this afternoon, and I am left envying her her wonderful road trip, and hoping that the fates conspire so that we end up living closer to each other someday.
And Mr. P. is coming over tonight, so in recognition of the incredible state of Suffocating Heat, I've fixed:
Seafood Gazpacho
Like all gazpachos, this is simple, nourishing, and designed to gently stir the appetite when it's really too hot to feel like eating actual *food.*
Procedure:
Get about 1/2 - 3/4 pounds of shrimp, and simmer them just a few minutes, until they're cooked through. Put in refrigerator to cool down.
Chop up finely, and put in a big bowl:
Half an onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
a yellow pepper
a nice large ripe tomato
a smallish cucumber (peeled, seeded)
a small handful of cilantro, if you like cilantro
Add 3 cups of tomato juice, juice of one lemon, a couple of tablespoons of green fruity olive oil, maybe a 4 oz can of green chilies if that sounds good, and freshly ground black pepper. If you like a smoother gazpacho, you can run some or all of this through the blender. Shell the shrimp if necessary, cut them in half if they're large, add them to the bowl. Stick the whole thing in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
I will serve this with a crusty loaf of French bread, some Gaeta olives, salad, and ice-cold martinis, to be consumed with all fans running and sweat gently trickling. Afterwards there shall be re-positioning of fans, collapse on the sofa, and viewing of old Honeymooners episodes on DVD. Tomorrow will feature the Quest For Air-Conditioned Hang-Out Space -- maybe I'll drag my laptop to the library and actually try to do some (*gasp*) writing, since talking with Aral got my dormant fannish engines running again.
I had as a houseguest last night the wholly delightful
And Mr. P. is coming over tonight, so in recognition of the incredible state of Suffocating Heat, I've fixed:
Seafood Gazpacho
Like all gazpachos, this is simple, nourishing, and designed to gently stir the appetite when it's really too hot to feel like eating actual *food.*
Procedure:
Get about 1/2 - 3/4 pounds of shrimp, and simmer them just a few minutes, until they're cooked through. Put in refrigerator to cool down.
Chop up finely, and put in a big bowl:
Half an onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
a yellow pepper
a nice large ripe tomato
a smallish cucumber (peeled, seeded)
a small handful of cilantro, if you like cilantro
Add 3 cups of tomato juice, juice of one lemon, a couple of tablespoons of green fruity olive oil, maybe a 4 oz can of green chilies if that sounds good, and freshly ground black pepper. If you like a smoother gazpacho, you can run some or all of this through the blender. Shell the shrimp if necessary, cut them in half if they're large, add them to the bowl. Stick the whole thing in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
I will serve this with a crusty loaf of French bread, some Gaeta olives, salad, and ice-cold martinis, to be consumed with all fans running and sweat gently trickling. Afterwards there shall be re-positioning of fans, collapse on the sofa, and viewing of old Honeymooners episodes on DVD. Tomorrow will feature the Quest For Air-Conditioned Hang-Out Space -- maybe I'll drag my laptop to the library and actually try to do some (*gasp*) writing, since talking with Aral got my dormant fannish engines running again.