That's a take on "If you build it, they will come." See the gorgeous food in this picture? It was in the frig and took less than 5 minutes to prepare and cook. Really.
The shrimp, cleaned and de-veined were in the freezer in a zip lock baggie saved for a fish soup I never made. The asparagus looked good at the Monday market, the outdoor gathering of vendors in a square near me where I do my grocery shopping. The green onion "bottoms" were left from the crab cake recipe when I used the green tops (as chives).
To defrost the shrimp I rested the closed plastic bag in a bowl with hot water, turning it and squishing it from time to time till they were soft and separated.
ASPARAGUS
1. Wash the asparagus and green onions well.
2. Cut the ends off the asparagus, about 1.5 inches will do. Chop them into 2 inch pieces except the heads. I leave them intact, 3 to 4 inches. They look nice and cook faster than the stems.
3. Peel off the outer layer of the onion if it's dirty or raggedy looking. Trim off the roots and ends of the green parts. Chop them into half inch pieces. Use the whole bunch. They are sweet and have a texture that goes well with asparagus.
4. Heat some oil and start with the onions, then add the asparagus. Turn and stir from time to time until they are browning and smell good, but the asparagus aren't mushy. You want them with good green color and some snap. Add a little salt.
SHRIMP
1. Rinse them if they were frozen clean. If not, wash them well, shell, de-vein, what ever they need to be their best.
2. Push the asparagus over in the pan, add a little more oil, saute the shrimp for the shortest time, about two minutes. Turn them over after a minute. Turning them individually is better than stirring because they need to cook evenly. When they are opaque, a little pink, and getting firm to the touch of a fork, they are done. Because I hate them over cooked and tough, I tend to under cook them and say to my guests "Are you sure yours are cooked? I can put them back in the pan." as I watch them bravely endure slightly raw shrimp. So try to find the exact moment between raw and tough. If you can do it, take pride in your skill because it's not easy.
3. Sprinkle garlic powder on the shrimp and stir them a bit and serve. For aesthetic reasons I made an effort to keep the shrimp and asparagus separate as I scooped them out of the pan.
I cooked today with oil sent to me from Valencia, Spain, by the Tigernuts Traders company. They harvest and process a tuber, long known in the Mediterranean area and used traditionally for making horchata, a delicious drink which I may have spelled wrong. All their products are gluten free. They sent me oil and flour. The oil has a smell reminiscent of mild olive oil, with a little tang. It cooks beautifully and tastes good. I haven't tried the flour yet, but plan to make short bread. You can check them out on line, email info@tigernuts.com. They were very kind to send me samples, and I'm giving them a good review for the oil. I'll let you know about the flour later.
Last night I was listening to a CD of a record I had in San Francisco in 1962. It made me cry because I'm sentimental and still in a gluten flare. I remembered how sad I was then, and how much it was like how I felt last night. I realized that I was always sad then because I was always full of gluten. I'm not always sad now, mostly I'm quite happy.
This is what I know. It may not be highly recognized in the medical community, but if you're gluten intolerant, and you eat gluten, emotional and psychological disturbances are common. This is for children as well as adults. If you're one of the people who shouldn't have gluten, and you fool around with it thinking "no big deal," I am here to remind you that it does matter. For children and for grown ups, there are costs. Some are hidden, some come disguised as other kinds of trouble. But, I bet you'll find if you're careful, (more careful than I was this week), you'll find all the pieces of your puzzle will fit together better. You will have less angst, less pain and misery, less insomnia, or exhaustion, less fighting with other human beings, and less anger at perceived injustices. Give it a try. What have you got to lose? a little bread?
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