New favoritest dinner

Five years ago, if you asked me what my favorite vegetable was, I would answer broccoli without hesitation. I started eating it dipped in A1 steak sauce around the age of 6. Since then, I progressed to steaming, covering in cheese, throwing in a stir fry and eventually... roasting. The perfect method for cooking broccoli.

That's why when I saw this recipe, even though I'm not usually super excited about shrimp recipes, I thought this one would be worth a shot.

Ooh, so happy I did.

Only 20 minutes of cook time with almost no prep and only one dirty pan unless you make a little curry rice on the side like we did.

Still so worth it and this has jumped to the top of my list of favorite weeknight dinners. Make it now, thank me later.


Melissa Clark's Roasted Broccoli With Shrimp

2 pounds broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
4 tablespoons ( 1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds (or 1/2 tsp ground, though the seeds add great texture)
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds (or 1/2 tsp ground)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (I'd cut this to 1 tsp next time)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot chili powder
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined (we used Jumbo since that's what Trader Joe's had, and it worked just fine)
1 1/4 teaspoons lemon zest (from 1 large lemon)
Lemon wedges, for serving.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss broccoli with 2 tablespoons oil, coriander, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and chili powder. In a separate bowl, combine shrimp, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, lemon zest, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

2. Spread broccoli in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 10 minutes. Add shrimp to baking sheet and toss with broccoli. Roast, tossing once halfway through, until shrimp are just opaque and broccoli is tender and golden around edges, about 7-10 minutes more. Serve with lemon wedges, or squeeze lemon juice all over shrimp and broccoli just before serving.

Yield: 4 servings. But really 2 because I couldn't stop picking at the broccoli and Andy couldn't lay off the shrimp.

I Object

Below are photos I sent in with my signed letter of complaint to contest the parking ticket I received for "Parking/Blocking a Crosswalk".


I rest my case.

Mistaken Identity

What I Thought Happened

Scuzzy, bundled up homeless man shuffling down the street toward me and Milo on our afternoon walk: (slurring) You go' some money?

Me: (uncomfortably) Uh, no.

Scuzzy Homeless Guy: (stopping to bug me more) No?

Me: (brusquely, eyes rolling as I hurry us past) No.



What Actually Happened

Perfectly normal guy from my neighborhood, bundled up because it's Chicago in March and therefore below freezing, walking down the street toward me and Milo on our afternoon walk: (cheerily looking down at Milo, though mumbling a bit because of his scarf) Is that a Lhasa Apso?

Me: (uncomfortably) Uh, no.

Normal Guy: (confused and stopping to have a neighborly chat) No?

Me: (unreasonably and rudely brushing past) No.


Number of seconds before I realize why he looks so confused, turn and scream after him, "Shih-tzu! He's a SHIH-TZU!"?

Approximately 15.

Damn doppelganger dog.

Long overdue

Ladies and Gents, Andy's Guitar Recital a mere three weeks after the actual event.

He's even got a solo!

Frankie says it, Milo does it

In every life we have some trouble,
When you worry you make it double.

Don't worry, be happy.

Yes, I will now be whistling that little ditty for the rest of the afternoon along with you all.

Humpy Birthday

Saturday was Milo's 2nd birthday, and I'm proud to announce that Andy and I did NOT totally forget about it this year.

In fact, we even took him to check out a doggie daycare where he spent approximately 75% of his time being humped by a 7lb dog that looked like this:


I'd call any day you're made a bitch by someone half your size a good day.

Happy Birthday Buddy!

(Don't worry, we also gave him 3 walks, organic doggie ice cream and fed him treats 'til he puked.)

Laughs

When Andy and I first moved in together, I knew it wasn't going to work.

One of us was a snorer (and I won't say who), while the other was an apparently very light sleeper. We tried adding white noise to keep on in the background, but didn't want to waste electricity by keeping a fan pointed at the wall during winter. Earplugs, no matter what the make, were far too uncomfortable for nightly use and made hearing the alarm a little difficult.

One day, magically, the problem stopped. Not the snoring, but the snoring as an issue. I'm not sure if the snoring got softer, the light sleeper more resilient or what, but somehow we were both sleeping peacefully through the night.

Then came Milo.

Our first night with a pet, we tried to keep Milo in his "home" (read: "cage" because apparently dogs have learned the English language with all its subtle nuances and might be able to associate the word cage with being confined for punishment?) in the dining room. After an hour of barking and whining, we moved Milo and his home to the living room at the opposite end of the apartment, hoping sheer distance might muffle the noise.

When the barking wouldn't stop, I was wondering what the breeder's return policy was.

"What have we DONE?" I whined to Andy. We were so obviously inept at being pet owners. After one night of troubled sleep, I was convinced it wasn't meant to be.

Luckily, morning brought with it a fresh dose of sanity and I figured since we'd mastered the snoring issue, we might be able to conquer this. One step at a time, our routine evolved and we figured out how to stop the barking by moving the cage inside the bedroom. Small victories lead to bigger victories and before we knew it, Milo was an irreplaceable part of our lives.

After a bath or on special occasions (like when we actually remember his birthday), we'll even let him sleep on the bed with us.

He'll still wake us up with a couple muffled barks and twitching paws when he's having dreams of chasing down a squirrel (or maybe chasing down me and Andy, who can be sure?), but these episodes are so rare that Andy and I still find them unbelievably cute and hilarious.

That's why when I saw the following video clip on Dooce today, I knew I'd be sharing it. Milo's not quite as energetic as Bizkit, but he has rolled himself off the bed before.