The title for this entry just came to me tonight mid preparation as I will explain below. I am not one to make lite of the Titanic disaster as anyone who has stood next to me at one of those carnival 'Titanic" slides knows. I find it disturbing that children now slide down the upended 'deck' into the 'water' having fun....something that clearly was not for the souls who did it for real all those years ago. To me, it would be like a 'jump out a window' bouncy chamber, fifty years from now in fun of a more recent national disaster. Any way, back to the food and off of my soapbox.
Stopping at the market after work on a rare evening off, I picked up some things for the week, but had no ideas for dinner. As I was putting stuff away, I knocked over a peanut butter jar and it came to me. Thai shrimp in a coconut peanut sauce over rice. Seemed doable, but I never have made it before on the fly.... by scratch.
I started some Basmati rice first and cut up a half each of a red and yellow pepper as well as some green beans and tanned the shrimp in some olive oil and a little garlic for a bit. Setting them aside, in some coconut oil I melted the peanut butter until it was liquid and spotted an orange on the fridge. I thought "that would go well in there"and squeezed a couple of slices in. It was amazing, the fragrance it gave off and it developed into a a wonderful foamy texture. In the very second I though I was a genius, the foam collapsed into a burned on foul smelling tar that I immediately had to take outside and put on my balcony to save my burning eyes. Something was wrong. Another pan, oil, pb, orange slices, poof...perfection and immediate failure. The pans, dishes and spoons were all piling up ahead of me and I thought like I was preparing the last meal on the Titanic. It was a total shipwreck. Tempting a third strike, I made some serious adjustments to the temperature/time and was home. I added the shrimp back in, put it on the now Cumin dusted rice with the veggies and was done. Not as spicy as I had envisioned, but better than I thought.
With the accomplishment and failures behind me, I sat down to eat by myself at this computer to write this post. The view from my my desk down towards the creek at sunset saved my spirit from falling as I contemplated the wisdom of placing a sign along the road, 'Will make you dinner for your company', but I realized in in truth, once they saw the two burned pans outside the door, they probably wouldn't knock. The offer still stands though... will cook for company.
The Shrimp 
Beauty before the Beast
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