Random thoughts…

My daughter is always telling me that I am so random. Apparently, I will just start talking about someone, something without a preamble. Hey, I loved Mad Libs as a kid and I just wanted  to continue filling in the blanks. It is also a good test to see if others are REALLY listening to you.

Random…there is a petulant 20 something in our building in Los Angeles whose dog barks all day, every day and she is put off if anyone complains. Of course, she is not around to tend to the barking dog. It is a rescue and I always worry that the dog is going to be further traumatized by being locked up all day. She closes all the windows (not a fab idea) to purportedly contain the noise, but like gas, it escapes.

Yesterday, she randomly freaked out at me, going on an obscenity riddled rant because I politely asked her not to let her dog poop and pee in our landscaped courtyard…I didn’t even know it was the same person.

Anyway, getting my Gabourey Sidibe on, I pushed back after she called me the C word. Random question…do you just walk away and absorb the attack or do you push back?

Random sports obsessions…take me out to the ball game. April was encouraging, but first place is fleeting and so go my Yankees. Losses are mounting, although Wednesday’s game against the LA Angels was encouraging. Pitching, which was once upon a time our strong suit, has become a foul ball, except for the gazillion dollar savior, Masahiro Tanaka. I need to relax and stop suffering through every game…it’s a long season, comprised of 162 games.

The environment. The weather is cray cray…how do we get the powers that be to start listening and become pro-active before the weather becomes even more extreme and unpredictable and Mother Earth implodes?

During the next 2 months, I will be taking multiple plane trips…how do I stop envisioning a repeat of Malaysian Flight 370 or at the very least, extreme turbulence? Relax, deep breathing and keep my husband awake during the flights to soothe my furrowed brow.

How do I deal with saying goodbye to my unbelievably amazing doggies for an extended period of time? My daughter will assume the role of the parental units and we, hopefully, have hired a superb dog walker, but just like I am not in control on a airplane, I am not in Los Angeles to constantly monitor them and make sure my amazing Berkeley continues to thrive and that Madison…how can I survive without seeing that happy, effervescent dollface?

Damn, I guess the bottom line is I am a complete control freak.

I can stop writing because the answer to all my random issues and questions is me…have a great weekend.

Control In The Kitchen

Last night I went to a late spin class and came home to Hungry Man. I had purchased wild jumbo blue shrimp at Trader’s Joe’s and had an epiphany in the morning, thus intelligent enough to defrost the sea critters.

Here is an easy recipe for a delish wild shrimp, corn and cauliflower bowl.

• 1 dozen wild jumbo shrimp
• 4 cups cauliflower
• 2 ears white corn
• 1 cup jasmine rice
• fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons capers
• fresh ground pepper
• EVOO
• 1 fresh lemon, rinse
• Defrost shrimp and pat dry thoroughly. Place in hot cast iron skillet (I preheat skillet in oven for 10-15 minutes at 500 degrees). Cover bottom of pan with EVOO and fresh ground pepper. Sear 4 minutes on each side. Toss in diced fresh ginger.
•  Trader Joe’s has fabulous frozen packages of jasmine or brown rice. Cook in microwave for 2:45 (box says 3 minutes, but I think that is overdoing it).
• Cut up cauliflower into slices. Place in pan with preheated EVOO and capers which have been crisped up. Cooking time is about 15 minutes.
• Take 2 ears of corn and fill a pyrex pan 1/2 way with water and add a sprinkling of sugar. Microwave for 2 minutes so corn is al dente. Remove corn from cob.
• Layer rice, cauliflower and corn. Place 3-4 shrimp on top. Squeeze fresh lemon juice and grate lemon zest over top of mixture.
• I have been eliminating carbs. The cauliflower makes a great base instead of rice. Enjoy…