Greek-Style Garlic Shrimp and Orzo (not my recipe)

Every now and then I'll post a recipe here and there, so I don't have to talk about myself or some world issue that's happening. This recipe I got from Rachel Ray's 365 day recipes. I know that people don't consider her Julia Child, nor am I Julie from the movie Julie & Julia (obsessive much?), but I love this recipe. Who knows? One day I might write about trying every recipe in the book.

(photo courtesy of Jennifer A. Limbaugh, aka the wife)

1 small red onion

2/3 lb. orzo (little over half the box)

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes*

1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

2 Tbsp. chopped oregano leaves

drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

1 lb. small shrimp

juice of 1/4 lemon

1/4 cup evoo (4 times around the pan)

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup white vermouth or 1/3 cup dry white wine

2 small handfuls of chopped parsley

course black pepper

Heat a large pot of water for the orzo. When the water boils, salt it and cook until al dente.

On the side, season the shrimp with the lemon juice and a little salt (recipe originally calls for an additional 2 Tbsp. lemon zest, I don't do this though)

Heat the 1/4 cup of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), then add the onions, red pepper flakes, and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the shrimp and cook for a minute more. Add the cherry tomatoes, parsley, olives, and oregano, and season w/ salt and pepper. Cook until the shrimp are pink and firm, then turn off the heat.

Drain the cooked orzo and drizzle with a touch of EVOO to keep it from sticking. Serve the orzo topped w/ feta crumbles and the shrimp mixture. (makes 4 servings)

Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats, A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, New York. 2005)

*Just a note-I like to put less red pepper flakes in mine, so about 1/2 a Tbsp. for a still spicy but less overkill version. Also, the recipe calls for fresh parsley and oregano leaves, but if you're like me you don't want to spend more on stuff you won't need later. Consult your spice rack, it's still great. And by 'handfuls' of parsley, she means in the palm.

I realize that not everyone likes olives or feta cheese. I didn't either, until I had them in this (and feta taste great with pepperoni pizza as well). Broaden your horizons and don't discount them if you want to make this.

Been a Long Time, Been a Long Time, been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time.

I never intended to be absent from this blog for so long, but time has a way of speeding up over the summer. It's not that I have a readership to account for (I don't, I really do this for more for self-reflection), but I would like to remain consistent at things, writing being one of them. There comes a time that when you don't challenge your mind in the areas of art, writing, argument, reading, et al. that you begin to lose yourself. Not to mention you aren't getting any smarter. I know it sounds slightly pretentious, or a better word for it, elitist, but I've found the further I get away from schooling and into a job that I did not spend four years spending money to train for, the less intellectually stimulated and more complacent I get. I like the flavor vanilla, but not when it's applied to my life...

Our lives were created to have meaning and purpose. This is not something we just thought up for the heck of it, but rather to keep us going. It is something outside ourselves that happens when we eventually realize we never had the power to conceive of the thought in the first place. This can mostly be applied spiritually in an absolute sense, but also in the sense that our giftings spill over into our personal lives. I like the thought of it, but I do not always 'get' it. The publishing job that I will get in some obscure "tomorrow" is not the goal like I think it is, but rather a chance to exercise a talent given to me by God. Hefty and bold language for sure, as I could wake up tomorrow and decide "Oh, He didn't have that for me after all," but I always say your thoughts come from somewhere. I could be a terrible publicity assistant after all, but I would never know it if not for trying. This economy has made me think a lot. I'm sure many, like me, have attributed their value to what career goals they're not progressing towards. Career coaches would say "you can't be too hard on yourself, it's a different time," but they are missing the key issue.

No matter the time or situation, our worth is not in our paycheck, or in what we do for a living. Once this recession fully recovers, I wonder if we'll remember that.