Honeyed Words: Burning the Midnight Oil

Burning the Midnight Oil · 15 May 2007

One branch of the philosophy of this blog is that everyone should take time to enjoy life. In Honeyed Words, I’ve chosen to focus on my enjoyment of life via reading, eating, and sharing the experience.

It’s particularly ironic then, when I say (yet again) that I haven’t had time to cook since I last posted. I think it’s good to reexamine your life goals every so often, especially when you find yourself shorting one goal for another (as I’m doing now) so I’m going to use this post to meditate on mine.

First of all, I’m currently going to school to get a certificate in Web Development while simultaneously completing my pre-requisites to transfer to a university next fall (It turns out my previous undergrad work in Economics doesn’t translate so well to Computer Sciences). If I like the pre-requisites, I’ll be transferring, if not, I won’t.

I think I’m finally over “needing” a degree. Some families have the first child to go to college. In my extended family, I’m the first child in this generation not to finish in a timely manner. Sometimes it rankles, but I was the stubborn one who thought I knew best and made some choices that didn’t mesh with getting through school quickly.

But, I’ve taken more classes than the average college graduate, and I know I’m not a dunderhead. My life goal isn’t to be a CEO or to hold a similar position that would require a gold-leafed Ivy League diploma. In fact, my life goal (becoming a self-supporting published author) doesn’t require a degree at all. I think I’ve forgiven my adult self for not living up to my childhood expectations.

So why am I pursuing a degree? The average author works ten years before they can support themselves by writing. During those ten years, I’ve got to make a living doing something else, preferably something that doesn’t make me die of boredom or tear my hair out in frustration.

As a science fiction lover, I’ve always been interested in the idea of technology, but for some reason I never considered making a living out of it. Now that literally every industry relies on computer technology in some form, it seems negligent not to be at least a bit informed and involved. Being paid to be informed and involved in something you’d participate in anyway is the ultimate in lifestyle multitasking and fits into my philosophy of making the best use of your time.

So, there’s my reasoning on why I’m in school, and why finals week is keeping me from putting out the kind of interdisciplinary features that I’d like to.

As a stopgap, I’ve posted reviews of Cast in Courtlight and A Game of Thrones for the Once Upon a Time Challenge. I’d recommend both books, so go check out the reviews and see if they’d interest you :) Next post, I’ll have a review on a great merger of books and technology, PaperBackSwap.com, and also discuss a few other bookish sites that I’ve been investigating.

Until then, here is a completely random recipe that I made last Friday night. I had high hopes for it, but it didn’t end up quite how I was expecting. I think that if I had added the shrimp, it would have been better, but as it, is ended up tasting so much like runny guacamole (not that anyone was complaining about being served guacamole) that I was asked “Where are the chips?”

Perhaps I should embrace the soup as emblematic of my philosophy. Even though this week isn’t going exactly according to my life plan, and even though I hadn’t intended on making guacamole, there’s a value in the deviations from the plans. In the first case, this week has provided the opportunity to affirm my faith in my life choices, in the second, it taught me yet a little more about analyzing recipes from an ingredient list.

And, with so many other things, neither circumstance is completely unsalvageable. I’ve got a lovely month of catch-up reading planned once finals week is over and I’ll have adequate time to savor all the books I plan to devour. I think that with the addition of a bit of shrimp and half & half, this soup would be salvageable too.

Picture of a Bowl of Avocado Soup

Chilled Avocado Soup:

Advanced warning. This recipe requires 3 hours of chilling.

I’m posting the recipe as I made it, adapted from the April 2001 issue of Bon Appétite pg. 106. I’m also including recommended changes that I believe will make this taste more like soup and less like guacamole.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeño chili, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth (if using low-sodium version, adding salt is recommended )
5 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (not recommended ) plus 1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cups water (1 cup water and 1 cup half & half recommended )
1 tsp grated lemon peel
8 oz cooked shrimp (not used, but recommended )
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, diced
3 Tbsp chopped fresh chives

Method:

Heat oil in medium skillet on medium-low setting.

Add onion and jalapeño chili to skillet, sauté until tender, about 15 minutes. Be careful not to let onion caramelize as it will affect the taste. Season vegetables with salt if desired. Remove from heat and then set aside in small bowl until cool.

Place avocado pieces in blender with vegetable broth, water, and 5 Tbsp lemon juice (if using). Process in the blender until smooth and frofthy. Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired. Place in refrigerator to cool, approximately three hours.

Meanwhile, mix shrimp, cucumber, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, and chives in a small bowl. Again, season with salt and pepper if desired (I’d recommend the seasoning here). Place this separate bowl in the refrigerator to cool with the soup.

Immediately before serving, stir the half & half into the soup. Serve the soup in individual bowls, and top with shrimp mixture.

Avocado, Chilled Dishes, Chives, Cucumber, Goals, Shrimp, Soup, Starter, Vegetable Side Dish