Quantum Shrimp

I want to rearrange your quantum states (see Penrose).

Okay, okay, you've read this much of my post so I've already done that at least a little bit, but I want to do it again by stimulating some of your most sensitive nerve endings - the ones in your mouth.

It all started with dinner last night.  I was sitting at table with a gaggle of budding friends, basking in the afterglow of a truly wonderful gastronomic experience, when a thought came to mind.  "Why do we do this, this communal eating?  Why is it that eating in various groupings is a theme central to virtually every human culture, past and present?  Not all, but many of us feel distinctly uncomfortable eating 'alone' especially when others are nearby with whom we are not sharing our meal.  Why?"  I think the answer lies in the shared experience and the building of community.  Even those of us who consider ourselves to be solitary by nature still form pairings or groupings for things religious, political, sexual, spiritual, academic, etc. all in the name of forming and sustaining the intertwined relationships of community.  The act of eating is no different.  We take sustenance directly from what we have eaten, but we also take sustenance from how we have eaten.  The saying "You are what you eat" might well be amended with "You are how you eat."

And then another thought came to mind.  I belong to several virtual communities, Zaadz among them.  Some of you I have met in person and been privileged to share food with, others I may meet in future and do likewise, but for the most part you and I will carry on a distinctly modern relationship - a virtual one.  We will never sit down together and share a meal and a good bottle of wine.  We will never bond, we will never cement our interest in each other, with food.

But maybe we can do something about that, something on a middle ground.  I say 'we' because I'll simply pass on some information.  It's up to you to act on it.  We may not sit down some day at a real table together, but I invite you to share a meal with me over a virtual one.

I like to cook and sometimes, especially with seafood, do a decent job of it.  If you were to visit me, or I you, I would likely prepare one of several 'introductory' dishes I have in my culinary arsenal.  The one I use most often, and the one even I have trouble messing up, is my recipe for Acadian Peppered Shrimp.  I've had this recipe for many years and have forgotten where it originally came from - part of it may even be of my own doing, but I can't be sure.  What I am sure of though is that in the hundred or so times I've prepared it it has always come out some degree of right.  Positive shrimp karma I guess.

If you wish it, I want to extend the virtual relationship I have with each of you in the Zaadz community.  I am honored that you read my words, that through the sense of sight I have in fact rearranged your quantum states, but I want to extend this through the sense of taste, your sense of taste.

Cook this dish sometime if you please, share a meal with me at the table of Zaadz, and let me know if you enjoyed yourself.

By the way, for those of you who maintain strict vegan or vegetarian diets, the shrimp can be substituted for with tofu, various textured protein products, or vegetables such as potatoes or eggplant.  Lastly, yup, I know, cholesterol and calories are both off the chart on this one, so in moderation, in moderation........

Here's what to get and do:

ACADIAN PEPPERED SHRIMP    (Serves 8)

- 3 cups butter (6 sticks)
- 1/2 cup freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 5 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 4 bay leaves, crumbled
- 4 tsp fresh rosemary, minced (or)
- 1 1/4 tsp dried, crumbled rosemary
- 1 Tb Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1 Tb minced fresh basil (or)
- 1 tsp dried, crumbled basil
- 1 Tb fresh oregano, minced (or)
- 1 tsp dried, crumbled oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground red pepper
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 6 lbs whole fresh medium or large shrimp in shell with heads removed. De-vein if preferred.

Melt butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat.  Add remaining ingredients except shrimp and cook 20 minutes stirring occasionally.  Add shrimp and cook until just pink, again stirring occasionally.  Ladle shrimp and sauce into bowl and serve with crusty bread.

Best enjoyed with a bottle of dry white wine, so dry it makes your face crack when you smile.

Bon Appétit