sit down for this one.

are you sitting?  i'm just going to assume that you're firmly planted in a desk chair or sofa and continue.  ready?

i cooked last night.

awwww yeah.  i cooked.  i followed a recipe and i made something.  and you know what?  it wasn't half bad when it was done.  actually, it was kind of good.  now, don't get too excited.  i decided to take it easy and chose a recipe with minimal ingredients and maximum boiling.  

as i mentioned in a recent post, i nabbed some nice jumbo shrimp from trader joe's and i had to do something with them.  i did a google blog search on gluten free girl's site for a recipe

 involving the little ocean dwellers and wound up with instructions for pasta with potatoes, zucchini and shrimp.  considering the fact that there were only 4 main ingredients (you can

 guess what they are based on the name of the dish) and my most serious responsibility would be watching things bubble in a pot, i concluded that we were full steam ahead on this one.

the ingredients (minus the lemon juice, which dan does not like):

right off the bat you'd think things were going down hill.  already, there are numerous issues.  okay, so the goat cheese looks all fine and white and crumbly like it's supposed to.  i didn't make the the cheese.  the olive oil and my already-crushed garlic and sea salt are all in fine shape.  but the shrimp are already pink and cooked and ready to go.  ah.  i bought a bag of already cooked shrimp.  well, at least i know i won't be poisoning anyone with undercooked shellfish this evening.  next issue:  are those french fries?  no.  no, they're not.  that was my attempt at making something julienne strips while wielding a dull knife in my wee kitchen.

why do i keep dull knives, you ask?  

i have all 10 of my fingers, toes, and my nose is intact.  

i am absolutely convinced this is why, as i suffer from knife tourrets while slicing and dicing.  so, those potatoes are a tad on the hefty side.  i want to let it be known that this was my second attempt at julienne-ing anything, and it came after the creation of those mini shaved whatsits of zucchini that should have been expertly sliced into delectable little niblets.  

note to self:  cheese graters don't julienne anything.  

another valuable kitchen lesson learned.  anyway, after preparing my ingredients and laying them out oh-so nicely in my fine tupperware for a photoshoot, i got to work.  i successfully boiled water.  added salt.  cooked the veggies and pasta and then mixed the whole lot of everything together per GFG's recipe.  i scooped a big portion for dan and crumbled some wonderfully creamy goat cheese on top.  it smelled good.  it tasted better.

 i was quite pleased with myself.  not pleased with the mess i had made or the cement-like starchy pasta water that had boiled all over my stove, but it was a personal victory.  i kept my little recipe print-out and i plan on making it again some time, only next time i might switch out the potatoes for more (properly cut) zucchini or onions or something.  it's just a smidge too starchy for me as is.  but that didn't stop me from having an extra scoop of victory.  nosiree.  

victory is tasty.