donger need food.

Ode To A Risotto

It's easy to forget how good life can be.

I'm prone to waste time & energy dwelling on a lot of annoying little things... places I wish I could go to, things I want but can’t afford, the person I could have been. But there's times when I usually catch myself, even if for a brief window in time, and realize some of the little wonders my relatively short existence on this good green earth can bring.

And so there I was…outdoors on a rather chilly Tuesday night smack dab in the middle of a tourist trap. I was a handful of bites into my seared ahi tuna on shrimp risotto when I caught myself in a moment of bliss…the tuna wasn’t as firm as I had expected (a bit more overcooked than I would have liked), but that risotto. It took me by surprise…I wasn’t expecting much out of this restaurant trying to recreate the European experience… but the smooth & soft texture (but not mushy!) of the risotto made for a delightful combination with the snap-crunch of corn kernels and the tender-pop of little green peas. The flavors blended beautifully. On top of that would be the sweet juicy morsels of tiny shrimp, adding yet another layer of contrast. Granted, I’m a sucker for risotto (and the late dinner made me a bit hungry) but I truly enjoyed the dish.

The evening was filled with wonderful conversations with my young cousin and her new husband about trips to Alaska & Whistler and life as newlyweds. And somewhere in between bites of my risotto and the occasional momentary bouts of laughter, I saw glimpses of the happiness that currently filled her life. Having known her pretty much since she was born, it was an amazing thing to witness.

I savored every last bite of that risotto.

posted by VirtualErn @ 12:26 PM

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