eff winter

nothing marks the decline of so good into so sucky quite like the turning back of clocks does. i've previously mentioned my dislike (read: contempt) for the cold weather and wintertime...well, 'falling back' an hour is the penultimate sign that for the next 6 months there will be no more skirts and sandals, tanned skin, smiles, or happiness. of course the first step towards dealing with the loss of something as precious as sun, warmth, and the ability to leave my house is like the first step to dealing with anything unpleasant; denial.


i went into full denial mode last night and made the most summery dish i could think to make.
i happened to have shrimp and all the other ingredients i needed, so it was just a matter of closing my eyes and channeling summer memories, like eating fresh ceviche on the sunny deck of a catalina in july. ahhh, the life. it was there that i learned that ceviche (a citrus-marinated seafood dish) can be made quite easily at home (or on a boat).


this is how it's done. son.
cut shrimp up into bite-sized pieces (use cooked and peeled shrimp if you're scared to use the raw stuff, but the acid from the limes is meant to do the job of 'denaturing' the protein-ya, be safe!). place them in a flat-ish container and cover them in fresh-squeezed lime juice. lots of it.
mince garlic and chop fresh cilantro, jalapeño pepper, tomato, grapefruit, avocado, and throw it all in there with a bit of sea salt. cover and set in the fridge for a long time, like, 24 hours. it'll keep for a few days. when you take it out to eat, it'll be nice and fresh. 
cold and spicy and low-fat so you can still look good in that bikini. everything you need on a scorching hot day like today! i'm not crazy.
ps. in case you want to acknowledge winter, this is the ultimate cold-combating food. vitamin c, zinc, fresh garlic....holy!

ceviche. soooo much more fun to say than 'salsa'.