Prawn Cocktail

This one is for Prawns..

I have a new friend.  This little post is for my new friend who I believe takes the occasional look at some of my posts.

“Prawns” is the name I know my friend as.  Prawns calls me “Caramel”.  Are we two foodies who have struck up a friendship whist sharing recipes?  Not exactly!  More a matter of sharing recipes for life than home-cooking tips.  Right now Prawns is not 100%…and I found myself worrying.  So this post is an attempt to cheer Prawns up.

There seems to be a lot we are in agreement over.  At the same time there are differences in our thinking…as there are between any two people.

Now I am going to mention to you something I may have omitted in other posts.  I stopped eating meat and fish at the age of six.  I do remember eating fish-fingers.  I remember chicken and sandwich meat.  I even remember mum making liver and onions which was the weirdest thing I have ever eaten.  But as I have not eaten meat or fish for so long.

    

You might be looking at the photos above and understand exactly why a six year old me decided she would be a vegetarian.  Mum and Dad thought it was a phase.  I just never grew out of it.  I don’t have any strong views.  I am fine with other people eating meat… just don’t ask me to.  That’s fair enough isn’t it?  I have some friends who don’t like me not eating meat… but just think of how many friends I have made by trading my chicken for their brussel sprouts at roast dinners.

My parents never gave us prawns when we were little ones.  I have no idea what prawns taste like.  And I have no desire to try one in all honesty.

What I am trying to say is this….Prawns and I….well I am aware that there is an element of the unknown, a curiosity because of the newness, the differences between us.  There is a basis for our friendship and some common ground.  Perhaps, like the ice-berg lettuce in the image of a prawn cocktail above.  The ice-berg lettuce makes me feel an element of familiarity.  Ice-berg lettuce is safe, risk-free, I know what to expect.

But the prawns side of the prawn cocktail – is the unknown.  All I can do is imagine how prawns would taste.  A bit zingy?  Tangy? Maybe salty spicy?  Or maybe they are a bit sweet?  I don’t know.  So it is with my new-ish friend.  We do have common ground.  But I also think there is a side to Prawns that I don’t really understand and have not tasted before.  It is kind of fascinating.  However, we will have to wait and see.  Time will tell.  Time is usually a telling factor in any friendship.

Have you ever been to a restaurant and after glancing over the menu, you opted for something quite new to your normal tastes?  I did it only last week.  I was with a friend at lunch and I saw a combination I have not tried before “Orange and Rosemary Treacle Tart”.  Please don’t tell Goldfinch I gave into a yummy pudding…I really am trying so hard!

Well that combination of orange and rosemary was something I had never tried before. It was delicious.  It delighted my taste-buds in a way I had never known.  I keep thinking of that refreshing combination of flavours and hoping I will be able to try it again soon.

So it is when you make a new friend.  You are getting to know them and you see some common ground, but there is a degree of new and different that you have not experienced before.  I am pleased with my new friend.  But only time will tell if these new flavours are going to continue to dance on my tongue or if there is a bitter aftertaste.  And vice versa.  Maybe Prawns will grow sick of Caramel.

Prawn cocktail… I am sure there are those who would tell me how delicious it is.  Nope, I certainly am not planning on eating any prawns…but I will look forward to getting to know my new friend Prawns.

Take care Prawns…. have a real good rest… and make sure you don’t get yourself into another pickle.  Promise me you will be alright.