If it's working, keep it going

View from our back window.

The start of the year had me feeling restless. People around us are doing stuff. Buying houses. Moving across country. Having babies. Changing jobs.  I started to feel like we should be doing something new. I guess as independent as I am, there's a little of the lemming in me.

One day while fussing to myself about this, I was reminded of a waiter we met in Kauai a few years ago. We'd stopped in at his sushi bar for a drink and snack after a good long day at our favorite beach, with the intention of moving on to another place for dinner. But the longer we stayed, watching the sun set over a misty waterfall, we decided we were content where we were. (Though truthfully, only an imbecile wouldn't be content sitting with their true love, drinking cocktails and looking at a waterfall.)

We informed our waiter, Chase, that we'd opted to stay. He nodded. "If it's working, keep it going," he said and handed us the dinner menus.

Chase dropped some wisdom on us that day and we often invoke this phrase in our house, applying it, only sometimes tongue-in-cheek, to both the mundane and the significant. I have to admit, we've got a pretty good set up here. Someday, of course, we'll move. At least out of this apartment, and possibly out the city or state (or country, if the French will have us!). We won't always have these same jobs. But for now, this is good.

So, these shrimp tacos are a nod to Chase, Kauai, and the total lack of restlessness I feel whenever I'm there. Although a little restlessness can be a good thing (it's driven me to travel, start my own business,  and one time, visit a faraway friend where I met my future husband), it's not a feeling you want to linger too long.

While tacos may originate in South America, they are also very common in Hawaii. Usually we get fish tacos at Tropical Taco, but I've eaten a shrimp taco or two in my time on the islands. I can't really post a recipe because there isn't one. I cooked the shrimp quickly in a pan (grilling would be ideal) in some olive oil, then, after taking them off the heat, squeezed some lime juice over. I put a few shrimp in a warmed corn tortilla, then topped them with shredded red cabbage, tomatoes, radishes, avocado, and some crumbled cortija cheese, which, if you haven't had it, is sort of like ricotta salata or a super dry feta.

You could serve it with a refried beans or chips, but I opted for Mexican rice. I've made it many times before and it's always a bestseller. As they say, if it's working...