Two weeks ago we had a short, little spike in the temperature and managed to hit 90 degrees up in Copake. We weren't expecting the temperature to get so high, so soon and we hadn't removed all the storm windows from the second-floor windows.
As newbies to farmhouse ownership, Fred and I were convinced that we could easily get on a ladder and just slide the storms off. Oh, how naive? First off, we don't even own a ladder. But I found a place in Pine Plains that would rent me one. However, they were closing at 1 o'clock (it being a Sunday), and they are a half hour drive away. So we only had about an hour to get 7 windows done. We assured ourselves that it could be done.
Guess again. The first thing I did wrong was not figure out exactly how tall of a ladder I needed. I guessed that in order to reach the top of the second floor I would need a 40-foot ladder. No way! That would get me to the roof! The second thing I did wrong was not consult Mom. She very helpfully told me, after the fact, that all I needed was a 20-foot ladder, since each story of a house is approximately 10 feet. Thanks for the tip, Mom. How about next time you share that BEFORE I rent a 40-foot ladder? Anyway, as you can guess, it didn't work. It only got me incredibly frustrated and suddenly I was the crazy, cursing maniac on the front lawn screaming about storm windows and ladders. (The neighbors, I'm sure, were laughing at me.)
So the ladder was safely returned (oh, don't even ask me about driving with a 40 foot ladder tied to the roof of my Subaru!), and we redirected our attention to the grass that desperately needed to be cut. I pulled out the old push mower that the previous owners left for us. It started right up and I was pleased as punch that I would manage to get a chore done. Not so fast, Germann. The lawn mower stalled and wouldn't start. Again the crazy, screaming maniac appeared—in the backyard this time.
After fuming for a minute, I noticed Fred standing in the driveway chatting with some guy. Fred waved me over and introduced me to Colton, the grandson of the couple we bought the house from. He was driving by and noticed that the grass needed to be cut. Did we need some help? How did you ever guess?
With that he agreed to cut the grass and, guess what chore he had to do every spring? Yup, you guessed it, remove the storm windows. He and his father showed up an hour later with two (yes, two) ladders and got the storms down. They have a system where they put a ladder on each side of a window, they each go up a ladder, take the storm window off the frame, and then descend the ladders in tandem, each holding one side of the storm window. I can tell you—and you won't be surprised to hear this—Fred and I would never have been able to figure that out. Hell, we didn't even have one ladder, let alone two!
Once that was done, it was time to shift gears to dinner. After such a frustrating day I needed to make something that couldn't go wrong and couldn't disappoint. I chose wisely: shrimp with lemon and orzo. Put up a pot of water to boil the orzo, get a pan hot to sear the shrimp. Chop garlic and parsley. That's about it. So simple. So tasty. And a big hit with the five-year old.
Here's the recipe (serves 4).
Adapted from a recipe from myrecipes.com newsletter (originally published in Cooking Light)
1 cup uncooked orzo
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
7 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided
1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Preparation
1. Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Place orzo in a medium bowl. Stir in parsley and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover and keep warm.
2. While orzo cooks, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add half of shrimp to pan; saute 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer shrimp to a plate. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in pan. Add remaining shrimp to pan; saute 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer to plate.
3. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in pan. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in shrimp, juice, and pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done.
I combined the orzo and shrimp in a mixing bowl, but you could serve them separately. I also cooked some asparagus in a grill pan and served that on the side.
Here's the recipe (serves 4).
Adapted from a recipe from myrecipes.com newsletter (originally published in Cooking Light)
1 cup uncooked orzo
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
7 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided
1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Preparation
1. Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Place orzo in a medium bowl. Stir in parsley and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover and keep warm.
2. While orzo cooks, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add half of shrimp to pan; saute 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer shrimp to a plate. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in pan. Add remaining shrimp to pan; saute 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer to plate.
3. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in pan. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in shrimp, juice, and pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done.
I combined the orzo and shrimp in a mixing bowl, but you could serve them separately. I also cooked some asparagus in a grill pan and served that on the side.
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