Stir-Crazy

I've been to a lot of restaurants in the surrounding college town of Bloomington, Indiana so when my parents told me they were staying in a "bed and breakfast" type place for my Sorority family weekend, I was ready to try something different.  I decided on cooking a meal ourselves rather than going to restaurant because you can always go out to eat, but there are only so many opportunities as a college student to have a home cooked meal.  After a long day filled with a rainy tailgate, we were in the mood for some comfort food - a sizzling hot, spicy stir-fry.  At our "neighborhood" Marsh supermarket on Kinser Pike, we invested in the goods: fresh green stalks of Celery, whole white Mushrooms, bright yellow and red Bell Peppers, translucent bean sprouts, large orange Organic Carrots and frozen Shrimp.  We arrived home in 5 minutes and got right to work.  I chopped the Peppers into tiny pieces, sliced the Mushrooms, cut the Celery into halves and then into smaller chunks, circle-cut the Carrots and peeled the shells off the Shrimp.  One handful at a time, the vegetables were dumped in the pan and flipped over and over again.  Once it was cooked and seasoned, the Shrimp was traded in for the vegetables and they were poured onto a large serving plate.  The Shrimp cooked quickly, as the baby orange pieces rose to the top in the large pan and finally the finished dishes were combined into one, doused in a dressing of Soy Sauce.  I unhooked my chopsticks and anxiously dug into the meal.  The first bite was crunchy and full of flavor.  The vegetables melted in my mouth, as the Garlic-Pepper spice left my mouth full of a zesty spice.  I could not stop eating, this meal tasted like home and it was absolutely delicious.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it and I just finished eating about an hour ago.  A homecooked meal in Bloomington, a dream come true.