Several years after lugging the family videos down from NorCal, we've finally purchased a tape adapter to allow us to watch the tiny tapes, so R and I have been spending time watching moments of my past. It has been interesting seeing how much things have changed, but also how many things have stayed the same.
My mom and dad, already being adults, are pretty similar (R says it feels like present day people walking around in the past), though you can chart the downfall of their marriage over the 5 year span of the tapes. In the later ones, whenever my dad does anything silly my mom moves the camera or tells him to cut it out. In the earliest tapes you get to see some friendly banter between the two of them. My mom even cracks a few jokes.
Recent cooking:
Toscana soup - I had been waiting for kale to arrive in my CSA basket so that I could make this soup. It didn't disappoint, and I plan on making it again next week with the remainder of the kale.
Sardine and avocado sandwiches - Saw this on an episode of Good Eats and, while I'm not into the whole "diet" thing or regimented food consumption (daily carrot?), this is a pretty tasty sandwich.
Friday night could only be described as kitchen failure night. Made too much stock, brownies that were leaking butter (apparently these puppies are close to the saturation point, so don't be lazy when measuring), and a lasagna that was in no way moist enough.
Saturday night was my cooking redemption, as I made a delicious Buffalo chicken pizza. I marinated cooked chicken pieces in Buffalo sauce while the crust was rising. I then topped the crust with pizza sauce mixed with the Buffalo sauce marinade, mozzarella cheese, the marinated chicken, and chunks of blue cheese. It was awesome.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Three odd tidbits
It was raining pretty heavily last night, here in San Diego. This morning I peeked outside to discover that half of our row of condos hadn't put their trash cans out. Apparently they all took a look outside and decided it wasn't worth it.
In celebration of National Popcorn Day, I made peanut butter popcorn. R and I both found the recipe a little uninteresting (and regretted not making the crunchy version), but I couldn't seem to stop nibbling on it. I suppose that could be a recommendation of sorts, though I wound up throwing the rest of the batch away, as I didn't want to mindlessly eat it.
We've discovered a use for those smoked meat logs one tends to acquire around the holidays: fried rice. No, it's not what one would consider a traditional ingredient, but it's not bad.
A's Fried Rice
2. Scramble eggs and cook, chopping, so that you wind up with smallish chunks of egg. Set aside with veggies.
3. Cook meat log until the chunks have a little color. Set aside with eggs and veggies.
4. Cook rice, adding oil as needed, until grains have separated and look a bit more transparent. Add soy sauce and oyster sauce to taste (rice should wind up fairly uniformly brown). Stir in meat, eggs, and veggies. Stir in a little Sriracha and some green onions. Serve.
In celebration of National Popcorn Day, I made peanut butter popcorn. R and I both found the recipe a little uninteresting (and regretted not making the crunchy version), but I couldn't seem to stop nibbling on it. I suppose that could be a recommendation of sorts, though I wound up throwing the rest of the batch away, as I didn't want to mindlessly eat it.
We've discovered a use for those smoked meat logs one tends to acquire around the holidays: fried rice. No, it's not what one would consider a traditional ingredient, but it's not bad.
A's Fried Rice
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 eggs
- 3 or 4 cups day-old rice
- 1 hunk of meat log, diced
- soy sauce
- oyster sauce
- oil
- Sriracha (optional)
- green onions, chopped (optional)
2. Scramble eggs and cook, chopping, so that you wind up with smallish chunks of egg. Set aside with veggies.
3. Cook meat log until the chunks have a little color. Set aside with eggs and veggies.
4. Cook rice, adding oil as needed, until grains have separated and look a bit more transparent. Add soy sauce and oyster sauce to taste (rice should wind up fairly uniformly brown). Stir in meat, eggs, and veggies. Stir in a little Sriracha and some green onions. Serve.
Monday, January 18, 2010
1/2 bottle soy sauce, partially full jar of cocktail onions...
After three and a half long years, my in-laws have finally sold their house and are moving out of San Diego this week. R and I have inherited their pantry contents that they didn't feel like transporting. I spent the morning combining the contents of various sauce and liquor bottles with their partially full twins from our own supply. We received one massive bottle of Tabasco, so aged that the bright red pigments had all oxidized to a deep brown-red. As my in-laws never cook spicy food, one has to wonder why the purchased such a large container of hot sauce. I'm hoping to use the style of the label to date the container. Anyone know when they started requiring nutrition facts on labels?
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The fat one
The Litter-Robot breaks, and only now does the fat cat start using it again. Hopefully we'll get it back from the company soon (thank goodness it was still under warranty and the company has been helpful), but he'll still be using a regular litter box for a while. Maybe I should manually cycle the machine when we get it back. He did start using it again after it broke...
Target has apparently found a weak spot. I can't resist the baby socks they have in the cheapie bins by the front door. They get new patterns for each holiday. Luckily, their $1 price tag makes them a cheap thrill.
Recent cooking:
Chicken and bacon pasta in garlic cream sauce - Simple, quick, delicious.
Roasted cabbage with lemon - Did you know that slightly charred cabbage tastes just like the outside of a toasted marshmallow? The resemblance is uncanny.
Inspirational eggs - Eggs baked in potato skins. Not bad, but the general consensus was the recipe would be improved by cooking the constituent parts separately and then assembling. Or, you know, frying up some potatoes and eggs. Ah, well. Trying new breakfast items keeps us from getting bored of the old standards.
Target has apparently found a weak spot. I can't resist the baby socks they have in the cheapie bins by the front door. They get new patterns for each holiday. Luckily, their $1 price tag makes them a cheap thrill.
Recent cooking:
Chicken and bacon pasta in garlic cream sauce - Simple, quick, delicious.
Roasted cabbage with lemon - Did you know that slightly charred cabbage tastes just like the outside of a toasted marshmallow? The resemblance is uncanny.
Inspirational eggs - Eggs baked in potato skins. Not bad, but the general consensus was the recipe would be improved by cooking the constituent parts separately and then assembling. Or, you know, frying up some potatoes and eggs. Ah, well. Trying new breakfast items keeps us from getting bored of the old standards.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
January 10th
A little lesson on the importance of carefully reading instructions. Last night we noticed that the power outage was scheduled for 12:30 AM, rather that 12:30 PM. This explains why the outage was scheduled for a Sunday - they didn't want us all to be late for work - and managed to cause very minimal disruption. Kudos, SDG&E.
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