ADVENTURES OUTSIDE THE KITCHEN
Saturday, October 06, 2012
My best friend/girlfriend/sister and I have sort of an agreement:
~
THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN BEST FRIEND/GIRLFRIEND/SISTER AND I
I. I, VICKI CHOW, WILL COOK DELICIOUSLY WHENEVER I'M HOME DURING DINNER TIME (EVERY NIGHT EXCEPT WEDNESDAY).
II. I, THE BEST FRIEND/GIRLFRIEND/SISTER, WILL DILIGENTLY WASH THE DISHES UNTIL THEY SPARKLE DUE TO THEIR CLEANLINESS.
~
And so, I have used these few weeks as a time to brush up my housewife cooking abilities. But besides cooking skills, I have now achieved a natural instinct to wipe the counter and stove top clean. What has this resulted in?
Besides the much cleaner kitchen which I feel much more comfortable in, I have also acquired sand-paper-sounding, forever-dry hands.
Korean dinner for three minus one
OH YES, AND I'VE DECIDED THAT I WILL TAKE CHARGE OF DISINFECTING AND SCRUBBING DOWN THE SHOWER, TOILET AND SINK. YOU'LL HAVE TO DO IT YOURSELF ONE DAY TO FEEL THE SATISFACTION AND THE INTENSITY OF THE CHEMICALS IN THE CLEANING PRODUCTS (I ACCIDENTALLY FLICKED SOME DILUTED CLEANING PRODUCT INTO MY EYE - THANK GOODNESS IT WAS DILUTED).
I MADE A NEW FRIEND WHO I FELT LIKE I'VE KNOWN FOR A REALLY LONG TIME, ALTHOUGH I'VE ONLY MET HER FOR A MONTH OR SO. SHE COMES OVER FOR DINNER QUITE OFTEN, SO MUCH SO THAT I USUALLY MAKE DINNER FOR THREE (I TYPICALLY MAKE FOR TWO) NOW.
I MADE THE ABOVE DINNER ONE NIGHT FOR THE THREE OF US. AFTER JULIENNE-ING THE ONIONS AND SWEET RED PEPPER AND MARINATING THEM, I MARINATED THE THINLY SLICED BEEF WITH THE SAME BULGOGI MARINATING SAUCE.
Beef, sauce, and onions on romaine.
AN HOUR OR SO BEFORE DINNER, I SAUTÉED THE MARINATED VEGGIES AND THEN PAN FRIED THE MEAT. IT WAS A MIRACLE THAT THE SMOKE DETECTOR DIDN'T GO OFF THAT EVENING!
WE ONLY HAD ROMAINE LETTUCE SO I HAD TO STEAM IT FOR A BIT TO MAKE IT SOFT ENOUGH TO WRAP THE MEAT AND TOPPINGS... WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY SAUCE STORY:
A long long time ago (three days before today) I attempted to fashion this meal to be very Korean styled, so I needed the sauce that they eat when they eat this ssambap. And of course, I obviously didn't have the chilli paste and soybean paste needed to make the ssamjang.
What I did have that seemed the closest to what I needed was chilli flakes and miso soup paste. Which is what I used, along with a gooey glob of mashed overcooked rice and minced onion (which made me tear like I was watching a sad drama).
So after half a century (half an hour) of cooking it at a low heat over the stove (to let it thicken), I was faced with success. And the sauce and meat and lettuce lived happily ever after (in my mouth).
~ T h e E n d ~
Omnomnomnom
OH YES, AND HOW COME MY DINNER FOR THREE TURNED TO DINNER FOR TWO? MY BEST FRIEND/GIRLFRIEND/SISTER DECIDED TO NOT EAT DINNER AND ANSWER HER HUNGRY STOMACH WITH A BAG OF CARROTS AND CHIPS (SHE STILL DILIGENTLY CLEANED THE DISHES THOUGH!).
OH, I HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO TELL YOU ALL TODAY! (SO HARD TO CONTAIN SELF SO I SHALL JUST LET IT ALL OUT)
MY FRIEND VISITED US ALL THE WAY FROM MISSISSAUGA AND TOOK US OUT TO EAT. WE FIRST WENT TO EAT BURGERS AT THE WORKS. I'M ALWAYS IN THE MOOD FOR MUSHROOM AND ONIONS AND CHEESE SO THIS WAS WHAT I PICKED:
Beef patty with mushrooms, caramelized onions, a slice of brie, tomatoes, sandwiched between a whole wheat bun.
THE ONE THING I THINK I REGRETTED (OTHER THAN HAVING A BIGGER MOUTH TO EAT THIS) WAS TO CHOOSE A PORTOBELLO PATTY BECAUSE I THINK THE BEEF WAS TOO DRY.
I CHOSE A SIDE OF SWEET POTATO FRIES BECAUSE I LOVE SWEET POTATOES IN ANY FORM (MASHED, BAKED, FRIED, DRIED), WITH A TANGY MAYO DIP.
AFTERWARDS, WE WENT TO THE ITALIAN MARKET, VINCENZO'S, TO SHOP AROUND... UNTIL I DISCOVERED...
Macarons, imported from France
I BOUGHT TWO (AS YOU CAN SEE ABOVE): ONE STRAWBERRY POPPYSEED, AND THE OTHER ALMOND APRICOT. I THINK I ENJOYED THE ALMOND APRICOT MORE CAUSE THE FLAVOUR WAS A BIT DIFFERENT. BUT I REALLY SHOULD'VE LET THEM SIT OUT UNTIL THEY BECAME A BIT MORE ROOM TEMPERATURE CAUSE THE CENTRE WAS A BIT HARDER THAN I HOPED IT WOULD BE.
OTHER THAN THAT, THE SHELLS SEEMED A BIT TOO DRY... BUT THAT SHOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM IF THEY WERE SHIPPED FROM FRANCE CAUSE THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD A SUFFICIENT TIME TO MATURE.
ANYHOW, I STILL HAD A GREAT TIME WITH THEM!
Taking pictures at every angle, hoping that one will score a presence on my blog.
The too happy me - My friends pretended to not know me for about 10 minutes while I laughed and giggled a little bit too much.
Let's not forget the pistachio and lemon gelato that's being neglected now (but not for long!)
LET'S FINISH THIS OFF WITH SOMETHING I LOVE A LOT~
I love salmon, especially the one with lots of fat, but my love with butterfish/oilfish is on another level.
Lots of maki, and seaweed salad
Some inari sushi, spring rolls, more maki, sunomono and edamame
I HOPE I'VE LET YOUR EYES FEAST IN THIS POST. PLEASE CONTINUE SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE VISUAL MEALS.
X
UNTIL NEXT TIME,
VICKI CHOW
P/S
Remember how I said that I was going to root my phone because I wanted to?
Yes, I eventually got to doing it! After an hour or so of downloading everything, waiting for the codes, feeling like a hacker, I used a root checker I downloaded from Google Apps, and guess what?
My phone's still not rooted.
So I got frustrated and realized that these technological stuff is definitely not my forte. *waves white flag*
Perhaps I shall consult my friend who seems to have a history of rooting phones to help me root my phone - my phone still has hope! ^^
