5 posts tagged “cooking”
i forced myself to eat an entire bowl of seafood noodle soup. i usually like my own cooking but this was by far THE most disgusting thing i have ever prepared. yet again, it was the broth that had me looking at the back of head. okay, so my eyes can't roll that far back but it sure as hell felt like it after the first taste. i used a different base this time around so on second thought, maybe it's the odeng (fish cake) that made the broth taste like low tide. i've never had a problem with it before but it is a different brand so who knows...
anyway, i'm not one to waste food so i added sliced onions and bell peppers but it was the sriracha and kkakdugi (diced radish kimchee) that made it somewhat bearable to eat.
*sigh* this no beef/pork/chicken diet isn't working out too well for my soup dishes.
oh, and if anyone plans on seeing the movie one missed call--who the hell is the caller?! i left the theater utterly confused.
double check the computer's trash bin before emptying it.
on a different note, i am a terrible cook when it comes to preparing vegetarian meals. yesterday, my first day of going pesci-vegetarian, i almost used a beef soup base for a dish i was cooking. i even tried to convince myself that i wouldn't be cheating if i used it since there would be no visible traces of meat. but i didn't. so the broth tasted like fish/ass. i decided to use fish sauce thinking it would add a little flavor to the soup i was making. never again.
the black-eyed peas and collard greens, however, were good with a little salt, black pepper, garlic and onions. i didn't miss the bacon or ham at all...must have been all that tabasco sauce i used.
as for the other vegetables, i've been putting them to good use. here are a few of photos of what's been cooking in the kitchen. i'll be making these dishes again this week, though i'm not so sure about the fried green tomatoes. they were really good and easy to prepare, but i'm craving spicy and refreshing foods lately.
dubu chigae with hobak (tofu zucchini stew)
i've had several talks with my mom about this dish--i think it's more like a soup (gook) than a stew (chigae) because of the broth. i tried to explain to her why it should be called dubu gook and she laughed. i should have known better. i can't argue with her, it is what it is. i posted the recipe on openfoodsource.com and will try to add more in the future, if anyone's interested.
Cooking. Now that's definitely something I love to do. Besides, if I haven't eaten anything I turn into a cranky monster and stress over it so it's pretty relaxing for me to be in the kitchen whipping up stuff.
Last night I made my favorite fish
quesadillas. I use
creole seasoning (any brand will do but I like Zatarain's),
olive oil, tilapia (4 - 5 fillets), a large onion (sliced), 2 cups grated
cheddar cheese, 8 - 10 flour tortillas and a medium frying
pan.
Sautee onion for a few minutes, then add the creole seasoning and cook until slightly carmelized.
I woke up Saturday morning with a *pet project* in mind. I thought, today I'm gonna give the dog a haircut. Poor dog. Okay, it's not that bad--she's still cute. I think she sort of looks like the dog in As Good as it Gets. Anyway, she was due for a grooming. I've done it before...and it wasn't such a bad experience. So, I started off with her ears. What you can't see in the "celebration" photos are the patches of matted and tangled hair on her ears. A few snips here and there with the scissors, then the electric shaver to smooth things out and voila!
I hadn't planned on cutting her ears so short. I felt terrible and couldn't bring myself to trim the rest of her body. After I put her on the floor, she gave me a look like she was relieved, like a massive weight had been lifted off her little shoulders. I'm sure she was mostly relieved that I was done and that she didn't hear anymore buzzing and snipping. Poor thing. She scampered off and went back to playing with her favorite toy (bobo from Petsmart). Which reminds me--she needs a new one. I don't think it will survive a washing and I've already sewed parts of the body back on since she refuses to play with any other toy!
So, that was my Saturday morning. After giving Poa-poa her trim,
I started on laundry and tried to watch another episode of Taken.
I love watching movies with my brother since he's a sci-fi fan but he
didn't seem all that interested in the show a few days ago so I decided
to watch without him. It started to get a little more interesting
by the 3rd episode.
For dinner, I made deng jang chigae (Korean miso soup) and rice. I love my mom's recipe but I never seem to have the right ingredients. So, I made mine with tofu, spinach, onions and mushrooms. One of these days I need to hit the farmer's market on Buford Highway for supplies.
After dinner, caught the 9:50pm showing of The Illusionist. Crystal, I agree this was a great movie and it exceeded my expectations!
That was my Saturday and now it's Sunday morning. I have a lot of
magazines I need to catch up on, but today I'll focus on September
issues of Discover and Scientific American.
Later, maybe I'll run a few errands and finally use my Christmas gift
card for The Container Store. I love that store!
