gamany's blog

blech

2008-01-05T22:47:57Z

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.

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note to self

2008-01-02T19:50:52Z

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.

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in the kitchen

2007-08-01T15:15:30Z

over the weekend, my mom gave me some vegetables from her garden. a couple of weeks ago, it was tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and zucchini. this weekend, it was zucchini...and bitter melon. my mom uses it in omelets and spicy, shrimp stir-fry, but we usually eat it as a condiment to other dishes. the bitter taste was overwhelming when i first began eating it a couple of years ago but now i'm used to it. i'd like to try it in something new and if anyone has any recipe recommendations, i'd love to give one a try.

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.

dukboki and fried green tomatoes

i LOVE dukboki and have fond memories of eating it when we lived in korea. besides my grandmother's cooking, this was one of the first dishes i remember trying and absolutely loved. it's rice cake simmered in chili pepper paste (kochujang). i used to joke with my family that i could eat this, or anything with tofu in it for the rest of my life. can't say that about fried green tomatoes though. i had an obsession with them for a while but now they're more like an occasional treat.

salad

this salad was very refreshing and i really need to have it more often. looking back at some of the foods i've eaten over the last few weeks, i see i haven't been doing a good job of eating a variety of colorful foods. i have these spurts where i crave sweets and starchy foods but after i've had too much, i crave lots of vegetables. i need to find a balance.

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in the kitchen

2006-09-06T18:50:37Z

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.

tilapia

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.

the goods

Season the fish and then pan fry in 1 - 2 tablespoons of olive oil for a couple of minutes on each side. When it's done, gently break the fish apart so it's easy to spread on the tortillas.

Sautee onion for a few minutes, then add the creole seasoning and cook until slightly carmelized.

fish quesadillas

Assemble everything (onions, fish, cheese) between two tortillas and then pan-toast over medium heat until the cheese melts and the tortillas have browned. Cut into quarters and that's it! I normally put the jalepenos in with the filling but I forgot and just served it on the side with sour cream.

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what have i done...

2006-09-03T14:24:04Z

the new look

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!

poa-poa and her bobo

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.

deng jang chigae (Korean miso soup)

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!

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