hello there

i decided to make a standalone blog devoted to foodness. there's no rhyme or reason to the order, and i need to put old posts here too. first off, i don't think my stomach could forgive me if i didn't use my mad survival cooking skills. junk food more than once a week usually makes me feel ill and leaves my pockets empty, so i try to make my own as often as possible. that means more at the start of the quarter that gets progressively worse towards the end. i like stuff light and tend towards the reasonably healthy end. inhaling big macs or snacking on soy crisp omega-3 enhanced essential oil chips are equally gross. though once in a while it's really good..


a few nights ago, my roomate made her own tempura and it was the bomb diggity. it looked restaraunt style. instead of using a fluffy smooth batter you'd find at most places, she used a panko (japanese breadcrumb) based one so i guess it was more like zuchinni croquettes? quite crispy. she's gourmet!

this was the mango dessert i had when going out to dinner at a thai place with the aptmates. already ate dinner, so this was it... sweet sticky rice covered in a salted coconut milk sauce and fresh delicious ripe mangoes. simple, but delicious. gotta try this at home. the salt really turned what could have been a bit boring and one dimensional into a tasty treat. roomies ordered crab fried rice and pad thai. how boring. the pad thai was a bit greasy and heavy, but the crab rice was quite flavorful with actual crab meat. the larb sounded good.. but i was full... the place is Flavor Thai on convoy st. let's say i wouldn't have went there if they didn't take me. a bit americanized, but it's a nice date place, clean and good service with good prices.

my dinner from a few weeks ago. fresh shitake mushrooms in a soy based broth, 魚香茄子 (spicy sichuan style eggplant and with pork), and my very ghetto ketchup and garlic fried rice. yes... a condiment fried rice. twas tasty.

i went home for the long weekend and my bro conveniently has a gallon or two of oil left over in his turkey fryer from somewhen. since i've missed out on the fried turkey action two years running, we decided to have a frystravaganza of whatever we found lying around. battered onions, dried mangoes, a piece of chocolate candy, some raw marinated korean crab which tasted better fried, potato wedges, chicken breasts, fuji apples.. since there were also only two of us, instead of turkey we fried up cornish game hens. one was marinated in homemade teriyaki sauce, the other plain fried, and some random pieces in a paprika and chili spiced batter. teriyaki fried chicken is damned good. in this pic are the apples. they were tender and tasted like apple pie apples from marie calendars.

when i got sick last week, i found my appetite improved. i wanted meat. lots of it. so i panfried the perfect steak. note the toasty browned outside and the juicey med rare inside (looks pinker in the pick than it really was). med hi heat turning occasionally over about 14 mins for an inch thick steak is the way to go. better to have it rest to near room temp before cooking though if you don't want the outside to burn. a little garlic salt and cayanne pepper and if you cook it right there's no need for sauce.. juicey meat amino goodness. i also made this bomb veggie soup filled with carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and lil radishes in a chicken stock and crushed tomato base. canned tomato tastes and works better than fresh. oh, and i threw in a smoked ham hock for fun.