constructive time again (revised with "recipes"!)

wow, it's been a rather time since my last post, and a rather long time to post this one b/c i have so much catching up to do. i guess i got lazy.. but as always, i keep coming back for more punishment. also hadn't been cooking much during that period, somehow i lost motivation. but i managed. too bad i was too lazy to take pictures during those super blah days. it's surprising to see what i scrounged up. there were so many days where i was happy eating rice topped with fried shallots, soy, and fried garlic... anchovies... shrimp paste.. pickled radish... you get the picture.



reflecting on childcare whilst partaking of a grand meal in my car twixt studying one long rainy saturday night. remember, hugs = bad. canned sodium-filled foods = good. i've taken to carrying a can or two of something in the boot of my car for unforeseen pangs of hunger, no cash, or no time. recipe: none! pull top off can.



this.. was mediocre. generic garlic and basil flavored canned tomatoes and pasta. recipe: prepare pasta according to directions on package. open can o tomatoes. spoon contents of can o tomatoes over pasta.



lemon lime chicken. not nearly as good as it looks. i didn't really marinade the chicken for long so it didn't have enough flavor. recipe: too untasty to even list.



a prize to whoever can guess what this is. and no, it's not the moon or a white dwarf somewhere up in the cosmos.



so i bought some of that thick-cut bacon. it doesn't come in anything less than a lb. was really hungry that night, and literally had just bacon and leftover rice ready. so, a very ghetto thick soy sauce fried rice. and a mozzarella stick donated by my kind roommate. recipe: dump cold rice into a hot pan with some oil. cook until hot and a lil crispy. douse on some soy. stir some more. eat.



snacktime! these were the last cherries of the season. recipe: choose carefully when buying, rinse, and eat.



a very eggy death. the hummus could only look on in horror.



i'm amazed i didn't have a heart attack with all the bacon i ate that week. i cooked up some diced potatoes in bacon grease, cilantro, more bacon and smokey bbq sauce. i thought it'd be interesting. it was. quite good.. i mean.. you can't go wrong with bacon and bbq sauce..... even together. recipe: dice potatoes. toss in a frying pan. search through the fridge for some sort of vegetable or herb. chop and toss in with potatoes. search through the cabinets for something more interesting than salt and pepper (bonus points if you find bbq sauce. extra bonus points if you use fish sauce or peanut butter, or both). mix in with potatoes and cook until they're not raw anymore.



my aptmate made everyone a special brownie heart for valentine's day! aww.. someone's got a crush. recipe: be nice!



chinese new years dinner. i made it home for the end of year dinner with family, but i left the next morning. so here are some of the tasty take-homes in a completely unappetizing arrangement. radish cake, succulent roast pork, and pea leaves. recipe: wash leaves. boil water. put leaves in boiling water. remember to take them out if you want to eat them.



corned beef hash and a fried egg. recipe: canned corned beef. or fresh... but hold on there, that's kind of too high-class for the char. dice and cook potatoes in a skillet. then throw on the corned beef later, breaking up the really large chunks. cook until things aren't raw and the corned beef starts to get crispy.



Mexi-hattan clam chowder. so i was trying to make manhattan clam chowder from joy of cooking and ran short of a few ingredients. for one, i didn't have regular stewed tomatoes. but i thought i did. after i'd dumped the can into the soup, i realized that this was the green pepper and jalapeno flavor... what was i thinking when i bought it??? ick.. my soup smelled like enchiladas. and tasted a little bit like it too. recipe: follow joy of cooking's manhattan clam chowder recipe. but only use half the ingredients and make ethnic substitutions as appropriate.



hungry studying one night, i lumped some leftover rice together, slathered it with sweet soy and sesame seeds, then popped it in the toaster oven. kind of too crunchy on its own though. think i'll make ocha zuke next time. recipe: shape leftover rice in hands. get creative. you can make things in the shape of hearts or like the eiffel tower. set toaster to broil and well, broil until it's brown and crunchy. note* uneven/not flat shapes tend to burn easily.



fresh "guac" on toast. fork mashed avocado, pepper, salt, cumin, and lil bit of lemon juice. <--recipe



miso in a cup. don't remember what type of miso paste this is. it's very mild though. recipe: heat water in a mug and then stir in miso paste. cut in cubes of tofu if you need sustenance. garnish with sliced green onions.



pasta with canned tomatoes (muir glen brand... they're quite good, not tinny), fresh basil, garbanzo beans, and an olive or two. this was rather refreshing cold, especially when compared to that other canned tomato pasta stuff from a while ago. i ran outta vegetables this during the week, and being in busy study/project mode, didn't have time to go to the market. somehow i ended up with a large container of basil and i've been eating that as veggie... my breath was really herbally fresh for a few days.



celery and chicken stir fry in black bean garlic sauce. recipe: stirfry a few stalks of celery. set aside. stirfry ~2 diced up frozen chicken breasts from costco in a little (NON-OLIVE)oil, black beans, and garlic. when it's almost cooked, dump the celery back into the pan. and cook until you are no longer in danger of e.coli and listeria.



Elizabeth Andoh's temple vegetable stew from Washoku



CharSiuBao's turnstile vegetable stew ala Washoku. the recipe's in there with different veggies. it's a stock (kombu and bonito flakes) with carrots, daikon, nira, and fresh wood ear fungus. shouldn't have added the "gau choy" ish niri though. made it a bit bitter. recipe: you will have to read her book. (hint* throw things into a pot.)