a pressing matter (aka, mashed potato sandwich)

as i mentioned, i've been trying to save money and time lately, so i bought food in bulk. that costco -sized bag o spinach is still around and today, it's being reincarnated as a topping on my pizza. a friend took me out to dinner at Leucadia last night and lucky for me he doesn't like leftovers, esp soggy pizza. doggy bag, please! woof!



also on the pizza is some fresh smushed garlic in olive oil. buying a garlic press has been one of my better investments. comes with a thimble-like insert for easy cleanup. another one of my recent investments is a potato masher. it's so much easier to use than a fork. i'm probably 10x more likely to make something mushy now. behold, my magical mashing stick! and the smushinator x2000!





remember those potatoes from last sat? here they are in a delicious portable sandwich format. all your fiber, vits, butter, carbs, more carbs, and more carbs in one on-the-go package. i ate the same thing for lunch the day before, except with a fried egg in it too, when i still had eggs left.

fancy yogurt and and semi-homemade eats

i really don't know how those frozen yogurt places manage to stay in business. you know, the fancy ones with the fruit they scoop over the top. first off, it's pricey, second.. it's just frozen yogurt with fruit, cereal, and sprinkles on top! do they really get enough money from the occasional desserter to pay the rent and make a profit?? ok, nevermind, i probably just offended thousands of devotees to pinkberry. i guess i am just too cheap. there's a place in PB that offered free samples.. dolci mangoli or something like that along the the main drag of garnet. i can say i've tried it.. and it was good, i guess. but still!



anyways, here's what i had for dinner tonight. mashed potatoes with dill (dried, b/c the fresh stuff is hard to keep.. and cheaper), garlic, and almost half a stick of butter (to make up for not having any milk/cream around). spinach salad with plums in some sort of "oriental" dressing filched from a roomie (thanks!). some overly salty chicken breast that came pre-marinated in tequila lime stuff. it tastes like chemicals and is unnaturally tender. i blame the need for convenience. i am now in school Mon-Sat. joy.

Colorful food contest entry

take this, sir orang3!



my entry is "white light", containing all the wavelengths in the visible spectrum. it's waaaay more colorful than yours. maybe. ok, nevermind, you win. i can't remember if i presented this beautiful bowl or boringness yet. it's bamboo fungus and tofu. that i made quite a long time ago.

1 pkg bamboo fungus
1 block tofu
1 can no sodium chicken stock
~.5-1.0 tbsp cornstarch
soy sauce to taste.. and for lack of color.

soaked the bamboo fungus in warm water for... as long as the package says. something like 20 mins, drained. washed a couple more times b/c they're usually full of dirt and grit. last time i made it, i didn't wash enough, and i had crunchy bamboo fungus... it was not appetizing. however, i was hungry and a little dirt doesn't hurt. boiled for whatever the package said.. 2 mins? drained again, and put it into a new pan (sand and grit was at the bottom of the other one), dumped in some tofu and the chicken stock, simmered for a few mins, added the cornstarch mixed in with soy sauce to thicken the sauce. scoop on rice, consume.

apple licorice

snacks. i'm digging through some old pictures (b/c i've left my camera back at a friend's place up in LA) and i found this er, vibrant photo of one very addicting snack. can't remember if i posted it before. but it's apple flavored licorice. the market sells all sorts of flavors, which they order from some other company.. i've seen the exact same types of licorice sold at The Fruit Stand near Price Club--Costco. but.. they are much more expensive there. i think i will stick to the traditional fruits and veggies there. anyways, they usually sell out of this flavor first at the market, leaving an empty spot next to the nasty pina colada and strange grape medicine flavored licorice for weeks before they get more in stock. so i stocked up. they don't really taste like real apples and don't contain any licorice root flavoring, but they're still neon-green delicious. here are some comments from ppl who have tried it:

"that's special."

"the taste reminds me a bit of soap but somehow i can't stop eating it"

ginger tea

i've always been prone to motion-sickness. when i was a kid, i'd pretty much throw up every time we went to the market. it's no surprise that my parents didn't take very many road trips when i was a kid. one of the few trips i managed to survive exists today as a memory of being intensely dizzy and as a picture of me looking grumpy and scared at the grand canyon. i'm don't get motion-sick so easily anymore... but a trip to school and back on the bus when i'm tired is enough to make me feel quite ill. for some strange reason, the bus ride didn't wear off as usual, and after trying to keep my head from swimming for an hour or so in the library, i gave up and went home to find a remedy. i've found that there's nothing better than ginger tea to fight off nausea. the way my mom makes it is to peel some fresh ginger, slice it up, and cook a nodule in some water with a chunk of "slab/sheet sugar". i think that's the translation of it. it's like a little brick of regular sugar sandwiched by brown sugar. i didn't have any of that, so i substituted some honey instead. ~1 inch ginger sliced into ~2-3 cups of water, boil, let sit half an hour to extract all that gingeriness. pour into cup, add honey to taste. sweet and spicy!

Solving the Omnivore's Dilemma

Solving the Omnivore's Dilemma
Professor Michael Pollan gives talk about his new book

Ioana Patringenaru | May 1, 2007

What’s for dinner? According to New York Times Magazine contributor and UC Berkeley professor Michael Pollan, our very survival as a species depends on how we answer this seemingly simple question. He will explain why during the latest installment of UCSD’s Revelle Forum Series June 12 at The Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla.