Category: cooking

So, I made something approacing paella tonight. Jen made this really simple sauce last night with fresh tomatoes, olive oil and onions. It was awesome on pasta, so I figured it might be good with some of the tilapia we had in the freezer. Jen didn’t want pasta again, so we agreed on rice.

I defrosted the tilapia filets, cut up the last three large cherry tomatoes, the rest of the onion from last night, and grabbed a bunch of spices out of the cabinet. I put two splashes of olive oil in the big sauce pan along with a pat of butter, a bunch of garlic, a dash of cumin, two pinches of cilantro, a buttload of paprika, the chopped up tomatoes and onions, and about half a can of diced tomatoes. I started them on the oven over medium heat, while I put the rice on with some of the chopped up onion and a little butter and salt.

After the concoction in the sauce pan was boiling pretty good, I put the tilapia filets in and covered the whole thing. I let it simmer on medium-low until the rice was done (it was instant so it was only five minutes). I then dumped the finished rice on top of the tilapia, stirred in some of the juice, and covered it again for about 10 minutes.

It was really good when I got a bite of something other than rice. I think with twice as many fresh tomatoes, some other veggies like celery, and some more garlic, it would have been perfect. I think we’ll try it later in the week with some shredded chicken.

This was pretty much a perfect weekend other than my misadventures in home improvement. Max and I played a lot, we had great family time and had a lot of fun. I think I just may be ready for this last week of work before my vacation.

We’re making marshmallows tonight! I am so excited. The recipe looks really simple and if we get brave we may try making chocolate ones as well. Then tomorrow, it’s over to my parents’ house for the big barbecue and s’mores for dessert.

In other insane the-end-must-be-near news, Jen and I beat her parents at pinochle!! To set this up for you, her parents have been married for almost three decades, and have been pinochle partners the whole time. Jen and I have been together for almost six years, and only play pinochle when we’re around them. So, this was a momentous occasion. It was unbelievable. Helped by my double-run in spades and dumb luck, we pulled off a herioc victory and exulted much into the night.

After winning, we promptly dropped the next two games in our usual “not a bang, but a whimper” fashion.

Three’s Company
\
A post in three parts… First, the world’s most perfect guacamole recipe:\
Ingredients

• 2 ripe avacados

• a dash of chili powder

• a pinch of cumin (if you don’t have cumin, curry will work)

• a splash of salsa

• 1 small tomato

Peel and pit the avacados, dice into small, dice sized bits and put in small mixing bowl. Dice tomato and add to bowl. Add salsa and spices, mix lightly with potato masher. Leave small chunks of avacados and tomato. There you go, it should be perfect!

We’re watching the end of the Lakers/Kings games, and I’m having a ball watching Jen react to every little thing. She’s much better and more entertaining (and cuter too) than anyone NBC could have calling the game. She’s hilarious. The game just ended and Sacramento won. Two fat white guys in Hawaiiian shirts high-fived Chris Webber, and Jen, being extremely excited that the Kings won, squeeled, “I love those two fat guys! They’re my favorite two new guys!!!” She’s now exulting over all the replays. My wife could not be cooler, cuter or more attractive to me right now. She’s the best.

And I finally finished Metropolis. I stand by my comments from earlier. It’s good. It has some of those corny Anime moments, but overall, it was great. It was beautifully done, with some seamless CGI integrated with the traditional cell. Excellent. If you liked Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, and liked the idea of A.I., but thought the execution sucked, this is the movie for you.

There you go, food, fun and film. Does it get better than that?

As I sit here, awake because my stomach is conducting a chemistry experiment, I realize that while the Singapore Rice Noodles with chicken, pork and a plateful of curry was oh so good when I ate it, it might not do so well once it settled in. I feel like the symptom list from a Pepto-Bismal commercial.

I need me some Vietnamese food. I need it bad. Guys, lunch, tomorrow? Saigon Cafe? Come on, you know you want some fried spring rolls. You neeeeed them almost as much as I do.

You need the pork with funny noodles. The perfectly barbecued pork slices on top of thin rice noodles, covered in chopped peanuts. The crunchy carrot strings and bean sprouts. You want that little splorch of hot sauce in the corner of the bowl to dip the pork into and for a nice bite at the bottom of the bowl when you go to finish up your noodles. It’s like crack, I tell you.

The sushi from lunch is not agreeing with me. I bet I’ll have some colorful dreams tonight. Here’s a tip for the uninitiated: sashimi is raw.

Jen wanted a hot dog. I don’t know why. She went on and on about how she wanted a hot dog. It was 10:30 (in the middle of Iron Chef) and she wanted a hot dog. I reminded her that there’s a 7-11 right down the street, open 24 hours and chock full o’ meat tubes. She went so far as to do the glance around the room to see if her shoes were handy. She didn’t go get one, but being the nice husband that I am, I got her one yesterday. I’m swell.

Iron Chef gave me a craving for sushi. I’ve now had sushi a grand total of twice in my life (both at the same place here in Sterling w/ the guys from work). Iron Chef on Saturday had the top sushi chef in Japan up against Iron Chef French. The sushi chef whipped up some unbelievable pieces. It was mouth/eye-watering.

So, where do cravings come from? I remember when Jen was pregnant, the books said that pregnant-lady cravings usually indicate that you need whatever that thing provides. I don’t know that that’s true of us now. Who needs what hot dogs have in them other than a sewage treatment plant? It’s all a mystery. A mystery wrapped in a bun, with mustard and ketchup covered in chili.

I had sushi for the first time today. Yes, I KNOW! What took me so long?! Well, I’m a chicken when it comes to raw food, and well, that’s why. We went to Aoba Sushi and it was mighty tasty, the tuna especially. I went safe and got the box that came with chicken teriyaki (which is cooked, go figure). I didn’t dig on the california roll because fish eggs are just gross, but the other stuff was quite tasty and highly recommended.

From my wife, sent to me with the subject if I had a blog. Anytime, sweetie, anytime.

“If I had a blog, today my rant would be on bread! yes, you read right. At lunch, I ate not one, but two peices of bread, whole wheat! I used to hate bread. It seemed a total waste of time and calories. Now, I am forgoing a salad and perhaps dessert in favor of it. How weird is that? Is it maturity creeping up on me in this inane form? Or has my bread-loving husband wooed me away from gooey chocolate confections in favor of what used to be the bane of my dinner table? I have converted, I admit it! I see the future and the future is home-made bread! “