Calories per euro
As I write this, Sam is in the adjacent room with a good soundtrack, some incense, and a single desklamp lighting his practice with watercolor painting. Duffy huddles over his laptop, which is now plugged into an external monitor he bought for 20 euros after smoke started billowing out the back of his 10 pound 1998 Dell a month ago. And I'm drifting from blog to pdf, reading dorky stuff to my heart's content.
Today, I woke up to make one of the better egg tortillas I've made yet, although we agreed I didn't fry the potatoes quite enough, but they were cooked. I incorporated green onions, but the use of the whisk caused the real advancement in quality, which I proudly purchased at a store called "Bazaar."
This store sells things; that's the best way I can describe it. Imagine boxes of randomly assorted products made in Taiwan: it may be small plastic toys in fluorescent colors, it may be a one-size-fits-all t-shirt, it may be a bowl or a plastic spoon or a pencil. It is a close relative of the ubiquitous $1 store in the US. In a somewhat racist gesture, the locals refer to the stores as "Los Chinos" due to stereotypes that have some truth to them, as far as I can tell. (Many are run by Asians.) Regardless, the purchase was a key part in whipping up the eggs to be a bit more frothy, at Sam's suggestion, so that the eggs filled the whole pan. He's right: definitely works better.
I also finished off leftovers from the orange chicken I made last night. Over rice and doused with Sriracha sauce shipped all the way from Palatine Hill. I think the sauce wasn't thick enough and I think next time I want to bread the chicken with some of our corn flour next time before frying it.
What does this have to do with anything? Several things. 1) Good cooking wards off homesickness. 2) Good cooking and good nutrition is vital for successful training and in my case, mental health as well.
Now many of you are quite familiar with the monetary focus of our daily lives. I assure you that we have been progressing in food quality, even within these restraints. For example, our standby dish for the first few weeks of living here (I remember distinctly) was microwaved pasta, olive oil, and salt sprinkled along with a few other spices found in the cupboard (Espeggheti, Perfil, etc). From here, we introduced the use of lentils and black beans; when purchased dry, we found it takes about a full day of soaking before they're ready for cooking. And I am now a true master at the perfect pot of fluffy rice, which is only $.59 euros/kg at the store. Not bad, not bad at all. We make plenty of salads and sandwiches.
Among the three of us, I stand out because I slip pastries and the 2-for-1 chocolate bars into my shopping basket. Why not? Exactly.
Tonight, Sam used his wizardry to produce a curry lentil dish, deftly employing spices from the Far East. (No seriously, shipped here from none other than Katherine Overton, Sam's better half, who currently is doing studies abroad in middle-of-nowhere India.)
So, even after a bunch of eating today, and a dessert of yogurt ($1.15 euros/kg) and granola ($1.10 euros/kg), and a few empty San Miguel beers on the desk ($2.00 euros/liter), I still think of food enough to write a blog about it and dream about the food that magically appeared on the kitchen counter without a cent leaving my pocket. Ah, the wonders of growing up.
Today, I woke up to make one of the better egg tortillas I've made yet, although we agreed I didn't fry the potatoes quite enough, but they were cooked. I incorporated green onions, but the use of the whisk caused the real advancement in quality, which I proudly purchased at a store called "Bazaar."
This store sells things; that's the best way I can describe it. Imagine boxes of randomly assorted products made in Taiwan: it may be small plastic toys in fluorescent colors, it may be a one-size-fits-all t-shirt, it may be a bowl or a plastic spoon or a pencil. It is a close relative of the ubiquitous $1 store in the US. In a somewhat racist gesture, the locals refer to the stores as "Los Chinos" due to stereotypes that have some truth to them, as far as I can tell. (Many are run by Asians.) Regardless, the purchase was a key part in whipping up the eggs to be a bit more frothy, at Sam's suggestion, so that the eggs filled the whole pan. He's right: definitely works better.
I also finished off leftovers from the orange chicken I made last night. Over rice and doused with Sriracha sauce shipped all the way from Palatine Hill. I think the sauce wasn't thick enough and I think next time I want to bread the chicken with some of our corn flour next time before frying it.
What does this have to do with anything? Several things. 1) Good cooking wards off homesickness. 2) Good cooking and good nutrition is vital for successful training and in my case, mental health as well.
Now many of you are quite familiar with the monetary focus of our daily lives. I assure you that we have been progressing in food quality, even within these restraints. For example, our standby dish for the first few weeks of living here (I remember distinctly) was microwaved pasta, olive oil, and salt sprinkled along with a few other spices found in the cupboard (Espeggheti, Perfil, etc). From here, we introduced the use of lentils and black beans; when purchased dry, we found it takes about a full day of soaking before they're ready for cooking. And I am now a true master at the perfect pot of fluffy rice, which is only $.59 euros/kg at the store. Not bad, not bad at all. We make plenty of salads and sandwiches.
Among the three of us, I stand out because I slip pastries and the 2-for-1 chocolate bars into my shopping basket. Why not? Exactly.
Tonight, Sam used his wizardry to produce a curry lentil dish, deftly employing spices from the Far East. (No seriously, shipped here from none other than Katherine Overton, Sam's better half, who currently is doing studies abroad in middle-of-nowhere India.)
So, even after a bunch of eating today, and a dessert of yogurt ($1.15 euros/kg) and granola ($1.10 euros/kg), and a few empty San Miguel beers on the desk ($2.00 euros/liter), I still think of food enough to write a blog about it and dream about the food that magically appeared on the kitchen counter without a cent leaving my pocket. Ah, the wonders of growing up.
posted by Unknown at 9:55 PM
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