Happy birthday, Dad.

my Achilles heel.

As gallant as Achilles was, his heels brought him down.
Food is my weakness.
That, and dresses.

scalloping, scallopian, sca... ok maybe just scallops.

Scallops on a bed of seaweeds.

the Tale of a Fishy Thursday.

So I went to Waldbaum's and picked up some, well, a lot of fish today. Got a little bored with eating good ole chik'in and felt like I could do with more Omega 3's. As some of you may know, I do not eat beef, pork or lamb so I'm kinda stuck with either fish and chicken, but it's really not so bad! After all, it's only beef, pork and lamb, how much can I miss out by?

Here's an appetizer I came up with. It's sliced baguettes, half garnished with garlic and herb cheese with salmon slices; the other half received a generous coating of avocado topped with tuna in olive oil. 

  

For the main course, I baked lemon pepper catfish till I could see the nice brown crust (I sprinkled some bread crumbs on it before baking). Remember to keep basting or your perfect piece of fish will fall to pieces once cooked! I then added some leftovers sitting in my mini fridge - baby  bok choys and rice cooked with tomatoes, beans and mushrooms.

I saw some bottles of wine and wanted to get one since it'll complement the appetizer but I had a lot of things to carry home so I figured I'll get a  bottle next time. I also got a pack of bay scallops and will cook that for the next post. I didn't have some of what I wanted to cook it with today so it'll have to wait.

So here's to a fishy thursday. Cheers.

the Curious Case of Dead Umbrellas.

Many umbrellas find their final resting place in public trash cans, blown away to the middle of busy roads, or as in this case pictured, by an empty sidewalk. After serving their typically short lives protecting the human race from the grievous rain, they are no longer deemed useful as some parts of their frail bodies fail to handle harsh, blustery weather. Once their owners decide they are no longer able to be of service, umbrellas are disrespectfully thrown away by the roadside only to be trampled on.

The reason for this outrageous epidemic is unknown. For the time being, we can help stop this from happening by simply giving our loyal umbrellas a gentle and caring goodbye. It is the least we can do to protect them from the cruel treatment they receive year after year after year.

Save the umbrellas.

TBK

There's a new killer in town, and she's called TBK, aka The Bee Killer. She is not to be confused with the infamous BTK, aka Ted Bundy.

TBK's modus operandi (mo) includes killing bees with thick books such as the handy Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, then squashing the poor creatures til they squirm and finally let out their last breath.

She has reportedly killed almost 7 bees in total, and  it is clear that a very serious serial killing going on. Here is a picture of the most recent victim. If anyone can identify the remains of the victim or have any information regarding TBK, please contact us.

perfect fall breakfast for the lazies

Who wouldn't want to wake up to the aroma of a lovely breakfast cooking up itself? Since most of us have to actually get out of bed and make them ourselves, here's a no-cook easy warm breakfast I've been having lately.

It's so simple! Requires no brain skills at all. Just toss some english muffins into the toaster oven and drizzle maple syrup over it when it toasts to perfection. I got a pack of english muffins and actually wanted to make a filling of eggs and patties, but I just keep forgetting to buy eggs.

And what fall breakfast would be complete without a cup of hot chocolate? Not mine :)

of fortune cookies, cool shades and strawberry topiaries.

I finally ate my fortune cookie I got from last night's takeout. Says 'Character is the cornerstone of success'. And then at the back, it says 'LEARN CHINESE - Chocolate (qiao ke)'. If I start collecting enough fortune cookies I might learn enough Chinese to last me a trip there one day.

On a different note, a couple of days ago I went to return something I got from Daffy's. Unfortunately I could only get store credit back. So in exchange I got these cool aviator shades. Love 'em!

Also, was watching the Cooking Channel this morning (still am instead of studying, guilty as charged) and Paula Deen made this wonderful chocolate dipped strawberry topiary. I absolutely heart the mint leaves filling in the gaps. In this picture it looks slightly over the top but Paula did it beautifully.

my first NYC takeout

Today I ordered my first takeout ever online through GrubHub. Was feeling feverish and even looking at the weather outside through the window chilled me to the bone, literally. I just wanted to huddle up in my sweatpants and big furry slippers (well more like socks and flip flops) sipping hot chocolate watching The New Adventures of Old Christine, haha. One of the restaurants nearby on Bell Blvd offering takeout was a Chinese one, with no fee but the minimum amount to order is $8. I just went for it considering my condition and the bleak 40 degree weather.

Why my first takeout only now, I hear you ask, considering I've been here for almost three years? In Kansas I was in good hands of The Fiancé where he drove me around everywhere I wanted. Yes, even late in the night when I am craving for a quick bite. I have never ordered in when I was living in Melbourne either. I always ate out or made quick meals at home there.

I ended up ordering wonton soup, roasted pork chow mein and tofu noodles (all in pint size) for $10 including tips. Less than an hour later the food arrived delivered by a poor Asian old man. I felt bad because he looked cold, also because he had to come all the way to deliver my food in the cold while I sat indoors comfortably. I shall remember to leave the porch light on the next time I order in. He reminded me of when I ordered McDonald's one rainy day in Kuala Lumpur during my two years there. This guy had to travel in the rain to get my sorry burger for me. At least here they do get tips.

Foodwise, I was surprised that the food actually tasted okay but the wonton soup was kinda horrible. I will definitely put up a wonton soup post when I do get the time to make it myself. So all in all, a good first takeout experience! An option to keep an eye on for those dreary days when all you wanna do is lie on your couch and be a potato.

a saturday night in.

I went to Waldbaum's today, and spent a good hour just traipsing along every aisle of the tiny (tiny compared to Walmart) foodmart. For those who aren't sure what Waldbaum's is, just think of it as Dillon's. So I walked around with my cart, and having a little extra money this week to spend on food I happily loaded stuff after stuff into the seemingly empty-ish cart. An hour later I ended up buying quite a load, paid $25 for 6 big bags of goodies and headed home. Does anyone spot a problem?

Alas, MS does not own a car. She could take the bus, yes, but it wouldn't make a difference. I considered hijacking the supermarket cart home (and of course I would return it ever so immediately). But realistically I am left with no option but to trudge along home as fast as my petite feet would carry me.

I was glad to reach home. Excited to start cooking, I got the pasta water boiling. Meanwhile bell peppers were chopped and cooked with canned whole tomatoes, and tuna was added just at the last second. This is what I ended up with.

 

Btw, I cook in batches just to save time. So my food here is not going to be very aesthetic looking for convenience's sake. Also, I cannot  be bothered prettifying my food with garnishes. For now, bear with me sans garnish.

Since I was on a roll today in the kitchen, I decided to cook up my sack of potatoes. Also, I would be busy next week with exams and assignments. I boiled potatoes til they were falling apart, drained them, baked them at 450'c and eyeballed the time it took to cook. Thanks to a tip from  The Fiancé, where he told me that rough edges would crisp the outside of the potatoes even more. Yummo.

See? A Saturday night in doesn't have to be boring. Signing off to enjoy my meal while you ogle at the (amateur) pics.

 

Drumrolls.

Leo Da Vinci once said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. This blog will be about me striving to live the simple live in a hotspot like NYC. At this time, I'm frugal with money when it comes to food. A lot of this blog will be postings of food cooked, great finds, and really about life as it is here minus the glam or glitz. There will be no fancypants high-end cooking, mind you, since I'm being prudent in expenditures. And unlike my other blog, I will write in plain English, for once! So this is me, unpersonified.

Enjoy.

UPDATE: Sept 7, 2011
Sorry, I lied.

I didn't expect this blog to evolve and take a turn, but it has. I am starting to not write in plain English, and becoming complicated once again. Probably by default. This first started out as wanting to post about various food items but now it's become my writing vomit galore.