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Author: Livia N

Not food, just west philly

I took my time walking home tonight because the weather was lovely and I had no need to rush. I stopped for dinner; I picked up laundry; I meandered.

I overheard two men from college speaking:
A: Where is your girlfriend tonight?
B: At some ritual. Who celebrates the crescent moon, anyways?

I overheard one college guy talking to his two friends:
I have trouble figuring out where we are in the relationship. Are we just friends? Is it more? What does it mean when I flirt with her, and how much flirting is okay? … etc…. How do I know?

And, being a busybody, I interrupted: “You ask.”
He looked at me incredulously: “You ask?”
“You ask.”
“That sounds more difficult.”
“Well, good luck with it.”

On the way to pick up my laundry, I passed one man getting up into the another man’s face:
“…children are turning against their parents.
These are the days when wives are turning against their husbands…”

One the way back, they were laughing together like the best of friends.

As I passed the mosque, I was stopped and anointed with oil scented through the grace of Allah.

When friends visit

*excerpted from a longer post*

And then there were thai food with noodles and tofu in a peanutty sauce. And desert of coconut ice cream in little coconut shells (which look just like breasts) from Trader Joe’s. If you shop there, I will make the recommendation: those ice creams were tasty, but improved greatly with the addition of Godiva’s chocolate liqueur.

Chinese pork

Do any of you cook Chinese food much? I have a leftover pork roast, and I want to turn it into that brown melty pork that you sometimes get in restaurants… only every store-bought sauce I have ever tried for this has been too salty and/or too sweet and usually not even close. I don’t even know what to call the particular dish to look it up.

So can any of you read my mind? Can you tell me how to make it from scratch?

ETA: The answer is to use authentic oyster sauce instead of a mixed sauce from the supermarket

*****

Other upcoming meals —

Collard Greens and Lentils cooked down with fried mustard seeds, nigella seeds, coriander, chillies, and garlic added at the last.

Asparagus. Something special with asparagus. It will probably be with peas and tortellini and either a butter & lemon sauce or something creamy.

Chili

*****

Notable recent meals —

I made a lovely curry (onions, garlic, ginger, coriander stalks, curry powder, and tomatoes) with potatoes and string beans.

And last night there were scrambled eggs with onions, garlic, mushrooms, artichoke hearts (the vegetable truck has had lovely artichokes lately!), smoked oysters, and cheese. Thanks to the lovely Meghan for the idea.

I think I bought too many vegetables

It has been cold, and I have been getting home kinda late, so I haven’t been doing as much cooking lately… but I was finally home for a weekend and went to the produce stand… and now I am not sure I will get around to cooking all my food before it goes bad.

So here’s the thing — I am listing a bunch of ingredients, and you and I will think of fun way to put them together.

Ingredients
Vegetables/Green matter:
Cauliflower (1 head)
Broccoli (1 stalk)
Red bell peppers (2)
Potatoes (3 lbs)
Cilantro (1 bunch)
Romaine Lettuce (the inside half of 1 head)
Roma tomatoes (20?)

Unfrozen Meat:
Turkey andouille (1 1/2 left)

Frozen Meat:
“rabbit”
random beef (ground and in steaks)

And I have a good selection of legumes.

Ideas
Dish 1: Aloo Gobi — nope. This was a new dish for me, but now I’ve made it several times and it is no longer as exciting… might still make is as a good use for lots of potatoes and cauliflower.

Dish 2: Red beans & Rice w/ andouille — maybe. I cringe a little because my momma always made red beans and rice with a piece of pork or some ham hock… but it’s a possibility.

Dish 3: Creole Chicken or Shrimp — I’d have to buy the meat product, but it would use up all those lovely tomatoes in one go.

On my stove right now I have a pot of chili cooking. That was to use up a collection of miscellaneous beef leftovers. I used the same mix I have always used (and strongly recommend because all the spices come in individual packets instead of all mixed together)… but it seemed like a lot of salt as it went in… apparently I have stopped cooking with as much salt as I used to. This is odd. So I have already used two potatoes to soak up the saltiness — yesterday’s dinner was potatoes boiled in chili. 🙂

In other food news — I have only one bagel left in my freezer — Woe!

ETA:Okay, the “rabbit” is strange and exciting, but it’s frozen and will keep. What about the pretty, sexy veggies?