Well, Flickr is down right now, so I can't inflict yet another photo of the 'hood on you tonight. I'll have to write.
A nice thing to happen today: I made another variant of the pasta salad that we basically live on during the summers. I had a few hardboiled eggs, which I had made for another recipe that we're dragging our heels on actually preparing, sitting in the fridge. I chopped them up and threw them in the pasta salad and that magical emulsification thing happened with the egg yolks, the balsamic vinegar, and the olive oil. So delicious we had no leftovers.
A funny thing: I was watching Kyou no ryouri (Today's Cooking) while I was doing my therapy exercises. The ladies were preparing a few tofu dishes. Because tofu is healthy! The "Japanese" word for "healthy" is "herushii" and they kept repeating "herushii" over and over while they prepared deep fried tofu fritters ("Go great with beer!") and scrambled curried tofu. The curried tofu was hilarious. They start out with sautéing a little minced ginger and garlic, then they throw in some minced vegetables and three slices of minced bacon. "Because tofu doesn't have a lot of flavor, so we add the bacon for flavor." Then they mash in the tofu, and add some curry powder. Next comes a quarter cup of Japanese curry roux, which is basically a cake of lard mixed with curry powder. "So it has that nice curry flavor." "And it's so healthy, because it's tofu!" They stir it for awhile, add some more vegetables, and white wine and soy sauce, and then a big pat of butter. "Because tofu doesn't have a lot of flavor. But it's really healthy." Just when I think they're going to tip the skillet over a plate of rice and be done with it, they throw in a quarter pound of diced processed cheese food. "For flavor, because the tofu doesn't have a lot of flavor. Even though it's so healthy." By this time I'm laughing my head off, because, yeah, tofu doesn't have a lot of flavor, but last time I checked processed cheese food didn't either. Tofu has a fair amount of fat, and when you add a cup or so of animal fat to it, you end up with a dish that is not healthy. It looked pretty good though. I can probably whip up a version that is not redolent of heart attack on a plate.
Another thing: I have new sneakers now. Oz forced me to go to a shoe store and torture the staff. The arch supports feel like little fingers poking up at my arches. When I was wearing them around the house, Monte Alban sat in the shoebox and looked extremely cute. Then he rested his neck on the edge of the box and made a little choking noise.
A better thing: I have a new tripod. Oz ordered me one, because the tripods we have are old and flimsy, and he likes shopping. This one is big, not flimsy, and has a quick release ball head. He ordered extra mounting plates too, for his camera. Long exposure photographs, here I come!
A thing to try: On a whim I am working up a recipe for ricotta cheesecake. Did you know that store-bought pie crusts come in more flavors than graham? You can get Oreo and Nilla wafer too. How can one not play with cheesecake variations?
That is enough things for now.
585 words | July 19, 2006 11:10 PM | Real true storyThanks for that. I read Woody the tofu thing, and we both laughed.
She's now reminiscing about doing Passover in Japan and how our Japanese friends also thought latkes (deep fried potatoes, of course) and carrot candy (roughly equal parts carrrots and sugar, then you boil away most of the liquid.... all of which comes from the carrot) were herushii...
Posted by: Jonathan Dresner at July 20, 2006 01:55 AMI think "healthiness" must an inherent property of the ingredients. The method of preparation is immaterial. You can wrap a carrot in bacon and deep fry it, but it will remain "herushii."
And this tofu thing? They give the calorie count per serving for everything on this show. The dainty Japanese serving of this tofu curry had 670 calories, which is as much as a Big Mac and almost twice the calories in the dishes they usually feature. But still, really "herushii" because it's tofu!
Posted by: 100 word minimum at July 20, 2006 09:08 AMOh yes, I need to get a new tripod. Actually, I almost need to but the tapeless JVC video cam is about the size of a tennis ball, so I don't think it would work on a tripod. Maybe I just need a large helium balloon for it.
Posted by: Derek at July 24, 2006 03:21 AMIt'll work on a tripod as long as there's a way to attach it. I've used a tripod with my tiny Olympus camera, which is about the size of a bar of soap. Although you might get some interesting shots with your helium balloon system, as long as the wind didn't blow your camera away.
Posted by: 100 word minimum at July 24, 2006 08:14 AM