Friday, January 25, 2008

1:55 PM - where's my Mussorgsky?

xkcd-inspired mischief

I may have instigated some trouble today. I was reading a Wikipedia article and discovered the sentence, "She has helped many people and is just all around amazing." Unable to resist, I taught myself just enough Wikipedia editing to add: [citation needed].

In other news, I played Guitar Hero for the first time last night. I've never played a timing game like that before, so it was very challenging. My comment in the moment: "I'm clearly at a disadvantage for listening to classical music in my childhood."

Monday, January 21, 2008

12:23 PM - cthulhu in the kitchen

rabbit food

I've been trying to get more interested in salads recently. For me, the perfect salad is flavorful and can be made very quickly, ie before work or before I change my mind and have something less healthy. I'm not very knowledgeable about these things, but I'd like to share some salad recipes I've come up with and then get some good recipes back from others.

The Red Salad
salad greens
savory baked tofu, diced^*
fresh strawberries, sliced
ground black pepper
red onion, chopped and gently sauteed (optional for time constraints, but yummy)
blush wine vinaigrette

The Fake Asian Salad
salad greens
sesame baked tofu, diced^*
sugar snap peas
mandarin orange slices (optional, but they remind me of Margaret Cho)
ginger sesame dressing

If you haven't had enough sesame at this point, sprinkle some toasted seeds on there. I like the fibrousness of the snap peas... I call it a "fake" asian salad because I lived in China for a year and never saw a single salad while I was there.

The Yucky Salad
salad greens (noticing a pattern here?)
thin granny smith apple slices
shaved fennel
walnuts
blue cheese dressing

I don't really know why these flavors work together, because individually, I'd think each of them was "yucky". I like them together, though!

As a side note, I tend to prefer Wildwood Baked Tofus and Brianna's salad dressings but like the rest of this post, I am open to suggestions.

^*Or chopped or cubed or ... something. All these cooking terms... it's too much.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

5:26 PM - yucky!

my newest pet peeve

People who talk on their cell phone in public restrooms. A hands-free Bluetooth headset is not an excuse.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

3:30 PM - thematic palindrome

woo!

Okay, so the first mistake I made today was bringing chocolate truffles into work the day after people began their New Year diets. I've gotten approximately two interested people, which is a shame, because they are good truffles. Your loss, skinnypantses.

On New Year's Eve I drove down to the South Bay to celebrate the new year with friends. Of course I arrive, ring the doorbell, wait a few minutes, and get no response at all. I dial my friend's cell phone and^* get the "What do you want" tone of voice, followed by, "We're in the middle of a battle in World of Warcraft right now, can you wait outside for a couple of minutes?" I put my things down on the outdoor table and watch in the twilight as a leaf falls from a nearby tree. I shiver in the slight December breeze. This is not the first time that I've been asked to wait outside the front door while someone plays World of Warcraft.

The party was totally fantastic, and included two sets of Mah Jongg tiles. It was really fun to have a broad spectrum of Chinese-American experiences on display: people who could or could not speak Mandarin, or Taiwanese, or Cantonese, and people who could or could not read, and it was super fun and very inclusive of everyone. Of course, I got way carried away when one woman played this tile and hesitated about whether to name the tile in Mandarin or Taiwanese, and I blurted condescendingly to her in English, "That's a five." We both laughed.

I totally want to go take Chinese classes again, since my tones are terrible and my reading comprehension is approx 0%, and I apparently misremembered something I thought I knew cold. On the other hand, I did have a good moment or two.

Of course, then I crashed with friends and we ended up having a spontaneous pajama party the next day, making French toast (yummy) and playing enough Warcraft that I probably shouldn't have cast any aspersions in an earlier paragraph. Yay for driving home in my pajamas.

So now I am stuck with about 3 more chocolate truffles and no one to pawn them off to. Wish me luck!

^*This part is a bit of a dramatization.