april 10th, 2005

 

 

4:45pm

i just spent a heckuva lotta $ on food today. $284!! i hope it will last me for a month!
i did buy a lot of condiments and spices since i'm almost all out of anything to cook with spice-wise.
and i'm getting pretty sick of just salt and pepper and crappy little very old jars of orageno or thyme that have to be seriously years old. yuck.

so...here is what i bought:

about a pound (or maybe more) of assorted olives 12.46
6 containers of hummus at 2.95 ea
(and the good kind of hummos, last time i boight some brand called athenos and it was NASTY! don't EVER buy the athenos brand of hummos, it's disgusting!!)
a pound of tilapia 7.11
a pound of sea scallops (i know i know, so expensive! but they are my favourite!) 13.85
fresh bay leaves 2.99
black licorice tea 2.89
2 things of lightbulbs at 1.59 ea
3 red onions 2.89
3 seven day candles at 1.59 ea
3 avocadoes 5.07
cider vinegar 1.25
pickled ginger 3.85
green curry paste 3.29
cardomom pods 5.95
black pepper 2.19
sourdough baguete 4.59
sweet curry 5.99
3 containers of strawberries at 3.29 ea
brussel sprouts 3.99
a lemon .45
red potatoes 2.99
peanut sauce 5.99
hot oil 4.49
bsail pesto 6.49
red curry paste 4.59
2 cans of sardines at 2.19
(funny, i actually typed 2 cans of thunderstorms because it just thundered here and i was explaining it to the dogs who were upset. wouldn't it be fun if you could buy a thunderstorm in a can?)
3 pomegranet bueberry juices at 3.99 ea (these drinks are insanely good! 100% pure juice nothing added! to die for!)
2 cans smoked oysters at 2.17 ea
fresh bulbs of garlic 1.05
free range vegetrain fed chicken 8.54
shiitake mushroms 3.99
spinach 3.59
armenian smoked cheese 3 at 6.50 ea (this is also to die for! seriously!)
white cheddar 5.25
pork chops 6.65 and 7.79
fresh cilantro 1.19
6 boxes of table water crackers (cracked pepper and sesame) at 2.69 ea
pumpernickel bread 3.79 (what does pumpernickel mean anyway? what's a pumpernickel?)
organic carrots 1.99
2 boxes of edamame at 4.99 ea
pickled herring 4.39
dog food 4.99

and then some mystery items

produce 4.99 (?)
snyder's old tyme (what is that?) 2.49
2 things called "grocery" at 6.50 (oh ya, more of that cheese but one not smoked and one marineted in herbs)

so ya....now i need to come up with things to sell again or i am so screwed for rent.
maybe my dad will give me $100 for my birthday , which he usually does.
but i still need more than that.
it kind of sucks that i have discovered good food and cooking, because now i just cannot go back to eating really shitty crap. life is too short to eat crap.
i also when i can afford it i try to buy organic and free range (which i couldn't afford it but i still feel obligated to because it's just the right thing to do to support that plus it tastes better and is better for you)
i've never cooked with red curry paste or green curry paste or the "hot oil" so that will be interesting.
i can't find a fish sauce that does not contain sugar in it.
let me knwo if anyone knows where to get a really good fish sauce.
i've also never bought fresh cilantro or bay leaves.

byerlies, where i shopped (yes, it's really damned expensive) didn't have really any curry spices.
i found the curry paste and then some powder called "sweet curry"
but nothing specific like tandoori or vindaloo.
i definitely need to get that indian spice pack from penzey's spices.
nothing can compare to it.
and also their mexican spice pack which sounds so insanely good i just drool even thinking about it.

and i want to learn how to make vegetable broths and also fish broths.
i know how to make meat ones really well, like pork, beef, chicken, but i have no clue how to make a veggie one or fish broth. i wonder if there is a recipe book out their specifically for broths?

i am really going to make a huge effort to go to the farmer's market this summer and get veggies for cheap.
i just never have cash on me and forget to go.
well, this summer i am totally going so i can save $ on groceries.

i'm really hoping they will have lots of edamame because that is one fo my favourite things.
the ones i got today were precooked. how odd.
i hope they will be good.

i wish i had a huge kitchen and i could afford to go to cooking school.
i don't want to cook for a restaurant or anything, that is too stressful and cooking should NOT be stressful, i don't think.
but i would just love to know how to make everything.

i wonder if it might be just as easy tho to learn from books and video tapes?
i have no idea. i suppose there are some things you have to see in person.

i think what i would like to learn most is broths and soups, sauces of all kinds, and all the curries...how to make them fresh?
and also how to make all the breads from scratch.

and then, of course, i would like to learn EVERYTHING about japanese food.
and then the next would be indian, and then would be french.
i actually do not know much about french food at all.
i have rarely ever had it so i am curious as to what it is exactly.

i saw frozen cow hearts today! gah!
has anyone ever eaten a cow heart?
*creeps out*

i have a weird morbid fascination for strange meats.

i also saw frozen quails. so small!
is the taste of quail so wonderful it would be worth to cook?

i also so pheasant and elk.

i've never had either of these either.

i'm sorry for my vegetarian friends who i am grossing out.

oh! and i would like to know how to make noodles from scratch.
like udon.
i want to make japanese udon soups from scratch.
the broths are always so light, i don't know what's in it.

it's 5:28pm and i haven't even eaten anything today which is probably why i am thinking so much about food right now. but god i ate so much yesterday i don't even really want to eat today!
i will eat very light things today.

maybe a spinach and strawberry salad with balsamic vinegar.

i also would love t try those realllllllly expensive balsamic vinegars that are hundreds of years old that you sip as a "digestive" after dinner.

and this has nothing to do with food, but i want to swim with those jellyfish that don't sting you off the islands of palou, where survivor is right now.
soooooo beautiful!!!

there are so many things i want to experience.
but i cannot travel, so at least i can experience new food things.
i always want to open myself to new PLEASANT experiences.

on iron chef once they made wasabi FRESH, not from the dried powder...but whatever wasibi is...a root?
i need to somehow find it fresh because i guess it's a completely different thing to have it fresh.

kitchen items i wish i had:

a real cast iron stewing pot.
a BIG cast iron frying pan
and a mortar and pestle so i could grind fresh herbs together and make pesto from scratch.
a wok
a rice steamer
a chopping board (wood)
one really nice SHARP knife (mine broke)

looking for a good fish sauce and found this that seems to be a good thing:

http://www.pacificrimgourmet.com/detail.aspx?ID=186

if fish saunce is just made from anchovies and sea salt, i'd think i'd be able to figure out how to make it myself?

and oh look fresh wasabi!

http://www.freshwasabi.com/

*reads*

it says:

"Wasabi powder is available in most grocery stores and is also used in most sushi restaurants in the U.S. The powder is not real Wasabi at all. The primary ingredient is horseradish powder, which has a hot flavor that has been passed off as wasabi. It's convenient and inexpensive but tastes nothing like real Wasabi. "

!!!

well dang! i need fresh wasabi!

wasabi is a "rhizome"
which is:

"A horizontal, usually underground stem that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Also called rootstalk, rootstock."

more about wasabi

http://www.wasabia.ca/summary.htm

ooo, a wasabi bloody mary!

http://www.freshwasabi.com/recipes/drink_wasabi_bloody_mary.html

yum! why did i never think of that?

 

1:08pm

at 2:30pm jason and i are going food shopping.
and after that we are going for a walk.
i just woke up and i'm groggy.
weird dreams but to surreal and fragmented to even put into words.
i'm going to drink some cold coffee from yesterday.
it's funny how the 2 horoscopes i have totally conflict with each other. i wish i knew enough about astrology that i could just figure out my own horoscope instead of relying on people i don't know and who don't know me to make mine. sometimes these horoscopes have been kind of accurate. but sometimes i just go wtf?
i think i need to find a better horoscope place.

+++

Horoscope for Aries (April 10 2005)

You may feel guilty if you have work to do and don't feel like doing it. Cut yourself some slack and take the day off. Aggressive action will bring you absolutely no satisfaction or rewards today.

and

Sudden moves
Weak, transient effect: Today during the day you are likely to crave emotional excitement, something that departs from the routine of your daily life. You are likely to seek out people who are different from those you usually meet. You might spend the day or evening in very different surroundings. And while you may feel a bit impulsive, these impulses make you feel more alive rather than inclined to act rashly or stupidly. On a more quiet level, you may use this energy to make needed changes in your immediate personal life or your domestic environment. While others may seem startled by your apparently sudden moves, these changes should be constructive, and the people in your life will accept them. If you have to deal with groups of people or with the general public, you will advocate change and new policies.