Pasta Rampage

It's been pasta almost all week! I'm still loving it. I marinated some chicken last night in honey dijon mustard, basalmic vineager, olive oil, and S&P. I love mustard, and after watching 'Unwrapped' on the food network which shot a segment at a mustard museum, I was inspired to create something with mustard. Fired up the cast iron grill, and grilled the chicken. Tossed my last few strands of fettucini with garlic, shallots, and basil with lots of olive oil. YUM. Flies are still a problem, but I may have a solution. Thanks Jason! :)

Shoo fly! DON'T BOTHER ME!

Not that I've been hit with a non-cooking spur. But most nights I'm eating kimchee and noodles or other less glamorous/bachelorette type foods.

This will be a story of my night in preparation to the actual dinner part. It is an epic and gruesome struggle. Be forewarned...

After 3 days of store bought tomato sauce and pasta (well I added other things to change it up each day), I decided I would eat pasta for dinner again. Since all the jar sauce was all used up, pasta salad it was! Some left of tortillas, granted by the freezer, made some sweet vessels for the salad.

My apartment is not centrally heated or cooled. Hi window AC unit. Hi old fashioned space heater (seriously, my mom saw it and went "Well I haven't seen one of those in 20 years!!!) Talk about old school! This yields a very slight fruit fly problem every now and then. Maybe once a week I will smash two or three. Anyway, I made amends with Oliver, my darling pet hedgehog, and he's taken up residence in my larger closet. *shock TWO closets in a studio?! Yes it is possible. AND HARDWOOD FLOORS BITCH* Because of the lack in central air, I was concerned that my fly problem would go haywire like the time it did when I didn't take out the trash for 3 days. My trashcan can fit about 5 days worth of trash, but my tolerance for flies is much much shorter. It's been about a week since Oliver moved in, and the flies were...a LITTLE worse, but not full blown out terrible like the 3 days of collected garbage. So, I figure we were good.

Fast forward to dinner. I boiled up some wheat spirals and some corn. Then cut up a bit of red onion and some leaf lettuce (well it *is* pasta SALAD). Onto the dressing. A little bit of mustard, mayo, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and mix. *mix, mix, mix WHOA FLY* Little bitty annoying and pesky tiny fruit fly. So i put the bowl down...and wait for a moment to strike. A science experiment in highschool taught me that one fly...could make...MILLIONS (okay more like thousands...hundreds) Seeing one land, I show no mercy. *CLAP* Since they're too small for fly swatters I have to assassinate with my bare hands. After washing my hands I spot two more millimeters away from my dressing. Waving them away I quickly dress my waiting and naked salad and wisely cover it with a screen. Set the bowl down to attract the vermin. HOLY FUCK. Out of no where ...a swarm of these little bugs are zooming every which way landing on the bowl with remnants of the dressing, trying to get through the screen to my salad, crawling around the lid of my vinegar. GROSS!!!

As a master fly killer, a title which I earned the sophomore year of college. Thank you roommate who didn't through away your fruit peels. I've had past experience with fruit flies, if you couldn't figure that out. (hint: they like to land on mirrors)

After 10 minutes elapse, I am hungry, my hands are pained from all the clapping and smashing, there are about 14 victims in tissue paper coffins sitting in the trashcan, and still the battle is not over. After cursing Oliver and his poo for causing my woe, I bring out the big guns. Hellooooo lemon scented RAID. I make a new match of dressing to lure them in and they come like moths to a fire. In minutes there are about 8 flies that have collected for their doom. BLAST!! A massacre. I stand victorious, until I notice a a few more that were more attracted to my mixing spoon in the sink. A quick blast execution, and I decide if there are anymore, I will deal with them later, because they have delayed my dinner long enough!

Quickly I nuke and toast my tortillas, distribute the pasta salad amongst them, and feast. It is so delicious...

Beer is not one of the ingredients

My boss lady is awesome. One of those factors of awesomeness is that we have happy hour on her at the work place A LOT. I'm famished upon coming home, even with 4 beers in my belly. Thank GOD there was some marinated beef in my fridge. Whipped up some fettuccine and tomato sauce. Grilled the beef. DINNER. Man that was tasty. I just hope it wasn't the alcohol or the hunger talking.

Introduction

Well, since I am by no means a stove master, this is the next best title (think serf...next step...lordship). Such is a mere chronicling of my rise to CULINARY GODLINESS!!!!! There will be many a obstacle, but I am ready to do some damage.

And here is where the magic happens. I'm just trying to make it on my own in my little studio apartment that was blessed with a decent kitchen. I usually only cook for myself, so my meals are simple; keepin' it real.

I learned to cook through observation and experimentation. It all started with watching my parents who are both stellar chefs. I do like to peruse the isles of a farmer's market. But I usually stick to what's on sale and fresh at my neighborhood grocery store (remember the studio apartment part?). I'm not too keen on actual written instructions, and everything I make is just based on whatever I could afford to pick up at the store. For starters... these are a few of the more memorable dishes I made and ate this week:




Mashed sweet potatoes with bacon and a turkey, onion, and mushroom omlette.








Steamed egg with mushroom and fishcake with rice and garlic bak choi.









Sarachi and miso veggie fried rice












Steamed shrimp paste tofu





Sorry for the crappy photos. They will get better. I promise.