Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Letter to Julia 20140305


In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

So can you see the connection of us, music, and food?  I didn't see it years ago in the kitchen of a pizza joint, it's probably because my feet hurt too much.  They still hurt.  I can see why you want to move the kitchen in my little house outside, and so be it.  Some food smell awful powerful when cooking.  Hey, some stuff smells strong when raw.  Durians are popular in the US now, but I hardly eat the stuff.  My Mom chugs copious amounts of that fruit, so it's probably her fault that it's so popular.  I love you, Mom!  Someone must pay my mother an endorsement fee.  Yeah, we'll move that kitchen outside by the time you get here inshaAllah, but like I said, that area needs work.  Just the burners: all storage should stay indoors.

I picked up some huge cuttlefish at the night market on Monday.  Big ones, about half a kilo each!  I fried the heads up with garlic and onions, and a lot of oil, then froze the rest.  I thought it might be too oily, but squid is mostly water so it balanced out nicely.  Plus the innards made a great sauce.  I also bought some mackerel for my sushi.  Yes, there are better fish, but did you know that sushi used to be considered poor man's food?  Think about it: mackerel, egg, rice, seaweed, spring onions.  I made a man's sized portion.  Hey, don't touch my sushi!  I'll make you your own portion.  I love you, I love you.

I went to wait for the butcher on Tuesday morning to pick up some tenderloin.  But the sirloin looked soooo good, I spent my money on that instead.  There was some lean meat in the chunk I got, but that's OK.  I'll use it for beef and potato curry for my morning bread.  In the end, I managed to get 4 man-sized sirloin steaks.  Hey, don't touch my steak!  I didn't know models ate steak.  I'll cook you your own steak.  A man and his food.  Oh God, I can't believe I've become so macho.  Ya Allah, thank You for the knowledge and the bounty that You've provided for me.