In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hi there, my most beautiful Erin! How's my beloved Pro doing today? It's great to be successful, so please give thanks to Allah and maintain your prayers. I want you to always keep in mind your own well-being, and guard those precious emotions of yours. I love you and I need you.
I went out in search of a snapper this morning. I woke up at 3:30 am, not necessarily intentionally. I do that sometimes. It's a strange rhythm, so I conduct extra worship. I knew I had to go to the market after the dawn prayer, so I tried to grab a nap after worship. All the snapper available today was small, the size of my hand. Now don't get me wrong, snapper tastes great at any size. But a snapper the size of my hand is only good for one meal. So the better value is to buy a big fish. I use the 2 fillets for 2 servings of sushi or whatever, the head for curry, the bones for broth, the skin for a crispy fry, and I keep the roe and liver in the freezer for whatever use they may have. That's 6 meals out of one fish! So I didn't buy a snapper this morning. I'll wait until I come across a fish that's about 2 kilos. And you know the added advantage allowing the small fish to grow big, people? They get a chance to produce young, so you don't wipe out the species! Needless to say, I was rather annoyed this morning. Maybe I'm just not a morning person.
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Friday, October 23, 2015
Letter to Erin 20151024
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hey there, Erin dahling. How are you today, Sweetie? I suppose it's that time of year where supermodel politics are in full rage. You're at the top of the heap to me, because you're MY girl. Oh, you're so sweet. Please make sure that success doesn't steal away your sweetness. I love you Erin, and I need you.
I still had all that scad fillet in my freezer. Adult hardtail scad is only good for sushi or sashimi on the very first day. This is because it had powerful flavor, and after the first day it becomes too overbearing to eat raw, no matter if you freeze it. The younger fish are more tasteless. But no matter, scad is a perfect match with marinara sauce. Like sardines, but different. Meatier. So that's what I had for dinner. I heated up my marinara sauce, then added chunks of scad. I enjoyed it with fresh tortillas. Italiana Mexicana! I wish I had some mozzarella cheese. I have more in the cooler if you want to come over.
Hey there, Erin dahling. How are you today, Sweetie? I suppose it's that time of year where supermodel politics are in full rage. You're at the top of the heap to me, because you're MY girl. Oh, you're so sweet. Please make sure that success doesn't steal away your sweetness. I love you Erin, and I need you.
I still had all that scad fillet in my freezer. Adult hardtail scad is only good for sushi or sashimi on the very first day. This is because it had powerful flavor, and after the first day it becomes too overbearing to eat raw, no matter if you freeze it. The younger fish are more tasteless. But no matter, scad is a perfect match with marinara sauce. Like sardines, but different. Meatier. So that's what I had for dinner. I heated up my marinara sauce, then added chunks of scad. I enjoyed it with fresh tortillas. Italiana Mexicana! I wish I had some mozzarella cheese. I have more in the cooler if you want to come over.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Letter to Erin 20151023
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hi Erin! How are you today, my love? Busy, busy? It's a slow moving day for me, but one thing about my life is that my chores wait for me. So I get to them when I get to them, then I find that I was on time after all. What the hell am I saying? I'm lazy! It's another hazy day here. The country air should be so clean, there's obviously not enough people here to generate such smog. Not enough vegetation to burn, either. This smog came from somewhere else.
Stuffed won tons take a long time to make, so after the usual round of chores I spent my morning making stuffed won tons. I could eat a copious amount of won tons if done right. Today, I experimented with a new flavor: fish liver. While I was in the middle of it, my Mom gave me a whole lot of fried rice which I just had for dinner. My fish liver won tons tasted OK, but I couldn't taste the fish liver. I could sense the, if you may, weight of the fish liver so I filled up faster. Either that, or I'm all won tonned out because I've eating won tons a lot lately. I need to practice bass next. The name of my bass is "Joe", as in "average". I write music bass first, so I don't really bother with speed and articulation anymore. I think ego driven riffs are for guitar solos only. I'm sure there a lot of better players than me. I hope you are giving your heart a break and taking your time. Your world waits for you, Princess. You are MY girl. I love you and I need you.
Hi Erin! How are you today, my love? Busy, busy? It's a slow moving day for me, but one thing about my life is that my chores wait for me. So I get to them when I get to them, then I find that I was on time after all. What the hell am I saying? I'm lazy! It's another hazy day here. The country air should be so clean, there's obviously not enough people here to generate such smog. Not enough vegetation to burn, either. This smog came from somewhere else.
Stuffed won tons take a long time to make, so after the usual round of chores I spent my morning making stuffed won tons. I could eat a copious amount of won tons if done right. Today, I experimented with a new flavor: fish liver. While I was in the middle of it, my Mom gave me a whole lot of fried rice which I just had for dinner. My fish liver won tons tasted OK, but I couldn't taste the fish liver. I could sense the, if you may, weight of the fish liver so I filled up faster. Either that, or I'm all won tonned out because I've eating won tons a lot lately. I need to practice bass next. The name of my bass is "Joe", as in "average". I write music bass first, so I don't really bother with speed and articulation anymore. I think ego driven riffs are for guitar solos only. I'm sure there a lot of better players than me. I hope you are giving your heart a break and taking your time. Your world waits for you, Princess. You are MY girl. I love you and I need you.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Letter to Erin 20151022
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hello again, beautiful Erin! Keeping safe, my dearest? Please do so. I want the best for you my love, for I love you. And I need you. I woke this morning ready for my fish. Eeyah, cooking takes a long time nowadays. Gone are the times when I can make a pizza in 10 minutes. But I did get to prep my fish yesterday. I removed the guts, the head and the tail, filleted it, and kept the skin and spine. There was still a lot of meat attached to the skin and spine. I had some desiccated coconut left in the freezer, so I cooked that to death in red hot pepper puree and lime juice. When that was dry enough, I added some chopped garlic to it, stuffed the sides of the fish with it, added some slices of fresh tofu, then bound the fish together with string. Then I fried it up, not too crispy. It tasted OK. Next time, I'll use fresh coconut. What tasted the most awesome was the dregs of oil at the bottom of the wok.
It's a super hazy day today. Very surreal. But incredibly humid. It's like a dreamscape out there. I went to the pharmacy in the evening to get some eye drops, I also stopped for gasoline and cooking oil. See you later, Dreamer Girl.
Hello again, beautiful Erin! Keeping safe, my dearest? Please do so. I want the best for you my love, for I love you. And I need you. I woke this morning ready for my fish. Eeyah, cooking takes a long time nowadays. Gone are the times when I can make a pizza in 10 minutes. But I did get to prep my fish yesterday. I removed the guts, the head and the tail, filleted it, and kept the skin and spine. There was still a lot of meat attached to the skin and spine. I had some desiccated coconut left in the freezer, so I cooked that to death in red hot pepper puree and lime juice. When that was dry enough, I added some chopped garlic to it, stuffed the sides of the fish with it, added some slices of fresh tofu, then bound the fish together with string. Then I fried it up, not too crispy. It tasted OK. Next time, I'll use fresh coconut. What tasted the most awesome was the dregs of oil at the bottom of the wok.
It's a super hazy day today. Very surreal. But incredibly humid. It's like a dreamscape out there. I went to the pharmacy in the evening to get some eye drops, I also stopped for gasoline and cooking oil. See you later, Dreamer Girl.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Letter to Erin 20151021
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hello beautiful Erin! How are you, my gorgeous darling? I suppose you're having fun with sports. I'm sorry, but I'm not a sports fan. I support the teams you love. I like fish, though. This morning, my Dad gave me a big scad. A hardtail scad, with thick skin perfect for grilling. But I need a new grill, plus I don't have any butter for basting, so I'm going to have to figure out someway else to cook it. Let me teach you how to prep it. Hardtail scad doesn't have scales. First I use a pair of kitchen scissors to make a cut beginning from the anus right up to the gills. Don't cut deeply, just deep enough to reach the stomach cavity. The base of the gills start right at the mouth, so cut there. Then make another cut at the opposite end of the gills, right at the roof of the skull. So now you loosened the gills, pull on them with your hand, making sure you loosen the membranes that hold the stomach parts to the fish. All the stomach parts should be attached to the gills, except the roe. Separate the roe cautiously- it's delicious! I got soft roe with my fish today. Not as tasty as mackerel roe, but still good. Keep the liver, too. Then I used my big old Chinese cleaver to chop off the head and the tail. My cleaver is pretty sharp, so I used it to fillet the fish. I separated to biggest lengths of flesh from the skin, and put them away in the freezer. There's still a lot of flesh stuck to the skin and bones, so I will be frying these up tomorrow inshaAllah.
Normally, I would have sashimi or sushi with the fillet, but today I want won tons stuffed with cuttlefish and chicken wings for dinner. Ah, praise Allah! It's a good day for food. You must come and share my dinner with me. I love you Erin, and I need you.
Hello beautiful Erin! How are you, my gorgeous darling? I suppose you're having fun with sports. I'm sorry, but I'm not a sports fan. I support the teams you love. I like fish, though. This morning, my Dad gave me a big scad. A hardtail scad, with thick skin perfect for grilling. But I need a new grill, plus I don't have any butter for basting, so I'm going to have to figure out someway else to cook it. Let me teach you how to prep it. Hardtail scad doesn't have scales. First I use a pair of kitchen scissors to make a cut beginning from the anus right up to the gills. Don't cut deeply, just deep enough to reach the stomach cavity. The base of the gills start right at the mouth, so cut there. Then make another cut at the opposite end of the gills, right at the roof of the skull. So now you loosened the gills, pull on them with your hand, making sure you loosen the membranes that hold the stomach parts to the fish. All the stomach parts should be attached to the gills, except the roe. Separate the roe cautiously- it's delicious! I got soft roe with my fish today. Not as tasty as mackerel roe, but still good. Keep the liver, too. Then I used my big old Chinese cleaver to chop off the head and the tail. My cleaver is pretty sharp, so I used it to fillet the fish. I separated to biggest lengths of flesh from the skin, and put them away in the freezer. There's still a lot of flesh stuck to the skin and bones, so I will be frying these up tomorrow inshaAllah.
Normally, I would have sashimi or sushi with the fillet, but today I want won tons stuffed with cuttlefish and chicken wings for dinner. Ah, praise Allah! It's a good day for food. You must come and share my dinner with me. I love you Erin, and I need you.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Letter to Erin 20151020
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
I absolutely must teach you how to process seafood. Ugh! Now don't get me wrong, I love seafood. But prepping seafood is so tedious. And stinky. And slimy. It's not like chicken or beef. Tonight's seafood is cuttlefish. Cuttlefish is a squid and like all seafood, fresh cuttlefish shouldn't have any smell. Until you open it up, and reveal what they eat. Fresh squid should have tight skin with evenly distributed color: white squid may be because the skin was peeled off to give the illusion of fresh. Squid is stinkier than fish, but the good thing is that cats hate the smell of squid, and they leave me alone when I'm working with it. First I separate the heads from the bodies, by carefully pulling it out of the body with the guts still attached. Then I remove the ink sacs, the beak, and the eyes. I keep the stomach and liver if it doesn't smell bad. If there's something in the stomach, then it would smell bad. If you managed to pull all the guts out with the heads, then there should be nothing left in the bodies. Remove the spines from the bodies, and they're good to go. Just wash them off, and keep the heads and the bodies in separate Tupperware. Squid freezes well, and keep for a long time in the freezer.
But it's not squid for dinner. My Mom gave some tomato rice, with chicken in a spicy red sauce, and a mixed pickle. This stuff is usually served at local weddings. I would share it with you, but I already ate it all. Plus, you're not here. Wish you were here. I love you, and I need you.
I absolutely must teach you how to process seafood. Ugh! Now don't get me wrong, I love seafood. But prepping seafood is so tedious. And stinky. And slimy. It's not like chicken or beef. Tonight's seafood is cuttlefish. Cuttlefish is a squid and like all seafood, fresh cuttlefish shouldn't have any smell. Until you open it up, and reveal what they eat. Fresh squid should have tight skin with evenly distributed color: white squid may be because the skin was peeled off to give the illusion of fresh. Squid is stinkier than fish, but the good thing is that cats hate the smell of squid, and they leave me alone when I'm working with it. First I separate the heads from the bodies, by carefully pulling it out of the body with the guts still attached. Then I remove the ink sacs, the beak, and the eyes. I keep the stomach and liver if it doesn't smell bad. If there's something in the stomach, then it would smell bad. If you managed to pull all the guts out with the heads, then there should be nothing left in the bodies. Remove the spines from the bodies, and they're good to go. Just wash them off, and keep the heads and the bodies in separate Tupperware. Squid freezes well, and keep for a long time in the freezer.
But it's not squid for dinner. My Mom gave some tomato rice, with chicken in a spicy red sauce, and a mixed pickle. This stuff is usually served at local weddings. I would share it with you, but I already ate it all. Plus, you're not here. Wish you were here. I love you, and I need you.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Letter to Erin 20151019
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hi there, beautiful Erin! How's life treating you today? What's it like to be so gorgeous? You're such a sweetheart, Erin. I love you so much. Of course I need you. You're my girl.
Nothing all that special happening today either. Floofy is on a self imposed diet. She does eat, but much less than she used to so her poop isn't as big. She's still a fat cat, though. I was right about her daughters ---- and -------: they're always in heat. They take a 4 day break, then go back in heat. Before they became sexually mature, they were somewhat disciplined about their pee. At least it was somewhere around the cat box. 5 siblings, what do you expect. Then they started to go in heat, so they used that excuse to point their pee wherever they please or rather, wherever is the best chance that I would step in it. Varmints! ------- has to be the naughtiest kitten I've ever had, and she sets a bad example. But these kittens don't copy their mother, who is very well behaved. Floofy had a tough beginning, perhaps that's why she's so well behaved as an adult. Is that the reason? That the kittens are too spoiled? I love all my cats, though.
Other than that, there's nothing special on the menu either. Just flat bread with leftover fish curry. I clean my parents' bedroom every Sunday. Even if I had money to pay a maid, my mother doesn't like strangers in her bedroom. The robotics experts need to focus on designing house cleaning robots. Focus on need, and that's where you can make some money, people. Don't just think "war". What the hell am I talking about? Oh yeah, I would buy a house cleaning robot. Other than that, I did some burning in the evening. The grass over at your house inshaAllah is nice and short, and the yard is looking nice and respectable. I still can't catch up with all the trees but inshaAllah, we'll get there, Sweetie. We'll get there.
Hi there, beautiful Erin! How's life treating you today? What's it like to be so gorgeous? You're such a sweetheart, Erin. I love you so much. Of course I need you. You're my girl.
Nothing all that special happening today either. Floofy is on a self imposed diet. She does eat, but much less than she used to so her poop isn't as big. She's still a fat cat, though. I was right about her daughters ---- and -------: they're always in heat. They take a 4 day break, then go back in heat. Before they became sexually mature, they were somewhat disciplined about their pee. At least it was somewhere around the cat box. 5 siblings, what do you expect. Then they started to go in heat, so they used that excuse to point their pee wherever they please or rather, wherever is the best chance that I would step in it. Varmints! ------- has to be the naughtiest kitten I've ever had, and she sets a bad example. But these kittens don't copy their mother, who is very well behaved. Floofy had a tough beginning, perhaps that's why she's so well behaved as an adult. Is that the reason? That the kittens are too spoiled? I love all my cats, though.
Other than that, there's nothing special on the menu either. Just flat bread with leftover fish curry. I clean my parents' bedroom every Sunday. Even if I had money to pay a maid, my mother doesn't like strangers in her bedroom. The robotics experts need to focus on designing house cleaning robots. Focus on need, and that's where you can make some money, people. Don't just think "war". What the hell am I talking about? Oh yeah, I would buy a house cleaning robot. Other than that, I did some burning in the evening. The grass over at your house inshaAllah is nice and short, and the yard is looking nice and respectable. I still can't catch up with all the trees but inshaAllah, we'll get there, Sweetie. We'll get there.
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