Enjoy the ride

Hi Natty!  How are you today?  Is it another mad day on the crazy carousel?  Aw, I want to ride together with you.  I love you too, my precious Natty.  You are so beautiful.  I will marry you, inshaAllah.  Meanwhile, please enjoy the ride.

Oh there's not much going on over here with me today, just the usual routine.  I had a couple of anchovy buns left over from yesterday which I wanted to eat for lunch today, but my Mom made some fried rice for me instead.  Anchovies are very popular around these here parts.  These buns are stuffed with anchovies in a mild red sauce.  Quite tasty.  I got these at the supermarket when I went to buy chicken.  There's a name brand anchovy bun that's a best seller here, that quite tasty too.  I suppose I can make my own.  But I can't make soft bread like the machines do.  I don't have the machines to do it, plus I don't have the oven.  Oh my God, a professional oven in this little house would be a nightmare to deal with.  I would need an air conditioned room to have a professional oven, otherwise I would hate being in the kitchen.  But I guess that's a paradox.  In the evening, I did some chainsawing then I went to the night market to buy some dinner for my mother.  My dinner was those anchovy buns, which I stuffed with sunny side up eggs and the liver and onions from the other day.  No, it wasn't that odd.  I would say it was a success.  Plus, I used up the leftovers.

Qur'an 20191111

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

135.  Say, "Each of us is waiting: wait you therefore, and soon shall you know who it is that is on the straight and even way, and who it is that has received guidance."

Ta Ha 20:135

I play guitar

Hi Natty!  How are you doing today, my precious love?  I hope you are having a wonderful time, and feeling great.  Did you enjoy your dinner?  Here I am, chowing down on leftover chicken chow mein, while writing this letter.  It's OK.  It's cold and needs soy sauce, but I don't have any.  Yeah, I have to eat and run today.  It's Sunday, and Sunday is my busiest day of the week.  I cleaned my mother's bedroom as usual in the morning, then after Mary Unknown's session I went to the supermarket to buy... a chicken.  When I got back it was almost sunset, but I did manage to process the chicken in time before the prayer, and now I have the bones and skin simmering in the sauce pot making broth, which I will shut off before I head out to the mosque after I finish this letter.  And my dinner.  When I get back, I'll put the broth and the bones in the cooler.  I think I'll pull the meat off the bones tomorrow morning.  Tonight after Mary's wardrobe work, I have to play guitar.  Because I play guitar!

Hi Natty

How are you, Sweetheart?  How are you feeling?  I hope everything is easy going for you, and you are having a marvelous time.  There's nothing much going on here, just the usual.  I got lots of sleep, which is awesome.  I didn't mean to put you off when talking about impurities in chicken.  We all know there's nothing really 100% pure in this world in our food.  I don't think humans are cut out to be entirely vegan, though.  We don't have the stomach to consume cellulose.  A balanced diet without excess is the key, I think.  It's best to know how to cook.  Do you read cookbooks?  I suppose those would be cumbersome to carry around.  Watch videos instead!  I tried to find a good video on grilled chicken breast for you, but my search got jumbled when they found out what I was after.  So take heed to what I say: however you spice your boneless chicken breast and whatever way you cook it, the cooking is done when pink turns to white at the thickest part of the chicken breast.  This means you have to cut it open to find out, unless you are experienced enough to know just by poking at it.  Use moderate heat or fire!   There's nothing special on the menu today for me.  Ramen for lunch, and liver and onions with hash browns for dinner.  I love ramen.  I could eat it everyday, but I'm fussy about how it's prepared.  You'll find out when I cook a bowl for you inshaAllah.  Liver and onions with hash browns doesn't sound like dinner, but I have to use up all my chicken liver before I buy another chicken.  With me Natty, the fridge rules the menu.  If I had a bigger fridge with a separate freezer, we might have more options for menus.  But I keep a strict eye on leftovers and aging food.  I hate wasting food!

The flat file

Hi Natty!  How are you feeling, my darling?  How's your tummy?  I imagine that stepping up would make you a little more nervous than your usual nervous self.  Don't worry, my love!  Everything will be OK, inshaAllah.  Go ahead and eat a big old chunk of grilled chicken breast.  Just the chicken, and make sure you are full.  That should help calm you down.

Yeah, I've processed more chicken nowadays than I ever had to at the restaurant.  Well, the chicken came already processed.  Cutting chicken really dulls a knife, there's just something about it that no knife is sharp enough.  I believe it's the same for all meat.  I've worked with enough knives, cheap and expensive, to know that they all have one thing in common: nothing is as sharp as a brand new knife.  So I tried my best to sharpen my knives the traditional way with traditional sharpeners and straighteners, but it was never good enough.  Then I got sick of it, and decided to just forcibly grind an edge into the knife with a flat file.  Why should I get sentimental about cheap knives?  The flat file is now my best friend in the kitchen.  All my knives are now super efficient.  Professional knife sharpeners may frown at me, but I don't care anymore.  If I whittle the knife down to metal dust, I'll just get another cheap knife.  The people who process chicken may also share my mentality.  You probably might find metal dust in your chicken.