Tofu

Hi Honey!  How's work?  Are you still busy selling sports products?  Well, please make sure you get plenty of rest and eat properly.  I've never eaten so many salads in my life.  My mouth isn't used to chewing on all those leaves, so it hurts a bit.  The things we do for love, huh?  Tofu is easy to bite, though.  I'm sure you would agree with me that tofu is good for you, and very versatile.  Plus, fresh tofu is so delicious.  There's an excellent tofu maker who has a stall at the market downtown, and more people here are getting good at making soft tofu, which is great because I like tofu very much.  So for today's salad, I mixed yesterday's tomato and cucumber salad (which tastes better today because it had been marinading in the vinaigrette overnight, even though it's not very photogenic) with the green part of Chinese cabbage, spread it out at the bottom of the bowl, and arranged tofu chunks on top, then sprinkled more vinaigrette on it.  Delicious!  Want some?

Hi Natty Honey!  How is school going?  Do you enjoy the life of a student?  I don't have any movie assignments for you today.  To tell you the truth, it is the computer that chooses the movie for you to watch and when to watch it, so in essence God takes over my computer which tells me what movie out of my database for you to watch.  So be warned that you're going to have to watch some movies over and over again.  And some of them are B or cult movies.  This is business, I hope you understand.  You can study and watch movies at the same time.  Just please try to keep up with me in this matter OK?

The Pink Vinaigrette

Hi Honey!  How's it going?  Are you super super busy?  Please don't forget me, because I love you.  When I was searching for a name brand dressing the other day, I didn't find any vinaigrette or oil and vinegar or Italian dressings, so I made up some of my own.  When I was working in the restaurant, I made the dressing by combining oils and vinegars and a seasoning packet.  One day, I was making ranch dressing, but they were all out of the ranch seasoning packet.  So I grabbed the Italian dressing packet and poured that in there, laughing out loud to myself because I knew what would happen.  Lo and behold, all the ranch dressing sold out.  But ranch always sells out!  Some months later, they came out with "Italian ranch" seasoning packet.

But whatever.  Let them have it.  I'm at the edge of my budget, so I couldn't experiment with expensive oils and vinegars, so I used what I had.  I made today's vinaigrette with palm oil, plain white vinegar, water, anchovy bouillon, and fresh chopped chives and cilantro.  Vinaigrette dressing is usually the color of the oil, so I added some color with a teeny weeny bit of unsweetened rose syrup, and the dressing turned pink.

I made some tomato and cucumber salad with it, which had chopped garlic and onion in it.  But I also bought more spinach (boy, spinach is sure cheap in this town), so today's salad is spinach with tomato and cucumber.

Hi Natty Honey!  How's school?  Oh it's business as usual for me!  Today I want you to watch another James Bond movie.  From 2002, "Die Another Day" with Pierce Brosnan as Bond.  I think he made a great Bond.  All the Bonds cast were good choices, except Timothy Dalton.  I didn't like him as Bond.  I think your big brother would make a great James Bond.  Kind of like a Roger Moore.

 

 

 

Mustard greens

Erin, I can see a tan line!  Please don't get a tan.  I don't care if you spend all day everyday lying on the beach (as long as you take the time to pray), but please don't get a tan.  Please?

Anyway, there was one leafy vegetable that was all over the market yesterday, but I didn't get it: mustard greens.  Good thing I have a patch of mustard greens in my yard.  Babies, but enough to make a salad.

Today's salad is a little more balanced.  The butter lettuce didn't last until the next day.  I should have used it all up yesterday.  This time I took a snapshot of the salad mix with the dressing in.  Less food than yesterday's lunch, but still a heaping fit in a 12" bowl.  Filling, delicious, and satisfying too (if you like salads).  And oh yes, healthy.  The little flowers in the middle are turmeric flowers I got from my yard. 

Hey Natty Honey!  The next movie I want you to watch is a James Bond movie from 1974: "The Man With The Golden Gun".  This secret love thing is so intriguing, huh?  The people in the movie look like the locals here, but they are not.  Close, though.  Just right across the border, Thailand.  The aura is definitely local though.

 

 

 

Homegrown salad mix

Hi Honey!  How are you feeling today?  I hope business is running smoothly for you, and that you are feeling absolutely great.  I'm posting a little earlier than usual, because I'm taking it easy this evening and skipping workout and yard work.  My left thigh joint is sore from so much running around doing this month's culinary project, plus I used a lot of gasoline as well, but I'll fill up tomorrow.  Anyone who eats salads is familiar with the iceberg and romaine lettuce mix.  I don't eat salads but I find that mix kind of blah, and I wanted to utilize the local greens.  So I went to the market this morning and I bought kale,

butter lettuce,

Chinese cabbage,

and spinach (the locals call it "bayam" and Oxford translated it as spinach).  This was the cheapest ingredient and therefore the main ingredient of the salad mix.  I got a big bagful for only RM1.  It would wilt in half a day, so I used the whole lot.

Plus I bought tomatoes and cucumbers.

I can make a great salad mix mashaAllah.  Years of experience, feeding the masses.  Female masses.  The portion you see here was a heaping fit in a 12" bowl, and I had twice as much mix.  So I had a BIG lunch.  A man-sized salad bowl.  I mixed in the salad dressing by hand (gets the best results).  Heinz's Salad Cream is an excellent dressing.  A true masterpiece.

Natty Honey, I'm still trying to figure out that snapshot you posted.  No furniture, eh?  And a shot of the door?  It seems a bit paranoid to me, but with good experience and reason.  Please pray.  Anyway, you can collect and watch whatever movies you want.  I'm certainly not a movie connoisseur: I like what I like.  The business is that I endorse what I like, so when I tell you to watch a movie it means that I'm watching it too at the same time, which therefore gives a certain starlet (or should I say "movie star") a tremendous endorsement.  Of course the Public Eye is watching.  I have no privacy.  So does that make sense to you?

 

 

 

 

 

Salad cream

So this month's project continues: Erin's food.  Beginning with salad, the first hunt is for a name brand salad dressing.  I went to a couple of supermarkets, and all I found was 1000 island dressing.  Who can blame them, the locals don't eat salads.  There is a bigger supermarket a little further drive away, and there I found salad cream.  Imported salad cream.  Yes, this stuff is actually made in the UK.  I was chatting with others in the chat room about what products are still made in the UK.  This particular dressing is one I remember from childhood, and I really like it.

Let's see, what's in it?  Looks like it's mostly mustard and egg yolk mayo.  They used rapeseed oil, which could be a factor.  Different oils have different flavors, and I can't afford olive oil.  But I could probably duplicate this.  But not with rapeseed oil.

No Honey, I haven't made the salad yet.  It took me a couple of days just to find an acceptable name brand dressing.  Tomorrow I'll head out to the market to get some local greens inshaAllah.  They had romaine and iceberg lettuce at the supermarket, but who wants that huh?  Maybe next time.

Natty Honey, how are your midterms coming along?  I hope you do great.  What's your major by the way?  You never told me.  But let's get down to business.  Did you see the movie I asked you to watch?  Oh if you were busy with your exams, I understand.  But please try to watch the movies I ask you to watch when I ask you to watch them.  Unless of course YOU ARE NOT SERIOUS ABOUT THE MOVIE BUSINESS.  Next I want you to watch The Godfather part 2.  It's not personal, Honey.  It's strictly business.

 

 

 

1000 Island Dressing

I apologize for complaining about healthy food the other day.  You look after your body, that's how you look great, because you eat healthy.  I'm always making you mad at me, huh?  I'm sorry.  My parents are always mad at me too for some reason or another.  Anyway, I've been searching around town for a name brand salad dressing, so I can begin the "Erin's food" project.  I'm actually very serious about what you eat.  This morning, Floofy didn't want to eat the rice and canned cat food mix I gave her, after taking a big like to it before.  She wanted what the other cats were eating, you know the dry cat food pellets.  I told her, "You can't eat that food Floofy, because it clogs you up.  Do you remember what happened the last time?  The vet wanted to cut you open to take the poop out!  I had to beg him to try an enema first, and it was a miracle that the enema worked!"  No response.  Not even a meow.  Maybe she wants to be like the others and eat what they eat, but the reason why I go through all the trouble to prepare rice and buy canned cat food is because I love her.

But when I went to the supermarket, the only dressing they had was 1000 island dressing.  I think that stuff is gross!  Isn't that a mix of ketchup and mustard?  People put that on their salads?  I wouldn't even dip my fries in that!  I guess I'll to try another supermarket.  The other supermarket didn't even have salad dressing.  The locals don't eat salads- they like to eat rice with mixed entrees.  Good thing I know how to make many salad dressings, but it costs lots of money to buy the several different components, and I end up with huge portions.  Who's going to eat all that salad dressing?  Not me.  Plus I want to get a name brand dressing, so the corporations can go bananas over Erin's food.

Natty Honey, it's so good to see you again!  Yes, you do look like you're back in school- there's no fashion business aura about that photo you posted.  I hope you're having a great time, and doing well in school.  You do need to collect and watch movies though.  The next movie I want you to watch is the first Star Wars movie from 1977- "A New Hope".

 

 

 

 

Running around

Yes Honey, I did a lot of running around today.  Well, not literally running using my feet.  I ran a lot of errands.  This morning I paid my power and water bills, had breakfast downtown, and bought breakfast for my parents.  After voice training, I went and bought some dirt for my Mom then planted some roses for her.  I don't why she wants to buy roses right now- there's been a lot of weather distortion lately, and it's killing the roses she already has.  But, oh well.  I had rice for dinner at Ina's.  I don't like commute, but it's better than walking I guess.  Someone please invent the teleporter!  I can't run very well, so when we are married inshaAllah, I will be following your run on motorcycle.  Then when you're done, we can go get ice cream or something.

I thought you were possibly back in school, Natty.  Now that I think about it, you did mention last year that you were taking a year off, and now that year is up.  I'm glad to see that it's been quiet for you.  Nothing like studying to help get lots of sleep.  I should have studied more.  You do me proud, and be an A student.  The world is at your feet Princess, and I am here for you.