The fridge rules the menu

Hi Natty Honey!  Wow, that's a pretty lake you have at school.  With nice, calm waters.  Is your heart and mind as calm as those waters?  I hope so.  But it's the modern world, and everyone's in a big hurry to go nowhere!  I had a very busy day today.  I left home as early as possible to pay some bills, bought some groceries, then spent a very successful morning in the kitchen.  The lite soy sauce I made turned out very close to the original.  The curry I made (after harvesting some coconuts) turned out awesome.  The fried rice I had for lunch, made with my lite soy sauce mix, was perfection.  But my food budget is still poor, and I have to make sure I use everything up.  There was still some "sambal tumis" (onions, chillies, and "belacan" (fermented shrimp) blended then fried in oil until saturated) left, and it had to be used up immediately.  I was thinking eggplant, so I had to go to the big supermarket on the other side of town, because it was almost sunset, and it was the only one selling fresh produce this time of day.  But eggplant was RM6.99 a kilo!  Yikes!  I was prepared to spend only RM4 a kilo for eggplant.  But tomatoes were RM3.79/kilo and hot dogs were RM2.79 per pack.  So that's what I spent my money on.  I made "sambal tumis hot dog with tomatoes and onions", with steamed rice.  Alhamdulillah.  I was having such a good day in the kitchen today, that my dinner was a success as well.  Very delicious.  Here's a snapshot of it.  You can see the hot dogs under the tomatoes and onions.

Lite soy sauce

Hi there, Natty honey!  What are you up to?  Did you go to the UN summit?  Neither did I.  I had to sing.  It looks like next month is going to be tight on the food budget again, so no pizza.  **Sigh**  I did try to make my own lite soy sauce today.  Well, I didn't really "make" it.  Soy sauce is basically fermented soybeans, wheat and water.  Plus salt.  I figured if I just buy the thick stuff, then I can make my own lite soy sauce by adding salt and water.  The thick soy sauce is sweet, so I'm guessing that it has no salt.  So I gradually added water to a tablespoon of sauce, until I got the right consistency.  Then I guessed the amount of salt I had to add.  It was very close, except the original stuff had a certain sourness to it.  Is that what fermentation is?  Fermentation adds sourness?  Hm.  I think I'll try to add some vinegar to it next...

Hi Honey

Say, that is a beautiful snapshot.  Very artistic.  You must really list the photo credit for everyone to know, because it is truly a work of art.  I have been a musician for a long time.  38 years.  I thought I would be dead at 30, but God keeps saving my life for some reason.  Now I certainly have work to do, and I put my trust in Allah to protect me and my loved ones.  😃  It may seem to the ignorant that I have a death wish, but what else is there to do?  My mission is to please Allah with music.  InshaAllah.  While it is true that I have a terrible weakness for pretty blondes, I have already chosen who I want to marry.  You should know by now what a stubborn person I am.  However, Allah still hasn't granted me wealth enough to be and stay married.  It's really up to you if you have the patience and faith enough to put up with me.

By the way, did you know that I am color blind?  Red green blindness.  For today's outfit, I felt like being an American high school dance queen.  I think I matched the colors acceptably.  The shoes match the lipstick.

How's your tummy?

Hi Natty honey!  How are you doing today, Sweetheart?  How's your tummy?  I don't know what you're up to over there at Dartmouth, but I do know that you're nervous, and it's making your tummy nervous.  Are you sure you're doing what you want to do?  Well, make sure you eat simple foods until you truly know how to relax.  Please be proactive about taking care of your tummy when you are in your 20's.  Speaking from experience, it will affect your eating habits for the rest of your life.  And your general health.

There's not much on the menu here today.  I had some tamarind pulp, I thought I would make an all-purpose sauce from all-natural ingredients.  So I blended the stuff with onions, garlic, kaffir lime leaves (from my yard), turmeric, salt, sugar, palm oil and water.  The color isn't artistic, but it made an acceptable sweet sour sauce.  I tried it as a base for fried rice, and it worked out OK.  It should make a nice soup base too.  I also used that fried rice for dinner, as a stuffing for steak burritos.  Yeah, my tummy is doing great.  I usually eat better when I'm broke, because I don't have money to buy garbage.  From Allah is our origin, and to Allah is our return.

The sneaky drummer

Hi Natty honey!  Hi there, beautiful girl!  How are you today?  How's school?  I hope everything is easy going for you, and that you are doing and feeling well.  I care for you deeply, you are my girl!

That's an awesome drum, isn't it?  It's loud, but it's also very touch sensitive.  I made it myself out of an old water barrel.  My Mom doesn't like to hear this drum, I think it scares her, so I don't play it very often.  My parents told me yesterday that they were going to see the doctor this morning, so I took the opportunity to set up to record the drum parts for the second song in Shadowplay's next album.  But then they cancelled their plan to see the doctor, but I decided to go ahead and record anyway.  It was also school time for the elementary school down the street, so I had to be sneaky.  I had to hit the drum hard enough to make it sound aggressive, but not too hard that it would shake buildings.  I could only play one phrase of the song at a time, so the drum doesn't continue more than a few seconds at a time, then piece all the phrases together later.  This sucks for emotion, especially for fills when they don't sound crazy or angry enough, but what to do?  I have to play the cards I'm dealt.  I got a few decent takes.  If they don't work, I'll have to try again.

Today the computer wants you to watch a movie.  "Life or Something Like It" (2002) starring Angelina Jolie.  She doesn't really strike me as a blonde, but the suits she wears in the movie are so totally gorgeous.  I love beautiful suits.  I think a beautiful woman in a beautiful suit is so absolutely sexy.