30 Nov 2011- Moving, Mexican Food, Thankgiving, Tailgating, San Diego Chargers and a Sparkly Christmas Tree

It’s been quite a while since I last blogged. I said I would do so from the 23^rd Nov, but I didn’t realize it would be quite so hectic from then until now!

We finally managed to finish unpacking and tidying on the 23^rd, but goodness me, it was a long-winded and quite stressful process to move.  Multiple trips, multiple boxes, multiples of everything! But I am so glad we finished doing all we needed to do before Thanksgiving. Initially, Winston wanted to move the weekend after Thanksgiving, but I persuaded him otherwise. Who wants to move after a national holiday had made you replete and indolent? Best to do it beforehand, I say!!

Eating during a move, and before and during the holiday was not the healthiest I’ve been with foodstuffs, but it was definitely tasty. On the 19^th, we were so tired with moving a lot of boxes that we ended up having a midnight feast of Mexican takeout from a food chain called Sombrero. What I have pictured below is 1 portion of Carne Asada Fries- composed of thin chips topped off with fried pieces of steak, guacamole, sour cream, tomato salsa, and shredded cheese; 4 rolled tacos with a little bit of shredded steak wrapped within and the whole lot topped off with sliced lettuce, cheese, and the condiment of salsa verde; and 1 large burrito enclosing Mexican rice, mixed salad, and pulled pork. On the left in the plastic bag is Mexican carrot pickle, and surrounding the food boxes are various condiments and a drink of rice cinnamon milk. I’d like to point out that these portions are sized for 1 PERSON. Yep, I said they are 1 PERSON PORTIONS! Aren’t they huge? Winston and I shared all the food between us, and I was stuffed.

Mexican Takeout!

I’m glad Winston can cook though, because eating too much junk food can make the colon sluggish. I usually cook the majority of meals since I have so much free time, but he made us dinner on the 21^st, of marinated pork escalopes, rice and sinigang- yum!

Garlic Chili Oil, a bowl of sinigang, and pork escalopes with rice!

I used the condiment chili garlic oil (homemade, as mentioned in my post of 19 Nov) to add a bit of a kick to my rice, and honestly, I reckon it goes well with everything savoury!

We had an early Thanksgiving Dinner, just Winston and I, on the 23^rd. We were stuck between going to the Royal Mandarin restaurant for Chinese, or the Korean BBQ place we visited before. Royal Mandarin is very well known in San Diego for its Salt and Pepper Chicken wings, which are apparently very crispy and very tasty. However, the Korean BBQ place has the most delectable tidbits of fresh and marinated vegetables, meats and seafood on offer to cook for oneself! Korean BBQ won out in the end, but at some point, we’ll probably get takeout from the Chinese place. 

We were on a portable grill at first...

Mmmmmm......

Then we moved to a table with a proper grill once a few diners had left!

For Thanksgiving, we went to Winston's cousin’s house in Long Beach (located between San Diego and Los Angeles), and started out at about 3.30ish. The drive was 2 and a half hours long, and the roads were almost deserted during that time. Most Americans had traveled during the earlier hours of the day or the night before, so there was hardly any traffic.

By the way, I didn’t waste that driving time doing nothing. I knitted. I finally finished that scarf yesterday, and here’s the result of my hard work:

At least I’m ready for cold weather when I go back to the UK!

Anyhow, once we got to the house, we ate a goodly portion of roast turkey, baked ham with pineapple, lumpia ubod, vegetable lasagna, baked bread stuffing, creamy mashed potato, mixed salad, steamed asparagus spears, and rice, followed by a goodly portion of pureed pumpkin pudding, Rice bico (aka a Filipino baked rice dessert with cinnamon and coconut cream), mini chocolate cupcakes with soft icing sprinkled with hundreds and thousands, walnut cookies, and chocolate cookies. I contributed the Rice bico, and they were a success! Phew! Because the recipe for that was an experimental composite of ingredients gleaned from the multitude of recipes I read for Bico!

The rest of that night was taken up with grazing here and there whilst having a nice chat with everyone, and a fire pit was created in the back yard around which we drank alcohol, chilled out, and chatted more.

However, Winston and I didn’t stay. We left about 11pm, and it took 2 and a half hours to drive back (during which I did more knitting). We were thinking of taking a gander at the Black Friday sale that started at midnight in Best Buy, and Walmart, etc, but we were too knackered by the time we got back to San Diego, and car parks and queues to get in the stores were amazingly packed and long. I don’t like too crowded a shop, or too long a queue, so I’m glad we bypassed it to lay our aching and tired limbs in bed. Sitting in a bucket seat for a long while makes the tailbone ache!

On Friday we visited my Auntie Nora’s house and had a late lunch there after which we went to the Mall to check out the 30-40% discounts on clothes (that only occur on that particular Black Friday). I wish it was Black Friday every day, because some of the clothes I saw were lovely and usually much more expensive! Saturday was our only day of rest, since we had a ball game to attend at the Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley on Sunday 27^th Nov. This was also my first tailgating event. Tailgating to an American is basically cooking a barbecue and eating food out the back of your car in a parking lot before or after a special event. I always thought tailgating meant driving too close to the car in front of you, but that’s the British definition for you!

Winston and I and a lot of Winston’s friends were there from 9 onwards, and a lot of food was made! I was introduced to Loco Moco for breakfast. It’s a Hawaiian breakfast that consists of rice, a beef pattie, and a fried egg all smothered with gravy, and it was delicious! The rest of the time was spent with everyone chatting and playing games- basically hanging out- whilst grazing on barbecued Louisiana fire sausages eaten with mustard and ketchup in a soft hotdog bun, rice, barbecued beef patties, mini cheese danishes, different flavours of crisps, and plenty of beer or well drinks (I discovered the definition of well drinks during a visit to TGI Fridays. It’s basically a hard liquor like whisky or vodka mixed with a non-alcoholic beverage like soda water, lemonade or coca cola).

Part of the Stadium parking lot

It was a marvelously hot day, and there was a huge sense of camaraderie in the air. I have to admit that Americans really know how to make any event seem ‘huger’ then it is, and definitely know what to do when it comes to entertainment and getting a crowd moving! Especially at football games!

The stadium was packed and amply dotted with waving flags, banners, costumes, face paint, and T-shirts showing their support for that person’s chosen football team, and the speakers blasted out commentary and music which gave the stadium a very cheery feel!

Refreshment booths inside the stadium.

Cheerleaders hyping up the crowd!

Annie and Sid- a married couple we know. Sid is one of Winston's close mates.

Popcorn, Crisp, and various cold drinks vendor.

A mate got a bit more wasted then bargained for, and fell asleep- during the game!

Flags for various football team logos were displayed around the entire stadium.

Unfortunately the San Diego Chargers lost, and Winston and his mates were a little disappointed but accepting of that loss. The Chargers have been on a losing streak recently, and TV sports news commentary blame the coach for not training the players properly so they play as a winning team. Since I don’t support any team, and only support the Chargers by default (because Winston is a fan), I don’t care who wins one way or another, but I did have a wonderful time!

Chargers Who? Hehe, just kidding!

Winston and I had taken the Trolley (equivalent of the Tube in London but less stops and it’s above ground) to the game and luckily, we only had one stop to go to get home. Unfortunately, someone in the carriage let off a stink bomb of a fart, and when we managed to escape its lingering smell, a guy shouted out at us, ‘You are so lucky you get off here!’

I’m just glad we had one stop to go, followed by a 5 minute long leisurely walk back home and a welcome by a sparkling Christmas Tree. Have you put yours up yet? In the UK, I usually put mine out on 1^st Dec, but Winston wanted the faux tree up on 1^st Nov! But I stopped him and said we could do so as soon as we moved into the new flat. I decorated the tree, and Winston helped me make a few metres of aluminium chains for it from scratch to fill in any foliage gaps.  I don’t recommend making aluminium chains unless you have the patience to do so. It’s easier to get tinsel, but I wanted us to make something for the tree that we teamed up to make together! In essence, it was our first Christmas Tree decorated together! Now all I have to think about are what presents to get!

18 Nov 2011- Why I like experimental cooking, Sisig, Chilli garlic oil and salted eggs, and warning of a unavoidable blog break!

Every day is a cooking day! And for me in particular, every day is an experimental day! Winston gets the brunt of my experimental recipes- called that because I will usually come up with a spontaneous idea for what I want to cook that day, will then browse the internet for recipes, read quite a few of them, and then adapt parts from each to make my own recipe. I don't really record what my recipes are, but if I find that a recipe is successfully eaten with pronouncements of 'Oohs' and 'Ahhs' and 'Can I have some more please?’ I try to write it down in my notebook (old style pen and paper, not on my computer). Don’t get me wrong, some experiments will work, others won’t, but through trial and error, the majority of experiments do! Phew!

There are times when I will follow a particular recipe to the letter, but those times are few and far between, and following a recipe properly does not always guarantee success.

I remember when I was about 13 or 14, that I made Greek lemon chicken for my family. I followed the recipe EXACTLY. Lemon chicken is supposed to look like this:

Instead, it looked worse then this:

The person who cooked this recipe stated that ‘There was way too much watery juice and too much lemon flavour’.  I had the same problem, but I thought it could be resolved by boiling. I boiled so much that the chicken fell of the bone and everything actually dissolved into mush! My logic behind that: boiling will boil the excess lemon flavour away. Sadly, my logic didn’t work. I served the pot of lemon chicken mush to my family, and my brother rated it ‘yuk’ after trying it because the lemon taste was too overwhelming. Everyone tried a bit out of respect for my effort, but couldn’t take more then a mouthful. I did my best to promote my dish by taking a few more mouthfuls, but even I couldn’t take it anymore and acknowledged defeat. I think we ended up eating bowls of cornflakes sprinkled liberally with sugar and drenched in cold milk- much more ‘Yum!’

This is where my love of reading saved me. I like reading food encyclopedias and interesting cook books, and I read almost all the contents of the various food associated books my mother owned as I wanted to limit any food mistakes I made in future. I’m a ‘whatever’ cook really, as I use ‘whatever’ I have in the cupboard and throw it together (with a little bit of thought) with some herbs, spices, or/and other condiments into a pot or pan. Although there are six essentials for me that must be in my food cupboard at all times: onions, garlic, ginger, canned chopped tomatoes, eggs, and chicken stock cubes. I always use something from my essential list in my cooking, especially onions!

Recently, I’ve made salted eggs, sisig (a favourite of Winston's) and chilli garlic oil. The salted eggs are a surprise for Winston to be eaten from the 17^th Dec, as it takes a month to salt them properly. Luckily, I didn’t have to explain away the disappearance of 8 eggs from the fridge as Winston just assumed I’d used or eaten them from all the cooking I’ve been doing. Fingers crossed they turn out well, as they will be well seasoned with pepper, cooking sherry, star anise, and especially salt!

The sisig recipe was a success, even though it should be pure chopped pork from all parts of the pig used to make it. I used a mixture of pure sirloin steak burgers and pork sausage patties all chopped up, boiled and drained to remove as much fat as possible, and then marinated with a special marinade made from chillis, onions, garlic, ginger, vinegar, lemon juice, pineapple juice, and salt. Erwin obtained the meat from his work place, hence the oddness in meat ingredients, and I obtained the recipe from here: http://www.pinoyrecipe.net/filipino-pork-sisig-recipe/#ixzz1e0ZmZqpm. It tasted so good, and I discovered that Guinness instead of lager or beer pairs very well with it! Try it out if you can!

The chilli garlic oil was the best thing I made, and I am SO going to make more of it in future. I got the recipe from a YouTube video, but adapted it as I prefer more solid matter then oil in my chilli garlic oil!

The recipe is as follows:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of any neutral flavoured oil (like canola oil)

Half a cup of dried chilli flakes

Half a bulb of garlic (finely chopped)

½ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

METHOD:

Heat the oil in a high-sided pan on the hob on a low heat for 10 minutes.

Add the half cup of chilli flakes. The oil will froth and rise on the addition, which is why a high-sided pan is needed.

Cook the chilli flakes for about 10 minutes. They should look a bit darker and toasted after that time.

Add the salt and sugar.

Add the chopped garlic. Cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the garlic has browned but not burned.

Pour it into a clean jar. It is best to leave the chilli garlic oil to cool to allow for a stronger flavour, but you can start using it as soon as the mixture is warm.

I think I’m addicted to using it as a condiment now, hehe!

Just so you’re forewarned, Winston and I are moving today and tomorrow. As you know, moving the contents of an apartment can be pretty tiring, and I won’t be able to blog properly from now until the 23^rd Nov- basically because the new apartment won’t have an internet connection until the 22^nd Nov, and we will also be busy packing, moving, and unpacking boxes.

Any Skyping I do won’t occur until the 23^rd Nov.

So you’re rid of me for now. Enjoy the break, hehe!!

15 Nov 2011- Meeting with Mara, and Cooking tons of Arroz Caldo!

I met cousin Mara on Sunday for a huge catchup in Downtown! It was lovely to see her, because I usually only get to see her intermittently, and now, since I’m in the US for a quarter of the year, I have a good opportunity to talk with her more. Sunday therefore became a girl’s day out, whilst for Winston, it was his ‘me-time’ spent playing American football and playing Batman- Arkham Asylum.

Mara and I met in the afternoon, and Winston picked her up and dropped us off at the local mall. Our first destination within the mall was the food court, as I was a bit hungry, Mara hasn't eaten lunch yet, and it’s easier to have a good chat over food without the distractions of window shopping.

So, off to the food court we went! Mara bought an Indian meal, while I plumped for Chinese. One of the items she picked for her food box was chicken curry. I tried a bit of the curry sauce the chicken pieces were swimming in, and spicing here is lot different to that in the UK. There isn’t the same depth of flavour or hotness that you get with a UK Indian curry, but that might be because getting an Indian isn’t as popular as going for a Mexican or a Chinese. Mara really enjoyed her meal though, as you can see by the pic:

I also really enjoyed my meal, which consisted of Beijing Beef, Mushroom and Courgette stir-fried chicken, and half Chao mien and fried rice:

A weird thing happened just as we tucked into our food. This random guy just walked up to the table where we were sitting, and asked Mara what she was eating. Mara told him, but somehow, with a combination of questions and sentences on other topics, he managed to insinuate himself into our conversation which then became almost non-existent. He talked quite a lot, and to be polite, Mara and I answered his questions whilst exchanging quick glances of ‘Why can’t he go already?!’ at each other. Luckily, he didn’t catch those glances but it took a while for him to go away. Mara and I were halfway through eating our food by the time he left, because we spent more time masticating then talking. Once he did go, we both breathed sighs of relief, and were able to talk more and eat slower. I don’t mind when friends either Mara or I know interrupt a meal, but when it’s a random stranger, that person should be polite and aware enough of other people’s feelings to say and ask what they need to, get their answer, and then go if they can see the other people are busy catching up. If those other people give such a reply that the interrupter can tell they are receptive to him joining their conversation willingly, only then should the interrupter feel free to hang around.

Once Mara and I were done eating, we went window shopping. We popped into Victoria’s Secret to look at lingerie, and it was at that place I discovered the Disposable Hypoallergenic Panty! This panty is designed to allow the trying of underwear over it if you are unwilling to try the underwear over your own clothes, and really want to figure out how close a fit an item is! Luckily, I was wearing leggings that day, so I was able to try on some panties OVER MY OWN CLOTHES, but it makes you think and wonder…what other women have used only a disposable panty to try on the self-same panties you are trying on now?! Since the disposable panties have stretchy elastic sides, any person can use them to try on underwear, so logic dictates- if a person with an unusually large yoni wears them, won’t there be overhang (not contained within the disposable panty) rubbing against the underwear hence defeating the concept of hygiene? That’s why I think all underwear should be washed before wearing: http://www.thefrisky.com/2010-03-02/always-wash-new-underwear-before-wearing/

Front

Back

Note the elasticated sides- one size fits all!

After window shopping, we wandered around Downtown, popping into a bar here and there for a nice large cocktail. We tried the Shipwreck in a bar called Rockin’ Baja (picture with the orange glasses) and the Ultimate Electric Lemonade in TGI Fridays’ (picture with the blue glass). Both had juices blended very well with their  respective alcohols, thus creating a very palatable flavour.

Shipwreck Cocktails

Ultimate Electric Lemonade

Mara and I were sensible drinkers since there were only two of us, and we drank slowly and ate some food to offset any possible drunkenness caused by the strong cocktails. We ate inferno hot BUFFALO wings at TGI Fridays (four each), which were finger-lickin’ good, and when we got back to Winston's place, we each had a small bowl of brown rice arroz caldo to end our day.

Winston and I have been going through a big arroz caldo phase recently, with both of us eating loads due to me making two huge crockpots of it! It’s comforting to slurp during the rainy weather San Diego suffers in the winter months, and it’s so easy to make! If you use brown rice as we’ve been doing, the results are very nutritious. Here are a few pics of what I’ve made, along with various toppings: 

TOPPING: Tiny Browned nuggets of Pork with finely chopped spring onion

Freshly made Crockpot of Filipino Arroz Caldo with various toppings on the side- plain finely chopped spring onions; cooked mixed veg with garlic and oyster sauce; chopped hotdogs with chopped onion, ginger, and dill vinegar

A bowl of Arroz Caldo with a mixture of all the toppings listed in the above picture- I like toppings even if meat is already in the arroz caldo!

Congee with Cumin Chicken and Salsa Picante topping

Congee with Minced mixed meat, mustard and carrot topping

Congee with a simple topping of chopped spring onion

I’ve made Filipino arroz caldo, and Chinese Congee. Both are rice porridges, but arroz caldo has chicken or other meat cooked with the rice and water, and congee only adds toppings like chicken once the rice and water has cooked down to a porridgy consistency. It takes 2-4 hours for rice to be overcooked enough to release its creamy starch into the water, so a crockpot (or slow cooker, as its known in the UK) is extremely handy, and I’m so glad Winston owns one! Such rice recipes are easy to find on the interwebs, but if you want to create it yourself with the recipe I prefer to use (I prefer choosing toppings to add to the cooked rice porridge), feel free to!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup brown rice to 9 cups of water

Four cloves of chopped garlic

1 or two inches of thinly sliced ginger

2 stock cubes (chicken or vegetable)

1 to 2 tsp of patis (aka fish sauce) according to taste or ½ tsp salt

METHOD:

If you are using a slow cooker, just ensure the water is boiling before combining it with the rest of the ingredients in the slow cooker. Then leave it for 2-4 hours to cook until it becomes thick and creamy enough for your particular tastes.

If using a pot on the cooker, heat all the ingredients and water together until it is boiling, and then reduce and leave on a low heat for a couple of hours. Check how thick it is after that time. If the mixture isn’t thick enough for you, leave it on the cooker for a bit longer, but stir it quite regularly so the rice doesn’t get stuck to the bottom, and to allow you to check on its consistency. Once it reaches the consistency you like, take it off the heat, stick some in a bowl, add some toppings, and tuck in!

If you want to add chicken or some other meat to the rice and water concoction  before you cook it into a porridge like state, cook the meat separately with a small to medium chopped onion (I love cooked onions so I use a large one) until the meat is browned and the onion translucent. If you are using chicken, I’d add about 8-10 wings, or a small whole chicken cut into pieces. The amount of meat you add depends on how much of a meat lover you are! Then add to the rice and water concoction and cook as usual.

SIMPLES!

Jen :)