fatcook

10 reasons why a book is better than a Kindle

1.       A book doesn’t need a battery

2.       You can take a bath with a book

3.       You can’t shove a Kindle in your back pocket

4.       You can’t kill a bug with a Kindle

5.       You can’t throw a Kindle at your spouse when their being silly

6.       You can’t throw a Kindle across the room because the writing/story sucks

7.       No new book smell

8.       No old book smell

9.       No finding that rare OOP edition that was the cause of the lawsuit

10.   There’s no joy of anticipation from opening a cover of a new book.

Yesterday, I had just taken my lunch out of the microwave, when the woman* (not Miss Icantcook) waiting for the microwave said:

You shouldn’t be eating that. You don’t know what’s in it.

Excuse me?

Your lunch, you don’t know what’s in it.

Uh, yes I do.

Did you make it? (she puts her frozen dinner in the microwave)

Yes.

Opening some cans isn’t cooking.**

(I look down at my lunch, which is a red sauce with fusilli)

I didn’t use cans.

Really, Pizza hut? (snide tone)

No, I started with 3 pounds of plum tomatoes and went from there.

 (She stares at me)

From Scratch? (totally disbelieving tone)

Yes and its getting cold. (I left to eat)

What is it with people? She was eating a frozen dinner and sneering at my brought from home? Yes, I know what is in it, I have to. It had 100mg of sodium, 300 calories per that serving and I have no idea how much fat. Its the first two, I need to worry about.

Is it just me or do other people have these problems?

He’s home.

For the first time in months, neither one of us needed pills to sleep, the right weight, the right noises and the bed.  There were a lot of silences this weekend. I didn’t realize how much of our time together is spent in silence until it wasn’t there. I’m not saying it was silent; it’s the noises that define the silence; breathing, pages turning, the creak of the floor, all these are the silences that make us.

There was also much personally silliness, that for reasons of tact, TMI and the FCC I won’t post here. : )

Tomorrow: the further adventures in lunch.

This came up because of a discussion from someone on my flist. When I was typing it up for him I realized My Husband can never have this, in this manner, ever again.  This is most definitely not low sodium. I am going to need to do some serious reworking of this recipe.

Smoked Tea Eggs

From Treasures of our Past by the Phoenix Buddhist Friendship Association

8 eggs

3 tbsps loose black tea (I like Russian Caravan)

2 tbsps soy sauce

1 tbsp coarse salt

1 whole star anise

Water

Asian Spinach & Shrimp Salad

1 tsp of ground ginger

3 tbsps of rice wine vinegar

2 tbsps of low sodium soy sauce

2 tbsps of water

1 tbsp of sesame oil

10 oz of fresh spinach – cleaned, washed and stems removed

1 lb of shrimp – cleaned, cooked and chilled (31-40 work very well)

1 cup of bean sprouts – fresh or canned (I prefer fresh)

1 cup of snow peas – cut in half

1 red bell pepper- cut into strips

1 yellow pepper – cut into strips

Cashews – unsalted (optional)

Mix ginger, vinegar, soy sauce, water and oil together with a whisk until frothy.  Let rest for about 15-30 minutes at room temperature to let the flavors blend.

Assemble the salad in this order: spinach, shrimp, bean sprouts, snow peas and bell peppers. Drizzle with dressing and serve.  Garish with cashews if desired

Makes 8, 2 cup servings.   

120 calories, 260 mg of sodium per serving.

I ran into Miss “Icantcook” again. My lunch was later than usual because of a meeting, so I got to see what she eats.

What do you have for lunch today?

Salad, what are you having?

Lean Cuisine Panini, (watches as I pull containers out of my lunch bag) what kind of salad?

Mixed spring greens with salmon, strawberries, avocado, pecans and a balsamic vingerette. (Assembled as we were talking)

Did you make all that?

No, I bought all the parts and put it together.

I wish I could do that.

Um, it’s not cooking. Other than the salmon and I did that in the microwave.

I still couldn’t do that. It’s cooking.

????????????????????? (her lunch was ready and I escaped)

As near as I can tell, she’s totally convinced herself that she cannot cook and is incapable of learning how to cook. 

Can somebody tell me when cooking got hard? When it became impossible for people to do??

This was the third time, in as many working days, that someone said how much they enjoyed smelling my lunches re-heat. ( I don't mind that, the rest of this I do mind)

That asked me what it was?

Leftovers.

Where I got them from?

Dinner last night.  

What restaurant did I go to?  

None, I made it.

YOU MADE it?!?

(it being chicken curry, shrimp with jerk fried rice and shrimp scampi)

 Scampi is really easy.

Oh, no I don’t cook. It’s too hard.

Scampi is just butter, olive oil, garlic, shrimp and pasta.

Oh, that’s too hard to do.

Uh, boiling water is too hard?

I don’t know how to make it.

Follow the recipe in the cookbook.

I don’t the patience.

You have a masters in early child development and you don’t have the patience?!?

 I can’t do it. It’s too hard.

When the$#@& did this happen? Is this a plot by Big Food to keep us docile and dumb, by taking away our ability to create nourishment for ourselves?

Soylent green is people!!