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sarea
It isn't often that I have a number of things to share that are all good, so yay!
1) Every year around bonus time, I splurge on one 'big ticket' item in order to reward myself (and a number of little things too, ahem). Since this year also came with a promotion, I was immediately at www.louisvuitton.com trying to decide if I wanted a Vernis or Damier Azur. Handbags -- one of my many frivolous weaknesses. On Friday, however, we had a work BBQ, and the coworker who hosted it had a Wii. And Rock Band. And I became totally hooked. Instead of adding to my modest LV collection, I decided I'd get a Wii instead, and all the games I really want. Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jade_okelani I found a really good deal on eBay with a preowned console that came with 18 games, about 5 of which I actually really wanted. I think I'll probably sell the rest to recoup some of my cost and help fund the games I want that it didn't come with. I am super excited about this, and hope that the system/everything comes in working condition and it won't be a PITA eBay thing.
Wii Games Checklist
-Mario Kart
-Super Smash Bros. Brawl
-Guitar Hero 3
-The Simpsons
-Mario Party 8
-Sports Pack
-Lego Star Wars
-Dance, Dance Revolution: Hottest Party - received
-Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
-Wii Fit - obtained
-Mario and Sonic at the Olympics - received
-Lego Indiana Jones
-Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
- Rock Band
I'm already planning a Wii/Lambrusco night withcorianderstem, haha. Has anyone here had or has heard of Lambrusco? It's apparently a sweet red wine (I found it in the dessert section at the liquor store) that's popular in Wisconsin but I've never had it. I don't typically like alcohol as my body doesn't process it very well, but given that it is sweet it may be one of the few drinks that I'll like (like the ale I drank when I was in the UK -- haven't been able to find that kind of ale in the States).
2) There used to be a semi-decent Chinese place just down the street from me, but they went out of business and the space they occupied has been empty for awhile. Today I noticed that they're preparing for a new occupant: Mayuri! Nothing will ever compare to the Indian food I had in the UK so I'm not even using that as a bar, but Mayuri is my favorite Indian restaurant in this area, and I've been to many, so I am super excited. Their chicken makhani is sooooo good. Plus I love curries in general. The only problem is that delicious Indian buffet 2 minutes from me = not good for my diet.
3) My brother wrote the other day saying he was done with my computer! He put it together in less than a week; amazing. He's just waiting on an extra sata cable because I have 2 DVD writers and apparently the motherboard didn't come with enough cables. And then it will be on its way to me!!! As with the Wii, I can only hope that nothing gets damaged during shipping.
4) I have learned to make Vietnamese spring rolls. /cheer I think Vietnamese might be my favorite cuisine of all time. And I'm not just talking about pho. Pho is just a small sampling of Vietnamese cuisine. It's good, and it's prevalent, but it's not the best the cuisine has to offer. That is reserved, in my mind, for sugar cane shrimp and barbecued meats (preferably grilled yourself at the table) that you wrap in translucent rice/tapioca paper with your choice of veggies/herbs, rice noodles, crushed peanuts and/or hot sauce, then dipped in nuoc mam. Damn that is good stuff. That kind of Vietnamese food has been near impossible to find here (much easier in California), though just the other week I was finally recommended a place nearish me that served these kinds of dishes in addition to pho. After eating there for the first time I actually had the thought that if I died right then, I was glad that that had been my last meal. But I digress. Back to spring rolls, which are fairly common, but a bit frustrating for me because they always put cilantro in them and I can't stand cilantro. Plus sometimes they have pork and I like shrimp only, some places don't have basil and I like basil, etc. So after reading a post about it on another food blog, I decided to make my own.
I made fairly typical ones using shrimp (cut in half lengthwise, as they were fairly large), rice noodles, chopped romaine, bean sprouts, and basil. I also made one with avocado, but after eating it decided that while it was good, avocado was better put to use elsewhere. The one thing that was a bit unusual was that I made nuoc mam as a dipping sauce (which is basically made with fish sauce, water, lime juice, and sugar) instead of the more traditional peanut sauce that typically comes with these. I prefer the flavor of the nuoc mam, which I spice up with hot chili sauce.
1) Every year around bonus time, I splurge on one 'big ticket' item in order to reward myself (and a number of little things too, ahem). Since this year also came with a promotion, I was immediately at www.louisvuitton.com trying to decide if I wanted a Vernis or Damier Azur. Handbags -- one of my many frivolous weaknesses. On Friday, however, we had a work BBQ, and the coworker who hosted it had a Wii. And Rock Band. And I became totally hooked. Instead of adding to my modest LV collection, I decided I'd get a Wii instead, and all the games I really want. Thanks to
jade_okelani I found a really good deal on eBay with a preowned console that came with 18 games, about 5 of which I actually really wanted. I think I'll probably sell the rest to recoup some of my cost and help fund the games I want that it didn't come with. I am super excited about this, and hope that the system/everything comes in working condition and it won't be a PITA eBay thing. Wii Games Checklist
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- Rock Band
I'm already planning a Wii/Lambrusco night with
corianderstem, haha. Has anyone here had or has heard of Lambrusco? It's apparently a sweet red wine (I found it in the dessert section at the liquor store) that's popular in Wisconsin but I've never had it. I don't typically like alcohol as my body doesn't process it very well, but given that it is sweet it may be one of the few drinks that I'll like (like the ale I drank when I was in the UK -- haven't been able to find that kind of ale in the States).2) There used to be a semi-decent Chinese place just down the street from me, but they went out of business and the space they occupied has been empty for awhile. Today I noticed that they're preparing for a new occupant: Mayuri! Nothing will ever compare to the Indian food I had in the UK so I'm not even using that as a bar, but Mayuri is my favorite Indian restaurant in this area, and I've been to many, so I am super excited. Their chicken makhani is sooooo good. Plus I love curries in general. The only problem is that delicious Indian buffet 2 minutes from me = not good for my diet.
3) My brother wrote the other day saying he was done with my computer! He put it together in less than a week; amazing. He's just waiting on an extra sata cable because I have 2 DVD writers and apparently the motherboard didn't come with enough cables. And then it will be on its way to me!!! As with the Wii, I can only hope that nothing gets damaged during shipping.
4) I have learned to make Vietnamese spring rolls. /cheer I think Vietnamese might be my favorite cuisine of all time. And I'm not just talking about pho. Pho is just a small sampling of Vietnamese cuisine. It's good, and it's prevalent, but it's not the best the cuisine has to offer. That is reserved, in my mind, for sugar cane shrimp and barbecued meats (preferably grilled yourself at the table) that you wrap in translucent rice/tapioca paper with your choice of veggies/herbs, rice noodles, crushed peanuts and/or hot sauce, then dipped in nuoc mam. Damn that is good stuff. That kind of Vietnamese food has been near impossible to find here (much easier in California), though just the other week I was finally recommended a place nearish me that served these kinds of dishes in addition to pho. After eating there for the first time I actually had the thought that if I died right then, I was glad that that had been my last meal. But I digress. Back to spring rolls, which are fairly common, but a bit frustrating for me because they always put cilantro in them and I can't stand cilantro. Plus sometimes they have pork and I like shrimp only, some places don't have basil and I like basil, etc. So after reading a post about it on another food blog, I decided to make my own.
I made fairly typical ones using shrimp (cut in half lengthwise, as they were fairly large), rice noodles, chopped romaine, bean sprouts, and basil. I also made one with avocado, but after eating it decided that while it was good, avocado was better put to use elsewhere. The one thing that was a bit unusual was that I made nuoc mam as a dipping sauce (which is basically made with fish sauce, water, lime juice, and sugar) instead of the more traditional peanut sauce that typically comes with these. I prefer the flavor of the nuoc mam, which I spice up with hot chili sauce.
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-18 04:05 am (UTC)I still want those rolls. And to adopt you. You could have your own room, rent free! Just cook.
Fingers and toes crossed that everything goes well with your eBay guy AND my eBay girl.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-18 04:20 am (UTC)I would totally cook! I wonder if cooking is something I feel I could do for a living, as in, I wouldn't get sick of it even though I was obligated to do it. Not that I am ever going to pursue this, because my cooking is purely good enough for me and my friends, it's not good enough to actually serve PAYING people, but I've often wondered if there is any kind of job out there that I would enjoy doing even if it were an obligation.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-18 09:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-18 03:55 pm (UTC)I've never heard of black cherry rice, that sounds really good. Unfortunately Persian food hasn't been easy find anywhere I've lived. :(