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Yesterday I had stinky tofu hotpot with T and B. :D Hotpot is soooooo delicious and good to have on cold days, which is all we've gotten recently. I'm mostly over my cold except for a slightly runny nose, and the chilly weather doesn't help. Then B had to work, so T and I headed over to Plato's Closet where I bought way too much stuff, including a North Face jacket that cost as much as like, 5 other items put together. But I really wanted it. Like I said, it's very cold lately! Then we went to a European deli, because I love buying salami and cheese from such places. Except the cheese I sampled (I asked for something sharp) ended up being even stinkier than the stinky tofu, lol. Then we went to Starbucks, where I made the mistake of getting a venti frappuccino with my free drink birthday card. I was really craving the taste of a frappuccino, but after awhile I was like, it really is too cold to be drinking this. T nicely did not say "I told you so."
I had to send my mom to the airport yesterday morning. Her flight was at 7am. You do the math. To add to the fun, the time change happened overnight, so we had to keep that in mind when planning the timing. (When are we going to STOP with this asinine time changing thing already! The reason for it is less critical than it used to be, and plenty of places are rightly opting to not observe the practice.) I couldn't even enjoy 'gaining' an extra hour due to how early I had to get up. All I could think about was getting back home/in bed!
It was really nice to have my mom around, but it's also best for our relationship that we don't live together. Her favorite meal while she was here was the salmon she had at Etta's, but her second favorite was the meal I cooked at home a few days ago!
My mom does NOT give false compliments when it comes to food, so I was actually kind of shocked. I'm writing down the recipe here so that I can duplicate it one day! I marinated some black cod kama in a marinade of soy sauce, grated 1-inch piece of ginger, and seasoned rice vinegar for 3-4 hours, turning the fish every hour or so to make sure it was marinating evenly. I set the broiler to 400°F and broiled the fish fairly close to the heat source for about 20-25 minutes, turning once. The marinade I reduced to a thick sauce on the stove top, but I didn't keep a close enough eye on it and it burned a bit. Even if that hadn't happened it still probably would have been too salty, so unless I can find a way to fix that, I wouldn't bother doing that again. I also stir fried some baby bok choy with garlic, and made a Korean-esque beef-bone soup with neck bones, Korean radish, carrot and onion. She loved everything, but especially went crazy for the fish. It was really good (though I think that's mostly because of the black cod itself, which is simply an amazingly delicious fish), but I actually think I overcooked it a bit. The texture of the meat should have been silkier, in my opinion, but the flavor was very good.
Saturday afternoon, we went to the Pacific Northwest Ballet with K and her little girls. The company performed "Love Stories," a selection of scenes from 5 love story ballets, including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Romeo & Juliet. The girls love the ballet, and were totally enraptured the whole time; I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I fell asleep during the first act and the third. I guess I just do not appreciate ballet. There's no talking, or singing, or anything that keeps me engaged. They spend 20 minutes expressing themselves through dance, which frankly doesn't really 'speak' to me (they could get the same thing across in 2 minutes if they just freaking said what they were feeling); I don't find ballet dancing all that beautiful, in fact I find it kind of freaky and unnatural how they're always on their toes (which I know ruins dancers' feet), and the guys are not appealing at all. I mean, the girls get to wear skirts and such; why can't the guys wear something similar? Put on a pair of pants or shorts, for god's sake, you just look ridiculous. Anyway. So yeah, I'm severely lacking in appreciation for ballet. Even though I love Billy Elliot. Sorry, Billy.
An update on my media consumption!!
TV Shows: Still watching and enjoying Goong. Except for when they focus on matters relating to the adults/succession of the throne. That storyline bores me to tears.
I'm now three episodes behind on Merlin. >< I also haven't watched any more Vampire Diaries.
I've totally gotten into a reality TV show for the first time: Top Chef. :D I like it because it deals with "amateurs" rather than experts who everyone already agrees is at the top of their game. (It's the same reason I prefer college sports to professional sports.) Each season starts off with a selection of about 15 up-and-coming chefs, and they participate in challenges throughout the season until one is crowned Top Chef. It's really fun, I love the head judge Tom Colicchio, I love the guest judges, and I'm continually impressed by the creative/delicious-looking dishes that the contestants come up with. I could never do that with food; I'm much more a recipe follower than creator. I started with season 4, because that's the season Stephanie Izard won, but now I'm going to go back and watch the others.
Books: I read Room by Emma Donoghue. I didn't much like it, and only finished it because it was a very quick read. I found the narrator, a 5-year-old boy, REALLY annoying. Adults should stop trying to write from the POV of a little kid, because it never sounds right. The kid always sounds way too adult, and way too kiddie, at the same time. I also found his mother really annoying. They're both supposed to be victims, and the whole time I found myself disliking them, so either I'm heartless or the author simply wasn't good at making me sympathize (beyond the very basic human level of feeling bad about their awful situation). Also, it was disturbing subject matter, but it actually wasn't as disturbing as the real-life stories we've heard of the same, so in that sense it almost felt like a protective fantasy rather than some harrowing tale that really draws you in and makes you feel every second of the horror and desperation of the situation.
I've never read a single Stephen King book. At first it was because I didn't have any interest in his usual genre, and horror still isn't my favorite. But then it was because he was so hyped, and so prolific, that I couldn't imagine I'd really be able to enjoy any of his books. But it looks like I'll be reading him for the first time -- a coworker who really likes SK gave me the first three books of The Dark Tower series, and since he's reading ASoIaF on my recommendation, I feel that it would be nice to reciprocate.
I had to send my mom to the airport yesterday morning. Her flight was at 7am. You do the math. To add to the fun, the time change happened overnight, so we had to keep that in mind when planning the timing. (When are we going to STOP with this asinine time changing thing already! The reason for it is less critical than it used to be, and plenty of places are rightly opting to not observe the practice.) I couldn't even enjoy 'gaining' an extra hour due to how early I had to get up. All I could think about was getting back home/in bed!
It was really nice to have my mom around, but it's also best for our relationship that we don't live together. Her favorite meal while she was here was the salmon she had at Etta's, but her second favorite was the meal I cooked at home a few days ago!
My mom does NOT give false compliments when it comes to food, so I was actually kind of shocked. I'm writing down the recipe here so that I can duplicate it one day! I marinated some black cod kama in a marinade of soy sauce, grated 1-inch piece of ginger, and seasoned rice vinegar for 3-4 hours, turning the fish every hour or so to make sure it was marinating evenly. I set the broiler to 400°F and broiled the fish fairly close to the heat source for about 20-25 minutes, turning once. The marinade I reduced to a thick sauce on the stove top, but I didn't keep a close enough eye on it and it burned a bit. Even if that hadn't happened it still probably would have been too salty, so unless I can find a way to fix that, I wouldn't bother doing that again. I also stir fried some baby bok choy with garlic, and made a Korean-esque beef-bone soup with neck bones, Korean radish, carrot and onion. She loved everything, but especially went crazy for the fish. It was really good (though I think that's mostly because of the black cod itself, which is simply an amazingly delicious fish), but I actually think I overcooked it a bit. The texture of the meat should have been silkier, in my opinion, but the flavor was very good.
Saturday afternoon, we went to the Pacific Northwest Ballet with K and her little girls. The company performed "Love Stories," a selection of scenes from 5 love story ballets, including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Romeo & Juliet. The girls love the ballet, and were totally enraptured the whole time; I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I fell asleep during the first act and the third. I guess I just do not appreciate ballet. There's no talking, or singing, or anything that keeps me engaged. They spend 20 minutes expressing themselves through dance, which frankly doesn't really 'speak' to me (they could get the same thing across in 2 minutes if they just freaking said what they were feeling); I don't find ballet dancing all that beautiful, in fact I find it kind of freaky and unnatural how they're always on their toes (which I know ruins dancers' feet), and the guys are not appealing at all. I mean, the girls get to wear skirts and such; why can't the guys wear something similar? Put on a pair of pants or shorts, for god's sake, you just look ridiculous. Anyway. So yeah, I'm severely lacking in appreciation for ballet. Even though I love Billy Elliot. Sorry, Billy.
An update on my media consumption!!
TV Shows: Still watching and enjoying Goong. Except for when they focus on matters relating to the adults/succession of the throne. That storyline bores me to tears.
I'm now three episodes behind on Merlin. >< I also haven't watched any more Vampire Diaries.
I've totally gotten into a reality TV show for the first time: Top Chef. :D I like it because it deals with "amateurs" rather than experts who everyone already agrees is at the top of their game. (It's the same reason I prefer college sports to professional sports.) Each season starts off with a selection of about 15 up-and-coming chefs, and they participate in challenges throughout the season until one is crowned Top Chef. It's really fun, I love the head judge Tom Colicchio, I love the guest judges, and I'm continually impressed by the creative/delicious-looking dishes that the contestants come up with. I could never do that with food; I'm much more a recipe follower than creator. I started with season 4, because that's the season Stephanie Izard won, but now I'm going to go back and watch the others.
Books: I read Room by Emma Donoghue. I didn't much like it, and only finished it because it was a very quick read. I found the narrator, a 5-year-old boy, REALLY annoying. Adults should stop trying to write from the POV of a little kid, because it never sounds right. The kid always sounds way too adult, and way too kiddie, at the same time. I also found his mother really annoying. They're both supposed to be victims, and the whole time I found myself disliking them, so either I'm heartless or the author simply wasn't good at making me sympathize (beyond the very basic human level of feeling bad about their awful situation). Also, it was disturbing subject matter, but it actually wasn't as disturbing as the real-life stories we've heard of the same, so in that sense it almost felt like a protective fantasy rather than some harrowing tale that really draws you in and makes you feel every second of the horror and desperation of the situation.
I've never read a single Stephen King book. At first it was because I didn't have any interest in his usual genre, and horror still isn't my favorite. But then it was because he was so hyped, and so prolific, that I couldn't imagine I'd really be able to enjoy any of his books. But it looks like I'll be reading him for the first time -- a coworker who really likes SK gave me the first three books of The Dark Tower series, and since he's reading ASoIaF on my recommendation, I feel that it would be nice to reciprocate.
