ew

poll: what's the grossest thing you've ever eaten?

Mexican Caviar?

The list of things I will not eat gains another entry.  This morning I happened upon an article in the Miami Herald about escamoles, the Mexican caviar made of ant eggs.  The article describes the escamoles as having a taste that is described as creamy and buttery although some people are squeamsh about the gelatinous texture.  The delicacy, a South American tradition since the days of Montezuma, is nearly impossible to find Stateside.  The author was skeptical at first but wounded up hooked on the regional delicacy. It does make me wonder why am I willing to eat any insectoid-type creature from the deep (lobster, shrimp, etc.) but ask me to touch a land-based creepy crawly and I run from the room.  Any gastro-adventurers out there want to chime in on their escamoles adventures? 

source: http://www.luxist.com/entry/1234000503044215/

i spilled coffee all over my desk the other day

literally, a whole fresh cup of scathing hot tall coffee from starbucks, all over my desk

did i ever mention that i'm the biggiest klutz in the world?

major annoyance: all the corners of my notebooks and reports are now coated with a crusty brown edge, pages stuck together.  shall consider reprinting the more important documents but it'll take ages to have to re-highlight stuff and copy my notes over

upside: every morning when i sit down in my cube i get a strong whiff of coffee, like i have the TasteScreen mounted on my monitor

mmmm the "fresh" aroma of cawfee first thing in the morning. not bad

it’s been raining nonstop the whole week

I don’t mind the rain, but doesn’t everything just seem a lot dirtier when it’s raining?  the streets become slippery and sticky, the dirt gets everywhere: on your shoes your trousers your legs.  soggy socks that squeak when you walk, the stench of dampness hanging low in the air.  the daipaidongs, the cluttered tables at rat’s alley, everything turns filthy when it rains

and don’t forget the roaches!  like us, when it rains they convene on the covered sidewalk to avoid getting drenched. legs: crouched low, antennae: swirling, daring you to come closer. evil creatures

...although when i walked pass the same spot again after dinner and found the roach (that stepped up to me earlier) squashed flat on the pavement, i kinda felt sorry for it

not for long though. i _hate_ roaches

i like fur

i like to terrorize my cats.  i love forcefully picking them up
from the floor and propping them down next to me.  funny how they'll
try to run away at first but if i protest, they'll sit back down and
indulge me...

anyhow, they like to curl up at the foot of my bed, which means i
get to rub my feet against their fur as i lie in bed, digging my toes into their belly... mmmm so soft and
warm 

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 - i love this site: http://www.popgadget.net/ - cool gadgets for girls. check it out
 - just finished reading Deception Point. 
it really is bloody awful. i made myself finish it coz i couldn't
believe how bad the book was and kept thinking it'd get better
towards the end.  well it didn't.  am looking for new book
recommendations now.  anyone?

i'm a proud new owner of ...
tada!

could only afford the dual 2.0 but what the heck.  still v excited

and yes... i have converted!

call me a fan

but here's another great recipe from jamie oliver (i added some green peas to pretend that i'm creative )

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
255g/9oz of the best spicy sausages you can find, meat removed from skin
olive oil
2 good handfuls of fresh thyme, leaves picked
1-2 small dried red chillies, crumbled, to taste
400g/14oz mixed wild mushrooms (girolles, chanterelles, ceps or blewits, oyster and shiitake), torn
fresh pappardelle
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 good knobs of butter
1 handful of parsley, chopped
1 handful of grated Parmesan cheese

Method
Fry the onion, garlic and sausage
meat in a little olive oil until lightly golden. Add the thyme,
chillies and mushrooms. Continue to fry, cooking away any moisture from
the mushrooms. Cook the pappardelle in salted boiling water until al
dente. Reserve a little cooking water. Remove the mushrooms from the
heat, season to taste and loosen with 3 knobs of butter and a little
cooking water from the pasta. Toss the drained pasta with the mushrooms
and serve sprinkled with lots of parsley and some grated Parmesan.

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hey question, do you think there's a difference in taste between
organic and non-organic food if it's frozen?  if not (coz both
peter and i couldn't tell), then why is the organic stuff more
expensive despite being frozen?

Who needs a seat?

I was on the MTR (underground/subway) the other day.  Since i
got on at the terminus, there were plenty of seats available.  i
broaded the train, dove into a seat, flipped open Deception Point and tuned myself out 

I looked up 2 stations later to see a woman (ohh in her mid 40's?)
standing right in front of me: obviously dyed hair to mask gradual
grayness, slightly matrimony looking.  my butt started leaving the
bench to give her my seat when i suddenly remembered that not long ago
i almost got chewed out by another woman (similar in age) who was
insulted that i deemed her "old enough" to be given a free
seat.   "would you like to have my seat?" i asked.  she
glanced at me, then slowly and deliberately turned her head away,
ignoring my question

so help me out here... who are you supposed to give seats
to? who constitutes as "old enough"?  my general rule of
thumb is to give seats to ppl with babies/children, pregnant women,
disabled ppl, OLD ppl.  Re: the last category, there are some
candidates more obvious that others - you know, full head
of white-hair, slouched over, hobbles, emits that
distinctive old-person-smell... but what about the
in-betweens?  do i just ignore them? or risk insulting someone
(more likely than not a woman) who considers herself
perfectly-happy-to-stand-don't-you-dare-think-i'm-old-thankyouverymuch?

do you need a seat?

(photo from: http://www.travisruse.com - great photo essay on subways)

Freewill

/choice - it's all in your head, really.  remember back in college
when you HATED dining hall food because it's the same goop every
day?  and you *so* miss being at home because you can have
(real.aka not the fake foreign version) korean, thai, italian, mexican
or chinese anytime you want?

but what happens now that you're working and are surrounded by hundreds
of restaurants/diners/cafes/fast food stores in every cuisine
imagineable? do you visit a new one and try a new dish every day? 
of course not.  i bet you you limit yourself to those 2-3
restaurants and to your 1-2 favourite dishes there.  the same
dish, those yummy $20 fish ball noodles at tsuiwah, every lunch

or maybe i, like my 2 other friends, are all creatures of comfort (to quote my soulmate)

my cat wags his tail/  is that normal?  i thought only dogs
do that.  i wonder if my cats are bored of their food too

| Download of the day: Robbie Williams - Something Stupid |

mishin

last night i was captain of a fast-moving train carrying pies as cargo.  we had just put out a fire onboard and we were shuttling the goods through a Siberian forest.  a fortune teller onboard told me that someone had stuck a voodoo pin on me.  panicked, i remember frantically running through the different areas in my life (relationship, job, health, etc) in my mind and thinking of possible areas where things weren't going smoothly, where i might've been "cursed". 

i woke up to the sound of hobbes slamming himself into my bedroom door

should i be alarmed?

can somebody please tell me..

..how often am i supposed to bath my cats?  and what's a good product to use?

i assumed that they'd clean themselves (i see them licking their own fur all the time; look at miso go to town here)

but then peter pointed out how they love rolling around in the kitten litter box (especially hobbes, he's the dirty one)

and then i go pick them up and burrow my face their fur (because they don't smell)

and then i go kiss him (peter, that is)

which i guess it's kinda unhygenic... hmm

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

chris came over for dinner on tuesday and i made a risotto.  jamie oliver really has the best recipes

Click here for basic risotto recipe (serves 4)

i made this with spinach and pinenuts. v yum