Month: August 2008

Happy as a Clam

I am, but not because we ate here. Let me back up. We went to the beach today, as is our wont on 100+-degree days. Today, by some twist of full moon Twilight Zone disturbia, it took us about three hours to make the 80 

I Got More Spice Than the Frugal Gourmet

This time, without pedophilia scandal! I know, I’m no fun. I participate (with tepid enthusiasm these days, sorry) on a gaming forum called f13.net in which I started Voodoolily’s Snacktastic Cooking Thread awhile back. Yesterday I saw the following post by a member: I get 

Curry ramen with mun-cha’i ya

…or, Phoning it In

Yes, that’s packaged ramen. For dinner. See? I can totally phone it in sometimes. And since I joined the Foodbuzz Challenge (as I’m calling it), my posts are going to continue to erode into the hastily-scrawled chicken scratch of a mad woman for the next four weeks.

What is the Foodbuzz Challenge, you might ask? Most of you Foodbuzzed probably got the email and ran the other way, like smart people. I have agreed to post five times a week from August 11 to September 10 so those nice folks at Foodbuzz can see if there’s a correlation between posting frequency and traffic to Foodbuzz. “Quality of Post” is apparently not one of the variables they are examining at this time.

This, friends, is why Japan rules. First, they took ramen, the perfect food, and gave it curry! Also, everything they make is so cute you want to gouge your eyes out with a grapefruit spoon. Look at that little dude! He’s hurrying his little ass off to bring you steaming hot noodles in a glass case. Whilst wearing geta sandals!

Mun-cha’i ya (mock duck) is 100% vegetarian wheat gluten from Taiwan. Don’t back away slowly, it actually tastes pretty good. I already liked seitan, and that’s all this is, but with hilarious bumpy skin texture on it. And it comes with its own gravy! Mmm…gravy. Next time I’m going to try the mock abalone.


So yeah, I made some packaged curry ramen, boiled some potatoes and carrots, and added some canned gluten to it. I dumped a little extra curry gravy mix and togarashi just for shits and gigs. The curry didn’t thicken up like usual until I was almost done eating it, but whatevs.

Ittadakimasu!

Hey, man, don’t look at me like that. They’re testing frequency, not quality!

Clinton Corner Cafe

Portland is a brunch town. God help you if you want to eat some eggs on a Saturday morning. On weekends, even regular blue-collar lunch counters become “brunch places” packed with hipsters willing to wait an hour for some eggs and hash browns. Some places 

Buttermilk spice cake with bourbon-banana compote and toasted marshmallows

…or Having a Laugh (Are You Having a Laugh?) So, we all know that I love to cook, and have demonstrated a fair amount of competence in doing so. Proficiency, even, modestly put. Baking, however, is not my forte. Sure, my galettes are passable, but 

Biscuits and Gravy

Mmm…doesn’t that sound good in that 100-degree weather we’re having? Piping hot, fresh-from-the-oven buttermilk biscuits slathered in creamy country gravy, flecked with cracked black pepper and spicy little bites of sausage. Mmm…refreshing.

Okay, so I’m working through a bit of my backlog. We really did have weather cool enough for baking merely two days ago, and I had those fluffy biscuits leftover from the chowder. They were great breakfast on Sunday morning, all stickin’ to my lumber-jacking ribs. The tomato slices provided the hit of much-needed acid (and vitamins) to the plate, slicing right through that rich gravy with surgeon-like precision.

Now, however, I can scarcely be arsed to sit in front of this computer for the moment it takes me to type this, let alone stand in front of a hot gas stove. It is fucking hot. It’s not a good look on me. Oh, sure, I can turn the aircon on. Except that my cat has been spraying the external unit all year long, and the delightful aroma of litterbox comes wafting in through the vents when I kick on that cool, cool air.

Also, I don’t get how people are all into grilling in hot weather. “Hey everyone, let’s all sit outside in Lucifer’s dank loins, gathered around a giant metal box full of fire!” And by the time it even starts to cool off a bit, the mosquitoes come out. Fuck that noise. I’m having a cocktail and salad from a bag.

Note: Since Judy asked for it, here’s the recipe for my biscuits.

Corn Chowder with Halibut Cheeks and Mussels

Okay, I really haven’t been around much, and I apologize for being such a flaky friend and not visiting enough. In my defense, I have been out of town for work, with a spotty-at-best wireless connection (I used the hotel lobby to reply to my