Overreaction

I really wanted those tomatoes.... On another note, my refrigerator is now fully stocked with food.

Too busy to shop

Time flies when you're busy

Twilight

Finally got around to reading Stephanie Meyer's book Twilight. I'm not a particularly big fan of vampire novels, the whole seduction aspect of vampires just never interested me. But, I had heard good reviews (and witnessed the book being bought over and over by teenage girls). So, I gave it a try and......it was okay. Honestly, it was a bit too much of a romance for me. Although I did find the slight twists on vampirism interesting, and the last bit of the novel was very exciting. So I went ahead and read the sequel New Moon. This one went by quick. There was still a bit too much "gushing" *snicker* about how wonderful Edward is, but then things got more interesting. I am determined to read the third volume now, and will probably be eagerly awaiting the fourth this August. All I can say is teenage girls are serious romantics.

Allergies

Seth has a poison ivy rash. I have never gotten poison ivy, ever. Yet, once a year Seth will enter into the wilderness and come back covered in a rash. Sucks for him (and me because I end up doing tons of laundry in an effort to prevent contamination of oils).

Addiction

I swear, working at a bookstore enables my addiction to books. I can't get enough.

Early to rise, too early for shopping

I don't think the brandy made that much of a difference in the cherry pie, but at least I wasn't left wondering "if only I'd added the brandy...."

The danger of sharing a bed

The jokes keep coming...

Ouch

Surprises

More househunting

Advice to anyone planning to sell a home: Don't leave your computer on with a screen saver of your wife in provocative poses.

Sandwich

You can never have too much pork.

Tasty leftovers

Roast crispy pork

The house filled with delicious aromas of pork, garlic and oregano. Loki and I were home drooling for over three hours. We both got to munch on the delicious pork, but only me and Seth get to have crispy pork skin. I swear, eating crisped, roasted pork skin is sooooo delicious. It's as close to a food orgasm as you can get. And then, there are the slightly chewy pork bits that stick in your teeth like intensely flavored pork chewing gum. It sounds gross, but trust me it tastes like bliss. It took all my self control to not eat every last bit of crispy skin (I had to save some for Seth since he's stuck at work).

Deadlines

Out of the blue I have an opportunity at being published for my bento work. But, the deadline is very aggressive, so I have a harsh schedule coming up. And then, the children's book I have been working on is suddenly in need of being finished. After months of not having any idea of a deadline, I suddenly have one. Needless to say, I am going to be very busy for the next couple of days, and hopefully the next month (if the book deal pulls through).

Try new things

Asia market

I finally visited the "Chinatown" in Austin (it really should be called Little Saigon since it is mainly Vietnamese). It was great, got a whole bunch of tasty treats. And I saw some items in the fresh meats area that saw at a grocery before (they even had pig rectums!). They also had Sheepshead fish, which are the creepiest fish I have ever seen. Apparently, for anyone who's lived on the coast, these fish are well-known and not in the least abnormal, but to me and my husband they are the source of nightmares. Anyway, I got myself some tame items like pork belly and a fresh ham butt (both with skin). I plan on doing a roast tomorrow (4/8/08) for dinner.

More durian

I really found a durian cookie at the local Asia market today. Check out the real packaging here.

April fool's day

The day is here!

After neglecting this blog for so long due to constant focus on cooking, my parents visiting, and watching a dog, I have finally managed to get up some comics. The meal went great, and everybody enjoyed the food immensely. We were practically on a food high by the end of the meal, and took the dogs on a loooong walk to attempt to burn off some of the vast quantities of butter and cream we had just consumed. If you want to see photos of the food, go to my flickr site.

The durian experience

My dad agreed that this durian tasted too much like onions, and that he would not enjoy eating the rest. Overall, it was a great experience and an interesting fruit. We ate a decent amount (me eating the most). The fibrous outside around each pit tasted the most like onions, with a garlicy aftertaste, but some of the fruit right next to the seed tasted much sweeter, and very creamy. My dad figures it must not have been ripe enough. He said his durian had split open all by itself, but we actually cut into ours. Even so, we froze the leftovers and will thaw them whenever we have someone over who would like to have a durian experience.

More prep work

Prep work begins