A pack of twelve chicken wings for $5 that lasted me two meals. Used the chinese seasoning pack with soy sauce for the wings and then made another chopped salad.

The meal was paired with funny moments from When Harry Met Sally...

Leftover veggies in the fridge from the beef wellington night.

Grilled the mushroom in the oven and pan fried the sweet potatoes, carrots and onions.

Simple enough for me.

Ever since Leaving Vancouver the couple times in July, I haven't made a proper meal at home. The only times I would cook was to make instant noodles. The majority of my meals have been subway and instant noodles. This doesn't count when I was away. Those days were pizza, pasta, fried oysters, burgers, fries and the solo salad that I ordered to trick myself into believing I still cared about my health.

Today, I spent more than five minutes in a grocery store and bought actual groceries. The only way I could make myself do that was to give a short notice dinner invite to my parents. I figure, if I said I'd make them dinner for 7:30pm, then I'd be forced to plan a meal and also clean my apartment. Along with ignoring my diet, I've also neglected the sanitation of my home.

Nothing like the feat of my parents' judgement to whip me back in to shape.

The menu for tonight (provided by Jamie Oliver): Sweet potato and chorizo soup. Chopped cucumber, avocado, butterhead lettuce, alfalfa sprouts salad. Beef Wellington.

I'm one meal away from cleaning up my fridge! I've put a sizable dent in my freezer, but I don't think I can have pork and beef every meal for the next month. T & T, here I come!

Freezer items: pork
Fridge items: zucchini, spinach
Pork marinade: soy sauce, garlic chili sauce, lemon juice, garlic, ginger zest
Veggies: simmered in lobster stock and chopped garlic and ginger

June 8, 2012

For the last two weeks, I've been having nothing but green salads for lunch. I bought too many greens for a work BBQ, so I had to make as many meals with them as possible. I don't know how those models do it. As delicious as a salad can be, I get bored of eating the same thing over and over again. I know what to expect each time. There's no excitement or surprising flavours bursting in my mouth. I have the same spinach and pea shoot mix with shrimp and drizzled with a honey, mayo, lemon juice and mustard seed dressing... Everyday. I shrug and nod after every bite. "yeah, just as I thought, tastes okay like yesterday.". So at the peak of my taste buds' frustration, I regrettably ordered myself a plate of fries today. It was heaven for the first quarter. The last few bites each were preceded by groans. A mistake was made.

It's the weekend now, so I won't be seeing raw veggies until the next coming work week. Let's celebrate with a pork stir fry! Pork neck would have been ideal, but I continued my freezer cleanse and thinly sliced a defrosted pork chop. Not as tender as the neck... But the flavour was there. And it's food, so there is essentially nothing to complain about.

June 5, 2012

Last time a package of seasoning, this time, bottled sauce. When will it end?!

The naan was from the Indian/pizza place downstairs. I'm never going to attempt to make it. Vikram Vij has chefs who can't even make good naan. So, I choose to use my energy to take the five minute walk downstairs. Guaranteed delicious, soft, chewy naan.

I made the rice. That's all I'm good for.

I'm not a fan of using hamburger helper-like packages to cook. It kind of feels like cheating, don't you think? Sometimes when you have to prepare more than one dish for over 20 people, you cave. And when I caved, I discovered what wonders of flavour the clubhouse pasta mix provides in less than 30 seconds of ripping open the packaging and stirring. It scares me that now that I've had a small taste of these dinner helpers, I won't be able to stop. At least I know where I draw the line: instant rice.