sickening!

That's what Ru said!

Season 4 of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered tonight and it was truly sickening, in the best way possible. New queens, new attitudes, and new styles clashed with the zombie drag queens of seasons past. Now that I can watch these sassy ladyboys serve up realness and shade, I look forward to Mondays.

courtesy of google image search

No one can pull off a gold bodysuit like Ru!

the simple things

It's all about the simple things... like creating the perfect salad out of bits and pieces of other salads recipes and suggestions I pored over last year (Martha Stewart and Nigella Lawson come to mind.)

For a long time I was not a big fan of salads... it seemed like a lot of work for raw food. All of the washing, chopping, slicing so that all the elements are the same size and shape... it just wasn't for me. I mean, college me was perfectly happy to roast a couple of potatoes and call it a day.

But now that I've been cooking almost everyday for about two years, I've started making more and more salads. I think it also helps that I now live very close to an outstanding produce store that sells the most delicious blood oranges outside of Sicily.

my happy salad

The goods: blackberries, blueberries, blood orange segments, sliced avocado, sliced red onion, and chunks of fresh mozzarella with a squeeze of lime. All delicious tastes and textures... tangy, creamy, zippy, rich and fatty brightened with citrus. This makes a good topper over a bed of lettuce but I prefer it as is.

a near-forgotten gem

from last week...

Mom: You know, peas are my favorite kind of bean because they don't give me (insert random symptom here.)

Me: That's because they're not beans; they're vegetables.

Mom: They look like beans, like the things that pop out of green beans.

Oh, the convoluted story of the pea!

melanzana alla parmigiana

that's exactly what it is!

A sudden hankering for eggplant parmigiana led me to buy the ingredients over the weekend. It's been a while since I've cooked this but I used to make it so frequently that no written recipe is needed. This is all from memory:

Slice up some old bread (I used two-thirds of a three-day old garlic demi-baguette from Trader Joe's... I don't recommend using anything much older.)

Blend in a blender or food processor, if you're fancy.

And voila! Easy peezy homemade breadcrumbs!

Slice up an eggplant, about one-quarter inch wide.

Slowly begin heating up the oil... I used a mix of canola oil and olive oil, since olive oil splatters pretty nasty when hot. Also, if you're using olive oil to fry, use the regular stuff. Extra virgin olive oil is not for frying!

While you're at it, get out your casserole dish and preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare the breading station! Whisk two eggs into a bowl and set out a plate or two for flour and the breadcrumbs you made.

Dredge the eggplant slices in flour first...

... then the eggs...

... and lastly, the breadcrumbs. Gently press down on the eggplant with your fingers or a fork to press the flour and breadcrumbs in.

Before you start frying anything, make sure the oil is hot. Eggplant, like Spongebob Squarepants, is super absorbent and will soak up insufficiently hot oil. Drop a breadcrumb into the pan. If it sizzles, you're ready to load in a few slices. These babies only need to fry for 2-3 minutes before flipping.

Meanwhile, coat the casserole dish with some pasta sauce... much easier than making a sauce from scratch and much tastier than plain old tomato paste. I used spicy arrabbiata for an extra kick of tastiness.

You can also use this time to slice up anything you'll be layering between the eggplant and sauce. You will need some fresh mozzarella cheese. I added four sliced tomatoes, though these aren't traditionally included in parmigiana.

Use a fork to lift up and check the fried side of the eggplant. Make sure it's golden brown before you flip!

Once both sides have been browned, lay slices of fried eggplant on the bottom of the dish. Layer mozzarella and extras as you please.

Add some more sauce and repeat!

When you've filled the dish or run out of eggplant, prepare the parmigiana for baking. Make sure the top layer is mozzarella and sauce, then pop the plate in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheese has satisfactorily melted.

Let it cool for a few minutes, then go crazy.

Mangia!

bad fans

Poor Kyle Williams! The 49er feels bad enough for the fumbles he played during Sunday's NFC playoff game.

And now, on the evening news, it is reported that Kyle Williams has received threatening tweets. Even worse, some of the threats are also directed towards his family.

What is wrong with these people? Is this the Saddam Hussein-era Iraq that punished their soccer players when they lose a game? Is this Viking-filled Scandinavia where people seek out blood payment by targeting innocent family members? I mean, damn, are we not in San Francisco?

It was already embarrassing when a fight between 49ers and Raiders fans broke out in Candlestick Park in August. Given the great improvement the 49ers have forged this year, death tweets are no way to end the season.

break with tradition

Lunar New Year strikes tomorrow but being a sensible family, if the holiday doesn't land on a weekend, we celebrate the weekend immediately preceding the other new year.

In addition, my dad usually takes us to South Sea Seafood Village on Irving Street. However, Yeye had an urge to eat the deep-fried Bloomin' Onion from Outback, so that's where we went.

Yeye can't wait to dig in

Between the cheering fans watching the 49ers-Giants game at the bar and the Onion, it was a very different Lunar New Year. Granted, South Sea Seafood Village also has a TV but you rarely hear a burst of huzzahs at the place.

But when you think about it, I guess the greasiness of Onion is on par with some of the dishes at South Sea Seafood Village. It tastes so good - dipped in a slightly spicy batter and fried to perfect crispiness - but it is so bad for you... and now it's especially scary since Outback posts the calories of each dish on the menu. Nearly 2000 calories for the Bloomin' Onion! Oh man, and Dad ordered the Aussie Cheese Fries, too... that's another just-under-2000-calories plate.

Enter the Year of the Dragon... with an onion.

and now for a bit of self-promotion...

Hello!

After much contemplation, I've decided to try and make this lifestyle blog a little less crazy. The solution: a spin-off blog that catalogues my travels, both recent and not-so-recent. The blog will also announce travel deals when I or my friends see them and oh-so-handy tips for traveling abroad. Friends, Romans, countrymen, I give you I hella went there!

overlooking one of the Amazon's tributaries over Tarapoto

Get on over, fellow journeymen!

they really mean spicy

It's not the actual roll that's spicy!

Took a stroll over to Chaat Cafe in Crocker Galleria for lunch and ordered the indulgently tasty Chicken Tikka Masala Rolls... for $7.49 you get two portions of chicken and tikka masala curry wrapped in flatbread and fried to golden crunchy goodness. The rolls are so filling that I usually just eat one and save the other for dinner.

rolls!

so savory... it's umami-time!

Now everyone knows that tikka masala usually isn't spicy, and it's true, the rolls are not the spicy element in this lunch. At Chaat Cafe, rolls come with a side of either salad or spicy potato salad. How spicy can potato salad be? Potato salad always has some sort of fatty cream (be it mayonnaise, sour cream, or some sort of fresh cheese) to soothe any fiery substances. Potato salad is delicious but, well, safe.

To my surprise, Chaat Cafe really does serve up a spicy potato salad. It doesn't hit you straight away; the spice is the aftertaste. But it is a hefty spice, not to be trifled with like your usual potato salads. Eater beware... or enjoy! After filling up my gigantic sippy cup at the faucet, I finished the rest of the potato salad. The magic of spicy foods worked like magic and I was not hungry until a full eight hours later.