Friday, September 16, 2005

Cooking

Pardon me for waxing lyrical about food, but I must simply discuss my latest foray into The Cooking. It's The Cooking, not just cooking, because I so rarely do it that it has become somewhat of an event for me. On Tuesday, I tried my hand at some Round Food - Scandinavian meatballs and Falafel. Usually I bake, and my cakes and pies usually come out well. I think the secret to baking well is following recipes strictly(except to reduce or add the sugar), folding and stirring in the right manner, and possessing a good oven with even heat distribution. All these I do pretty well.

Cooking is another arena altogether. The instincts and senses and the ability to control your freaking saucepan comes into play. And my cooker doesn't seem to listen to me. I can never get the exact flame and the heat which I need. And I overadded egg to my meatballs so the mixture wasn't sticky enough to form balls. So my Scandinavian meatballs aren't meatballs anymore. They kind of went "splat" on the wok instead, to my utter dismay. And they turned out looking like tiny patties instead. They tasted quitei good, but the process of cooking it was very trying. I came out of it smelling from head to toe like the food. It made me really sick.

The falafel was more of a disappointment. It simply refused to brown. The recipe did not call for an additional layer of breadcrumbs or yolk on the surface, so when I popped it into the oil, it disintegrated! Very sad. I had such high expectations for the falafel because I remember how good they tasted overseas. Every time I think of falafel I get really high and happy because it reminds me of the good times I had overseas. I only eat them overseas cos I can't find them here very much. It's full of chickpea, fried, and the Maoz Falafel stands in Europe provide a salad bar where you can top it off with as much of your fav greens from their salad bar. I am drooling just thinking of it. I had it once in Amsterdam by the train station and another time at La Ramblas in Barcelona. I need my falafel dosage again... I'll probably have to try it again, when I start to forget how bruised my ego was after the failure.

By the way, I cannot resist mentioning how Carl's Junior makes me think of skiing. The link is very tenuous but still... The chilli cheese fries at Carl's Junior reminds me of how I love chilli cheese whenever I go to America. It's such a common dish over there. And once when I was skiing in Lake Tahoe I had the chilli cheese fries for lunch. And that was probably the best day of skiing I had, because it was my very first. Plus, the snow was so thick, powdery and soft and the day lasted long and the sky was so clear. Haiz... memories!

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