gmonkey42

This one's pretty simple - French toast - but I thought up a new twist that makes it awesome:

Brown Sugar Crusted French Toast
2 pieces of bread
2 Tbsp butter
the mix:
- an egg
- some milk
- some vanilla ("some" for the vanilla ≠ "some" for the milk)
- a spoon of sugar
- a dash of cinnamon
3-4 Tbsp brown sugar, spread around on a plate

...I never measure things when I make French toast. Guessing wildly, it's probably about 1/4 cup of milk, 1/3 tsp vanilla, and 2 tsp white sugar.

Mix together the ingredients for the mix in a wide, shallow bowl. Heat a skillet on medium and drop in 1 Tbsp of butter to melt. Dip the bread in the mix then turn it over and dip the other side. Here's the cool part: take the now-soggy bread and put it on the brown sugar, so one side gets coated. Then put it in the pan, brown sugar side down. Leave it a few minutes until that side is cooked golden brown then flip it over and cook the other side. Take out the first piece of toast then put the rest of the butter in the pan and repeat with the second slice of bread. Serve with a little maple syrup.

The brown sugar gets caramelized and gives the toast a thin, crunchy candy coating. If you want to be extra fancy, coat both sides with sugar but I liked it fine with just one.

I got two bags of Snyder's Pretzel Pieces, one ranch flavor and one honey mustard & onion, two days ago. I ate them all by yesterday and got a stomachache. Now I'm craving more of the ranch ones.

I'm pretty sure I read a definition of addiction that said it's something you don't want to do and you know it'll feel bad later but you do it anyway.

I adapted this recipe from http://thaitable.com and it's super easy and delicious!

Sweet Sticky Rice
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup glutinous rice a.k.a. Thai sweet rice; you will probably have to go to an Asian market, I've never seen it at Safeway or similar.
- 1/2 cup plus a bit of water - enough to just cover the rice in a bowl
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- the fruit of your choice; mangoes are popular

Directions:
1. Put the rice in a microwave-safe bowl and get a plate that can sit over the top of the bowl.

2. Pour the water over the rice, put the plate on top and let it soak for an hour. Or warm up the water first and soak for 10 minutes.

3. With the plate still on top (the plate is important! or else the water will all evaporate and the rice will explode in your microwave! not that I discovered that the hard way or anything!) cook the rice in the microwave for 2 minutes.

4. Leave it for about 30 seconds to let the steam condense then remove the plate and fluff with a fork.

5. Loop back to 3 two more times or until the rice is squishy and translucent. Eat some if you're not sure. You might have to add a splash more water if it's drying out. My microwave is a super-badass 1.25kW. If yours is wimpy like 750W then two rounds of 3 minutes each should work fine, I have to check it more frequently so it doesn't get overcooked.

6. When the rice is done, leave it covered and get a small saucepan and heat the coconut milk over medium heat.

7. Add the sugar and stir constantly while simmering the coconut milk until it starts to thicken up, about 5 minutes. Or maybe a bit longer, I wasn't really paying attention to the time. Let's say 5-8 minutes.

8. When it's like a moderately syrupy sauce, turn off the stove and pour the coconut milk & sugar into the rice bowl. Stir it up and let sit for 5 minutes. Reserve some sauce for serving, if you like.

9. Serve warm with fruit & extra sauce on top. Makes two servings, or one if you're pretty hungry. I handled the fruit portion the super lazy way: just open a Dole fruit cup and dump it on. I should have poured off some of the syrup from the fruit cup, there was a little too much liquid but apart from that it was very nice.

I went to lunch with some friends from the lab today (instead of going to Seminar...) and I had this great burrito. It was a chili relleno burrito: basically a chili relleno inside a bean & rice burrito. Awesome.

[Error: unknown template qotd]Ohh this Writer's Block is right up my alley because as many of you know, I love snacks.

Cheetos are my favorite at the moment. I suppose it's because I'm into a MMORPG and I'm just that stereotypical. Other all-time favorite snacks include nachos and a cheese & olives plate I like to do. Basically anything cheese-related. Which is why I'll probably never be a vegan.

My hands are shaking! I guess it's been longer than I thought since I had a non-decaf espresso drink! It was only a small! What the hell?

[Error: unknown template qotd]I want the pizza from Alfredo's Pizza Cafe.

I rode my bike to the hardware store today! I had not ridden a bike in years! I needed to buy a small stepladder (along with a drop cloth - I'm finally painting the bathroom and bedroom!) so that made it a little awkward but I hung it from the handlebars and that worked. BUT I had not taken into account that I live at the top of a hill. I had to walk up the last bit and then I collapsed on the couch for a little while.

Now I want Taco Bell for lunch. I COULD ride my bike - there are a lot of stores close enough to my house that I can start biking to them, it's so cool - but I'm still a little tired :(

AND I need energy to start painting. I have all the supplies I need now, no more stalling!

OK, driving to Taco Bell and then I'll get painting.

Mmm, taco salad (hold the beef, extra beans).

ETA: It was not a big ladder! It's about 2 feet high. So it easily balanced on my handlebars. I'm not THAT crazy ;)

ere's what I'm eating right now:

Mostly Thai Vegetable Curry

This makes two large servings or three to four small servings. I always make enough so there's leftovers.

Essential Thai(ish) Sauce Ingredients
13.5 oz can coconut milk
about 1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 or more tsp Chinese garlic chili sauce, depending on how spicy you want it
1 stalk lemongrass, chopped
6 leaves fresh basil
a squirt of lime juice, or the juice of 1 lime if the supermarket hasn't run out of limes >:(

Other ingredients
1 Asian eggplant cut into thick strips
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 cups shredded carrots
2 cups broccoli, chopped
1/2 can bamboo shoots
oil
salt to taste
some cooked rice to go with it

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan on med and sautee the eggplant and bell pepper.
2. Meanwhile, put the coconut milk in a stock pot and heat on med-low. Add the garlic chili sauce, lemongrass, basil, broccoli and a little broth
3. Add the lightly browned eggplant and pepper plus carrots and bamboo shoots to the stock pot.
4. Taste the sauce - if it's too thick, add a little broth; add salt and chili garlic sauce if needed.
5. Cook until broccoli is tender.
6. Serve with rice.

It doesn't quite have that rich flavor you get at a restaurant but it's still pretty good. And you can throw in just about any veggies, tofu or meats. Probably putting in the carrots & bell pepper first and not putting in the broccoli until later so you can stew it longer would improve the flavor.


ETA: After you eat the delicious curry & rice, your stomach might say "hey, you know what's a good idea now? Eat like five pieces of chocolate and a big glass of milk!" but DO NOT LISTEN, IT IS A TRICK! Ooh, I'm too full :(
It was worth it.

The lab had a pie competition today and I made a pie! I didn't win the grand prize but I got a "Great Effort! [translation: Everybody Gets A Ribbon]" ribbon. I made Custard Berry Pie; I downloaded a recipe for the crust from allrecipes.com and another for the custard and then the berry topping was my own addition. Some of the pies were ultra sweet and mine was less sweet. The custard was a little bland; next time I'll add vanilla.

I didn't think of getting a picture until after it was eaten but it looks something like this. (Ignore the other pie recipe! Pirate Monkeys Inc. does not endorse non-GMonkey pies!)

( Here's the recipe )