Crispy oven-baked Yorkshire pudding filled with stir-fried lean ground beef and chopped vegetables (carrot, red bell pepper, mushroom, spring onion) cooked in beef and ale sauce. *licks*
Hee. ^^ I got paid, can you tell? :P
Poll #1087150 Wearing clothes
Open to: All, results viewable to: All
Open to: All, results viewable to: All
When putting on a long-sleeved top or jumper/sweater, you
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put your arms through first and then your head.
7 (87.5%)
put your head through first and then your arms. 0 (0.0%)
never really thought about it. 1 (12.5%)
Oh, in case you're wondering, mine had always been a cat. First time was during the PostPet fever back in god knows when (1997?), after that was a few years back (less than six years ago, but no definite date) when Tiffany and I wanted to play around with virtual pets again. Today though, right after installing it and loading it up, my first thought was, "Oh. My. God. It's so grainy!"
In fact, I think it's probably so old now that Sony doesn't even bother running maintenance on it anymore. But it was so cute though when everyone's got one and the pets just started journalling as well (mine was just a horny little cat!). ^^ I think it was one of the kawaii things that the Japanese devised up to introduce email to children - and what an encouragement to reply to emails too, especially for lazy shites like me! - a bit like Windows Bob (which was a failure, but I liked it because it was so cute!). What's cuter than having a virtual pet that you not only feed, pet, play with, take care of, but it delivers your mail whilst out visiting other people's virtual pets (you can feed a visiting pet too if it's hungry), write a journal entry on the visit (and it'll tell you whether it's been smacked by your heavy-handed friend!) and collect "treasures" on its way home?
Unfortunately, the teenagers took it up because us aZns are lovers of Hello Kitty and cute shit like that, and infected our friends too. :P It only really started going downhill when Sony tried to make money out of it by coming up with shit like PostPet World, and after that limiting it to only Japanese, which sucks for the rest of us who don't read Japanese.
Wonder how long this renewed fascination is going to last. :P But yeesh, I have a cat who is a picky eater. He just shook his head and refused to eat a biscotti even though he's "Absolutely famished"!
*bribes with catnip*
How mind-boggling. Roffle. Funniest thing I've seen in a while.
Me: i have no imagination. so i can't deal with teeny tiny imaginary molecules in chemistry that i can't see.ragnasti: somehow, that's where i specialize, bonds and molecular exchange is my specialty. something that requires imagination.
Me: this little electron goes to the market, this little electron stays at home... :P
Me: lol. so scary.
Anyway. What I'm feeling ticked off about is how the character Silas is an albino, and how he's been portrayed like a superhuman (but I'm only at Chapter 22, so this may change). Personal and spiritual strength aside, abinos have very poor eyesight that cannot be corrected with spectacles (even though visual aids like magnifiers and typoscope may make things easier for them, just like for people who suffer from partial blindness due to sight-threatening disease) because of the lack of pigmentation causes eyesight developmental problems and glare problems in well-lighted situations (sunny days, etc) that's akin to overexposure of camera films. Most true albinos have nystagmus, a condition where the eyes is constantly visibly shaking in their sockets as if the eyes are instinctively trying to search for a target or some direction of gaze to make their sight clearer. So not only you have overexposed film, you're having movement blur as well thrown in for the count. Some nystagmus sufferers have poor recognition of people's faces due to their decreased visual function.
Silas is said to have white hair and pink irides, which means that he definitely doesn't have just a mild case of albinism (some albinos have blue irides, which indicate they have some melanin, not the complete absence of it). Why does Dan Brown then portrayed Silas as this man who is so accurate with his gun when... well, have you tried trying to aim at something, anything, if your eyes are constantly flicking side by side (or up and down) to a fast beat? I understand that some nystagmus sufferers can actually shoot a gun and hit the target with practice, but it tends to take them a little longer to aim due to the "beat" and they may need special scopes or peep sights. I know that Silas has so far (by Chapter 22, like I stated) only shot the curator in his stomach, which is quite a big target I suppose. But he was also aiming for his head, which is smaller and more difficult to get right because of the bony skull. Like, hello?
I guess I'm just easily annoyed by books that over-exaggerate things. I know, I know, it's only fiction and I should chill out. I'm sure the distinctive white hair and pink eyes makes a good visual for a book for a misunderstood villain (the "evil albino" stereotype), but seriously. It would've flown a whole lot better had the man just bleached his hair and worn coloured contacts for the intimidating effect. And I would've been less ticked off. Do your fucking research, Dan Brown!
*steps down from the soapbox*
No photos because I'm not in the mood to play around with the camera today. Heh. Maybe another time.
IngredientsI did debate whether to add cheese to the mixture, but then I decided to skip it since there was already a decent amount of salt content and I'm trying to eat healthier (sort of, even though canned ham is probably not the healthiest choice of all). In the end, I'm quite glad that I didn't add the cheese - it already taste pretty decent cheese-free.
1 cup couscous, uncooked
200g canned ham, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
5 closed-cup common mushrooms, chopped
5 bell peppers, whole (doesn't matter what colour they are)
Ground black pepper
Method
Serves 5
- Cook couscous as directed on package. That usually involves cooking it in boiling water, kinda like rice, but a lot quicker! I cheated with a microwave though. :P
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan or wok, stir-fry chopped ham, onion and mushroom. I didn't use any oil at all because the ham is already oily enough to grease the pan as I cook it. It is also salty enough for me to skip the salt. Add a little ground black pepper to taste. Add couscous when cooked and mix until distributed evenly. Remove from heat.
- Slice off the top of the bell peppers but don't throw them away. Carefully cut around the insides of the peppers to remove the seeded parts without puncturing the pepper casing. Test if the pepper casings can stand on their own. If not, carefully slice a small area at the bottom - again without puncturing through the casing - to allow the pepper casing to stand on its own.
- Fill the peppers with the couscous mixture and replace pepper tops. You might have leftover couscous mixture, but that's fine. They taste pretty good on their own, or you can just make another pepper casing to fill with.
- Wrap the filled peppers in tinfoil, heat the oven up to 150°C, and arrange the wrapped peppers in the oven to roast until desired softness. Overcooked peppers will take on a yellowish tinge, which ruins presentation, but you probably won't want to serve green bell peppers raw (red and yellow are all right).
- Unwrap and serve.
Estimated Nutritional Values (per serving)
Energy 216.68kcal
Protein 14.1g
Carbohydrate 35.84g
Fat 1.42g
My flatmate walked in while I was in the middle of making this, and she was so intrigued by it. Heh. I'm not sure why, but my flatmates are so perpetually fascinated with what I'm cooking, it's weird. I quite enjoyed making it, for what its worth. I've been quite stressed out and depressed lately, so I needed to do something that takes my mind off things. Been wondering if I should start baking again. Have a few things thought and lined up, like stuffed cheesy tomatoes (I thought I had pictures of these when I first made them two years ago, but I can't find them!), sausage bread rolls and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies or chewy brownie cookies or cinnamon rolls. :P I know, how disgustingly fattening.
Argh. Why do I do this to myself?
It's falling apart! *cries*
Fattest person. Smallest waist. Tallest person. Longest hair. We all want to set a record. We all want to be amazing, admired, loved.
But hell. That was quite crazy.
I applaud her though for taking on a crazy experiment (even though she doesn't believe in it) and documenting it. I like crazy experiments, doing things just to a) show you can do it, or b) for the sake of the experience. I don't think I can ever do what she did though because I like food too much to give it up and I don't really have that kind of discipline. I mean, 8 weeks! That's way too long when my memory probably doesn't exceed 15 minutes. Hehe. I'm all for "instant payoff", so I take on short, quick projects to entertain myself.
- Once the excitement of first romance has passed, you get bored in most of your relationships.
- You have a habit of dating unavailable men (married, involved with someone else, geographically or emotionally distant, etc.).
- You have a long and elaborate list of requirements for your ideal mate.
- You consider your married friends’ relationships boring and feel that many of them have settled for too little.
- You cultivate larger networks of friends and acquaintances at the expense of romantic relationships.
- You date more than one man at a time to prevent becoming dependent.
- You have a difficult time getting over past boyfriends.
I'm not a freak! ^^
Speaking of avatars, I want a "Cute but Psycho" Happy Bunny T-shirt now! Wah! But then again, I probably want a lot more things than I can afford.
- Mood:bouncy
Meanwhile, I've been scouring the Top 40s and Brit Awards. I couldn't believe the song that I've been bopping along to on the radio had been Take That's Patience (so apt a title for their return single, haha!). Roffle. Trust me to never forget the boyband-crazed fan in me. ;) Not all that keen on James Morrison (Best British Male Solo Artist) though. Too ordinary and a little boring.
In my typical I-don't-know-what-genre-I-am-partial-to way, I found out that I really like My Chemical Romance, although I've only heard of the songs in the album The Black Parade. Might just check out the other albums.
Speaking of music, my treasured earphones broke. :'( Still usable, and the sound quality is still okay, it's just broken at the silver Sony joint-thing, so it's strictly a cosmetic problem so far. It's the first earphones I've ever had that didn't hurt my ears because it has the interchangeable earplug-thingies. I've had them for 2.5 years (funnily enough, my "welcome to England" present in my first year, but that's a long story). I suppose they've served me well for a pair of really expensive earphones. Heh.
A proof that things are only beautiful temporarily.
- Mood:cold
Hehe. I know, what a large meal! Made of favourite vegetables too... and I don't like a whole lot of vegetables. ;)
It smells awesome. Like, AWESOME. I haven't had Emperor's Chicken in such a long time, and now I know why I was so friggin' addicted to it because I want more, more, more!
You know, that's the problem with cooking yourself - you know exactly what kind of food you like, and you know exactly how to make it taste awesome to yourself, and therefore you eventually eat way too much.
Making pineapple jam.
Making the tarts. Couldn't really decide on the shape. :P
Ready to bake!
Voila! Pineapple tarts!
That was so fun! Hehe. I didn't get to take a photo of the making of the pastry because my hands were all icky and greasy and I wouldn't taint my darling camera with greasy fingers! I improvised though because I don't have a cookie-cutter - I used the top of a glass. :x
It turned out pretty decent considering what I didn't have at my disposal (like a knack for baking!). So happy now. ^^
Everyone knows pineapple tarts are a must during Chinese New Year (well, the Malaysian and the Singaporean versions anyway). Super sweet and super calorific, oy!
- Mood:weird
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- the girl with no tears
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