Thoughts

I'm a bachelor. I live in an apartment. With my cat (who never helps me cook). And I'm okay with that. What I'm not okay with is having such an old oven that I can't set it to bake a Costco meal to be ready when I get home! If you aren't there, you aren't baking. I suppose I am a tad spoiled after renting from my manager before he and his family arrived in Reno. Now that oven was nice. So I'm contemplating an outfit to my apartment oven to provide room for programmability.

One might ponder: "Senpai Weber, do you ever tire of potstickers?" Without hesitation, I would respond: "Do you ever tire of breathing, student? Potstickers are the breath of one's culinary being..." I suppose that can be literal, as well. No, I cannot tire of those delicately wrapped morsels of meat, steamed and crisped on their bottoms in the likes of any pan. I never will. But the sauce... With that I can experiment. Today I whipped up a sauce made of sesame oil, soy sauce, pepper flakes, honey, and lemon juice. Do not ask me for quantities, I did not write any down. Trust your stomach, pupil.

I was curious about gas prices in Reno and whether it is worth it to travel any distance for gasoline, or merely use the nearest gas station. Maybe you already know the answer, or know someone else who knows the answer, but I felt like doing a bit of math to prove it to myself. Here is what I found out.

I was about to pull out the pre-packaged stir fry from Costco, but I already had some noodles doused in olive oil in the refrigerator from the other night. Further, I had purchased some capers the night before, which I have never used in cooking before now. I've had capers and I know how they can add a nice kick to whatever dish uses them appropriately, so I thought I'd read some recipes and give it a try. I found a recipe online for a simple garlic and caper sauce. Sadly, I didn't have any garlic (or lemon juice) and I was too lazy to go out and get some (forgive me for my garlic sins, Jesse!). Instead, I melted a couple tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan, added 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth to simmer on high, and then added a couple spoonfuls of drained capers, 1/4 cup of sliced black olives, a 1/2 cup of chopped marinated artichoke hearts, and then simmered it down to a reduced sauce. I also added some dried basil, salt, and pepper.  Some Italian sausage searing ...

Well, I figure if my posts are going to be heavily influenced by the foodie in me of late, I might as well kick it up a notch. So I give you the breakfast pizza. The breakfast pizza, prior to being cooked. Pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese,  pre-cooked breakfast sausage and bacon and egg, frozen spinach, and olives. Crispy cheese. Overview. Dinner portion. In honor of Rhett & Link who partially inspired this : "Will it Pizza? ... Yes!"

Okay, I know I've been posting about food a lot lately, but the truth is, with how busy work has been, food is the only exciting thing in my life right now! And hey, if it gets me blogging again, why not? This one is entirely store bought. But at least I put it together myself. Pizza crust, sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, olives, basil, and Italian seasoning. I know there is already basil in the Italian seasoning, but... I like basil! Have you made a good pizza in your past? Tell me about it in the comments, and post a photo if so desire!

I know that pasta is not the healthiest meal to survive on (sorry, Jesse), but occasionally I cook some up to last a few days. Tonight's pasta is a creamy pesto basil sauce, with bits of bacon, marinated artichoke hearts, and sliced black olives. The sauce sounds complex, but it came in a can. So did the artichoke hearts. I just added the sauce after heating the other three ingredients in a pan for a bit. The bacon was leftovers from this weekend's breakfast. You have to keep it simple sometimes.

Dear Travis, To this day, I still owe you my appreciation for the gift of perfectly-cooked bacon. However, I cannot keep this gift a secret from others. While having my first legitimate breakfast in several days, I have decided I should share the secret. The secret is... BUBBLES. Watch the bubbles carefully. Big bubbles make floppy bacon, small bubbles make crispy bacon. Eventually, you will find the bubble size that makes your perfect bacon, and you will nail it every time. For the love of God, though, please don't burn this porcine gift! So this morning I dine on bacon, Greek yogurt, peaches, cherries, and bit of honey. Sincerely, Troy (the protector of properly-cooked bacon)