use real butter

Dinner tonight was Chinese hot pot, or Japanese shabu shabu. When we entertain, or if it’s a special occasion, we have chicken, shrimp, scallop, fish, beef – but since it’s just week night dinner, I sliced up flank steak. It’s pretty simple and especially delicious on a cold winter night. The bean thread noodles (also called cellophane noodles) are from China. That’s not good, according to Grandma. She says their texture sucks compared to better quality noodles from Thailand or Vietnam. Unfortunately, the Boulder store only had brands made in China.

spinach, cellophane noodles, green onions, flank steak, mustard green, tofu, fish balls

jeremy, master of the chopsticks, begins cooking the flank steak in the hot pot

ladel the soup into your bowl of goodies

The new DSL is fabuloso! Jeremy said we can tell our ISP to cancel our account on Monday, after one week of comparison. I was ready to tell them to stuff it after 12 hours. Blasted stoners…

Chinese Cold Noodles

chicken breast, cooked and julienned (or in this case, julienned dried seasoned tofu)
cucumber, julienned
carrot, shredded
egg sheet*, julienned
preserved mustard green**, julienned
bean sprouts
chinese ironman flour stick noodles (cooked)
peanut butter
hot water
soy sauce
sesame oil
red wine vinegar

the chop chop: cukes, tofu, egg, mustard green, the whole shebang

* Egg sheet is made by beating about 4 eggs in a bowl and pouring contents onto an oiled hot frying pan and letting it cook until mostly done. Flip to cook the top and then remove to chopping board.
** Preserved mustard greens can only be found in asian grocery stores. They are a salty, crunchy vegetable. I prefer the shredded kind, but the stupid store in Boulder only has whole ones.

**Jump for more butter**

I can’t look at a computer screen anymore tonight.

I know I work on a computer all day, and in my spare time I do a lot of crap on the computer… but this is a whole new world of eyeball and brain strain. The back and forth from monitor to papers with teensy tiny print can make one insane.

I did take a break to make some Chinese food for dinner. I think my stomach is nearing normal, although I am still cautious about how much I eat so as not to tempt fate. I also went easy on the spicy in the tofu, which made me sad because I hate bland food, but it really wasn’t so bad.

pork and soybeans, asparagus, ma pu tofu, rice

I love tofu. My family makes AMAZING stuff with tofu. People have no idea how versatile it is. I mean, sure, you have your tofu dogs and tofutti, but I’m talking about dried, fried, marinated, fresh, skin, soup, sheets.