Cooking

Now, I've always loved cooking, but several factors have been forcing me to break out my cookware much more frequently. First off, there is a serious lack of restaurants and groceries in my area - the only place within walking distance is the pupuseria across from BART. It's good, but not for every day or even every week as it's kind of greasy. Second, I have to drive whenever I need to get groceries, so I've been making much more thoughtful food purchases in order to maximize the time between grocery trips without spending too much or wasting food. Third, I have a huge, well thought out kitchen with a gas stove, and my collection of kitchen tools has grown to halfway decent! These factors combined with no roommates and my dislike of wasting food have caused me to cook food at least 4 times a week, and I'm even good about not wasting or wanting leftovers.

So just what have I been cooking?
Lotus Chips! These were really easy and tasty, though a bit oily as I did not have a proper fryer or drainer. Though, a rack over some paper towels works pretty well. I'm going to make more soon when my neighbors bust out their deep fryer.


Yogurt - I managed to save this when it could have easily become a science project. I made the mistake of trying to make too much at once, and had to strain out the whey after letting it warm all night. No matter - it was thick, tasty, and only slightly curdled when I tried reheating it on the stove top before letting it warm again. I finished it off with some Meyer Lemon curd I made a while back. Yum!

I've also been baking bread with a vengeance - I've stopped buying it and am close to running out of flour! It's so easy for me to make that I'm determined to make a ton of dough one day and freeze it so I can have fresh bread practically whenever I want. We shall see...