the first time i did it, i combined brown rice, lentils, peas and carrots, cashews, cumin seed, coriander, black pepper, onion powder, sea salt and water. ...and it came out so bland. no surprise, of course, seeing as i essentially left it to boil and steam to death. oh, and i was totally conservative with the herbs and spices and did nothing to bring out the flavors of some of the ingredients (ie, brown the cashews, roast the cumin, etc).
helpful fact:
it's been my experience that with rice dishes, you often need to season the hell out of them in order for the flavors to emerge. fried rice has a disgusting amount of salt in it most of the time for this reason.
that said, i salt and peppered the hell out of the resulting concoction in order to render it palatable, salvageable and somewhat edible. in the end, i wasn't very satisfied with how it came out but i thought it had some serious potential and just needed a little work.
so i finally got around to reworking that dish last night. to deal with the blandness issue, i wound up cooking it in two parts: a rice cooker part and a sauté pan part. i mean, okay, granted, that defeats the purpose of just throwing everything into the rice cooker, sure, but i was definitely able to bring some flavor to the dish (bring all the boys to the yard?) so, not a big deal in my book. also, i introduced some medley of herbs and spices that really brought some dimension to the dish.
check it out (measurements are approximations because, hell, do what feels right):
what you'll need
- 1 chicken breast, chopped into small chunks
- 2.5 cups brown rice
- 0.5 cups lentils
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/3 case of frozen peas and carrots
- 1 small can of tomato sauce
- garam masala
- curry
- ground coriander
- sea salt
- garlic powder
- thyme
- cumin seed
- ground black pepper
- 4.5 cups of water
- vegetable oil
- lemon juice
- rice cooker
- frying pan
what to do
- in the rice cooker, combine: the brown rice, lentils, garam masala, curry, ground coriander, sea salt, garlic powder and water. don't be shy with the herbs, spices and, hell, even the salt. seriously. go nuts. when you think you've added enough, go another round. give the mixture a stir (not that it's going to matter since pretty much everything floats.)
- allow that shit to cook.
- somewhere else entirely, combine chicken with thyme and ground black pepper. set aside.
- in the aforementioned pan, sauté some garlic until golden. add onion and cumin seed and stir around and cook until the onions are transparent.
- add chicken mixture and cook until browned on each side.
- throw in frozen peas and carrots (no need to thaw, the ice will turn into steam, thereby preventing the other ingredients in the pan to dry out).
- add tomato sauce and mix until thoroughly incorporated. allow it to cook for a couple minutes and then set aside when done.
- when the rice is done, combine the two mixtures.
- add lemon juice before serving.
- enjoy.
- mood:
hungry - noise:kelis - milkshake (dj zinc radio edit)
mind you, we don't have a proper kitchen or anything like that. we got a little nook with two mini-fridges, a toaster (just a toaster.. not a toaster oven), a microwave and a water cooler. aside from the aforementioned, we've got a lot of disposable cups, plates, bowls, utensils and some collected condiments. there's a shaw's down the street and that helps but, largely, that's it, really.
to date, i've made the following things in the office:
- nachos with freshly made guacamole
- (vegetarian) buffalo wings and chicken fingers alongside a vegetable crudité
- fruit salad with a yogurt dressing/dip
- tacos (a la carte style, even)
- roasted garlic hummus wraps with alfalfa, cucumber, red onion and spices
- chili cheese fries topped with diced onions
- spicy tuna melts with grape tomatoes on wheat and flax lavash
okay, granted, there are some corners that are cut but for the most part everything's made in this here office. kinda neat as far as on-the-clock, non-work accomplishments go, i think. hell, today i made sugar-free cherry-flavored jello with diet coke plus in place of sugar and cold water. came out as awesome as i had hoped.
i love being creative.
- mood:
impressed - noise:someone's pandora
halloween this year falls on a friday. unless someone else has something going on, jon and i are thinking of throwing a party. costumes and such, even.
who's down with dorking out in halloween gear?
(sent out as email, as well)
- mood:
curious - noise:adjacent hip hop
- noise:sabrina - boys (renegade masters remix)
...
funnily enough, i've been posting in my fitness/nutrition journal more than this journal if only because i do a daily record of what it is i eat and do. sadly, after i do such a post, i don't feel like doing any other kind of blogging.
...
i'm still delicious. especially in west virginia.
...
funny, i don't miss it at all. i actually thought i would. haven't stopped playing, of course.
...
looks like i have thanksgiving plans this year. for those hoping/expecting i'd throw another orphans' tday thing, sorry.
...
i'm under the weather (still).
...
it's day 52 of the fitness/nutrition kick. i've stayed around the -15lb mark for two weeks now, owing to some muscle gain (yay) and some relaxed dieting/exercise (on account of the sickie). i don't think i've plateaued. i think i've just been lazy.
...
for the first time since i've started this, i'm actually sore from my strength training. fuckin' finally. also, i slept 8 hours.. on a weekday.
...
i've decided that when i lose the 30lbs as planned, i will get a tattoo. inspired by kate and what she's planning on getting, i think i'll get something that runs down the side of my arm, almost sleeve-like, too. i've got some time to think about what i should get. everyone seems convinced that i should get something turticular. me, i want something abstract, actually. i'm sure i'll figure something out. at the very least, i want to design it.
...
i routinely do about 13 miles of walking, just walking, every week. pretty cool to realize.
...
one of these days, i'm going to drag my ass to the mall and get myself a proper fitted baseball cap. i just keep putting it off.
...
when i went clubbing last, i noticed these guys who danced (in my opinion, anyway) really well and i'm now determined to learn how to dance like that. i mean, okay, i dance alright but compared to them, it looks like i'm stuck two-stepping all the livelong day. hell, i'd totally take a class.
...
while i love autumn, i'm going to really miss the sun this year.
...
yah, my taste in guys has totally changed in the last several years. and i'm kind of glad.
...
i also want to get a tattoo on my left calf.
...
a trip down to the rmv is in the near future.
...
i appreciate what happened yesterday. it's a start and, christ, i've been waiting for something like it for a while now.
...
despite my hate for social networking sites, i actually threw out some invites over on linkedin. i feel like a hypocrite, sure, but at the same time, i recognize my ability to connect people together and play the part of social hub/networker that others already say i am. i mean, come on, i deal in favors and, yah, i really do know people.
...
i am, as ever, busy. hunt, etc.
- mood: tired
- noise:work talk over hip hop
- mood: silly
- noise:fat boy slim - fucking in heaven
i'm feeling kind of lonely right now.
this kind of sucks.
- mood: lonely
- noise:james ingram - somewhere out there
Well, vulnerability is what makes connections with others really worth having.
I'm willing to do it, and yes I might get hurt because of that, but I can't imagine any other way of being.
- mood:
pensive - noise:sounds like kanye west but isn't
..oh so frilly. i feel frilly and silly and.. hey!
christ, i've spent the last day and a half working on proposed redesigns for playskool's dreamtown line of toys. it's a bunch of playsets that hasbro has for little girls to play house in and otherwise engage their little fairy tale fantasies in. with product names like "the rose petal cottage", "the cherry blossom market" and "the fruit and cheese please set", it kind of...
*twitch*
..yah.
a good part of yesterday and the first half of today was spent arting up cherry blossoms and lilies and hearts and rose petals and little girls and make-believe playsets and princesses and pink and lavendar and pink and lilac and pink and pink and pink and gaaaaaaaah.
so. much. pink.
i.. i think i'm going to go shave my head and um.. go get a tattoo, now. and, like, eat a monster truck or some flannel or something. oh, and if anyone's seen my machismo, i'd really like to have it back. thanks.
- mood:
somewhat emasculated - noise:sonny & cher - i got you babe
i just discovered that there's now two people i utterly fucking despise that live within minutes of me.
what. the. fuck.
- mood:
annoyed - noise:yawning
 | VoicePost  123K 0:37 | “I'm doing my walk.. um, my six mile walk.. today and I'm on the bike path. I'm walking down and there's these guys.. a bunch of guys.. just sitting along the side and they're with these pieces of paper, occasionally looking up and down the path. I'm wondering what the hell's going on. And as I walked past, it became apparent to me that those sheets of paper are actually score cards. So, as people walk by they lift up the score cards and hoot and holler and try to encourage the walkers and runners and bikers and bladers. Transcribed by: multiple users |
| VoicePost 97K 0:29 | “So I got out of work a little late ..uh, 'cause I had some work I was doing for the president and, um.. I'm walking home, doing my 1.4 miles ..um, and unfortunately it's twilight and it's right by the pond. So I'm getting a lot more mosquito bites than I normally would.. which is already a lot.. and I'm thinking to myself, "I must be delicious. No one should be this delicious!" Transcribed by: ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} cobie |
- mood: blah
- noise:lcd soundsystem, i think
and it did.
and so i did.
and because of the aforementioned questionableness in regard to its diet compatibility (all it had going for it was the brown rice, veggies and portion size), i figured i'd actually walk to the place and back. and it was a nice day, too. sun was out. there was a breeze meandering through the streets. not too many tourists or construction. it was nice. the way i see it, i try to enjoy these sunny days we get, regardless of how oppressive it may be because, damn, we're going to miss that fiery ball in the sky once winter hits. it was a half mile there and a half mile back. and thus was i able to sneak a mile walk into my work day. not bad.
while i was killing time waiting for my lunch takeout to be ready, i wandered about and picked up a couple things. i was disappointed to discover that my favorite army surplus store has left newbury street. i had originally planned on buying a new bandana or, um, three but since the place was gone and i had some time before food was ready, i kind of ambled about the local area and bought random shit. firstly, i purchased volume one of the sinestro corps war (oh look, it's like $10 cheaper on amazon.. grrrr...). i absolutely love the whole green lantern corps continuity and waited for this to come out in tpb form for the longest time. imagine my annoyance with discovering that it was only available as a(n annoyingly priced) hardback. grar. in any case, after some hemming and hawing, i wound up getting it after all.
i got a couple of other little knick knacks while i was out (guess who's getting a care package again sometime soon) and also picked up the best key chain bottle opener ever. check out the rest of their site. they've got some other things there that are just awesome. i just find it terrifically ironic that, being a british site, their mastery of the english language is a bit lacking. i mean, come on. "everywhare"? seriously?
and so the day goes on..
- mood: okay
- noise:Lady Sovereign vs. Eurythmics vs. Shiny Grey - Sweet Sovereign
woohoo, yo.
it's funny to think that being down 20 lbs is so doable at this point. seriously. i remember thinking to myself for the longest time that, ya know, i should probably lose 20 lbs. but 20 was so insurmountably far away. and look at me now. i'm all active 'n shit and my clothes are fitting differently.
damn.
at any rate, another 15 to go by mid-october and i'll have reached my goal of losing 30 lbs and i will be a happy, happy cobie.
...hungry, hungry cobie? heh. no doubt.
- mood:
accomplished - noise:doors opening and closing
- mood: annoyed
- noise:printer noises
- entirely too little sleep again.
- going away lunch at work for one of our interns.
- helped diagnose a problem a client was experiencing but otherwise had nothing else to work on, really.
- randomly reconnected with dave (@solsnake), one of the first friends i made in The City. i've missed him!
- decided not to go to the gym and combine my run with the next day's strength training.
- introduced jon to doctor horrible's singalong blog.
- went out clubbing with jon. 2.5 hours of nonstop dancing, yo.
- actually made friends at the club. (so fucking random.) will see them again this upcoming friday, no doubt.
saturday
- brief teamup with foomfie. kb ftw!
- gym.
- reconnected with scott, another friend i hadn't seen nor heard from in a couple years. so random.
- cooked dinner at derek and rebekah's place.
- lycantech villain group team up.
- watched the guild with jon.
- text messages i don't know what to make of.
sunday
- mood: sleepy
- noise:epik high - fan
i know, right?
quite an expensive kind-of-impulse buy but what the hell.. should prove fun. i'm a big fan of co-op games and it looks like there's something for everyone what with the downloadable content from xbox live.
jon and i will be breaking that shit in later tonight. stay tuned.
- mood: amused
- noise:iphone getting a message
it was all a very deliberate ritual of sorts, a series of pre-established things done and things said that, when executed in the right order, meant something significant.. guaranteed!
i think it's funny.
so i decided to look up "going steady" on wikipedia. i figure that that would be an accurate phrasing of how they went about it back then but wound up getting redirected to courtship. the last line of the introductory paragraph brings the ages old practice to the modern era and declares:
Acts such as meeting on the internet or virtual dating, chatting on-line, sending text messages or picture messages, conversing over the telephone, writing each other letters, and sending each other flowers, songs, and gifts constitute wooing.
well, now. i guess that makes it official.
- mood: amused
- noise:epik high - 그녀는 몰라
i just don't understand what they're saying (well, the non-english parts, anyway).
- mood: dancey
- noise:epik high - fan
- as of last night, i've lost a total of 13 lbs since i started this fitness kick. today is also day 30 of said kick. clothes are fitting differently and strength training progress is getting noticeable (though not visibly, unfortunately). i so crazy.
- i met up with some guy the other night only to have him realize that, yes, i really am 31 and that, no, those pics of me he had seen weren't old (in fact, they've all been taken in the last couple weeks). he thought that maybe i was 21 or 23. hilarity.
- i downloaded/bought a bunch of smashing pumpkins songs recently: "tonight, tonight", "cherub rock", "bullet with butterfly wings", "1979" and "disarm". i've loved these songs since high school though never owned them until just this last week.
- at the company beach party the other week, the prez and i were doing tequila shots. on the prospect of the second shot, he was eyeing a lime chaser. in reaction to that i called him a pussy not only to his face but in front of everyone there. there was a moment of stunned silence and then an explosion of laughter from the onlookers. it was apparently the single most awesome moment of the party. we would then go on to do a total of 5 shots of tequila, each. good times.
- i've been going clubbing again. aside from the fact it's a great way to burn a shit fuck ton amount of calories, i've really missed going dancing altogether. plus it's nice to ogle and, surprise surprise, be ogled. hell, it's really nice getting ogled but, really, it's nicer still to just lose myself to the music.
- but yah, i'm feeling a little better about my appearance overall. guys hitting on me kinda doesn't hurt. =]
- i'm totally jon's wing man, these days. it's funny because it's true.
- my insight is apparently something people really admire in me. that and my cutting through the bullshit and not simply telling people stuff they want to hear. who knew honesty would make such an impression?
- i had red meat for the first time in weeks this weekend!
- i've been getting back in to cooking. the other night jon asked that i make a rather specific pasta dish. it was a particularly decided request and, because of that, took it as a challenge that i then succeeded. go, me.
- i've begun to really enjoy getting a beard and mustache trim when i get my haircut. fuck doing it myself. seriously.
- much as i hate people, i'm meeting (or am on the road to meeting) a lot of people suddenly as well as spending a lot of time with folks. what the fuck.
- i came across an old exboyfriend from like 11 years ago. turns out he lives the next town over and works outside of alewife. christ, who knows what will happen from here. crazy shit, yo.
- i will be taking some trips in the near and distant future. i don't much enjoy traveling but there's some i should/need to go do.
- i have been averaging about 5 hours of sleep on weekdays. again. this shouldn't be news to those of you who know me. hell, as frank would tell me, "dude, get some sleep."
- mood: okay
- noise:smashing pumpkins - tonight, tonight
- noise:smashing pumpkins - cherub rock
- mood:
dorky - noise:me, sneezing
| VoicePost 161K 0:49 | “I don't know if you can hear it or not but um, that's the ocean. Um. Today was a half-day at work and uh, not that I'm ditching work - I'm actually still with work. Um, we're at the President's beach house over in Sagamore Beach, off the Cape and, um, yeah! I'm working! ..Or not. It's actually sunny where we are right now and probably won't last very long but, uh, at the beach and, um, I think they're gonna be doing some boating and stuff ..but looks to be a pretty full afternoon and then I'm going out dancing tonight. Crazy times.” Transcribed by: multiple users |
- mood: sad
- noise:trapt - ready when you are
and, yes, it hurts. it still hurts. every day. every god damn, fuckin' day.
i miss you so much.
- mood: sad
- noise:trapt - ready when you are
- mood: hungry
- noise:the sound of a coworker playing scrabble on his computer
- mood: hungry
- noise:conference call
- mood: amused
- noise:ichat woop noises
and speaking of me and art, i've been giving serious thought again to getting a tattoo. i don't know when it was i had let the notion drift from my brain because it's been something i've off and on wanted in the last ten or so years. i just can't decide on what i want. not in the last ten or so years, no. i've also been thinking about getting pierced again. another one in the same ear, high. i don't know. it's extremely unlikely that i'll get both and, if anything, my cognizance of other people's inks lately leads me to conclude that i'll probably be doing likewise in the future.
- mood: contemplative
- noise:plain white Ts - hey there delilah