CHIPOTLE (2009.03.19)

Chipotle deserves several entries, this is only the second one, so don't complain. Yes, I realize these look similar to the one I posted before. Well, it's not. This is Guac Fajita Burrito Bowl. This is exactly the same as the previous Bowl, except it doesn't have Chicken. It has guacamole, green peppers and onions in its place. It was good, Chipotle never lets me down, but I still prefer chicken. Guac is okay, but it tastes better with chicken. And for the same price as the chicken, it makes sense to go for the chicken. And, yes, I started eating before I took the picture... =)


The chips were an extra addition. The Chipotle bowl can be a giant salsa dip and eaten with tortilla chips. Yum.


Total Price: 6.10 + 1.19 + tax = 7.73

Homecooked Dinner (2009.03.18)

I came home too late from my meeting and there was no dinner left. Ho hum. I made something very simple, Tomato Egg Drop Soup. It has some scallions, tomatoes and eggs in soup. I added rice so it was filling and that was my dinner! Cheap, easy and quick!

Dunkin Donuts (2009.03.18)

On the way to a meeting in Hunt Valley, MD, I stopped at the Dunkin Donuts to grab some breakfast. They jipped me on the coffee, but I guess i didn't need it anyways. This is Egg and Cheese Crossiant with hash browns. I like their hash browns and you really can't go wrong with an Egg and Cheese Crossiant, it's really hard to. I like my hash browns with ketchup and the sandwich with some pepper, it's a simple filling breakfast that lasts til lunch, whenever that may be.


Total Price: $3.80

Recipe for Drunken Chicken Soup

Upon request, as I promised, here is my attempt to writing a recipe with numbers...

/* You have no idea how hard this is, I really can't tell 1 cup from 8oz... =P */

Ingredients: Serves 2-4
/* Depends if you eat it as soup or as a meal*/

• 1/2 lb - Chunks of Chicken with bones
  /*Dark or white or both, depending what you like best. Both or just dark meat is good, unless you really like white meat because white meat can be a bit dry when cooked in soup. I like eating white meat, so I don't mind. */
• 1/3 cup - Vodka or another strong alcohol
  /* Not rum since it has a strange taste, but something you can tolerate or have. Cooking wine doesn't really count though, not strong enough... */
• 1/3 cup - Sesame Oil
  /* There are alot of different types, some are more pure than others, but for this you can get the cheapest kind or whatever you currently have in your fridge. */
• 5 Thick Slices of Ginger
  /* With or without the skin is ok. If you plan to eat the ginger, I would skin it, otherwise you can leave it on. Approximately 2 to 3 times the thickness of your blade. */
• Dried Tangerine Peel
  /* It doesn't have to be tangerine but because the skin is thinner, it's easier to dry, usually 24 hrs or so in open air. Others will work but take longer to dry. Try to keep the peel in large pieces, it doesn't taste good, so you definitely don't want to mince it! One whole tangerine peel is enough for this recipe. */
• 8 to 12 cups of Boiling Water
  /* Don't forget to boil the water BEFORE you start the steps below. Or if you have a coffee pot that isn't used for coffee, you can oil cook the water and pour when you need it in Step 4. That's what we do when we need hot water, better than cooking it on the side... And you don't have to use all the water, in fact it may be too much, just read on and you'll see. */
  

Wok or deep frying pan that can hold the chicken and water.
/* If it can fit 8 to 12 cups of water, you should be ok. I will use a 'wok' to cook, less to spell. =) */
Gas Range
/* This is not to say you can't cook with an electric range, but it's SOOO hard to cook chinese food with that stuff, you can't control the temperature at all!! */


1. Heat wok at high. Add the sesame oil. When the oil is warm to hot, put the ginger and tangerine peel in. Lower the heat between medium and hot and let it cook a bit until you can smell the ginger and tangerine peel mixed together. Don't let it burn!

Tip 1: Remember, you can always pick up your wok to save your food from burning.

2. Turn the heat to high. Add the chunks of chicken and 'saute' until the the outside is cooked and you can smell the essence of the chicken. /* Yes, chicken has an essence. Think about it, it smells different cooked than when it's raw. */

Tip 2: If the chicken sticks to your wok, you can add a bit more sesame oil to make it easier. Don't add too much because everything you put in it part of the soup!

3. Add water so it is at least level with the chicken. Add 1 to 2 cups more of water. /* Too much and your soup will be bland and the chicken essence all gone. */ Let it simmer for 5 minutes on medium.

Tip 3: Using water that is not boiling hot will cause the chicken to become cold. It locks the essence inside the chicken and your soup will become bland. The boiling water puts everything at the same temperature for a homogenous mixture. Well, it's homogenous between the essence and the boiling water...

4. Add vodka to the soup. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat.

Tip 4: Taste the soup, if you want to add more vodka for taste you can. This soup is often eaten in cold weather since it warms you up very quickly!

5. Enjoy! =)

You can eat this soup by itself or with rice or thin vermicelli rice noodles. I eat it with whatever is in the fridge. This can be a great breakfast on a cold morning when eaten with rice or noodles. Of course, you wouldn't cook this in the morning, it would have to be leftovers... =P

This recipe probably makes more sense when you extract only the recipe and remove the italicized comments after every single item... =)

Good Luck! And don't forget, take pictures! =)

Anne Arundel Seafood Inc. (2009.03.15)

Located on the corner of Mountain and Solley Roads in Pasadena, MD. They sell fresh, raw seafood, wholesale and retail. They have stations of all types of seafood. You can buy it fresh or have them grill or steam it, for the same price! We spent a long time trying to figure out what to order. We ended up with soup, shrimp and lobster tail.

This is Maryland Crab Soup, seem familiar? Yeah, I got it at King's Contrivance when I went with AJ a few weeks back. Um, well, both were really salty (I think I just like light foods compared to American stuff) but I like the concept. LOL. But honestly, I liked the one at King's Contrivance a bit more. I could taste the crab, here I just tasted seafood, but I couldn't taste the crab. The one at KC also had less broth and more substance. I had to drink 2/3 of the broth to get this picture...


We got one lobster tail to split. Um, I can remember the last time I had lobster tail. Actually, I can, but I remember it being really soft and tender. Well this was very very very tough and chewy. At least for seafood. I think it was a tad overcooked. It was lightly sprinkled with Old Bay so there wasn't much taste to it. The yellow thing is melted butter. It actually tasted good with a bit of butter, but the butter got gross when it cooled. Ugh.


Then it was on to steamed shrimps. One pound of the jumbo shrimps gave us 16 of them. A nice split of 8, however I ended eating 9 bigs ones since E was stuffed at 6...there was a tiny shrimp that she managed to put down. It was shrimp...and messy since you have to use your hands to peel the shell. A bit TOO much Old Bay as you can see...I wish it were hot chili powder...haha. And of course melted butter. I never knew this was how Americans eat seafood! I knew the Old Bay, but not the butter...


I enjoyed the experience, the food was fresh, however a tad on the expensive end for something that is SOOOO easy to make. That and I don't like Old Bay tat much. I'd much rather have garlic, spring onions, ginger and soy sauce! Some rice would be great too. Actually, saute would be awesome too....gee, I'm hungry now....

Total Price: 3.95 + 3.95 + 14.95 + 18.95 + 2 drinks + tax = approx $46

I'm not sure what the price breakdown actually is, but the total was $46 or so. The shrimp and lobster should be correct though or off by a dollar.

Two Fried Eggs

So...they're eating steak. Well, I can't. This is a simple lunch that is filling, well, because there's rice involved. It's actually a bit more complicated than fried rice, in my opinion, in terms of the time cooking and the process of cooking. The prep time is alot less than the prep time for fried rice though.

Is there any value in explaining how I made fried eggs? They're over a bed of rice and I already put soy sauce on it for flavoring. And yes, I eat out of a metal bowl...it hasn't been smashed into pieces since I've used it the last 15 years or so. Can't say much about the previous ones I've had though. =P