Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Kitchen Mishaps and Fortunes

I grated the tip of my middle finger while trying to grind nutmeg for my oatmeal this morning. This is not my fist mini-grater infraction but this time it drew blood. My once favorite kitchen gadget now seems menacing and eeevil. I worry now that it has had the taste of human blood, it will just be thirsty for more and therefore I will shy away from using it. It is strange how just a little cut like this one can 1) sting so bad and 2) make me involuntarily cater to it. I can't type properly and when gripping anything my finger makes sure it isn't involved in the grip at all (causing me to not only flip everyone off but also not be able to have a handle on whatever I am holding and almost drop said object.)


On to a more serious note, I feel like I had taken an unintentional break from cooking for a while. Sure, I baked a little here or there and made a few things for a couple events or parties but not really anything substantial. Then came the most epic of all dinners, the night of the Thai dinner! Dun dun dunnn! A couple friends (Mitch G and Bryan C) and I joined a group of Thai friends (Trada, Jom, Pop and Patsy) to make/learn how to make amazing Thai food (which is in my Top 5 Food genres by the way). We made Beef Basil, Tom Kom Kah soup, Pad Thai, Fried Eggs, and Spring Rolls. Mmmmm, it was unworldly. I am waiting for our annotator to lend me his notes so I can make step by step instructions on how to make it all but that will have to wait till later.



The Epic Thai dinner of twenty-eleven got me juiced up about cooking and when Phanie suggested we make our own lunch on Sunday, I was all about it. I went to store, and stocked up on an assortment of different ingredients. We made garlic green beans, roasted potatoes, and glazed apple pork chops. Though the part of our dinner that I was most surprised/excited about was undoubtedly the impromptu salad we made. Herb garden leaves, spinach, slivered almonds, blackberries and a blackberry vinaigrette (which we made up, that if I could, I would drink from the bottle with a straw and no, I am not joshing you.)




All of this to say, that I love cooking, I love spending time with people and I don't love graters right now.

PS Judge me if you will, but I have fallen in love with these shrimp flavored baked chips that are shaped like french fries. I can't get enough of them. I also really like the packaging.

4 comments:

Whitney @ Journey Mercies said...

Rachelle!!! I have SO done that before while cooking, except i think it was the mandoline part and it is TERRIFYING! We should start a support group.

In other news, your Thai food photos has me totally psyched for our arrival in Cambodia this weekend. I mean, the food isn't exactly the same but it IS similar. And I'm taking a Cambodian cooking class our 2nd weekend in Phnom Penh so I can learn what to do with all that food from the market. *yum* I will definitely be sharing recipes and photos soon. :)

Love you girl!

Whitney @ Journey Mercies said...

p.s. did you know i have a blog now??? check it out!!! :)

jori said...

I thought I left a comment on this post but apparently it didn't load fully, or something.

Anyway. Your Thai food looks amazing and the photographs of it are equally as stunning. I am giving Pad Thai a third run this weekend, maybe.

Also, shrimp fry/chips- so weird. Baffling, and due to your word, kind of enticing.

Rachelle Hamilton said...

Whitney! I am so excited to hear from you! Your travels to Cambodia sound so amazing and I am so happy for you. That cooking class sounds pretty legit too. Wouldn't mind doing something like that. I checked out your blog, I am so excited to hear about your awesome adventures!

Jori, you have no clue how many times I have thought I left a comment and then later find out that I merely thought about it. About the shrimp fries... I don't know if they are for everyone, though I do have to admit that I truly like them.