Surfed today

That is all.

Oatmeal phobia

I had this impression that plain oatmeal tastes like ass with a hint of cardboard. I don't know where I got this impression. I don't actually remember ever eating oatmeal, but maybe I was just suppressing a memory which lingers as just an impression.

So, being an adventurous sort of foodie, I decided to try oatmeal this morning. I am happy to report that I was wrong, it actually tastes more like cardboard with a hint of ass. I decided it would help to dress it up... salt (lots of it), butter, and a fried egg on top. I broke the yolk with my spoon and had myself some egg-flavored oatmeal. No cardboard or ass.

Now I feel healthy because I ate oatmeal.

I surf / I don't surf

I think this is a lull.

My weekend commitment to "paddle no matter what" went by the wayside after about two weekends. One weekend had no surf, and I paddled. One weekend had some small fun surf and I had some small fun waves, and I paddled. This weekend was a swell and the yahoos were out. Close-outs did not look fun to paddle over or out of at home break and hunting down non-crowded points on the first Los Angeles weekend swell in two months did not sound like a fun way to spend the morning.

So I don't surf.

Creativity

Lately, understanding comes just before I fall asleep. This is frustrating.

Last night, I thought I understood Molly Daniels old teachings about stories not being fiction until you have that extra 30%. Just had to get that down before I forgot.

Garlic roasted crab and seafood risotto

Dungeness crab. My first time killing things with eyes. What guilt I had was washed away with dinner.

Risotto -- much better texture than my first attempt the other day, not mushy at all. Killed clams for this dish, but they don't have eyes, do they?

Mushy, but tasty risotto

In my first attempt, I totally overcooked the risotto last night. It was fine... then it wasn't. I learned that the arborio likes to keep cooking even when you take it off the heat. Tasty, though.

Caramelized onions

I made some caramelized onions for the first time yesterday. I was folding dumplings and shu-mai, and I parked myself at the kitchen counter so I could periodically stir the onions.

As the onions seemed to melt into a delicious reddish-brown goo, I wondered aloud to my husband whether it was done. He was pan-frying some sweet potato ravioli I learned from watching Ming Tsai.

"Smells good. I think it's done. What's next?"

"This is it. I caramelized onions. That was the point."

"I thought you were working off a recipe!"

"Yeaaaahh. A recipe for caramelizing onions. That's the point. I wanted to caramelized onions."

He shook his head. He obviously doesn't get how my obsessive nature applies to food. Sure, I have ideas about putting the onions on steak maybe doing something with potatoes in the pantry. But obviously, an ingredient that takes 4 hours of periodic attention is something you prep ahead of time to keep in your fridge for a week of experimentation to come.

Already, I love me some caramelized onions with some scrambled eggs.