On Cooking and Debating

[sparkfrost]

After several weeks of being way too busy to even think about cooking, I've decided that it is time to get back into the swing of things! Sunday after work I hit up the grocery store to get blackberries for the vodka we're infusing (more on that in a bit) and decided to pick up some stuff for dinner as well. Got a bunch of greens and some tilapia, and ended up making a pan-fried blackened tilapia with an onion and leek salad. Too much onion and leek, not enough lettuce, but still really tasty. And the tilapia- oh god, tilapia is my new favorite fish. The raw fillets feel really weird, like they're dry and kind of tough. But then you start to cook them and the fish just turns so tender and tasty! Om nom nom! Last night I was planning to cook pork tenderloin, but forgot to take it out of the freezer and stick it in the fridge before I left for work. The meat was frozen solid, there was no way I was going to have it thawed in time. So instead I made a pasta with asparagus, peas, onions, garlic, and toasted panka. It was delicious! Tonight is Taco Tuesday, so no cooking. But Wednesday- oh that pork tenderloin is going to be so good!

Still pretty fed up with my debate team in class. It is me and one guy doing all the work for the group, we didn't even hear from the girl who was Team Leader this past week. But whatever, the guy and I carried on a pretty good debate against the other team, and I had a fun time arguing. Even if I didn't really believe in what I was arguing. Ah well. Let me tell you, looking up "global warming hoax" is not fun.


After gaining back a pound or two, I got back on the wagon of eating healthily, and have got down to 213! Rock! Didn't quite make my goal of 5 pounds per month, but 4 in a month isn't bad! And since I'm starting to cook more again, hopefully this downward trend will continue! The only tough part is being in limbo between clothing sizes. My jeans are certainly too big for me now, but I don't think I could fit one size down. Alas, alack. My life, so hard.

So, infused vodka! Finally got the tea jar with spigot, and bought a pop-top bottle to pour the finished product into. Decided to start with blackberries (I thought habanero-garlic might be a bit ambitious for a first attempt) and threw 24 oz chopped blackberries in with 750ml of Svedka vodka. Within an hour the vodka had already turned purple, and has continued to darken. greyweirdo, I saw your reply re: infusion time. Most of the websites I read suggested a week for berries, but the uncertainty of the strength of infused flavors is why we got the tea jar- we can pour little test shots after a few days to see how the flavor is coming along! I do hope it is done by Sunday, because I told my mom I'd bring it over for Easter dinner. That's right. She's cooking lamb and asparagus, I'm bringing the vodka.

And that's it! Studying today, then tacos tonight. Rock!

Comments

[nomoreuturns]

Ugh, I hate working in teams. Theoretically it's supposed to make your life easier, but between coordinating everyone and then having to pick up the slack when one or more team members decide not to pull their weight, it's a total drag. Good on you for having the initiative to keep up the debate! Even though it wasn't the best topic... :(

But congratulations on your excellent grades! You are rocking this academic experience! :D

Also, om nom nom infused vodka! It sounds awesome and v. tasty...I'll have to try it out sometime.

[sparkfrost]

It freaking sucks. I have had to pick up so much slack, its not even funny. But whatever, it was a fun debate, mostly because I kept finding sources that smacked down their uncited responses. ROCK!

And thank you! I hope to finish out strong, and then be done with school forever.

We tasted it today, its pretty awesome. I think we're going to mix it with seltzer (quinine gives me headaches, so no tonic for me) and fresh lemon, and have that as cocktails tonight!

[sparkfrost]

Ahaha, ignore that last one. I saw that I had an unread message in my DW inbox and was like, "OH NO, FORGOT TO REPLY TO CHAN!" I am silly sometimes.

[nomoreuturns]

Ahaha ♥