Song of the Day: "Keep Breathing" - Ingrid Michaelson

Song of the Day: "I'm Scared" - Duffy

Song of the Day: "November" - Azure Ray

Issa Cooks: Fried Rice

I may live with a chef, but that certainly doesn't make me one.  I'm not a bad cook, per se, in fact, I'm actually really good at everything, as you must already know.  When it comes to cooking, I find myself impatient- why waste time standing in the kitchen when I can have delicious food delivered directly to my door any hour of the day? I prefer to be out and about at fabulous events like dessert tastings and movie premieres and gallery openings and avoid all the messiness of making my own meals.  I'm highly guilty of burning a grilled cheese left on the skillet while I apply mascara in my bedroom, boiling macaroni to a mush while I straighten and style my hair, charring popcorn in the microwave as I quickly read through the newest New Yorker on the couch.

This being said, I've also made delicious foods that would make Padma Lakshimi's mouth water, but I've learned that the most important ingredient in a recipe is patience.  And somehow, last night, I was feeling inspired to hang up mid-phone-call to Panda Restaurant and attempt to make my very own fried rice.  Some people may see cooking as a science, but I see it as more of an art, below is my very non-specific, do what you like if it makes you happy recipe.

Tip: Don't drop your iPhone in the frying pan.  It may be made in China, but it certainly doesn't belong in Chinese food...

Ingredients:

Rice (I didn't measure, but maybe 2 cups)
1 Jalapeño Pepper

1 Can of Baby Corn

Handful of Edamame (no shells)

Broccoli 

Mushrooms (I used baby bellas)

Green Beans

3 Eggs

Salt & Pepper

Soy Sauce

Sesame Oil

Vegetable Oil

Chop any vegetables that aren't already chopped.  I may have cheated on this one and just laid them out on a cutting board for a pretty picture... 

Start off by cooking the rice. 

Crack the eggs in a bowl, sprinkle salt and pepper on top, and scramble them.

Heat sesame oil in a large frying pan.

When the oil is hot, sauté your vegetables. Once they're just about cooked, sprinkle with soy sauce, remove from pan and put in a bowl.  

When the rice is done cooking, fluff it with a fork so that it doesn't clump together.  You'll thank me later.  

After cooking all of your vegetables, scramble the egg over low heat.  Make sure to do this last to it soaks up all the yummy leftover vegetable juices!

Break the cooked egg into pieces and add it to the vegetables in the bowl.  Heat more oil in the pan and cover it with a thin layer of rice.  Wait until it sizzles and then stir.

Add soy sauce to rice and remove from pan once it's fried to your preference...

Mix veggie and egg combo with the rice and fry it all together.  Delicious!

Voila! Fried rice!

Happy Happy Fathers Day!

In honor of Fathers Day (I’m a little belated putting this up, I know)  I thought I’d list some of the reasons I’m like my dad… He called me the other day to tell me how much he loved my blog and wishes he could write one like it (note: compliments via phone/text/gchat/fchat/ichat are always excepted…) and while he might not be blogging any time soon, here’s one for him:

Happy Happy!

We both love taking out-of-the-way routes to see our old homes.  Since we moved out of my first house in 1998, my dad has found any and every reason to drive past it on the way to our current house.  While this always annoyed me, I now find myself taking rather indirect routes to walk/bike past my old buildings in New York.  Do I lose a few minutes everyday?  Perhaps.  But the warm memories attached to my old homes are completely worth it.  I guess I can see why we took so many detours during Hebrew school carpool…

We keep everything. Our house could possibly be on Hoarders.  My dad has kept his childhood stuffed dog for over fifty years (despite my mom's repeated attempts to throw it away), while I still sleep with mine, I’m sure he won’t be far for the rest of my life.  He also keeps old papers, college books, newspapers, VHS tapes, etc etc.  The area below my bed is a scary zone.  Not only do I have birthday cards, class notes, and photos from years long before I ever lived in New York, I also have a grand collection of passed notes, scraps of yarn, receipts, and so much more.  It’ll all be worth a lot one day when I become the world’s most famous blogger!

We both eat a little too much.  My mom refers to my dad as “the human garbage disposal” because he never hesitates to help finish dinner leftovers or empty out the fridge when it needs cleaning.  I too, won’t refuse extra food, as long as it’s vegetarian, kosher, onion-free, and the proper temperature, of course.

We’re both Cory’s best friend.  If you ask the dog, you may get a slightly different answer, but both of us share a special friendship with that adorable fifteen-pound poodle.  Also, we both just love dogs, perhaps a little more than people, never hesitating to talk to one on the street. 

           

We both like to create our own recipes.  I may not always agree with his menu choices, and he may not always find my concoctions delicious, but we both have faith in our own cooking skills.  I enjoy his “Eggs Dada” (eggs with more cheese than anything else) and he likes my vegetarian meat lasagna, so we balance each other pretty well. 

We may both be considered workaholics.  Perhaps this doesn’t sound so positive, but when I call my dad we can easily sympathize over how we always have to do everything in the office and we’re working 24/7.  Let’s not forget he’s 30+ years older than I… 

We both love photography.  My dad is infamous for his “happy happy” which he exclaims before shooting one of hundreds of photos, wherever we are (vacation, family party, cleaning the basement).  I proudly won the “Click and Don’t Tell” award at the last Culties convention, for my superb documentation of the group’s adventures. 

And finally,

We both think I would look great with a nose ring.  (It’s worth a try….)