Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Another Eureka Moment in the Kitchen!
Lately, I have noticed some very specific recurring trends in my cooking- most of them related to how hungry I actually am.
1. I cook a decent meal when I'm not very hungry, it's good but it's not delicious.
2. When I am on the cusp of becoming a hungry hungry hippo, my meals suddenly become incredibly delicious
3. At some point though (the point of no return), I become too hungry and impatient and from there on in, everything goes to food taste hell.
Nothing shows this trend in as clearly as my home made, fat filled, tummy tingling mushroom sauce. Probably because sauces, in general, are a delicate art. You have to nurture them long enough to bring out their full flavour and potential, but not so long as to turn them into a gooey mess.
But enough about me, try it for yourself:
Nate Radio Mushroom Sauce
Serves 2
You will need
4-6 button mushrooms
3/4 white onion (though if you prefer a more 'oniony' flavour, brown onions are fine)
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup of cream
Salt
Method
1. Thinly slice mushrooms and dice onions.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan on low heat
3. Once butter is melted, turn heat up as high as possible and throw in mushrooms and onion.
4. Sauté mushrooms and onions quickly with a fork, try to get them all coated in butter (add more butter if required)
6. Bring heat down to around halfway and continue to sauté until you can smell that nice, creamy mushroomy smell.
7. Add cream and stir in.
8. Reduce down to desired thickness.
9. Serve on any cut of red med and vegetables.
10. Post your comments of thanks and gratitude here.
1. I cook a decent meal when I'm not very hungry, it's good but it's not delicious.
2. When I am on the cusp of becoming a hungry hungry hippo, my meals suddenly become incredibly delicious
3. At some point though (the point of no return), I become too hungry and impatient and from there on in, everything goes to food taste hell.
Nothing shows this trend in as clearly as my home made, fat filled, tummy tingling mushroom sauce. Probably because sauces, in general, are a delicate art. You have to nurture them long enough to bring out their full flavour and potential, but not so long as to turn them into a gooey mess.
But enough about me, try it for yourself:
Nate Radio Mushroom Sauce
Serves 2
You will need
4-6 button mushrooms
3/4 white onion (though if you prefer a more 'oniony' flavour, brown onions are fine)
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup of cream
Salt
Method
1. Thinly slice mushrooms and dice onions.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan on low heat
3. Once butter is melted, turn heat up as high as possible and throw in mushrooms and onion.
4. Sauté mushrooms and onions quickly with a fork, try to get them all coated in butter (add more butter if required)
6. Bring heat down to around halfway and continue to sauté until you can smell that nice, creamy mushroomy smell.
7. Add cream and stir in.
8. Reduce down to desired thickness.
9. Serve on any cut of red med and vegetables.
10. Post your comments of thanks and gratitude here.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Women are from Venus, Men are from anywhere BUT Venus.
After reading my post 'Girls and Pasta' and, more importantly, the first line of that post, a female friend of mine replied: "Girls aren't tricky, boys are just mean!".
Which, sadly, most of the time is true.
But it's not our fault! It really isn't. Mens brains are just wired differently! That's not an excuse either, there are scientific studies supporting the fact that the brain of a man is anatomically different to that of a woman.
What does this mean? It means a man doesn't realise how mean he actually is. It's like a cat that eats your favourite (and only) goldfish. The cat doesn't have human emotions to make it feel sad, it is merely proud of itself for it's mad sweet hunting skills.
The mans brain is communicating how it is supposed to. To a woman, he is being incredibly mean, but to him, he's just getting his point across. He can't juggle subtle points and conversational flow the way a woman does. He can just talk. That's because women use both sides of their brain when they communicate, while men can only use one side, (see: communication)
So, Women of the World, next time you see a man being mean for no apparent reason, remember, he's only being mean relative to you!
Of course this is not a cop out on men being selfish idiots, this is just in reference to every day misdemeanours. If you see a men who cheat, lie, abuse and all that jazz... Well... They're just regular run-of-the-mill crapturds.
Which, sadly, most of the time is true.
But it's not our fault! It really isn't. Mens brains are just wired differently! That's not an excuse either, there are scientific studies supporting the fact that the brain of a man is anatomically different to that of a woman.
What does this mean? It means a man doesn't realise how mean he actually is. It's like a cat that eats your favourite (and only) goldfish. The cat doesn't have human emotions to make it feel sad, it is merely proud of itself for it's mad sweet hunting skills.
The mans brain is communicating how it is supposed to. To a woman, he is being incredibly mean, but to him, he's just getting his point across. He can't juggle subtle points and conversational flow the way a woman does. He can just talk. That's because women use both sides of their brain when they communicate, while men can only use one side, (see: communication)
So, Women of the World, next time you see a man being mean for no apparent reason, remember, he's only being mean relative to you!
Of course this is not a cop out on men being selfish idiots, this is just in reference to every day misdemeanours. If you see a men who cheat, lie, abuse and all that jazz... Well... They're just regular run-of-the-mill crapturds.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Missing!
While driving to vote a couple of days ago, my [wonderful, amazing, fantastic, beautiful] girlfriend pointed out a "Missing Bird" sign attached to a street pole.
Now, what are the chances that bird has of coming home? Better yet, what are the chances of anyone who see's the bird being able to catch it? Birds are slightly more mobile than your average pet and is also a lot more likely to blend in with other birds (of which there are plenty).
So this got us to thinking, what other animals, once lost, are almost certainly gone for good? Rats, mice, snakes, ant farms…
Oh and don't forget fish!
I hope the lady (or man) from the pole finds their bird, but unfortunately, I just don't see it happening.
Live in Peace brave bird! L.I.P!
Now, what are the chances that bird has of coming home? Better yet, what are the chances of anyone who see's the bird being able to catch it? Birds are slightly more mobile than your average pet and is also a lot more likely to blend in with other birds (of which there are plenty).
So this got us to thinking, what other animals, once lost, are almost certainly gone for good? Rats, mice, snakes, ant farms…
Oh and don't forget fish!
I hope the lady (or man) from the pole finds their bird, but unfortunately, I just don't see it happening.
Live in Peace brave bird! L.I.P!
Friday, August 20, 2010
University- it's like school for adults!
My adventure began a few weeks ago (coincidentally just around the time when my blog experienced an unexplained pause in updates) at Griffith Business School.
Was it exciting? Oh definitely, especially the drive there (but only when you combine it with B.o.B's "I'll Be In The Sky")
But was it the University Experience? The one you see on television, in the movies, to some extent in stage productions, etc, etc?
Well, my campus seems a little outdated. For starters, there seem to be a lot of smokers, I've mentioned this to people and no one else has really noticed…
Maybe I just keep walking through the wrong areas… The one where nicotine clouds congregate...
But, all in all, it is quite cool. Campus has little cafes, little coffee stops, little libraries with little people (mostly asian- that's not racist, just pure genetics). The business subjects range from being incredibly boring to slightly intriguing. Tutorials are ALWAYS better than Lectures and, somehow no matter how late I am or how far away I park, I always make it just in time for class.
University- it's like clockwork, but different.
Was it exciting? Oh definitely, especially the drive there (but only when you combine it with B.o.B's "I'll Be In The Sky")
But was it the University Experience? The one you see on television, in the movies, to some extent in stage productions, etc, etc?
Well, my campus seems a little outdated. For starters, there seem to be a lot of smokers, I've mentioned this to people and no one else has really noticed…
Maybe I just keep walking through the wrong areas… The one where nicotine clouds congregate...
But, all in all, it is quite cool. Campus has little cafes, little coffee stops, little libraries with little people (mostly asian- that's not racist, just pure genetics). The business subjects range from being incredibly boring to slightly intriguing. Tutorials are ALWAYS better than Lectures and, somehow no matter how late I am or how far away I park, I always make it just in time for class.
University- it's like clockwork, but different.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The Anti-Joke
Inside jokes, if you think about it, really aren't that funny.
The memory of how they came about was funny, but the jokes themselves… Well, they're nothing special. How do I know this? Easy. Go ahead and tell someone (who isn't on the inside) and inside joke and see if they laugh.
They wont laugh.
It's because it's not funny.
However, it does make you and your friends laugh, and the more time passes, the funnier it will get. This is not only increased by letting more people in on the joke and having it effective "ripple" out into the laughter-craved masses, but also because the longer the joke goes on the more it is reinforced as being absolutely hilarious.
Normal jokes, on the other hand, are hilarious at first- think about your reaction to a hilarious joke and then compare that to your reaction to the same joke after two hundred repeats- but lose comedic value with age. This is illustrated simply in this chart:
Note how the inside joke acts completely opposite to the regular joke? This can lead me to only one conclusion.
Inside jokes are the anti-joke.
The one exception are when regular jokes are told over and over, again and again, so much, infect, that they become an inside joke. This phenomenon is called JTS which stands for Joke Transformation Syndrome, and has been drawn out for your aesthetic pleasure below:
Note how the joke decreases in hilarity, up until the point when everyone gets "in" on the joke and suddenly it becomes much, much funnier?
That there is JTS.
The memory of how they came about was funny, but the jokes themselves… Well, they're nothing special. How do I know this? Easy. Go ahead and tell someone (who isn't on the inside) and inside joke and see if they laugh.
They wont laugh.
It's because it's not funny.
However, it does make you and your friends laugh, and the more time passes, the funnier it will get. This is not only increased by letting more people in on the joke and having it effective "ripple" out into the laughter-craved masses, but also because the longer the joke goes on the more it is reinforced as being absolutely hilarious.
Normal jokes, on the other hand, are hilarious at first- think about your reaction to a hilarious joke and then compare that to your reaction to the same joke after two hundred repeats- but lose comedic value with age. This is illustrated simply in this chart:
Note how the inside joke acts completely opposite to the regular joke? This can lead me to only one conclusion.
Inside jokes are the anti-joke.
The one exception are when regular jokes are told over and over, again and again, so much, infect, that they become an inside joke. This phenomenon is called JTS which stands for Joke Transformation Syndrome, and has been drawn out for your aesthetic pleasure below:
Note how the joke decreases in hilarity, up until the point when everyone gets "in" on the joke and suddenly it becomes much, much funnier?
That there is JTS.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Girls And Pasta
Girls are tricky!
Because when a girl likes you, you can do no wrong. You break her car window or her phone and she'll forgive you. However, if she wants, she can go completely the other direction and then nothing (I repeat in capitals: NOTHING) will be good enough
So what do you do when nothing is enough? The obvious choice is give up.
The not so obvious choice, but much more effective choice, is to learn to cook and make her something tasty. Why? Because everyone needs to eat, so sooner or later, she's going to have to give it a go.
However, then you have the potential for her to insult your cooking, leaving you a broken shell of a man, all culinary dreams banished in a moment of female furiousity!
The solution? Cook well.
Nobody, and I mean nobody can insult nice food. It goes against our self-preservation instinct. People know that if something is delicious, they must admit it, even grudgingly, because to lie about it and say it is disgusting would be to deny themselves any future of having such good food again.
With that in mind, this is a dish I cooked up last night. It takes barely any time and is light, yummy and oh so nice in the tummy.
Mushroom Pasta
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Grapeseed oil
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced white onion
handful of chopped walnuts (half a handful if you have big hands)
tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
2 cups of whatever pasta you like (I use fusilli)
Salt
Cheese
Method
1. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan and pour in pasta (for more information cooking pasta, see my anti-masterchef blog here
2. Pour a splash of grapeseed oil onto a shallow pan and bring to a medium heat.
3. Throw in mushroom and onion, toss frequently until they begin to soften.
4. When soft, throw in walnuts and bring heat down to a high simmer.
5. Drain pasta from saucepan.
6. Put the heat right up and throw in thyme leaves, toss around mixture for thirty seconds or until the thyme smell becomes prominent.
7. After that thirty seconds, turn heat off completely. Mix pasta well with the mixture in the pan and serve in bowls.
8. Top off serving with some light grates of cheese and a pinch of salt.
9. Serve and enjoy.
10. Glory in the returned love and devotion of the girl you have wronged.
Because when a girl likes you, you can do no wrong. You break her car window or her phone and she'll forgive you. However, if she wants, she can go completely the other direction and then nothing (I repeat in capitals: NOTHING) will be good enough
So what do you do when nothing is enough? The obvious choice is give up.
The not so obvious choice, but much more effective choice, is to learn to cook and make her something tasty. Why? Because everyone needs to eat, so sooner or later, she's going to have to give it a go.
However, then you have the potential for her to insult your cooking, leaving you a broken shell of a man, all culinary dreams banished in a moment of female furiousity!
The solution? Cook well.
Nobody, and I mean nobody can insult nice food. It goes against our self-preservation instinct. People know that if something is delicious, they must admit it, even grudgingly, because to lie about it and say it is disgusting would be to deny themselves any future of having such good food again.
With that in mind, this is a dish I cooked up last night. It takes barely any time and is light, yummy and oh so nice in the tummy.
Mushroom Pasta
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Grapeseed oil
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced white onion
handful of chopped walnuts (half a handful if you have big hands)
tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
2 cups of whatever pasta you like (I use fusilli)
Salt
Cheese
Method
1. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan and pour in pasta (for more information cooking pasta, see my anti-masterchef blog here
2. Pour a splash of grapeseed oil onto a shallow pan and bring to a medium heat.
3. Throw in mushroom and onion, toss frequently until they begin to soften.
4. When soft, throw in walnuts and bring heat down to a high simmer.
5. Drain pasta from saucepan.
6. Put the heat right up and throw in thyme leaves, toss around mixture for thirty seconds or until the thyme smell becomes prominent.
7. After that thirty seconds, turn heat off completely. Mix pasta well with the mixture in the pan and serve in bowls.
8. Top off serving with some light grates of cheese and a pinch of salt.
9. Serve and enjoy.
10. Glory in the returned love and devotion of the girl you have wronged.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Herbitual Bliss?
Last week I started a herb garden, albeit, a very small herb garden. It's basically a rectangular pot with four (count them, four) herbs. However, I am getting ahead of myself, for the garden started out slowly, at first with just Basil and Mint, a few days later I added Thyme and the night after that, Chives.
For those Imaginationally Challenged readers (who are totally awesome!) that cannot picture the glory of what I have just described, it's basically this:
The Basil is quite sad looking because it developed a lot of black spots on its leaves after I first planted it. I have a feeling this is partially my fault because I watered it that night and night time watering has a nasty habit of attracting fungus spores. The result? Nasty black spots that kill leaves and then spread! The only remedy? Removing this leaves quickly...
Unfortunately I didn't do that... And by the time I started most of the yummy smelling leaves were toast.
Hence the Basil haircut! However, there is hope with lots of new little leaves sprouting along the stems.
So there it is. My herb garden! One of the new and exciting things in my life that you will surely hear from again =)
For those Imaginationally Challenged readers (who are totally awesome!) that cannot picture the glory of what I have just described, it's basically this:
The Basil is quite sad looking because it developed a lot of black spots on its leaves after I first planted it. I have a feeling this is partially my fault because I watered it that night and night time watering has a nasty habit of attracting fungus spores. The result? Nasty black spots that kill leaves and then spread! The only remedy? Removing this leaves quickly...
Unfortunately I didn't do that... And by the time I started most of the yummy smelling leaves were toast.
Hence the Basil haircut! However, there is hope with lots of new little leaves sprouting along the stems.
So there it is. My herb garden! One of the new and exciting things in my life that you will surely hear from again =)
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