I love life, don't you?

Brangelina vs Bren

Two words: who cares? I can't walk into a drugstore without seeing tabloid magazines publishing different stories on the cover with catchy headlines, tempting you to pick one up, regardless if you're a fan or not of any of the three celebrities.

So what? The paparazzi could happen to have taken snapshots of celebrities on their 'bummed-out sweatpants' moment; they made speculation that Team Brangelina is having troubles. Like I'd have the time to look pretty when there are 6 kids to be taken care of. Well, besides.. how do we know if their nanny is or isn't a Supernanny?! Er, and why is there even a section on People that "celebrities are exactly like us"? Duh, we're all homosapiens; we'd go through similar stages in life regardless if there's less of us possessing referrent power.

Having said that, a partnership or any union of some sort takes two to tango. It requires sacrifice and compromise; this includes marriage. There's nothing seriously wrong with reading tabloid news; it is quite entertaining to be able to escape your own reality... just for a little while. It is always enlightening to be putting other people's problems under a microscope than our own. The problem with long-term relationships, however, depends on both ability to trust, communicate and respect one another. You work at it. People grow up; you either grow together or apart. Love isn't exactly a happy-go-lucky fairy-tale. Nothing worth having comes easy....

Hmm, think about it. What if the various tabloid magazines are having rivalries in coming up with the best "Bren reunion" story? It's a win-win situation. Whatever the outcomes, I don't really care....

Cat & Mouse presents: Clever Crimes

Good Ol' Fashioned Recipes

The problem with most new recipe books nowadays is that you'd have to scramble aisle after aisle, searching for all the listed ingredients. When I am planning to cook, I'd most likely want to use most of the ingredients I already have. Most of us are not budding chefs; we just want to prepare a meal that is tasty (and healthy). Lately, going to Goodwill and the antique mall has paid off in search of old recipe books.

Just recently, I tried this recipe from a Prairie kitchen cookbook. It was found in the low calorie section; it is called Chicken Breasts Milano. I adjusted the quanties slightly since I was only cooking for 3 people.
6 whole chicken breasts (boned, skinned)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic salt
3/4 tsp Worchestershire sauce
2 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup parsley flakes
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup butter, melted (you can use butter substitutes if you'd like)
1/2 cup tsp dry mustard

Mix crumbs, parsley, salt, cheese & Italian seasoning in a bowl.
Mix together butter, garlic salt, mustard & Worchestershire sauce.
Dip chicken breasts in the butter mixture, then coat with crumbs.
Roll up, fasten with a toothpick and place in 9 x 12 inch buttered baking dish.
Pour rest of butter mixture on top.
Cover with foil.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour.
Remove foil and bake 20 minutes longer.
Yields 6.

Happy New Year and Decade!

Welcome to 2010. This time, hopefully, they will give us our jetpacks and flying cars. Well, try expected economic growth and job creation; (educated guess on) increase in interest rates. It will also be the year of the Tiger whenever the first day of Chinese New Year arrives in February 2010. It will be a splendid year: Canada is hosting Winter Olympics and CBC is airing the World Cup for soccer in the summer. There will be a lot of long weekends to look forward to.

While it is very normal to make new year resolutions and break them, for every resolution I break, there will be a $20 fine or penalty going into the savings account. Hence, it won't be that bad if I did break one: it will help me save towards the things I am budgeting for.

May 2010 be the start of an era where entrepreneurs shine. Let the good times roll and strike when opportunity knocks. It will definitely be interesting to observe how music will evolve. Let's just hope more fun and simple music will hit the airwaves.

Seafood Lover's Heaven

Mmm, if I had to become a vegetarian, I would become a flexitarian or a pescatarian in a heartbeat! Seafood is more easily digested than any red meats. Fish is quite versatile; you can prepare it in a slow cooker (for soups), on the grill, in a pot (for fish curry or in the style of steamed fish), or even baking it in the oven. If you are confused by "fish curry", look up Tom Yum soup on allrecipe.com; it's Thai and it's a bit spicy and sour. If you want to make a fish curry paste from scratch, here are some of the basic spices and ingredients: tomatoes (crushed/diced), tumeric, ground almond (helps thicken the sauce), cumin, coriander, chillies, lemon grass, galangal, and a titch of lime juice. Laziest way? Buy a packet of Ibrahim's fish curry sauce. Sh, don't tell others I cheat sometimes.

Yesterday, I stumbled across Billingsdale Seafood Market for the very first time! The place smells deliciously fishy!! Their Catch of the Day for fish and chips is to die for. Now, I know where to buy my fish and have a yummy seafood lunch. Other places to melt in seafood heaven: Wok King (in Chinatown; it's very hidden right next to Garden Bakery) and Save-On Foods' pre-marinated/pre-prepared raw seafood aisle. If fish guts soup doesn't sound gory, you are in the right place at an authentic Chinese restaurant.

People often wondered why the communal dorm kitchen smelled fishy. I love fish.

H1N1

Running out of masks? H1N1 Ninja to the rescue..... Hyuh! Best part? It fits under your glasses.
Disclaimer: Unused garments are highly recommended.