Wednesday, October 24, 2007

dark green enough to be blue

10/18/07
10/21/07
10/24/07

My batteries died right after the flash went off so unfortunately I don't have a photograph of the meal prepared or the company I enjoyed. However, I think this picture captures nearly everything. Since I have yet to buy new batteries, I'll take this time to reflect.
Previous attempts of mine at reaching an understanding of my obsession with food turn up a recondite mish-mash of vineyard imagery and burrito cravings. I would accept this as some evolved adipocyte-ID synergy, but I went to college so I know better. Like all phenomena, the root cause is far more complex and at this stage in my life hindsight is too muddled by the mischief of memory. Although I have salvaged some vivid recollections of being a schoolboy in India and eagerly awaiting a school holiday so I could watch Yan Can Cook< which aired on weekdays during school hours. Also, The Boxcar Children series largely appealed to me because of its' devotion to the diet of those orphaned youth. Seriously, go back and check those books out. These two memories however fall on the timeline after the illusive germinal experience that shaped my obsession.

Thursday, October 18, 2007


10-15-07

For the first time in a long time I can feel the surface of my ribs tucked tightly underneath my skin, the contours of my torso no longer a part of a once familiar landscape causing to swell lingering tides of homesickness.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Coffee Cantata


As hard as it is to imagine that first instance of a wandering primitive yuppie taking in the aroma of a sun-drenched coffee plant then accidentally spilling his hot water supply on the plant, then slipping on a baby dinosaur under said plant only to have the new coffee solution fall on his tongue, it is easy to comprehend the beverages subsequent meteoric rise to global fame. When I woke up this morning realizing that all I had in my house was a frozen cucumber and some finely ground coffee beans, I didn't descend into abject despair. No, I immediately flipped the switch to off on my long term survival machinery and embraced the short-term reward of a decadently sweet and potent mug of turkish coffee. The next three hours were ripe with coffee daydreams of great deeds to be done and of course the writeup of those deeds and their feerless visionary in Time Magazine.
Now that the KOFFEE KRAZIES are winding down, in favor of more reasoned judgement I have decided to contract out my plans to allow for more august pursuits like finding a spot INSIDE my house that can not be seen from OUTSIDE my house.

Friday, October 5, 2007

pattern against user



10/03/07

Thie pictures represent a stalemate in my creative abilities to teach, to cook, and to write

at every occasion I am ready for a funeral


10/02/07

This is my culinary protest to a day that started like a dream and ended like a dream tarred, feathered, and nailed to the cross. It wasn't that bad of a day. I just felt my blog was missing references to ancient roman execution methods. The picture is also posted sideways to challenge your institutionalized pro-establishment visual paradigm.

9/30/07

This meal represents a personal triumph. I had just come back from Ajloun and after a day of fasting all I wanted was to line my teeth with peanut butter before shoving my face into the bag of fresh hubez. However, a rare night of restraint led me to actually scramble some eggs and cut up a cucumber I bought the day before. The darker green areas on the cucumber that are not the skin are frozen due to the proximity of every point in my fridge to the freezer. The red chili sauce on top of the eggs served an aesthetic purpose which i'm sure you see. right?

xXxOne Armed ScissorxXx


9/28/07

The knife I used to cut the potatoes cost me 10 girsch which most likely comes from the shipping cost from China to Jordan. I was certain it would break while cutting the onions and potatoes but China being a resilient nation transferred the attribute to their exported knives. The hardest part about this dish was knowing when the potatoes would be completely cooked through, so a lot of sampling eventually ruined my appetite. The green in the picture comes from leftover green bellpeppers in my fridge. Per a teachers recommendations I cracked two eggs over all this which I can predict will become a theme for all my subsequent dishes until I can expand my culinary repertoire.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Wanderlust

I'm dedicating a part of my time from these next two years to cataloging all meals prepared personally in my kitchen. As of now my kitchen contains the following items:

2 plates
2 small knives
1 drying rack
12 spoons
1 fridge
1 pot
1 pan
2 tea kettles
1 cutting board + veggie strainer
1 plastic spatula
1 coffee pot (a breeg)
sugar, salt, and pepper
soybean oil and vegetable oil

Since I'm starting this a week after I prepared my first meals let me catch you up. The first night that I actually had cooking supplies and food I made a jordanian dish called Galiyat Bandora which is stewed tomatoes with green peppers. It sufficed as a source of calories for two days but not much else.