A cooking post. o.O

[letterblade]

I thought I'd never see the day.

So I took cumin seeds, fresh pressed garlic, and pine nuts, and browned them all in olive oil. Then added chicken, cooked until cooked, and then a can full of artichoke hearts. Then water/chicken broth (had half a can of broth left, so filled in with water), and the rest of the spices--coriander, a bit of basil, two bay leaves, and dashes of ginger and cinnamon. When water boiling, chucked in a box of cous-cous (the instant Near East stuff that you cover for five minutes) and some capers, let stand...

...and poof! Pilaf of doom! And I made it up, out of my head! Never made pilaf before, much less out of my head. Just went by the seat of my pants and my basic bits of cooking knowledge.

Best part: one of the people I'm staying with apparently hates capers, but liked the pilaf so much he didn't even notice them.

Worst part: chicken a bit dry.

Weeeeeeeee!

In other news:

Am preparing for my brother's wedding (in which I am groomsmaid.) Bought dress and everything. Now must prepare piano music. Meep!

Am accumulating a closet full of Firefly bunnies. Wibble. One of them is Inara/River. Wibble!

If I posted a basic which-fandoms-are-you-in poll to you lot (so I can update my antique fiends-filters accordingly) would you actually answer it?

Rather important question:

(for any Mac geeks out there)

I want to update my processor.

446 megahertz G4 (digital audio) is what I currently have. Rest of computer jazzed up--more RAM, new hard drive, SuperDrive, good video card, shiny monitor of doom--but CPU painfully slow.

I need at least 700 megahertz, preferably more, but I also need cheap--preferably under $300--and relatively easy to install/deal with. I've been doing research and have turned up various chips. What I want to know is who makes reliable ones, or where I might find good reviews of various products, for I've not had good luck doing so. And whatever other things I might need to know when embarking on this task.

And, yes, this was spurred by hearing the tech specs for Revelation.

Comments

[lucky-otter.livejournal.com]

Huh. Pilaf is a lot like paella, but with couscous instead of rice. And somewhat different spices.

BTW, most couscous is that precooked stuff. I've never seen non-precooked couscous, but I know it exists somewhere.

[wired-lizard.livejournal.com]

Well, this probably isn't real pilaf--I'm just thinking of it as pilaf. And I think most pilafs are rice-based, although I recall hearing the term used for couscous dishes too...

I think my mother must cook with it. At least, I recall her taking more than five minutes to make couscous.

[lucky-otter.livejournal.com]

Well, you have to boil the water first. That takes a bit.

[archbishopm.livejournal.com]

If I posted a basic which-fandoms-are-you-in poll to you lot (so I can update my antique fiends-filters accordingly) would you actually answer it?

Does the filter define what we get to read or what you are forced to read? 'Cause I kind of like being exposed to exotic new fandoms against my better judgement.

And, yes, this was spurred by hearing the tech specs for Revelation.

Oh boy, another game I'm going to be the last person in the world to play. Filthy technological progress, we hates it.

[cowgirlnoir.livejournal.com]

The couscous "pilaf" sounds lovely. Artichoke hearts and couscous is a combination I've never heard before.

Call me narrow minded, but I don't understand caper-haters. Those little flower buds are so yummy. In everything. My new caper trick is egg salad with dill and capers. Then again, I don't care for miniature corn. Or water chesnuts unless they are the really fresh kind. So we all have our culinary bete noires.

basic fandoms poll?

I agree with the previous post. I'm primarily a Cowboy Bebop gal, but I do sneak around in the Harry Potter fandom and various other places, from time to time. (whistles)

[bebop-aria.livejournal.com]

Your pilaf sounds heavenly. So many of my favorite things - cumin, coriander, cinnamon (what is it about spices that start with "c"?). And artichoke hearts. MMmmmm. Everything is better with artichoke hearts. Though I can't eat them by themselves.

I'd answer a fandom poll. I might learn something about myself in the process. I might discover just how obsessive of a fangirl I am, despite outward appearances of relative normalcy.