Food Tagged

Gaaaah! Edwin you are evil... Oh well.. Saves me having to think of something to write about. Inspiration/verbal diarrhoea has not been visiting me of late.

1. What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?
Chopping random things up and throwing them into a pot during some camp. I think I was 9. I think I also had digestive system related issues for awhile.

2. Who had the most influence on your cooking?
Sainsbury's. If they haven't got it in a jar, it's probably too hard to cook :P

3. Do you have an old photo as “evidence” of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?
Not really "early", but I think Alex "Ginger" Leigh took some pictures of the "curry chicken feet" I cooked back in my first year at uni. (I shared a house with 12 Brits... Can you imagine the havoc I caused?)

4. Mageirocophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?
Not really. I only cook stuff that I do well. (Well "I" think I do them well...)

5. What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest let down?
I don't actually own any kitchen gadgets now but I guess back in uni, it would have to be my coffee maker. Probably the only kitchen gadget that was mine! (OK.. I confess.. I'm one of those people who leeched off everyone else and never bought any utensils or cutlery. I mean.. It just seems a bit dumb to have 5 or 10 woks and sets of plates etc....)

6. Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else!
Jam and ham! (I love sandwiches!)

7. What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?
-Chocolate chip cookies
-Sandwiches (a bit generic.. sorry)
-Can't really think of anything else... I guess I'm not one of those "live to eat" types..

8. Three quickies:
Your favorite ice-cream… : Baskin Robbins' World Class Chocolate
You will probably never eat… : A camel's testicle.. (What?!!? I'll DEFINITELY NEVER eat that!)
Your own signature dish… : Heheh.. Serney's super sandwiches. (I AM the sandwich maker... Ask what my secret is)

9. Who do you want most to cook you dinner?
Do I have to want them to cook me dinner because they're good cooks? :P
If "yes" - grandma
Else - hmm.... Let's not go there....

OK.. My own question...:
10. "What's your funniest cooking experience?"
Walking into the kitchen and finding my housemate trying to fry a chicken... A WHOLE chicken... like.. The whole chicken was sitting there on the pan...

And I'm supposed to tag 3 ppl? hmm.. I don' t know that many people with blogs..
1) Da Niu (Danie7 - you haven't got enough words on your blog!)
2) Emeryz (sorryla... you so happened to talk to me about blogs today)
3) Ben (The master himself... What was it? 17 slices of pizza in one sitting?)

sunburn + board rash + aching shoulders = satisfaction!

Primary objective of holiday: Catch some waves.
Side Note: Try not to get killed or to look too stupid.

Day 1 = Lots of walking :P
Walked all the way from Tuban to Halfway Kuta to check out the surf. Then walked around Kuta Square a bit. Bought some board shorts and a pair of sunnies.

Day 2+Day 3+Day 4 = SURFING! (plus some other stuff which I don't really remember too well 'coz I was preoccupied SURFING!)
Arrived at Kuta a little too late in the morning on Friday. Tide was low and waves were pretty dumpy. Not too great for longboards and beginners (would have led to many nosedives and perhaps some broken noses), so we just went back to the hotel and chilled out the whole morning (i.e. I slept!).

SURFING!!! On Friday, my dad, my sis and I took a surfing lesson together in the afternoon. You can tell we had lots of fun!

Did I mention my dad's greatest ambition is to be a beach bum?

We did a little bit of theory and some jump up practice on land before heading down to the beach.

"Whoaaa! Those waves are BIG and SCARY!"

For the first day we just kinda stayed close to the beach and surfed in the white wash.

On Saturday morning, I headed out to Kuta on my own 'coz my dad and sis were too tired/lazy to go surfing early in the morning. I ended up spending most of the day paddling and waiting for waves. Was still good fun though.

Sunday was a totally different story! The waves were HUGE! My aim for the day was to catch as many big green waves as possible and practice catching them.. This meant a few embarassing wipeouts! Still.. It was AMAZING! I was having so much fun that I didn't want to go back! I ended up having to go straight to the airport from the beach to make sure I didn't miss my flight! It was worth the rush though.. The "Longboarder's Start-Up - A Guide to Longboard Surfing" by Doug Werner has this to say about catching your first big wave:

"This will happen:
You'll be screaming along at 75 mph, in control with
every eye on the beach on you...
Lookit that guy go!

You'll think:
WOW!
I'm standing UP!
On TOP of the water!
I'm SURFING!

We're talking moments here, but those moments will rank right up there with your first Christmas morning, first bike ride, first hit, goal or catch, first kiss, first home run (in or out of the park), first meaningful paycheck and first successful public speaking engagement.

Yup, the first time really is like that. For everybody."

He wasn't wrong.


"WOW! I didn't fall off!"

Many thanks to the guys at ProSurf - Bali, for their expert guidance and for making sure I didn't put a board through anyone's (especially my own) head.

Cowabunga!

Check this beauty out!


For the next few days, I'm gonna be stupidly trying to stand on a large plank riding those things... Yes! I'm FINALLY going to Bali!

Wish me luck.. It's been almost 3 years since I last did anything that involved having both feet planted on a long flat projectile-like object. Hopefully I won't end up like this guy too much:

What's the catch?

The following passage is taken from "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

"Sure there's a catch," Doc Daneeka replied. "Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy"

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to.

WOW! If I could only write like that! Do I have to go nuts first though? Then again, I probably already am so there's no issue there...

As you've probably guessed by now, I'm reading Catch-22 (more like "trying to read".. for the umpteenth time... It seems everytime I start I either lose the book or get too busy). Hopefully I'll actually finish it this time.

More on the book when I finish.