Tinypliny's Journal

01/23/2009 18:16 #47502

Do you follow the "e:strip rules"??!
Category: e:strip

I just found out that apparently, I totally cross and break some of them...

From:

Additionally, all users of (e:strip) (e:services) including guests, visitors of the site, and (e:peeps) agree not to:
1. "stalk" or otherwise harass anyone;

I am the official (and self-declared) (e:mike)'s #1 Stalker. If that is not a blatant violation, I don't know what is! Additionally, I also specialize in annoying and harassing the hell out of everyone.

2. collect personal data about other users for commercial or unlawful purposes;

Oh man. I do collect personal data on all of you for future and present use. I use this personal data to great effect often when I meet you on the streets and in gatherings. Hee Hee.

I am a rule-breaker!

libertad - 01/23/09 21:16
Delete this scofflaw (e:paul)!

01/11/2009 00:20 #47361

Penang Stir Fry
Category: eating in

I made a multi-vegetable penang sauce based stir-fry for dinner today.

It did take quite a long time by my normal dinner standards but the result was beyond what I expected so I am going to document the recipe here before I forget.

Tofu - Prep
- Freeze Firm tofu (NOT extra firm)
- Thaw and cut into thin cubes

The Penang Sauce
Dry toast coriander seeds, a large number of hot dried red chillies and peanuts.

Blend to a fine paste:
- Freshly Toasted Coriander Seeds, Red Chillies and Peanuts (from above)
- Fresh Coriander (DO NOT discard stems. They are the most intense essence of the coriander).
- Several garlic cloves.
- One small red onion
- One green lime - pulp, rind and juice.
- Galangal
- Ginger
- Regular Soy Sauce

The Stir Fry
- In a wide bottomed pan, take around 1-1.5 tablespoon of peanut oil. Swivel the pan to coat the entire pan. Heat on stove.
- Wait till the oil is thinning out but NOT smoking.
- Lay the the tofu cubes down in one layer over the heated oil in the pan.
- Wait till one side is browned, carefully flip over to the other side without breaking the cubes. Brown this side as well.
- Add some cumin seeds. Saute for a while
- Add chopped green bell peppers. Saute for a while
- Add salt and carrots. Saute for a while
- Add shredded savoy cabbage. Saute for a while
- Add chopped snow peas. Saute for a while
- Add chopped broccoli.
- Add penang sauce (to taste - you probably made a lot more than you need for this dish, if you followed the method above)
- Saute till broccoli is a bright bright green

Take off heat. Serve with basmati rice. :)

tinypliny - 11/30/10 19:01
Honestly, I have no idea why people are coming to view this particular recipe. Its not even standard or "Penang-Street" authentic. Maybe the fact that none of the ingredients are exotic and tough to get is the driving factor? Maybe people just search for Penang stir fry, see the word "awesome" and click on this post?! Its a psychological puzzle.

paul - 11/26/10 11:52
This is still so popular. It still gets anywhere from between 40-80 hits per day.

tinypliny - 09/04/10 14:52
It is really funny what googs picks up. All the other penang sauces in the top hits have fish sauce in them. This is probably the only purely vegetarian version.

vincent - 09/04/10 13:46
Yea #2 for the search "Penang Stir Fry" !

paul - 09/04/10 11:50
What is it like to be a google superstar?

tinypliny - 01/23/09 23:24
Yep, the texture becomes more chewy and the tofu bits soak up 10X more flavour. Also, they become less brittle on thawing. They don't break into bits while you are browning and flipping them over. But this is not true for extra-firm variety. While the firm tofu becomes less brittle on freexe-thawing, extra-firm tofu becomes more brittle.

james - 01/23/09 21:28
Taddykins,

It gives it a different texture. I am not sure how to describe it. But it is extra yummy.

libertad - 01/23/09 21:20
Why would you freeze the tofu and then thaw it? What purpose does this serve? Is this something you should do for other stir fry type recipes as well?

ladycroft - 01/12/09 08:10
YUM-EEEEE!

I also want to say it was lovely meeting you, FINALLY! Your pep is contagious :) Looking forward to seeing you again next time I'm back.

leetee - 01/11/09 14:07
Looks super yum... thanks for posting the recipe so i don't have to ask for it! :O)

metalpeter - 01/11/09 11:13
I'm sorry but that rice looks like it needs some meat on it, it really does. I don't know as I would like tofu but the food does look like it would be pretty good. Yes It does look very tasty.

tinypliny - 01/11/09 09:21
You can get the authentic ones from Super Bazaar or any Indian store. I think I got this batch from a store in California. I remember I had this bag in my suitcase and my clothes started smelling like red chillies by the time I got back. I got stranded in Atlanta and went for a change of clothes and got red rashes all over because the chillies had percolated the entire suitcase!

Indian chillies are so pungent, some people start tearing up as soon as they open the bag. If you want all that awesome heat to transfer to your stir-fry, make sure that ALL of the chillie seeds end up in the penang paste. :)

joshua - 01/11/09 01:09
Where do you get your chilies? I've been wondering where I can get some proper red chilies like you can find in India and Asia in general.

01/10/2009 00:50 #47342

Grave Digger - YES! THE BAND. DEAL.
Category: music

I did some serious - no make that dead serious grocery shopping today and started posting my grocery list in keeping with the recently established (e:strip) grocery costs and lists tradition. I even ran into my grocery-inspiration (e:pmrk) at Wegmans and my grocery trip was (e:topped) with the perfect (e:inspiration)! :)

BUT while typing up my grocery list - one of my very old favourites somehow sneaked into my playlist and WOW. I am blown away for the millionth time.

Grave Digger

have always been heads and shoulders, my hands down run away favourites, but I forgot just how much this particular self-titled album rocks even after 8 full years!

Every song has so many catchy, detailed and rich layered riffs by the incredibly talented Manni Schmidt, it's impossible not to be sucked right in.

I can't comprehend that 8 whole years have gone by so swiftly! I was just as wildly excited hearing it in 2001, completely out of breath and dizzy from too much wild headbanging as I am right now (I do miss that out-of-control-amazon-forest hair that I don't have anymore!). Some bands just have it in them to magically transport me to happier times in a time machine. :)

I know all that dead serious grocery shopping does need some loving grave digging, but it won't be tonight. I am too stoked headbanging to nostalgia to concentrate. :)

Special greets go out to (e:pmrk)! Loved running into you! :^D

metalpeter - 01/11/09 11:33
So as I write this I have a video of the second band playing on their website and they sound pretty good to compare them to a an American band since I don't know what they are saying wouldn't be fair, so I won't. In terms of Grave Digger I only could find one video of theirs I thought it was pretty good then listened to a few of those 30 second clips or song previews and they sounded pretty good. In terms of that picture on your page the one guy looks like this Character from Bleach I wonder if there is a connection there someplace.

01/10/2009 21:12 #47358

The illustrated grocery List - Jan 2009
Category: grocery

I am quite shocked at how I managed to buy $100+ worth of groceries this week. This post was going to be a contender for the dullest journal of 2009 but I thought about it and really, getting groceries are never a dull experience for me. Its only fair that a post about them is just as graphic and colourful! :)

Super Bazaar

- Red Onions - 4lb - $3.98

Really, there is no onion like the red onion. Yellow cooking onions bite the dust when you try and make them rise above the oniocasion.

- Cilantro 2 HUGE eye-poppingly fresh bunches - $1.00

This is the best and the cheapest cilantro (coriander) in Buffalo.

- Tomatoes ~3lbs - $0.99/pound - $2.96

Life in winter is depressing without Tomatoes. Its also rather harsh and uncreative if you don't have the reds from this beautiful fruit to balance out the foods representing other areas of the colour wheel.

- Fresh Ginger - Quite a lot - $1.35

Ginger is always best at Super Bazaar. Sometimes, its also the cheapest. Like today.

- Fresh Karuvepalai ("Curry Leaves") 1 measly but oh-so-satisfying-till-it-lasts bunch - $0.99

- Thai Green Chillies - 0.99 (around 30)

- Indian Super Hot Green Chillies - 0.99 (around 10)

- Green Bottle Gourd (aka Ghiya) - $2.88

- Moong Dal (A "core" lentil in South Indian cooking) - 6lb - $7.98

- Tata Tetley Elaichi Tea (Cardamom tea) - $4.99 (72 Tea bags)

- Tata Tetley Variety Taster Teas - $2.45 (Cardamom, Masala and Ginger)

- Maggie "Healthy" Veggie Atta Noodles - 1 single-serve bag - $0.79

(The "vegetables" in the whole pack of noodles were 10 dried green peas, 10 dried 2mm flakes of carrots and 2-3 dried flakes of tomatoes and a huge fist of Monosodium Glutamate. Healthy indeed. Good to know that these "newer" "healthier" noodles taste just as uninspired as the originals. Yeah. Somethings in life never need change. )

- Gujarati Bikaneri Bhujia - $1.99

- Gujarati Jamnagri Ghathiya - $1.99

- 1 Kg Haldiram Bhujiya - $7.99

- 1 pack frozen Pillsbury Aloo Parantha - $2.99

I see some eyebrows go up and you know who you are. YOU are driving me homesick writing about paranthas every weekend!

- South Indian Lime Pickle - Mother's - $1.99

- 1 pack Asafoetida - $1.99

(I can't believe I finally ran out! Unbelievable!) The author of a really famous south Indian recipe book suggests that families get 2Kg (~4.5lb) of this crazy spice every month! I am not quite sure why she recommended such insane amounts. It's not as if you use a fistful in each dish! Just a dusting is so powerful! She must have been totally high when she wrote her book! And man, I am scared to even think about how her home must have smelled like...

- 1 pack Tamarind concentrate paste - $1.99

- 1 Fresh Samosa with two chutneys - $1.00

Subtotal: $53.28

Guercios:

- 8 Granny Smith Apples - $5.50 @1.29/lb

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil 250ml - $2.49

- BIG (3lb?) bag of spinach - $3.99

- Kalamata dried figs - $3.99

- Carrots 2lb - $1.00

- Roasted Red Pepper Hummus 396g - $3.59

- Zucchini 2 medium sized - $1.35

- Small white potatoes (3)

- Canary Beans 1lb - $0.79

(I don't know what these taste like, yet! Here's hoping they don't flunk my lentil test!)

- Fresh Basil 1 teeny bunch - $1.25

- Some other produce that I can't remember - $1.15

(I hate it that they don't put put names on the receipts! I have no idea what this is! Damn.)

Subtotal: $25.49

Wegmans
- Wegmans Fat Free Milk 2 Gallons - $4.78

- Wegmans Low Fat Vanilla Yoghurt - $1.99

- Wegmans tomato-basil sauce - $1.98

This is a standby for tomato deficient days - of which I have had my miserably nasty share these past few days.

- Wegmans Peanut Oil 32oz - $4.99

AHH! FINALLY.

- Macintosh Apples 3lb - $2.97

(I don't have hopes of these outshining Granny Smiths - but trying them out just in case...)

- Broccoli Crowns - 3.26lb @ $1.29/lb - $4.21

- Bananas 3.55lb @ 0.49/lb - $1.74

- Green Cabbage 2.89lb @ 0.69/lb - $1.99

- Savoy Cabbage 1.37 @ 0.69/lb - $0.95
(These are awesome for stir-frying with other veggies)

Subtotal: $25.60

Tops
Mustard Greens $1.72lb @ 0.99/lb: $1.70

(These are my MOST favourite cooking greens!)

Subtotal: $1.70

Grand Total: $106.07
(Whoosh. That's quite a lot. I need to tone down this crazy homesickness tackling grocery spending next time!)

PS: (e:pmrk), what did you get? :)

jenks - 01/11/09 21:49
damn tiny... I need you to live in my house and cook for me. :) I eat like such crap, but your recipes look so delish, and healthy too!

tinypliny - 01/11/09 09:14
I strongly recommend Tata Tetley Masala Tea. I love it. The traditional way to make it is to boil water, turn off heat, drop the tea bags in the water and put a lid on. Brew till a rich golden orange colour is reached. Take milk and heat it - add to the brewed tea in a ratio 1:1.

Add honey (not sugar) to this tea if you like it sweet. :)

james - 01/11/09 00:54
Well, some of that is produce I can't get elsewhere and those teas look so good I drooled on my keyboard. So I will give it a go even if the prices are hit or miss.

tinypliny - 01/11/09 00:30
@(e:James): Apart from the cheap produce, pretty much everything else is marked up at the Super Bazaar. It's great for produce and stuff imported from the Indian subcontinent, but its prices may not always be lower than Guercio's or sometimes even Wegmans.

The images are random ones from Google image searches.

paul - 01/10/09 22:21
Where do you get the produce picture from. Do you have a photo studio in your appartment?

james - 01/10/09 22:03
I used to live off nothing but mustard greens or kale and lentils with brown rice. Seeing those greeny greens has my tunny rumbling for some.

and super bazar sounds great! The peppers at giurcios are not nearly hot enough.

01/06/2009 21:18 #47314

Pearls Before Swine
Category: the odes

Everyone needs a reality check sometimes. But only Stephan Pastis delivers this check with porcine astuteness.