First Try
Today was the first... well, actually it was my second time cooking, the first time was a long time ago. Today was my first time cooking unsupervised (last time I had the Empress to help chop stuff and generally repair my damage), and I must say I'm inordinately pleased with how it's turned out.
The actual first time I cooked was when I took it into my head to make lunch for my siblings, my parents being somewhere else at the time. (I don't remember where they were exactly.) So I told everybody to expect fried rice for lunch the next day, and then made up a recipe based on what I thought fried rice should include: fried onions, eggs, sausages, stuff like that. And at the time I had a microwave available, so that's how I did the sausages and mixed veggies; my sister helped with the eggs and the fried onions were done by my maternal grandmother, so all I really did was make rice and throw everything into the wok, then stir occasionally while adding soy sauce for flavour. It turned out edible, but I remember thinking the rice was too damp.
And today, I made myself soup. I was actually going to make porridge for dinner, but there's nowhere in my room to store rice--and I don't think it's possible for me to finish cooking 1 kilo of rice at one go. My saucepans simply aren't big enough for that. And I was going to use a chicken breast (boneless), but I made the mistake of storing it in Herr Robson's fridge, which he claims doesn't work properly; so when I picked it up today, it was emitting a distinctly inedible smell.
I asked the Corn about it, and she said blood smells were ok but not rancid ones. I sniffed the meat and wanted to throw up, so I decided it was rancid: believe me, I know what blood smells like, and it doesn't make me want to throw up.
In any case I was forced to reconsider my options, and I wound up with making soup from carrots, potatoes, shallots (which differ, somehow, from onions in some subtle way), and half a cube of chicken stock that took me half an hour to locate due to the tiny box it was packaged in.
It's turned out pretty good, though: I finished the pot, and next time I think I'll put in more...
In any case, my recipe for ABC soup (in case I forget):
Ingredients:
1 carrot (average 30cm)
2 potatoes (medium sized)
2 shallots
1 cube of chicken stock OR 1 piece of meat (any sort)
1 liter of water
Utensils:
1 metal spoon
1 saucepan (capacity at least 1 liter)
1 peeler
1 knife
Procedure:
1. Peel carrot and potatoes and shallots. The carrots should, when skinned, show reddish veins running lengthwise; the potatoes should have yellow flesh (use knife to remove eyes and stalks); the shallots should have pale-bluish skin showing and you should be tearing up. Remove the tops and bottoms of the shallots.
2. If meat is available, chop it into bite-size chunks. Chop carrots and potatoes into little pieces.
3. Put drinkable water into saucepan, slightly more than 1 liter. (It is best to be able to measure accurately, but estimates may be used.)
4. Put saucepan, filled with drinkable water, on stove. Turn on fire and bring to boil.
5. If stock is available, put in a cube and stir. If not, add meat and stir.
6. Add little pieces of carrots and potatoes. Stir.
7. Bring to boil, turn heat down, and allow to simmer for as long as you like.
8. Eat.
The actual first time I cooked was when I took it into my head to make lunch for my siblings, my parents being somewhere else at the time. (I don't remember where they were exactly.) So I told everybody to expect fried rice for lunch the next day, and then made up a recipe based on what I thought fried rice should include: fried onions, eggs, sausages, stuff like that. And at the time I had a microwave available, so that's how I did the sausages and mixed veggies; my sister helped with the eggs and the fried onions were done by my maternal grandmother, so all I really did was make rice and throw everything into the wok, then stir occasionally while adding soy sauce for flavour. It turned out edible, but I remember thinking the rice was too damp.
And today, I made myself soup. I was actually going to make porridge for dinner, but there's nowhere in my room to store rice--and I don't think it's possible for me to finish cooking 1 kilo of rice at one go. My saucepans simply aren't big enough for that. And I was going to use a chicken breast (boneless), but I made the mistake of storing it in Herr Robson's fridge, which he claims doesn't work properly; so when I picked it up today, it was emitting a distinctly inedible smell.
I asked the Corn about it, and she said blood smells were ok but not rancid ones. I sniffed the meat and wanted to throw up, so I decided it was rancid: believe me, I know what blood smells like, and it doesn't make me want to throw up.
In any case I was forced to reconsider my options, and I wound up with making soup from carrots, potatoes, shallots (which differ, somehow, from onions in some subtle way), and half a cube of chicken stock that took me half an hour to locate due to the tiny box it was packaged in.
It's turned out pretty good, though: I finished the pot, and next time I think I'll put in more...
In any case, my recipe for ABC soup (in case I forget):
Ingredients:
1 carrot (average 30cm)
2 potatoes (medium sized)
2 shallots
1 cube of chicken stock OR 1 piece of meat (any sort)
1 liter of water
Utensils:
1 metal spoon
1 saucepan (capacity at least 1 liter)
1 peeler
1 knife
Procedure:
1. Peel carrot and potatoes and shallots. The carrots should, when skinned, show reddish veins running lengthwise; the potatoes should have yellow flesh (use knife to remove eyes and stalks); the shallots should have pale-bluish skin showing and you should be tearing up. Remove the tops and bottoms of the shallots.
2. If meat is available, chop it into bite-size chunks. Chop carrots and potatoes into little pieces.
3. Put drinkable water into saucepan, slightly more than 1 liter. (It is best to be able to measure accurately, but estimates may be used.)
4. Put saucepan, filled with drinkable water, on stove. Turn on fire and bring to boil.
5. If stock is available, put in a cube and stir. If not, add meat and stir.
6. Add little pieces of carrots and potatoes. Stir.
7. Bring to boil, turn heat down, and allow to simmer for as long as you like.
8. Eat.
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