Mild Amusement

So, I mentioned last time that I've been put to work as the second in command in the kitchen with the Mild Girlfriend . This has already resulted in a few laughs, and at least a couple of funny social media exchanges with friends of ours. Like I said, it's been fun. Little did I realize, though, there was one other surprise waiting for me. You know how some people can pick out all the ingredients in their food and then try to recreate the dish? Well, I can't do that. I've got too bad a sense of smell for it, for one. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I've never really had the motivation or the  appropriate skills  for the task. Other than obvious ingredients like onions or cheese, I don't really play with the underlying items enough to know how they smell or taste by themselves. When you mix them together, it gets even more jumbled up. All I know is that it's "food" and it tastes good. So, I've always been a little amazed when other f...

Lately, the Mild Girlfriend and I have been cooking a lot. I don't usually do tons of cooking on my own (as evidenced by my initial reaction to Ceviche Fest ), but I can cook a few dishes here and there. I know how to make rice, and I can put a few things together on top of the rice. Basically, I cook well enough to stave off starvation. Frankly, that's usually been the goal. However, the Mild Girlfriend really enjoys cooking, so she will sometimes want to try out a recipe. I don't particularly feel right just sitting around the whole time if she's busy in the kitchen, so I usually help out. Remember, I can handle the basics of cooking, so I can chop, slice, and mince just fine. That's the best way for me to be useful, so I end up doing a lot of the prep work. I like to joke that I'm the sous chef . Seeing as how there are only two of us, it's not unreasonable to assume that I'm second in command. It's actually a lot of fun. For one, I get to see...

Let me start this post by saying that ceviche happens to be my favorite food. If you've never had it, it's delicious. There are a bunch of different ways to make it, but the Peruvian version that I grew up with always hits a nostalgic spot in my heart. Keep that little nugget in mind, because it will make the rest of this post just a little more entertaining. That said, a while back, I was joking around with some of my family. I don't quite remember how it started, but someone said something along the lines of, "I wish I had more time to do X." I responded with a smart aleck, "I wish I had ceviche." Well, my brother and sister happened to be part of that conversation, and they also concurred that ceviche would be pretty awesome. We did grow up together, after all. After that, though, a magical thing happened: my brother suggested we make this happen. Do you have certain traditions that you always did with your parents? It doesn't really matter...

Peruvian food and I have an interesting relationship. On the one hand, I really like a lot of it. My favorite food happens to be a Peruvian dish (ceviche), and there is a certain sense of nostalgia whenever I eat certain dishes. However, I don't really eat it all that often, and it occasionally leads to laughter at my expense . There are reasons for this, of course. First of all, cooking Peruvian food usually requires quite a bit of prep work, so my parents got to the point where they'd cook other type of food more often. It's a simple matter of time; when you have to cook dinner every night, you naturally start to gravitate to dishes that won't take up most of the night. In fact, my mom got so much practice with cooking other types of food, that she can make a mean Chinese dinner . I also don't cook Peruvian food all that much (again, lots of prep), so it's more of a delicacy for me than anything else. Secondly, and more importantly, I grew up with some ...