No tomatoes, please

So last night I was testing a recipe for Cook’s Illustrated, and I remembered how in love I am with bok choy. It’s one of those things that you never really think about or care about trying, but once you have it, you’re all, “Damn, why did I not try this before?” I dunno, maybe you’re lazy. But seriously, bok choy is really great. Even though the recipe didn’t turn out so hot (that’s kinda what I hate about recipes, every one I’ve ever made is kind of not very flavorful, especially ones for Asian things. Wtf recipes.), the bok choy was seriously the best part. I kind of wished we had just sauteed it by itself and just eaten that.

So that picture above is baby bok choy. The regular kind is a lot bigger and the stalks are white with dark green leaves. Like, oh yes, right there:

Either way, it’s delicious. For the bigger kind, wash it and chop it up into smaller pieces, and for the baby bok choy, you can just wash and then slice the entire bunch lengthwise, or  tear all the separate stalks off and saute them. It’s so good sauteed or blanched for a minute. It’s got such a light buttery flavor, almost velvet-y. For a green, it’s quite mild, and it’s so delicious. Oh man, I’m getting excited just thinking about it. When you’re done sauteeing just throw some sesame oil on it and some sesame seeds and you’re good to go. Yum.

Yeah, sorry, not very inspired today, but I got other stuff going on. Gross food abounds tomorrow!

So, well, I’m here, I swear. Alive and well. Not that you were paying attention. So, I took the site down for a while, assuming that myriad people were willing and/or able to help me out with my web design predicament. But alas! They all failed. So, hey, everyone I know: suck it.

Obviously, this is not the real layout. I am enlisting outside (read: paid) help for that. I just chose this one because it was weird but not terrible and with boobs and/or pictures of copiers and crap like most Wordpress templates out there.

But for serious, after a long story that I will not recount here, I am taking the rest of this semester off woo hoo! And to keep me from going crazy and getting depressed from boredom and feeling like I’m a failure for not doing amazing things with my life, I am making this Web site my job. I will be working my butt off to put up content (hopefully) every day. In order to stick to that, I have even devised weekly posts that I will be putting up, so you generally know what to expect on a given day. Here’s the tentative schedule, which will probably change soon as I get things figured out and start writing and such:

Monday: “Rummage” - Since we generally have the best bounty of leftovers on Monday, I will be rummaging through the fridge/pantry/the huge box of crap I brought back from school to create a new and exciting made-up dish oooh! This week’s dish? Didn’t go so well. Here’s hoping next week’s dish goes slightly better.

Tuesday: Tuesday will be kind of a free-for-all day. I’ll try to put up restaurant reviews, my adventures in picky eating, or whatever myriad love letters or recipes I feel like putting up.

Wednesday: “Gag Reflex” - In continuing the awesome feature I did over on the Dive blog, every Wednesday I will subject myself to something amazingly disgusting. Or maybe not. Awesomeness shall ensue.

Thursday: “Pot O’ Gold” - This will be one-pot kinda things. This could be the day when I spill all my mom’s secret recipes for gumbo and chili and stuff, since most of these things are made in one pot. This one might end up being another free-for-all day if I run out of ideas.

Friday: “Drinkin’” - Since I shall soon be 21, I will be able to try out all those crazy-ass drinks I’ve always wondered about (buttery nipple, anyone?). I’ll also be detailing my awesome trips to the ABC store and their righteous indignation at my buying alcohol, since I look about 15. I’ll hopefully be mixing some cool drinks and then drinking heavily with my mom on the back porch while we bitch at each other. Pretty much business as usual.

So, yes, I will be doing cool awesome daily things. I’ll be easing into the posting every day, so it won’t totally be every single day for a while, but hopefully I’ll work up to it and this Web site will be awesome and everything you always hoped and dreamed.

Ciao!

~Rachael~