I decided to get off my arse today and go downtown to get some nutrients. Or at least what I think might be considered nutrients in some oddball way. The trip downtown was uneventful other than the bus being a whole three minutes late (ooh, wow). The trip back, however, was a bit more interesting.
It started at the bus station where I awaited the arrival of my bus. After taking a long drink of REAL Valencia orange juice, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and glanced up just in time to see bright pink hair float by. Not just bright pink hair. Bright pink hair attached to a butterfly-patched jean jacket, which in turn hung over a long lacey black skirt. This was footed by what appeared to be bare ankles, funky socks, and at this point my eyes returned to the hair so I can't recall what the shoes looked like. Then I realized there was another head of unnatural hair. My eyes turned to him next. His hair was all black except for bright pink amongst the roots of his hair, half of which was draped over the right side of his face, the other half of which was too short to drape anywhere. He wore a brownish printed blazer with semi-matching printed pants. Again, I missed the shoes entirely because I was too busy looking at the hair. Then they turned around and I saw the piercings...
Eventually they were out of sight, so my staring subsided. I took in some more orange juice and finally the bus arrived. This is where everyone became a bit concerned. Just a moment before the other buses were ready to pull out, a gentleman told the driver, "I'm coming with you, be right back." I'm thinking, "Oh, yeah, right, suuuure, that's polite, keep a bus waiting..." As it turned out it was an employee or somesuch of the bus company. He wanted the driver to do a radio check after he got away from the station. So the driver did several of them.
That's when the wait-for-me dude pulled out his Verizon cell phone and began to dial a number. A smile quickly spread across my face, which would have spread into a laugh had I not been able to control it fast enough. All I could think of while he dialed that number was, "Can you hear me now?"
He repeated this a few times, having the driver send a few radio checks and then calling whoever-it-was on the cell phone. Each time I had to look away in case my laughter got the better of me.
So I finally get home and start cooking dinner. I had found the sugar snap peas Mom made me try a few nights ago (I loved them darnit) and so I decided to have some with the steak. I start to open the frozen box and think, "Hm, any particular cooking directions on these babies?" So I begin reading. "SIMMER:" (I've never liked microwaves much, so I skip right to stovetop. Come to think of it, I don't even HAVE a microwave.) "Place snap peas in saucepan with 2 tablespoons water. Bring water to full boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium. Cover; cook 4 to 5 minutes. Drain." Okay. Here's the pan. Dumped some snap peas in there. Got the water right-- 2 TABLESPOONS?! Now wait just one second... HOW in the WORLD is a cook supposed to boil 2 TABLESPOONS OF WATER?! How small /is/ this saucepan, anyway? 2 inches wide?
I tossed the water in with an unsure grunt, covered the pot, and put it on low-medium heat to sit for a while. No way in h*** I'm about to attempt boiling 2 tablespoons of water. Just no way. Let the suckers steam a bit. I don't care.
As it turns out, the steak came out perfect (this usually happens when I'm eating alone), and the snap peas are just the right temperature - warm. Once I'm done with the steak, the snap peas should be cold, just the way I like them.
Then it dawns on me that perhaps I could simply wash the frozen peas in warm water, then let them stand at room temperature while I cook the steak...?? I sometimes think the only reason I cook any of my veggies at all is to add the spices, but snap peas are good all by themselves...
Thinking about candied yams for in-front-of-tv snack later,
~nvnohi
