Home cooking and advice from mom
Is it just me or does food always taste better at home? Not your own home, because you can cook whatever you want and you have total control in your own kitchen (unless you screw up gnocchi). I am talking about in your parents' home, the place that is home no matter where it is relocated. And when you go home, maybe your mom will ask you what you crave, but for the most part I leave it up to mom because she does not need me telling her what to cook. The best part is that it pretty much is good all the time and it will be simple and delicious. And you might think that I am only writing about this because I forgot to eat out this past weekend, but then you are just being too cynical!
One of the super simple, yet delicious dishes Mom makes at home is this asparagus dish. You either boil or steam the asparagus, then you pair it with mayo, dried seaweed, and bonito flakes. It is really refreshing and tasty to eat along with a bowl of noodles.
Sometimes at home Mom will make a dried tofu dish (at least I think they are called dried tofu). It is basically a soy product, like tofu, except it is dried. Since the tofu is dried, it is very firm, much more so than 'firm tofu' and it stands up well to stir frying, which you see below.
So last night Mom calls and we were talking. She goes:
Mom: I saw the picture that Mr Lin took when he was in NY.
Me: Oh ok, that is good.
Mom: You look old and fat.
Me: (laughs)
Mom: I mean it. All this eating, and you look old and fat.
Leave it to mom to keep me grounded in reality. And that conversation took place in Chinese, btw. Then after that little exchange, she talked about how I used to not eat so much cupcakes in high school. But see, I used to eat her cheesecake for breakfast. The only difference between then and now is that I buy my own groceries. huzzah! Wow, I never say that IRL. Wow, I just typed IRL. Time to go eat cupcakes, I mean dinner.
(I invite you to follow me on Twitter so you can get more of my non-sense in another medium.)
Hey Danny!
Everytime I eat home cooking (or Don's cooking), it's always sooo good that I can't help thinking, why, why do we even bother eating out? ;)
P.S
Cupcakes for dinner is always dandy in my books! :)
Kathy
April 7, 2008 11:09 pm
LOLS Leave it to mothers to point out when you're too fat! Everytime I'm home, my mother points out that I'm fat...It seems like something so mean to say but then you kind of expect it from mothers...especially asian mothers lols They see it as constructive criticism, I don't think it works lols
wonders
April 8, 2008 11:27 am
Yup! That sounds like a Chinese mother! That asparagus does look tasty - thanks for the idea!
Su-Lin
April 10, 2008 5:53 am
Kathy,
You hit it on the spot, sometimes home cooked meals just make me wonder why I spend money eating out! And cupcakes for dinner is AWESOME!
Wonders,
Haha, yea leave it to moms. At least my mom was funny about it, haha.
Su-Lin,
Yea, Chinese moms are all like that. haha. Glad I could help with ideas!
Danny
April 14, 2008 10:13 pm