Back in the saddle!

Thursday, November 27th, 2008 @ 2:00 am | *all*, wtc

As a butterfly I’m coming back. Just for a short time, for a little moment. Just to say hello, I’ll stay long enough to give a little glimpse of myself. And I’m here to cook you something!!! After that I’ll fly away again.

Let’s direct start and not waste any time.

Every man’s dream (cream for the once with the tiny ears) is two at the same time! I know, first of all I have to handle one, and it’s already hard to do so but never mind, today I thought: ‘Let’s just do it!’ ‘Let’s do it once, let’s do it twice!’

One of the two was colorful, sweet and tasty. It was a slippery mess with my fingers and it was a pleasure to discover the exotic nature of this kind . The other one was a hot Italian, a very … very piquant story.

But let’s start with number one. It was a faithful relation leading me to this idea. Making a salad, a fruit salad in particular. Not sure what to get I stopped at the now called “Metro’ supermarket. I remembered all this instant fruit salads you can buy for a fortune there but it all seemed too boring for me. I’m not that kind of ‘banana, strawberry, melon’ kind of guy. I need something a bit more special. And there it was, laying in front of me like an undressed girl. Actually not really undressed, this mess came afterwards. Mango’s from Brazil, long time no see. One for a dollar, the beginning was made. Besides this I choose two of this wired looking natural bananas, I thought it might look interesting and would give a slightly different taste. Later on, one went direct into the garbage and the other on top of a cabinet where I hope it will gain some taste. This bananas were too raw. Anyways, the exotic fruit section had more I could use, kiwi, three of them, was virtually ingredient number two. Not that exotic and probably quiet common in the boring salad trays but enough for me. Now my eyes were wandering over the sometimes quiet expensive fruits. Especially one of them looked appealing to me and for $0.70/unit I was able to afford it. I don’t even remember the name, the cashier did not now either. It took five minutes the get an idea of what it is. “It’s an onion!” said a women, “Check under peaches” said an employee, “It’s something else” comes from another cash, “The name ends with ‘-cooking’” was what I had to say. Finally they agreed for something and charged me for a fruit which name I never heard or read before. But it was at least the same price. Let me describe it.

Imagine a tomato but a little smaller. Skin and the leaves on top are harder. The color is less red, more orange with red and it has a kind of caramel look. If caramel would be a product made out of a fruit, this would be my first bet for the melted sugar job! No idea how to cut it I just cut in in half and then one side into quarters. I remember cutting my first pomegranate in Africa, without knowledge how to do it right it will take you hours to separate the sweet from the bitter. So if anyone plans to get a few pomegranates. Don’t hesitate to ask me how to cut it. I’m a proofed expert now in opening the almost holly fruit. But back to the new fruit. It seemed just the middle is eatable. I took one of the quarters and cut more and more pieces out and tried to eat them. I was actually surprised, you can almost eat all of it, just a little from the middle is left. The skin now felt similar to a mango skin. Actually the whole fruit is from the inside very similar to a mango, just not as fibrillar. The taste you could say is mango like but it’s not. It’s new, you can taste the red in the flesh. I knew this will be the secret ingredient in my salad. It was ingredient number three. Now I had everything for my salad, it was a hell of a mess to put everything together, unfortunate w/o the bananas. But finally I still made it. And as the salad was done I added a handful cut almonds. I thought this was missing, and I was right! Putting this in – it was a deserved “Awesome!” It will be even better tomorrow when the mango will be softer. I’ll take some to work!

Doing the salad, the little experiment with the fruit I didn’t know and don’t even remember the name was so cool. I felt like a little kid sitting on the floor and playing with his Lego! Just experimenting and not caring about the results. Just doing it was already so cool, and if it doesn’t work out this time, just do something else next. We ‘adults’ are just too adult. Take it easy, fly light is what I say! I really wish I could do this more often. Living a life like this, in balance with the little kid in us, the kid we pushed away and forgot as we started pretending to be mature, as we just wanted to be older, to be grown up. To be in balance with my little boy – verily deserved again for today: “Awesome!”

Now comes the second preparation, the entree. Let’s just assume I got already everything for it. Just follow the ingredients into the bowl and straight into the pan. (Don’t do it literally, it might hurt) My plan was an omelet. Since I practiced everything else I learned before to a lower grade of ‘almost-perfection’. That means from pork and beef to fish and turkey… everything you could fry in a pan. It was now time to do something else. Let’s go to the eggs. I never made an omelet, okay, here we go. By the way, last week I had the first time sausages made in the pan, Italian once, not too bad! Anyways. Five eggs in a bowl and especially in the beginning very clumsy mixed, but later almost professional looking. Next, salt and pepper and a few Italian spices. I just had Italian spices, that’s what decided for me the omelet will be ‘Italiano’!! A quarter red pepper paprika cut into little slices, a little garlic toe, I almost forgot that I still had them, and last but not least … nothing. That was as far as my knowledge about omelet went. A few moments later I got to know what was missing. My plan was to melt some cheese in another pan. I asked some Australian girl if she thinks this will work or if the cheese might burn. She said it might be okay and somehow she also mentioned something about milk but the sentence got lost. I did not asked about it, I did not want her to think I don’t know what I’m cooking. Milk??? Does a omelet need milk? I didn’t know, I still don’t know. I just pretended I know what I was doing, I as doing something that doesn’t require milk. BTW I added a sixth egg to the egg mix.

Now I heated up a pan and used a little oil. I poured all the stuff in there and waited. It was a lot I thought. Whatever it is, it might not be an omelet at the end. I felt like the guy who first accidentally fried a fish “Whatever it is, it might not be Sushi!?” Meanwhile in the other pan, a little bar of cheese started melting and wobbling. I just let it do. I went into the omelet thing and saw that the ground was already hard, I scrambled it a bit. I guess scrambled eggs might be the closest food to what I had in the pan, how boring I thought. But I wasn’t done. I waited until the egg was quiet hard. The cheese took a while but made it almost in time at the end. I put all the liquid cheese on one side of the omelet thing and now folded the other side over it. #3 of the day: “Awesome!” It worked. I gave the now calzone like omelet thing a coat of the oil that appeared in the cheese pan. I turned it once and treated the other side the same way. Another two minutes per side and done was the thing I call just for now ‘interesting … … thing’ But let’s give both babies a name.

Number one the salad I named: ‘Ouagadougou-some’

The ‘-some’ because you actually won’t be able to get kiwi nor the secret fruit in Ouaga. The only thing would be mango and the bananas I couldn’t use. So I guess ‘Ouagadougou-some’ is just fine. Let’s say perfect when I consider every aspect of the name.

The other thing I might just call, well:

‘Cheesy Italiano Calzone-like Scrambled-egg-omelet w/o Milk’

Today I love to repeat myself: “Awesome!” this was number four I think. And there was one more after I was done with eating my experiment. I never got to eat my Lego.. better for it, I guess better for me.. would be difficult to chew, hard to swallow and just a pain to sh… Whatever. Let’s just say it once more: “Awesome!”

And it might be enough for today. This public self-exposure might give you a little idea about my inner world, or maybe not. It’s hard to say, even for me. Still high of playing like a kid and having this amazing food.

Have a good night you all!

It was a long time since I last wrote. A whole other part of my life seems to be in between of now and my last post. Just that you know, I am doing okay, I would almost say pretty well from time to time. I hope you all do as well.

Have a good night again!

Your Marco – now flying away in his dream : )

(Mon Nov. 17 12:29AM)

PS:

(Thursday Nov. 27 12:21AM)

I never thought I will really publish this. But I guess it was a good way to get back on the horse. It was not my best written WTC, my writing is a bit rusty I think, but my brain is doing well. I’m actually a little excited to find a little time to share a little of myself again. I’m a little excited to let you know a little bit of myself and the last time. I wish you again a good night and see soon.