Preamble #6 (actually #2…but why count now?)

Hi All and Good Morning Everyone!

Coming to you live the day after Cooking-Night! Is anybody out there? Why not say hello?

Let’s play who’s who. As one returns another departs. P. Picayune here and our host Wash Your Hands will be busy (but not too busy for this post…who wrote what?). So I have again reclaimed the reign, bloggidy blogging double time. The cooking-night post will be posted once all of the recipes have been collected. From last week, a new motif has been established by the Hands of this affair. Continuing said motif, here presented to you, our dear readers, a preamble.

First and foremost, once again it’s time to celebrate! Our host Wash Your Hands wants to celebrate our 50. (Penny! You know you want to celebrate, too!) (Double true!) Still new to the bloggidy blog world, it’s the little things that we find exciting. Our first comments, though be they from our close circle, made our eyes-widened. The absence of one adminstrator made the other make grandiose threats of complete blog domination. The time when we only had 5 viewers for an entire day has increased our bloggidy blogging productivity. (You mean the sad, sad day when we only had 2 viewers?) (Trying to be hopeful.) And the moments when our daily visitors inched so close to 50 but never quite making it, fueled us to blog even more. But today…today we can celebrate. Wednesday, we’ve made it to 50. (Yeah, 50! High-five!) As such, from the bottoms of our blogging-hearts, we, your hosts and our circle of friends, would like to thank you for reading and we hope that you continue!

Cooking night #6 was last night and as usual, it was awesome! Knowing that most of us cooks won’t get the recipes in till the weekend, I figured, “hey, why not give the viewers a preview as to what we were up to Cooking Night#6!” So, what was our ingredient? …Well, let’s keep that a secret for now, but feel free to guess.

As usual, we cooked our food, and let’s just say that for such an unhealthy ingredient, the food turned out superb and didn’t really seem all that unhealthy. After which,we cleaned and returned to our card games, Menagerie and BS. Seeing as to how Menagerie is still relatively new to the group, it is well received. We are animals, we act and behave like them, now we sound like them, too. People would be proud that we’re becoming one with nature, haha. So let’s see, the winner of Menagerie would be the awesome cow (maybe slightly inflicted with mad cow-disease, but still awesome!). Moooooooo!

Nothing like a good old game of BS to end the night. No matter that we supposedly start with full decks or what not, somehow, the number of cards always seem to be more than they’re supposed to be, say nine 7’s or nine Q’s, when there’s only supposed to be two full decks. Also, once you get the “best friends,” good luck trying to win the game, especially if the others know that you have them. (We’re “family,” we’ll call your bullsh*t if we know it.)

Next up, special shout-out to one of our readers, one Alyssa A. As a gift to you and her, here’s who is who in our small circle of friends. Consider it a preamble of an intro. You win a prize if you can guess who really is who:

Let’s talk about the hosts:

Wash Your Hands – Sex: unknown. Blog Photographer: one of, yes. Awesomeness: high. (Not necessarily Disney, but definitely fruity.) Wash Your Hands tends to annoy people…a lot!

Penny Picayune – Face: less. Blog Writer: one of, yes.  Penny P. brings the Pixar: tall, dark and oh so fine…maybe not fine, but I put a smile on people’s faces. And sing…horribly.

The Circle:

Bawarchi went missing for awhile back in the day, but came back a refreshed, joy-loving, carefree person like the Bawarchi we’re used to.

Borita is usually too busy and sophisticated to join the family, epescially the card game. (It happens when you’re a super-model.) Does not like Borito but likes burritos. When not cooking with us, Borita cooks meatloaf.

Corn (YuMi) is my little sister but is the leader of the work environment. During the day, Corn (YuMi) naps and dreams about a certain pop-star.

Daisy M. Clouds used to be too busy and sophisticated also, but realized that the family was just so much fun: only after sweating to the oldies (and newies) though.

The Doctor is the brains of the operation.

Miss Cook is the energy of the operation. If you speak in a different language, Miss Cook will yell another one in return. Miss Cook talks to strangers.

Pancakes likes pancakes…a lot of pancakes. But Miss Cook has the record for eating 25 pancakes in one-sitting. It burns Pancakes up inside.

Special Guest #1 is hardly found, but when SG1 is found, SG1 is still hard to find.

The Way…(’nuff said)

That was the preamble. Next time, hopefully, Cooking-Night #6. We thank you for reading and hope that you continue to enjoy the show. Until then farewell and fare well.

Today We Dined Thai

Good Morning Everyone!

Coming to you live from 769, and going to and coming back, I’ve fulfilled the Divine Right. Would I want to you call me King? Absolutely not, but one of my favorite colors is the color of royalty.

All hail – the new king in town
Young and old, gather ’round
Black and white, red and green
The funkiest man U’ve ever seen
Tell U what his name is

Partyman, partyman
Rock a party like nobody can
Rules and regulations – no place in his nation
Partyman, partyman

Birthdays come once a year, but the celebration can last forever. In fact, most anniversaries are celebrated on a daily circumstance as opposed to an annual one. Speaking in terms of life: people usually remember their birthdates. In terms opposite of that: people have daily reminders of a person who has passed. The reasons may differ from person to person, be they overly gluttonous of celebration or longing to remember something once had or preserving the moments that culminate are active lives. Be that which it may, today we dined Thai.

It was our little sister’s birthday over the weekend, as the Hands of this affair informed. But today Corn (YuMi)’s Birthday continues! The majority of the gang was there, minus a few and plus one. A good time and good food were had: a 3-course lunch.

Phayathai Restaurant
735 Hawkins Avenue
Lake Ronkonkoma, NY 11779
www.phayatahi-li.com

Appetizer: Thai Green Salad with Peanut Sauce Dressing or Clear Chicken Soup and Fried Tofu

All but one of us ordered the salad: lettuce, bean sprout, shredded red cabbage, carrot, a slice of cucumber all topped with peanut sauce. It’s usually topped with the House dressing, a sweet carrot based sauce but they treat us like family and they know what we like. The soup is a chicken soup made with chicken broth, cellophane noodles, mushroom, napa and tofu. The fried tofu was exactly that served with peanut sauce on the side.

Entrée:

Bawarchi: Pineapple Fried-Rice with Chicken

Thai-style fried rice with chicken, egg, pineapple, cashew nut, tomato, onion, scallion and curry powder. An elegant sweet and sour affair.

 

 

Borita: Red Fried-Rice with Chicken

Thai-style fried rice with red curry, chicken, egg, string bean, bamboo shoot and bell pepper. Borita likes it hot so the dish was spiced-up with dry chili flakes.

 

 

Corn (YuMi) and Penny Picayune: String Bean with Striped Bass served with Jasmine Rice

We no longer order at Phayathai anymore, as we generally let Saifon, our lovely hostess, chose our dish for us. She always makes us something nice. We’re like family! It was the first time that we had the same dish. A dish consisting of deep-fried fillet of Striped Bass topped with green string beans sautéed with chili paste, lime leaves, and bell peppers. Depending on the day, this dish is packing heat.

Daisy M. Clouds: Basil Sauce with Chicken Served with White Rice

Chicken sautéed with basil, onion, mushroom and bell pepper. If you love Basil then you’ll love this sauce. It’s so colorful, wouldn’t you agree? 

 

 

Miss Cook: Goey Si Mee

Crispy egg noodle, bamboo shoot, mushroom, onion and gravy sauce with swimming chunks of chicken. Just because she didn’t finish, doesn’t mean that she didn’t like it. Miss Cook makes a dish last days before it’s gone. (Well, not days, but the dish will last for dinner and another lunch.)

 

Pancakes: Salmon Garlic with Jasmine Rice

Pan-seared fillet of salmon served on top of sautéed spinach, and top with minced shrimp, shallot and garlic sauce. Pancakes has two favorite items on the Phayathai menu: (1) Roti and (2) Salmon Garlic. (And we’re talking a lot of Roti, at least 10 orders worth, but only finishing 1.)

 

Special Guest #1: Thai Fried-Rice with Beef

Simple enough dish. Thai-styled fried rice with chicken, tomato, onion, cucumber and scallion. Always a classic for those who do not like onions too.

 

 

 Wash Your Hands: Curry Noodle Soup

Crispy egg noodle with chicken, bean curd, bean sprout and red onion in spicy coconut milk curry soup. (My second time having this, I remember I liked it the first time. My absolute favorite dish here is the Chicken with Peanut Sauce, which unfortunately isn’t on the lunch special menu. It’s really, really good. This is coming from someone who usually enjoys beef more than chicken, but that chicken with the peanut sauce equals yummy in my tummy.)

Dessert: Mango with Sticky Rice and Grapes

A bed of Thai-style sticky rice topped with diced mango and grapes.

Cynthia wore the prettiest dress with different colored socks
Sometimes we wondered if the mates were in her lunch box
Me and Lucy opened it when Cynthia wasn’t around
Lucy cried, I almost died, you know what we found….

Starfish and coffee, maple syrup and jam
Butterscotch clouds, a tangerine, and a side order of ham
If U set your mind free, baby, maybe U’d understand
Starfish and coffee, maple syrup and jam

That concluded another stomach-filling and comatose-inducing affair. Corn (YuMi) was showered with gifts, applause and laughter. Saifon always provides a good time. Speaking only for myself, because this bloggidy blog is feeding that beast in me, Phayathai is my favorite restaurant on the isle, so any adventure there is a good one. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Try it for yourselves. Until next time!

Let’s Celebrate!

Hi Everyone!

Tonight is a night for celebrations! First, let’s take the time to wish Corn (YuMi) a very happy birthday. May all her wishes come true! So let’s sing:

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to Corn (YuMi)!
Happy Birthday to you!

So how old are you now? Hahaha… I won’t tell, so let’s say forever twenty-one (Hahaha, I guess that’s where the store, Forever Twenty-One got the idea from). Well, no one really wants to be forever twenty-one, so  forever young at heart is better.

So we threw her a little surprise get together with balloons, a cake and a gift. We had a “Death by Chocolate” cake (yeah, the name is not too appropriate), which was very moist and chocolate-y, from an award-winning bakery, Benkert Bakery. (Well, at least the box said they were an award-winning bakery.) We tried the whole trick candle thing, but Corn (YuMi) here, was very good, she got them out in one try! However, we did get to cake her, yay!

 

Fun fact about Corn (YuMi): She likes to sleep and she likes pillows. So it was only appropriate that our gift to her be a pillow. So Dolphin Pillow Pet it is. Dolphin cause we’re building an aquarium. (It looks more like a whale or shark, but it still belongs in the sea!)

 

Second thing to celebrate: India winning Cricket World Cup! I know nothing about cricket, but Bawarchi is a big fan. (So we should acknowledge the interests of the others in this group, since they haven’t done an introduction yet.) He was so happy that he picked up a tennis ball from the road. You should really ask him the story as to how and why he picked up that tennis ball. It’s a very interesting story that spans three decades.

So let’s all pick up a drink, be it beer, soda, water, whatever, and celebrate Corn’s birthday and India’s win!

That’s Amore

Hi all! Good Morning Everyone!

Coming to you live from the other side and the present side, your hosts Wash Your Hands and Penny P. And we have a question? What do you call an uncle whom you never met before? (If you never met him, how did you know he’s your uncle?) (Well, my mom, of course!) Well, I call him my Uncle Al, and that night we dined pizza. Because Thai was not on their list.

Don’t worry
Don’t worry ’bout me
I’m just funkin’ around for fun
When you see my mother
Tell her don’t worry ’bout me
I’m just funkin’ around for fun

Usually, not one to be down with a pizza affair, I am down with a family affair…so if the family wants pizza, I’ll take a slice or two. Double true! We had it during movie-night…3 times in a row. We had it one beautiful chocolate cook-off night. And we’ll have it again. But in America, pizza has an entirely different meaning. Pizza was the food for workers; simple, easy, cheap. A single flat piece of dough made to stretch, a sliver of tomato sauce all around, some cheese, and some fresh tomato topped with a basil leaf. But that was back in the day. Nowadays, if the pizza does not have more than three toppings, it is just a piece of bread with sauce and cheese. Could it be that our palettes have grown so sophisticated that we need to pile on more flavors for our every bite? Or is it that our palettes have gotten so gluttonous that they can no longer eat anything without having at least 3 flavors? Whatever the reason, tonight we dined pizza.

Back in the day when things were cool
We used to meet up with these dudes
Then we’d roll out on Vogues and Trues
And would ride around the park till its after dark
Pumpin the trunk with the windows rolled up, puff
Well well well

Oggi’s Pizza and Brewing Company
12362 Chapman Avenue
Garden Grove, CA
www.oggis.com

Introducing a sports bar amalgamate with pizzeria that is so entertainment oriented that even the restrooms have little televisions looking back at you while you urinate. Situated in the middle of a hotel district, tonight this place was apparently the place to be; packed from wall to wall, hustling from table to table and bustling from waiter to waiter. The menu had your typical sports venue affair, but we were there for pizza: a 2-course meal and let’s forget about the 1^st course.

The Oggi’s Special: a pizza topped with onion, green and red bell pepper, Italian sausage and pepperoni all sitting on top of mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. My palette has lost its affinity for pork, as that love affair between tongue and other white meat usually ends in bitter divorce. Thus,

 

March Madness: a five cheese, white pizza. Simple enough. What’s better than 1 type of cheese? 5!

For some reason, American food does not look too appetizing while photographed…I’ll keep them small.

So, Wash Your Hands, what have you been eating (minus bananas)?

Haha… unlike Penny there, I’m stuck on the island of no good food and no fun things to do. So basically summing it, I’ve been eating stuff that’s not worthy of a picture or mentioning. Not to mention, terrible cook on the loose, thus I can’t even make good food. So what have I been eating, let’s see… what my roomies cook, which they seem to be doing sparingly now, and ramen.

That’s it our dear friends and readers, have a beautiful night!

Since Penny’s Gone…You Must Wash Your Hands

Hi all!

This is your awesome photographer, Wash Your Hands. As the title implies, our oh so lovely Penny has left us… for the sunny, warm west coast, so let’s hope she has a good time there, and while she’s there, I’ll be taking over for a week or so. Since it’s my first time posting here, I figured I’ll do a short introduction for myself, since Penny has limited me to one sentence only, that *****! Just joking! So, first off, how come ‘Wash Your Hands’? Well, the thing with me is that I always fail to wash my hands before I eat, so it’s more of a remainder for myself than anything else, but hey, what doesn’t kill me will only make me stronger, right? Right! I like green and I take pictures, so check out my personal blog for other pictures. That’s all, or else Penny will call me a narcissist! (count how many times “I” was used in WYH’s “1st post”…hahahahaha!) ( It’s my introduction, so I’m allowed to use “I”.)

Oh, right, a song, to keep tradition:

Hush, little blogy don’t be scared,
Wash Your Hands isn’t so weird.
She’ll write some awesome entries,
That’ll have others smiling with glee.

I’ll try to keep the blog fun, within the categories (movies and food)  and as up to date as possible in the next week. So to keep this post within the categories, here’s a random food pic. Until next time!

By the way, you’ll still hear from Penny, as she has yet to post cook off #4, but other than that, it’s me all week long!