First, there was lunch. I wasn't that hungry, but I definitely knew I should eat something, so I went to Roth to find lunch. When I entered, I saw another long line for K16. I then did what I normally do when I see a huge line for K16. I decided to wander off and find somewhere else that's still serving. As usual, my plan worked.
-- New Mexican Pork, Bean, and Green Chile Stew with Nopales, Carrots, Potatoes and Navajo Bread
-- Tortilla Soup with Avocado, Chicken, Corn Tortilla Strips and Jack Cheese
-- Salad with Almond Fig Vinaigrette, Almonds, Pickles and Blue Cheese
Nopales: The pads of the prickly pear cactus
Navajo Bread: A buttery Native American biscuit
I don't think I was in the mood to eat. I was hungry, but somehow, on some other level, I didn't want to eat. Plus, I had just woken up recently, and I was still tired. This was the only dish left from the kitchen, so I just took it. The meal was overall pretty spicy, which I love, but I think in this case messed with my brain. It was too early for me to eat spicy food.
The stew was pretty good too. I definitely liked it a lot. The potatoes were really soft, and the pork was super tender. This was my first time eating nopales, and it was pretty good. It tasted like a bell pepper. I couldn't eat much of the stew though, because of the spice. The soup was excellent, but not as good as the other tortilla soups I've had here. The very first two spoonfuls of soup which had chicken on it had two bones in it. This wasn't very pleasant. The soup was also spicier than the last ones.
As for the salad, I am ashamed to say I didn't even touch it. Who the hell puts pickles on a salad. It smelled like vinegar, didn't look very appealing with its partially wilted greens, had too many almonds, and I didn't want to eat blue cheese. I took the plate for the sake of it. I hope I'm not sounding crazy. When compared to the almond-fig vinaigrette salad from last block's pacific coast day, this is garbage. It doesn't look like the last one, smell like it, or contain the same ingredients. The last one was my favorite salad from the school. This just disappointed me.
Dinner wasn't very exciting to me. I went to K16 again, this time because I needed to be done with dinner fast for Product Knowledge.
-- Pan-fried Bass with Butternut Squash Purée, Broccoli and Roasted Tomatoes
-- Chocolate Milk
The fish was very good, and the flavor of the squash was great. What was upsetting was that there was so little fish, and the squash wasn't pureed well enough. There were thick pieces in the whole thing. The broccoli was cooked, but wasn't flavored in any way at all. My mom would like that, but not me. I don't really like to eat tomatoes on their own, and so I didn't eat these tomatoes either. It's a good thing that for some reason I wasn't very hungry.
I tried out the school's chocolate milk for the first time, too. I'd heard people complain that it's way too thick and chocolaty, but I wanted to try it for myself. It wasn't too rich in flavor, for me, but it was a little thick. I added about a quarter of the cup's volume of whole milk, and it was great.
One of the options I could've chosen at K16 was the barbecued beef brisket which came with slaw and potato salad. If I got it, I would've only eaten the brisket, because I don't want to eat two piles of mayonnaise. My friend got it, however, and here it is:
When I finished dinner, I cleaned my plates and went to my room to get some special stuff. Over the weekend, I went with my dad to a Korean market in Fort Lee, New Jersey. They have an awesome variety of foods that most people don't know about. I got golden enoki mushrooms, Korean mustard greens, bitter melon, fuzzy squash, Chinese okra, and sesame leaves. I stored them in the refrigerator in my room, and before class I went to get them. I put them in a bag and went to the classroom. The previous class had just ended, and I put my bag of loot on the counter. Freddie B told me to unload the goodies, so I did, and then I told him what everything was. He'd seen everything before, except for the golden varietal of the mushrooms. He ended up telling me to clean the mustard greens and cook them for a class tasting.
I got a pan, heated up some oil on it, added garlic and shallots, and then added the cleaned greens. The greens contained anthocianine (what gives leaves a red/purple color), and it did something special. The greens naturally cook down like spinach or regular mustard greens, but the purplish color cooks out. It bled into the oil, and turned everything, including the garlic and shallots, a bright purple color. It was quite an appealing look. I cooked them until they were tender enough, and then distributed them into two bowls. I wrapped them up, and then put my pan in the sink in the back.
Product Knowledge had an interesting tasting today. Today's lecture was on exotic fruits, melons, seeds, and nuts.
- Honeydew
- Fig
- Hachiya Persimmon
- Papaya
- Mango
- Pomegranate Seed
- Walnut
- Cashew
- Macadamia
- Almond
- Hazlenut
- Pistachio
- Korean Mustard Greens
I didn't eat the honeydew. I like honeydew a lot, but I can't stand melons that aren't ripe. They're just chewy and not enjoyable. Someone who got the honeydew plate before me said that they weren't even close to being ripe, so I didn't bother. The fig was great, and luckily I had it after the persimmon. I'd never had a persimmon before, and I don't think I will again. The flavor was fine, but it freaked me out entirely. This fruit is the ultimate astringent. Seconds after you start chewing it, your mouth becomes incredibly dry. Once, I went to a dermatologist to explain my fruit allergies, and she insisted that I get an epi pen. She said that feelings like my irritation in the throat from fruits is often a first sign that your throat might close up. Since then, as irrational as it is, whenever I get a weird feeling or sensation in my mouth or throat, I remember her speech, and I remind myself where my epi pen is located.
The astringency scared the casaba melons out of me, and I grabbed my fig to retain moisture. It helped, and I felt a lot safer afterward. The papaya was great, but the mango was way too fibrous. Not only was it too fibrous, I didn't even get any. The greedy children in front of me took it all before it reached my row (in the back). Oh well. I've had mangoes before. I didn't have the pomegranate seeds either, because I knew I didn't care for them. They're slippery and crunchy, and I have a much better time not trying to eat them. All of the nuts were awesome, and I'd never had macadamia nuts before. Last, everyone tried the mustard greens. People were intrigued by the purple color, but otherwise it was just a bland flavor. They are much less bitter than the green version.
It looks like we have two new additions: nopales and macadamia nuts. And the list of foods I've never tried before coming to the CIA grows even larger!
Until the next post,
Eat well, then eat more
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