Beware of flying pigs

Three things this week:

1. Neil made dinner twice this week. If any of you are familiar with Neil, you'll understand the title of this post and it's relation to this phenomenon. If you aren't familiar with Neil, let's just say that, in the past, it has been much more likely that you would catch a glimpse of a flying pig than eat a dinner prepared by Neil. No more! He is taking on two meals a week from here on out and apparently has been hiding his mad cooking skills from me all these year because his food is GOOD! On Monday he made chili and boy was it yummy. I peeked into the kitchen during the prep work and noticed that he has amazing knife skills - he chops like a pro. I asked him how he learned that and he shrugged and mumbled something about the cooking shows that I watch and that it just seems like common sense.    ? Who is this man?

Last night he tackled tacos and while he wasn't quite ready to make his own tortillas this time, he did whip up homemade Mexican Rice and made his own taco seasoning. Again, with all the chopping involved in this meal, I was blown away by what a good knife-handler he is. He even figured out, on his own, that the chef's knife doesn't work with tomatoes and you need to whip out the serrated knife to cut them properly.  ? Who is this man? Next time, he plans on doing the tortillas as well. And I don't know if it's just because I didn't have to do the cooking, but I swear the food tasted better than when I make it. I also surmised that it could be the fact that I don't measure any more, and he followed the recipe to a T, with measuring spoons and cups in hand. Could be something to this whole "following the recipe" thing.

He's already making plans for next week's meals - pulled pork sandwiches, tortilla soup, orange chicken - the ideas are starting to whirl. I think he's going to find that he really enjoys cooking. He actually thanked me last night for forcing him to do it!

2. I made potato chips last night. Well, actually, the real story here is that I bought a mandoline and I now love it with all of my heart. The potato chips were more of a result of my wanting to slice something, anything, with my new toy. Now that I've sliced, I am dying to julienne so tomorrow we are having french fries. And then maybe some summer rolls, so I can finely julienne some vegetables. Such FUN! But the potato chips were also a lot of fun. I soaked the sliced potatoes for 30-40 minutes, then drained and dried them thoroughly. Then I heated up a tiny pot of oil, about an inch deep because I was running low on oil, and fried like 10 tiny little batches of potatoes. It took forever and after this I would just go to the corner store and buy a huge container of oil because it took SO long. So they turned out super-crispy and nice and tasty, but a little bit oily. I read somewhere that it's better to fry stuff like this in lard, or another fat that is firm at room-temperature, because then when they cool, the fat firms back up. So I'm on the lookout for lard now at the grocery store.

3. Last but not least, I got totally fed up with the bus passing me by every morning, crammed to the brim with people and causing me to be 1/2 hour late to work and bit the bullet and started riding my bike. It's been three days now and I'm feeling pretty good about it. However, there are two downsides to riding a bike in San Francisco - the hills and the wind. The morning commute is a joy because the hills aren't as big in that direction (there's some great downhills) and the wind hasn't started blowing yet. But after work - oh! It's miserable getting home. I ride home on Polk street, and there are 6 blocks with hills between 10-18% grade. Oh that doesn't sound like much, sure... TRUST ME IT'S STEEP. And of course, there's the 18% grade block that my apartment is on so I get all the way to within site of my house and have to make it up one last ridiculously steep hill. And then carry my bike up the stairs to our apartment. Needless to say, I always arrive home wheezing, breathless and sweating like a madman. It's pretty. So the hills are one thing, but it's like God thought we had it too easy, those of us biking in the city, so he added some of the nastiest winds ever to the mix. I'd say that the city averages wind speeds of around 20mph on a daily basis in the afternoons. The windows in our apartment usually rattle from 12:00 on because of the force of the wind. Riding into a headwind going East-West and feeling like you're working so hard only to look down to realize you're in your lowest gear and barely moving is so demoralizing. What's worse is when you sigh with relief as you take a left onto a North-South street and then realize that somehow there is still a headwind!!! Or almost worse, a nasty crosswind that threatens to blow your tires out from under you and pushing you into that car that's driving dangerously close anyways. And of course add to the mix those people lurking in their parked cars and waiting to open their doors into you.

But all whining aside, it's immensly more pleasurable to ride a bike than sit crammed on a hot, humid, smelly bus and I've actually been enjoying myself. Not to mention the fantastic workout I'm getting without having to use any extra time out of my schedule at all. Right now my goal is to ride to work every day but Friday, so we'll see if I can keep it up. Wish me luck and no flat tires!!