summer saviour

I left my red desk fan in my filing cabinet at school and have been regretting it for about two days now. Problems solved with my silver-framed saviour. You can't see it, but the blades were definitely spinning. Life is so much better.

by request: bacon pineapple fried rice

My mom's recipe. By request from James. My mom makes this with Taiwanese sausages, which you can buy from basically any self-respecting Chinese grocery store.

Speaking of Asian grocery stores, the Super 88 Market in Allston/Brighton has officially lost my loyalty. I've noticed that starting with their renovation around last winter, its supplies has been dwindling significantly. We're talking about less and less selection of oils, brands of popular supplies (like soy sauce, for cryin' out loud) and just choice of basic necessities. The new store looks great, by the way, and I wasn't fazed when I couldn't find any New Year's cake on New Year's eve -- I mean, it's to be expected when one procrastinates. However, a few weeks ago, I went in search of two -- again, BASIC -- items: sesame oil and a 5 pound bag of rice. I left empty-handed. Why, you ask? Because there was no sesame oil to be bought, and only about five or six 25 pound bags of rice to be seen in the store's alcove of rice. Also since the renovation, Super 88 has drastically reduced the brands of dumplings they carry -- in fact, from about three or four different brands to just one. I have not returned to the market since. The food court, though, is still full of deliciousness.

After leaving frustrated and annoyed, I went to John's Market in Allston/Brighton and procured the necessary items plus awesome kimchi. The proprietor is super nice. :) He even gave me a free can of iced coffee (!), which I deperately needed after a long day at school. Does he do this for everyone? Or did I fake being Korean really well? Maybe he just recognized an awesome dudette when he saw one? I kid! :)

Back to the recipe. Again, Taiwanese sausage is best, but bacon will do. If you use the sausage, you might need to put in a little oil before adding the rice. If using the bacon, the fat rendered should be good. Off we go!

BACON PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE

ingredients:

* 1/2 package of bacon OR 1/2 package of Taiwanese sausage, sliced

* small can of chunky or crushed pineapples or 1/2 regular can, drained

* 1 cup of steamed white rice, best if on the dry side (but cooked through! none of the this crunchy-grain business. ew.)

* 1/2 diced onions, if desired

salt

pepper

procedure:

* in large frying pan, saute meat until fat is rendered and meat is slightly burned

* add pineapples (and onions) and cook for about a minute

* add rice and incorporate bacon/sausage and pineapples. It helps if you get the rice sit for a little while to soak in the grease (!) before flipping it around

* salt and pepper to taste

six pies for dad!

Dad loved my pies and requested more for upcoming breakfasts and snacks! So I made six pies, one to eat and five to freeze for later. Three blueberry/strawberry and three blueberry/strawberry/peach. Hope pies freeze well ... Pics!

This one is the blueberry/strawberry/peach. See the chunk of peace sticking out? I changed brands of pie crust this time -- Pillsbury (cheaper) -- but am not sure if I like it. One of the crust dough was already separated between the bottom and the sides.

The six pies! Left, the ones with peach. More golden brown this time. Figured out that I needed to take the foil/rice out of the pies and continue baking until golden brown. Also, the Pillsbury doesn't smell as good coming out of the oven as the Mrs. Smith.

my very first blueberry pie!

The family and I went blueberry picking on Saturday! It was pretty fantastic, if one overlooks the incredible heat and humidity in the fields. I've forgotten how nice people can be in the South. So Sunday was a pie-making day!

This basket was full when we got home. The other half is in the fridge.

Four cups of blueberries!

Pie crust ... courtesy of Mrs. Smith

lemon juice, sugar, corn starch.

boiling blueberries! I love it when they pop!

finished product ... so shiny

made one the next day with a nectarine.