I think it's safe to say that ever since I moved to Germany, I have been more independent, less lazy and, much as I dislike admitting it, a lot more domesticated.
Where I came from, it is pretty inexpensive to go to a restaurant for meals if one feels too lazy to cook at home. I have friends back home whose diets consist mostly of McDonald's, KFC or some other restaurant. Here of course, we don't have the luxury of eating out often since it is darn costly.
In the four months that I've been here, I think I've cooked more than I have had in all the years that I lived in Asia. One gets pretty much used to it though after a while.
I make it a point to cook an Asian dish at least once every two weeks. The problem is, Asian ingredients aren't really that cheap here. In my first month, I had a craving for the Filipino dish sinigang wherein one main ingredient is kangkong (water spinach). I went to the Asian store only to find out that they have it for 2,50 euros per 200 grams. Ack! Pretty steep but then I had little choice so I ended up buying it. Instead of throwing the stalks away as what we'd normally do in Asia, I searched in Google and found out that you can actually grow kangkong by planting the stalks.
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| Soon my kangkong plant will be ready for cooking! |
I'm also fond of Thai cuisine since it's pretty easy to cook and yet really delicious. In most of the dishes I like, lemongrass is needed. As with what I did with the kangkong, instead of throwing away the stalks I cut off from the lemongrass, I decided to stick them in a bottle with a bit of water. After a few days, I noticed that the top part which I cut off started growing back and after a week, roots started to come out and leaves started growing.
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| Lemongrass stalks which I put in water. |
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| Stalks transplanted in a pot. |
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| Homemade Pork Schnitzel and Potato Salad |
schnitzel-cut meat from butcher
breading (old bread that's lying around the house which I run though the processor)
flour
egg
oil for frying
salt and pepper
Get tenderizer and pound on meat so it's not as thick. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Dip first in flour and shake off excess. Then on to the egg to coat it. Finally, dip it into the breading. Fry. Enjoy.
Come to think of it, I don't mind the actual cooking so much. It's actually planning the meals we'll have every day that bugs me. I have a newfound respect for housewives. It definitely is not easy.
