Pasta with Peppers

I had leftover pasta from my chicken with pasta dish. So one day, I was going to be alone for dinner. Instead of ordering dominos, I made pasta for myself.

pasta
peppers (capsicum) finely chopped
chilli finely chopped
garlic finely chopped  
oil 
pasta sauce 
cream 
black pepper
oregano flakes
basil flakes
crushed pepper
tabasco sauce

Boil water and add pasta when it's boiling. After the pasta was half cooked, I had oil in pan. Once it was hot, I added garlic and waited it to cook. Then I added peppers and chillies. Then came the pasta sauce and cream. Mix all that together. By this time, the pasta would be done. So drain the pasta and add cold water and olive oil to make sure the pasta didn't stick. Once cooled and set, add the pasta to the sauce mixture. I made all the pasta was coated with the sauce. Sprinkled oregano flakes and crushed peppers on the pasta. Mix everything and I was done. In my bowl, I added tabasco sauce and basil flakes.

I really liked this dish and will write more the recipe for the future. My parents really helped in choosing the ingredients. I found another book from storage called Easy Italian which has some really good dishes and the photos looks amazing. So that's my new recipe book which I will be trying out. Good luck to me.

Huevos Rancheros

So I decided to cook more dishes and went through the cookbook to find one.

Huevos Rancheros
1 tbsp olive oil 
2 onions finely chopped
2 red peppers cored, deseeded and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves finely chopped
800 g chopped tomatoes
1 tsp chopped oregano
0.5 tsp ground cumin
1 red chilli deseeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp cider vinegar
200 g black beans
4 eggs
2 tbsps chopped coriander
sea salt and black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, cumin, chilli and vinegar and bring to boil. Reduce and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir the beans and when they are warmed make holes in the mixture and crack a egg into them. Cover to cook the eggs. Sprinkle coriander lastly.
The book (Eat Yourself Thin) showed the dish was suppose to look like:

But my didn't, of course. I only used 2 eggs. Black beans aren't the most tasty, but they weren't that bad. So another dish tried and tested. For next time, I was given the suggestion of cutting the recipe into half.

Chicken Puttanesca with Angel Hair Pasta

My dad wanted me to learn cooking since I am unemployed and since it is a life skill. So I googled recipes and then bought the ingredients with my dad. He said he didn't mind driving me to the market since it was no trouble. So I decided to cooked Chicken Puttanesca with Angel Hair Pasta.

8 ounces angel hair pasta
2 teaspoon olive oil
4 (6 ounces) boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups pasta sauce
1/4 cup kalamata olives
1 teaspoon capers 
1/4 teaspoon red pepper crushed
1/4 (1 ounce) Parmesan cheese
Basil or basil springs

Cook the paste according to the package. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces. Add chicken to pan, sprinkle evenly with salt. Cook chicken for 5 minutes or until lightly browned and stirring occasionally. Stir in pasta sauce, olives, capers and pepper. Bring to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is done with stirring frequently. Garnish with basil or basil springs and Parmesan cheese.

As an Indian, chicken without masala tasted weird. So my mom suggested we pressure cook the chicken for 1 whistle. Then cut the chicken into pieces and cook the other components. And leave the peppers or cut into smaller pieces.

Since I had cooked so much pasta, there was left over cooked pasta. The next day I cooked tomatoes in butter. Added tiny pieces of pepper (capsicum), salt, water, and of course masalas and let it cook. This version was much better prepared. I am proud that I was able to cook something other than maggi and egggs.

By the way, I found the recipe on the Cooking Light webstie (http://www.cookinglight.com/food/quick-healthy/easy-chicken-recipes/chicken-puttanesca-with-angel-hair-pasta-recipe) and it was suppose to look like this:

But of course it didn't. But they never do, do they. C'est la vie. Let's hope the next recipe turns out better.

New Direction

So I have been volunteering at a school. I help kids who are from economically weak sections with their homework. It is fun trying to teach them and help them with their homework.

The younger ones don't listen and talk a lot. The older ones have a lot questions.

I wish I could do this as a job. I don't have a teacher's degree so I can't be a teacher at a school. But helping them is so fun. Frustrating job sometimes but very enjoyable. So I need to find a job which complements this one.

I hear back from one job posting which I had applied to. I emailed them my résumé which they asked for in the email. I emailed another publisher about any job openings. So lets see what happens next. 

New Phase

So I have entered a new phase of my life. I resigned from my job at the publishers. My parents have supported me in this decision.

Yet I'm still confused to what I should be doing with my life. My cousin has also resigned. So at least I have company. But she had one thing which I don't have. Friends.

I find myself in a position with cousins and family friends, but no actual friends. How does an adult make friends? Where does one meet people? My school friends all have their social group and lives. I moved away for college, so I don't have friends here. 

Working Hard or Hardly Working!

Do you ever they an assignment which is Herculean? Well I got one. I have compare the text of two books. One is printed and one is a PDF. Both of them have the same stuff but in different order and language.

I kept trying but wasn't getting much success. Of course, my mind would wander and I would do other things. Today I tried another way and got some results except I'll be taking extra time. Hope my boss doesn't mind it. Because I know if I turn it in at this stage, I'll get a scolding for it. So better I take more time and do a better job of it.

                         

Next week is a workshop related to my field. Hope this helps me in the future. Maybe this will reinforce that I'm in the wrong field. Lets see what happens.

Coworkers: Hate or Love Them? Ok Maybe Not Love

I hate my coworkers. One is spineless. Three of them just look out for themselves only. One of the three refuses to do extra work. He'll make others do the work so that if something wrong, he's not at fault. He'll point the finger at that person and save his skin. He is one lazy ass person. most of the day, he iscplaying games on his phone and napping at the office. The next one is always looking for making a quick buck and claims bogus expenses to receieve money from the big boss. He is the big boss's pet. And the third one is the other two's friend and helps them in their schemes. Two helpers who talk way too much and loud. Two boss who don't explain everything at first and then scold for you for all the mistakes.

It's so political there. That's why I stay quiet and just focus on my work. Except I read the most boring books in the world. All academic and intellectual books. Which quite frankly I can't stand. No wonder my mind wanders off and I miss things when I'm reading them.

Maybe I have Attention Deficit Disorder. Note to self: Get my self tested.