So now that I've managed to make enjoyable breakfasts from the different kind of sausages I bought, I've decided that neither of them have really managed to replace the standard at all. Hearty sausages are just basically three normal sausages put together and why would you eat one sausage when you could eat three? The turkey sausages aren't all that awesome and moreover they have to be defrosted before you can actually cook them. Not cool.

Thankfully there are still more varieties to sample. The maple links look really promising.

Blah blah blah, sunny side up egg, blah blah, safflower oil, blah blah, new 8" non-stick frying pan by Chefmate, blah blah blah, medium heat and then high for that awesome crispy underside, blah blah blah Vampire Weekend's second LP Contra.

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About the author: A prolific contributor to Jul with some 1933 posts published, Sofi better fancies herself as a cinema geek, a composer, an occasional gamer, a budding fashionita, an absolute cooking newbie and a general life enthusiast-satirist. She is responsible for a number of notable discussions about meteorology and current events and may be contacted at any time through private messaging.

I had sushi again today just like yesterday. I love sushi so much. Oh my god.

So yesterday I was at a sushi bar and I asked for squid nigiri so they take out this squid and cut it up into a nice piece and attach it to some rice and serve it. The presentation itself was okay but I've never even eaten squid before, never mind raw squid. Raw squid flesh is totally white and its texture is chewy and pasty. Putting it in my mouth and slowly feeling and chewing it I couldn't help but think that this strangely reminded me of beef fat in both texture and flavor (but much more mild!).

It was hard not to think "yes, this came from a squid" and I felt really weird for a while after. I'm not sure I'll eat this for a while. I'd love to have some more fish nigiri though.

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About the author: A prolific contributor to Jul with some 1938 posts published, Sofi better fancies herself as a cinema geek, a composer, an occasional gamer, a budding fashionita, an absolute cooking newbie and a general life enthusiast-satirist. She is responsible for a number of notable discussions about meteorology and current events and may be contacted at any time through private messaging.

During my excursion around the Brighton neighborhood, I went to this locally owned market called "Lee's Market" where I found a loose pack of "oriental"-flavored Maruchan noodles. This is one of the flavors I've never ever had before so I just totally had to try it.

It turns out "oriental" means "soy sauce" and the flavor was overwhelmingly umami, which is not at all a bad thing. When you eat this alone, it's not really anything special. In fact, it's kinda bland, but it makes a wonderful base for more complex ramen combinations. For maximum coolness/taste, you could add some veggies and maybe a poached or softboiled egg. It seems the people who make these collegiate luncheon staples actually recommend that you do that and this is probably the best flavor to put anything in since you're soaking it all in the delicious flavor of soy sauce.

Unfortunately I've already reached my maximum intake for eggs today so I didn't get a chance to customize my noodles the way I would've liked (as I've previously stated eggs was born to be with soy sauce) and now I'm also out of this flavor anyway so unless I come across a pack for sale I have to make do with the hopelessly popular chicken-flavor.

Speaking of ramen, I've been hearing some pretty cool buzz about Nong Shim's Shin Ramyum brand. I don't have much experience with Korean instant noodles but I've always been under the impression that Korea was the alt. Japan. Could consuming ramyun instead of ramen boost my alt. cred? Comparison forthcoming.

The soundtrack to this meal was Animal Collective's seventh studio album Strawberry Jam.

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About the author: A prolific contributor to Jul with some 1944 posts published, Sofi better fancies herself as a cinema geek, a composer, an occasional gamer, a budding fashionita, an absolute cooking newbie and a general life enthusiast-satirist. She is responsible for a number of notable discussions about meteorology and current events and may be contacted at any time through private messaging.

Recently, in a personal trend of lifting cooking techniques from Food network stars, I've started pan frying my boneless ribeye steaks as Alton Brown does. With a patently eccentric show abound with off-beat humor, bright colorful visuals and startlingly pretty steadicam photography, Alton Brown stands out as something of an odd hipster chef among angry British guys (hello Ramsay, hello Irvine) and Southern home cooks. That is, of course, not to call the man a poseur; his culinary abilities are anything but inauthentic. The dude really knows his stuff.



I don't have a cast iron skillet but I did have an oven-friendly pan. The baking part came out totally awesome but the same could hardly be said about the part where I sear the steak for a nice exterior. I ended up having to use a non-stick pan over high heat. The caramelization—the browning—of the steak's exterior is pretty integral to the steak's flavor.

For maximum yumminess, I whipped up some gravy too and lightly poured it over the finished product. Pretty tasty, right? The best part of this recipe is it takes about 15 minutes to prepare. Steak goes nicely with a side of mashed potatoes or maybe rice but I didn't have any of that ready.

I am loving the benefits of having a fire alarm that isn't super-sensitive like the ones they installed in my grandmother's apartment in section 8 housing for the elderly. I can have plenty of smoke billowing out of my pan without having to worry about loud noises. The best steak I've made in a long time.

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Fun tip from Sofi: Want to know a cool way to clean an oily pan? Put it on the stove over high heat and dampen a paper towel. Then carefully wipe the pan with the paper towel. This evaporates the oil or something. I really don't know how it works but it does. I do this all the time. Trust me!

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About the author: A prolific contributor to Jul with some 1946 posts published, Sofi better fancies herself as a cinema geek, a composer, an occasional gamer, a budding fashionita, an absolute cooking newbie and a general life enthusiast-satirist. She is responsible for a number of notable discussions about meteorology and current events and may be contacted at any time through private messaging.

I ate only one egg for breakfast because I'm out of eggs but I compensated by eating a bunch of sausages. Protein for protein, I guess. The egg was seasoned with too much soy sauce, so much that the flavor drowned out. Oops! Well, guess who was excited to try out her new Japanese soy sauce. Soy sauce will make its official début in an upcoming dumpling meal where it'll be playing a major supporting role. Stay tuned!

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About the author: A prolific contributor to Jul with some 1962 posts published, Sofi better fancies herself as a cinema geek, a composer, an occasional gamer, a budding fashionita, an absolute cooking newbie and a general life enthusiast-satirist. She is responsible for a number of notable discussions about meteorology and current events and may be contacted at any time through private messaging.