Adventures in self-cooking

Tonight was to be the first night of home cookin' for me since well before the holidays. It had been so long that I couldn't even remember what it was I cooked last: fish? chicken? Mexican? Italian? Thai? Sigh.

Preparations for tonight's Thai dinner began during the workday yesterday, when I used my lunch break to walk to the nearby Whole Paycheck to pick up the tasty-good ingredients--fresh cilantro and basil, organic bell peppers, etc.--that absolutely had to be tasty-good to ensure that dinner was Grade-A, as in quality, as opposed to whatever it might be using Safeway untasty-sucky ingredients (Safeway being the only grocery-procurement option in the 'hood where I dwell).

My quality ingredients had to be put on chill until today, however, since yesterday's tentative plans for going out with long-lost friends solidified into actual plans, and instead of slaving over a chopping block, I spent the evening sucking down swirly margaritas and chips that were so addictive they must have been salted with coke. And this, on a Monday. Go team.

Cut to this evening, 7:20 p.m. There I was, happily dicing up five jalapeno peppers for the beefy-green Thai dish destined to sizzle in my wok. Chopping and sorting of meats and vegetables, heating of oil, tossing of ingredients into sizzling vessel of tasty goodness.