angry johnny by poe

this song brings me back to 1997 or so, just before i gave birth to simone. it's angry and poignant and beautiful at the same time. i don't know exactly what to feel when i listen to it, even now. not because of the memories of sim's biological father, but because of how poe sings it. low, clean, husky voice, classy yet pained and shameful--of what? why?--all at once. i think that's why i like it, because it's so multi-textured, but very sexual--at the same time.

Angry Johnny

Johnny, Angry Johnny, this is Jezebel in Hell I wanna kill you I wanna blow you... Away. I can do it to you gently I can do it with an animal's grace I can do it with precision I can do it with gourmet taste But either way Either way I wanna kill you I wanna blow you Away I can do it to your mind I can do it to your face I can do it with integrity I can do it with disgrace But either way... I can do it in a church I can do it any time or place I can do it like an angel To quiet down your rage But either way... I can do it in the water I can do it on dry land I can do it with instruments I can do it with my own bare hands But either way Either way, tou know where it stands I wanna kill you I wanna blow you Away Where did your pleasure go When the pain came through you Where did your happiness go This force is running you around now Getting you down now Where is your pleasure now Johnny Where has your pleasure gone now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sBvxqB5VT4

sunday lunch with sim

The twins are staying with their tatay this weekend, which means Sim and I are all alone here (of course, Giz is here too, and the cats). I let An and Ric go as soon as I got back yesterday from Greenhills with Josh. So last night was Yellowcab night. Even Giz had a slice. But today...ah...I stuck to my plan to actually cook something instead of ordering in.
Behold:
Rib-eye with paprika/salt/pepper/garlic rub, and pasta spirals tossed in olive oil, squash, garlic, and nori.

Yeah, ok, the plating looks really lame (Derek's way better in that department than I am), but pfffft. Who cares? It was perfect. Sim ate almost half of the steak and a bowlful of the pasta. She really enjoyed it :)
I originally wanted to have the usual potatoes-and-cruciferous vegetables siding, but I only had two-and-a-half potatoes in the fridge (sad) and no more cauliflower and broccoli (ginamit ni An sa chopsuey nung isang gabi). So I decided on a pasta dish. I wanted to use pine nuts or cashew nuts to go with the squash, but obviously, I don't have those on hand (and considering my recent sensitization to almost everything remotely allergy-causing, I wouldn't imbibe any sort of nut for the next year or so...teka, parang bastos ata pakinggan yon a). Next dilemma: the coloring. How blah naman with no green! A-ha moment: nori. Salty, crunchy, it would add flavor and texture. Ok na!
The steak took 7/5 minutes on each side. It was still moist and tender when Sim and I cut through it. And she usually sets the fat aside, but this time, she ate everything. "This is so good, Mommy," she said.
Forgive my gushing. It's been almost a year since I last cooked anything (when I was kitchen-testing the kids' baons at the start of the school year! June 2008!). It feels almost as good as when I write something worth seeing print.
Check out how beautiful that steak looks, and how wonderfully the fat sizzles out while it's being cooked. Me go vegetarian? Nevah again!