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!