Huzzah. Not so broke as I'd feared.
After paying rent and important bills (plus buying the ever-more-costly groceries), I had been in a slightly nervous state of lowered finances. Oh sure, I had a decent amount socked away in savings, but with maybe a hundred or so in checking and no more to arrive until next Friday, I was feeling a bit pinched.
After all, there are other bills to pay, an airline ticket to buy for late August (and let me tell you, ATA's recent bankruptcy re-declaration has made THAT loads of fun to consider), a passport to renew prior to my planned Canada trip this summer, and the need to sometime soon buy a new pair of nice waterproof stomping-around boots. *grin*
Fortunately, back before the stock market took an abrupt dive, I'd cashed out my employee stock purchase plan (which had been discontinued from further purchases with the merger back in October anyways), and the check just got here recently. I'm putting half in savings, and the rest to fund all those little semi-necessities mentioned above. : )
Also, I made the most astonishingly tasty Mongolian beef last night, off of a recipe from brandil:
Mongolian Beef
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin, silverskin trimmed
1 tablespoon thin soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 medium onion cut in half and sliced thinly
1 1/2″ cube of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 ripe jalapeno, sliced thinly on the diagonal
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
Sauce Ingredients:
(Mix together in a small bowl and have ready)
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons bean sauce
2 teaspoons raw sugar
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (or to taste)
2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (I used cooking sherry)
1 teaspoon Chinkiang rice vinegar
2 scallions trimmed and cut into 1/2″ long diagonal slices
Method:
Cut tenderloin into 1/2″ thick medallions. Toss with two soy sauces and cornstarch and allow to marinate at least twenty minutes.
Heat wok until it is smoking. Add peanut oil and heat until it shimmers. Add onion slices and stir fry until they turn golden. Add ginger, jalapeno and garlic to wok and stir and fry until garlic begins to turn golden.
Add meat in a single layer, and let sit undisturbed for at least one minute, or until the meat is seared well on the bottom. Begin stir frying with the goal of simply searing the outside of the meat, while the inside stays medium rare.
When meat is fully browned on the outside, add sauce ingredients all at once, and stir quickly until it thickens.
Serve right away with steamed rice.
I think I should've cooked the meat JUST a smidge longer, but it was astonishingly tasty all the same. It's definitely going on my "make again in the future" list, though with the cost for beef these days (I got the top-cut meat that's somewhat affordable, and it STILL cost me about $5 for a pound and a half) it may be a bit rarer than I could like. However, it makes a plentiful amount of tastiness -- I had about a third with rice, which filled me up and left a goodly amount for future lunches/dinners.
After all, there are other bills to pay, an airline ticket to buy for late August (and let me tell you, ATA's recent bankruptcy re-declaration has made THAT loads of fun to consider), a passport to renew prior to my planned Canada trip this summer, and the need to sometime soon buy a new pair of nice waterproof stomping-around boots. *grin*
Fortunately, back before the stock market took an abrupt dive, I'd cashed out my employee stock purchase plan (which had been discontinued from further purchases with the merger back in October anyways), and the check just got here recently. I'm putting half in savings, and the rest to fund all those little semi-necessities mentioned above. : )
Also, I made the most astonishingly tasty Mongolian beef last night, off of a recipe from brandil:
Mongolian Beef
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin, silverskin trimmed
1 tablespoon thin soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 medium onion cut in half and sliced thinly
1 1/2″ cube of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 ripe jalapeno, sliced thinly on the diagonal
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
Sauce Ingredients:
(Mix together in a small bowl and have ready)
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons bean sauce
2 teaspoons raw sugar
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (or to taste)
2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (I used cooking sherry)
1 teaspoon Chinkiang rice vinegar
2 scallions trimmed and cut into 1/2″ long diagonal slices
Method:
Cut tenderloin into 1/2″ thick medallions. Toss with two soy sauces and cornstarch and allow to marinate at least twenty minutes.
Heat wok until it is smoking. Add peanut oil and heat until it shimmers. Add onion slices and stir fry until they turn golden. Add ginger, jalapeno and garlic to wok and stir and fry until garlic begins to turn golden.
Add meat in a single layer, and let sit undisturbed for at least one minute, or until the meat is seared well on the bottom. Begin stir frying with the goal of simply searing the outside of the meat, while the inside stays medium rare.
When meat is fully browned on the outside, add sauce ingredients all at once, and stir quickly until it thickens.
Serve right away with steamed rice.
I think I should've cooked the meat JUST a smidge longer, but it was astonishingly tasty all the same. It's definitely going on my "make again in the future" list, though with the cost for beef these days (I got the top-cut meat that's somewhat affordable, and it STILL cost me about $5 for a pound and a half) it may be a bit rarer than I could like. However, it makes a plentiful amount of tastiness -- I had about a third with rice, which filled me up and left a goodly amount for future lunches/dinners.