FiveFingers, fusilli & cheese, pig nipples and tamtams

On Friday I was looking around online for new running shoes to buy and came across the Vibram FiveFingers and after some thought decided to buy them on Saturday. Here's a pic my sister took with my phone while I tried them on in the store:

Here's a pic I took in the grass outside after I bought them:

They're super comfy, although they take some getting used to because you're not used to using all the muscles in your legs and feet when you walk. I had stiff calves this morning cause I went to the tams with them yesterday and danced and ran around all day in them even though you're supposed to start wearing them gradually lol. I don't wanna take them off though cause they're so comfy :P

I've always liked toe socks and these are even better, toe SHOES! I nicknamed them my frog feet when I noticed the resemblance, a few people at the tams yesterday remarked they looked like frog feet too :P That's ok, I love frogs :D They're a bit too long for me, but 37 was the smallest size they had. Hopefully they'll come out with a 36 next time I have to buy a pair. Comments on these from my friends have ranged from "ummm not my style" to "whoa those are awesome!" :P I haven't gotten any comments/questions from strangers yet though. I'm planning on wearing these everywhere, I'm wondering if people at work or at the gym will say anything :P

Carlo and I made some fusilli and cheese this weekend:

500g fusilli
A lot of grated cheddar
~750ml milk?
1 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tbsp powdered chicken broth
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 package of bacon
1 medium onion

Dice the onion and bacon and fry together on med-low heat till golden and starting to crisp while the water for the pasta is heating. Melt the butter in a saucepan and mix with the flour. Add the milk a little at a time, whisking constantly till incorporated. Add the chicken broth, garlic salt and white pepper on med-low heat, whisking often till it's simmering, it should thicken once it has started simmering. If it's too thin, add more flour and simmer a while longer, if too thick add milk. Add the pasta to the water when it starts boiling and cook according to instructions and/or taste, drain and set aside. Drain the bacon fat from the bacon and onions once they're done, and set them aside. Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat and add the cheese a handful at a time while whisking it in till it's completely melted and incorporated. Add the bacon and onions and stir till incorporated. Add the pasta and stir till incorporated. Eat!!!

I buy double-smoked bacon at the Charcuterie de Tours at the Atwater market, and they sell it in whole slabs with the skin on so you have to ask them to skin and slice it for you. They give you back the skin in the package to use for soup and stews and things. I took this piece of skin out of a pot of hamburger helper with bacon I was cooking and noticed it had nipples on it lol. My bacon has nipples!! XD

Here's a snail that was crawling across the sidewalk towards the road. I took this pic and then tossed him into someone's yard. I love snails!

Oh, and speaking of slimy things, on Saturday at 4am as me and Carlo were walking home we saw a skunk out hunting worms since it had rained a while before. I tried to take a pic of the skunk but I was too far and I wasn't gonna get any closer!. I did have fun catching some worms myself though, they're surprisingly hard to catch, they keep their tail in the ground and as soon as you touch them the snap back into the ground like an elastic. You have to grab them really quick and yank hard. At first I thought I'd rip them in half when I pulled, but they don't. I collected a handful of nice long ones which I tried to show off to Carlo but he apparently finds them disgusting lol. Oops... XD

Here's the tams this weekend, I didn't take any pics at the larping field though. This was earlier on in the day so there weren't as many people, me and my sister went to dance later at around 4pm and it was packed:

My sister wearing someone's cosplay goggles:

 

Kitteh demands you open this!

My cat, Itsi-Bitsi and Pho 88

Here's my cat Licorice the other day:

Here she's inspecting the grill that Carlo's mom gave us. I'm so happy, it's my first real grill!

Here's the corner decoration at Itsi-Bitsi, it was closed when I went though:

The storefront:

Here's a great Vietnamese restaurant I went to last week with Carlo:

I had the specialty pho bowl, with 3 kinds of beef and chicken, it was soooo amazingly good, I can't wait to go back there and try the rest of their stuff! And the bowl was huge, I had enough leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day, for only $7. It was so flavorful, I didn't need to put any of the sauces in, the basil, bean sprouts and lime were plenty enough:

Carlo's Ramen/Spicy Ramen Carbonara

350g double-smoked bacon (or any old bacon), chopped
3 tbsp. tuong ot toi
2 cups milk
6 packages of instant ramen
2 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp chopped chinese fermented black beans (optional)
~3 cups grated cheddar

Heat a large pot of water. Fry the bacon on med-low heat with 1 packet of ramen flavoring and the tuong ot toi.

When the bacon starts to get brown and crispy add the milk and 2-3 more packets of ramen flavoring and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

That thing you see sitting in the middle of the pot there is the pork skin from the piece of bacon I bought, at the Charcuterie de Tours in the Atwater Market they sell the double smoked bacon in whole pieces, so you have to ask them to skin it and slice it for you, and they give you the whole thing back along with the skin, which is full of delicious smoky pork flavor and is great used in soups and stews, just remove it before serving as it is quite chewy.

When the water is boiling add the ramen without the flavoring packages, let it boil for 3 minutes, then drain.

Remove the milk and bacon from the heat, and stir in the cheese till it has completely melted, then add the ramen and stir till completely covered in the sauce. The ramen will absorb the sauce. Eat!!!

You can also add whatever you want to this recipe, Carlo likes to substitute the bacon for canned tuna sometimes, or add baked beans or canned green peas. I'm gonna try a version of this with kimchi added in sometime.

It's Tams Season Again!!

Tamtam season has arrived!! Last Sunday it was a beautiful 20 degrees Celcius outside, and the mountain was packed. Here's my sister and Carlo:

Here's the larpers further off in the woods:

Most Adorable Crash Test EVAR!