Mother's Day

After two weeks of sunshine and blue sky, now on Mother's Day the rain comes. It rains a whole day with tiny breaks. The rain will continue into most of the coming week. It feels like Vancouver, not California, again.

I bought steak yesterday though I have no grill. I found this fabulously easy no-grill steak recipe and tried it out today. The result was quite good - juicy and tender steak, and miraculously the smoke detector did not even go off.

I took the steak out of the refrigerator 2 hours before cooking time.

A hour later, I used paper towel to pad the steak dry. Then I rubbed salt and black pepper on both sides of the steak. Let the steak sit for another hour or so.

For cooking I used a cast iron stir-frying pan. I heated it up with medium heat for about 45 seconds. Then I added a teaspoon of vegetable oil, and turned the pan so that oil was spread evenly on the cooking surface. I waited for another 5 to 10 seconds for the oil to get hot enough. I put the steak in. Each side was sizzled in the pan for about 4 minutes. After both sides were done, add another 1 minute for each side.

The steak was medium done, with golden brown outside and pinkish inside. If you prefer well-done, put them in oven preheated at 250 Celsius for another 10 minutes.

I also bought Pear Ginger Tea. It is actually pear ginger jam in a bottle. Put 1 or 2 spoons of it in a cup and pour hot water in, there, you have a wonderfully spiced fresh ginger tea. I love it so much.

So I spent most of the afternoon watching, yet again, probably the 4th time, Foyle's War. I had Wikipedia open to check in detail the historic events that got mentioned in the show. In a way it is a very good educational experience. The plot has good twists, and the setting is authentic. The things they used and wore at the time remind me of my childhood. I love the understated and nuanced performance by Micheal Kitchen. I also like how controversial subjects are brought up in the most artful and delicate way, a hint of the changes to come in the post-war world.

"Losing her changed nothing. Marrying her changed everything".