Welcome to the Masked Rider of Death's cookin' blog! This is an effort to
explain who I am in a nutshell or something like it, as the post title implies.
I say "effort" because I am multifaceted and yet deceptively simple on
the outside...are you scared yet? Hope not, I only bite when asked. 
OK, me personally first off. I am a man 38 years young (only reminded of 40 creeping up on me when my lower back kicks up and raises heck) who lives, works, and goes to college in Houston, Texas. Ultimately my goal is be a history major/literature or music minor, all things I hold near and dear to me. And hey, being a college professor will give me an excuse to do what I do best; run my mouth! OK, I like to think I've semi-intelligent things to say most of the time.
I love to read, mostly fantasy/SF, with my favorite authors being Texas' own Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, J.K. Rowling, Brian Jacques, and naturally J.R.R. Tolkien. I also dabble in writing my own work, mostly fan fiction at this time.
The other thing I love is music, specifically METAL of the variety that drives the average person from the room screaming in horror. Put it this way: I start my day with Motorhead and take it from there. But I appreciate all kinds of music, as long as it's not mainstream twaddle--with rare exceptions, of course. What can I say, I've a weakness for J-pop with cute girlie singers! I can play a little guitar moderately well and am a better bass player, honestly.
Do not get me started on: stupid people AKA Muggles(I work at Central Market, pity me
, organized religion, mainstream shallowness, politics, or most TV (talking
box is the ENEMY).
Oh yes, cooking...for a good 9 years now my passion has been Thai and other SE Asian cooking, but it's only been the last 4 years or so I've been seriously pursuing learning the art of cooking it. It all started at a camping festival I went to in the Midwest and a very nice young woman I met there who took a major shine to me. Nothing came of that, alas, but she sent me a book in the mail (unbidden) titled "Vatch's Southeast Asian Cookbook" since I'd expressed an interest in that cuisine. This book has long since become the cornerstone of my cookbook collection and has acquired quite a few stains from oil, chili paste, etc in the time I've lovingly used it. This book, which I hope is still in print (if not, eBay and Amazon are your friends, is a
fantastic work that covers all the nations of Southeast Asia and is lovingly
written with wit, charm and style and information about culture and history as
well as food. The author is a Thailand native who has run a successful string of
authentic Thai restaurants in London since the 70s, so obviously he knows of
what he speaks. He also has published several other books that I will someday
own all of; right now I have his book on Thai street food too, a birthday
present form my co-workers which has become just as lovingly stained and used as
the other.
I like to think I've a pretty good handle on Thai cuisine and strive for authenticity and to cook with love and passion every time I man the wok. No recipe I cook turns out alike every time and this is part of the essence of Thai cuisine. I do not subscribe to the foo-foo fusion cuisine mentality of tweaking an established recipe to the point of being unrecognizable. Where's the fun in ruining a classic recipe like Pad Thai, or Sticky Rice & Mango, or Massaman Curry? Master the recipe and strive to present it true to the heart of it every time, is my outlook. Mind you, as much as I think I'm good at it, I temper my attitude with the thought that a Bangkok native would probably eat my food and say "Hmm, you have the right idea, but...". That said, my Gaeng Kiow Wan (green curry with chicken) is the stuff of legend amongst my co-workers (a long tale for another time)!
Right now I am making my first steps into Korean cuisine, hearty and deep stuff that it is, and I make a pretty mean bowl of pho, if I say so myself. But I finally got the idea into my head recently that preparing the noodles SEPARATELY from the actual soup makes a world of difference! I also am fixing to get my head around Indonesian cuisine more in the future, in the spirit of expanding my horizons as a cook. Always something new to explore, there is, and always improvement to be sought, is my overall outlook.
And my motto in life? "The secret weapon is the courage in your heart," from the Japanese TV series "Kamen Rider Blade" (did I mention I am a fool for Japanese TV shows
. Until
next blog, thanks for reading and I hope to regale you folks with more stories
and recipes and anecdotes!
OK, me personally first off. I am a man 38 years young (only reminded of 40 creeping up on me when my lower back kicks up and raises heck) who lives, works, and goes to college in Houston, Texas. Ultimately my goal is be a history major/literature or music minor, all things I hold near and dear to me. And hey, being a college professor will give me an excuse to do what I do best; run my mouth! OK, I like to think I've semi-intelligent things to say most of the time.
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I love to read, mostly fantasy/SF, with my favorite authors being Texas' own Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, J.K. Rowling, Brian Jacques, and naturally J.R.R. Tolkien. I also dabble in writing my own work, mostly fan fiction at this time.
The other thing I love is music, specifically METAL of the variety that drives the average person from the room screaming in horror. Put it this way: I start my day with Motorhead and take it from there. But I appreciate all kinds of music, as long as it's not mainstream twaddle--with rare exceptions, of course. What can I say, I've a weakness for J-pop with cute girlie singers! I can play a little guitar moderately well and am a better bass player, honestly.
Do not get me started on: stupid people AKA Muggles(I work at Central Market, pity me
, organized religion, mainstream shallowness, politics, or most TV (talking
box is the ENEMY). Oh yes, cooking...for a good 9 years now my passion has been Thai and other SE Asian cooking, but it's only been the last 4 years or so I've been seriously pursuing learning the art of cooking it. It all started at a camping festival I went to in the Midwest and a very nice young woman I met there who took a major shine to me. Nothing came of that, alas, but she sent me a book in the mail (unbidden) titled "Vatch's Southeast Asian Cookbook" since I'd expressed an interest in that cuisine. This book has long since become the cornerstone of my cookbook collection and has acquired quite a few stains from oil, chili paste, etc in the time I've lovingly used it. This book, which I hope is still in print (if not, eBay and Amazon are your friends
, is a
fantastic work that covers all the nations of Southeast Asia and is lovingly
written with wit, charm and style and information about culture and history as
well as food. The author is a Thailand native who has run a successful string of
authentic Thai restaurants in London since the 70s, so obviously he knows of
what he speaks. He also has published several other books that I will someday
own all of; right now I have his book on Thai street food too, a birthday
present form my co-workers which has become just as lovingly stained and used as
the other. I like to think I've a pretty good handle on Thai cuisine and strive for authenticity and to cook with love and passion every time I man the wok. No recipe I cook turns out alike every time and this is part of the essence of Thai cuisine. I do not subscribe to the foo-foo fusion cuisine mentality of tweaking an established recipe to the point of being unrecognizable. Where's the fun in ruining a classic recipe like Pad Thai, or Sticky Rice & Mango, or Massaman Curry? Master the recipe and strive to present it true to the heart of it every time, is my outlook. Mind you, as much as I think I'm good at it, I temper my attitude with the thought that a Bangkok native would probably eat my food and say "Hmm, you have the right idea, but...". That said, my Gaeng Kiow Wan (green curry with chicken) is the stuff of legend amongst my co-workers (a long tale for another time)!
Right now I am making my first steps into Korean cuisine, hearty and deep stuff that it is, and I make a pretty mean bowl of pho, if I say so myself. But I finally got the idea into my head recently that preparing the noodles SEPARATELY from the actual soup makes a world of difference! I also am fixing to get my head around Indonesian cuisine more in the future, in the spirit of expanding my horizons as a cook. Always something new to explore, there is, and always improvement to be sought, is my overall outlook.
And my motto in life? "The secret weapon is the courage in your heart," from the Japanese TV series "Kamen Rider Blade" (did I mention I am a fool for Japanese TV shows
. Until
next blog, thanks for reading and I hope to regale you folks with more stories
and recipes and anecdotes!