B1 suffered from withdrawal symptoms

Poor B1 must have been suffering withdrawal symptoms. Before we bought the apartment, we were free-wheeling crazy nutcases who don't mind dropping about S$100 on a meal. But now, I have become somewhat of a tight pussy in more ways than one. 

I have been trying to cook at restaurant quality, but sometimes, we miss the kind of stuff we used to eat. I am not as badly affected as Bär und I have been doing a bit of celebration this week (and comforting ourselves as well) with food. 

Last Sunday, while doing some shopping (he treated me to my favorite ice-cream after returning my library books), he suddenly craved some abalone...I said no, since I am the one who usually pays for groceries. 

"I pay." I was flabbergasted. Even though he wanted to pay out of his own pocket, I was like... let's buy some limpets and razor clams instead.

But he insisted, saying he hadn't eat abalone for a while. Eh, didn't we just have that at Chinese New Year's? Oh ja, now to think about it, he went back to his parents' for reunion dinner while I stayed at mine (thus losing my book vouchers *depressed*). Vater feeds me a lot of abalone, especially during the special occasions, so I guess that's why I don't crave it that much. We are a family of gourmands and we all can cook. Vater and brother has this meowish tactic of taking out a sardine can when they think that dinner (cooked by someone else) is poor pickings or not to their taste. To date, I don't like sardines. 

For my insult, I usually rout out an egg, cos I like tomato and egg.

But I digress. So he bought a can, while I stood in the queue with him, casting covetous looks at the can of abalone while having little pinpricks of poverty-driven consciousness. I am guessing the reason why he wanted to eat something expensive, is because he realized I was going to cook him a S$3 frozen chicken.

I tried to cut Mr Abalone as thinly as I could

I found this frozen chicken deal at 2 for $6 (usual price: S$4.50, yeah for me). B1 didn't let me buy more than 2, I had wanted to pile the fridge full. Since we are not always cooking, it does not make sense for me to buy fresh ingredients other than vegetables, as they will no longer be fresh by the time I get to them.

Mr Chicken was frozen, so I decided to stuff and marinate it for hours ago, so that he will have some taste (he did, a lovely garlic-infused flavor). I made two mixtures. One, rosemary, butter, garlic and basil, and tossed some cut shitake mushrooms in olive oil, thyme and basil, for another. After cleaning and drying Mr Chicken, I scored some parts of his skin, and stuffed the garlic from the first mixture under his skin (I was supposed to lift his skin and rub him with the mixture, but I chickened out.

I stuffed his cavity with the mushrooms, blanketed him with bacon before baking him for 1/2 hour in a bed of potatoes and carrots. He came out really juicy, though not as pretty as I would have liked.