barfday meal prep

As you know, I'm cooking for my own birthday party. (I turn 50 on Saturday, but we're celebrating at the office a day early.) I decided to host a luncheon because, otherwise, our department head would have taken us all out for a meal that I probably wouldn't have wanted to eat, anyway. Besides, I need to thank our department head for being so generous as to permit me to take a month off to go tromping across the peninsula again.

On the menu are moqueca, a Brazilian seafood stew, and Korean galbi (short ribs) with rice and side dishes. I couldn't properly grill the galbi in my apartment, so as I usually do, I painted the meat over with a sugary sauce and let slight over-caramelization simulate the burn marks of a grill. I cooked rice on my new electric burner, which is working out very well for me, and I'll be buying the banchan (side dishes) early Friday afternoon.

Here are some photos from the meal prep. The lovely Brazilian stew (damn, it made my apartment smell amazing) is done except for the addition of the seafood, which won't happen until late Friday morning, right before I head to the office. Also: I didn't include any photos of the rice because rice is boring, and I'm sure I've slapped up rice pics in previous posts.

Below: marinated galbi, ready to be cooked:

Meat, frying away:

Moqueca, without seafood in it:

During past luncheons, many people pointed out how Southeast Asian the moqueca smelled and tasted. This makes sense, given the ingredients in the stew, which are part of a Southeast Asian flavor profile: coconut milk, cilantro, soy sauce, onions, chili peppers, etc.

Below, we have frozen seafood! In the open door: a bag of Pacific cod fillets. Freezer's bottom shelf: a green bag of tilapia, and an orange bag of chicken breasts that I haven't finished eating yet. Also: a box of scallops. Freezer's top shelf: a blue bag of Costco sea scallops, some orange bags of frozen jumbo shrimp, and two more expensive boxes of scallops from the local grocery. Why is seafood so expensive on a peninsula? That is, frankly, an eternal mystery to me, and it's how I know I'm not an econ major.

See the food. See the seafood:

Finally, a shot of two finished slabs of Korean short ribs, nicely painted over with a super-sugary glaze. One day, I'd like to actually grill my galbi. That would be ideal.

All the food is ready to go. It's just a matter of finishing the prep in the morning, packing everything up, and lugging it all to the office. I'm feeding only seven people, including me, so there shouldn't be too much to carry.

A lot of people have asked me what I plan to do this weekend. I was thinking of heading out to Yeosu, which has become one of my favorite getaway spots... but I might want to save my money instead and go for a long, local walk. I also need to design a Kevin's Walk tee shirt to wear on my trek, so that's another reason not to travel too far this weekend. I already have a design in mind. Besides, the upcoming long walk itself is supposed to be how I'm celebrating turning 50—a month-long party—so there's no need to do anything special this weekend.