t
o
n
y
a
n
g
'
s
 
w
e
b
l
o
g


first thing i did this morning was to go down to the korean grocery store in union square and see if they had any green tea ice cream. i searched everywhere but didn't see it until i went to pay for my stuff. of course they'd have green tea ice cream! since i was already dressed, when i came back home i continued with my fall cleanup, this time moving all my grow lights to the basement along with a bunch of boxes. i noticed there was enough room in the basement to set up a grow house during the winter months if i wanted to. the only problem would be temperature (i'd imagine the basement would be about 60 degrees or less) and possible molding. just something to think about, so i don't have to empty my closet again. i thought about oiling some more deck boards but decided against it. i made some french toast and kielbasa sausages for lunch before spending the rest of the day working on project B.

when julie came over in the evening i made tonkatsu again, this time with traditional japanese panko instead of the usual bread crumbs. i reused the canola oil from that time i made fried plantains, and i can honestly say there weren't any residual banana flavors. i had the windows and door opened and the fan turned on to immediately blow out the grease smell. i have frying down to a science, using a digital thermometer to make sure the oil was above 300 degrees before dipping my pork cutlets. a layer of flour dipped in egg, then a layer of panko, before they went into the hot oil. using panko was a vast improvement; the tonkatsu remained crispy and delicious. we also had miso soup, and then grean tea ice cream for dessert. i thought it'd be a great idea to have some flower-flavored ice cream, like rose or jasmine or lilac. i wonder if these ice cream flavors exist?

we watched project runway before tuning in to the republican convention, where sarah palin gave her vice presidency acceptance speech. the best part of the show? anytime the camera focused on levi johnston, bristow palin's baby daddy and self confessed "f---in' redneck." he had that absolutely awkward look, like it wasn't enough that he got his girlfriend pregnant, but she also happened to be the governor's daughter, and now the republican vice presidential nominee on the week of the party's national convention. he had that look of a trapped animal, that his 18-year-old life was now over, and whether he wanted to or not, he and bristow would be getting married, the most arranged of arranged marriages, all publicized for the world to see, the façade of family values and doing the right. that is, of course, if mccain and palin win the election (eight is enough, folks). if (when) they lose, he may not have to marry his baby mama after all, but he'll have to leave alaska, that's for sure. i absolutely love palin family drama. thank you john mccain!