Wow. I did not know how time-consuming switching from a PC to a Mac can be! I’ve been spending hours and hours reading up on Mac Tutorials, transferring all my files from my PC to Mac, downloading new software, seraching for a suitable alternative to Windows Live Writer…I had no idea just how labor-intensive and frustrating switching computer programs could be! Or maybe it’s just because I’m really a technologiramous (new word: technologically-ignorant), so I had to look up for online support on everything from using the touchpad to importing my iTune library files…

That said, I still haven’t found a good Mac substitute for Windows Live Writer, even with those programs for which you have to pay! I would have thought Mac would be more blogger-friendly than Microsoft…but I guess you can’t have it all, even with Apple.

Right now, I’m even considering switching to WordPress…For all you WordPress-users, could you tell me what is good about WordPress, and whether it is fast and efficient in uploading images? I don’t mind blogging straight from blogger, it just takes an awful lot of time uploading images…

Anyway, computer-frustrations aside, it has been a pretty delicious past couple of days!

For yesterday’s lunch, I made another variation of a “Mix-it-up” bowl.

When I was young, our family would always go out to eat on the weekend. It would be after church, so my mother would be too lazy/not enough time to cook. So dinner would be out, and of course my parents, the loving and unselfish beings that they are, let us kids choose the dining venue. Obviously, being stupid kids, we did not have exquisite palates; we always ended up choosing Milano, an all-you-can-eat pizza and pasta restaurant. Here, we could stuff our little bellies silly with all the greasy pizza, cheesy lasagna, and sugar-laden ice-cream we could want. Suffice to say, we would waddle out with swollen balloons for stomachs, reeking of cheese and grease.

Now we would always order the same things, but I would always be arguing with my mother over the choice for pizza. I wanted pepperoni, but she said it was too unhealthy. In the end, we would always compromise by ordering the Hawaiian pizza. I was happy with the ham and pepperoni, while my mother was satisfied that there was at least a tiny sprinkle of pineapple there to at least make a dent on my daily required serving of fruits and vegetables.

What is the point of this little anecdote, you ask? Well…absolutely nothing, except that this was the fond memory I reminisced in my mind as I made yesterday’s lunch: “Hawaiian Pizza” Pilaf.

Anyone of you Hawaiian pizza-lovers? Can you guess what went into this delicious “Mix-it-up” bowl? Here’s the breakdown:

“Hawaiian Pizza” Pilaf

The base: 1 cup cooked pearl barley, 1/4 cup black beans, 1/2 cup chopped roasted winter squash

The mix-ins: 1/3 cup of chopped pineapple, 1 whole slab UK back bacon, 2 slices of breakfast ham

The dressing: tomato sauce and sprinkle of Italian herbs

The topping: handful of red and white cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese

Gosh, this was a humongous bowl. And such an interesting mix of tastes and textures! It really did sort of taste like a Hawaiian pizza, with the tomato sauce and the cheese and the meat and the pineapple. How can I ever have coveted the plain old Pepperoni pizza over this? Mother knows best, I say.

This little bite is sitting on the mountain of “Hawaiian Pizza” proclaiming, I’m the King of the World~

Little did he know…The poor little guy, clinging on for dear life…Say your goodbyes, little fella, it’s time to be devoured by Sophia…

’Twas a delicious, memorable lunch.

I tried out a new snack yesterday, too! I’d been eyeing this little guy for ages but had always chosen my usual cheese and peanut pancakes over him for my snack, but yesterday I was in a generous mood and gave him a chance…

Introducing my new snack buddy, Green tea steamed cake from Bread Talk…

It was really light and fragrant from the green tea powder, but rich at the same time from the cream cheese it was made out of. The texture was fluffy and pleasing. Unfortunately, it was gone too soon.

After my huge success with the Soufflé-omelet the day before, I decided to make another omelet, but this time taking it in a totally different direction. Instead of light and fluffy, this one was dense and thick.

See how heavy and stuffed it is? Can you guess what it is? Spanish Omelet! Here’s the steps:

I first fried up some bacon and ham with minced garlic until fragrant and crisp, then laid them aside. Then I cooked together a huge thinly-sliced onion and 1.5 lbs of thinly-sliced potato (I used a mix of blue and gold potato, hence the purplelish color).

Meanwhile, I whisked together 4 eggs, 3 egg whites, the cooked bacon and ham, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, chopped spring onions, Italian herbs, salt and pepper.

Once the potato was tender, I dumped it into the egg mixture, mixed them together, then poured the whole thing into the skillet over low-heat. Here’s when thing got dicey: once the bottom was cooked, I flipped the whole thing over onto a plate, then slid it back into the skillet to cook the other side. Whew! You need some serious arm strength with this thing!

But all the labor was worth it, because this was seriously freaking amazing. I planned to eat a 1/4 of it, but ended up eating more than 1/3, even though I was stuffed!

Just look at the layers! This is definitely not your average “light” omelet lunch.

I think it could have been even better with a spicier and bolder meat like chorizo, but of course that’s almost impossible to find in Singapore. Next time though, I would use more bacon and cheese. You can never go wrong with more bacon and cheese.

Well, I’m off to experiment with my Mac some more and continue looking for a good blogger tool. I’m still considering WordPress, and am even willing to fork a bit of money to purchase a good software. It might be a good investment. I had originally planned to major in magazine journalism, but these days I’m so impressed by the power of the internet that I’m thinking of taking my journalism dreams online…

Well, just one day left till the weekends! Hold on there, fellow bloggers! And I’d love to read your answer to this question: Is there a particular food with which you have fond childhood memories?

P.S. AnAppleADay is having a second granola giveaway! Check out her blog for more details!

Related posts:

1. Sushi on a Pizza
2. The Yin and Yang of it all
3. Seduced again by the French mistress
4. Going all Casanova over Carbonara
5. Broke and Happy

Tagged as: "mix-it-up" bowl, bacon, barley, beans, cake, cheese, eggs, giveaway, ham, lunch, macbook, omelete, pineapple, pizza, potatoes