Job Discussion Forums

[zakiah25]

Dear JohnSlat
Come on, now - you can tell us because you're amongst friends. Besides, you're leaving Saudi in a couple of days so admit it ....... you're really one of those sensitive New Age guys who can get in touch with their feminine side! I'll bet that you can't wait to get back to the Utopian South-West area of the U.S.A. and rush straight into the kitchen and whip up some new culinary delight!
I recognised it immediately when you recently revealed your "alter-ego". Did you choose a superhero, a famous person or an American President? No, you told us that you were Mary Lou Potell!
So, tell me - what's your favourite quiche and what are the secret ingredients? Maybe we can swap recipes? ...........Pretty please........!!!!
best regards
Zakiah

[bnix]

Actually, quiche is in rather short supply here in Korea. However,there is another rather spicy delicacy which is always in great supply. But....anyway...let's get on to the "important" questions

1,Zakiah(!).How is your camel Mortimer getting along these days?
2.Zakiah(!) How do you feel about being "out-avatared" by Capergirl? Will a "Battle of the Avatars" ensue? Can we place bets online?

[zakiah25]

Bnix
His name is M...A...N...F....R....E....D and he's ok except I'm still looking for a new trainer and a new jockey after he bit them at his first training session. Also, I don't dare show my face back there at the training track or I'll probably be arrested after he also bit the tail of the Diwan's racing camel.
I'm stuck in this TEFL game for life as I'm sure that Manfred will never win one Omani rial from racing!
I like Capergirl's avatar too.
regards
Zakiah

[johnslat]

Dear zakiah25,
I sometimes wonder why I bother qualifying my posts ( emphasis added ):

" because men TEND to be more " nasty " than women. This is a BIG generalization, so sorry, but generalizations aren't ALWAYS wrong. Men MORE READILY exhibit aggressiveness and ego whereas women MORE OFTEN seek to communicate and interact. Well, that's been MY EXPERIENCE, anyway, although there ARE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF EXCEPTIONS. "

And yet, from reading some of the responses, you might think I'd written:

MEN = ALWAYS NASTY, AGGRESSIVE; WOMEN = ALWAYS NICE, KIND

I'll repeat - from MY experience, women do not usually exhibit the sort of aggressive nastiness that men so often do. Hey, maybe I've been running around with the " exceptions " in the case of women ( or maybe I just haven't " scratched their surfaces " ). And maybe I've been hanging around with the " wrong " kind of guys. Could be, I suppose. However, to get back to the topic of culinary skills. Well, as my chauvinist Dad ( in an age before PC became universal ) once told me, " The best chefs in the world are men ". ( This was also pre-Julia Childs ). And good old Dad, an ex-Marine himself and a cop, discovered in his sunset years a liking and a talent for cooking ( and, of all things, pastries ). I, however, like, I believe, so many guys who have spent a lot of their adult lives on their own ( married twice, but even then, the " little women " were no great shakes in the kitchen ) am a " one-trick pony ". In other words, I have pretty much one " specialty dish " that I can whip up when the occasion demands ( And it ain't quiche - it's a little something called " Island Chicken " - Irish, take note; anyone wanting the recipe, just let me know). Oh, I can broil a steak or a hamburger ( though I hardly ever eat red meat these days ), and I've even been known to produce a rather succulent turkey on appropriate feast days, but that's about the extent of my " culinary prowess ". As for " Mary Lou ", well the reson she weighs 300 pounds is she never cooks - she's a fast-food junkie ( unlike myself - it's a Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde thing, you see ). So, sorry zakiah - you'll get no quiche recipes from moi.
Regards,
John

[zakiah25]

Dear JohnSlat
Yeah.... Yeah.....Whatever to that macho stuff!!
I like the sound of your "Island Chicken" - does it have secret herbs and spices?
regards
Zakiah

[PanamaTeacher]

Zakiah Do you think cooking is femenine in a man? I can cook a couple of things (eggs and stuff) but I hate to wash dishes. But whenever a girl visits me they start cleaning the kitchen up and putting things away. Now to me that's femenine. And they like to fluff up pillows. Why?

[zakiah25]

Panama
No, not at all - I'm merely saying that cooking can be one way in which a sensitive New Age Man can get in touch with his feminine side, I don't think for one moment that cooking is feminine in a man.
I'm glad to hear that you can cook, your girlfriend probably was being very considerate when she fluffed the pillows or maybe she thought that you looked completely exhausted after slaving over a hot stove boiling an egg!
A man who can produce a Spanish omelette and a nice glass of chardonnay could win my heart!

[johnslat]

Dear zakiah25,
Well, it may ( or may not ) be " macho ", but it's the goshawful truth. Island chicken for 8.
2 large packages ( about 6 or 7 pounds ) of skinless, boneless chicken
b r e a s t s ( I'll bet it'll get " bleeped " otherwise )
I plastic ( gallon ) mixing bag
add chopped or pressed garlic ( to taste - I use about 4 good-sized cloves, but, not being a vampire, I LIKE garlic. It also helps that I live alone )
add chopped onion ( again, to taste - I use a good-sized onion )
add olive oil ( probably about a cup, cup and a half - but here's another possible " gender difference " - real men don't " measure "; we do it by the " hmm, that looks about right " method ).
add soy sauce ( see above )
add lemon ( Real Lemon's good ) extract ( ditto )
add oregano ( ditto )
add basil ( ditto )
add dried parsley ( yup, ditto )
shake it up, baby
store in fridge for at least one day
put on aluminum foil, on that thingie you have in the oven - you know, the whatyamacallit - the baking thingie
cook on one side on broil for approx. 15 minutes
turn over and cook on other side ( on broil again, of course ) for approx. 10 minutes.
There you have it - enjoy.
Regards,
John
P.S. " A man who can produce a Spanish omelette and a nice glass of chardonnay could win my heart! "
Well, I can produce the glass of chardonnay ( though not in my present environment ) if you have a corkscrew.

[Irish]

PanamaTeacher:

Zakiah is right on the money! Personally, I think guys who cook are great, not feminine at all. Whenever I've dated men who've been kind enough to cook for me, I've always insisted on doing the dishes to show my appreciation--fair is fair, after all. There's no gene predisposing us to fluffing pillows. We're just trying to say thanks.

John:

Hey, Island Chicken sounds good. About two weeks ago, the local paper ran a front page story about how the number of feral chickens is on the rise on Oahu. Since I'm on the "Poor Grad Student Diet" (ramen noodles, bruised bargain-bin vegetables, corn flakes, and coffee), those chickens are starting to look mighty tasty. If I manage to catch one, I'll definitely try your recipe. (I guess that would make it "Feral Island Chicken.")

Might as well not bother with qualifiers in your posts. You may be a gym rat but most of us get all of our exercise by jumping to conclusions.