Blogger Party

Frugality doesn't make us "cheap", it makes us smarter. The thought suddenly struck me when after a sumptous lunch, there I was thinking about what to do with the chicken leftovers and some brown rice.

That was when I thought of Congee. Congee is common in Asia with lots of variations. I decided to boil the rice with no idea what I was doing at all, but I usually do things that way in the kitchen. I call it "spontaneous recipes" by the way.

Looking at the boiling rice, I decided to add a little chicken stock as if I knew exactly what I was doing plus onions and pepper. I cut the leftover chicken to little pieces ad added it to the boiling rice. I saw some green onions and celery so I cut it in little green pieces to make the "dish" look better. Then the usual salt and pepper to taste.

I thought it tasted really great but I had to be sure that my taste buds were not getting delusional!!! (LOL). Suddenly, my computer technician arrived to "fix" my latest HDD crash. I asked if he'd like a taste of "an asian exotic bowl meal" and he said that my invitation was "oh soo tempting" as he looked at the bowl. He tasted the concoction and remarked, "You must have been in some culinary school, this is very delicious!". He added that that it was even better than the one he from his favorite Asian restaurant. So, there I was, beaming at my cleverness, thinking that frugality doesn't always mean that you have to be cheap. Someone appreciated my "left-over" cooking.

That dinner, we all had the same meal. Everyone thought that it was the latest specialty of the Chinese restaurant. "This tastes better than Me. Lee's (fictional name) special rice and mushroom hot winter special!".

I lied, "Oh I ordered that from him. It's a new thing and isn't it great?". He nodded in agreement and I got away with it. Now, I hope he doesn't call Mr. Lee for the same "special menu".

Another example is why we don't cut coupons when it's a lot easier. We blog for 4 cents with passion when we can actually save more than a dollar with the "art" of cutting coupons.

Maybe we should think that the money we save is the money we might as well have earned? What do you think?