Cooking up...

Recently my wife and I dabbled in making some home-made dishes for dinner instead of buying food outside.

This is what we came up with. Chef D'kneok presents:

Grilled Salmon and Dill Sauce, served with Baked Potatoes and Baby Carrots - The Salmon is of course my wife's favourite and it was little wonder that it turned out great, juicy, pink and slightly crunchy skin. The potatoes fought me all the way and refused to turn tender, but I suppose it had a certain crunch that justttt about redeemed it (that's a nice positive spin to it). I've been making baked potatoes since before I could walk and talk so I'm surprised it didn't turn out so great. The baby carrots were steamed and added a more tangy and zesty flavour to the meal. 

Three Cheese Macaroni - The best macaroni and cheese I've ever tasted, even if I do say so myself. It just came out perfectly, even beyond expected. I generally dislike Mac & Cheese, which is weird because I like cheese and macaroni. But all the other mac & cheese I've tasted (think Secret Recipe and Kenny Rogers) uses a gooey, yucky cheese that barely gives it any taste. So for this one, I used mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar cheese for some real kapow-zing-wazhashazammmm. Oh yeah.

Cloud-fluffy Omelette - The Fluff® is heavenly, I was really surprised at how it turned out. Unfortunately, I doused juuust a little bit too much olive oil and forgot to season the omelette with salt and pepper when cooking. Seasoned the omelette with a bit of paprika but it didn't raise the kick so much. The fluff though.. I think I have stumbled across a winner. Have I mentioned the fluff?

So I'm still a noob at this, but in all honesty I am quietly enjoying trying to pick up easier recipes that I can make for dinner. I hate cleaning up though, although I know I have to suck it in as it comes with the package.

Any quick and easy recipes to share?

Finding your Balance...[part 1]

Read an interesting article about work-life balance for lawyers, which was a little extreme. Basically article was saying lawyers who crave for work-life balance are just whiners and losers who give up along the way because cannot cope with the demands of the profession and aren't cut out for the big cases. Article also goes on to say that there is no such thing as work-life balance in the legal world.

My personal view? I disagree.

Of course, everyone gives up along the way. Everyone slows down, sooner or later. My pupil-master, the fount of loads of sage advice - once told me this: The law is a jealous mistress. What does it mean? What does it all mean? What is the meaning of life? I hear your thought bubbles loud and clear, folks. It basically just means that being an avatar of the law sucks all the time, energy, everything out of you. Whatever you have: family, fun, futsal, food, etc: the law is jealous of and will compete for your undivided attention against them. 

The thing is, I've always been a firm believer that work-life balance IS ACHIEVABLE, but only after you have learnt your trade and solidified your foundations. And to do that, in the shortest time possible, is to sacrifice pretty much everything else. Time, sleep, health, eyesight, relationships, pretty much everything. There is always a cost to achieving something.

Without learning your trade, you won't be able to have a healthy work-life balance. Most probably because you won't have work. No employer will reward or encourage mediocrity. So at some point, you're going to have to work hard to improve yourself. If the employer doesn't get rid of you, it's only because they're kind-hearted people who hope you get the hint and move your reeking pile of mediocrity elsewhere before you're found out. I know that there's a bit of a leap in the above logic. It's deliberate. "Having a healthy work-life balance doesn't NOT mean that you'll be mediocre", you argue. Of course not. 

But...

To be continued...