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| Sunday, December 27th, 2009 |
gvdub
|
7:14p |
Tonight's Dinner
I have no idea how a 7th generation Yankee like me seems to have a talent for Southern snd Soul Food cooking. Channeling a past life, maybe. But here's a recipe I came up with for tonight's dinner. The secret is reducing the liquid remaining in the pot until it's thick, smooth, and satiny, then going just a bit further. Next time, maybe 50% more vinegar and a few more slices of dried apple. But pretty damn good just as it turned out. SPICY BOILED PIGS FEET2 pounds pigs feet, split 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 medium carrots, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped 5 slices dried apple, chopped ½ teaspoon sea salt 12 whole allspice berries 4 bay leaf 1 teaspoon cayenne 1 tablespoon creole mustard 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 cup cider vinegar 3 quarts water In an 8 quart saucepan, cover pigs feet with water and bring to a boil. Drain and set aside. Rinse pot, dry, and set over medium high heat. Add olive oil to pot. When oil is hot, add chopped onion, carrot, celery,dried apple, garlic and salt. Sweat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cayenne, allspice, mustard, and tomato paste. Stir and cook 2 more minutes. Add vinegar. Return pigs feet to pot, add water to cover and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer 3 hours. Remove pigs feet and set aside. Remove bay leaves and discard. Increase heat to high and reduce cooking liquid by half or until thick and syrupy. pour over pigs feet and serve hot. This would go real nice with some hot fresh cornbread. Just sayin'. |
gvdub
|
5:52p |
You know what pisses me off?
Singer-songwriter Vic Chessnut chose this Christmas to commit suicide over medical bills that he couldn't pay. Here's a guy who's been paralyzed since he was a teenager, but managed to be brilliant, witty, touching, and tender as well as outrageous and outspoken. Did I mention brilliant? But he needed operations he couldn't afford (because no insurance company would write a policy for a paraplegic, much less a self-employed musician paraplegic) and could never get out from under the shadow of medical debts that would be the main factor in his life for as long as he lived. So he only saw the one way out. What songs would he have written if he'd had access to affordable medical care? We'll never know. But in any civilized country (e.g. the rest of the industrialized world), he would at least have had a chance. Here? Not so much. Current Mood:  angry |
fritters
|
12:03p |
...
 Current Mood:  blank |
| Saturday, December 26th, 2009 |
gvdub
|
8:47p |
Am I Blue?
I really wanted to see Avatar in Dolby 3D, not the RealD or Imax 3D systems, largely because I had heard the Dolby 3D system had less loss of screen brightness, less ghosting, and was all around a smoother experience. I'm glad I tracked down a theater that was using it (Regal Theaters at L.A. Live, if you're wondering) because it was well worth it. ( Stuff back here, spoiler-free )Highly recommended. |
fritters
|
3:44p |
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gvdub
|
11:00a |
Breakfast
Not something you'd eat every day (or every week, for that matter), but a great special occasion breakfast/brunch dish. Reduced Carb Spoon Bread½ cup` corn meal ½ cup chickpead flour (besan) ½ teaspoon sea salt 2 teaspoons Splenda ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 large eggs, beaten 1 cup milk, 2% 1 cup yogurt 2 tablespoons butter Preheat oven to 400° F. Use an 8-inch-square baking pan or 1.5 qt. soufflé dish. Sift together dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Beat eggs, milk, and yogurt together well. Put butter in baking dish and place in oven until butter is melted. Pout egg/milk/yogurt mixture into dry ingredients and whisk together well. Remove baking dish from oven, swirl the melted butter to coat the inside of the dish. Pour excess melted butter into batter and quickly whisk in. Pour batter into baking dish and bake on center rack for 20 minutes or until just barely set (you should still get a little wiggle in the center when you shake the dish). Remove from oven and let set 5 minutes. Serve hot with plenty of fresh ground black pepper. Serves 4 as a main dish, 6-8 as a side. Keywords: low carb baking, breakfast NUTRITION FACTS Servings: 4 Amount Per Serving Calories: 275 Total Fat: 11.54g Cholesterol: 182mg Sodium: 709mg Total Carbs: 26.79g Dietary Fiber: 2.36g Sugars: 6.35g Protein: 13.94g This can also be done with strictly chickpea flour, but I prefer the mixture of cornmeal and chickpea. End results are like a layer of very moist cornbread topped with a layer of savory custard. Use butter and egg substitutes to reduce fat and cholestrol further, if you want. Sodium is s touch high, but that's mostly the leavening. You can, of course, add pepper to the batter rather than at the table, but I prefer the sharpness of fresh ground to the slightly mellowed flavor you get from baking it. |
| Friday, December 25th, 2009 |
_darkvictory
|
10:13p |
Sherlock Holmes (no spoilers)
Merry Christmas! A group from MyPeopleConnection joined the crowd in Westwood to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie. Several of us loved it; a few were "meh." Think of this as an alternate history Holmes story. It's a chance to see the characters we love in what is, at heart, a very contemporary storyline. Purists, you've been warned. The movie has us spend a good bit of time inside Holmes' head, not only following his brilliant process, but also experiencing the pain it can cause. If you're in geekdom, you have possibly met a person with a Holmesian mind; possibly you've seen that person punched in the face. Intellect does not equal judgment. I've had my all too human flesh and failings submitted to detached and scrupulously logical analysis, so I rather liked this exploration of character. I can see why some might find it boring. ( Girly stuff )I believe the more you know about Victorian London, the more you'll enjoy this movie. Our resident anachronism-spotters looked hard, but didn't find any. The two female leads are fully developed characters, believable for their time and place. Downsides are mainly related to spoilers. Let's say there are some pacing problems and a few plot holes, but none that kept me from enjoying the movie. Upsides: all kinds of gothy goodness in the costumes; beautiful brass, gears and tubes in the machines. Wonderful millinery. Great score. A satisfying ending that points to a sequel. |
| Thursday, December 24th, 2009 |
gvdub
|
3:56p |
People will buy anything - part 22,963
Just saw an ad for replica 1877 $50 gold piece. Lots of weasel words in the ad, and buried in there is the description of it as being 'clad in 51mg of pure 24 carat gold'. Figured at the current closing price of $1105/oz, that comes to $1.98 worth of gold. They're selling it for $20. Striking cost for the coin is probably under ten cents, add a little for a 'presentation' box and advertising and marketing costs, and that's a pretty substantial profit margin for the 'National Collectors Mint'. There's also a replica buffalo nickel clad with '31mg of .9999 fine gold' (or $1.21 worth of gold) selling for the same $19.95 plus s&h, on which they make even more money. If people bothered to do the math, they'd never go near such things. Unfortunately, most people don't bother to do the math. |
thudpucker
|
1:00p |
California Christmas.
I'm sitting her surfing on my laptop, on Christmas eve... and outside the windows the gardeners are cutting the grass. Yep, it's a California Christmas :) I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas and a wonderful New Year! Current Mood:  cheerfulCurrent Music: Jimmy Buffett - Mele Kalikimaka |
fritters
|
12:15p |
|
fritters
|
12:20a |
Two Favorites...
I have the mp3 version of this and consider it my favorite Christmas "song" (although Mele Kalikimaka is close ^_^) It's in my song rotation, so it sorta qualifies... ...and for those of you who expect more humor from me, the LOLcat version. If they ever actually print out the LOLcat bible, I am so there. Srsly. Current Mood:  cheerful |
| Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 |
gvdub
|
4:40p |
|
| Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 |
friendlypinet
|
4:09p |
Happy Holidays
Happy Holidays to ALL of you. May you have your respective celebrations with friends and Family! Have a Safe and Happy New Year. May this next year bring Happiness and Joy! |
gvdub
|
3:49p |
A quick reminder
While y'all are looking around, desperately trying to think of last minute gift ideas, let me be so bold as to suggest something from Wheatland Press, and help out a worthwhile small press at the same time. In today's economy, it's tough for publishers from the big houses right on down. Wheatland Press, with their annual Polyphony collection, has consistently published the best material from both new and established writers whose output isn't quite so easily categorized - call it slipstream, magic realism, specfic, or what have you. So head on over to the Wheatland website, but a book or two and put in your preorder for Polyphony 7. Because a great read is way more important than 'on time for Christmas' delivery. There's something for everyone from All Star Zeppelin Adventure Stories, a rollicking pulp tribute, to Weapons of Mass Seduction a collection of Lucius Shepard's film reviews. Plus, of course, a great package of Polyphony, vols 1-6. So buy a book or three from Wheatland and preorder Polyphony 7. You'll get some great reading, and Wheatland will be able to continue to do what they do best – push the boundaries and find compelling new stories that make us all go, "Wow!" |
| Monday, December 21st, 2009 |
friendlypinet
|
3:53p |
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fritters
|
1:52p |
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fritters
|
1:40p |
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gvdub
|
8:08a |
Enough already
Everywhere I go this festive season, I'm accosted by people trying to be clever with parodies and recouchings of "The 12 Days of Christmas". It's time to simply end this madness. Face it, the joke wears thin quickly. With one exception, every version has you praying for a quick end to either the song or your misery by the time you get to the incredibly drawn out "Fiiiiiive Something or anothers". Comedy is hard, poeple. That should be the first lesson we all learn. If you feel compelled to do one of these, please just start at 12, give us your oh, so clever list, and be done with it. Or, better yet, do something with a little more originality in the first place. Everybody shoots at the easy targets. That's why they're all tattered. Oh, that one exception I was talking about? That would be this: Merry Christmakwanzaahannumas, y'all. |
| Sunday, December 20th, 2009 |
gvdub
|
5:09p |
Dinner
My take on a traditional West AFrican Groundnut (Peanut) and Chicken Stew 6 chicken thighs, skin and boned, cubed 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, diced ½ teaspoon sea salt 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 3 medium carrots, large diced 1 habanero chile, minced 1 serrano chile, minced 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes 4 cups chicken stock 1 teaspoon powdered ginger 1 10 oz package mustard greens, frozen ½ 10 oz package okra, frozen 1 cup peanut butter, smooth Thaw mustard greens and drain. Set aside. In a 8 qt. saucepan, brown cubed chicken in olive oil. Remove chicken from pot. Add diced onions and salt to oil remaining in pot. Sweat over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic, carrots, ginger and chilies. Let cook 5 minutes. Return chicken to pot. Add tomatoes and 3 cups of the chicken stock. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 40 minutes. Add thawed, drained greens. Heat remaining chicken stock in microwave or over separate burner. Whisk in peanut butter until smooth. Add to pot. Simmer 10 minutes. Add okra, simmer 10-15 minutes. Serve with rice or fufu. Obviously, use fresh tomatoes, mustard greens and okra, if you've got 'em. Strip the ribs from the greens and chop the leaves fine (but save the ribs for vegetable stock). Slice the okra, as you want to use the okra's natural mucilage to help thicken the stew. You'll have to lengthen cooking times a little (or add the greens about 15 minutes earlier and the okra about 10 minutes earlier). We found a relatively low carb fufu made from cocoyam (malanga aka elephant ear leaves dried and pounded), which is a good alternative to traditional pounded yam or cassava-based fufu which is much higher carb. |
| Saturday, December 19th, 2009 |
_darkvictory
|
10:34a |
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| Friday, December 18th, 2009 |
friendlypinet
|
10:25a |
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| Thursday, December 17th, 2009 |
gvdub
|
3:43p |
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gvdub
|
10:09a |
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| Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 |
_darkvictory
|
7:53p |
|
gvdub
|
3:04p |
Now that's DIY
Home-made helicopterBut the five videos at the bottom of the page illustrate why I intend to never set foot in a helicopter, no matter how safe somebody says they are. Too many mechanical linkages that can go ker-blooey! |
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