Oct 14

We MAY Be in the End Times

Another college football post. Syracuse (yes, you read that right) upset #2-ranked Clemson, 27-24. The Orange was never behind in the game. I was worried that when Syracuse joined the Atlantic Coast Conference that they were going to be the sacrificial lambs to the traditional football powers of Clemson and Florida State. Surprise, surprise…

The other score last night has caused me to back off the title of this post. The University of California (Berkeley) walloped formerly undefeated Washington State University by a score of 37-3. Julian’s comment: “Wazzu is losing to a bunch of hippies?” Takes one to know one – he was a hippie back in his University of Wisconsin days.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/10/14/we-may-be-in-the-end-times/

Oct 10

New Tech

I am not normally an early adopter of new technology. I’ve been burned several times by getting something new and shiny that turned out to be a lemon under the veneer. Chief among these was my 1982 Nissan Sentra. The idle on that car was never right. It would stall when the engine was cold, usually in the middle of one of the diciest neighborhoods in Dallas, on my way to work. Since then I’ve been leery of buying before the bandwagon leaves the parking lot.

However, my four-year-old cell phone was on its last electrons this year. The battery would lose power quickly while I was browsing the New York Times on my bus commute. I wasn’t sure that the new operating system would work on the phone. Julian suggested I consider an iPhone 8 Plus. I decided to take the plunge, since I didn’t want to wait until the old phone died to get a replacement. We actually ordered the phone online the first day it was available. So far, so good. It’s much bigger than the old phone, which means I had to invest in a new case and protective sleeve. Until the sleeve arrives from Australia, the phone is protected by an old sock. This keeps the screen from being scratched and keeps Neli from scrambling my apps. The camera is pretty spiffy, with a number of built-in effects. With luck, this phone will last me another four years.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/10/10/new-tech/

Oct 07

Season Creep

Season Creep is the phenomenon when you see items associated with a particular holiday or season appear earlier and earlier in the year. For example, the pumpkin spice everything (beer, lattes, etc.) started showing up here at the end of August. The most blatant example of Season Creep is Christmas Creep. Last week I saw my first container of eggnog in the grocery store. Today I saw Christmas decorations and fake trees at another grocery store. I guess it’s time to get started baking the infamous eggnog bread. Julian would no doubt agree.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/10/07/season-creep/

Oct 03

Just Browsing

My cookbook collection is a working library, not just for show. The other day I was browsing through one of my go-to Asian cookbooks and found a recipe for pork wrapped in greens. This is a common Thai-Laotian dish, often seen on restaurant menus as larb. Since we had a partial head of butter lettuce and two shiso plants for greens, it looked like a good dinner option. I’d bought some ground pork the night before.

The first thing I did when I got home yesterday was soak a knob of tamarind pulp in hot water for 15 minutes. While that was soaking, I started chopping garlic, shallots, lemongrass, ginger, and scallions. I washed and spun the lettuce and shiso leaves, and picked some Thai basil off the upper deck. Once everything was cut up and the tamarind juice was strained from the seeds and pulp, I started a pot of jasmine rice and pan-broiled a few padron peppers to go along with the larb. Thereafter, I started sautéing the shallots, garlic, and ginger. The pork was added to brown. Once it lost its pink color, I stirred the tamarind juice mixed with some brown sugar and a little fish sauce into the pan and let it cook until nearly dry. The pork was ready when the rice cooker switched off.

Julian declared the recipe a keeper. I did, too; however, I think I’ll double the recipe so I can have leftovers for lunch the next day.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/10/03/just-browsing/

Oct 01

Are We in the End Times, 2017 Edition

This is not a political post. Rather, these are two observations on the current football season.
The Washington State University (WSU) Cougars upset USC, 30-27, on Friday night. For most of our time in Washington, WSU was the sad sack team of the west coast. So far this season they are undefeated along with their rivals, the University of Washington.

The Buffalo Bills are currently leading the AFC East. They defeated the Atlanta Falcons 23-17 today. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots lost to the Carolina Panthers 33-30 today. Am I looking for this disruption in the force to continue? No, but it’s fun while it lasts. Julian is still anticipating two free meals from our annual Buffalo-Miami game bets. He wishes – Miami is currently at the bottom of the AFC East standings.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/10/01/are-we-in-the-end-times-2017-edition/

Sep 22

A Quote for the Times

We’ve been watching the Ken Burns-Lynn Novick PBS series on the Vietnam War. Along with powerful stories and a great soundtrack, it brought back memories of some of the major political figures of the time. I was reminded of Hubert Humphrey, who was Lyndon Johnson’s Vice President and who lost the 1968 election to Richard Nixon. Humphrey delivered a speech near the end of his life in 1977 that contained this sentence: “It was once said that the moral test of Government is how that Government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.” Some of today’s politicians would do well to remember Mr. Humphrey’s words as they deliberate the latest “health care” bill.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/09/22/a-quote-for-the-times/

Sep 22

Yet Another Beverage Boondoggle

Julian does his major web surfing while I’m fast asleep and often emails links to me. Sometimes they’re foolish videos or websites. Then we have the “stuff nobody really needs.” Witness the Teamosa. This is a tea variant on the Keurig beverage model. For a mere $399, you can have a machine that ultrasonically extracts the tea goodness. Let’s do some reality checking.

  • The makers claim that the ultrasonic method extracts more antioxidants from the tea leaves than simple steeping. As someone who did her PhD and postdoctoral work in the antioxidant field, I am dubious. This is like the Starbucks baristas who shake your iced tea to “release the antioxidants”. (Truth be known, they may be destroying them.)
  • There are also little paper capsules of tea for purchase that can be brewed in the Teamosa. Although these capsules may be more sustainable than the foil Keurig cups, the source and quality of the leaves are unknown.
  • And of course, the Teamosa costs $399, plus shipping and handling. You can get a good teakettle, a year’s supply of excellent quality tea leaves, and nice mugs for much less than that. As with the ill-fated Juicero, save your money.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/09/22/yet-another-beverage-boondoggle/

Sep 20

Autumn Arrives

Autumn sneaked in a few days early. Saturday was a gorgeous day. We drove up to Bellingham via Chuckanut Drive and hit the Fairhaven neighborhood. I woke up Sunday to cooler temperatures. It started drizzling while I was at church, and the rain kicked in after I got home. The rain continued Monday and Tuesday. I’m beginning to think about putting away the shorts and t-shirts in favor of sweaters. As one of my former pool pals would say, “At least it’s not snowing.” To which I add, yet.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/09/20/autumn-arrives/

Sep 17

We Are All Okies

The title of this post comes from the late Jack Taylor, who was my minister during graduate school. Jack grew up in Oklahoma during the 1930’s. His bedroom window overlooked Route 66, the “Mother Road” from John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath that folks traveled from the Dust Bowl-ravaged Midwest to California during the Great Depression. The migrants were often termed by longer-term California residents as Okies, usually accompanied with an expletive. “We are all Okies” has resonated with me for 30 years.

The experience of the Okies mirrors that of other migrants throughout history. They moved to make a better life for themselves and their children. Often upon their arrival, they were treated with hostility. The current political climate is just history repeating itself. The “Know Nothing Party” of the mid-19th century railed against immigrants from Ireland. In the early 20th century the animus was against southern Europeans and Asians. Now the anger is directed against Mexican and Middle Eastern (particularly Muslim) immigrants. Even migrants from within the United States can be subjected to disdain. Washingtonians decry the Californians who’ve moved north. Texans and Georgians berate the Yankees who’ve moved south. The faces may change, but the attitude is the same.

Immigrant labor has always powered large sectors of our economy. Restaurants, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, food processors, and farms today could not survive without immigrants starting out as dishwashers, custodians, nurses’ aides, assembly line workers, and pickers. The children of these immigrants often go higher on the economic ladder thanks to their parents’ labor. For example, the child of a nurse’s aide may go to medical school. Again, this is a familiar pattern. Witness the descendants of Irish and Jewish immigrants who’ve achieved success.

It’s a rare American who has not descended from immigrants. It’s just a matter of when their families migrated. Even Native Americans and Alaskans migrated from Asia during the Ice Age. It is incumbent upon us to remember that our ancestors were once strangers here, and not to denigrate the newcomers. We all have some Okie in us.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/09/17/we-are-all-okies/

Sep 10

Goat, Okra, and Beets

I’m sure the title sent many folks to reading something less incendiary. In truth, this combination made a tasty meal. I needed to use up some goat I had in the freezer, along with some beets and okra I found at the fruit stand. Off to the cookbook collection for inspiration.
I found the okra stew recipe in Claudia Roden’s New Book of Middle Eastern Food. The original recipe used beef, veal, or lamb; I substituted the goat. The method is pretty standard: Sauté the onions, then brown the meat. Stir in some ground coriander, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Let simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours until the goat is tender. Stir in the okra about 20 minutes before serving. I made the Iraqi variation, which included Persian dried limes in the stew. I’d bought these at The Souk, a Middle Eastern grocery in Pike Place Market, some time back.

As for the beets, the recipe for the salad came from The Ethnic Paris Cookbook, by Charlotte Puckett and Olivia Kiang-Snaije. The beets were roasted, then peeled and chopped. The vinaigrette included harissa, a North African chile sauce.The salad came together while the rice was cooking and the okra simmered in the stew.

Julian put together an antipasto platter while I finished dinner. It wasn’t exactly in keeping with the theme, as one of the items on the platter was Salumi soppressata. (Salumi also makes a killer mole sausage.) The meal was quite good, despite the incongruity.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/09/10/goat-okra-and-beets/

Load more