Hey All,
So just to follow up so you aren't freaking out. That thing I couldn't talk about was an FDA General Compliance Audit at work. It went well, I think it posts in the public record in 30 days, so if you are into that sort of thing, knock yourself out.
And in other news, Blogger was down for maintenance last night, so you got to miss out on my opinions on an article about sushi I read a while back. One of my favorites, and last night's dinner selection was Simply Sushi Downtown. Yes, its all you can eat, yes, its pretty generic fare, nothing out of the ordinary, but guess what, THEY DO IT WELL! As a matter of fact, they ARE ONE OF THE BEST!
That is all, stay tuned for the weekend :)
Friday, May 13, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Star of India.....lots of dining out
Hey All,
Its been a week of dining out, and doing it reasonably affordably. Dinner for two the past couple of nights hasn't exceeded $35, with tip, and yes, I usually tip at least $5 as a base.
Some stuff is going on that I'm not sure I can talk about in a public forum, well at least not until it becomes public record. No, no divorce, I'm not going to jail, or anything like that.... I'll explain once its over.
So last night we went to Star of India. My boss turned me onto this place when we were in the old location, as it was only a quick jaunt down the hill to have what he tells me is "real Indian food, not mislabeled Pakistani food". I'll have to trust him on that one, as up until moving to SLC, my exposure to Indian cuisine was minimal. Another one that gets high marks, although I haven't eaten there recently is Bombay Grill up in Ogden. We discovered this one on a lark, and my co-workers of Indian descent consider it to be the best...in fact one and his wife often schedule date nights to make the trek up there.
Ok, enough blather about that. I had shahi paneer and keema nan...YUM! I found this recipe over on Manjula's Kitchen. I've been a huge fan of hers for some time now, and finally get to link her :) So anyway, Star of India does theirs with almonds and a touch of raisin....delicious. The light sweetness of the dish went amazing with the Keema Nan. If you've never tried Star of India, I give it a high recommend for good food, afford-ability, and their awesome lunch buffet.
Tonight we wandered over to ESTE Pizza's Downtown Location. I'm not sure if I'm becoming picky or if I continue to be underwhelmed. Another coworker turned me onto this one, but I haven't found the same lust/desire/craving for it I do other places in the valley. Perhaps its that I'm not a huge Italian cuisine fan, save gnocchi, I think its the German and Irish blood in me; I simply adore dumplings of any sort. So not super high on my list, but not one that makes me run away in terror either....
This weekend we'll be hosting the "Mongolian Hoard"....ok, no, just quite a few friends for grilling. I'm also using this as an excuse to continue practicing sushi....not sure how much I'll document, but expect at least one or two pictures.
Its been a week of dining out, and doing it reasonably affordably. Dinner for two the past couple of nights hasn't exceeded $35, with tip, and yes, I usually tip at least $5 as a base.
Some stuff is going on that I'm not sure I can talk about in a public forum, well at least not until it becomes public record. No, no divorce, I'm not going to jail, or anything like that.... I'll explain once its over.
So last night we went to Star of India. My boss turned me onto this place when we were in the old location, as it was only a quick jaunt down the hill to have what he tells me is "real Indian food, not mislabeled Pakistani food". I'll have to trust him on that one, as up until moving to SLC, my exposure to Indian cuisine was minimal. Another one that gets high marks, although I haven't eaten there recently is Bombay Grill up in Ogden. We discovered this one on a lark, and my co-workers of Indian descent consider it to be the best...in fact one and his wife often schedule date nights to make the trek up there.
Ok, enough blather about that. I had shahi paneer and keema nan...YUM! I found this recipe over on Manjula's Kitchen. I've been a huge fan of hers for some time now, and finally get to link her :) So anyway, Star of India does theirs with almonds and a touch of raisin....delicious. The light sweetness of the dish went amazing with the Keema Nan. If you've never tried Star of India, I give it a high recommend for good food, afford-ability, and their awesome lunch buffet.
Tonight we wandered over to ESTE Pizza's Downtown Location. I'm not sure if I'm becoming picky or if I continue to be underwhelmed. Another coworker turned me onto this one, but I haven't found the same lust/desire/craving for it I do other places in the valley. Perhaps its that I'm not a huge Italian cuisine fan, save gnocchi, I think its the German and Irish blood in me; I simply adore dumplings of any sort. So not super high on my list, but not one that makes me run away in terror either....
This weekend we'll be hosting the "Mongolian Hoard"....ok, no, just quite a few friends for grilling. I'm also using this as an excuse to continue practicing sushi....not sure how much I'll document, but expect at least one or two pictures.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Fore! And somethig witty that Husbear said...now I forget
Hey All,
So here it is, a drizzly evening in SLc, UT and I am worn out. This, of course, is in a good way, not like Friday when I came home and swallowed about 6 bottles of wine and slept all day Saturday....but that's another story for face-to-face time. Today was up bright and early for a quick 9 with Lushus and Killer (we finally found him a nickname, YAY!). I really wish I knew what it was about a good round of golf (shot a 44, and had a birdie in the mix too!) that is about the best drug on Earth! Not even marathon sex can leave me that worn out and buzzing....but you don't want to hear about my dirty laundry, and well, if you do, we need to do that face-to-face thingy....
It wasn't needed, but if your local links are anything like some of ours, you'll want skeeter scoot and lots of it. I've gone the natural route with great success.
Here's a couple of blends:
Skeeter Scoot 1
1 part Eucalyptus Citriodora Essential Oil
1 part Siberian Fir Essential Oil
Skeeter Scoot 2 (aka Nosler's secret blend....yes, its also one of my signature colognes)
1 part Eucalyptus Citriodora Essential Oil
1 part Lavandin (no need for a spendy lavender here) Essential Oil
1 part Patchouli Essential Oil
So it was supposed to be a lazy afternoon; a bit of maritals, a nap, and easy dinner. Well the nap never happened, but a really yummy dinner came together quite quickly.
Lately, I've been playing with making my own sushi. Its amazing what one can do very afford-ably with a good Asian market nearby. Here's one of my first Kalifornia Rolls and a Cucumber Roll.
I wish I had good advice to give. I had to enlist the help of a dear friend who spent quite a bit of time in Japan to give me a quick tutorial.....I've been practicing and getting better everyday.
Tonight's dinner was nothing fancy, but I need to keep those sushi skills coming along, so I pulled out some Oshinko (pickled radish) and made a simple roll with Oshinko, green onion, and pickled ginger. Needless to say, it tasted great!
Also, the steaks, nothing fancy, but this never fails me. 2 or more hours before grilling, soak them in 1 part balsamic vinegar and 1 part Worcestershire sauce. Lately I've been adventuring with some Malbec I turned into vinegar, mixing it half and half with the balsamic. Its just short of divine. When I grill them, I also sprinkle them generously with McCormick Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning. An easy trick to cooking I learned from Nigella Express on the Cooking channel is get that grill HOT and then 4 minutes on each side.....perfect, EVERYTIME!
So we served that with some leftover baked beans and coleslaw from the chicken dinner the other night.....yes, it was store bought, some vices I just can't give up that easily.
Here's the final plate:
Oh and its strange, I know, but this is what I've been listening to tonight.
And a quick tip if you don't eat all the steak. I only ate half, so here's what I'm doing for lunch tomorrow: slice the steak as thin as you can, mix with 1tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, a sprinkle of cinnamon, a sprinkle of garlic powder, and mix with enough ketchup to get it to stick together. I'll nuke that and serve it on a bun....best BBQ beef sandwich ever!
So here it is, a drizzly evening in SLc, UT and I am worn out. This, of course, is in a good way, not like Friday when I came home and swallowed about 6 bottles of wine and slept all day Saturday....but that's another story for face-to-face time. Today was up bright and early for a quick 9 with Lushus and Killer (we finally found him a nickname, YAY!). I really wish I knew what it was about a good round of golf (shot a 44, and had a birdie in the mix too!) that is about the best drug on Earth! Not even marathon sex can leave me that worn out and buzzing....but you don't want to hear about my dirty laundry, and well, if you do, we need to do that face-to-face thingy....
It wasn't needed, but if your local links are anything like some of ours, you'll want skeeter scoot and lots of it. I've gone the natural route with great success.
Here's a couple of blends:
Skeeter Scoot 1
1 part Eucalyptus Citriodora Essential Oil
1 part Siberian Fir Essential Oil
Skeeter Scoot 2 (aka Nosler's secret blend....yes, its also one of my signature colognes)
1 part Eucalyptus Citriodora Essential Oil
1 part Lavandin (no need for a spendy lavender here) Essential Oil
1 part Patchouli Essential Oil
So it was supposed to be a lazy afternoon; a bit of maritals, a nap, and easy dinner. Well the nap never happened, but a really yummy dinner came together quite quickly.
Lately, I've been playing with making my own sushi. Its amazing what one can do very afford-ably with a good Asian market nearby. Here's one of my first Kalifornia Rolls and a Cucumber Roll.
I wish I had good advice to give. I had to enlist the help of a dear friend who spent quite a bit of time in Japan to give me a quick tutorial.....I've been practicing and getting better everyday.
Tonight's dinner was nothing fancy, but I need to keep those sushi skills coming along, so I pulled out some Oshinko (pickled radish) and made a simple roll with Oshinko, green onion, and pickled ginger. Needless to say, it tasted great!
Also, the steaks, nothing fancy, but this never fails me. 2 or more hours before grilling, soak them in 1 part balsamic vinegar and 1 part Worcestershire sauce. Lately I've been adventuring with some Malbec I turned into vinegar, mixing it half and half with the balsamic. Its just short of divine. When I grill them, I also sprinkle them generously with McCormick Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning. An easy trick to cooking I learned from Nigella Express on the Cooking channel is get that grill HOT and then 4 minutes on each side.....perfect, EVERYTIME!
So we served that with some leftover baked beans and coleslaw from the chicken dinner the other night.....yes, it was store bought, some vices I just can't give up that easily.
Here's the final plate:
Oh and its strange, I know, but this is what I've been listening to tonight.
And a quick tip if you don't eat all the steak. I only ate half, so here's what I'm doing for lunch tomorrow: slice the steak as thin as you can, mix with 1tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, a sprinkle of cinnamon, a sprinkle of garlic powder, and mix with enough ketchup to get it to stick together. I'll nuke that and serve it on a bun....best BBQ beef sandwich ever!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Its probably just as well....
Hey All,
Well, it turned out to be a nice kinda sunny day here in good ol' SLc, UT. I was hoping to hit the links today, but alas it only just now got sunny and there is still a brutal chill to the air.
Ya'll haven't heard much from me, well, for a handful of reasons. Recently my work blocked access to my social media sites, and have been being downright ruthless about IT policy, so my 20 minutes in the evening I would normally spend blogging or photographing great and easy homecooked food has been spent catching up on the days events. Also, life in general has taken an AMAZING twist. I'm not sure what has kicked over, but I've decided to quit letting minutia ruin my life. Crazy work BS -- OUT! Crappy body image stuff -- OUT! Feeling like people just don't get me -- OUT! A lot of this has happened in the past couple of weeks. I had some really amazing validation happen on the career front. While I'm not changing jobs anytime soon, I finally got potential employers to say, "Wow, you are way experienced and awesome, can we keep your resume on file should a more senior position open up?" Its made it a lot easier to let go of trying to prove myself every time I turn around. I've been letting work flow naturally and organically, and I'm pretty confident I'm rocking it. Friday alone I did more science in 4 hours than I had been doing in a year...out of fear and concern for the minutia, my productivity had been sucking. I also had a really cool friend wander back into the local area. She's one of those people that just knows me and is really a fuckton of fun! The past two weekends have been spent having some of the funnest times of my life....yes, the fun I have with her rivals the fun I have at Burning Man. The past two weekends have been spent dancing and bitching and just having fun....not often I get to do that. Thanks Ang, for reminding me what it is like to live open and free!
So that brings us to tonight. Through Ang, we met this amazing new boi. I don't mean to gush, but damn. He's cute, he's fun, he's smart (persuing his Ph.D., no less), and available. That doesn't seem to happen that often in the world of this slut. Usually, if they are available, they are lame-ass leaches that I can't stand, or if they are smart and fun they are so damn busy I have to make time to savor every single second. Some of my closest and greatest friends from down south are coming over for dinner and sleepover, as is new boi :)
So what does one do when great friends and new fucktois (I use that term with the utmost affection) are coming for dinner? We were thinking steaks, but why not pull out all the stops and make an amazing cheddar bacon stuffed burger. That set my wheels in motion, and why not add an awesome potato salad (Dusti taught me how to make this one, its delicious!). Husbear was craving a green salad too.....so why not one of my favorites, the Mushroom Spinach Salad.
So where to start. The burgers are surprisingly easy. NPS had Everson Spice Bacon Cheddar Seasoning on clearance last year. I figured why not and bought some. Needless to say I was back the next day they were open buying up their stock. For batches smaller than 5 lbs. you can approximate 2Tblsp. per pound. So I rehydrate that in a bowl and then mix in the ground beef. Usually I go for something really lean....tonight I did 1lb. 98/2 and 1lb. 80/20. Then mix in plenty of good cheddar...I've done it with super sharp, tonight with Chive Shallot Cheddar. NPS is a godsend with this as they often get the "near outdates" from local retailers and sell it for a fraction of the price. The funny thing with cheese, tho, is that there really is no such thing as an outdate. The flavors are less predictable after the outdate, but sometimes you get amazing suprises. I recently had an "outdated" blue develop white mold and get brie flavors on top of the blue....I was in heaven. So anyway, turn those into patties and grill.....a couple strips of bacon on top and YUM!
Up next is the potato salad. So um, yeah, its potato salad is kinda hard to screw up. Boil the taters, I leave the skin on, in well salted water. This saves having to add salt later. And a new trick I learned today, don't want to dirty another pot for boiling the eggs, just put them on top the taters and take them out after boiling for 11min with a slotted spoon. CAKE! Now for the trick that Dusti taught me in Wyoming. Don't go full mayo, use half mayo and half sour cream....it adds a unique flavor that can't be beat. Tonights' includes celery, sweet relish, 4 eggs, about 3/4 of a normal sized onion, plenty of prepared mustard, and a tiche of distilled vinegar. I also decided to add some (ok, a lot of) mustard powder to kick it up a notch. Oh hells yeah, it knocked it up a notch and added a spice that is A-FREAKING-MAZING!
And finally the Warm Mushroom Salad. A couple of notes on this one, the recipe calls for a mixed green....I like straight up spinach. Don't over reduce the balsamic, or it doesn't coat the greens well. And finally, add those mushrooms while they are still steaming hot. I like a well wilted spinach, this is the only way I've found to get that effect, otherwise the spinach holds up and well, the salad just sucks. The day after, this is great with a splash of vinaigrette or good old Catalina.
I'm hoping to take some pictures tonight to share some of my awesome friends with ya'll. Of course, as any good Burner should, I'll ask first.
Keep on cooking! I'm sure missing all my Burning Man friends tonight....can't wait to see you all soon!
Well, it turned out to be a nice kinda sunny day here in good ol' SLc, UT. I was hoping to hit the links today, but alas it only just now got sunny and there is still a brutal chill to the air.
Ya'll haven't heard much from me, well, for a handful of reasons. Recently my work blocked access to my social media sites, and have been being downright ruthless about IT policy, so my 20 minutes in the evening I would normally spend blogging or photographing great and easy homecooked food has been spent catching up on the days events. Also, life in general has taken an AMAZING twist. I'm not sure what has kicked over, but I've decided to quit letting minutia ruin my life. Crazy work BS -- OUT! Crappy body image stuff -- OUT! Feeling like people just don't get me -- OUT! A lot of this has happened in the past couple of weeks. I had some really amazing validation happen on the career front. While I'm not changing jobs anytime soon, I finally got potential employers to say, "Wow, you are way experienced and awesome, can we keep your resume on file should a more senior position open up?" Its made it a lot easier to let go of trying to prove myself every time I turn around. I've been letting work flow naturally and organically, and I'm pretty confident I'm rocking it. Friday alone I did more science in 4 hours than I had been doing in a year...out of fear and concern for the minutia, my productivity had been sucking. I also had a really cool friend wander back into the local area. She's one of those people that just knows me and is really a fuckton of fun! The past two weekends have been spent having some of the funnest times of my life....yes, the fun I have with her rivals the fun I have at Burning Man. The past two weekends have been spent dancing and bitching and just having fun....not often I get to do that. Thanks Ang, for reminding me what it is like to live open and free!
So that brings us to tonight. Through Ang, we met this amazing new boi. I don't mean to gush, but damn. He's cute, he's fun, he's smart (persuing his Ph.D., no less), and available. That doesn't seem to happen that often in the world of this slut. Usually, if they are available, they are lame-ass leaches that I can't stand, or if they are smart and fun they are so damn busy I have to make time to savor every single second. Some of my closest and greatest friends from down south are coming over for dinner and sleepover, as is new boi :)
So what does one do when great friends and new fucktois (I use that term with the utmost affection) are coming for dinner? We were thinking steaks, but why not pull out all the stops and make an amazing cheddar bacon stuffed burger. That set my wheels in motion, and why not add an awesome potato salad (Dusti taught me how to make this one, its delicious!). Husbear was craving a green salad too.....so why not one of my favorites, the Mushroom Spinach Salad.
So where to start. The burgers are surprisingly easy. NPS had Everson Spice Bacon Cheddar Seasoning on clearance last year. I figured why not and bought some. Needless to say I was back the next day they were open buying up their stock. For batches smaller than 5 lbs. you can approximate 2Tblsp. per pound. So I rehydrate that in a bowl and then mix in the ground beef. Usually I go for something really lean....tonight I did 1lb. 98/2 and 1lb. 80/20. Then mix in plenty of good cheddar...I've done it with super sharp, tonight with Chive Shallot Cheddar. NPS is a godsend with this as they often get the "near outdates" from local retailers and sell it for a fraction of the price. The funny thing with cheese, tho, is that there really is no such thing as an outdate. The flavors are less predictable after the outdate, but sometimes you get amazing suprises. I recently had an "outdated" blue develop white mold and get brie flavors on top of the blue....I was in heaven. So anyway, turn those into patties and grill.....a couple strips of bacon on top and YUM!
Up next is the potato salad. So um, yeah, its potato salad is kinda hard to screw up. Boil the taters, I leave the skin on, in well salted water. This saves having to add salt later. And a new trick I learned today, don't want to dirty another pot for boiling the eggs, just put them on top the taters and take them out after boiling for 11min with a slotted spoon. CAKE! Now for the trick that Dusti taught me in Wyoming. Don't go full mayo, use half mayo and half sour cream....it adds a unique flavor that can't be beat. Tonights' includes celery, sweet relish, 4 eggs, about 3/4 of a normal sized onion, plenty of prepared mustard, and a tiche of distilled vinegar. I also decided to add some (ok, a lot of) mustard powder to kick it up a notch. Oh hells yeah, it knocked it up a notch and added a spice that is A-FREAKING-MAZING!
And finally the Warm Mushroom Salad. A couple of notes on this one, the recipe calls for a mixed green....I like straight up spinach. Don't over reduce the balsamic, or it doesn't coat the greens well. And finally, add those mushrooms while they are still steaming hot. I like a well wilted spinach, this is the only way I've found to get that effect, otherwise the spinach holds up and well, the salad just sucks. The day after, this is great with a splash of vinaigrette or good old Catalina.
I'm hoping to take some pictures tonight to share some of my awesome friends with ya'll. Of course, as any good Burner should, I'll ask first.
Keep on cooking! I'm sure missing all my Burning Man friends tonight....can't wait to see you all soon!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Under the weather, but still needed to get this one out
Hey All,
What a Sunday....and after 2 beautiful days in the 70sF its snowing again. I spent yesterday in bed, in and out of the fetal position. Initially I wasn't sure if it was a rotten hangover or a stomach bug. Chez 825 did go out and tie one on on Friday. However, today, I contend it is a stomach bug :( I'm still having the chills and hot flashes, and finally broke down and made some ginger-chili tea to calm my stomach. The tea is working its magic, and its really easy. Literally all one needs to do is place some dried ginger and half a dried chili in a tea pot.
Husbear, RN, has been taking excellent care of me. He's been keeping me hydrated with "The Judy Russel Special" (its half strength Gatorade) and picking up the slack with cooking and keeping the house in a semblance of order. He's got a pork bean thing going in the crock pot.....I'm really hoping he'll write me a guest piece on it. It smells great and the little bits I've nibbled on are amazing!
So I never got around to getting this one published. I was busy with the Science Fair, and the stress levels at work this week have been EPIC...and not like happy EPIC. But I did prepare this last Thursday on my way out the door to hopefully coach young scientists to awesomeness....there's a great baseline there. With a couple of easy tweaks a couple of these projects can go all the way.
So what was quick and easy? I opted for Pierogi. Its a favorite of mine, and pretty quick to turn around if you have the frozen ones handy. Thank you NPS for having these on my last shopping trip.
So here's the ingredients:
For the gravy, I decided to go with a modified cream gravy. It was one can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, a cup of prepared chicken and tomato bullion, and 1 1/2 Tblsp (thats 4.5 teaspoons), in the jar for the good ol' shaking technique.
I fried the pierogi much like one would gyoza (Japanese potstickers). A very hot pan, to get some color, but as soon as the dumplings went into the pan, the heat was turned back to medium.
After the pierogi were cooked through, onto the plate. The pan got turned up to high just to get those bits to turn dark brown, then in with the prepared gravy, and back to medium heat. This one required me to stir the whole time, as it kept trying to lump on me.
When I could spare a moment with the gravy, it was off to the freezer to get a dish of frozen veggies, in the microwave and a press of the "magic button" and dinner was ready.
Here's the finished product.
We had a bit of leftover gravy, which found itself a second life as breakfast. I sliced up and cooked some ritzy gourmet sausages I also scored at NPS. A couple of biscuits from the tube, the sausage, an egg over easy, and the gravy. It was just as good the 2nd time around. This picture just doesn't do it justice....it really was quite tasty.
What a Sunday....and after 2 beautiful days in the 70sF its snowing again. I spent yesterday in bed, in and out of the fetal position. Initially I wasn't sure if it was a rotten hangover or a stomach bug. Chez 825 did go out and tie one on on Friday. However, today, I contend it is a stomach bug :( I'm still having the chills and hot flashes, and finally broke down and made some ginger-chili tea to calm my stomach. The tea is working its magic, and its really easy. Literally all one needs to do is place some dried ginger and half a dried chili in a tea pot.
Husbear, RN, has been taking excellent care of me. He's been keeping me hydrated with "The Judy Russel Special" (its half strength Gatorade) and picking up the slack with cooking and keeping the house in a semblance of order. He's got a pork bean thing going in the crock pot.....I'm really hoping he'll write me a guest piece on it. It smells great and the little bits I've nibbled on are amazing!
So I never got around to getting this one published. I was busy with the Science Fair, and the stress levels at work this week have been EPIC...and not like happy EPIC. But I did prepare this last Thursday on my way out the door to hopefully coach young scientists to awesomeness....there's a great baseline there. With a couple of easy tweaks a couple of these projects can go all the way.
So what was quick and easy? I opted for Pierogi. Its a favorite of mine, and pretty quick to turn around if you have the frozen ones handy. Thank you NPS for having these on my last shopping trip.
So here's the ingredients:
For the gravy, I decided to go with a modified cream gravy. It was one can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, a cup of prepared chicken and tomato bullion, and 1 1/2 Tblsp (thats 4.5 teaspoons), in the jar for the good ol' shaking technique.
I fried the pierogi much like one would gyoza (Japanese potstickers). A very hot pan, to get some color, but as soon as the dumplings went into the pan, the heat was turned back to medium.
After the pierogi were cooked through, onto the plate. The pan got turned up to high just to get those bits to turn dark brown, then in with the prepared gravy, and back to medium heat. This one required me to stir the whole time, as it kept trying to lump on me.
When I could spare a moment with the gravy, it was off to the freezer to get a dish of frozen veggies, in the microwave and a press of the "magic button" and dinner was ready.
Here's the finished product.
We had a bit of leftover gravy, which found itself a second life as breakfast. I sliced up and cooked some ritzy gourmet sausages I also scored at NPS. A couple of biscuits from the tube, the sausage, an egg over easy, and the gravy. It was just as good the 2nd time around. This picture just doesn't do it justice....it really was quite tasty.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
One I forgot to photograph, maybe I can explain it...and a bit of op-ed
Hey All,
So in my bit of playing catch-up today, it would appear it was time for KPackageKit, the KDE package tool to report my stats. All sorts of crazy assed notifications that stuff was being transmitted and whathaveyou. This got me thinking a bit about the awesome world of technology we live in. I made the return to linux this past year as I couldn't bring myself to cough up the cash for all the hardware necessary to run a conventional operating system. My thought process was, well, I have hardware that still functions, just not very well with current versions of windows. A bit ago, I enabled stat reporting on my Kubuntu box. There are plenty of hardworking developers out there that are taking the time to write good, solid, and efficient code and help me get more life out of my old hardware. I dabbled in linux in college and found it to be horrifying. I could do enough to get good grades, but I always had a tough time wrapping my head around how it did stuff. Newer distributions, I have found, take care of a lot of those problems. GUIs are finally intuitive, as is system management. I initially tried Mandriva, but it still lacked a lot of what I was looking for in an OS. Next, I procured this laptop and decided to give Kubuntu a try. I know many folks roll their eyes that I'm using modified Ubuntu, but I am a child of the Microsoft era. KDE is the closest thing I've found to MS Windows behavior. GNOME is still a dirty word in my world as the old Red Hat distros I used way back when where horrible with it. So anyway, that was a really long editorial about how amazing some of the newer linux, namely Ubuntu and Kubuntu, distributions are. And also why I don't mind sharing my stats with the linux community. Perhaps its my inner Burner loving what a motivated and thoughtful community can do. I do know its also the cheapskate in my loving free and useful software :) So if you've got some old hardware and curious if you might be able to get some additional life out of it, you might want to give Ubuntu and its derivatives a try. Some functionality does require post-doctorate honors in computer science, but for a stand alone, have fun with it system, it might just fit your needs.
Part of what prompted that is the ease with which Kubuntu is handling all my old hardware in the form of cameras and the like. In this case, I forgot to take pictures, but I'll try and explain.
This is a take on the Sweet Chili Sauce. I used 1 jalapeño and one julienned green pepper. I fried up some chicken with some ginger. Then added the sauce and a healthy sprinkle of sesame seeds and served over rice. I also served some of the Spiced Edamame as an appetizer. It was tasty!
I had just a bit leftover, so yesterday, for lunch, I put some in a tortilla with mango salsa. Man, that was good too. Sweet, spicy, and perfectly filling for a lunch.
So in my bit of playing catch-up today, it would appear it was time for KPackageKit, the KDE package tool to report my stats. All sorts of crazy assed notifications that stuff was being transmitted and whathaveyou. This got me thinking a bit about the awesome world of technology we live in. I made the return to linux this past year as I couldn't bring myself to cough up the cash for all the hardware necessary to run a conventional operating system. My thought process was, well, I have hardware that still functions, just not very well with current versions of windows. A bit ago, I enabled stat reporting on my Kubuntu box. There are plenty of hardworking developers out there that are taking the time to write good, solid, and efficient code and help me get more life out of my old hardware. I dabbled in linux in college and found it to be horrifying. I could do enough to get good grades, but I always had a tough time wrapping my head around how it did stuff. Newer distributions, I have found, take care of a lot of those problems. GUIs are finally intuitive, as is system management. I initially tried Mandriva, but it still lacked a lot of what I was looking for in an OS. Next, I procured this laptop and decided to give Kubuntu a try. I know many folks roll their eyes that I'm using modified Ubuntu, but I am a child of the Microsoft era. KDE is the closest thing I've found to MS Windows behavior. GNOME is still a dirty word in my world as the old Red Hat distros I used way back when where horrible with it. So anyway, that was a really long editorial about how amazing some of the newer linux, namely Ubuntu and Kubuntu, distributions are. And also why I don't mind sharing my stats with the linux community. Perhaps its my inner Burner loving what a motivated and thoughtful community can do. I do know its also the cheapskate in my loving free and useful software :) So if you've got some old hardware and curious if you might be able to get some additional life out of it, you might want to give Ubuntu and its derivatives a try. Some functionality does require post-doctorate honors in computer science, but for a stand alone, have fun with it system, it might just fit your needs.
Part of what prompted that is the ease with which Kubuntu is handling all my old hardware in the form of cameras and the like. In this case, I forgot to take pictures, but I'll try and explain.
This is a take on the Sweet Chili Sauce. I used 1 jalapeño and one julienned green pepper. I fried up some chicken with some ginger. Then added the sauce and a healthy sprinkle of sesame seeds and served over rice. I also served some of the Spiced Edamame as an appetizer. It was tasty!
I had just a bit leftover, so yesterday, for lunch, I put some in a tortilla with mango salsa. Man, that was good too. Sweet, spicy, and perfectly filling for a lunch.
Now for the Broccoli Beef....YUM!
Hey All,
Today is my day to catch up. As I mentioned, its been busy....but I've been remembering to take pictures as I go, so I've got something to write about. Also, I've noticed in the past couple of weeks my cooking hasn't been as budget friendly as usual. Lately the meals have been running in the $10-15 to feed 3 range as opposed to the usual less than $10. I still consider that a pretty hefty accomplishment. Since tax season is over and all the insurance premiums have been paid for the next 6 months, I'm not losing any sleep over some splurging.
I've also been having lots of fun with music again. Many of my super talented DJ friends have been releasing some great stuff that keeps me rocking in the kitchen. I do have plans to install an under the cupboard radio to keep my kitchen juices flowing. Now if I could just find the funding to turn it into a full fledged nightclub ;P
I alluded to The Best Broccoli Beef Sauce recipe ever. Its simple, its flavorful and YUM! I deviate from the recipe a bit by mixing up the sauce the night before. Instead of just the flour and liquids, I also add the ginger and garlic to the mix. I also have a habit of using Wai Fa ginger. This is another of those strange things I found at Global Supermarket. It is a cured and spiced version of ginger that I've found stores better than fresh or candied and is easier to cut up. It still has a great ginger flavor and the ease of cutting is a huge plus when you are in a hurry in the kitchen. Put that all together in a container with a tight fitting lid and shake the daylights out of it to get the lumps to break up. No need for crazy stirring methods or anything like that, shaking is easy!
Up next is the mushroom stem. This stuff is crazy good! I first had it on my 26th birthday. I was in Salt Lake for my birthday weekend, and God, what a fun weekend that was...it was the Utah Bears annual Mr. Bear - Mr. Cub contest. Needless to say with all the partying and debauchery I needed something healthy to eat and Evergreen House fit the bill. This review is spot on that its some of the best stuff you'll ever find for vegetarian fare. I like to think of it as good, healthy, vegetarian food without the hipster pretentiousness. Its affordable and tasty, I can't say the same for any of the other vegetarian establishments I've been to in Salt Lake. OK, enough of that, this mushroom stem is just cool....it has a great earthy, grainy flavor, and really unique texture. I have no idea where else to get it besides Evergreen, so if you are fortunate enough to be able to get your hands on this stuff, give it a try, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
And of course, broccoli. We've been having really good sales on broccoli again, so this was a no brainer last week.
The first thing is to fry up the mushroom stem like you would beef. Just get some brown marks on it. Of course, that means a bit of oil (not too much), and a hot pan. Then just heat it through.
Then give the sauce one last good shake and pour it in. If the skillet is still on the hot side, you may want to stir it until it cools down to keep the sauce from lumping up.
Then in with the broccoli. At this point I like to cover it just until the broccoli starts to sweat.
Then I give it a quick toss, turn off the heat, and let it stay warm until I'm ready to plate.
We served it over a jasmine rice. Its tasty over any rice, but to capture the Evergreen House experience, you'll want to use a really hearty brown rice.
I've also done this with reconstituted Vege1 meat substitute. Vege1 is one of the few I've found that has good flavor and a tolerable texture. You might want to give it a shot if you're entertaining for die hard vegetarians.
Today is my day to catch up. As I mentioned, its been busy....but I've been remembering to take pictures as I go, so I've got something to write about. Also, I've noticed in the past couple of weeks my cooking hasn't been as budget friendly as usual. Lately the meals have been running in the $10-15 to feed 3 range as opposed to the usual less than $10. I still consider that a pretty hefty accomplishment. Since tax season is over and all the insurance premiums have been paid for the next 6 months, I'm not losing any sleep over some splurging.
I've also been having lots of fun with music again. Many of my super talented DJ friends have been releasing some great stuff that keeps me rocking in the kitchen. I do have plans to install an under the cupboard radio to keep my kitchen juices flowing. Now if I could just find the funding to turn it into a full fledged nightclub ;P
I alluded to The Best Broccoli Beef Sauce recipe ever. Its simple, its flavorful and YUM! I deviate from the recipe a bit by mixing up the sauce the night before. Instead of just the flour and liquids, I also add the ginger and garlic to the mix. I also have a habit of using Wai Fa ginger. This is another of those strange things I found at Global Supermarket. It is a cured and spiced version of ginger that I've found stores better than fresh or candied and is easier to cut up. It still has a great ginger flavor and the ease of cutting is a huge plus when you are in a hurry in the kitchen. Put that all together in a container with a tight fitting lid and shake the daylights out of it to get the lumps to break up. No need for crazy stirring methods or anything like that, shaking is easy!
Up next is the mushroom stem. This stuff is crazy good! I first had it on my 26th birthday. I was in Salt Lake for my birthday weekend, and God, what a fun weekend that was...it was the Utah Bears annual Mr. Bear - Mr. Cub contest. Needless to say with all the partying and debauchery I needed something healthy to eat and Evergreen House fit the bill. This review is spot on that its some of the best stuff you'll ever find for vegetarian fare. I like to think of it as good, healthy, vegetarian food without the hipster pretentiousness. Its affordable and tasty, I can't say the same for any of the other vegetarian establishments I've been to in Salt Lake. OK, enough of that, this mushroom stem is just cool....it has a great earthy, grainy flavor, and really unique texture. I have no idea where else to get it besides Evergreen, so if you are fortunate enough to be able to get your hands on this stuff, give it a try, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
And of course, broccoli. We've been having really good sales on broccoli again, so this was a no brainer last week.
The first thing is to fry up the mushroom stem like you would beef. Just get some brown marks on it. Of course, that means a bit of oil (not too much), and a hot pan. Then just heat it through.
Then give the sauce one last good shake and pour it in. If the skillet is still on the hot side, you may want to stir it until it cools down to keep the sauce from lumping up.
Then in with the broccoli. At this point I like to cover it just until the broccoli starts to sweat.
Then I give it a quick toss, turn off the heat, and let it stay warm until I'm ready to plate.
We served it over a jasmine rice. Its tasty over any rice, but to capture the Evergreen House experience, you'll want to use a really hearty brown rice.
I've also done this with reconstituted Vege1 meat substitute. Vege1 is one of the few I've found that has good flavor and a tolerable texture. You might want to give it a shot if you're entertaining for die hard vegetarians.
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