The joys of work-life include the myriad strange logo objects that come to your attention. I don't know who authorizes these things or why. Probably the same person that makes sure there is plenty of green paper, but no black pens. I do know why they end up as white elephants, ceaselessly marching from desktop to desktop. These things are simply not fit for public consumption, much less as an objet d'art with which to woo savvy clients.
Take our wonderful globe. It's inflatable. What fun! In a nod to subtlety, our globe has the corporate logo emblazoned on no less than 3 locations. It also indicates the ocean currents, the location of both Chicagos, the relocation of Savannah into central Florida, a wonderful new city called Shreve Port, and the fact that Mexico has been annexed into the Central American geographic region.
This is not a problem. Geography is difficult and, thankfully, here in the US we are too addled to even know the globe is incorrect (maybe it's not, how the hell do I know*). It certainly isn't a problem that the office is located in Chicago. If anything, that's a bonus. Let those jackasses with their "customer service" issues try to find us now! Not only that, but it also doubles as a bowling ball if you have ten empty water bottles handy.
* Shoutouts to gamerKidBilly86 for his excellently edited and researched Wikipedia article on the new Central Amerika, without which I could not have completed this awesome blahg post. Also, I should mention my mom, who has a cooler iPod than I do and who I look up to and hope to convince that bigger really is better. Final trade. No takebacks!
The weather outside is not delightful. In fact, it's downright crappy. Frightful, if you will. Cold as the proverbial witch's you know what. Add to that a pelting sleet. It's Bear weather.
Screw that. Let's grab some pork neck and make a hearty ragout. I grabbed a recipe from an article by Steve Manfredi (google is your friend). I have to say it was tasty. Yes, I have to, but it actually was.
I used everyone's pal, the pinto bean. I also left a few hunks on the bone because I think it looks cool and there's the bonus of potential choking victims. The long simmer really blended everything together well.
The real jewel of the evening was a pan-fried pear bit I threw together on a whim, based on a recipe from the BBC Food website. Base of piled herbs (mint, tarragon, basil, parsley, salt and pepper). Laid over that, a warm and golden pear, courtesy of a few minutes in a pan with butter. Topped with a dressing of oil, balsamic, mustard and crispy pancetta crumble. Simple preparation for a complex flavor.
Have you ever found your remote in the freezer? Of course you have. Who hasn't?
This is a tale that doesn't involve remote controls or the freezer. It is, however, a mystery of grand import.
What the F is that?
I was cleaning out the crisper in the refrigerator. I do keep it clean, but tucked nicely in the back corner was an innocuous zip lock baggy. I had never noticed it. I never open the drawer that far. I just pull out the cilantro or some fruit and kick it closed. I don't know how this organic play dough got there, what its purpose is, and I certainly don't know what the hell it actually is.
It is small in quantity and rather pale in color. It is soft to the touch initially, but resistant overall and, though seemingly amorphous, the nugget maintains whatever shape it has chosen for itself. The mass has decent heft for its size. There are no bad indications of the type you might suspect. No foul odor, no fungus, no residual slime. It is neatly tucked inside two zip lock baggies. It is a mystery.
I put it back, just in case I should have cause to prevent an intergalactic war with it. Or perhaps I felt the pleas of a million microscopic beings in the throes of cataclysmic panic. You just never know about these things.
Bursting on the scene recently as the new star of the night sky, Comet P17/Holmes has now grown larger than our sun. For those without telescopes, grab a pair of binoculars or just go outside and look skyward for a view of this amazing celestial object.Also on the horizon is the Leonid meteor shower. Sure to be less stellar than in recent years, the Leonids are still a wonder. Look for peak periods on the evenings of November 17-18 (Saturday and Sunday). Predictions for activity are modest this year, with somewhere in the range of 10-15 per hour being the general consensus. Space.com reports that the usual cast of suspects (NASA's Peter Jenniskens, Jeremie Vaubaillon of France, Esko Lyytinen of Finland, David Asher of Ireland and Mikhail Maslov of Russia) are predicting a burst in Asia anywhere from 30-60 per hour. Unfortunately, this will most likely occur during the day for fellow skywatchers in the East.The show is best viewed after midnight on Saturday to the predawn period of Sunday morning. The radiant (the point in the sky that the meteors appear to originate from) rises late for the Leonids. This particular shower originates from the mane of the Leo constellation (the "sickle"), from whence the name of the shower is derived. The International Meteor Organization provides a nice look at the radiant drift map.For other observation events, check out the Week at a Glance feature at skyandtelescope.com.
8 pm ET, CNN will broadcast a debate of the Democratic presidential candidates in the Thomas and Mack Center on the Univeristy of Nevada campus.An interesting locational shift. Perhaps a move toward acknowledging a diverse Democratic base. Certainly a nod to an important state that Bush won in 2000 and 2004 but that is definitely not a lock.This could be an opportunity for Hillary to show some teeth. Her closest competition is stepping up the attack and thus far Clinton has remained fairly civil. How long can that last in the modern political campaign arena?Could be an interesting show. I might just watch with the sound off and read the transcript later.Any guesses as to which candidate ends up nervously gumming a towel?
I lied. This isn't anything to do with holidays.
This is a note to my neighbor.
It's November. It's forty-five f'ing degrees out. You can stop watering your lawn.
Thanks.
I had a yen for some Asian style cuisine so I decide to bust out my wok. I spent my work day poking around the internet and building a grocery list and game plan. I liked the recipes I found at Bangkok Cuisine. You can't go wrong with a name like that.
So, having hit the grocery on the way home from work on Wednesday, I assembled the ingredients for Basil Chicken, Chili Fish Sauce and Cucumber Salad. Oil, sugar, fish sauce, chilies (had to make do with what they had), lots of basil (again, not Thai basil, but basil nevertheless) and garlic (check out my spankin' new garlic press).
It looks like a terribly large mess of basil, but that is the dominant flavor for this dish and the leaves dwindle to a manageable size very quickly upon hitting the wok. As usual, I did manage to slice myself. This time on the underside of my knuckle on the left hand. I didn't really notice until I was seeding the chili peppers. Damn that stings. So does the lime juice.
Got the assembly line ready. Key for the wok. Time flies. Be prepared.
Quickly working up the Cucumber Salad. Rice vinegar, oil, onion, tomato, cucumber, fish sauce.
Soaked some rice in preparation for an easy microwaving. Don't look at me like that. This works admirably. Try it. And no, I didn't put that metal bowl in the machine, despite how fun that would have been.
Chili fish sauce. I almost didn't bother with this. It might have been my favorite bit. The aroma was tremendous. It is the one item that really brought home the "Thai" element for me. The mingling of the lime and the fish sauce and chili scents was fan-farkin-tastik. Fish sauce, chilies, shallot, lime juice.
Ready to go.
Now, the following day (that's today if you are keeping count at home), I whipped up a quick Spicy Beef with Basil. I put the beef in the freezer for a bit to make it easy to cut the thin slices I wanted. It defrosts rapidly at room temperature once you have it all sliced. Fish sauce (yes, I am getting good use out of that), chili sauce, bell pepper, onion and basil.
The line is prepped. The wok is just smoking.
Finished this off with a quick de-glazing using a smidge of chicken stock. Drizzled that over the top after plating.
Thar she blows. I like the color of the yellow (or orange, whatever, I can at least tell it ain't green) over the traditional green pepper for this dish.
I think I'm going to grill some Thai bbq pork sometime this weekend. Bring me some beer.
I was soooo drunk!
No, not really. However, I neglected to mention that during my pumpkin carving extravaganza I was snuggled up to a 64 ounce bottle (1/2 gallon) of Dead Guy Ale. This was a serious failure on my part because this brew definitely deserves to be highlighted.
The beverage was a damn fine accompaniment for slashing open a pumpkin and extracting it's brains. The color is a dark honey. It is suitably nutty and very smooth. Strangely, it had the aroma of quality ale.
The obvious bonus here is I am now prepared to start my own jug band using the now empty 1/2 gallon bottle with the superb Mayan Dia de los Muertos-inspired design. If anyone is proficient at playing the washboard or washtub bass, call me. I already have a line on someone to play spoons.
In other ponderings, who the hell thought it was a good idea for Britney Spears to title her new album "Blackout"?
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