Wok This Way

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.

Blackout

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"?

Squash Surgery

It's Halloween. What a great time of year. The weather is just peachy, the leaves are colorful and darkness reigns.

As is the custom, I love to do some cosmetic surgery on a gourd. It is also the custom that, despite this joy of mine, I don't manage to actually get one before it is too damn late.

This year was no exception...almost. The local city pumpkin patch (a nursery that provides a few hay bales and various appropriate forms of gourd for the occassion) was plumb out by yesterday evening when I arrived. I even left work early so I could swing by on my way to the grocery.

However, I recalled that my backup grocery store (it's closer, but very much resembles a flea market on its final Sunday) had a bunch when I went to get dog food Saturday morning. Of course, in my infinite wisdom, I didn't bother to pick one up then. Why do know what you can put off until it no longer matters?

I swung by the joint and was disappointed to see the parking lot section, that just days ago teemed with orange spheres, was now empty. I had to swing through the lot anyway to head back home and lo and behold, there were two lonely deformed pumpkins sitting in a shopping cart by the door. I was in luck. I felt like Charlie Brown might if that sour witch would stop yanking the football out from under him. Sadly, the more deformed of the two was left sad and alone to whatever horrid fate awaits unwanted pumpkins.

So I dragged the thing home, sketched out some basic ideas and then created a template for my victim. I tend toward the classical pumpkin face. It just feels right. I then used the paper template to trace perforations through onto the pumpkin, witch guided my skilled surgical incisions.

I'm planning on taking Jack out with a bang similar to some of the flaming pumpkins you can see at extremepumpkins.com. Stay tuned for pics of that or perhaps a photo diary of the insurance company sorting through the ash and rubble of my home.

Here's digital evidence of the botched home surgery...

Congratulations!

....you have been selected to win 2 free iPod Nanos!

and are now the proud owner of a self-mutilating variety of insanity....

courtesy of some fuckwit spreading banner ad hell all over the internet.

Nuts

Cinnamon brown sugar flavored Blue Diamond Natural Roasted Nuts, that is. I hit the snack aisle in search of some unsalted peanuts. Typically I just get the raw almonds and pecans they have over in the produce section, but today I was craving something roasted. The Vanilla flavored nut actually caught my eye and while I pondered what exactly vanilla flavored almonds would be like, I noticed these beauties on the next shelf up. The nuts also come in No Salt and Sea Salt varieties.

The flavor brings to mind the days of my youth. Taking a warm, toasted slice of bread, letting a few pats of butter melt over the top, and sprinkling a nice mix of sugar and cinnamon over the top. We had a small tin with perforated top at the ready with just the perfect mixture of cinnamon and sugar. The perfect amount of butter would meld with the sugar-cinnamon mix to form a beautiful, sweet paste.

My only complaint is that it quite clearly states "pop the lid, pour a handful" and the top definitely requires unscrewing. On the plus side, the side of the see-through plastic container has measuring levels marked in one ounce increments.

I'll have to give the vanilla almonds a try. [Gave the vanilla a try. Very subtle flavor. Almost reminiscent of vanilla ice cream....if you are slightly insane and smoke three packs a day.]

Just a Nip

A brief discussion led me turning my back on the gin aisle upon my next trip to the liquor store. I went for something different. Bauer's Obstler, an Austrian Eau de Vie. A strong, colorless apple-pear brandy.

I muscled open the flip top bottle seal and took a sniff. It was a familiar scent, very reminiscent to me of Cutty Sark. Strong. The liquor smell was prevalent, but the crisp fruit scent came softly behind.

The taste of the fruit came upfront, leading a a crisp tart turn into a nice burn.

Don't Give Them Any Ideas

Italian comedian Beppe Grillo wrote a blog entry about Italy's Levi-Prodi draft law. The draft was apparently approved by the Council of Ministers on October 12, 2007. In essence, the law would require publishers to register blogs with the government, produce certificates and pay a tax, regardless of whether the blog is created as a commercial, money-making outlet or not.

The law intends to make sweeping changes to the publishing industry and isn't really targeted at amateur or personal blogs. Although, a forward thinking person can certainly envision the confusion most non-professional publishers would find themselves in. I wouldn't have grand hopes for any government to sort licensing out easily.

As it currently stands, the bill seems to encompass all publishing activity, including the vast landscape of internet writings. It would be left for the Communications Authority to rule on which sites fall under the auspices of the new law.

It's a blatant land grab. Trust government to salivate at the opportunity to generate income and control information in one fell swoop. They may sort this out, but it's worth keeping an eye on.