Thursday, August 18, 2011
The Hushed Whispers of the Soul, Build that Wall, to Tear it Down
"Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil." - Baltasar Gracian
"The tragedy of sexual intercourse is the perpetual virginity of the soul." ~William B. Yeats
"To hear many religious people talk, one would think God created the torso, head, legs and arms, but the devil slapped on the genitals." ~Don Schrader
I am fascinated by sleep, but what I dream of is an entire world without it, perpetual light and hours innumerable without rest. Not the perpetual light of day, mind you, but the perpetual light generated for the purposes of fighting the night with heart and soul. Sleeping, lazily dreaming have always been a naughty vice, a shameful human habit. Be up before dawn, work till after dark, then fill your soul with companionship and sex, and then if you absolutely must, sleep a few moments before doing it all again. No one says it, no one lets it past their lips, but it is written everywhere and in the faces of every man and woman. Sleep is for the children, to keep them from spoiling our fun. Lets say it out in the open... lets let the words ring clear... We have conquered the world, we have conquered the human genome, and the very workings of the atom. What we dream of, what we are fevered with, what we fight with every corner of our being. We want to be wakeful forever, and throw off the shackles of that thief of the night.
"Without music life would be a mistake." ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
"He who sings scares away his woes." ~Cervantes
"Men profess to be lovers of music, but for the most part they give no evidence in their opinions and lives that they have heard it." ~Henry David Thoreau
"Alas for those that never sing, But die with all their music in them!" ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
I'll Say This As Emphatically As I Can...
Fuck yeah, Mrs. Robinson.
"Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not." - Samuel Johnson
Simon and Garfunkle never used autotune.. but what if they did?
Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean-favoured and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good Morning!" and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich, yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine -- we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked and waited for the light,
And went without the meat and cursed the bread,
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet in his head.
"Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not." - Samuel Johnson
Simon and Garfunkle never used autotune.. but what if they did?
Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean-favoured and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good Morning!" and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich, yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine -- we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked and waited for the light,
And went without the meat and cursed the bread,
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet in his head.
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Dolmades
Here is a recipe I've done a few times and like a lot.
2 lb ground meat (beef or lamb or some blend of the two, the more lamb the better)
1/2 onion minced
8 oz tabbouleh or some fine granular pasta
Mint leaves
A few raisins(optional)
Salt and pepper
1 tb oil
1 egg
Mix it all up like a meat loaf, blend it up and mix it and shape it together.
1 Jar Grape Leaves
Chicken broth/stock/bouillon
Unfold the grape leaves carefully, then take one leaf at a time and place enough of the meat mixture into the leaf before rolling it up halfway, folding in the sides, then rolling the rest of the way to form the domlade. Place into a gallon pot. If you run out of leaves form the remaining meat into small meatballs and add to the rest of the pot. Fill pot with chicken broth till the dolmades are covered, then bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 45min - 1hour. Extra meatballs on top can be a strong indicator of how well done they are.
4 eggs, 4 lemons
Whisk eggs together while slowly adding lemon juice squeezed from 4 lemons till frothy, then after letting the dolmades cool for a bit, ladle about 1/4 - 1/2 the stock from the pot into the lemon sauce very slowly while whisking it to prevent it from curdling. Drain remainder of stock, then replace with sauce, cook for additional ten minutes on low to medium heat, then serve.
Sadly, Kroger had no lamb when I cooked these and they were all beef, and they were greatly lacking because of it.
2 lb ground meat (beef or lamb or some blend of the two, the more lamb the better)
1/2 onion minced
8 oz tabbouleh or some fine granular pasta
Mint leaves
A few raisins(optional)
Salt and pepper
1 tb oil
1 egg
Mix it all up like a meat loaf, blend it up and mix it and shape it together.
1 Jar Grape Leaves
Chicken broth/stock/bouillon
Unfold the grape leaves carefully, then take one leaf at a time and place enough of the meat mixture into the leaf before rolling it up halfway, folding in the sides, then rolling the rest of the way to form the domlade. Place into a gallon pot. If you run out of leaves form the remaining meat into small meatballs and add to the rest of the pot. Fill pot with chicken broth till the dolmades are covered, then bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 45min - 1hour. Extra meatballs on top can be a strong indicator of how well done they are.
4 eggs, 4 lemons
Whisk eggs together while slowly adding lemon juice squeezed from 4 lemons till frothy, then after letting the dolmades cool for a bit, ladle about 1/4 - 1/2 the stock from the pot into the lemon sauce very slowly while whisking it to prevent it from curdling. Drain remainder of stock, then replace with sauce, cook for additional ten minutes on low to medium heat, then serve.
Sadly, Kroger had no lamb when I cooked these and they were all beef, and they were greatly lacking because of it.
Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
2 Cups Desired Cheese (I used mild cheddar)
1 Stick butter
1/2 Carrot, minced
1 Celery stick, chopped
1/2 Onion, minced
2 cups shredded chicken(I roasted and de-boned 3 thighs)
1/2 bottle Frank's Red Hot sauce
1 Cup milk
1 Lb Desired pasta(I used elbow macaroni)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Prepare the pasta in boiling salt water till tender, then drain and add 1/2 stick of butter, stir till melted, then add milk and cheese, salt and pepper to taste, stirring constantly till creamy, extra milk or cream can add a creamier consistency if the cheese is still stringy.
In a separate skillet, saute the carrot, celery, and onion till tender, then add shredded chicken, hot sauce, remaining butter, salt, and pepper. Cook till tender and chicken is well coated and most of the sauce is absorbed.
Fold meat mixture into pasta, serve.
It was delicious.
I served it with a little bit of garlic bread and blue cheese sauce on the side.
1 Stick butter
1/2 Carrot, minced
1 Celery stick, chopped
1/2 Onion, minced
2 cups shredded chicken(I roasted and de-boned 3 thighs)
1/2 bottle Frank's Red Hot sauce
1 Cup milk
1 Lb Desired pasta(I used elbow macaroni)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Prepare the pasta in boiling salt water till tender, then drain and add 1/2 stick of butter, stir till melted, then add milk and cheese, salt and pepper to taste, stirring constantly till creamy, extra milk or cream can add a creamier consistency if the cheese is still stringy.
In a separate skillet, saute the carrot, celery, and onion till tender, then add shredded chicken, hot sauce, remaining butter, salt, and pepper. Cook till tender and chicken is well coated and most of the sauce is absorbed.
Fold meat mixture into pasta, serve.
It was delicious.
I served it with a little bit of garlic bread and blue cheese sauce on the side.
Recipes!
Last week I spent an abundant amount of time in the kitchen. I posted about stealing grape leaves, and the next day I cooked dolmades with them. I'm going to break these up into separate recipe posts and just talk about the short list here and when I cooked what.
Last tuesday Zac's mom came to visit us for dinner, which I was very surprised by, because she has been talking about visiting since I first moved in but always has some kind of unforseen difficulty. So, I really wanted to cook her something special. I originally was thinking shrimp scampi, but with the trip to the vineyard the day before I decided that fresh stolen grape leaves left open a rare opportunity for a meal that I couldn't pass up: dolmades made with fresh picked leaves.
So I made a tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad, then I fixed a helping of whipped sweet potatoes, and served it with fresh lemony (though not lamb-y as Kroger did not have any ground lamb) dolmades.
A few days after that I cooked for Mike and Co., fixing a recipe I had seen at work, though, I improved it since I didn't remember the recipe. Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese. It is every bit as delicious as it sounds.
Last tuesday Zac's mom came to visit us for dinner, which I was very surprised by, because she has been talking about visiting since I first moved in but always has some kind of unforseen difficulty. So, I really wanted to cook her something special. I originally was thinking shrimp scampi, but with the trip to the vineyard the day before I decided that fresh stolen grape leaves left open a rare opportunity for a meal that I couldn't pass up: dolmades made with fresh picked leaves.
So I made a tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad, then I fixed a helping of whipped sweet potatoes, and served it with fresh lemony (though not lamb-y as Kroger did not have any ground lamb) dolmades.
A few days after that I cooked for Mike and Co., fixing a recipe I had seen at work, though, I improved it since I didn't remember the recipe. Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese. It is every bit as delicious as it sounds.
Monday, August 01, 2011
Had to Share This
Tobias Funke was sitting in my lap when his head shot up. It took me a few seconds to find out what he was looking at before I noticed that his killer kitty instincts had zeroed in on the mouse pointer. After I noticed I decided to let him play with it for a while and that it would be fun to capture it for youtube with my webcam. Hehe. Enjoy.
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