Gogol Bordello have this fabulous song "Start Wearing Purple". It sort of makes you feel like a drunk gypsy just listening to it!
Also, the National have an actual video out off their new album 'Boxer' (I think it's for the song 'Mistaken For Strangers'), but the teaser 'Gospel' is really pretty.
'Boxer' took me a few listens to get used to. We loved 'Alligator' and were sort of prepared for disappointment. However, they didn't clean up the music for radio or whatever the way we had feared. I think that if anything, this record seems a bit darker. At least he's stopped singing about poor Karen.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Tree spirit project
Came across the Tree Spirit Project. I thought the one of trees in a suburban-looking neighborhood all adorned with humans was rather fun ("Ficus Friends"). Imagine just strolling down the road and seeing that. Maybe the next time we visit California.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
A good man
Dear Curt is very patient when I get the camera out. Here are a few shots I got of him last week. Making pineapple salsa for Marti & Brad's Caribbean dinner and just hangin' on the carport...
Summer reading
So, my recent reading list has been rather varied.
I've just started Chaucer's 'the Canterbury Tales' out of my Grandmother's 'Great Books of the Western World' collection. Also, I've been on a kick of rather interesting, but depressing memoirs recently too.
However, there have been a couple of very enjoyable filler books which I keep thinking would make for great reads at the beach.
The latest is Carl Hiassen's 'Sick Puppy'. Fabulous, totally implausible, but so much fun. This is the first I've read by him, but I already have another waiting.
The other is called 'the Raw Shark Texts' by Steven Hall. It's one of those deals where you have to just go with it. Otherwise, you're likely to discount the main character as a nut & the author as a bit overly-dramatic (sort of like punk-rock). There is a good review by the author Audrey Niffenegger on it's Amazon page.
I also read a collection of short thrillers called 'Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night' put together by James Patterson and David Liss. Some of the authors are pretty creative, but many of the stories were kind of graphic without being all that interesting.
I've just started Chaucer's 'the Canterbury Tales' out of my Grandmother's 'Great Books of the Western World' collection. Also, I've been on a kick of rather interesting, but depressing memoirs recently too.
However, there have been a couple of very enjoyable filler books which I keep thinking would make for great reads at the beach.
The latest is Carl Hiassen's 'Sick Puppy'. Fabulous, totally implausible, but so much fun. This is the first I've read by him, but I already have another waiting.
The other is called 'the Raw Shark Texts' by Steven Hall. It's one of those deals where you have to just go with it. Otherwise, you're likely to discount the main character as a nut & the author as a bit overly-dramatic (sort of like punk-rock). There is a good review by the author Audrey Niffenegger on it's Amazon page.
I also read a collection of short thrillers called 'Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night' put together by James Patterson and David Liss. Some of the authors are pretty creative, but many of the stories were kind of graphic without being all that interesting.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Veggie Tart
Recently, we joined a local CSA farm to get most of our veggies. Needless to say, it has improved our eating habits. We are definitely eating more fruits & vegetables than ever before. However, it has become a fun challenge to come up with recipes to accommodate eating all these veggies.
Our latest effort is a quiche/veggie tart kind of thing. We figure that you can put in a wide variety of stuff and it'll be yummy (with all the fat we put in to it, we probably more than balance any good nutrients, oh well). We've had success using broccoli and shredded cheddar, but here's the latest version:
Ingredients:
-1 Pillsbury 9" pre-rolled pie dough (because I'd rather drink a cup of Clorox than make my own - of course, if you are the kind of sadistic bastard that enjoys rolling out pie crusts, be my guest)
-1 zucchini/courgette quartered lengthwise & then chopped in 1/4"-1/2" slices horizontally
-3 Spring onions thinly sliced across (1/4" or so). Also, include stems - chopped slightly thicker (maybe 1/2")
-1 or 1 1/2 cups of mushrooms (depending on how much you like that flavour) slice 1/4"-1/2"
-1-2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil
-1 1/2 tablespoons of dry seasoning (I use a mix of dried fennel seeds, lavender flowers & thyme)
-1 small package of goat cheese (I think around 4 oz)
-2/3 cup shredded swiss cheese
-1 minced clove of fresh garlic
-1 1/2 tablespoons of coarsely chopped, fresh basil
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-3 large eggs
-paprika
-salt
-pepper
Preheat the oven as per directions on box for pre-baking a single crust. Unroll one crust and press it into a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom and cut off/discard any excess dough (or you could just use a pie plate). Prebake crust, pull from the oven and allow to cool.
Turn the heat in the oven to 375-400 degrees (lower heat=longer cooking time, but it ensures all the cheese is fully melted). Fill a large Pyrex dish with water and place on lower rack (the moisture seems to keep this thing from burning)
Heat your oil or butter on a medium-high heat in a large fry pan. Add in the dried seasoning and vegetables. Cook them until they are well-browned on all sides, put them aside in a bowl.
Mix together the cheeses and garlic. Spread this evenly across the face of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the fresh basil over the cheese mixture.
Then, spoon in the vegetables and try to spread them out somewhat evenly.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk cream until frothy and then add the eggs. Continue beating until eggs are fully incorporated and pour over the vegetables until it comes to the edge of the crust (or if you are using a pie plate and have a higher crust - until the vegetables are mostly covered).
Sprinkle paprika, salt and pepper to taste evenly over the top.
Place on rack above the now hot dish of water in the oven and check in half an hour.
It should get nicely browned on the top and puff out a little when it is done.
So it doesn't implode, I just turn off the heat and open the oven door when it seems done. Then, after letting it cool there for about five minutes I transfer it over to a cooling rack for 45 minutes before slipping it out of the pan and onto a serving platter.
Seems like a lot of steps, but really pretty simple.
Our latest effort is a quiche/veggie tart kind of thing. We figure that you can put in a wide variety of stuff and it'll be yummy (with all the fat we put in to it, we probably more than balance any good nutrients, oh well). We've had success using broccoli and shredded cheddar, but here's the latest version:
Ingredients:
-1 Pillsbury 9" pre-rolled pie dough (because I'd rather drink a cup of Clorox than make my own - of course, if you are the kind of sadistic bastard that enjoys rolling out pie crusts, be my guest)
-1 zucchini/courgette quartered lengthwise & then chopped in 1/4"-1/2" slices horizontally
-3 Spring onions thinly sliced across (1/4" or so). Also, include stems - chopped slightly thicker (maybe 1/2")
-1 or 1 1/2 cups of mushrooms (depending on how much you like that flavour) slice 1/4"-1/2"
-1-2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil
-1 1/2 tablespoons of dry seasoning (I use a mix of dried fennel seeds, lavender flowers & thyme)
-1 small package of goat cheese (I think around 4 oz)
-2/3 cup shredded swiss cheese
-1 minced clove of fresh garlic
-1 1/2 tablespoons of coarsely chopped, fresh basil
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-3 large eggs
-paprika
-salt
-pepper
Preheat the oven as per directions on box for pre-baking a single crust. Unroll one crust and press it into a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom and cut off/discard any excess dough (or you could just use a pie plate). Prebake crust, pull from the oven and allow to cool.
Turn the heat in the oven to 375-400 degrees (lower heat=longer cooking time, but it ensures all the cheese is fully melted). Fill a large Pyrex dish with water and place on lower rack (the moisture seems to keep this thing from burning)
Heat your oil or butter on a medium-high heat in a large fry pan. Add in the dried seasoning and vegetables. Cook them until they are well-browned on all sides, put them aside in a bowl.
Mix together the cheeses and garlic. Spread this evenly across the face of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the fresh basil over the cheese mixture.
Then, spoon in the vegetables and try to spread them out somewhat evenly.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk cream until frothy and then add the eggs. Continue beating until eggs are fully incorporated and pour over the vegetables until it comes to the edge of the crust (or if you are using a pie plate and have a higher crust - until the vegetables are mostly covered).
Sprinkle paprika, salt and pepper to taste evenly over the top.
Place on rack above the now hot dish of water in the oven and check in half an hour.
It should get nicely browned on the top and puff out a little when it is done.
So it doesn't implode, I just turn off the heat and open the oven door when it seems done. Then, after letting it cool there for about five minutes I transfer it over to a cooling rack for 45 minutes before slipping it out of the pan and onto a serving platter.
Seems like a lot of steps, but really pretty simple.
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