I'm on a My Morning Jacket kick right now while simultaneously attempting to find fresh air and negotiating the impossible once again. Three days of meetings and barely getting by, this is what's been saving me on the damn Metro.
Click below to download some bootleg MMJ from Bonnaroo and let it sink in, trust me, it will save you.
1. Now we are dealing with something else - Smokin from Shootin
2. What is it inside our heads that makes us do the opposite? Makes us do the opposite of what's right for us? - Librarian
3. I need a human right by my side, untied, untied - Touch Me I'm Going to Scream
8 More days until a vacation..lord help me.
7/02/2008
6/28/2008
Hot tamales
So I made a batch of tamales today and thought I would share the recipe + px. It was nice to do some cooking, have a beer, some music. Plus hello I know of no one who does not like tamales and if you don't, do not tell me b/c we may have to step down our friendship. Serious.
The filling recipe will make enough for three dozen or so good-sized tamales. The masa recipe I'll give you here will make a dozen tamales. I decided to only make 12ish b/c I ran out of cheese (hello w/o cheese is there a point? answer = no) and the first batch of masa. I decided to not to make another batch of dough so I froze the leftover filling for another time. You can also freeze your tamales if you want to make a whole dang big batch, just undercook them a tad.
I went to the store to pick up the following ingredients:
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
2 jalopeno peppers
1 white onion
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 bag of Maseca (easy to make masa)
1 box of chicken stock
1 package of corn husks
1 six pack of Blue Moon Honeymoon summer ale
See below:
First thing I did was separate and soak the dried corn husks in warm water so they'd be all soft and pliable (like I like 'em) when I was ready. About 30 mins or so. I then diced up the peppers and onions and two cloves of garlic and sauted them in oil until it was all tender. It smelled like a carnival where the street venders cook up the peppers and onions for sandwiches or whatever. I did this all in my beloved cast iron skillet (which I will marry in California now that it is legal). See below:
Then I added the corn and black beans and tomatoes and spiced it with cumin and cayenne and chili powder and black pepper. I let that all simmer until everything was soft and gooey and good. In the meantime, I made up a batch of masa according to these directions:
4 cups of Maseca flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup oil (olive or veg)
2 1/2 cups of chicken stock
Put all the dry ingredients in a big bowl and mix it up a bit. Then add the oil and mix with your hands. It will be still a bit dry and crumbly. Then add 1/2 cup of chicken stock at a time, mixing with your hands all the way. In the end, it will all be a solid mass sorta like cookie dough.
Now you're ready to assemble. Take a corn husk and pull strips of it length-wise so you'll have ties, keep all the husks soaking or covered with a wet paper towel to keep them moist. Heh. Moist. 12 years old. Carry on. Take a corn husk and unfold it and grab a mid-sized handful of masa. You'll just have to experiment with quantity. I used a spatula to spread it out in the corn husk, leaving the pointed bottom half uncovered so I could fold it up. Put the filling in, I added some chicken I had already cooked up and said cheese. See below:
FYI: during this entire process, you should be consuming beer. Now what you'll want to do is fold the husk over so that the edges of the masa come together and the filling stays inside. Trial and error here, you'll get it. Then you'll have a sorta roll of corn husk. Take a strip of the corn husk you pulled apart and, after folding up the bottom pointed edge of the husk, tie it to the roll. I'll trust you generally know what a tamale is supposed to look like rather than trying to get any more descriptive. Rinse and repeat. Soon you'll have a bunch like this:
You'll have to rig a steaming device or use one you already have. I ended up putting them all in a metal strainer I had and putting that inside a large double broiler type thing with a small amt of water at the bottom and the strainer resting on the lip of the pan (not touching the water). I covered it and am letting it steam cook for about an hour or so. This is kinda the tricky part b/c I have read different times. My friend J said she does it by touch or 30-45mins, some recipes I've seen say 1.5 hours. So who knows. I'm going to do the trial and error method again and check on them and the water every 15 mins after the first 30 mins. Go crazy and live dangerously! Follow no man's limits! Cook your tamales by your own rules, I say.
(ETA: 1 hour and 15 minutes is the right amt of time)
They're cooking now and I'll probably post a pix of the final product, but you know, it will generally look like this pix I took in Houston. Actually, I'll just take a pix if it doesn't look like what a tamale is supposed to look like. That might be more fun.
ETA: Nah, had to take a picture of perfection so here it is, they are yummy:
Anyway, there you go, your own private tamale. Kinda like your own private Idaho. But not. At all, actually.
The filling recipe will make enough for three dozen or so good-sized tamales. The masa recipe I'll give you here will make a dozen tamales. I decided to only make 12ish b/c I ran out of cheese (hello w/o cheese is there a point? answer = no) and the first batch of masa. I decided to not to make another batch of dough so I froze the leftover filling for another time. You can also freeze your tamales if you want to make a whole dang big batch, just undercook them a tad.
I went to the store to pick up the following ingredients:
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
2 jalopeno peppers
1 white onion
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 bag of Maseca (easy to make masa)
1 box of chicken stock
1 package of corn husks
1 six pack of Blue Moon Honeymoon summer ale
See below:
First thing I did was separate and soak the dried corn husks in warm water so they'd be all soft and pliable (like I like 'em) when I was ready. About 30 mins or so. I then diced up the peppers and onions and two cloves of garlic and sauted them in oil until it was all tender. It smelled like a carnival where the street venders cook up the peppers and onions for sandwiches or whatever. I did this all in my beloved cast iron skillet (which I will marry in California now that it is legal). See below:
Then I added the corn and black beans and tomatoes and spiced it with cumin and cayenne and chili powder and black pepper. I let that all simmer until everything was soft and gooey and good. In the meantime, I made up a batch of masa according to these directions:
4 cups of Maseca flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup oil (olive or veg)
2 1/2 cups of chicken stock
Put all the dry ingredients in a big bowl and mix it up a bit. Then add the oil and mix with your hands. It will be still a bit dry and crumbly. Then add 1/2 cup of chicken stock at a time, mixing with your hands all the way. In the end, it will all be a solid mass sorta like cookie dough.
Now you're ready to assemble. Take a corn husk and pull strips of it length-wise so you'll have ties, keep all the husks soaking or covered with a wet paper towel to keep them moist. Heh. Moist. 12 years old. Carry on. Take a corn husk and unfold it and grab a mid-sized handful of masa. You'll just have to experiment with quantity. I used a spatula to spread it out in the corn husk, leaving the pointed bottom half uncovered so I could fold it up. Put the filling in, I added some chicken I had already cooked up and said cheese. See below:
FYI: during this entire process, you should be consuming beer. Now what you'll want to do is fold the husk over so that the edges of the masa come together and the filling stays inside. Trial and error here, you'll get it. Then you'll have a sorta roll of corn husk. Take a strip of the corn husk you pulled apart and, after folding up the bottom pointed edge of the husk, tie it to the roll. I'll trust you generally know what a tamale is supposed to look like rather than trying to get any more descriptive. Rinse and repeat. Soon you'll have a bunch like this:
You'll have to rig a steaming device or use one you already have. I ended up putting them all in a metal strainer I had and putting that inside a large double broiler type thing with a small amt of water at the bottom and the strainer resting on the lip of the pan (not touching the water). I covered it and am letting it steam cook for about an hour or so. This is kinda the tricky part b/c I have read different times. My friend J said she does it by touch or 30-45mins, some recipes I've seen say 1.5 hours. So who knows. I'm going to do the trial and error method again and check on them and the water every 15 mins after the first 30 mins. Go crazy and live dangerously! Follow no man's limits! Cook your tamales by your own rules, I say.
(ETA: 1 hour and 15 minutes is the right amt of time)
They're cooking now and I'll probably post a pix of the final product, but you know, it will generally look like this pix I took in Houston. Actually, I'll just take a pix if it doesn't look like what a tamale is supposed to look like. That might be more fun.
ETA: Nah, had to take a picture of perfection so here it is, they are yummy:
Anyway, there you go, your own private tamale. Kinda like your own private Idaho. But not. At all, actually.
6/26/2008
6/25/2008
On the Boulevard
So I managed to carve a little time out of my work in MO to go out to the country a bit to visit my friend's dad - he and I bond over playing good music really loudly and drinking beer. Both of which is what I did until 3am last night and therefore as a result, I was hung like a racehorse today. Really bad metaphor, sorry.
Anyway, point being, I have no one to blame but myself. But hello, we were in the country! It was so quiet and nice and relaxing - we checked out his wood shop which I covet like no one's business, we toured the garden, and then we looked at all the frogs in his frog pond (there were a million tadpoles and tiny frogs and big frogs all hanging out). It was glorious I must say, well worth the pain of feeling like shit today.
I captured some pictures for you of me saying one last Hi from the road.
Oh Boulevard, how I missed ye!
Where my mind will be when I am stuck in traffic tomorrow:
Cheers to you:
Now I am off to bed at 830 because of the above activities. Call me granny, but I'm feeling old and tired. Goodnight!
Anyway, point being, I have no one to blame but myself. But hello, we were in the country! It was so quiet and nice and relaxing - we checked out his wood shop which I covet like no one's business, we toured the garden, and then we looked at all the frogs in his frog pond (there were a million tadpoles and tiny frogs and big frogs all hanging out). It was glorious I must say, well worth the pain of feeling like shit today.
I captured some pictures for you of me saying one last Hi from the road.
Oh Boulevard, how I missed ye!
Where my mind will be when I am stuck in traffic tomorrow:
Cheers to you:
Now I am off to bed at 830 because of the above activities. Call me granny, but I'm feeling old and tired. Goodnight!
6/22/2008
There's no basement in the Alamo, FYI
Yeah, so I'm off again tomorrow to Mizzurah < -- how some folks in said state pronounce it. This is the last of my 11 work trips in 3 months. I could never cut it as a traveling salesperson selling Fuller Brushes or vacuum cleaners. I could also never be in a band playing the triangle and touring. Nor could I be a waitress in the sky. Or a trucker like Large Marge. Frankly at the rate I am going, I am finding it hard to be someone who must leave the house. But soon it will be done, TFG.
(TFG in my world means Thank Fucking God, but could also mean Totally Fucking Gay, I suppose or Too Far Gone. I don't know, does TFG exist as an internet acronym already? If not, I'm claiming it, I use it enough I should get some credit for LOLing a blaspheme).
Where was I? Yes so travel this week, which in general is kind of a tough week for me in the grand scheme of weeks/days of the year and so I most definitely will be just trying to get by with sanity intact. What is scary is that goal (intact sanity) has been one I've had since I moved to this dang city - time for a new goal I say. I am taking suggestions, please submit yours today and I thank you kindly.
Maybe I shall liveblog from the middle of the country, sort of like a finale episode of my reality show so boring it must be shown on the local Fairfax County Community College cable channel (or some such). Who would not like a finale HI from Jefferson City, MO? The answer = everyone and/or 42. Yeah, it's been one of those months/weeks/days/lives, bear with me!
And with that, I leave you with this:
(TFG in my world means Thank Fucking God, but could also mean Totally Fucking Gay, I suppose or Too Far Gone. I don't know, does TFG exist as an internet acronym already? If not, I'm claiming it, I use it enough I should get some credit for LOLing a blaspheme).
Where was I? Yes so travel this week, which in general is kind of a tough week for me in the grand scheme of weeks/days of the year and so I most definitely will be just trying to get by with sanity intact. What is scary is that goal (intact sanity) has been one I've had since I moved to this dang city - time for a new goal I say. I am taking suggestions, please submit yours today and I thank you kindly.
Maybe I shall liveblog from the middle of the country, sort of like a finale episode of my reality show so boring it must be shown on the local Fairfax County Community College cable channel (or some such). Who would not like a finale HI from Jefferson City, MO? The answer = everyone and/or 42. Yeah, it's been one of those months/weeks/days/lives, bear with me!
And with that, I leave you with this:
6/17/2008
From Hair to Eternity
I kinda hate making fun of people's hair given that I generally have hairfuck three quarters of the time as it is, so do not consider this making fun of someone's hair. Instead, consider it a trip down memory lane. I have not seen this hair style outside of the state of Missouri or on anyone other than my sister...back in 1983.
The classic early/mid 80's "feather":
DC Metro: Bringing SexyBack
The classic early/mid 80's "feather":
DC Metro: Bringing SexyBack
6/13/2008
Chapter 1
Apparently, everyone is reading or trying to read books these days and blogging about it. To wit:
Mimi Smartypants is reading books about transgender and passing, China, and India.
Win is reading about LA, shame, and Latino-American characters named Papi.
and my literary girlfriend Vivian Darkbloomis not reading about post-World War II Italy.
What have I read lately, you ask? That question implies that I've unpacked a box containing these things called "books" and then opened one to process what are called "words" on paper. Yeah, hasn't happened. I have managed to make it through every subscription issue of Harpers magazine lately. That is all I I can say. Sad, but true.
I think I would be interested in and be able to read an engaging piece of fiction right now. But as I may have mentioned, I have this total aversion to reading bad fiction and as such, I am weirdly reluctant about just picking a book up and starting it. Which makes it hard to, you know, read. It's really gay, but it drives me crazy to begin a book and then have some quirky writing style thing ruin it for me. I never know what will do it either and that makes it hard for me to choose fiction.
I mean I'll wade through a non-fiction book about turnips, but Barbara Kingsolver? I'd rather rip my eyes out. I always pick on Kingsolver for some reason, but some friend loved her and recommended her so I picked up that book with pigs in the title and I could only read the first two chapters before I realized I hated how she wrote - I think it was that I thought she wrote present tense poorly and it totally threw me out of whatever was going on in the story.
Unfortunately, like with art or music, I only know what I like when I see/hear/read it and that makes it a challenge to just randomly try fiction. I am not adventurous when it comes to reading b/c I don't want to get irritated if I pick a shitty book so I avoid reading any book b/c I don't want to get irritated. It's a vicious and silly/stupid cycle that I am having a hard time breaking the last several years.
So...maybe I will take a baby step on my road to recovery and ask for suggestions? I'd love something that is quirky, funny, not-plodding, not-SF, not too heavy/not too light, engaging/escapey, and has a female protagonist if possible. I ask for the world, I admit.
Mimi Smartypants is reading books about transgender and passing, China, and India.
Win is reading about LA, shame, and Latino-American characters named Papi.
and my literary girlfriend Vivian Darkbloomis not reading about post-World War II Italy.
What have I read lately, you ask? That question implies that I've unpacked a box containing these things called "books" and then opened one to process what are called "words" on paper. Yeah, hasn't happened. I have managed to make it through every subscription issue of Harpers magazine lately. That is all I I can say. Sad, but true.
I think I would be interested in and be able to read an engaging piece of fiction right now. But as I may have mentioned, I have this total aversion to reading bad fiction and as such, I am weirdly reluctant about just picking a book up and starting it. Which makes it hard to, you know, read. It's really gay, but it drives me crazy to begin a book and then have some quirky writing style thing ruin it for me. I never know what will do it either and that makes it hard for me to choose fiction.
I mean I'll wade through a non-fiction book about turnips, but Barbara Kingsolver? I'd rather rip my eyes out. I always pick on Kingsolver for some reason, but some friend loved her and recommended her so I picked up that book with pigs in the title and I could only read the first two chapters before I realized I hated how she wrote - I think it was that I thought she wrote present tense poorly and it totally threw me out of whatever was going on in the story.
Unfortunately, like with art or music, I only know what I like when I see/hear/read it and that makes it a challenge to just randomly try fiction. I am not adventurous when it comes to reading b/c I don't want to get irritated if I pick a shitty book so I avoid reading any book b/c I don't want to get irritated. It's a vicious and silly/stupid cycle that I am having a hard time breaking the last several years.
So...maybe I will take a baby step on my road to recovery and ask for suggestions? I'd love something that is quirky, funny, not-plodding, not-SF, not too heavy/not too light, engaging/escapey, and has a female protagonist if possible. I ask for the world, I admit.
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