So, it turns out that the #5 destination in CNN's top 10 seafood markets is a few blocks from my house. I'll have to check them out. (I've been a little nervous about getting meat in the neighborhood after getting some really crappy stew beef from the butcher around the corner.)
Also today, I was catching up on my geeky news feeds and saw my house (indirectly) featured on O'Reilly and Associates Blog - they had linked to an article about the the railroad that ran past our house.
May 19, 2006
May 06, 2006
Cinco de Mayo
Yesterday I made Mexican food for Cinco de Mayo. I made some enchiladas with Chicken and a roasted tomato/jalapeño sauce from Rick Bayless' book. I served it with a mexican red rice, canned black beans (cheater!), and some guacamole and pico de gallo that I threw together. (Guacamole really does need to be made fresh.)
These past two weekends, I've gotten into the habit of making my own chicken broth. Last weekend, I made some with the extra parts from my coq au vin chicken, to use for the tomato/jalapeño salsa, and yesterday I made some while I was cooking the chicken - I used it for the rice and will use the leftovers for thai food tonight. Cooking is even more enjoyable now that I have a reasonable kitchen, and it's been nice to have a bunch of people to cook for, although cooking for other people does tend to limit my experimentation a bit.
I also ordered laundry machines today, they should arrive thursday. It'll be nice to be able to do laundry in my own place again. Dayla is installing tile in that room (it looks great, it's done except for grout), and Doc is fixing the windows, which were falling apart.
These past two weekends, I've gotten into the habit of making my own chicken broth. Last weekend, I made some with the extra parts from my coq au vin chicken, to use for the tomato/jalapeño salsa, and yesterday I made some while I was cooking the chicken - I used it for the rice and will use the leftovers for thai food tonight. Cooking is even more enjoyable now that I have a reasonable kitchen, and it's been nice to have a bunch of people to cook for, although cooking for other people does tend to limit my experimentation a bit.
I also ordered laundry machines today, they should arrive thursday. It'll be nice to be able to do laundry in my own place again. Dayla is installing tile in that room (it looks great, it's done except for grout), and Doc is fixing the windows, which were falling apart.
April 16, 2006
At Niman Ranch, the cows have no feet
Funny how none of the upscale butchers in town seem to have calf's feet. (In their defense, Golden Gate Meat Market did offer to special order it for me and said it'd take a couple of days to get it.)
Why a calf's foot? I'm making Beef Burgandy today (Boeuf à la Bourguignonne). The recipe calls for it, and I figured I'd give it a try (it's just for flavor and maybe gelatin or something). A lot of classic french food derives from peasant roots and use cheaper cuts of meat. I was hoping to go a little upscale and use beef that was well cared for (free range, fed with grass, rather than fed corn and antibiotics), but I guess it wasn't meant to be.
I've actually been cooking a bit in my new kitchen. In the last week, I've made:
In the week or so before that:
Lots of what have become old standbys. (The chicken and beef are new dishes, though.) I've got a bunch of recipes I want to try, but I've got to sort through them. I am simultaneously working on the house and trying to develop software to keep track of them and present them on the web. (Actually, I'm doing a bunch of semantic web related stuff, but that is one aspect of it.)
My other big problem is picking a direction to head in - I have done a lot of italian in the past, and was planning on learning more mexican stuff. I got Rick Bayless' book for christmas and figured a lot of ingredients would be available in the new neighborhood. Then, I bought a Wok, which needs to be used more (to give it a good seasoning). And, finally, I'd like to gain a mastery of french sauces.
Why a calf's foot? I'm making Beef Burgandy today (Boeuf à la Bourguignonne). The recipe calls for it, and I figured I'd give it a try (it's just for flavor and maybe gelatin or something). A lot of classic french food derives from peasant roots and use cheaper cuts of meat. I was hoping to go a little upscale and use beef that was well cared for (free range, fed with grass, rather than fed corn and antibiotics), but I guess it wasn't meant to be.
I've actually been cooking a bit in my new kitchen. In the last week, I've made:
- Larb Gai
- Panang Chicken (with a home-made curry paste)
- Lamb chops with a fennel relish
- A Roast Chicken with Prosciutto, butter, lemon zest, and thyme stuffed under the skin
- Rogan Josh, Khatte chhole (sour/spicy chickpea dish), and Rice pudding
In the week or so before that:
- Fusili Carbonara
- Rigatoni con Salsiccia
- Penne in Pumpkin Sauce
- Chile Verde
- the Panang chicken again
Lots of what have become old standbys. (The chicken and beef are new dishes, though.) I've got a bunch of recipes I want to try, but I've got to sort through them. I am simultaneously working on the house and trying to develop software to keep track of them and present them on the web. (Actually, I'm doing a bunch of semantic web related stuff, but that is one aspect of it.)
My other big problem is picking a direction to head in - I have done a lot of italian in the past, and was planning on learning more mexican stuff. I got Rick Bayless' book for christmas and figured a lot of ingredients would be available in the new neighborhood. Then, I bought a Wok, which needs to be used more (to give it a good seasoning). And, finally, I'd like to gain a mastery of french sauces.
April 13, 2006
untitled
Like many people in San Francisco, I tend to avoid fast food and chain resturants. The tends to happen because of the density of decent resturants, health consciousness, and ego. I am however interested in restaurant-related health issues and ran into some interesting research on McDonalds' ingredients:
Yet another reason to avoid fast food restaurants. (Also, avoid the ice. :)
The other concern of mine is high fructose corn syrup, which is suspected as a contributor to the obesity problem in the US. It only seems to be used in the US, because corn subsidies push the price down. And, apparently, the corn thing is tied to the feeding of antibiotics to cattle. (They're fed corn, they can't digest corn properly, they get sick, and the are fed antibiotics.)
At a New York City McDonald's, a large fries-and-chicken-nuggets combo was found to contain 10.2 grams of trans fat, compared with 0.33 grams in Denmark and about 3 grams in Spain, Russia and the Czech Republic.(From the Seattle Times)
Yet another reason to avoid fast food restaurants. (Also, avoid the ice. :)
The other concern of mine is high fructose corn syrup, which is suspected as a contributor to the obesity problem in the US. It only seems to be used in the US, because corn subsidies push the price down. And, apparently, the corn thing is tied to the feeding of antibiotics to cattle. (They're fed corn, they can't digest corn properly, they get sick, and the are fed antibiotics.)
March 31, 2006
House Update
Last weekend I moved from the apartment to the house. It's nice to finally be living there - although it is a bit crowded. It's nice having them around, though. We go through food faster, so I end up having a bit more variety. The new kitchen is nice, although I have to finish putting handles on the cabinets, install the microwave and some shelves, and rearrange all the stuff the way I want it. (While still making room for Carmen's necessities.) I also have some more lighting to install, and I need to order a washer/dryer sometime. I keep forgetting that part. Carmen offered to dress up the floor in that room a little (so she could use it as a workspace), I may wait til after that to install the washer/dryer.
The bottom unit is progressing, although a little slowly. The first layer of finish on the wood floors is not drying very well. It's been about a week, the upstairs took a couple of days because of the humidity, I don't know if they put it on too thick, if it's the wood, or what.
Our furnace guys, Peninsula Heating, are a bunch of hacks. They're the only contractors that we feel nervous about leaving on their own. And now Dan had to open up the wall because the furnace pipes were leaking hot air (the neighbor was complaining). We made them fix that joint, but Dan has noticed others. Probably the whole system is bad. I know you get what you pay for (they're cheap), but sometimes it's worth paying more.
The bathroom tile is installed downstairs - it looks really nice. I think the cabinets are ordered now, Dan and I will do the installation, which should be interesting. (They should be better built than my ikea frames, but the european system of hanging cabinets is kinda nice.)
The bottom unit is progressing, although a little slowly. The first layer of finish on the wood floors is not drying very well. It's been about a week, the upstairs took a couple of days because of the humidity, I don't know if they put it on too thick, if it's the wood, or what.
Our furnace guys, Peninsula Heating, are a bunch of hacks. They're the only contractors that we feel nervous about leaving on their own. And now Dan had to open up the wall because the furnace pipes were leaking hot air (the neighbor was complaining). We made them fix that joint, but Dan has noticed others. Probably the whole system is bad. I know you get what you pay for (they're cheap), but sometimes it's worth paying more.
The bathroom tile is installed downstairs - it looks really nice. I think the cabinets are ordered now, Dan and I will do the installation, which should be interesting. (They should be better built than my ikea frames, but the european system of hanging cabinets is kinda nice.)
January 21, 2006
Today's word is Sauce
I've been playing with some of amazon's new features this morning. I like the new concordance feature. (Note how my book on sauces frequently uses the word "butter". )
The other nifty feature I've been playing with is statistically improbable phrases and capitalized phrases. Go to a book, like Rick Bayless's cookbook. Scroll down to the "inside this book section", there are phrases that Amazon has guessed are significant. If you click on one, say "pork country ribs", it'll give you a list of all the books they sell that contain the phrase "pork country ribs" with a bit of context.
(Or get my firefox search plugin.)
And now I'm running off to work on the house again.
The other nifty feature I've been playing with is statistically improbable phrases and capitalized phrases. Go to a book, like Rick Bayless's cookbook. Scroll down to the "inside this book section", there are phrases that Amazon has guessed are significant. If you click on one, say "pork country ribs", it'll give you a list of all the books they sell that contain the phrase "pork country ribs" with a bit of context.
I noticed that you can tweak the url's a bit to search for any phrase in any book:
(Or get my firefox search plugin.)
And now I'm running off to work on the house again.
January 02, 2006
Christmas
I went back to Michigan for Christmas vacation again this year. It was a very relaxing and much needed vacation.
This year I bought a knife bag to carry my knives and spices home. I ended up only cooking a few times. I made Pumpkin Penne for my parents. And Emily and I made Rogan Josh, a Chana dish, and an attempt at rice pudding (it didn't set up) as a birthday dinner for Carmen (with Dan and my parents).
I left early to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday. Followed by Sarah's Christmas party, for the first time. She always has a fun charitable outing in her parties. Last year they went to toys 'r us and bought gifts for needy children. This year we went to Barnes and Noble to buy books for kids. Everybody threw money into the pot and we shopped. It was a lot of fun.
Next I went to Sheri's Christmas party. Last year I went home early to make Sheri's party, and it worked out very well for me. (I met Emily.) Emily and I stayed a couple of extra days, dining on leftover pork, salmon, and shrimp and watching Dr Who.
Then Emily and I went back to Lansing and hung out for a few days. We watched "The Family Stone", made Indian Food, met up with Brad and Maggie for dinner, and made some pumpkin muffins.
I took Emily to my mom's family Christmas on the 24th, and got to do our family Christmas thing on the 25th. (Gifts, lunch, and stockings.) My Dad's mom and Carmen's parents joined us for lunch and stockings. It's been a lot of fun since Carmen's parents started joining us - bringing some Cantonese food to go with our more traditional fare.
This year I bought a knife bag to carry my knives and spices home. I ended up only cooking a few times. I made Pumpkin Penne for my parents. And Emily and I made Rogan Josh, a Chana dish, and an attempt at rice pudding (it didn't set up) as a birthday dinner for Carmen (with Dan and my parents).
I left early to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday. Followed by Sarah's Christmas party, for the first time. She always has a fun charitable outing in her parties. Last year they went to toys 'r us and bought gifts for needy children. This year we went to Barnes and Noble to buy books for kids. Everybody threw money into the pot and we shopped. It was a lot of fun.
Next I went to Sheri's Christmas party. Last year I went home early to make Sheri's party, and it worked out very well for me. (I met Emily.) Emily and I stayed a couple of extra days, dining on leftover pork, salmon, and shrimp and watching Dr Who.
Then Emily and I went back to Lansing and hung out for a few days. We watched "The Family Stone", made Indian Food, met up with Brad and Maggie for dinner, and made some pumpkin muffins.
I took Emily to my mom's family Christmas on the 24th, and got to do our family Christmas thing on the 25th. (Gifts, lunch, and stockings.) My Dad's mom and Carmen's parents joined us for lunch and stockings. It's been a lot of fun since Carmen's parents started joining us - bringing some Cantonese food to go with our more traditional fare.
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