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United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.

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Sunday, February 09, 2003

Another mustard. I've made this one subsituting habaneros for the jalapenos. It wasn't that hot. Next time I'll double the habs... JALAPENO-CUMIN MUSTARD   Mexican-inspired ingredients make this mustard peppy and unique. Contrary to what you might think, this mustard is milder than many others that do not include fresh chili peppers. Combine ½ cup of the mustard with ¾ cup of peanut or olive oil to make a fine marinade for poultry, pork, or beef, or simply use it straight from the jar for making sandwiches.   Makes about 1 cup.   ½ cup mustard powder      2 teaspoons ground cumin ½ cup whole yellow mustard seeds 2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded, and minced 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar 3 tablespoons water 1 clove garlic, minced 3 tablespoons light brown sugar 1 teaspoon salt   Place all of the ingredients in a blender. Puree until fairly smooth and thoroughly mixed, frequently scraping the sides of the container. Transfer to a clean, dry jar or bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate for 2 weeks before using. 7:22:44 PM    comment []

Tonight, I bid farewell to a dear old friend, my Kenmore stove with continous cleaning oven. It will be replaced by another oven tomorrow. The first thing I'll do is heat it up with nothing inside, but with a fan running to rid it of that new oven smell. The old Kenmore will have two high heat elements salvaged from it, if I can get them out. They'll go onto the stove top of the new one, if they fit. I'll carefully adjust the new stove using a spirit level. The inside temperature will be recalibrated. No complaints for the old Kenmore, it cooked up lots of good food. It just got to the point that it was no longer possible to keep it clean. The burners have all been replaced at least twice. The connector where the burners attach are broken and scarred. The enamel is pitted beyond repair. It's going to oven heaven, it had been a good old friend. Maybe someday I'll meet it there and we'll scamper through the Elysian Fields together, old Kenmore and Me, chasing down pheasants to braise, roasts to simmer, and loaves to bake. 7:04:43 PM    comment []

Look At That Cave Mango! 2:34:33 PM    comment []

Kappabashi: The Plastic Food District Probably only The Raven will share my fascination with a Tokyo district where all the ryori mihon (the plastic food displayed outside Tokyo restaurants) is made: One of the things I learned on this trip is that to make plastic food for high-end restaurants, the chef will actually prepare the dish, the courier will dash it over to Kappabashi, and they'll cast the actual food to make the mold for the plastic version to put in the window (all the plastic food is hand-cast and hand-colored). (also see the homepage for Tokyo by Leo Hourvitz) 11:30:34 AM    comment []

Plate of the Jenny Lind rose. Full size images of this and many other roses available at Illustrations Of Old Roses. 10:34:53 AM    comment []

United Nations Threatened By Ear Elephants! 4:45:48 AM    comment []

Looking at Deb's beautiful Braised Chicken Wings with Double Cooked String Beans and "Wild" Basmati Rice, my mind flashed back to a presentation at a Narita cafe, airport food. It is all wrong. Despite the elegance, you can't help but think of a severed hand. I wanted to say "severed human hand", but then there would be an extra finger. The wing picture of Deb's has none of these connotations, it is simply radial. I'm just saying it's a good idea to be careful, you need to avoid unintentional representation. It might be funny (I think the picture here is, or I wouldn't have bothered), but...I dunno...those sausages do look good to me right now, I'd eat 'em in a heartbeat.   4:16:19 AM    comment []

Powell's "Evidence" Bogus! Journalists have visited the alleged chemical weapons site in Kurdish-held northern Iraq that US Secretary of State Colin Powell says is run by an Islamic group linked to al-Qaeda. But they saw no obvious evidence of chemical weapons production. The site, used as a base by the Ansar al-Islam, is adjacent to the small hamlet of Sargatt in the hills which run along the Iranian border north of the Kurdish town of Halabja.   When we visited it was crawling with Ansar gunmen but nothing more sinister than small arms was on display. Maybe the dog ate his homework? And when will we ever be able to afford color spy photgraphs? B&W is so Cold War; unintentionally, I'm sure, evoking imagery of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Hey, and while we're at it, what's with that yellow highlighter? Does DoD think we're so stupid that we can't recognize an obvious perimeter of some sort? IMHO, that upper left corner should have been indented, what's that fuzzy upside-down L-shaped thingie got to do with it? On a lighter note, Cricket Death Match cancelled: Death Threats are "not cricket" According to BBC Sport's cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew, the England players have agreed to forfeit the match on 13 February after receiving further death threats. 3:18:06 AM    comment []

Inner Beauty Hot Sauce recipe here. About 5 years ago, I had the opportunity to purchase a crate of habaneros for about $25 and made every recipe I could find. I can personally vouch for the Inner Beauty recipe, though using "cheap yellow mustard" was something I just could not do. A local store has mustard seeds for 22 cents an ounce, which is cheap, and homemade mustard is easy. Really. You never made any? Here's a recipe... FIVE-SPICE BROWN MUSTARD Spicy and sweet, this dark brown mustard is delicious served with strong German or Danish cheeses, smoked ham, and fish or combined with a little beer and used as a basting medium for baked ham or pork. Makes about I cup. 1/4 cup whole brown mustard seeds, coarsely ground 5 allspice berries, finely ground 1 teaspoon each ground coriander and caraway seeds 5 whole cloves, finely ground 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar 1/3 cup water 1/4 cup champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon salt Place the mustard seeds in a medium bowl. Combine the spices in a small bowl; mix well. Sift the spices into the mustard seeds using a fine wire mesh or strainer. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the water, vinegar, olive oil, and salt; mix well until combined. Transfer to a clean, dry jar or bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate for 2 weeks before using. Mustard: Making Your Own Gourmet Mustards, by Janet Hazen, may be purchased here, used. Most mustard recipes require additional liquid after they've aged, since mustard is a natural thickener. Once you've made a few, you'll be tempted to improvise with your own recipes. Do. 2:17:38 AM    comment []