Category: uncategorized
Are you middle aged?
Bit too much of a good thing
I made some coffee bean chocolate bark last night. Seeing how 3 chocolate covered beans have as much caffeine as one espresso, and seeing that the bark has a full cup of beans in it… yeah. Lets say that it was pretty much a given that I’d be buzzing until way past midnight last night. For some reason, I kept a running monologue of Eddie Murphy sketches from Delerious. Note to self, don’t email when hyped up on caffeine..
Doodle dee do do do do do do do…. ICE CREEEEEEAAAAAAMMMMM!!!!!!
You best not go to Texas… They’ll fuck you up!
Things that go bang in the night
We got woken up by a big bang at 4:30 this morning that shook the building. At first we thought the cats had knocked over the Christmas tree, but nothing is obviously wrong or out of place inside so it must be outside. Cats are a bit freaked out. I had Pavel sleeping curled up on my pillow next to my head for close to 2 hours when we went back to bed. It would have been cute if it weren’t for the fact his purring was keeping me awake.
[recipe] Chocolate-covered coffee beans
Ingredients
1 cup high quality coffee beans
125g chocolate (dark or milk, to your preference)
3 tbsp cocoa powder (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Spead the beans on a baking sheet and roast them for 8 to 10 minutes. Let them cool to room temp.
Melt chocolate in a double-boiler until smooth.
Mix the beans into the chocolate and stir gently until well coated.
Remove the beans with a slotted spoon (or two forks) and let the excess chocolate drip. Spread out the beans on a piece of grease-proof paper so that they don’t touch each other. When the beans have cooled sufficiently but the chocolate is still malleable, roll the beans to form small balls.
Optional: dust the balls with cocoa powder and set aside until completely firmed up.
Alternatively, make a bark!
Roast the beans as previously described. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Melt 200g milk chocolate and 200g dark chocolate separately then allow to cool slightly.
Pour most of the chocolate onto the tray, roughly swirling together. Sprinkle over the coffee beans, then drizzle over the remaining chocolate. Optionallydust with cocoa powder and cane sugar. Chill until set, then break into big chunks before serving.
Differing opinions
The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know.
Napoleon Bonaparte
And I think both the left and the right should celebrate people who have different opinions, and disagree with them, and argue with them, and differ with them, but don’t just try to shut them up.
Roger Ebert
If you have learned how to disagree without being disagreeable, then you have discovered the secrete of getting along – whether it be business, family relations, or life itself.
Bernard Meltzer
Scientists disagree among themselves but they never fight over their disagreements. They argue about evidence or go out and seek new evidence. Much the same is true of philosophers, historians and literary critics.
Richard Dawkins
A fundamentalist can’t bring himself or herself to negotiate with people who disagree with them because the negotiating process itself is an indication of implied equality.
Jimmy Carter
I never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect.
Edward Gibbon
Don’t Take Anything Personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
Miguel Angel Ruiz
Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.
Victor Hugo
The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.
Leonardo da Vinci
Don’t let the opinions of the average man sway you. Dream, and he thinks you’re crazy. Succeed, and he thinks you’re lucky. Acquire wealth, and he thinks you’re greedy. Pay no attention. He simply doesn’t understand.
Robert G. Allen
Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts.
E. B. White
There are two kinds of fools: those who can’t change their opinions and those who won’t.
Josh Billings
We meet aliens every day who have something to give us. They come in the form of people with different opinions.
William Shatner
No matter what it is, if you get 10 people in the business talking about something, you get 10 different opinions, but you know, they’re amazingly well informed.
James Woods
[recipe] Shoyu Ramen
INGREDIENTS
KOMBU DASHI AND TARE
2 pieces dried kombu
1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. dry sake
1 Tbsp. mirin
PORK AND STOCK
1.5 lb. boneless pork shoulder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lb. chicken necks, backs, and/or wings
1 lb. pork spareribs
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled, cut into pieces
1 1” piece ginger, peeled, sliced
1/4 cup bonito flakes
RAMEN AND GARNISHES
3 large eggs
6 5-oz. packages fresh thin and wavy ramen noodles (or six 3-oz. packages dried)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 toasted nori sheets, torn in half
Chili oil
OPTIONAL GARNISHES
Wilted spinach
Sweetcorn
Sliced mushrooms
Sliced leeks
Pretty much anything else you want!
INGREDIENT INFO:
You can find all the Asian ingredients listed here at Asian markets, in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets, and online. Look in the refrigerated section of Asian markets for fresh noodles. Ask your butcher for chicken necks and backs.
PREPARATION
KOMBU DASHI AND TARE
Two days ahead: For the dashi, combine kombu and 4 quarts cold water in a large bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours. For the tare, combine soy sauce, sake, and mirin in a small bowl; cover and chill.
PORK AND STOCK
One day ahead: Season pork shoulder with salt and pepper. Roll up and tie with kitchen twine at 2” intervals. (This helps keep the meat intact while cooking and makes for round, compact slices.)
Heat oil in a large heavy pot (at least 8 quarts) over medium-high heat Cook pork shoulder, turning, until brown all over, 10–12 minutes. Add chicken, spareribs, scallions, carrots, ginger, and bonito flakes. Remove kombu from dashi; discard. Add as much kombu dashi as will fit in pot once liquid is boiling (reserve remaining dashi). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, skimming the surface occasionally and adding remaining dashi as liquid reduces, until pork shoulder is tender and stock has reduced to about 2 quarts, 2.5–3 hours.
Remove pork shoulder from stock and let cool. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill until ready to use. (Chilling pork will make meat easier to slice.) Strain stock through a fine-mesh sieve into another large pot or a large bowl or container; discard solids (including ribs and chicken). Cover and chill.
RAMEN AND GARNISHES
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Carefully add eggs one at a time and boil gently for 7 minutes. (Egg yolks should be shiny yellow and almost jammy; egg white should be just set.) Drain eggs and transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking; let cool. Peel; set aside.
Remove string and thinly slice pork; cover and set aside.
When ready to serve, bring stock to a simmer; it should be very hot. At the same time, cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions until al dente; drain (no need to salt the water, as ramen noodles contain more salt than pasta).
Just before serving, divide noodles among 6 deep bowls. Top with sliced pork, placing it off to one side. Add tare to hot stock and ladle over pork to warm through (stock should come up just to the level of the noodles).
Halve eggs and place next to the pork. Place a small pile of sliced onions next to egg. Tuck half a sheet of nori between side of bowl and noodles so it’s just poking out. Put any other optional topping you want :)
Serve ramen with chili oil.
DO AHEAD: Eggs can be cooked 1 day ahead. Keep unpeeled eggs covered in cool water. Cover and chill.
Montreux Christmas Market
I went to scope out the Montreux Christmas market this Sunday. It was good, but I’m happy I went on my own because it was elbow-your-way-through-the-crowd packed! Katy would have growled at people and bean would have gotten bored with not seeing things (and driven us mad wanting to eat all the sweets in sight!)
All pictures here: https://www.flubu.com/blog/pictures/montreux_dec_2013/
There was a lot of food to be had. Seriously, lots of food!
Plus, you know, this:
Music across the ages
A few decades are very readily identifiable :)
A thanksgiving message from Gary Oldman
just want to keep this for future reference :)