the last thing i tried to make was gajar korma from my usual source for delicious recipes. i like carrots and i like korma, so i thought i would test it out. looking at the recipe, i noticed that there really was no liquid involved. none. this looked like it may cause problems.
my korma turned out very very dry (even though i decided to modify the instructions by splashing water into the pan fairly frequently) and by the time it was done cooking the carrots had taken on a really dark color and a consistency that reminded me of cooked hamburger.
not pretty.
i was really sad about the whole thing until i took a bite and realized that even though it was totally screwed up, it still tasted fantastic! i cooked some rice and piled the korma on top and added a big scoop of plain yogurt. DELICIOUS!!
i am definitely going to try it again, but with some changes to my method. i think that the pan i used was toooooo big. this would let the carrot shreds spread out and probably dry faster. also, there is nothing really in the recipe that specifies how to regulate the heat. i think that during the long cook at the end, the heat should be medium-low. and finally, the recipe doesn't tell you to put a lid on the pan while doing the long cook at the end, but i think this might help with the dryness factor.
i liked my messed up version and the plain yogurt so much that i started wondering how hard it would be to make my own yogurt. my friend who is in africa apparently makes her own all the time! this article here makes it sound pretty easy and also like it may be the best thing ever. (or at least better than store-bought yogurt)
yogurt is supposed to be incredibly good for you, giving you lots of good bacteria to increase the competition for resources on your insides, thereby making it harder for the bad bacteria to get out of control.
while i haven't done a lick of homework all weekend (soon to be remedied.... i hope) i have done a lot of other stuff.
i hung out with my friend jen and worked on a bunch of embroidery. some of it was belly dance related and some just random embroidery just for fun. i am working on a costuming concept of interchangeable, mix-n-match costuming pieces that you can assemble using strategically placed hooks. any belt can be combined with any other panels/jingly things/fringe strips using standardized fasteners that are installed on everything.
i sewed a prototype choli and found that the pattern is good except that it leaves a LOT of cleavage/chest bared. i don't know how scandalous i am comfortable being. i am going to make some changes to the pattern and sew up choli prototype 2.0.
i cooked up some cheezy-lime 'chicken' chili. it is pretty much amazing. i love it and want to cook it for you right now. when are you coming to town??? the recipe calls for freezing and then pressing the tofu. it gives it a really nice texture and the cooking it with all of the spices makes it taste super good.
from the moment i walked in the door at 6:30 p.m. until i went to bed at 1:30 a.m. i don't think that i really left the kitchen for more than a few minutes. i opened a bottle of little penguin cabernet and set to work.
- quinoa avocado stuffing - i was super super excited about this and i didn't even know what it was going to taste like. sadly, however, i botched it up pretty badly. next time, though, it will be awesome. the avocados i picked up weren't fully ripe. also, i have never cooked quinoa before, so i didn't get it all the way done. apparently it is supposed to be completely translucent and these funny little tails separate off. since i didn't get the quinoa all the way cooked, there was too much water left in the stuffing, so it wasn't very stuffing-like. last mistake, i grabbed lite coconut milk instead of regular. lite is considerably more liquidy. the flavors are fantastic, though. i can't wait to try making it again.
- soup of scarlet desire - i have made this soup so many times since i first found the recipe. it is so delicious, and this time is no exception.
- the naughtiest little curry cracker - i am not a big oyster cracker fan, or just crackers in general, but i am eating thanksgiving with other people who might like them and i didn't want to show up empty handed. the resulting flavor is quite interesting. salty and seasony and a bit sour and then the heat kicks up. pretty good.
- amaretto cake from the moosewood cookbook - i make these every year, and each time they turn out differently. i think i need to use more amaretto with the current batter. after you bake the cakes (which have 3 forms of almonds in them: almond extract, ground toasted almonds, and amaretto liqueur) you pour some amaretto in them to soak up. they are reeeeeeeally good. maybe i will find a way to send one to you? or you will be in town next week?
i hope you found something to make for dinner. tell me all about it!
i feel like i just sent a piece of me out into the world to fend for itself and i am left to sit at home, hoping that it will come back to me. after all of the paperwork and running around for photos and writing that fat check to get my expedited passport, i just had to send the precious thing off to the egyptian consulate to have a visa made.
is it ridiculous for me to be feeling pangs of loss in my heart for that little blue book?
i am worried about it.
i had this while i was visiting my family. it was really good. i don't like that the recipe is so imprecise, i thrive on structure when cooking. having things spelled out exactly lets me know just what the recipe author intends and then i can feel comfortable improvising from there. oh well.
- chop a large onion in small pieces, sauté in olive oil until they are very brown and crispy in places.
- put in water or red wine to cover bottom of pan in 1/2 inch. it will boil up, and when it does, scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. they will give a good taste.
- add a large can of chopped tomatoes and a medium can of tomato sauce, and a little more water. use more cans if you will be making a big pot of beans. put in seasonal chopped vegetables that you like.
- add any spices that you like and let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes or so, then add any beans that you like. depending on my mood i add any of red, pinto, garbonzo, navy for another 15 minutes. the beans that you tasted also had hominy and 2 cups of cooked barley (put in with the beans just long enough to heat so as not to overcook.)
wow. how vague was that. though i think i will have to test it out. the chili-like substance that this is intended to produce was really yummy. i don't know how successful i will be at replicating it. what spices should i use??
enviro/architech/random: the urban cactus is a very interesting looking housing project. seems like everyone gets a really nice balcony. can i live there?
machines: theo jansen's strange skeletal, insect-like machines that walk, scurry and creep along using wind power. creepy and fascinating.
photography: red-hot filthy library smut. which translates to mean, photos of really cool libraries
that are just... wow.
backlogged deliciousness from my kitchen: more testing of the naughty curry recipes. this time mindy and i made pineapple couscous. yum. and it was easy.
then dana and i made this really complexly spiced (though easy to prepare), delicious dish called nepali creamy almond 'chicken'. it may be a good idea next time to try and keep an eye on the cardamom pods. bitind down on one of those is intense!
last night i made the naughty curry kitchen's version of 'chicken' makhani: spicy comfort food. i think i am becoming a spice addict. the house still smells warm and amazingly tasty.
more to come. (i can't help myself)
on a non-indian-spiced tangent: this shrimp and tomatoes over soft polenta looks damn good.
deliciousness delivery!: mindy brought me chinese baked goods! man! custard things and various yummy buns. i wish cinci was a real city and had chinese bakeries. mmmmmmm.... pineapple buns!
they went well with the toasted head cabernet i picked up.
randomness: gnomes??
wireless: necessary expense i my life, but i can't say that i am particularly thrilled with what my provider offers, or any of the normal providers for that matter. so, i got really excited when i read about earth tones on ecogeek:
"Well, what if a communications company cared about more than profit. As long as we're dreaming, what if they gave 100% of their profit to environmental organizations. Earth Tones, a very unique internet and phone company, does exactly that. Their bills come on 100% recycled paper, but they strongly encourage you to use their electronic billing service. Their wireless handsets are all recycled and they will even recycle your old wireless phone for free."
the rate plans weren't bad and their coverage map was impressive. i would probably switch over, but their only downfall seems to be a lack of text messaging plans. you have to pay per text. that just won't work for me. worth checking out, though.
belated halloween fun: fully functional transformer costume!
costume construction: better late than never to post these photos? it was really fun putting these costumes together.
i cut up an old pair of pajamas and used them as a pattern for my fur pants
much careful measurement, and scientifical testing went into the construction of sara's Bat Cape.
dyani's masterpiece in the works. this photo shows her sewing the feather trim onto Flaming Gay Robin's cape.
things i want to do: i want to make soap. i am thoroughly unimpressed with most of the fragrances
added to soap available these days. i don't want to smell like a fruit salad. i
do not want to smell like a bouquet of flowers. i do not want to smell like whatever this 'rain' smell or this 'fresh' smell or this 'mountain breaze' smell is. i want to smell like earthy things. twigs. rosemary. dirt. saw dust. leather. roasted almonds. tomato vines. cedar. eucalytus leaves.
i found a site that has melt and pour soap making supplies and instructions. now i just need to find the time, and some spare funs, and just the right smells.
other thing i want to do: i also want to make mittens. my hands are cold! some fuzzy black mittens would be just the thing. someone should show me how to knit. i have looked for instructions, but i don't know that anything can replace the real live example.
toy for mac users: quicksilver. it is hard to describe what this program does other than to say that it gives you efficient, easy, immediate access to the farthest buried areas of your computer with just a few keystrokes. just download it and test it out using the quick tutorial by this guy dan dickinson.
wtf?: the backlog also includes pzizz, a bizarre (and ridiculously priced) piece of napping software. that's right. a computer program to assist you in napping. i never knew it was complicated enough to warrant that
smart playlists: sure, i knew they existed and it seemed like they could be useful theoretically, but i don't think i really understood how they could help me tame a somewhat large (and growing) music library, such as mine. check out this. and then this.
on the topic of music: do you have old cds that you haven't listed to in a million years and will probably never listen to again? do you have hesitation/opposition/disinterest/guilt in obtaining music via illegal means? maybe you should look at what lala is doing. you list the (unscratched, playable) cds that you want to get rid of, and create a wish list of cds that you would rather have. they provide the shipping supplies. someone wants a cd you have, you can send it to them. someone has a cd on your wish list, it will ship to you for $1 and a small shipping fee. it is like a used record store, only online. my only complaint about their set-up is that when discs on your list become available, they just ship. no confirmation function. the only thing limiting that frequency is whether you have been sending discs out and whether you are on 'vacation' mode.
home construction: ran across one of my old bookmarks for this couple who have outfitted their house with a number of overhead walkways and cat ziaed ceiling-level doors between rooms. highly colorful, and downright genius. check out the cat house.
fredo viola video: for that beautiful track, the sad song.
stenciling words: written on the city is a collection of stenciled text. fantastic.
we didn't do text, but: dana and i sketched and cut a stencil of some fluffed topped grasses and then stenciled a bit in the basement of her house. i think it turned out pretty well for a first attempt.
the hipster pda: the simplicity. it is almost too much.
letter writing guilt: i am supposed to be sending snail mail to yifat and ellen, but i end up sending nothing, or big bursting at the seams envelopes. one day i googled letter writing club on a whim and found this discussion. people were really baffled by the idea:
"Ok, let me get this straight. A whole bunch of (20-something) people get together in the evening at a location to engage with the lost art of hand correspondence (or, alternatively, to engage with the lost craft of typewriting) while consuming cookies that somebody baked, and drinking no-coffee/not-beer. And it's oversubscribed. Are there bands, too? It sounds almost frighteningly "hip"."
another article about this group had a photo of the place. i want to play too! and look at all of those carefully crammed in filing cabinets! ebay typewriters are not too pricey, but they refuse to list shipping costs, and who knows where you would get ribbons for these archaic machines.
valence video: when i stumbled across this video, i didn't have the attention span to read and see what it was about, but it looks quite cool.
this ridiculous mess: of random stuff that is probably only of interest to me, was brought to you by the letter U.
i posted my giant backlog on myspace, but i may copy it over to here as well. for you, though, i have musical delights that hopefully will...... delight.
there are a pair of buttons in my firefox browser that allow me to quickly add links to my del.icio.us bookmarks account, so all day long while poking around the intarwebs i am filing bits and things away. here are some of the recent additions.
gagne international: i came across this fellow because of his animations, but i find that i like his other art too. his comic: the sage of rex particularly catches my interest. i am not sure why.
on my desk: a forum where creative people post photographs of their desks/workspaces. i can't explain why this would be interesting, just trust me that it is.
the world wide web organization of dan mccarthy: illustration that mixes some of my favorite things: silhouettes and
the art of complex problem solving: granted, it is a site about complex problem solving, so it would be expected that there would be a lot of information to convey, but i find this site extremely overwhelming. i keep meaning to take the time to go through and read it, but i get a little wowed by it.
gallery of computation: math makes pretty things. click on the pictures, select the size of webapp you would like to open, and watch (or in some cases interact with) the computer generating beautiful designs.
kaela graham: cute cute cuteness in drawing/painting/illustration form.
adam grano: more cuteness by someone associated with kaela.
cole rise: beautiful, ethereal photography.
antimethod's flickr: more work by the same photographer.
the yellow chair stories: check out the context of this social experiment, and then read yellow chair 'users' to see how it played out. quite interesting. michelle and i had an interesting conversation about the loss of community. urban organization and cars keeping people spread out and out of contact with one another, 'progress' away from the production/sources of the things we use every day such as food, clothing, etc. i am not sure how that conversation and the yellow chair stories fit together, but it seems to me that they do.
elegant embellishments: pretty things that can be installed around town to absorb air pollution. i like it. i like it a lot.
patches: a comic about little animals. crazy little animals. updated every tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. found liked from one of my other favorite comics: able and baker, which lucky for me is updated every weekday.
panoramic maps: need i say more?
pruned: i have linked to this before, but it is worth linking to again. science. landscapes. plants. technology. wonderfulness.
knitta, please!: i don't knit, but if i did, i would definitely join this knitting pseudo-graffiti street art project.
ellen en afrique: my friend who joined the peace corps has a journal. it is updated very sporadically. she types up her entries in word documents on the one, super grumpy/non-functional computer that they have in her town, and then when she has a chance to get online, she loads bunches of entries in all at once. it is good writing, and ellen has an infectious positive spirit that makes me feel very much energetic and excited about life.
naughty curry: another site that i have linked before. i will stop singing their praises when their food stops being good, but i just don't see that happening. if you want to make stuff, i can send you spices. i have a lot of them (in the large quantities that you have to get when you buy them from deep's indian grocer) already, and wouldn't mind picking up others if you want stuff that i don't have.
videos:
from 30gms, this video of someone doing a huge wall drawing to music without lifting their pen:
the last knit: when knitting becomes an obsession.
ingredients:
3 cups water
3 cups milk
6 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp tea masala (the woman from Deep's recommended the Everest Tea Masala they had there)
1 1/4 tsp cardamom seeds (not the green ones)
1 tbsp sliced fresh ginger, don't need to peel it
1 tsp black tea (Deep's woman also set me up with Taj Mahal Tea)
mix all ingredients together. in a pan, bring mixture to a boil, then let it cool down. repeat this boiling and then cooling 3-4 times. strain the mixture, and enjoy.
for folks using a microwave, just heat the mixture for 12-15 minutes and then strain it.
if you want me to send you the black tea and the tea masala, let me know.
