Dave makes Apps.

We've been trending towards Paleo eating for the past month and it is a great thing to be able to experiment with MEAT.
Tonight when we got home I declared it "leftovers night" so no opening of new food is allowed.
Since MK couldn't go for the pork rinds, he had to make something.
He rooted around in the fridge making man sounds, I made a couple of suggestions but not much.
This is the improv result.        

Photo Minstrel Krampf
These baby sweet peppers are stuffed with chicken liver 'pate' and have a sprinkle of bacon bits on them.
Like jalapeno poppers with NONE of the poppers ingredients!
Although Sweet Pepper Chicken Liver Poppers doesn't sound so super they're super yummy!
But there's a freaky twist - I think the combination tastes like straight up peanut butter.
The whole combination is great together, but strange.
Whatever - this is what I envisioned when he said what he was making.
I thought half a pepper with bacon bits.

photo Sioux

Shall I Make a Comeback?

Tomorrow is Dave's Birthday.

Yesterday, the gift that should have come addressed to him and wrapped was on the porch addressed to me.

He saw the return address name and knew what it was immediately.

Since I have a 'great-gifter' reputation to maintain and the airplane fiasco after Christmas wasn't enough, I got rockets.

Another awesome boy thing that geeky guys love!

They wouldn't be a bad thing if the weather wasn't unseasonably warm and Dave wasn't super impatient. There's a Monday holiday coming up, so I'm ready to hear about at least one rocket getting lost forever on President's Day.

These factors weren't considered when I ordered.

What happened to the RC plane merely made me certain that he'd love the rockets.

The package was a Groupon deal and had 3 rockets a launch pad and 8 'engines'.

It was a great deal and he was psyched to get it, even if there was no wrapping or waiting.

When I mathed it out the regular retail was about 4x what I paid, so that was a score.

Psyched for MEAT!

I just got a confirmation email, yay!

Sunday we're going to pick up a package of meat on Sunday from a local farm.

I am so psyched to try this. Grass fed, free-roaming and local.

And the price is great, too.

I don't want to go overboard before tasting, but the price is right, so we're gonna give it a shot.

A GREAT Soup

2/1/2012

What to make for dinner?

I am still getting over this head cold type thing so I have no desire to cook at all, but the rockets are here so Dave is not a helping hand.

Ooh, lucky me! On Monday I had chopped up red, green, yellow and orange peppers, and there was still about a cup left and a shallot, also found half a spaghetti squash and a pack of frozen fish appeared. It was looking like soup.

Heat Pan, add about 2T oil, throw in 1 rough chopped shallot-S&P, saute a minute add about 1 cup peppers(season) add 3T Tom Yum paste (I will add picture because this brand rocks!) saute about 1 minute more, as long as it takes to get the paste evenly distributed in the vegs. Add in one can coconut milk, 1 can water and the package of fish. Bring to boil reduce to simmer for 10 mins. Meanwhile I found some mushrooms and a tomato - sliced shrooms, diced tomato and added those. Heated spaghetti squash and divided it into bowls. Got an avocado and sliced it up.

Served up soup over squash noodles, garnished with avocado and a slice of lime and a dash of fish sauce.

freakin' awesome!

Arabian at the Knights!

February 11, 2012 we're hosting a medieval concert and belly dance

extravaganza!Arabian at the Knights is a benefit for the vets from Memorial Hall - Abraham Lincoln Post #11 G.A.R.

We're raising money so they can apply for 501-C-3 non-profit status and get some much needed repair work done on their hall.

The evening will have Diabolis In Musica playing and 30 of the best belly dancers from the area performing to raise some funds. It's only $15 (till 2/8 in advance, $20 at the door)for a night that starts at 7PM

and ends at Midnight at the Oasis!

21+, cash bar, lavish meze buffet with Middle Eastern goodness and a whole lot of bagpipes and shimmies. Ooftah!

Event is at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 75 West School Street, Charlestown, MA 02129 (for your GPS).

For tickets - email diabolisinmusica@gmail.com, call Joe Z. 781-648-9126 or Sioux G. 617-833-8292 or pay online at WePay here.

It is going to be incredible!

Ethiopian Food

We had Ethiopian food last night.
All homemade and easily my NEW favorite cuisine.
A ton of spices create a fantastically TASTY and generally sneaky hot meal.
Really spicy, and lots of heat but a totally different kind of burn.
Everything should have been loaded with clarified butter but I halfed it in the spicier stuff.
We agree that it was pretty much right there with what we've had in Ethiopian restaurants.
The red lentils were a slight miss. Everything else-fantastic.
Maybe I'll offer some leftovers to the guy with the store where we got the bread.

Oops, not ALL homemade.
I did not make the injera(groovy spongy-stretchy-sticky-sourdoughy flatbread that is also your dining utensil). I have nothing but big FAIL there.
I have tried 3 times now and yesterday's flavor was spot on,
but it has become obvious that the cooking requires MAGIC!
This sucks because I mail ordered Teff Flour, not cheap and it has to ferment a few days before cooking. So my 3 day investment didn't pay off. I did a ton of homework here too. I am going to have to find someone to teach me how to make it, or settle for buying it. (6 sheets for $5 = ridiculous $$)

Dishes were -
in English
Spicy chicken - basic Ethiopian started of a ton of onions and spices, saute, add tomato paste and wine, add chicken simmer till falling off the bone and delightfully yummy. This recipe was not the classic Doro Wat, but a variation that was super tasty and sneakily hot.

Collard greens - collards rough chopped with onions and spices, slow cooked till tender and sweet/spicy

Yellow lentils - big yellow lentils, mild seasoning-cardamom,cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, paprika, cumin, salt , pepper, fenugreek, clove. Simmer herbs in oil, add onions and saute till translucent,throw in lentils, add chicken stock, cook till it's a paste. Eat.
Burp.

Red lentils - tiny lentils in a really sneaky hot sauce. Insanely tasty and the heat comes on slow. Process like above but more/different spices and some red wine as well. SOooo good.

Vegetable stew - cabbage, carrot, potatoes, onion in a mild curry sauce.

Beef tartare (kitfo) - chop up meat, 'toast' cayenne in some butter without burning either, allow to cool to about room temp, mix into meat, salt to taste, eat, get glazed expression of delight.

Seasoned cheese - faked IAB with cottage cheese/greek yogurt/lemon juice/S&P.

We didn't make honey wine :(

International Bazaar

We took a trip to the International Bazaar
(Brighton, MA)
on the way back from the New Balance outlet
(Dave needed sneakers)


The main theme is Russian, but they have all sorts of food,
including a number of Turkish favorites.

Here is what we got:
1 bottle White truffle oil
1 1/2 gal tin of olive oil
3 Mac apples

8oz blueberries
3 nice big tomatoes
1 BIG brocolli crown
1 10 oz goose liver 'pate' (German)
1 lb stick of "baby" chicken bologna
1/2lb chopped chicken liver spread
1/2 lb herring and onion salad - I'd call the preparation gravlax style -salty sweet w/onions and dill

1/2 lb lardo-but russian version-not very seasoned, and very spready-

1/2lb+ Black Pudding (blood sausage)<<- this was THE BEST!
2 doz HUGE eggs
1 lb fake seafood sticks
1 liter juicebox sour cherry
chunk of smoked gouda cheese
chunk of muenster cheese
chunk of some Croatian cheese
bottle of South African 'champagne'
12oz can Sour Cherry juice - mmmmm
1 2oz package "fish lunch"
1 pint of labneh
the mega pack of Finn Crisp crackers
1 head purple cabbage

a big bunch of parsley
about 1lb of fresh beets

jar of taramsalata(cod fish roe spread-yum)
1 8oz jar of Ajvar (hot papper spread-it's HOT)
1 kilo of kasha

The price was great too. Really.

Send me a guess. You'd be amazed.

So dinner was a plate of crackers and tasting of many things