Billie Jeanzzz

I haven't blogged since november. Cool.

I am obsessed with thin crust pizza, things made into pestos and whiskey. I am trying not to fail at life. I'm not sure what to do next.

Sexy, Sexy assignments

i wish i could interpretive dance my projects

or convey them in a garbled telepathy impressionism.

two things due tomorrow. They are traumatizing.

Here is one:

Pax.

Making Pasta Sauce with Robin.

My little sister is cool. She's not a totally handy cook, however. This is an example of what you can do with a little pantry and fridge cleaning.

Here's what you do: Take all of your veggies and dice them small. really small. put an onion and a couple of carrots (celery if you have) into a big ass pot on medium high. cook them until they're transleucent. Make your garlic really really fucking small put that in the pot too, cook it until you can smell it. Don't burn it. add a teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of pepper Drop your meat in (make sure it's unthawed) add another measure of salt and pepper stir that shit around once the meat is brown (not beige, like, brown and crispy and awesome) drop in your tomatoes. add any herbs like parsley. cook them shits for like, half an hour over medium low heat so nothing burns. make sure there is enough salt and pepper. serve over pasta. cover in some awesome fucking cheese, and enjoy that shit.

Only the soup can save us.

So the creeping death is creeping up. Baguettes and chicken cacciatore did not help it. The answer is obviously some fucking soup. I wholeheartedly disagree with rigid soup recipes. Put well treated things in a pot, don't be silly about it, cook them properly, don't forget the salt, consume.

Randburger Soup

take half of a turkey carcass. leave it on the counter

Chop:

an onion

2 stalks celery

2 decent sized carrot, or 1 ubercarrot

1 red bell pepper

drop into a pot that is hot and has 1 tbspn oil in it.

season that shit with salt and pepper.

when the veg gets translucent, drop in the animal carcass, and fill the (hopefully large) pot to about 3 inches from the top

drop in a bay leaf

chili pepper

oregano

habanero (this goes into anything I make that is savoury these days)

half a bag of spinach

season it until it tastes like something then...

add

about a pound of hamburger

and:

cook that shit

when things get a little bit lovely and silky looking from the turkey carcass, take the bones out, along with any narsty bits, mash the meat up.

cook until it looks totally awesome. the longer you go, the more the flavours will meld.

Ladle into a bowl. If you're keeping up with things, you've gone to this site: http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/199/Baguettes-Deconstructed and have started making baguettes. If you are not powerful enough to eat 3 in 24 hours, you'll probably have some sort of bread to sop your awesome broth up with.

Fuck yeah.

My friend Matt is cool, this is his song : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uiDo6IrCVI

Good Morning

First: I would like you to watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTkKSJSqU-I

No, no you're not.

Newer mission, is to be able to get to stage 5. That would be awesome. I am now aspiring to be awesome.

Aspiration, much like baguettes, means that someday, sometime, you're going to have something good. Like baguettes. Or bigger ideas, or a more effective leadership somewhere.

Lets share the baguettes, help each other make better ones, and maybe eventually make the best bread ever. Oh idealism.

Immediacy, My gravy is better.

Hello internet, I am here. Don't worry, it won't be for too long.

So, with my possible escape from academia pending within the next several months, my mind is buzzing with the possibility of actually going out and doing something. That's right. I will get to earn a steady living that will not be consumed in september and january by tuition. five thousand dollars extra. glorious.

Among the first things on my list of adventures involves motorcycling. Those of you who know me, know my unhealthy obsession with the Triumph Street Triple (and it's uberversion the R). I plan, with any amount of luck, to purchase one. As of late, fate has been fucking me, unlubricated, in very strange places. Next obsession, camping.

I haven't frolicked in a lake or seen a mountain in nearly 3 years. That makes my heart sad because lakes are pretty awesome, and so are mountains. Any input about good camping gear that isn't too yuppie will be much appreciated. I hate the idea of being an armchair expert, so I'm even considering trying a winter camp. My dad digs horse packing, so I really hope to spend a good bit of the summer (re) learning how to ride. I haven't been on horseback for, god knows, 8 years?

This long stint in school hurts my head. Over a fifth of my life spent spending money and talking about problems that are only problems to people who can afford to think about them.

Also: Eat food.

The best things that I have cooked in the last two days have been this:

Pork Cutlets with Carmelized onion Gravy and Roots:

What you need:

Pigs:

2 pork cutlets

Enough AP flour for seasoning

salt

pepper

granulated garlic

lipids

What you do:

get your pan going, around medium high. My pan is made of copper and is awesome, but conducts a shit-ton of heat. I keep it at a 6 so nothing burns.

pull out your meat, season liberally with salt and pepper (remember, not handfulls of salt, you have to eat this) and give it just a hint of the granulated garlic, because if that shit burns, your food will suck

dust the cutlets with AP flour enough to cover them up and get some good browning going, Throw them in the pan

These suckers are thin, so once you've got good colour on one side, flip it over, get good colour on the next and you're fini. let them rest for a minute or two so you get full on juiciness.

The Gravy

this makes lots, you won't need it all for your chops, so save it.

You need:

an onion, a big ass carrot, a stalk of celery

peel your celery, dice it

peel your onion, dice it

peel your carrot, eat some of it, dice the rest.

drop this into about 2 tablespoons of oil and cook slowly until everything is sweet and caramelly.

drop in two tablespoons of flour and let that cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat.

drop in two cups of the best chicken stock that you can muster

salt, pepper and bay-leaf that shit.

let it buck for a while, on a fairly low setting while stirring to ensure smooveness.

drop in a teaspoon of red wine vinegar and sugar (I had no wine but you could drop in a shot of some good white wine)

make sure it tastes good (season things if they need work)

with a splash of wine to deglaze your pan, drop in about 1/4 cup of the gravy. stir that shit, put it on your cutlets.

Roots:

Steam potatoes and carrots until cooked (easily penetrated with a pokey object). The carrots will be cooked before the potatoes. take them out. let the potatoes finish, mash them with some half and half and a bit of salt. put gravy on them too.

Eat this before it gets cold. keep the leftover gravy in the fridge or freezer and use it as needed. It is awesome. probably just make alot of mashed potatoes. it also works into tomato sauces for a quick hit of the savoury.