Thursday, May 5, 2011

Day 60

Well, no reflections on blogging are, in fact, coming today.  Things are getting slightly more busy than they have been over here.  My tutoring's picking up, the quest to find a boarding home for Binks before June has begun (we have to take him for interviews!), and my backyard llama grooming business is really taking off.

I am going to keep blogging for the foreseeable future.  I can't promise another thirty days, but, at this point, the habit of writing a few hundred words every morning is so ingrained in me that stopping seems pointless.  I would like for a few more of my posts to be more intellectually rich--less of "I did this, I did that" and more "here's what I'm thinking about this...."  But that is neither here nor there.  I will keep posting, on something, for at least another few weeks.

I learned a small cooking fact last night: "chili powder" is NOT, as I had believed, just the powder from chilis.  It is, in fact, a mixture that includes powder of chilis but also cumin, garlic, salt, and various sundry seasonings (depending on who makes it).  Generally real chefs avoid it, preferring instead to use the actual powder from actual chilis (Cayenne, Chipotle, etc).  So, no more chili powder.  Instead, cayenne.  Or, whatever.

This was learned (passive!) because I made tacos last night using a recipe from, of all people, Emeril.  They turned out fairly well--good flavor--although the question of what cut of ground beef to use is still up in the air.  The standard for hamburgers is ground chuck, 20% fat.  (As opposed to ground beef, which is a lower cut of meat).  That seemed a little fatty for tacos, though.  I'll try 10% fat next time, I think.

Binks got groomed yesterday.  He's been moody and sullen ever since.  He's like a dog-Samson, except that instead of making him weak, cutting his hair makes him grouchy.  His hair is the power to be joyous.  The longer it gets, the happier he is.  Now, as I told my wife, he's like a fifteen year old boy who just wants to lock himself in his room and listen to The Cure.

Random Link: This GQ Article on ex-NBAer Stephon Marbury's attempts to launch a business empire in China is worth a read.  How could it not be?  It's Stephon Marbury.  And, in it, he uses the phrase, "I want to own my own city."  Really.

9 comments:

Barbara Carlson said...

In case you didn't see this re Al WeiWei who is still in detention as far as I know:

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/05/fac-2.html

Dezmond said...

Do you watch "Top Chef" and "Top Chef Masters" on Bravo?

JMW said...

I've really enjoyed these 60 days. And though I failed in my promise to match you for the second 30, I do feel generally rejuvenated at my blog, for which I thank you.

Looking forward to more, as always...

ANCIANT said...

I have seen every episode of every Top Chef show and spinoff. I also have seen most of all the cooking shows not on Bravo. These include: Chopped, Next Iron Chef, Next Great Restaurant, and a bunch of other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting. I don't watch baking shows, but that's about it.

But I still haven't seen Wednesday's Top Chef Masters, so don't tell me about it.

The wife and I are would-be foodies, I think. Very amateur, and we don't travel enough to really sample much variety. But when we were in London most of our money was spent on nice restaurants. And Ecstasy. Of course.

ANCIANT said...

Barbara,
There's so much Ai Weiwei news these days that I've stopped posting or linking. He's become a cause celebre in China, as I'm sure you know. Let's hope they let him go soon.

Dezmond said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dezmond said...

I, too, have seen every episode of every season of "Top Chef." Love it. The two reality shows that I watch religiously are "Top Chef" and "Survivor."

If you haven't watched this season's "Survivor," Special Agent Sheppard is freakin' awesome. He was a Special Agent with the federal government, you see. He tells the other contestants that at least three times per episode. So he can tell when anyone is lying to him. Except he has been wrong almost every episode. Kyle and I speculate that he really was the parking attendant at the Pentaqon or something. And his grandfather was full blooded Cherokee, and comes to him in visions and helps him strategically in the game. His grandfather's spirit even told him where one of the other contestants had buried his pants on the beach.

My wife and I have a ritual with "Top Chef" and "Top Chef Masters." By the end of the first episode of each new season, we each have to pick one contestant who we pick to win the season. A wager, of sorts. I think I have been correct twice, and she was right once. (And her win was easy: she picked Richard in last season's All-Stars).

ANCIANT said...

A good game, with the Top Chef thing. I support it.

I never got into Survivor, in part because I try (and fail) to limit the amount of shows I follow, and because I think I'd probably get addicted. My wife and I just started watching the Amazing Race last year, for example, which is just one more show we keep up with. I've reached a critical mass, I guess. Really, I should eliminate some shows.

But that does sound good, with the Special Agent man.

JMW said...

Dez, you're the person still watching "Survivor"??

It's 2011, my man.