Meatloaf, it happens

do you want to know the secret to meatloaf? Ketchup in the meat mix,... Boom, thats literally it. of course there are the following key points, sauteed onions, eggs, milk soaked bread chunks, pork/beef mixture... but really for me it all comes down to a sufficient amount of ketchup in the mix, no recipe becuase its my secret but this is what we ate on december 11, 2011

Meatloaf, glazed carrots, "cooked" potatoes, so good on a cold winter night

Happy Wednesday 6/12/12

This week feels like it will never end, which is sad since i don't work that many hours a week and i am working the weekend shift this week... so this week will literally not end until next week. oh well.


Tonight the darling husband and i had his buddies over for dinner, first one then two (as will happen). i threw together a quick greek inspired meal. We had grilled chicken thighs, grilled baguette, mash potatoes ala skordalia, and a tossed salad with red and green leaf lettuce, carrots, red onion, balsamic beets, and a bleu cheese balsamic viniagarete. yum, i meant to take pictures but well it was too tasty looking and honestly i just forgot! oh well, next time gadget!

Chicken Thighs (serves 4-6)
Thyme, Oregano and chives from the garden
organic lemon peel and juice
olive oil
two garlic cloves
12 chicken thighs trimmed

Mash potatoes ala skordalia (4-6)
two russets cubed, boiled with onion flakes, garlic powder, salt
two Tbs butter
1/4 c. reserved potato water
juice of 1 1/2 lemon
two garlic cloves minced fine
1 Tbs olive oil

bleu cheese balsamic vin
3 Tbs prepared bleu cheese dressing (preferably amys)
3 Tbs balsamic vin


mmmmm
it was very good...

tonight was servied with blue moons and

Spring has Sprung

A Grass Path (Sokeishu) by Kotomichi Okuma (trs by Y. Uyehara and M. Sinclair)

Poem 99

Awaiting Plum Blossoms

Seeing that plum buds by the eaves
are full and round,
The master of the house,
thinking of tomorrow,
smiles.

One of the most Tragicomic things i have ever read

If you don't laugh and cry just a little when you read this clipping, well then you are nothing like me!

From “Naturalized Birds of the World” by Sir Christopher Lever, 1987 ed (Not the compromised later edition, some editor must have told him that his prose was overwrought, i just don't think they understood his comic genius, hats off to you Sir Lever),  p11-12

Ostrich—

The first pair of ostriches despatched to Australia (Victoria) from Paris in 1862 as the intended founder-stock of an aigrette or osprey farm died on the voyage. A second consignment of four that followed in 1869 was more successful; the birds were safely landed at Melbourne, from where they were transferred by their importer, Mr (later Sir) Samuel Wilson, a noted Australian pastoralist, to his estate at Longerenong in the Wimmera district. Here, in the following year, one of the hens laid and hatched 12 or 13 eggs, 11 of the chicks being reared successfully.

The next season, however, was exceptionally wet, and only seven young were hatched, all of which soon died. The hens showed no discretion over their choice of nesting sites, often laying on the bare soil which flodded easily after heavy rain, causing the eggs to become addled and the brooding bird to develop rheumatism. Before long one of the cocks became extremely ill-tempered; one man had his trousers torn from the waist to the shin by a single kick, and although he was unhurt others were less fortunate. Wilson claimed to have seen a wooden fence-rail snapped in two by the kick of an angry Ostrich.

These vicissitudes, combined with a climate that was clearly too wet and predation of the young by native marsupial cats (Dasyurus spp.), forced Wilson in 1874 to send his surviving stock inland to a station owned by C.M. and S.H. Officer at Murray Downs near Swan Hill on the north bank of the Murray River in New South Wales. The Journey was made during some of the heaviest rainstorms recorded in Victoria, causing the ox-carts to become bogged in the mud, as a result of which several of the birds died.

Soon after the arrival of the survivors at Murray Downs one of the Officers’ stockmen carelessly left a yard gate open, through which a hen escaped and broke her neck by running into a wire fence. One of the two remaining hens laid and single egg and then died, leaving the Officers with a total stock of three cocks and a hen.  This nucleus they attempted to augment by ordering further birds from the Cape of Good Hope, but these failed to materialize. Instead, they acquired from the Cape an incubator (for which they paid the then not inconsiderable sum of £100), in which two clutches of eggs laid by the surviving hen were successfully hatched; initially the chicks did well, but later contracted South African disease, the first symptoms of which are similar to those of ‘staggers’ in domestic farm stock, followed by an inability to remain standing unless in constant movement; as a result, the unfortunate birds soon succumbed to exhaustion and starvation.

The next three clutches were more successful, the four healthy offspring from the first being ready to breed in 1878. To prevent attacks by the cocks and predation by Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax), a keeper was appointed to guard the young birds; however, Lord Casey, who in 1877 had been appointed Governor-General of Australia, recorded that many Ostrich eggs at Murray Downs were broken by stones dropped on them by Black-breasted Buzzards (Hamirostra melansoternon)- a mode of attack that the buzzards also practised on the eggs of Emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae).

The Officers’ Ostriches, in addition to grazing the lush Murray Downs pastures, were fed on chopped lucerne, sorghum maize, bonemeal and gravel. Their plumes, marketed in London, were said to be superior in quality to those produced in South Africa.

When Suetonius Officer died in 1882 the population had increased to over a hundred, in the following year, C.M. Officer sold the Murray Downs station and transferred part of the stock to a smaller property a few kilometres south at Kerang in Victoria, and part ot another of his estates, the Kallara Station, on the Darling River. The stock at Kerang eventually increased to 120, but although at Kallara the older birds flourished their young were all poisoned by the mineral salts in the station’s artesian wells. 

Oh the plight of the Australian  ostrich,...

Pot Pie Dinners Pt2

That's right, part two, though i don't think i called the first one part one! This past sunday i made "Mediterranean style lamb stew with Eggplant souffle crust" the dang crust fell into the stew so it looked hideous (therefore no pictures were taken) but it tasted sooo good! i didnt really follow the recipe as i am wont to do but here's the gist

For the Stew:
2lbs boneless leg of lamb, cut into "bite" sized pieces
1 1/2 c. beef stock
1/2 c red wine (preferably dry)
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 c. flour
salt and pepper
1 c. frozen peas
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp rosemary (or to taste im sure the recipe asked for more but i dont dig on my food tasting like pinesol)
1/2 tsp dried thyme (rubbed to release the oils, just moosh it against your palm with your thumb but try not to get any stuck in your thumb pad the way i did/do)
1/4 tsp oregano (also rubbed)

For the souffle
2 lbs eggplant, cut in half, rubbed with EVOO, roasted until soft, scoop the flesh from the skin place in food processor with roasted garlic cloves (squeezed from dere skins)
4 clove garlic (toss the garlic cloves in the oven with the eggplant)
1 egg
1 c. fresh bread crumbs
1/4 c. cheese (recipe asked for shredded gruyere, since i didnt have any i used a lovely bit of very sharp white cheddar and parmesan)
1/3 c flour
3 TBS butter

Make Stew
Heat 5 qt dutch oven, add EVOO, toss lamb pieces with seasoned flour, brown in a few batches set aside, add the onion to the pot sautee until slightly golden and translucent (im at altitude so this takes about 10 mins), add minced garlic cook for about a minute, add the wine and cook away the alcohol, simmer until reduced by half, scraping up all the delicious fond (the brown bits) add lamb back in make sure to get all those juices back in as well, add beef stock, tomato sauce, bay leaf and herbs. bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover with lid slightly ajar, cook stirring occasionally  for 45 minutes to an hour, until lamb is tender.(stew can be made up to two days ahead of time or frozen for a month) In the mean time prepare the souffle.

In a 2-3qt sauce pan create a bechamel: Melt your butter until the foam subsides (try to avoid browning your butter) whisk in flour and continue to whisk for about a minute until your flour no longer smells raw(once again im at altitude so this takes MUCH longer maybe three minutes?). remove pan from heat (this will reduce the chance of lumps) and whisk constantly while pouring in your milk. return to the heat and continue to whisk constantly while sauce thickens (original recipe said 5 minutes, mine thickened in about 2) remove from heat stir in about half of the cheese, stir until melted and fully incorporated. in another bowl gently whisk your egg, add the eggplant/garlic and bread crumbs, stir until combined. add the milk mixture to the eggplant mixture. your souffle is now ready to be used or you may refrigerate it until you are ready for it (can be made a day ahead).
Preheat your oven to 400, spoon souffle onto stew sprinkle remaining cheese ontop, cook for 10-25 minutes or until set, serve immediately! Yum, it looked awful but it was sooooooo tasty, served with a nice red wine vinaigrette salad, olives and feta with a nice crusty loaf of ciabatta! Enjoy!

Monster Hunter International

I have recently discovered Larry Correia, he is the author of  the titular series of books, so far there are three in the series as far as i can tell
Monster Hunter International
Monster Hunter: Vendetta
Monster Hunter: Alpha
He also has a couple of other series, Hard Magic and Dead Six. His writing is tight, the action is heartpounding, the guns are drool-worthy. Tough chicks, fierce monsters, a hell of a good time! So far i have only read MHI#1 but i tore through that 726 page book in about three days (while working and reading at least three other books) Very good, if you like guns and monsters go get this guys books!!!

Sunday Dinner, 10-2-2011

I had the family gathered around the table last night, served
Tuscan Style Braise Pork with a Polenta crusts, Sourdough Boule, Salad with marinated heirloom beefsteak tomato, shredded carrots, shallots and parsley, my mom had brought a cheese board for appetizers and a ginger pound cake for dessert that we served with creme fraiche and sauteed Colorado peaches, green and black figs, and raspberries, i served a rosé by Luberon...  Yum! Everyone was a part of the clean plate club!