That Much Further 'Ham

Thanks for the Inspirado, Ana!

2011-12-26T22:25:00.042-06:00

About a year and half ago, I stumbled upon Ana White’s website (via Facebook), and saw she had posted plans to a Play Kitchen for her daughter. I showed the LOML, and we were like “Awwwwwwww, I totally need to build that for Ru when she’s a little older” . . . fast forward to Fall 2k11, and it got real . . . It was time for me to build Ru a Play Kitchen for Christmas!

Here’s what my first (of many) trip to Lowe’s looked like. Ana’s plans are awesome because she gives you the exact cut list for each board. I won’t say these plans are exactly step by step (you have to infer a little bit), but her drawings are great, and I think most anyone could follow them.

I’m by no means a carpenter, but I was able to assemble the sink, stove, and fridge “boxes” in a few Sunday afternoons . . . November was kind of a blur, but eventually we got them primed, and then the LOML did most of the painting 2 weeks ago. My bro-in-law, Christian (who has also been featured on Ana’s blog here) cut the hole for the sink and showed me how to install the euro-style cabinet hardware. Honestly, I couldn’t be more pumped with how everything turned out:

And here’s the whole kitchen, set up before Christmas morning!!!

Ru has really been enjoying her kitchen so far (she loves making smoothies!!!). I can’t wait to watch her (and her sister!!!!) cook for many years to come!!

* Sorry for the iPhone picts

** Don't call this a comeback

Busy Season 2k11 . . . j/k! lolz!

2011-01-09T23:06:00.013-06:00

Alright. I’ve been meaning to give you readers some type of update or closure or something since I abruptly ceased blogging back in the fall . . . I guess the biggest update from the last few months is I got a new job (cue Hallelujah chorus!!!!). But seriously, public accounting was very good to me the last 5 years, and without it I wouldn’t be in the position I am today. But I am FREAKING PUMPED to be starting 2011 without the dread of another busy season. If I want to take a Friday off to head down to the Fantasy Baseball Draft early, I can. And if I want to take a week off for spring break, I can. And if I want to take a day off to celebrate my sweet baby girl’s birthday, I can (and planning on it!).

It was actually a pretty long process “changing careers” (or rather my career-path) and I feel like I learned a lot through all the networking, interviewing, researching etc. A big hat tip to sites like the HR Capitalist, and anyone else who gave me 15 minutes to pick their brain. Recruiting was always one of my favorite parts of public accounting, and I’d love to share my thoughts/experiences with anyone else who is looking to transition down the road, etc.

Speaking of interviews, here’s reason #381 why my wife is the coolest and I love her to pieces. Back in July, she was leaving to go out of town the day before I had a big interview (not with my current employer, but one I REALLY wanted to work for at the time), so she went to Icing on the Cookie and left me this note:

Isn’t she awesome?

Ok, so I promise not to drone on and on about my job change, but I do have one book recommendation for anyone interested. Check out Strengths Finder 2.0. Basically, the book talks about how we should be focusing on finding work that utilizes our “natural” talents/strengths (and we should be working to improve those strengths), rather than trying to improve upon our weaknesses. Makes sense, seeing you’re more likely to “enjoy” improving on something you’re already inclined/interested in rather than getting frustrated when you’re not “succeeding” at something you probably won’t be able to master in the first place.

The book (and on-line assessment) gives examples of what your strengths might look like in “real-world” situation and gives tips on finding work/careers that utilize those strengths. There are 34 different strengths/talents, and my five (everyone has 5) were Analytical, Input, Learner, Intellection, and Connectedness. I can DEFINITELY see how my current job is fostering the development of these 5 talents and I’m excited to see what the future holds! (not that public accounting wasn’t necessarily doing this, but I digress) . . .

Ok, so I was planning on turning this post into a big 4 month catch-up and maybe talk about my High School reunion or how we went to Disney World/Harry Potter or how I (re)signed up for Twitter, but it’s getting late, and Birmingham is in the middle of a BLIZZARD, so I should probably hit the hay . . . but oh yeah:

War Cam Eagle!

PS - I met Verne Lundquist over Thanksgiving!

Cookies ‘n Cardio

2010-09-16T19:27:00.002-05:00

Just because I haven’t been posting, doesn’t mean we haven’t been cooking. It’s been a busy Summer (err, Fall??) and I want you to know, that I know, that you know it’s been a while.

But if you do need a TMF’H-related culinary fix, lemme suggest my lovely and talented sister, Laurie! (pictured circa 1987?)

She started a food and healthy-lifestyle blog, Cookies 'n Cardio, back in August, and I think you’ll really dig it!! She’s also big on tweeter-space, if that’s what you’re into.

BTW – the pizza recipe she posted today is really tasty. We had it when she came to visit the LOML and SBG back in August!

Do Fun Stuff

2010-08-30T08:00:00.002-05:00

You already know I'm a big fan of Pacing the Panic Room. Well today Ryan Marshall has released Do Fun Stuff a "Kids Record For Parents" to support a really worthy cause:

Sorry, your browser does not support iframes.

100% of the proceeds from the sale of this album goes to a grant fund Ryan established with PRISMS. The money will be made available to grad students who wish to make SMS their field of choice, the benefit of this is more hard research being done, which leads to more case studies, which leads to more answers for parents and researchers.

The LOML and I picked it up on iTunes this weekend and you should definitely check it out!

Yo Quiero Taco Truck

2010-08-02T21:14:00.007-05:00

Friday for lunch, I finally got around to trying West Valley’s infamous Taco Truck (check out AL Eats for their full review). I had one asada, chorizo and al pastor taco and they were all amazing! It was a pretty chill atmosphere (I was the only “gringo” there for the first 15 minutes), no tables, and you just set your drink on the side of the truck. I don’t know if I’d call this (area) “family friendly” (I think the LOML would definitely be scared), but if you and your bros are looking for a place for to get some authentic Mexican “street” tacos, you need to check it out (I bet it’s even better in the Fall, when it’s not 100 some odd degrees out). I didn’t want to kill the mood (and prove to the regulars that I was a newbie), so I didn’t take a picture til I was driving away (but I think this gives you a better idea).

This weekend, Jay and I also took a bro-mantic weekend to PCB, and the highlight (dining-wise*) was Friday night at J. Michael’s. Jay mentioned before that the “Ultimate” roast beef would put Parasol’s to shame . . . and he was right. This sandwich was the JAM!! I couldn’t really tell you that the beef itself was that tasty, but the pepper gravy and onions made the sandwich. (the Pepper (Cole) Slaw was also really good). Just thought you should know in case there were any roast beef bets that needed to be settled.

* Next time you see Jay, get him to tell you the Duncan Donuts Icing story.

Bella Famiglia

2010-07-27T18:36:00.001-05:00

I’m not usually one to do (post) this, but I can’t help myself:

I have the most beautiful family in the whole world.

(I took this on Sunday and now have it set as the background on my computer desktop. Hope you enjoy the non-blacked out eyes)

Hi

2010-07-22T12:38:00.009-05:00

(pleasantry, pleasantry, excuse for absence, promise to update more, etc.)

I’ve got to brag on the LOML for a minute. Yesterday afternoon, she said she had a special meal planned for dinner, and that it would be a surprise (don’t worry, it wasn’t baby carrots, baby shrimp and baby back ribs).

When I got home, the house smelled great and she had a giddy sense of accomplishment because she knew she just made something awesome . . . and she was right!!

My dear wife roasted a whole chicken with lemons and onion (a ‘la Barefoot in Paris) and served it with an arugula salad with homemade lemon vinaigrette!!!! (BTW, the salad had sungold cherry tomatoes (from Snow’s Bend) and they were the sweetest tomatoes I’ve ever tasted)

I’M SO PROUD OF HER!!!!

After dinner, we decided to try the new Yogurt Lab in Vestavia . . . Amazing!!!! As you may have noticed, there has been a recent surge (over-saturation??) of self-serve yogurt shops in Birmingham in the last year (Thanks for spotting an opportunity, Yogurt Mountain), but I think Yogurt Lab is leading the pack (I’ve only tried YM, TYS, and Tuttie Frutti (Auburn)). The space was huge and the (fresh) topping selections were better than what I’ve seen elsewhere. We are definitely going back this weekend.

PS – Sorry for the iPhone picts. I've left my DSLR @ the office this week while I’ve been taking company headshots for LinkedIn, promotional press, etc.

José, Can You See??

2010-06-28T22:14:00.013-05:00

This weekend Charlie & Courtney invited us to tag along on the tail end of their 5 Year Anniversary ATL weekend . . . to the BRAVES GAME on Sunday!!! I think I’ve been to 2 or 3 Braves games (the last one about 6 years ago), but nothing like this. Our seats came with access to the 755 Delta Club where we ate lunch overlooking the Outfield (BTW, the “Knucksie” was the jam!!)

But nothing has ruined me for watching a baseball game like these seats!!! 4th row, behind home plate!!! These were seriously AWESOME!!

The Braves ended up losing, but we had a great time. And I felt like I was 8 years old. Charlie & Courtney, thank you for the best 5 Year Wedding anniversary present a boy could ask for!!!

In true narcissistic fashion, when we got home, I promptly checked the TV guide to see when the replay came on (luckily, the game was blacked out live).

We watched a little of it tonight after the Bachelorette (OMG!!!!), but got kinda bored after 10 minutes. You can only say “Hey, there we are!!!!” so many times.

Do you see me taking the picture that I posted above???

PS – Who knew there were so many Detroit Tigers fans in ATL??? I felt like it was split 70/30??

Shawty

2010-06-14T21:49:00.002-05:00

This post goes out to a dear friend . . . my trusty old fratagonia* shorts!

Remember last year, when I said I should come up with a book of items that “I can’t wear anymore”???

I bought these at Kinnucan’s (?) in early Summer 2003 (I’m pretty sure it was during summer term at AU). For shorts they were pretty expensive (I think they were in the $50 range), but I liked em, and looking back it’s been a pretty good investment. I bet I’ve worn these over 200 times (at least 5 times a month, 6 months out of the year, for the last 7 years), and I know you can’t tell, but they used to be dark olive green.

Over the years, they’ve started to fray and the last few months have seen some pretty bad rips/holes in the “knees” (yes, I know shorts are already cut-off at the knees, but work with me here). Well, last weekend, I decided to pull the plug and turned these into cut-offs. I can’t show you the after picture (this is a family blog) as they are even shorter, and the LOML has made it clear they should not be for public consumption. I still think I can mow the (back) yard in them, but we’ll see . . .

I love you Patagonia shorts. You’ll be missed.

* If I haven't already, remind me to tell you my "Beta" story the next time I see you. It's the LOML's favourite!

Blogger Street Café

2010-06-04T09:43:00.009-05:00

When I was in high school, I worked (so did Harden!) at a bagel shop that made THE BEST chicken salad in Memphis. I don’t know if they were ever actually awarded that distinction, but it was a HUGE seller and seriously tasty*. Lucky for me (and you), I was able to get the recipe and it’s been a personal favorite ever since.

Since this is the first week of the LOML’s summer (permanent) vacation, we did a little meal planning on Sunday, and thought we’d whip up some of this tasty chicken salad to munch on all week.

TMF’H Chicken Salad (adapted from anonymous Bagel café)
4-5 lbs chicken breast
1 C sliced almonds
1 lb sliced (halved) grapes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder (we were out, so I used 1 tsp fresh chopped garlic)
2 tsp thyme
1 C (light) sour cream
2 C (light) mayo

So I used these five MONSTER chicken breasts (from a local meat distributor) that probably weighed about a pound each, and poached (or boiled, rather) them until they were cooked through. After letting them cool off a little bit, I chopped/shredded the chicken, and then let them cool some more.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “That is a **** ton of sour cream and mayo!!!!”

I know. It looks a little much. But here’s what I’d do. After the shredded/chopped chicken has completely cooled off, I’d mix in the sliced almonds and grapes and then combine all the other ingredients in a separate bowl. Then I’d fold in the mayo/sour cream mixture in small batches until you get the consistency you want. When you’re finished, throw it in the fridge and you’ve got chicken salad GOLD that should last you (at least!) a week.

In addition to having this for lunch most of this week, we had this for dinner with the LOML’s homemade pita chips and organic baby carrots (on sale @ Publix). The LOML can make some mean homemade pita chips.

* For comparisons sake, this is probably closest to Birmingham’s O’Carr’s chicken salad vs. a Zoe’s or some other sub-par version.

If You Like Swiss Chard Frittatas and Getting Caught in the Rain

2010-06-02T19:29:00.016-05:00

These 2 week breaks are becoming familiar, aren’t they?? Oh well, I’m back and I’ve got tasty produce to share:

Week 5’s CSA Bounty (picked up and photographed about 10 days ago)

'Panisse' Lettuce
Mixed Head Lettuce
Rainbow Chard
Strawberries
Snow Peas
Cilantro
Bok Choy
Baby White Turnips

Week 5’s selection was awesome! I think my favorite items were the snow peas, but my first experience with rainbow (Swiss) chard was pretty fulfilling, too. When I searched for a good rainbow chard recipe, frittatas seemed to be a common suggestion, so I thought “Hey Family, let’s get classy and make a Sausage, Mushroom, Feta and Rainbow Swiss Chard frittata for dinner!!”

After cooking some Italian sausage (about a pound) in our skillet (sadly, we didn’t have a cast iron skillet handy. . . R.I.P. Great Smokey Mtn skillet – thanks, Colton!), we set the meat aside and sautéed the chard stems and mushrooms in the sausage drippings (flavor!) with a little extra olive oil. So colorful, right??

After a few minutes, the LOML threw in the chard leaves and cooked those down (much like spinach, the leaves cook/shrink down pretty nicely). Here she is admiring our sweet baby girl (in her bouncy seat) while managing the skillet. 2 days as a S.A.H.M. and she’s already a pro at multi-tasking!!

After all the veggies were cooked, we added the sausage back to the pan, added some feta cheese (not much was in the fridge) and 6 beaten eggs. In my mind, I thought the 6 eggs would fill this pan up to the side, but as you can see, the pan looks pretty empty. Kinda pitiful looking, isn’t it?

Well 30 minutes in the oven at 375 though sure puffed everything up! I will say that since there wasn’t that much egg, 30 minutes was WAAAAAAAAAY more time than necessary and the egg formed more of a crispy (browned) crust. If I could do it over, I’d pick a smaller pan, double the eggs (or halve the filling) and then check it around 20 minutes.

Either way, for my first frittata, I thought dinner was a success. And we stayed classy . . . Where are my cuff links and boat shoes??

In the Summertime when the Weather is High . . .

2010-05-14T15:19:00.015-05:00

Sooooooooooooooooooooo, I’m sure you’ve noticed I really haven’t felt too bloggy lately. Wish I had more pictures of what we’ve been up to the last month, but you’ll have to settle for this:

We dedicated our sweet baby girl to the Lord last Sunday (Happy Mother’s Day). She (the LOML and my daughter) is the best!!! And at her doctor’s check-up today, she’s in the 95% for weight (my daughter, not the LOML)!!

I bought my ticket this week to see the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Surfer Blood @ the Bottletree next month!!! Now I just need to find my Smiths’ Singles cd to get pumped up. (HT: Will)

I just changed most of the privacy setting (and profile information) on Facebook (and I’ve really toyed with the idea of deleting my account . . . Oh No, He didn’t!! Oh Yes, He might??). Still haven’t seen the South Park episode about FB, but I’ve heard it’s pretty funny.

I just ordered a new shoot-through umbrella and bounce reflector!!! I have some shoots scheduled in the next few months (I also have bad G.A.S.)

I’m still trying to hit up Planet Fitness (more than once a week), but haven’t really dropped any lbs. Probably because I make stuff like this.

If you’re bored and looking for some new sites to add to your RSS feed, check out these out, I've happened upon in the last month or so:

Both Sides of the Table
Entrepreneur turned VC, Mark Suster’s thoughts on all things Start-Up, Technology, etc.

Going Concern
Accounting News & Gossip (I can’t think of a topic most of you would be less interested in)

Baah-zill

2010-05-07T14:48:00.015-05:00

2 weeks huh??? Anyways, I’m back and wanted to share what we received from CSA week 3!!! (we’re splitting (alternating weeks) our share with good friends, Grantham & Liz)

Spring onions
Bok Choy (ironic?)
Spinach
Salad Mix
Strawberries

Also, call me crazy, but I’ve really wanted to try out a Basil smoothie. I got a few basil plants a couple weeks ago at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens plant sale, and they’ve come along nicely. Since I usually throw in a TON of baby spinach, and lately been adding avocado to my smoothies, I thought “What the heck?” Let’s go all-in crazy????

First, if you’re not adding baby spinach to your smoothies, you really are missing out. You don’t taste ANYTHING but you get all sorts of good vitamins, healthy stuff, etc. Also, avocado adds a whole new level of creaminess (sort of ice-creaminess), and again, you don’t taste any avocado flavor. Alright, here’s what my green Basil smoothie included

OJ
Vanilla yogurt (I froze some in the ice tray last week)
Spinach (a lot)
Sweet Basil (9 leaves - fresh)
½ Avocado (frozen)
1 Tbs (generous) Peanut butter
I also added some frozen honey dew and cantaloupe pieces after it had been blending.

Ok, full disclosure. This was just alright for me dawg. I got a faint basil flavor, but it didn’t really impress or wow me. Honestly, skip the basil, add a little more fruit, and enjoy. It was a fun green color though . . . (Sarah & Chad, you should make this for the kiddies!)

Eat Your Veggies!

2010-04-23T14:43:00.008-05:00

Can you tell we’ve been watching Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution????

But seriously, if you haven’t been watching this show (SEASON FINALE TONIGHT), you need to visit ABC’s website and watch all (six) episodes for free (with limited commercial interruptions). Sure it’s got some Extreme Home Make Over, heart-string pulling moments, but the message is great and it’s done really well. And how can you not like anything done with a British (faux Cockney) accent???

If you have been watching, I’m sure you’ve noticed Jamie is a BIG FAN of (lovely) stir fries! Soooooo, a few nights ago, the LOML and I were inspired to do the same. This was my first time cooking with bok choy and I was impressed. I probably would have tossed out the greens, but a quick search on the handy iPhone revealed you can eat those too.

Nothing too precise here. Just bok choy, onion, green bell pepper and zucchini, with beef marinated it in a combination of Teriyaki sauce, Rice wine vinegar, Hoisin Sauce, Fish Sauce, Sesame Oil. Oh yeah, and we served this on a bed of cellophane noodles . . . Tasty.

Yesterday was also the first day of our CSA through SNOW’S BEND FARM!!!! Check out the first week’s bounty!!!

Mustard Greens
Salad Mix
Baby Turnips
Radishes
Arugula
Carrots

We’re such TREE HUGGERS!!!!

We might be Vanilla

2010-04-15T09:41:00.008-05:00

Happy April 15th, American Taxpayer . . .

Boom. Roasted.

Have fun at your Tea Parties!! Look out for Sarah Palin (‘s brother and father??)

Who is Sergey Chilikov??

2010-04-12T19:21:00.000-05:00

A few years ago, I was really drinking the p4k kool-aid on this new band, Beruit. “They” were the brainchild of 19 year old Zach Condon, who recorded Gulag Orkestar in the bedroom of his parents' New Mexico house. How he recreated the sounds of 19th Century Eastern Europe on a MacBook, I’ll never know, but I was really digging it and streamed their MySpace tracks while prepping tax returns in the Spring of 2006. I ended up buying that first record, but when I played it for the LOML, she thought it was kinda scary and all the chantings/old-world music* reminded her of Muslim Jihadists (I’ll admit that not all of their songs are as cheery/pop-friendly as “Postcards from Italy”).

Well, this weekend, the LOML and I took our little one to the 12th Annual Lebanese Food & Cultural Festival at St. Elias Maronite Church! A friend of mine at work is a HUGE FAN and I was really bummed we missed it last year. My wife is such a good sport, that we didn’t make the same mistake twice.

I ordered the BEIRUT CLASSIC (Deluxe Baked Kibbee Plate) which included baked kibbee, grape leaves, spinach pie, rice, green beans (Ioobia), Lebanese Salad, and pita bread. The LOML had DJAJ MISHWI (Grilled Chicken Plate) which had half a grilled lemon chicken, rice, green beans (Ioobia), Lebanese Salad, and pita bread.

To me, there seems to be a lot of similarities between Greek and Lebanese food. I’ve ordered Kibbee (which kinda reminds me of Lebanese Meatloaf) at the Olive Branch in Cahaba Heights before, but I think my favorite dish was the green beans. They were in a tomato based sauce and had CINNAMON, which was kinda funky, but still tasty.

Apparently, there are a ton of Lebanese food fans in BHM, because St. Elias was packed. Even though the meals were a little pricey ($15 for the BEIRUT CLASSIC) I had enough leftovers for dinner last night. PLUS it’s all for a good cause. I’m glad to see so many folks supporting local events like this, and I really want to keep taking our sweet little baby to stuff like this as she gets older.

After lunch, we took a quick tour of their sanctuary which featured some impressive stained glass. You’ve probably driven past St. Elias hundreds of times and didn’t know it. It’s located right off I-65 in Southside and you can see the steeple from the interstate.

* BTW, I saw Hawk and a Hacksaw open for WILCO last spring. They were gimmicky/redundant. Not sure I’d go see Beruit play live . . .

All Sewn Up

2010-04-06T21:42:00.006-05:00

When I was in college, I really wanted to get a Tennessee state flag tattoo on my bicep. This was at the height of my Lucero-listening, alt.country DJ-ing, whisky-drinking, untucked, shaggy-haired days (my wife is cringing right now). Well, BIG SHOCKER, this over-analytical, accounting major never went through with it, but I can’t say NOT getting that tattoo was a HUGE REGRET (I’m actually pretty neutral on the idea now).

Fast forward to today when I was reading the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants Tuesday bulletin (NERD ALERT!!). I saw the ASCPA has a new blog, and what did they have a link to, but . . . ACCOUNTING-THEMED GIFTS & APPAREL!

So I start scrolling through the pages when my past and present hit me like a train a comin', that’s rollin' 'round the bend:

Who in their right mind would combine accounting with the classic tattoo stylings of Sailor Jerry??

Should I get this for my office??

If people saw this, would they know I was being ironic??

Measure Me Sunday (week 3)

2010-03-28T22:49:00.004-05:00

Alright folks, this is gonna be quick. I hopped on the scale this morning and it read 204.5 lbs aka a 1.5 lb loss!! Woo Whoo!! I was a little nervous, b/c I only made it to the gym twice last week, but I guess all those carrots I’m eating with lunch (instead of chips) worked.

OK, time for bed. I got a early wake-up call b/c I’m driving to EASTABOGA all week for work!

(why am i posting?? this post bores myself . . . )

Measure Me Sunday (week 2)

2010-03-21T23:02:00.013-05:00

I guess you’re here for “Measure Me Sunday,” right??? Lemme just say, I thought this was a pretty good week. I got to the gym four times, and I’ve been averaging about 500-ish calories (FEEL THE BURN) on the elliptical/treadmill, so I thought I’d have a chance of pulling some decent numbers this week (Don’t I sound so Biggest Loser). Buuuutttt, there was Mr. Chen’s, and pizza for lunch, at the office, and a bunch of other EXCUSES I could make of why I actually GAINED half a pound as of this morning (yep, I’m at an even 206). Do I feel defeated?? Nope. I think this is just a lesson that I can’t half-ass this thing (literally), if I’m gonna lose some weight.

BUT, guess what I tried this week??????

Yep . . . a SARDINE and AVOCADO SANDWICH!!!!

Ok, I’ll admit the idea of sardines is a little freaky. I mean you open up the tin and they’re in there. Looking like tiny fish.

Even though they still have their tail/fins on, the heads and innards are removed so you can eat them right out of the can. Since this was my first time, I removed the tails, but I don’t think it was necessary.

I decided to try one by itself to shake off any last minute jitters before I ate the ENTIRE contents on one sandwich.

You know what? I think our pre-conceived notions are the freakiest things about sardines. They weren’t that bad at all (they actually reminded me of a cross between canned tuna and smoked salmon). I mean, I don’t think I’d eat them every week, but I could definitely see myself trying them once or twice a month??

After de-tailing, I gave mine a rough chop and placed them on a bed of fresh spinach, with sliced avocado, on whole wheat toast. I read something the other day that called Avocado “Nature’s Mayonnaise” . . . Mmmm, avocado is so good.

Anyways, the sandwich was great. Honestly, you couldn’t even really taste the sardines, but I just felt healthier knowing they were there. And when little pieces of sardine fell out onto the plate, it wasn’t that weird to pick it up and pop ‘em in my mouth.

Here’s to Sardines and all the hobo’s in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure who loved them, too.

Mr. Chen's

2010-03-18T21:17:00.004-05:00

I was flipping through this month’s B-Metro magazine (aren’t the cover shots always a little Dave Hill-ish??) last weekend and was pretty psyched about their “10 Spots” for best international cuisine in the Magic City. Always looking for some new and tasty restaurants, I definitely wanted to check out #1, Mr. Chen’s in Hoover (so close to my office!). And after reading some reviews on Yelp, it sounded like Mr. Chen’s was the real deal!

I e-mailed Grant earlier this week to see if he’s ever been, and sure enough, he discovered it a few weeks ago and has already been twice. Well today, with nothing better (1040s? Review notes? Fixed Asset schedules?) to do for lunch, Grant, Bro-Jeezey and I set out for some authentic Chinese cooking (with REAL Asian diners!!)

Lemme just say, it was AMAZING-NESS!! If anybody ever wants to go, I am totally game.

Steamed Buns and Pan-fried Dumplings

Basil Squid and Mapo Tofu

The over-whelming favorite, Eggplant with Pork Basil in Hot Pot

And the coolest part about lunch?? At the end of our meal, one of the waitresses came around and said “You all really know good things to order” (like we were legit Chinese food connoisseurs)

PS – For “Americanized” Chinese food, I don’t think you can beat Chan Lee’s (downtown in the Harbert Center). When I worked downtown, that place was the jam!

Measure Me Sunday

2010-03-14T21:27:00.013-05:00

A couple* weeks ago, I had planned on posting my own “Measure Me Sunday” where I would track my progress at the gym and healthy (healthier) eating habits. Weeeelllllllllll, I never posted those initial measurements, and since then haven’t really made any progress, so I never followed through with it. Sorry.

After NOLA (and some encouraging word from the LOML), I feel like this past week has been really good on the healthy lifestyle front. As of today, I’m 205.5 lbs, which is 1 pound less then my original weigh-in last month, but I’ve probably lost closer to 5 this week, if you count what I weighed in at last Sunday (from all those crappy (albeit, delicious) calories in NOLA). It’s pretty tempting to want to hop on the scale every day, but going forward, I’m going to try and only weigh-in once a week. Since I’m not rocking p90x, I don’t think I’m going to measure (neck, chest, gut, etc.) every week, but I might do a monthly progress report.

Oh yeah, why else I’m posting?

Everyone knows music can get you PUMPED up when getting your sweat on. I made a “Work-out Mix” when I signed up for Planet Fitness and here are some songs that have helped me “Push it to the Limit” (port of Miami) on the treadmill and elliptical (I’ll admit to air drumming while listening to some of these). If you’re looking for some new tunes to GET YOU IN THE ZONE, I’d recommend any (though, some may have explicit content!!)

“Thrash Unreal” (Against Me!) – I wore my AM! shirt the other day. I could tell the Sleeve Monsters were frightened

“D.O.A.” (Jay Reatard) – 68 seconds of sweaty rock

“I’m So Hood – REMIX” (DJ Khaled, etc.) – you’d be surprised how much Rap and Hip-Hop improves your cardio (and AUDITING!)

“Brooklyn Go Hard” (Jay-Z) – I listened to this song a lot last year

“Swagga Like Us” (T.I.) – Can’t wear skinny jeans

“Stay Positive” (Hold Steady) – Title should be self-explanatory. Great song when finishing up your work-out.

“Superimposed” (the Glass) – If I was ever going to film a car chase scene in a French film, I’d want this as the background music. I don’t know why.

“Search and Destroy” (Iggy Pop & the Stooges) – Get your ass the hell off my boat

“Freedom” (Rage Against the Machine) – the verses are a little dull, but the intro/chorus guitar riff is sweet

“Blood and Thunder” (Mastodon) – Roooooooooooar, literary references!!!!

“The Wolf is Loose” (Mastodon) – this song would scare the baby

“Walk” (Pantera) – I wish I played football in high school, just so I could listen to this song before the Friday Night Lights.

“Creeping Death” (Metallica) – some good ole fashioned 80’s thrash metal

“Holier than Thou” (Metallica) – my favourite track off the Black Album.

“Broken, Beat & Scarred” (Metallica) – 46 year-old James Hetfield could be hard to take seriously, but this song is good stuff.

I’ve got a whole lot more songs on the playlist, but we’ll save those for another day (?)

* has anyone else gotten into discussion/debate about the word “couple” when describing any amount other than two?? I’ve always used the word “couple” to describe anywhere from 2 to 4 (maybe even 5) objects/items. My sweet, dear wife likes to point out there are 2 people in a couple, and therefore “couple” shouldn’t be used to describe any other amount. I really should be saying a “few” . . .

Are You There April 16th? It's Me TMF’H

2010-03-10T21:51:00.001-06:00

Sorry I haven’t been too bloggy lately. It’s been kinda busy around TMF’H, what with corporate deadlines, catching up from the weekend, trying to get my gym on, and taking in all of the little munchkin’s newfound laughter/giggles/smiles :)

Speaking of NOLA, it was a success!! Sure I completely negated any progress (?) I’ve made at planet fitness, but we ate a lot of tasty food, like this:

Cochon De’lait Po-Boy (w/ Creole-Slaw). It’s basically baby (suckling pig) pulled pork. I did not feel guilty eating this.

The Draft started around 9 am Saturday morning, and I pulled the (lucky) 13th spot (I selected Ryan Howard in the first round). Stephen actually got the party started around 7:30 am Saturday morning with the theme from Ghostbusters, and Stew started making Bloody Mary’s. You can see our (impressive) draft board in the background.

And what trip to Nawlins would be complete without a trip (or two) to Harrah’s Casino. As an ardent supporter of Crown Financial Ministries/Dave Ramsey/basic personal finance, I’m not a big fan of gambling (maybe if I watched 21 again??) but I was able to enjoy watching my buddies gamble without the hassle of losing $200 in ten minutes! PS – I’m not “casting judgment” on anyone who gambles, I’m personally just not “good” at it and therefore don’t like throwing my money away. If you’re able to “bring down the house” more power to ya!!

A Boy Named Shu*

2010-03-04T20:16:00.001-06:00

The other day I stumbled upon this article on Alton Brown’s (semi) recent weight loss (also featured on a recent episode of Good Eats). Basically he lost 50 pounds by eating Sardine and Avocado sandwiches . . . ok, not really, but he did explain 4 basic lists (food groups) and how often you should eat them (he does NOT consider this a diet).

Consume daily:
Fruits, Whole Grains, Leafy Greens, Nuts, Carrots, and Green Tea

At least 3 times a week:
Oily fish, Yogurt, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes, and Avocado

No more than 1 time a week:
Red Meat, Pasta, Dessert, and Alcohol

Foods to avoid:
Fast Food, Soda, Processed meals (TV dinners), Canned Soups (salt), and "Diet" anything

Seems pretty logical, right?? Obviously, I need to cut down on the Red Meat, Pasta & Dessert category, but I think the LOML and I get some good items from the first two groups. Well, this article has inspired me to up my Green Tea (ancrient Chinese secret say . . . sorry) and Oily Fish intake.

So far I’m on Day 3 of green tea, and it’s not that bad (it’s actually kinda bland). We’ve got the Kirkland variety here at the office (free) and I’ve been drinking it straight (no lemon, sugar, etc. – I’m sure that would be blasphemous in hard-core green tea circles). Hopefully, whatever (proven and unproven) health benefits from drinking this stuff will be worth it.

As far as oily fish goes, I’ve seen a couple of recipe posts in the last couple months that piqued my interest. The first time I had sardines (freshly caught and grilled) was in 5 Terre, Italy, and the last time was on a pizza at Bettola. From doing a search on-line, quality and taste can vary pretty widely, but I’m looking forward to trying some out sooner than later (I have a feeling the LOML will pass).

Yes, I realize the irony in posting this the night before I head out on a weekend full of Jambalaya, Crawfish/Oysters, Dixie Beer, and Bourbon.

* obscure work-related reference

I sell Biscuits and Gravy all over the Southland

2010-03-01T21:43:00.000-06:00

I was so jacked when my high school’s 10 Year Reunion STD (save-the-date) post card came in the mail last week!!! Seriously, it’s gonna be awesome!!!

This past weekend, our dear friends Jonathan, Heather & Jackson (with Cohen in the oven) came to visit us (actually the baby) and we had a great time (and ate a lot of great food)!! As you can see, Harden also shares my excitement for the upcoming Reunion.

BTW, how sweet was John Cusack’s “come-back” in the late 90’s?? High Fidelity and Grosse Pointe Blank are two of my favourite movies (watched repeatedly during college), and how could you flip the channel when Con Air comes on TNT??? (other than Nick Cage’s horrendous South Alabama accent)

Put... the bunny... back... in the box.

PS – Happy Birthday (month) to the LOML :)

(Clever Title re: Links)

2010-02-19T18:05:00.002-06:00

Thought I’d share some note-worthy sites I’ve stumbled upon the last week or so:

The War Eagle Reader - OK, I’ve actually visited TWER before, but since they scored an interview with Brian regarding LUCERO’s first-ever show in Auburn, they deserve some link-cred. Also, check out the Vintage Auburn posts (HT: Zandura101)

FreeThinkBham’s "Hipster’s Guide to Birmingham" – I have no interest in “progressive action and info”, but this Guide seems pretty spot-on (I doubt I’d even qualify as a young professional or “executive” hipster though). I’ve only been to Urban Standard for lunch once, but it was tasty (HT: BhamTerminal).

A Trip Down South - I'm no fashionista (J. Crew and “Banana” never look good on “husky” fellas like myself), but this blog is pretty good stuff (apparently there’s a whole ‘nother world of male sartorial blogs out there). I did subscribe to GQ once, but it’s been a solid year since I purchased something from Brooks Brothers.

The Selvedge Yard - Stephen sent me this blog which seems to celebrate all things classy (classic) and manly (Reminds me of EDSBS’s Digital Viking: Guide to Spicy Living). The old school (60’s and 70’s) pictures are pretty sweet.

Archie McPhee – Yes, I’m a dork. I bought a Seth Godin action figure. This website is AWESOME and flipping through the catalogue, I could easily blow $100. Reminds of the magic shop in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. PS – I think you know what to get me for April 16th??

I and Love and You

2010-02-14T22:07:00.005-06:00

One of the best parts of my day is rocking our sweet baby girl to sleep. We have a couple different playlists on my iPhone and she really likes the Avett Brothers (BTW, how sweet is having a speaker in the iPhone? It’s like having a portable baby boom-box). Anyways, we’ve been listening to them since we were at the hospital, and we both like our special music bonding time . . .

I love my wife. I love my daughter. Life is good . . .

Hope you and yours had a Happy Valentine’s Day!

GTL

2010-02-13T17:52:00.006-06:00

After running out of too many excuses/delays on my part, and being inspired by Chad’s recent P90x success, I finally decided to get off my arse this week and sign up for a gym membership.

That’s right folks, 1997 140lb Cross Country TMF’H is BACK!!!!!!! (Ok, maybe I’ll settle for 2002ish, 185lb TMF’H)

Unfortunately, the sleeve monster has been pretty hungry in Hoover, so I’ve seen my fair share of meat heads getting their pump on. Yes, I know it’s ironic that I’m (out-of-shape) the one casting judgment on these (in-shape) folks even though we’re in a “Judgment Free Zone”??? I just want to know when it became cool to wear muscle tees when you’re working out?? Do chicks dig muscle tees???

Anyways, the gym is a great place to wear t-shirts not otherwise suitable for a young professional father like myself.

Today I wore my Yard Dog (Folk Art Gallery) t-shirt I picked up in Austin four years ago. PS - If anybody is looking for really nice 30th or 35th Birthday ideas, a Jon Langford print would be pretty sweet!!

It’s a pretty cool shirt, but today I realized someone else at the gym might mistake it for a TapouT t-shirt!!?!?! I mean from across the room, the logo is definitely a similar shape (and I’m sure the black t-shirt doesn’t help). Let me be clear, if I EVER even think about wearing TapouT (or Affliction) apparel, you have complete authority to punch me in the face.

Linchpin

2010-02-09T21:48:00.002-06:00

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned I had a “few” books on my reading list, and last Sunday, I was able to check Linchpin off that list. Now, I’ve got to tell you something.

Seth Godin has completely blown my mind.

Seriously, this book was entertaining, inspiring, and a (relatively) quick read. (It’s difficult to summarize 240 pages into one post, but) Seth basically explains how the world (economy) has changed, and the only way to succeed in this new environment is to be indispensible (a linchpin). The last 250 years, we’ve lived in a “factory” society (it makes no difference if the factory makes cars, food, health care, or tax returns), and according to Seth, the American Dream was:

Keep your head down
Follow instructions
Show up on time
Work hard
Suck it up
. . . and you’ll be rewarded.

As we’ve seen the last decade (what with bankruptcies, lay-offs, economic uncertainty, etc.), this path is no longer a guarantee to a comfortable life. The new American dream is:

Be remarkable
Be generous
Create art
Make judgment calls
Connect people and ideas
. . . and we have no choice but to reward you.

But Seth isn’t necessarily imploring you to create art with a paint brush or a musical instrument. We are all artists, because "art, at least as I define it, is the intentional act of using your humanity to create a change in another person."

No one said being a linchpin would be easy. We’re pre-disposed (our “lizard brain”) to fight this notion of standing out and being remarkable. It’s much easy to just “do your job” and collect a paycheck. But if you want to be successful (aka happy), you can’t give in to this resistance.

There’s so much more to this book, but for the list-oriented people like myself, to be indispensable you must:

Provide a unique interface between members of your organization
Deliver unique creativity
Manage a situation or organization of great complexity
Lead customers
Inspire staff
Provide deep domain knowledge
Posses a unique talent

But what inspired me to tell you about how completely mind-blowing this book is??

I’ve been following Seth’s blog for about a year. In December he gave his readers a chance to get a preview copy of Linchpin a few weeks before it was released. Pretty sweet, huh?? All Seth asked in return was to make a donation ($30 minimum) to the Acumen Fund and share your thoughts on the book if you so feel led. In 49 hours, he raised over $108k. When I received my copy in early January he included a note thanking me for the donation and said there would be another surprise a few weeks later (aka now).

Like I said, I finished this book Sunday and I feel like I’ve been telling people about it since. Monday I even mentioned it to our Training Coordinator and said it would be a great book to deliver a training session on (I told him I’d be happy to help, of course). This is the kind of book you want to buy for all your co-workers, friends, and family.

Well, today I get home from work and see a random package from Barnes & Noble addressed to me??? (Did the LOML pre-order me The Big Short???). I opened it up and inside was another note from Seth. He said an important part of being indispensible is generosity, and he wanted to give me a SECOND COPY of Linchpin to share with a friend. ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?!?

Seth, you’re a gentleman and a scholar, and you’ve got a new convert in your tribe. Thank you for writing this book.

PS – the Tuna Tartare Burger I had for lunch today at FLIP Burger also completely blew my mind.

Jay Reatard

2010-02-04T20:47:00.006-06:00

I've always* been really proud of the local music that's come out of Memphis. Besides the obvious (Lucero), I could easily put albums by the Glass, Reigning Sound, Pawtuckets, Corey B, Snowglobe and even Augustine (one LP wonder!) among my favorite records.**

A few weeks ago, the Memphis (errr, global) hipster community was rocked when Jay Reatard passed away at the age of 29. I'm gonna be honest. I had never listened to any of his music. I remember seeing the Final Solultions and Lost Sounds mentioned in the Memphis Flyer from time to time, but I can't claim that I'm some Reatard super-fan (I did watch p4k's A>D>D interview with him last fall though). I always thought the coolest thing about him, was the bass player in his band went to my high school ("boring rich kids") and escorted my sister for Spirit Court six (?) years ago.

Well, today I've been streaming (FOR FREE) a good bit of his stuff on his website (and myspace) and I'll say it's pretty good. Nothing helps you tie down a Statement of Cash Flows like crazy, lo-fi, jangly noise pop (with a touch of faux British accent!). But seriously, he put some good stuff out there, and you should at least check out his (major, errr Matador) indie label debut, Watch Me Fall.

* Accidental Mersh notwithstanding

** I know it'd really impress you if I said I liked the Oblivians, too.

It’s (Now) Easy Eating Green

2010-01-26T22:54:00.009-06:00

For anybody who is interested, today I received an e-mail letting me know that Snow’s Bend Farm will be accepting new applications to join their CSA starting this Friday!! Wooo Whoooo!!! I am pumped!!

What is a CSA you ask??? Rachel Zoe Insler (via the AG) gave a pretty good run-down last fall, but basically, if you live in or around Birmingham, Snow’s Bend will provide (and even deliver!) fresh, farmed fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc. all year long (ok, about 40 weeks long) for a (very reasonable) flat fee!

And since we learned in Food Inc. that all commercialized/industrialized food is sending us straight to Hell in a Corn-fed Hand Basket, a CSA like Snow’s Bend will help us do a better job of eating fresh and in season!

I Never Learned to Read

2010-01-19T17:09:00.010-06:00

As if we don’t have enough things going on right now, my dear wife pointed out to me the other night that I’m currently “reading” A LOT of books (I had just received my preview copy of Linchpin by Seth Godin). I think I just get excited about starting a new book, and before I know it, there is a stack of four of five books on our bedside table. I guess this post is to call myself out (and hold myself accountable) that I will have all of these (non-cookbooks) finished by July 1st.

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters – The LOML gave me this for Christmas, and although the beginning was kind of a downer, I think it will have some good points/perspective.

Kitchen Confidential – Robbie just finished this and mailed it to me. I started it yesterday, and I really think I’m going to want to quit my job and go work at some dive in Williamsburg after finishing it.

What the Dog Saw – A great book to start and stop. A collection of Gladwell’s stories that have previously appeared in the New Yorker over the last 10 years. "The Black Swan" was really interesting.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames – Another great book to leave and return to. Don’t ask me why, but I brought three books with us to the hospital, and this was the only one I actually touched. Sedaris’ dry observations make me LOLz.

Parenting By the Book – Go download his presentation @ St. Peter’s if you don’t have time to read this.

Linchpin – Godin is so hot right now. If only I could think of some multi-million dollar backed start-up, I’d go hear him speak and have him consult me during one of his VIP break-out sessions.

And then there are my new cookbooks (Merry Christmas to me!!)

Asian Bites – I’m a little hesitant to introduce some of these spicy foods to my little muchkin (and wife), but there are some really good looking “bites” in here.

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics – After flipping through, I realized I’ve already made a few of these recipes over the last year or so. And it looks like Ina is cooking a number of these on Food Network right now. Good stuff.

Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook – We tried their Elton Stephens’ Chocolate Soufflé on New Year’s and now I can’t wait to visit the Farmer’s Market after April 15th. Eating Local and Organic is also so hot (and hot) right now.

Frank Stitt’s Southern Table – Sure it’s over five years old, but like Chris Hastings’ Hot & Hot cookbook, Frank makes me want to A) become an artisanal/organic food purveyor for chefs like him or B) ask Frank (or Chris) for a job on his line.

I'm in Love with a Girl (Big Star)

2010-01-19T17:02:00.007-06:00

I guess you figured out that the LOML and I had our little bundle of joy last week. Today actually marks the week anniversary (oh gosh, am I going to turn into one of those people that keeps track of week, month, etc. anniversaries??) since we welcomed our sweet little angel into the world.

Lately, I’ve really debated on what direction I want to take That Much Further ‘Ham. Do you want family/parenting stories?? Do you want cooking/food-related posts?? Do you want my thoughts on the current socio-political environment?? (Hint: no one, including myself, does) Well, to answer my rhetorical question question/dilemma, I’ll just say I want to keep posting even though this little munchkin is occupying most of our thoughts, emotions and attention:

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the Mrs. and I are so abundantly blessed in all aspects of our lives, and one area that we won’t have to worry about for these next few months is MEALS!! Our wonderful community group at church has scheduled to bring us dinner three nights a week, BUT that means YOU the reader won’t be able to “enjoy” as many cooking/food related posts (since we won’t be cooking ourselves dinner as often). Busy Season started this week anyway, so it’s not like I could dedicate that much free time to cooking in the first place, but I just wanted to put that out there.

Baby Got Back

2010-01-15T22:10:00.001-06:00

Sorry we haven't talked since Sunday . . . been trying to catch up on our sleep.

Bloggist

2010-01-10T16:37:00.016-06:00

In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve taken a sort of renewed interest in photography these last two years. I mean, I was a Yearbook photographer in high school (impressive, I know), but it really wasn’t until I read an article in USA Today, back in April 2008, about some site called “Strobist” that I started to seriously pick the hobby back up.*

After browsing around, it’s pretty easy to develop a case of G.A.S., but I’ve tried to space my purchases out over the last year or so. Well, this past week I purchased another pretty cool photo gadget, so I thought I’d show you some of my stuff.

First, here is my strobe (Nikon SB-26) attached to my lighting stand using an umbrella adapter. I’ve never tried any other external flash/strobe, but I am really pleased with the SB-26 (and since it has Strobist’s seal-of-approval, I won’t have any trouble trading it in, should I ever decide to do so). The LOML actually got me the lighting stand last year for Valentine’s, but it wasn’t until I (semi-recently) purchased the umbrella adapter, that I was able to use it for anything.

Next, are my new CyberSync Trigger Transmitter and Receivers I received this week. These handy little guys let me fire my flash remotely up to 350 feet away, and now my flash won’t be limited to my Nikon’s hot shoe. PRETTY COOL!! (PS – these were purchased with some of my Birthday/Christmas funds . . . Thanks, everybody!!!)

And, here is my umbrella. If you read David Hobby’s original thoughts on photo umbrellas, you can see he (originally) preferred silver, reflective umbrellas (shown), to the shoot-through, white variety. Two years later, and it looks like he actually would recommend the white variety, but there are obviously pros and cons to both.

* If you interested in learning more about off-camera flash, you REALLY need to check out Strobist. There is actually A TON of resources out there for the aspiring photog, and I’ve also recently discovered ProPhotoLife’s youtube video series (the intro music is pretty cheese, but I thought the info was very useful). Oh yeah, one last plug I’ll make is Zack Arias. He’s based out of ATL and will definitely inspire you to GOYA!

Bambino Watch

2010-01-09T17:21:00.007-06:00

I think we’re in the final week!! Last night the LOML and I went with some of our friends to Lovoy’s Italian restaurant. Supposedly, if a (pregnant) woman orders the lasagna (near her due date), it will induce labor shortly thereafter. We actually went a few weeks ago (on the 29th or 30th?), but our waitress said it wouldn’t work that early (and she said it’s worked on every woman who’s worked there).

24(ish) hours later, and still no baby, so I’m not sure how much I believe it. Last night, our waitress did say the LOML needed to finish the entire meal for it to work, but since she took some of it home (garlic bread is so filling), I guess she’s disqualified.

Fresh Mozzarella, Unbound

2010-01-04T22:20:00.013-06:00

A few months ago, after Gourmet announced it was shutting its doors, a new food blog popped up to celebrate the legendary (and influential) magazine. Since I missed the deadline for December, I was determined to submit something for January. Ironically (sadly), I had only been a subscriber since December 2008, but since I kept all my old issues, I turned to the January 2009 issue for inspirado.* (to find out what exactly I’m talking about, click here)

Why did I pick one of the most difficult recipes in this issue?? I don’t know . . . Is it because I like a challenge? Maybe it’s my Italian heritage?? Too much Schnookie and DJ Pauly D?? Whatever the situation was, I spent a good portion of Sunday afternoon trying my hand at HOMEMADE MOZZARELLA!

Fresh mozzarella only has 3 ingredients: Milk, Citric Acid, and Rennet. After calling every grocery in BHM (and a few kitchen supply stores), the only place I found that carried this elusive Rennet was WHOLE FOODS. A pack of 8 tablets was about $1.50 and the Citric Acid (in the hippie herb/supplements section) was around $5. The Rennet also came with a handy little recipe guide that had more recipes for homemade cheeses (so folksy!).

The Gourmet instructions/recipe seemed time consuming, but not overly difficult. You basically combine Milk and Citric Acid, Heat, add Rennet/Water, Heat, Stir Curds, Drain in Cheesecloth, and then form Curds into Mozzarella. To quote Tom Petty “The Waiting is the Hardest Part.”

I thought the first hour went pretty well. Looking back, I probably stirred my milk too often, but I did start to see some curds form. After the first hour was up, I stirred in the warm water and Rennet mixture, and waited for the magic to happen . . . and waited . . . and waited. Another hour went by, and I never achieved the “stiffened milk mixture.” I mean, I achieved a few more curds, but nothing firm.

I might not have achieved mozzarella curd perfection, but I decided to strain what little I had and drain them in the cheese cloth. If you had seen the pictures in Gourmet, it looks like you would get about a basketball sized portion of curds from 1 gallon of milk. I got about a tennis ball’s worth. Maybe.

After hanging around for about three hours, the curds did lose some moisture, and even looked to be compacted into a little mozzarella ball shape. But this final step is where the curd really becomes mozzarella.

You’re supposed to ladle hot salted water on top of the milk curds, and let it slowly melt into a gooey mixture, which you’re then able to form into mozzarella balls (before suspending the process in cold water). I’m sure my curds weren’t robust enough in the first place, but when I placed them in warm/hot water, they just seemed to dissolve. And I definitely couldn’t form them into a ball.

After a minute or two, I ended up draining the curds and wrapping them in saran wrap to shape into some type of ball. The consistency was about the same as really soft, milky cream cheese, but not exactly what I had hoped for.

Looking back, I don’t think it was a complete loss. I bet my “cheese” would be half-way decent on pizza, but I’ll definitely try this again. What else am I gonna do with all this rennet and citric acid???

* For January 2009’s Pancetta & Pea Risotto I made last year, click here.

Help me, Help you!

2009-12-29T19:15:00.005-06:00

After fellowshipping with some of my high school friends in Memphis last week, it’s come to my attention that everyone does NOT use Google Reader (or other RSS feed readers)?!?!? Come on people now!! (smile on your brother, everybody . . . )

I’ve (subconsciously) pushed and prodded you to move towards Google Reader (here, here, and here), but now I think it’s time for a full out tutorial/explanation about the BENEFITS of using RSS Feeds!

(If you already use Google Reader, feel free to browse away . . . or catch up on all those old Seth Godin posts you “Mark as Read”)

Do you ever wonder what that icon is that looks like the North Face Logo?? It’s the RSS logo, and basically means you can add that website to a RSS feed reader.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I was going to type up some long, drawn out explanation, but I just found a really good youtube explanation here:

Another couple of neat/cool things you can do in Reader is to star and e-mail articles (I feel like I do this a lot) and check out your Trends. Here you can see which sites are most frequently updated, inactive, or obscure (click to embiggen). Thank You, 33 Blog Subscribers.

Anyways, if you find yourself checking the same sites every day, expecting an updated post (Big Girl, huh??)*, only to leave feeling sad and lonely, you might want to check this out. Srsly.

* RJOH, I love you!!

Cookin' with Ben, Brian, John & Roy

2009-12-27T22:55:00.007-06:00

If you're looking for some tasty Mexican/Peruvian cusine, you should definitley check out Sabor Latino (on Greensprings). Tonight, when I was picking up some take-out for the LOML and our friends Fef & Clay, I decided to kill some time in the Tuesday Morning next door (ok, ok, i was checking to see if they had any Le Creuset on sale). And what did I happen upon in aisle 3???? LUCERO FREAKING OLIVE OIL!!

Hellz yeah, I bought a bottle!! And at $6.99 a bottle, I think it was a steal . . .

Merry Christmas from the Family

2009-12-25T22:16:00.008-06:00

Hope you and yours have enjoyed a very Merry Christmas!! Earlier this week, we took a whirlwind two night trek to Memphris to see my fam and high school friends, and then wrapped up the last 24 hours (not that I'm counting) with my wonderful in-laws. The Mrs. an I constantly talk about how we feel blessed beyond measure, and we really do have such loving friends and family. Oh yeah, my Mom also gave me Guitar Hero: Metallica for Christmas (and nothing celebrates the birth of our Lord like "Master of Puppets" on Christmas night).

In baby news, the LOML turned 37 weeks today and you know what that means . . . "STOP THE PREGNANCY PICTS!!!" But seriously, she really does look great, and starting tomorrow, we're going on a steady diet of spicy food and long walks around the block to see if we can squeeze out a (healthy and fully developed) tax deduction before New Year's.

Me Roll You Long Time

2009-12-16T20:15:00.014-06:00

Even though I only discovered them maybe 5 or 6 years ago (thank you, Pho Saigon), I’m a pretty big fan of Vietnamese Spring Rolls (I’ve also noticed I’m pretty fond of the phrase “pretty big fan of”). I’m not sure how “authentic” egg rolls from most (American-ized) Chinese restaurants are, but I feel somewhat-local when eating these fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls (gỏi cuốn).

Last week, Food Woolf posted some gourmet airplane food ideas, and since the recipe/idea seemed pretty easy, I thought I’d try to make some of these on my own. This was also my first experience with rice paper, and I’m really starting to appreciate living 2 minutes from the International Market.

TMF’H Spring Rolls
Rice Paper (try your local Asian market)
Pulled Pork (leftover and thawed out)
Sliced Chicken (cooked)
Napa Cabbage
Carrots
Cucumber
Cilantro (Basil would be tasty, as well)
Bean Sprouts

I found it was easiest to pre-slice all the veggies, prep the meat, make the dipping sauce*, and have yourself a (merry) little assembly line. When everything is in place and ready for assembly, dip the rice paper in warm water for maybe 5-10 seconds then set it on a plate, and let it soak in the water for maybe 30 seconds (I mistakenly left my first piece of rice paper in for close to a minute, and it got CRAZY pliable!!). The first item you want to lay down is a piece of Napa for support. Then add your meat and other veggies, and wrap the roll up “burrito style.” Since the Rice Paper is pretty sticky (almost saran-wrap like), they’ll stay wrapped pretty tight. I ended up making 8 (some chicken, some pork) and storing them on top of damp paper towels, while finishing the others.

Peanut/Hosin Dipping Sauce
½ C Hoisin sauce
2 Tbs peanut butter
½ Tbs rice vinegar
“Dash” or two of garlic powder
1/8 tsp Sriracha (you could add more, just be warned)
(a few) Tbs warm water (to reach desired consistency)
Peanuts, chopped

Combine all ingredients, except the peanuts, and stir until you get the right consistency. In the words of Jay, this sauce “was the fire” and really easy to make. I would dip the spring rolls in the sauce, and then place a few chopped peanuts on top before each bite.

These rolls seriously were AWESOME!!!!!** Go to your kitchen and make them tonight!!!!

* Adapted from Bee Yinn Low

** The LOML will also attest how tasty they were – and preggers friendly!!!

It's Gonna take a lot to Take me Away from You

2009-12-13T20:57:00.010-06:00

For those of you who still care (Beuller . . . Beuller?) what other ethnic food we had two weeks ago . . . the winner was . . . NORTH AFRICAN!!

Even though I’m a HUGE foodnetwork fan, I really don’t get into the Next Foodnetwork Star. A few months ago, the LOML and I watched as Melissa d'Arabian beat out the spice smuggler, Jeffrey Saad, and after stumbling across this, I thought I’d try one of her recipes (I do want to get some harissa after watching Jeffrey’s final presentation).

One thing I’ll say before I type up the ingredients/recipes. These meatballs were a lot harder to brown and stay firm and spherical than I thought they should have (is that sentence grammatically correct?). I don’t know if I was shaking the frying pan around too much, but they tended to turn almost triangular?? Anyways, I think I saw Alton Brown bake his in a mini-muffin pan on Good Eats, and I might try that next time. Either way, I do think this would make a great meat sauce on its own, IMO.

North African Meatballs (adapted from Mellisa d’Arabian):

North African Sauce
2 Tbs olive oil
2/3 C small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
½ Tbs lemon juice
1 C pitted and chopped (kalamata) olives
3/4 C chicken stock
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
Pinch ground cinnamon
Salt/Pepper

Meatballs
1 egg
3 Tbs tomato paste
3 Tbs (rough) chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1.5 TBs crystallized ginger
1.5 tsp ground cumin
Pinch ground cinnamon
1 lb ground beef
1/2 C finely ground rolled oats
Salt/Pepper

To make the North African Sauce, sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat, until soft, about 3 minutes. Next add the lemon juice and olives and cook for another minute. Stir in the stock, canned tomatoes, sugar, red pepper flakes, and cinnamon, and simmer to blend flavors, about 7 minutes (I omitted the wine and just used more chicken stock).

To make the Meatballs, add the egg and tomato paste and stir until smooth (was this where my meatballs went wrong – too much tomato paste??). Add the cilantro, ginger, cumin, and cinnamon and mix until well blended. Stir in the ground beef and oats, season with salt and pepper, to taste (was I supposed to taste RAW MEAT???), and combine gently after each addition. Rolling with your hands, make about 20 meatballs, about 1-inch in diameter. (I have NO idea how Melissa got 32 meatballs out of this recipe, especially with .75 lb ground beef)

In a large sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat, and brown the meatballs in batches until golden on all sides. Drain on paper towels, and after all meatballs are cooked, transfer the meatballs to the pan with the sauce and let simmer for 20 minutes.

We had this with Couscous (and some leftover apricots thrown in). There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do.

Mary, Did You Know?

2009-12-11T18:14:00.001-06:00

Do you ever check out the “Explore” tab in Google Reader?? Today in “Popular Items,” the World’s Best Ever helped me realize I’ve been committing a major faux pas when enjoying my sushi (dumping Wasabi into your soy sauce).

(click to embiggen)

I’ll also admit, I used to put the pickled ginger on top of my sushi. I know, I know. I’m embarrassed for myself.

What puts the Ape in Apricot?

2009-12-06T16:22:00.003-06:00

Last week was BY FAR the most ethnic week of cooking we’ve had at the TMF’H household. Monday we had Chicken & Apricot Curry and Wednesday we had . . . (you’ll have to come back – I know the suspense will be killing you).

So I’ve already told you I’ve become a Penzey’s Spices apologist. Now that we’re on the mailing list, we get their catalog every couple of months, and although most of the recipes have a 1980’s Midwestern feel to them, I still like flipping through and looking for some inspirado. And since I’m trying to find uses for the ingredients I bought in August, we went with the Chicken & Apricot Curry (or the less-impressively named Carol’s Easy Chicken Curry) for dinner. Sorry, I’m not typing up all the ingredients/instructions; you’ll have to go here for the details.

A few notes though . . . We cut this recipe in half and used boneless/skinless chicken breasts (I don’t think we missed any of the flavor). Also, I didn’t think the curry was that tart at all, and we didn’t add any additional sweeteners (the thought of aspartame in this gives me the shakes).

Did it pass the pregnant wife test?? Yes (although I don’t think she’ll be requesting it again in the next week or so). Until then, the search for ethnic ingredient use continues.

(Clever title involving Butternut Squash)

2009-12-03T21:20:00.002-06:00

So every year my firm has a Thanksgiving pot-luck lunch. It’s actually pretty awesome b/c you end up with around 100 side dishes and desserts, plus more gallons of sweet tea brought in than necessary. Last year I brought a butternut squash casserole, and a few weeks ago a friend of mine at work asked if it would be making a triumphant return. With that question, I knew I’d have to bring it back.

I pretty much pulled this recipe from a bunch of different sources (mostly sweet potato casserole recipes). Like I mentioned before, I ended up making this twice last week.

The first attempt was made with the squash roasted still in its skin. I wouldn’t recommend this method b/c it was pretty difficult to get all that good squash flesh out. I didn’t take a picture of my remains, but there was a lot left in the skin.

For the family version, I ended up skinning the squash first and cutting it into large chunks. Although it took some more time on the front end, I would go with this approach in the future. As you can see from these pictures, I roasted a lot of butternut squash (and I did experience some temporary Butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata) dermatitis – don’t be alarmed. it eventually washed off).

TMF’H Butternut Squash Casserole
Butternut Squash (a lot - you can guesstimate how much from the pictures)
1/3 C Orange Juice
2 Eggs
½ Stick Butter (melted)
¼ C Brown sugar
1 tsp Salt
a “Dash” of Cinnamon/Nutmeg*

After peeling and quartering the squash, I roasted it for about 45 min to an hour @ 425. It came out fork tender and then it went into the Kitchen Aid. First I added the melted butter and OJ, and let it mix/puree on medium speed. I could have used more OJ, but I wanted the squash to retain its butternut-iness (of course, I lose that with the delicious crumb topping to follow). I cracked two eggs into a separate bowl and took some of the hot squash mixture to temper the eggs down. Afterwards I added the egg mixture back and mixed in the brown sugar, salt and cinnamon/nutmeg. You could check the mixer every couple minutes to make sure it was mixing to your desired consistency, and after I was satisfied, it went into a greased dish. I baked it for about an hour @ 350 (here is what the office version looked like before going into the oven).

So, my office kinda got the raw end of the deal on the topping. I didn’t really look into my “crumb” topping and ended up just throwing random amounts of brown sugar, flour, oats and chopped pecans in a bowl and then sprinkling it on top before putting into the oven.

For the family version, I poked around on the internet and found this.

1 C Flour
½ C Oats (not instant)
1/3 C Brown Sugar
½ tsp Cinnamon
¼ tsp Salt
1 stick Butter, cut into small pieces

Basically pulse all the ingredients in a food processor, and after the butternut squash has baked for 30 minutes, take it out and sprinkle this on top. Afterwards it looked like this, and smelled like an apple pie.

And then we had a Happy Thanksgiving.

* I know no straight man would ever use the word “dash” (or sprinkle, for that matter) when describing anything. Please forgive me.

Take this quarter, go downtown . . .

2009-12-03T11:38:00.008-06:00

I really like toothpicks. I think this all started when I saw Uncle Buck when I was little. Remember when they were at the Bowling Alley and that guy was trying to be all cool, flipping the toothpick around in his mouth, and then it got stuck? I was really pumped when I got old enough (or my mouth grew large enough) to be able to do that. Yes, I know this really isn’t all that impressive.

Anyways, I just realized my office keeps a cup of toothpicks in the kitchen. I know I probably look like a red-neck, but I’ve been enjoying chomping on them the last few days. Man, this is an awkward shot of my nose . . .

Bourbon. Milkshake.

2009-11-30T21:16:00.008-06:00

Before I get into any more winter squash recipes (and I KNOW you are dying for that butternut squash casserole post), I have to tell you about, what may be, the single tastiest and most indulgent drink I’ve ever had . . . BOURBON MILKSHAKES!!

I read something about a bourbon milkshake a month or so ago, and thought, dang, that is awesome. I actually read an article about a Guinness milkshake (thank you, Alamo Drafthouse) back in spring in the Southwest Airlines in-flight magazine, and thought I’d like to try one of those, too (SEC Championship, anyone??).

Most of the Bourbon Milkshake recipes I searched for try and give you some homemade ice cream recipe. I’m not going to. I don’t have time to churn homemade ice cream in the winter, and this “Homemade Vanilla” ice cream from Blue Bell was awesome. Here’s my “recipe”:

1 pint Vanilla Ice Cream*
1 shot Bourbon (roughly, I didn’t really measure it)

Let the ice cream soften a bit. Put everything in the blender. Blend. Stir it around with a spoon. Blend some more. Put it in the freezer if it’s too soft. Enjoy.

If I had discovered these in college, I would probably be a lot fatter than I am today. I know it doesn’t look like much, but I actually only had half of this Saturday night, and the rest Sunday afternoon, which by the way, I think was even better after a night in the freezer. It was like soft serve Bourbon ice cream. Awesome-town, USA.

PS – these glasses have some type of decorative brown ring on the top. They were not rimmed with chocolate (although, now that you mention it???).

* My first attempt at a Bourbon Milkshake was about a month ago, when I used some Low-fat Vanilla Frozen Yogurt we already had in the freezer. This was probably the dumbest thing I could have done. It was awful, and I ruined a perfectly good shot (or two) of Maker’s.

The Spaghetti (Squash) Incident?

2009-11-26T10:27:00.006-06:00

Hope everyone is having a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Have you been to your local farmer’s market lately??? They’re practically giving away WINTER SQUASH*

Last week, I picked up about 27 lbs of Butternut, Spaghetti and Hubbard squash for $4 . . . yep, it was fill up as much winter squash you can fit in a box for $4!!

I’ll end up making two butternut squash dishes for Thanksgiving(s) this week (office and family), but Monday night the LOML and I took our first stab at Spaghetti Squash. I had never cooked Spaghetti Squash before, but have read/heard a lot about it the last few years.

The market had Spaghetti Squash of all different sizes/shades of yellow. The farmer told me the larger and more brightly yellow the squash is, the better it will be. He was right. I split both of our spaghetti squash (you can experiment, when they’re this cheap I guess), and the larger one definitely looked more appetizing.

It was a little overwhelming to figure out what to do with it, so we basically roasted it (face down, for 45 minutes @ 400 degrees), with a little olive oil and salt/pepper. It was good (I probably could have omitted the pepper), and we served it with some black beans and sautéed spinach/mushrooms. Also, I wasn’t sure how much I could get out of one squash, but it was A LOT. Just an FYI.

* You’ve probably noticed Winter Squash will be the hot foodie blog topic these next few weeks (Clotilde had some great ideas/suggestions this week and made a REALLY good looking gratin out of hers). Glad I can contribute my part.

I like Pork Butts and I Can Not Lie

2009-11-24T20:03:00.010-06:00

So I’ve been on a pretty big Boston Butt kick lately (I think we’ve cooked 6 since the spring). They’re easy and feed a lot of people. We ended up cooking two (16 lbs total) this weekend for the 6 couples in our small group, and I think they were a big hit. I’m sure not all of these steps were necessary, but this how I rolled (I’m so white).

First I rinsed off the butt, and patted it dry. Mmmmm, that’s a fine lookin’ butt.

Next, I rubbed it down (Man, this is starting to sound like a Danielle Steel novel) with yellow mustard and put Willingham’s Dry Rub all over it. I saw the yellow mustard trick from a special on foodnetwork a few years ago, and I think it’s a divided topic on serious Pork Butt smokers/cooks. I’m sure any dry rub would be good, and I know the Neely’s have a really easy recipe I’ve used before. Anyways, I wrapped mine in plastic wrap and threw it in the fridge over night.

Sunday, I sliced 5 or 6 onions (about 1 inch thick) and layered on the bottom of the crock pot. Then I put the (unwrapped) Pork Butt on top and poured in half a beer (Pete’s Wicked Ale, for this butt).

The amount of liquid is kind of deceiving b/c the Butt is sitting on top of the raw onions, so it seems like there is not a lot of liquid. But after 5 or 6 hours, that meat will weigh down the cooked onions and the liquid will come about half way up the meat. If you’ve got time, I like to set the slow cooker on LOW and let it cook for 8 hours (but you could get HIGH for 6 hours).

Now, I’ve read that once you set the crock pot to cook you DO NOT lift the lid to check out your meat!! That would release all the built up steam and just add more time to your cooking. Amirite??

Well this weekend, my fam was in town for the LOML’s baby shower. My mom is a great cook and probably the biggest inspiration (man that sounds so cheesy to type) behind my love for cooking. I know everyone says their mom is a great cook, but mine really is. So we were hanging in the kitchen Sunday afternoon, and I turn around and she’s lifted the lid and is all “Mmmm, that looks good”

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?! Seriously, I didn’t yell at her, but it was a stern what the heck????? Anyways, she didn’t know you were supposed to keep the lid closed, so I thought I’d let you know. KEEP THE LID CLOSED!

After the meat had cooked (check after 8 hours, it may need a little more time), it was time to shred (but that meat will still be HOT). As you can see the bone EASILY came out (you can see some of the beer-soaked onions, too), and It was pretty to pick out the meat from the fat. After all was said and done, it looked like this:

BOOM goes the dynamite!

My Baby’s Got Sauce

2009-11-24T19:14:00.010-06:00

So we had folks over to our house Sunday night for Core Group and we decided to cook some Boston Butts (aka Pork Shoulder). I know this could be considered heresy, but I cooked mine in the Crock Pot (slow cooker). I know, I know. I would love to smoke some butts on a BGE (or some other type of smoker), but I don’t have one. Anyways, before I post the pictures/recipes from the Butts, I thought I’d post about the sauces I made (and I realize nothing is more exciting than posting pictures of sauces).

First I made an Alabama White Sauce (as deliciously seen @ Miss Myra’s, Moe’s and Saw’s BBQ). I had never seen or heard of White BBQ Sauce before moving to Birmingham (thank you for the introduction, Anne McCrory), but it is GOOD. The ingredients/instructions are pretty easy (via White Trash BBQ)

1 C mayo (I used Duke’s Light)
1 C Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbs lemon juice
1.5 Tbs cracked black pepper
½ tsp kosher salt, finely ground (I used sea salt)
¼ tsp cayenne

After I mixed it together, I realized this was A LOT runnier than what I’ve found in restaurants, so I ended up adding maybe another cup of Mayo, and mixed some more. WTBBQ says to store overnight, and mine sat in the fridge about 20 hrs before using. It was tasty.

I’ve been playing around with (traditional, tomato based) BBQ sauces since our 2008 Fourth of July party, and as far as ingredients/measurements go, I’m not precise at all. For this one, I started off sautéing half an onion, 4 or 5 cloves of garlic and a red bell pepper in a little olive oil for 5 minutes. Then added:

2.5 C Tomato Sauce
¾ C Tomato Paste
1.25 C Apple Cider Vinegar
½ C Brown Sugar
¼ C Honey
3 Tbs Worcestershire
3 Tbs Brown Mustard
5 Tbs Paprika
1 Tbs Lemon Juice
2 Tbs Black Pepper
2 Tbs Salt

I didn’t add all this at once. Basically it was add a little of something/taste/tinker/mix/repeat. I’d heat it up, and then simmer it down. After a while, I took the extra OCD step of putting the sauce in the blender to puree all the larger onion/pepper/garlic pieces. Did it need it?? Nope. I just like dirtying extra dishes (according to the LOML).

I think our guests would say both turned out good, but I wish I could find the extra ingredients to make it as tasty at Willingham’s. Mmmmmm, Cajun Hot . . .

101 Blogs

2009-11-19T18:04:00.003-06:00

Have you ever heard of that “101 Goals in 1001 Days” idea??

It’s pretty self-explanatory, but basically you come up with a list of 101 preset tasks you want to complete in a period of 1001 days (about 2.75 years).

Sure, it sounds hokey, but I’ve found I’m a pretty goal/list oriented person. Sometimes I’ll e-mail myself on Friday things I want to accomplish that weekend, so I won’t forget (I also have a running e-mail in my in-box, with the subject “Things I Want to Cook”).

I started to list out my 101 Goals back in the summer, but coming up with 101 Goals is REALLY HARD. Last weekend, when the LOML and I were driving back from AU, we were talking about things we want to accomplish in the future, and I realized I need to finish this 101 Goals list.

I know there are websites/blogs than can help you brainstorm, but right now my list is about 45 items (I guess my 46th goal should be to complete this list) and four of those, I already completed (like I said, I started this in July):

• Buy a Life Insurance Policy
• Clean out the Backyard Shed
• Paint the Shutters (I just replaced them with new ones)
• Pay off Grad School Debt

Anyways, just some TMF’H ramblings. Maybe I’ll post the 101 when I’m through . . . I’m so vain.

Can't Nobody Mix, Chop & Stir it Like Us

2009-11-16T19:57:00.011-06:00

Last month, my brother & sister-in-law blogged about some Thai Soup they made, when they were feeling under the weather. I was jealous. It looked GOOD, and I wanted to make some (Paella, you’re next!).

So about a week ago (after a full day of parenting classes), I decided to hit up our favorite International Market, and pick up the ingredients to make some Spicy Thai Coconut Soup.

TMF’H Spicy Thai Coconut Soup
1 Tbs Peanut oil
2 Tbs Thai red curry paste
1 small container Mushrooms, quartered
1 Red bell pepper, chopped (I’d chop a little finer, next time)
2 ½ cups Coconut milk (I used one can, I forget the exact oz. amount)
2 ½ cups Fish stock (I used one can, I forget the exact oz. amount)
2 Tbs Thai fish sauce
½ lb Shrimp
½ lb cooked Chicken (I stir fried in a little sesame oil, with salt/pepper)
3 Scallions, sliced
2 Tbs chopped fresh Cilantro

Before I type anything else, let it be known, that I love my wife. But let’s be honest. If she had tasted/smelled some of these ingredients, before putting them in the soup, she probably would have nothing to do with it. And she REALLY loves Surin’s Coconut soup (She ended up liking this, too).

First, I heated the oil, and then added the curry paste, mushrooms and red bell pepper. I didn’t taste the curry paste before adding, but mine was SPICY (probably should have started with 1 Tbs). After stir-frying for a minute or two, I added the coconut milk, fish stock, and fish sauce and brought to a boil. After the soup is boiling, I added the (cooked) chicken and shrimp, and let the whole thing heat through (maybe 5 minutes). Then I threw in the scallions, and garnished with cilantro.

Again, this soup was SPICY and could have used a little more sweetness (brown sugar? honey?). We’ll definitely make this again. Who knows, maybe we’ll get crazy, and add tofu. I don’t know if we’ll have enough time.

War Damn Weekend

2009-11-16T19:03:00.010-06:00

The LOML and I went to Auburn last weekend.

Why would you go to Auburn for an away game??

DUH!! AUBURN IDOL TRY-OUTS!!!!!!!

Just kidding. We just went for a nice, relaxing weekend at the AU Hotel & Conference Center. Walked around and ate at some of our favourite spots. Funniest sighting of the weekend was an “Aubie has a Posse” t-shirt in the vein of Shepard Fairey.

Here’s a severely over-exposed (err, “artsy”) picture of the pregnant LOML in front of Samford.

PS – Did you know Breeze Way shut down???? Apparently, it’s an India Garden restaurant now!! Gahlee, lucky AU students!!!

When in Rome, err, Germany . . . err, Florence

2009-11-11T22:13:00.012-06:00

Happy Veteran’s Day, TMF’H readers. Since we’re auditing a credit union, and they were closed today, guess who worked from their hotel room today??? It was actually a pretty nice way to spend a Wednesday (I did have a window to look out), and my roomie and I took a field trip to UNA’s campus after lunch to see the lions. That’s right. The University of North Alabama is the only university in the country to have live Lion mascots living on campus.

For dinner, the team went to Hannelore’s Bratpfanne German Restaurant for some authentic deutsch food. In addition to some tasty German beer, I had the Beef Rouladen with a side of Kartoffel (potato dumplings) and red cabbage. Definitely tasted authentic (or at least non-Americanized)!!

Today I also saw a flyer for the 3/50 Project. It’s basically an idea is to commit $50 each month to locally owned businesses. They say that If just half the employed U.S. population spent $50 each month in independently owned businesses, their purchases would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue (statistics courtesy U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2/6/2009). And for every $100 spent in independently owned stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing comes home.

So next time you’re in Florence, AL check out Hannelore’s. And try the German chocolate cake. It’s schmackhafte and good for the community!

PS – the Hood Internet’s R. Kelly (feat. Keri Hilson) vs Sally Shapiro - Number One Christmas is the Scheiße!!! Seriously, why haven’t you downloaded that mixtape!?!?!?

Blogging by the Book

2009-11-09T22:58:00.008-06:00

This is what you came for. Pregnant belly shots of the Mrs. This was taken yesterday @ 30 weeks (plus 2 days). She really does look great for being 7 months pregnant.

The LOML and I had a pretty jam-packed parent (to-be) focused weekend. Saturday we had an all day parenting class at the hospital (they basically crammed four parenting classes into one day). I was telling fellow father-to-be Scooter, that it covered a lot of information that seems would be common sense, but you (I) don’t already know it. I mean, it wasn’t mind blowing information, but definitely good stuff to know. For instance, I learned how a baby literally gets from the safe and warm comforts of the LOML’s womb to the cold, harsh reality of an Obama administration (I guess that path could change with future healthcare legislation . . . Sorry. Glenn Beck just hijacked my computer. I promise I won’t get political up in here). We also learned about c-sections, swaddling, nursing, and a number of other baby related topics.

Then on Sunday, we had the extreme pleasure of hearing John Rosemond* speak at St. Peter’s. John is a nationally syndicated family psychologist and “expert” on parenting/child rearing. He is very OLD SCHOOL about his thoughts/methods regarding parenting (he also doesn’t claim them to be his thoughts/methods . . . they’re common sense, and been around forever. Or at least until the 1960’s when things got all psycho-babble cattywompus). Even though John is a board certified psychologist, he says “he no longer even ‘believes’ in psychology, calling it a ‘largely disingenuous secular religion that has fostered more discord and disharmony in the American family than any other single contemporary force except, perhaps, television.’" The LOML was already a fan of his work from her education classes at AU, and has been RAVING about his latest, “Parenting by the Book” the last few weeks. I’m planning on reading it this week, but would highly recommend you check out his work. He spoke for about 80 minutes, but if you missed it, his message should be available as a free download on St. Peter’s website sooner, than later (no link right now).

And speaking of downloads . . . THE HOOD INTERNET MIXTAPE VOL. FOUR dropped TODAY!!!!!!!!!!1!

* I don’t know what it is, but John Rosemond reminds me of an old English actor. Like the guy who played Dumbledore in HP 1 & 2 . . .

An Accidental Guide to Blogging

2009-11-04T22:48:00.013-06:00

I've already mentioned I’m a pretty big Michael Lewis fan. Last night (with all this ample free time in my hotel room), I finished reading his accidental guide to fatherhood, “Home Game.”

Everyone knows Michael Lewis is a fantastic writer. But these stories don’t leave you laughing out loud (well, there are a few exceptions) or reaching for the nearest Kleenex. He isn’t writing heartwarming tales of puppy dogs, sugar plums, or any other sentimental pleasantries expected to come with new fatherhood. No, he writes what (I imagine) most new fathers are thinking or experiencing after childbirth (or rather, their wife’s giving birth), i.e., mostly hijinks and shenanigans.

The stories from “Home Game” first appeared in a series of columns Lewis wrote for Slate.com a few years ago, which helps explain the flow/style (my literary analysis is so strong, I know) of the book (the “chapters” are about 5-7 pages each, and it’s not necessary to read them in sequence aka they don’t really build off each other).

All in all, I thought it was a good read, but I really think the best story of the whole book is the first one in the introduction. If you’ve got a spare 5 or 10 minutes at Barnes & Noble, you should definitely check it out (it did make me lolz).

Speaking of Lewis, has anyone else notice the recent marketing blitz for the Blind Side (I feel like every time I change the channel, I’m watching another preview on TV)?? I’m pumped about this movie because :

a) I’m a big Michael Lewis fan and this was a REALLY good book (although this film will probably only address half the subject matter of his book, and
b) The story is set in Memphis, specifically my high school’s arch rival, Briarcrest (known as Westminster in the film).

Plus Tommy T, Dr. Lou and a host of other football coaches make cameos which should lead to hilarity all on its own (Why isn’t Ed Orgeron in any of the previews???).

The previews look a little too chick flick-ish, but I’m hoping that’s just a ploy to get wives/girlfriends, etc. to see a movie about a 300+ lb offensive lineman.

Oh yeah, one last story (the World Series is still on*). A few months ago, Clay Travis was reporting on the progress of the Blind Side filming, and I sent him in a news tip from the Commercial Appeal. I actually e-mailed all our dude friends and CC:ed C’lay like we were buddies. We had a nice little e-mail chain going, and Colton said it’d be cooler to have Michael Lewis’ e-mail address, and then JD called C’lay “Randy”, and Clay ended up replying back to all us. Pretty sweet.

*Nevermind. Happy World Series, Evil Empire (Yanks)

Whole Lotta Rosie?? Next Time, I'll Pass

2009-11-02T20:38:00.006-06:00

If you think about it, give the ole LOML a call, or drop by and see her this week. I’m out of town for work, and since we’re still under the “Room Sharing” policy, here is where I have to make most of our nightly phone calls . . . (sad face).

PS – tonight we ate dinner @ Rosie’s Mexican Cantina. I remember Mikey P. loved him some Rosie’s up in HSV, but the Florence location was just alright for me, dawg. Definitely the first time, I’ve tasted parmesan (??) in my queso dip . . .

Thanks a lot, Stupid Chase Commercial

2009-10-29T22:20:00.012-05:00

The other night I was playing on the computer in our office, and the LOML was sitting in our nursery, reading, and she asked me to play some music on iTunes (run-on sentence alert). So I started playing some songs I thought she’d like, and then put on (rolling eyes at myself) that Five for Fighting song “100 Years” (remember that Chase credit card commercial *, where the young couple starts dating, then has kids, then grows old together?). Well, I thought I’d go into the nursery to sing for her my best falsetto version of that song (one of my biggest daily goals, is to make my dear wife laugh).

A few weeks ago, someone gave us this really sweet little outfit (yes, I know DBT says not to refer to anything as an “outfit”), and so I started to pretend our little baby girl was here. So I put the little dress in the crib, and pretend to lift her out. And I’m singing that stupid “I’m 23, for a moment” in my high voice. And then I pretend like the dress is a little 3 or 4 year old, scampering in to the nursery to see us. And then I hold the dress up a little higher, and pretend she’s a teenager, or home from college, and the song is still playing in the background, and the LOML and I are having a good ole laugh. But then, just when I’m wrapping up my dramatic interpretation of that commercial, I actually start to get a little sentimental, and have to fight off crocodile tears at how sad its gonna be for my (UNBORN) child to grow up and leave us. ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!? I haven’t even met our precious little girl, and I’m already cheesing myself out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyways, I end up leaving the room, before the Mrs. can see I’ve gotten a little teary, but I admitted to her last night, how I’m a big fat cheese. I'm sure it's only gonna get worse, come January . . .

* While I was looking for that “100 Years” Chase commercial on youtube, I saw this one . . . GAHLEE, CAN WE PLEASE STOP PULLING MY FATHERLY HEART STRINGS?!?!?! Seriously, somebody get me a copy of “Butterfly Kisses” or something!!!!!!!!!!

Wow. Things Kinda Got Out of Hand Last Night.

2009-10-25T22:38:00.009-05:00

You know that scene in Heavyweights. The one where Gerald and Pat Finley lock up Tony Perkis and all the other “bad” counselors. And then all the fat campers go crazy, ordering six foot long party subs, spraying whip cream and EZ cheese all over each other, and basically having a food orgy?? Well, last night for the LSU “game” (or shellacking, AU received) we kinda had one of those nights at the TMF’H household.

It started off as just a Wing Fest. We got 40 lbs of chicken wings (we fried 20*, and froze the other 20), and were just gonna make a bunch of sauces to try. Between the six dudes (and two wives), we had ten sauces. That alone was gonna be awesome enough (here is Jay showing you the wrong way to eat a (raw) chicken wing).

But then we decided to fry up some other things. So we fried mushrooms and greek olives (I think the womenz liked these more than the dudes), and then fried mini corn dog (bites) in honor of the Bengal Tigers. Awesome right?? Totally.

Well, then someone starts sending links to the Texas State Fair, and next thing you know, I’m whipping up a dessert batter to fry up rice krispie treats, oatmeal cream pies, moon pies, oreos, and (fun size) snickers bars. The oreo and snickers were pretty sweet (pun intended), but the LOML and I both woke up this morning just wanting something leafy and green.

But you know what the worst part about last night was?? 10 wing sauces and 3 different batters leaves a lot of dirty dishes. We waited til this morning to tackle them. Not cool.

* Have you ever stood over a deep fryer while 50+ wings cook at once?? It releases a lot of steam, which is kinda like a chicken dry cleaner. It was kinda awesome, but then kinda gross to think about.

Put on your Saris, it's time to celebrate Diwali

2009-10-20T18:14:00.011-05:00

Last night, some fellas and I went to Taj India to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights!

It was awesome.

Jay is back in the states now, and wore his kurta.

After the article in last week’s Birmingham News, Taj India was packed. We had reservations for 8 pm, but didn’t sit down until 8:30, and the line for the buffet was probably 25+ long (who knew they had a back room at Taj India???).

The eggplant dish (recipe included in article) was really good, but we were surprised they didn’t have some of their other standard dishes (Chicken Tikka Masala, Shrimp Makhni, etc.). Maybe the food they had last night was like the turkey and dressing we have during Thanksgiving?? Either way, it was tasty (well, the desserts were kinda freaky), and we left stuffed.

PS – I downloaded a new app for my iPhone a few weeks ago called The Best Camera. It’s a pretty cool photo editing app, designed by über photog celebrity, Chase Jarvis.

Nostalgia has a Playlist (REMIX)

2009-10-12T18:24:00.016-05:00

I think if you asked any of our significant others and/or college friends during the early 2000’s, they would all say our ECS friends were obsessed with each other. And I’m not saying this was a bad thing. I mean, basically, we all just really loved high school, and loved talking about all the fun we had in high school, and all the fun we were having during college, with our high school friends.

Back in college (freshman/sophomore year, specifically), our group of high school/Memphis friends had the EZ Board (a message board). I know this sounds nerdy/cheesy, but I really think this was one of the ways we were able to stay so close, even as we went away to our respective colleges.

“Back then” we didn’t have social networking or Web 2.0, and this little corner of the internet was our pride and joy. We had our fair share of drama/controversy on the board, but over the course of 18 months, made it over 10,000 posts. Eventually, the board fizzled out and I haven’t thought about logging in (could I??) in about 5 years . . .

Long story short, I discovered the Wayback Machine last week, and eventually found my way back to the legendary ezboard!!! Hope you enjoy these old school pictures (eyes not blacked out) of the old gang (mostly from Spinny J’s birthday party @ the SDR Estate).

1372 Overton Blog

2009-10-09T18:14:00.012-05:00

So this week saw the release of LUCERO’s major label debut, 1372 Overton Park!

I received my pre-ordered* CD last Saturday and I have to say it’s really good (what else would you have me say??). In addition to Rick Steff (?) and Todd Beene (??) “joining” the band, the boys have added a full horn section to this record, completing their slow and steady transformation into the next E. Street Band.

I wasn’t sure what I thought about “rock piano” on their last record, and I’m not sure I love the horns on all these new tracks, but "What Are You Willing to Lose?" absolutely DESTROYS with that Memphis horn-y soul!!

Last night was the Memphis record release show at the Levitt (Overton) Shell (I read this morning that something like 4,000 people attended the free show). Can’t believe it’s been almost 9 years since I was at their s/t record release show @ the Hi-Tone (I’ve been to four of their six Memphis release shows).

If you’re only looking to download a few tracks, check out “Smoke”, “What Are you Willing to Lose?”, “Hey Darlin’ Do You Gamble?” and “Mom” (as heard on One Tree Hill, oh double dear).

*Included in my pre-order was a pretty sweet Lucero patch . . . but I think you all know where this is going

Who Moved my Blog?

2009-10-05T19:35:00.008-05:00

A few weeks ago while the LOML and I were babysitting (gotta keep our hustle on to stack that dolla!), I was thumbing through Frank Stitt’s Southern Table cookbook, and found this recipe for Miss Verbena’s Pimento Cheese. I’m pretty sure Frank could write a recipe for corrugated cardboard (from local farmers, of course), and it’d be tasty, but this sounded really, really good. And I’ve always thought Pimento Cheese looked/sounded kinda gross (my experience being limited to that of the grocery store variety).

Needless to say, I’ve been itching to make this Pimento Cheese since. This is a pretty easy recipe, and I used it in an omelet this morning. I’m really looking forward to making some grilled Pimento Cheese sandwiches later this week.

Miss Verbena’s Pimento Cheese (adapted from Frank Stitt)
1 lb grated sharp Cheddar Cheese
¼ lb cream cheese (softened)
½ C mayonnaise (I used Duke’s Light)
1 red pepper, roasted, skinned, seeded, and finely chopped
1 tsp white pepper (I used black)
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp Sriracha (substituted for dash of Tabasco and (optional) 1/8 tsp cayenne)

The directions are easy: combine and refrigerate.

Note: I used a combination of Mammoth and Black Wax cheddar cheese from Whole Foods. I’m not really sure why I picked those, but the black wax looked pretty sweet. Frank’s recipe calls for THREE roasted red peppers, but I thought that sounded (and looked) pretty excessive. I roasted three, chopped one, and thought that was plenty. Also, we’re out of Tabasco, so I used Sriracha instead. If we swing by Publix this week, I might add some more to this batch.

PS – On a sad foodie note, Gourmet magazine announced today it’s shutting down its monthly publication. Another sad loss for the print media industry . . .

Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone

2009-10-01T20:34:00.010-05:00

Stephen and I went to see the Walkmen play Tuesday night at Bottletree. I’m not super-familiar with all their music, but I do remember when they were on the O.C. And I really like that song “the Rat” (some may say is one of the Top 20 songs of the Decade ).

I’m gonna go ahead and call that (opening act) Here We Go Magic will be the indie blog-darlings of 2010 (they just signed to Secretly Canadian). Daniel, write that down.

And here is that Saturn (R.I.P.) commercial you may remember from the early 2000’s.

Grab Your Bag, and Grab Your Coat

2009-09-28T19:20:00.006-05:00

The Avett Brothers are performing on Dave Letterman tonight and releasing their new record, I and Love and You, tomorrow (9/29).

I’m pumped and have already listened to the entire thing 30+ times the last week over at NPR. It’s really good. I also want to be the first to point out the Jackson Browne & Randy Newman influences (Rick Rubin, you sly dog, you!!)

Don’t call what you’re wearing an Outfit

2009-09-21T20:53:00.007-05:00

I was folding laundry the other day and realized something . . . I can’t wear that anymore.

This realization wasn’t easy. I guess I’ve been fighting this (losing) battle since I graduated college. I’m sure everyone goes through this stage, where they think they’re still as young and rockin’ as they were in their (early) twenties.

But I’m (almost) 28 years old. I’m a CPA. I enjoy college football. I’m expecting my first child in January. I’ve come to realize recently that a lot of the things I used to wear are not socially acceptable in my current state of affairs.

No one wants to see a (slightly) over-weight aging-hipster (?) wearing an Against Me! t-shirt to the grocery store. Those whipper-snapper kids don’t think I’m cool. I know I’m out of step with the style. I know I don’t know where the actions happening. I know the downtown club scene ain't nothing like it used to be.

I guess this shirt has always been a stretch for me (no pun intended. Yes, I know it’s snug). I’m a social conservative. I don’t have mutual distaste for everything else. I got this at an AM! show in early 2004 (Cave 9). I felt pretty old at that concert, and I know those kids would think I’m a NARC today.

So now, I’ve basically got a bunch of t-shirts that I can only get away with (?) wearing if I’m working out (taking the dog for a walk) or working in the yard.

Maybe I’ll turn this into a recurring feature of TMF’H? I had grandiose dreams of writing a book based on this discovery (Daniel, where are you??), while browsing the humour section of Barnes & Noble a few weeks back.

PS - the LOML and I got our BABY FURTNITURE in this weekend!!!!!!!1! I’m not afraid to say, we have one good looking crib (last shred of street cred falls to the floor) . . .

Hey Mama

2009-09-13T16:05:00.007-05:00

Before I post anything, I have to make a HUGE DISCLAIMER:

The LOML is completely against having pregnant “baby bump” pictures of herself taken, and did NOT want this picture broadcast all over the internet/facebook. I’ve been saying the last few weeks that we really needed to take some pictures (since she’s starting to show), but every weekend seemed to come and go, without us “finding time” to take a picture.

SO, you’ll have to imagine the HUGE SMILE on her face while we took this picture yesterday. In case you hadn’t heard, we are having a GIRL and she looks to be arriving January 17th, 2010!!! Just so there won’t be any confusion, we’re thinking of referring to her as the LOOL (Love of our Life) or SBG (Sweet Baby Girl) on the blog. My dear wife will still be referred to as the Mrs. or the LOML (Love of my Life).

Spanish for "Really Wordy"

2009-09-13T15:47:00.010-05:00

So a couple weeks ago, the LOML and I went to a Topless Party at Andrew & Kelly’s (aka a Tapas party). They had an OUTSTANDING (I feel so Rick & Bubba typing that) spread of “small bites”, and I’m hoping we can get some more topless parties going in Bham this fall (apparently, they were the jam at S. Alabama Med School).

I made these Chicken & Chorizo BBQ Rolls (I started to write “bites” but that sounded a little too girly) and thought they turned out pretty good. I wasn’t really sure what to bring, so I just Googled Tapas and kind of combined these two recipes.

TMF’H Chicken & Chorizo BBQ Rolls
1 Tbs vegetable oil
½ lb Chorizo (I used Mexican Chorizo)
1 lb Chicken, cut into small pieces
1/2 C chopped Onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt/Pepper
1 C sweet BBQ sauce
1 Tbs chopped Parsley
½ C grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese
2 sheets Puff Pastry
2 eggs, beaten (with a splash of milk)

First, preheat the oven to 400, and set out the puff pastry to thaw (if frozen). Once I started cooking, I realized that phyllo dough and puff pastry sheets are NOT the same thing (I probably would have realized that had I actually got my hands on some phyllo dough, but I think puff pastry actually worked better for this recipe).

Over medium heat, add the oil to a sauté pan, and cook the chicken for about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Then, set the chicken aside, and add the chorizo, sautéing until cooked through (this will render a lot of oil/fat), maybe 5 minutes. In a separate pan, I sautéed the onions on med/low heat until tender/translucent (I was going to let them caramelize, but didn’t have enough time/patience). After cooked through, I added the garlic and cooked a few minutes longer.
Is there anything better than the smell of chorizo frying up?? I used Mexican chorizo, which was closer to ground beef (in consistency), than Spanish (closer to sausage). Since the chorizo was hella oily, I poured off a good bit before adding the chicken back to the pan.

Earlier this summer, my grandparents brought us some Willingham’s Championship BBQ sauce (Sweet & Sassy and Cajun Hot) after seeing the rest of my (immediate) family at MIM. This sauce is REALLY good, and I’d put it up against anything you’d find in your grocery store. High quality stuff and both flavors definitely have a KICK. After the meat and onion/garlic finish cooking, I combined the (Willingham’s) BBQ sauce, parsley, salt/pepper and cheese and simmered for another minute. After simmering, remove from the heat and cool the mixture completely (I threw it in the freezer for 15 minutes).
While the mixture is cooling, roll out the puff pastry, and cut into thirds (it should already be folded into thirds). When the filling has cooled, spoon down the center of each piece of puff pastry, “crimp” the edges together and place the rolls on the baking pan (seam side down). Finally, cut the rolls into small pieces, spread apart on a baking sheet, and brush with egg mixture. (I should have) lined a baking sheet with parchment paper, but I just placed the rolls on the non-stick pan.

Bake these rolls for 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 350, and cook for another 15 minutes (or until puffed and golden). Finally, once out of the oven, let them cool slightly and BOOM goes the topless dynamite!
PS – I know I switched back and forth between imperative and declarative sentences on this recipe. Hope this doesn’t drive y’all (ones of readers) crazy.

Pacing the Panic Room (where's Dwight Yoakam?)

2009-09-09T21:34:00.008-05:00

Ever since finding out the LOML and I were pregnant (well, she’s pregnant, but we’re both going to be parents), I’ve discovered there is a whole new world of Parenting/Daddy blogs* out there on the internet. They run the gamut from traditional parenting tips to the hipster/alterna-dad (sometimes, a little over the top), but one blog I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the last 5 months is Pacing the Panic Room. Ryan (author or PtPR) found a good bit of “internet fame" this year as the photographer behind his pregnant wife’s “American Apparel” inspired maternity series, but has kept his readers with REALLY good writing (and interesting topics) since the birth of his daughter, Tessa Tangerine.

A few weeks back, he posted about his wife and his decision to go with non-disposable cloth diapers (Fuzzi Bunz to be exact) for their new baby girl. Much like Ryan, the thought of washing dirty diapers with your laundry makes me gag, but he had a lot of interesting stats/information and I found myself e-mailing the link to the Mrs. with a whaddya think??

Well, today he has posted a contest to give away some Fuzzi Bunz diapers (Ryan himself traded his photography skills for a sweet bounty of Fuzzi Bunz, and now wants to share the wealth). He’s going to pick a winner this Monday (by random number generator), so cross your fingers that we could be one (?) of the lucky winners!!

* Speaking of parenting blogs, you should totally check out WhattheMom.com . . . my nieces/nephews are hilarious/awesome!

Five more minutes, Mom

2009-08-31T19:06:00.011-05:00

After Busy Season, my firm has a really great summer perk with Every Other Friday Off (EOFO). It’s actually an Every Other 4 Day Work Week (we end up working 80 hrs over two weeks), but EO4DWW just doesn’t have the same acro-ring to it.

A couple Friday’s ago, on my 2nd to last EOFO, I decided to check out Penzeys Spices. WHAT?!?! You’ve never been or heard of Penzeys Spices??? The only reason I had, is my Mom and sis had mentioned it to me in Memphis, but I didn’t realize there was one in Bham, literally 5 minutes away from our house!!!! The great thing about Penzey’s is you can buy a little or a lot of fresh, exotic spices for a reasonable price. Here’s what I picked up:

Ever since hitting up Silver Coin and Taj India, I’ve been looking for a good (i.e., quick and easy) Indian Recipe web-site. Quick Indian Cooking is a very well organized site with recipes that are easy to follow* (and also categorized for Indian cooking novices like myself). A few Sunday’s ago, the LOML went to see the Jonas Bros. with her sister and nephews, so what did I do on my night of Bachelorhood??? Put on some Mastodon and Lil Wayne and cook me some INDIAN FOOD!!!!

I thought I would start my Indian culinary adventures with the Simplest Chicken Curry. Here's what I needed:

6 skinless chicken thighs (bone in)
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 and a half inch stick of ginger
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp turmeric
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
½ tsp garam masala
2 T oil
Pinch of sugar

The first thing I did was “blitz” the onion, ginger, and garlic in a food processor. How much ginger is in a 1.5 in stick of ginger?? I didn’t want to over-ginger this dish, so I gave it my best guess (maybe 2 T “blitzed”). Also, I’m not really sure what Mallika meant by a “pinch” of sugar (I think I used about a tsp).

After my sugar (kinda) caramelized in a non-stick pot (trusty Le Creuset), I added the onion mixture, and OH MAN, THAT’S A LOT OF ONION!! I cooked it on high heat until it started to change color (I dunno, maybe 10 minutes). I was starting to freak out, b/c I had one hot Le Creuset, and the onion mixture wasn’t turning, but we made it through alright. Next, came the turmeric and chilli powder, and five more minutes of high heat. Then came the chopped tomatoes, and yet another five minutes of high heat (!!!). Alright, after all that, I finally could put it on simmer!

I was supposed to be looking for little holes of oil to appear, and that meant, yep, 5 more minutes, until I could add the chicken! I stirred the chicken “vigorously”, and . . . after five minutes, added a little water to cover the chicken, lowered the heat, and stirred from time to time until done.

I think I cooked the chicken for 30 minutes or so. One thing that tricked me with the chicken thighs was the dark meat. I thought I was seeing “under done” chicken, but it was really just dark meat. Oh well, I don’t the extra time hurt. After everything had finished cooking, I stirred in the garam masala**, and BOOM, it’s Darjeeling Limited time!!! (I didn’t have any coriander leaves to garnish).

I don’t think there’s a proper way to eat chicken thigh meat off the bone. You just have to lean over your plate and start picking. This is how I knew this was one authentic dish. No Miss Manners here. Just tasty Indian cuisine, like Gandhi used to make.

Oh yeah, I had the leftovers 2 days later, and dare I say, they were tastier than the original?? Definitely tender.

* As you can see by my griping, I do think this website could do a better job with measurements and cooking times. I was able to feel myself through this recipe, but it may be a little intimidating to other culinerds (did I just make up a term????).

** I also entertained the idea of making my own garam masala from scratch, but after weighing the cost/benefit, decided to get the pre-made stuff for $3.

Give or Take the Subject or the Verb

2009-08-28T18:32:00.009-05:00

So I was browsing around the interwebz this week and saw HOLY MOLEY, Corey Branan (sic) and Jon Snodgrass just released a split EP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could wax nostalgic about Cory Branan for 2000 + words, but what else is there to write about him. He’s a brilliant word-smith. He’s half bat-s*** crazy (have you seen him perform live?). His debut propelled him to semi-stardom (Dave Letterman, Rolling Stone, the Playboy mansion, etc.), but his oft-delayed follow-ups have him slipping back into obscurity (I think he likes it like better that way). Anyways, if you haven’t heard his music, you should, and if have, but don’t like him, why are you blog-stalking me?!?!?

Jon Snodgrass is one of the vocalists for Drag the River, a fantastic “alt.country” band from Fort Collins, Colorado, who are “bad at breaking up” (they love to announce the band is calling it quits, only to reunite some odd months/years later). The first time I saw DtR was at the P&H Café, opening for you know who (Lucero), ummmmmmmm, 7 years ago?? I’ve seen them a couple more times since, but their Live @ the Starlight** has been on steady rotation of my life since. Lucky for Birmingham, Jon will be here this November, as part of the Revival Tour.

Well, Cory and Jon teamed up this summer to release this SWEET 7 song EP on Suburban Home records. You can get it on vinyl or cassette, but don’t worry; each comes with an instant mp3 download. Oh, and you can stream the entire thing here or below.

** Suburban Home is also offering a FREE download of Live @ the Starlight (WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?? You should be downloading this!!!!!). George Jones, Steve Earle, and the Misfits (in addition to Drag the River originals) never sounded so good!

You know, like a cow’s opinion

2009-08-22T17:28:00.009-05:00

Do any of you read Seth Godin? If you haven’t heard of Seth, he is a very successful entrepreneur/marketer, who along with Malcolm Gladwell, is one of today’s socio/psycho-behavioral experts (the Alabama, to Gladwell’s Auburn, if you will). He’s written some pretty neat books (Purple Cow, Tribes, etc.), and everyday he posts some very interesting thoughts on his blog (If you’re in Sales, PR, Marketing, etc., I don’t see how you can’t be reading his (FREE) daily advice).

Well today, he posted a pretty thought provoking question:

Let's say your goal is to reduce gasoline consumption.
And let's say there are only two kinds of cars in the world. Half of them are Suburbans that get 10 miles to the gallon and half are Priuses that get 50.
If we assume that all the cars drive the same number of miles, which would be a better investment:
Get new tires for all the Suburbans and increase their mileage a bit to 13 miles per gallon.
Replace all the Priuses and rewire them to get 100 miles per gallon (doubling their average!)
Trick question aside, the answer is the first one. (In fact, it's more than twice as good a move

Being the auditor I am, I had to know how he came to such a bold conclusion (what were his assumptions??). So I e-mailed him to ask for his formula.

First, I’ve got to say how impressed I am, that Seth replied (on a SATURDAY morning) within 1 hour!!! Seth, you’re a gentleman and a scholar.

But his reply didn’t really answer anything. He just said “assert 1000 cars and 1000 miles driven per car and use excel. you'll see”

Hmmmmmmmmmmm, ok. Maybe, he was trying to be the wise teacher that encourages his students to try out various formulas on their own???

I’m no car expert, but let’s say it costs $500 (?) for a new set of tires, and $5,000 (??) to re-wire your Prius (I realize this is probably WAAAAAAAY under-priced, but I had to start somewhere).

Click to Enlarge)

Sure enough, it does cost LESS to get new tires on your gas-guzzling Suburban, than re-wire your green Prius, but it’s really a moot point. In both situations, you’re better off (financially) BEFORE these improvements????

So, if you’re goal is to reduce gas consumption (AND you want to save money), you really should just be riding a bike??

Photo Booth

2009-08-16T20:55:00.011-05:00

Well, get me a domain name, and call me Bryan Johnson! Last weekend, I took some picts of Chris and Kitty for their “Save the Date.”

Last year, I told the LOML that an (un-official) goal of mine for this summer was to start taking photos of our friends and/or friends’ kids (if they were interested). Well, I have not done a good job following through with this . . .

So, if any of you want your picture taken, please let me know. You can e-mail me (check my Blogger profile) if you don’t want to leave a comment . . .

I also want to give a shout out to my talented and dear wife who did a great job helping color/exposure/saturation correcting these!

(clever title involving Artichokes, Mushrooms or Shrimp)

2009-08-14T11:54:00.019-05:00

You all know I’m a big Google Reader fan, and this week, I finally decided to “clean up” my subscriptions (there were WAY TOO many food and photography blogs). For those of you who aren’t using Google Reader (WHY AREN’T YOU USING GOOGLE READER?????), one of the great features is the “Star” function (similar to Gmail) where you can dog ear an item, if you want to remember it for later (like this or this). Before deleting all these extra blogs, I wanted to go back and see what I had starred the last few months.

One item was this Shrimp, Artichoke & Mushroom Pasta from Coconut & Lime. Looked tasty and simple enough at the time, and this week the LOML and I finally got around to making (or “adapting”) it for dinner.

Before I write anything else, I have to say I think the author made a typo with the 2 TABLESPOONS of Red Pepper Flakes. I started off with maybe ¾ Tbs of Red Pepper Flakes and that looked like a TON, so I stopped there. And that was HELLA spicy!

Shrimp, Artichoke & Mushroom Pasta
Penne
4 cloves garlic, minced
¾ lb pound peeled shrimp
8 oz (can) whole artichoke hearts (sliced in half)
6 oz sliced mushrooms
1/2 C white wine
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs skim milk (organic!)
¾ Tbs red pepper flakes
1 Tbs capers
juice of one lemon
zest of one lemon
salt / pepper
(Didn’t have/use any shallots or parsley)

First thing to do is sauté the artichoke hearts, red pepper flakes, mushrooms and garlic for about 5 minutes, then add the shrimp and cook for another 3 minutes or until the shrimp just start to turn pink (It was hard to fight the urge NOT to cook the shrimp all the way through).

Next, pour in the wine, lemon juice, zest, salt, pepper, and capers cook for an additional 3 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and the shrimp is cooked through (I forgot to heat to boil then reduce!).

You know the LOML and I are HUGE oenophiles, so we chose the Chablis. I heard 2003 was a splendid year for the vineyard . . . actually, it was the only thing we had on stock, and, umm, it was “flinty” and “steely” and “robust” (I don’t know what I’m talking about)

Stir in milk (cream). Toss with pasta (oh yeah, you should have cooked your pasta ahead of time, according to box directions) and Boom, classy dinner is served!

Tasty but CALIENTE!!!!!!!!! We’ll be making this one again!!

(PS - do these pictures look a little pixel-ated???? Sorry about that!! I did figure out (thanks, Sarah!!!) how to add pictures you can click to enlarge . . . Enjoy??)

Think Globally, Eat Locally

2009-08-10T19:12:00.000-05:00

So last night Stephen and I went to see the other “foodie” film that opened in Alabama this weekend, Food Inc. The film looks at the business of large-scale agricultural food production (“farming”) in the United States, and the effects it has on the product (chicken, beef, pork and produce), the environment, and the consumer (you and me). Currently, there are a handful of HUGE multi-national corporations (Tyson, ConAgra, Smithfield, Monsanto, etc.) that dictate what we eat, and how it is grown and/or processed. You would hope the USDA and other regulatory agencies would do their best to protect the American public from potentially dangerous food productions methods (all in the name of efficiency and/or profits), but viewers find out that most of our government officials have ties (BIG SURPRISE) to the BILLION dollar companies they are supposed to regulate (that’s what we in the accounting industry would call an impairment of independence).

The film consists of interviews and “behind the scenes” footage from various food-processing facilities in the U.S (depressing, but not vomit-inducing). One of the most interesting characters of the film was a farmer named Joel Salatin (Polyface Farms), who apparently is a “celebrity” among the sustainable farming movement. The self-described "Christian-libertarian-environmentalist-capitalist farmer" has written a handful of books, and according to Wikipedia, spends a hundred days a year lecturing to colleges and other environmental groups. Listening to Joel gives you hope for the future of food and also makes you want to quit your day job and become a farmer (Oh, to only have 500+ acres of farm land in your family!!).

Watching a film like this sure can leave you depressed, but luckily Food Inc. give you some ideas of how YOU can make a difference (remember, we vote with our wallet and mouth three times a day). I wish I could have written them all down, but I know they say you can/should support your local Farmer’s markets and plant a garden. Other ways to get involved are found here.

After the film , Andy Grace (Eating Alabama) led a panel discussion that included Edwin Marty (Jones Valley Urban Farm), Sara Fuller Brown (Fig Leaf Farm), David Snow (Snow’s Bend), and Jean Mills (Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group).

Someone in the audience asked about the requirements for labeling food as “organic.” Most of the panel agreed that those requirements (documents that number in the hundreds of pages) were too complicated to summarize, but that consumers should focus more on eating “locally” and getting to know your farmers or other food providers. They also noted that most small farms do not have the resources to pay the licensing fees and other related costs it takes to be labeled “organic.” I asked the panel if consumers could assume farmer’s markets do a good job of “self-policing” themselves to ensure that each vendor is supplying the “good” food that we need to be eating. Sadly, they said YOU have to ask the questions and inform yourself, because not all farmers are created equally (for instance, sometimes farms will buy produce from others, just to pass it off as their own).

So, the big question is, did I do anything different today for lunch? No.

Will I visit Pepper Place or Finley Avenue this weekend? Yes.

Food Inc. is showing at the Bama Theatre in Tuscaloosa through Wednesday, August 12th.

He's Going the Distance

2009-08-04T20:40:00.012-05:00

Have flourless chocolate torte’s always been popular, or has anyone else noticed they’re kind of the “hot” dessert item at “higher end’ restaurants now?? I told you I was gonna try out (and post) one of Molly “Orangette” Wizenberg’s recipes on here before the summer’s over and last Thursday night, I made her “Winning Hearts and Minds” chocolate cake for the LOML (Yes, I’ve taken a (three?) week break from P90x, but I promise I’m getting back on the wagon soon). This recipe has a Tbs of flour, so technically it can’t be called flourless, but it definitely has the consistency, and dark, rich flavor you’d find at Hot & Hot or Bottega. I’d also like to dedicate this recipe to Wellmamma, because I know how much she loves her some chocolate (lava) cake.

Orangette's Chocolate Cake
7 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1.75 tbs butter
5 eggs
2 C 2Tbs sugar
1 TB flour

Molly writes that this is a pretty easy recipe, and she is right. First pre-heat your oven to 375. Next, melt (in the microwave or double-boiler) the chocolate and butter together in a bowl. Does anything look better than melted butter and chocolate (sorry Daniel)? Hmmmmmmm, calories!!

Next, stir in the sugar, and let cool the mixture cool for 5 minutes or so. After it’s cooled (you don’t want scrambled eggs in your chocolate), mix in the eggs on at a time. I found that the eggs really stiffened up the batter, but I just mixed until everything was incorporated. Then add your one Tbs of flour and mix some more.

Line an 8 in round cake pan with parchment paper and butter the pan so your cake won’t stick. Pour in the batter and bake for 25 minutes. Molly writes to check on it after 20 minutes or so to make sure it’s cooking properly (you want the center to “jiggle slightly,” but not too much). The sides of the cake will rise (and crack slightly) and the center will stay pretty low, but I found that 25 minutes was right on the money. After taking out of the oven, let it cool on the rack for 15 minutes before plating.

You want to plate the cake with the baked side facing up, so you have to flip it onto one plate, and then flip it back onto whatever you want to serve it on. I know that probably sounds a lot harder than it is.

We served this with good ole Vanilla ice cream and it was AWESOME!!

PS – Did any of you photo geeks notice my (parchment paper) white (semi) seamless?? I’m so DIY . . .

PPS – Yes, the LOML updated her blog tonight! (and she loves to give me a hard time, since I don't link to hers!!)

Cleaning Out My Closet

2009-08-01T15:07:00.014-05:00

This week, I was home on “stay-cation” and doing random tasks around the house (mostly yard work, cleaning out our storage shed, and de-cluttering closets in anticipation of the baby). Thursday I was working on our (home) office closet and found all these old framed posters/autographs I had from back in the day. There’s a (personalized) Bryan Adams autograph from the first time I saw him in concert (I’ve seen him three times). I also had (generic) Galactic and Medeski, Martin & Wood autographs and a framed Widespread Panic poster from their Thanksgiving 2000 shows at the Mid-South Coliseum. I’m planning on giving those away (possibly through BHAM.FM) to anyone who wants them, but there was another framed poster I was sure no one (outside of Memphis) would be interested in.

In high school, some of my good friends were in a band called RETROSPECT. They were really good (seriously, I’m not just saying that). They went through a “jam-band” phase, and then settled on straight ahead pop-rock (Big Star is so hot right now). I know the music industry is tough (darn near impossible), but I really thought they could have “made it” had their music fallen into the right hands.

The New Daisy Theater (was) a pretty “hot” venue back in the day, and would book RETROSPECT with other local (high school) up and coming bands. This was a good business move on the Daisy’s part because it brought in tons of high school aged kids when there weren’t any other shows going on. One band RETROSPECT would often get booked with was Accidental Mersh. They were a bunch of punk MUS/White Station kids and they were awful!!!! Seriously, they were so annoying and played the crappiest cover songs and all their preppy/snobby East Memphis friends would pack out it out!!!!!! As a “real” music fan, it was just annoying (and confusing) watching all these kids rock out to such crappy music. Even today, I can still picture their dopey bass player singing the “Owwwwww” part to Elastica’s “Connection.” Lucky for Memphis, the Mersher’s eventually graduated high school and went on their separate ways (and the RETROSPECT fans rejoiced!).

A few years later, I heard one of the Mersher’s started a band at UGA called the Whigs. They were getting a lot of buzz, but I was reluctant to give them a chance. Then I heard them on-line, and I couldn’t help myself. I felt like Rob Gordon after hearing those punk skater kids (the Kinky Wizards) outside his record shop. I didn’t want to like them, but I couldn’t help it. I bought Give Em All a Big Fat Lip and it was really good.

So I found an old concert poster from a Big Ass Truck show that RETROSPECT and the Mersh opened for (B.A.T. was an awesome local band from Memphis that “almost” made it - I think they had a video on MTV at one point, and had some college radio play, too). I was dropping off a load of old clothes and other sundries at Goodwill and threw the B.A.T. poster in for good measure. Before I left, I took a pict on my phone and sent it to N!ck and Harden for a good laugh.

“Some kid at Goodwill is really gonna be pumped when they find this,” I wrote.

N!ck replied, “CAN YOU BELIEVE that the lead singer of Accidental Mersh is now in MGMT?!?!”

WHAT?!?!?! Are you serious?!?!?! I quickly Googled (I’m already addicted to my iPhone) “MGMT Accidental Mersh” and sure enough there was an article in the Commercial Appeal last year about how this Mersher was now hitting it big. I’m sure you’ve heard their song “Kids” on the radio (I still think of Lil Kim when I hear it – thank you Hood Internet). Not only has MGMT signed to Columbia Records, but they’ve played the Late Show with David Letterman, and OPENED FOR RADIOHEAD!!! Holy Crap!!!!

So yeah, if any MGMT super-fans are living in Birmingham. Head on down to the Goodwill on Green Springs and pick yourself up a framed poster from Andrew VanWyngarden’s high school band Accidental Mersh (opening up with RETROSPECT for Big Ass Truck). I’m sure it’s a one of a kind!!!

(obligatory Paula Deen reference)

2009-07-29T10:22:00.023-05:00

This weekend the LOML and I went to Savannah, GA to see our good buddies, Fef, Clay & Wyatt, and also to get a little R&R before the school year starts. This was my first trip to Savannah, but after this weekend, I’d put it in my Top Five cities to live in one day.

Saturday morning, we drove over to the beach at Tybee Island. Savannah doesn’t really feel like a “beach town” and I knew it was surrounded by “marsh land,” but I didn’t know it was so close to a “real” beach (excuse my excessive quotations). It was seriously, the warmest ocean water I’ve ever felt, and the LOML did a great job documenting my first experience skin boarding (I’m sure the picture looks a lot more impressive than I actually was). Saturday night we drove around downtown, walked down River Street (Savannah’s version of Bourbon Street) and had dinner at Huey’s. I don’t know if it was the Miley Cyrus movie filming in town, but Savannah was HOPPING Saturday night!!

After church on Sunday, we left Fef & Clay and headed to the 1895 Inn. I found it on Trip Advisor, and after reading 5 Star review after 5 Star review (there were literally nothing but 5 Star reviews), I booked us a night in the “Sovereign Room” (apparently, the Mrs. and I have turned into “B&B people”). Ed, the owner, was hilarious, informative and an all around great host (he and the Mrs. talked about interior design for about 30 minutes if that gives you any idea about "fabulous" Ed). The Inn could double as an art museum, and had an original Picasso, Toulouse-Laurtrec (the LOML knew that one, not me), and Thomas Hart Benton (Jackson Pollack’s mentor) amongst others.

After checking in, we walked around downtown, took touristy pictures, any had dinner at Six Pence Pub. The food was pretty mediocre, but they did have tasty Fat Tire Ale (in 22 oz bottles!). And for all you JULIA fans, this is where they filmed a scene in Something to Talk About (I had no idea, but the LOML told me).

Speaking of touristy pictures, the “Life is like a box of chocolates” scene from Forrest Gump was also filmed in Savannah at the Chippewa Square. The actual bench was a prop, but we acted out the scene on a random bench that looked pretty good. After dinner, we got ice cream at Leopold’s (famous for creating the flavor that inspired the song “Tutti Fruitti” . . . I got a sample, but I didn’t think it warranted a full scoop). One of the founder’s sons, Stratton Leopold, grew up to be a big time Hollywood producer, and the place is covered in REALLY random movie posters (Bless the Child, the General’s Daughter, Paycheck, Tango & Cash).

Savannah is probably the most pedestrian friendly city and has 21 town squares with little parks and monuments, etc. The Mrs. was a good sport Monday morning while we took our own walking tour of the city. We passed by Flannery O’Connor’s childhood home, saw the fountain at Forsyth Park and walked by Mrs. Wilke's Dining Room (and the line that went out the door). We grabbed lunch at SoHo South Café, then went to the SCAD bookstore and headed back home.

Did anyone else know SCAD is only like 30 years old?? Yeah, me neither, and the school has pretty much taken over downtown. The LOML got a SCAD t-shirt and I got some sweet SCAD sweat pants (I’m sure if they were Sean John, it would be no problem).

Steal the Crumbs

2009-07-22T21:37:00.014-05:00

When I moved to Birmingham, I was really bummed there wouldn’t be a Young Avenue Deli here in the Magic City (NOTE: the Bottletree has done a nice job filling the Y.A.D. sized hole in my heart). Not only is the Deli a great place to grab lunch, it’s also hosted all your favorite hipster-tastic bands that came through town. I’ve seen Yo La Tengo, Drive By Truckers, Bright Eyes (wow, that was 1997), Snowglobe, and LUCERO (probably fifteen plus times) over the years. Before heading over to “the Big One” Saturday afternoon, we grabbed lunch at the Deli and enjoyed the outdoor patio. I ordered the Curry* Turkey Wrap and split an order of Sweet Potato fries with my sis. I’m a sucker for anything listed as a “Deli Favorite.”
I’ve been hearing things about Fresh Slices Sidewalk Café and Deli since it opened a few years ago, but this weekend was my first time to go. I pictured more of an organic, Whole-Foods-y, O’Carr’s type café, with tons of fresh fruit, but this restaurant had burgers, pasta, steak, fish and a ton of other choices, I ordered the Evergreen Chickamauga Club (named after the Uncle Tupleo song??) which consisted of a grilled chicken breast, pepper-crusted bacon, swiss cheese and creamed spinach . . . CREAMED SPINACH?!?!? (I’m also a sucker for anything that you’re not likely to find at any other restaurant). The sandwich was pretty good (creamed spinach on a sandwich is kind of a weird textural thing), but I don’t think I’d order it again.
I also need to shout out my Mom and sisters who whipped up a feast among homecoming feasts Friday night. Here’s one of two Bandaniel-approved Fruit Pizzas, my sister, Laurie, made for dessert. My family knows how to cook.
*Speaking of curry, our good buddy Jay is doing a three month tour of duty over in India right now. Even with his “tax-ing” schedule, he’s done a great job documenting his Indian adventures. He passed on my suggested blog name “Debit, Not Credit” (think about it, it’ll come to you), but you should still check his blog “One Indian Summer” out.

Back Where I Come From

2009-07-20T22:30:00.018-05:00

Five or six years ago, I bought the Kenny Chesney cd that had that song on it. I’m not a Kenny Chesney fan, (I didn’t even listen to country music until college) but I really dig that tune (the rest of that album is pretty awful). I remember playing that song while driving to Tunica for Brad’s bachelor party and feeling all “Southern” (especially in front of Brad’s “Northern” friend Isaac). My favourite part is where Kenny drawls out the “I’m uhhhhh Tennnn . . . ehhh . . . sseeeeuhhnn” . . .

Anyways, after an extended absence, the LOML and I returned to Memphis to hang out with the fam this past weekend. We ate a lot of good food (future post to follow!), went to the Memphis Flea Market (aka “the Big One”), and took a driving tour of my youth (6 years old and under). We debated on whether or not we should bring the Pheebes to Memphis, but we ended up bringing her. My family really likes her and we thought she might get a kick out of meeting my Mom’s dog, Jesse, and my sister’s dog, Teddy (who I strongly dislike, BTW). Here she is with Teddy:

I’m not sure how long it’s been since I went to a Flea Market, but this one sold so much CRAP!! Seriously, I don’t see how these vendors earn enough gas money to make their trip worthwhile. The only thing worth a second look (besides the people watching in general), were the Sugar Gliders. I’d never seen or heard of a Sugar Glider, but they’re about the size of a hamster and look kind of like a flying squirrel. They’re also $250 a pop.

After church Sunday, Mom took us (well, I drove, so I guess I took us) on the TMF’H residential driving tour. We lived in the same house from the time I was in kindergarten until after I graduated college, and I had not seen the first three houses we lived in since, uhhh, a long time (I knew where the house I lived in from 4-6 yrs old, but couldn’t tell you where those first two were). So with the LOML and Mom’s husband, Larry, in tow, we set off for Central Gardens.

House #1 - 1601 Linden Avenue (I was so Midtown)

House #2 – 2329 Lynnfield Road (Headin’ East)

House #3 – 7965 Farmingdale Road (Germantown Represent!!)

And then I found $20 . . .

O Captain! My Captain!

2009-07-20T21:42:00.008-05:00

Sarah posted a very fitting tribute to Steve Collums earlier today. He was one of those teachers who really “made a difference” and whose legacy will live on for many years in the lives of his students. His sophomore year English class was one of my favourites at ECS. He will be missed.

I'm so Excited

2009-07-13T15:45:00.003-05:00

Picked up my new iPhone 3Gs today on my lunch break!!!

Woooo Whooo!!! No more crappy cell phone photos!!

Make Dinner, Not Nuclear War

2009-07-09T17:22:00.011-05:00

This post goes out to my co-worker, Josh. Josh is half Korean, but was raised in the booming metropolis of Luverne, AL, and therefore, 100% country (Josh, I love ya, man. You know work would be 10x more lame if you weren’t here). Anyways, Josh says the only Korean food he’d ever try is his grandmother’s, but I bet he’d like this, too.

This recipe is from Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee’s Quick & Easy Korean Cooking (via the May issue of Gourmet magazine) and just like Gourmet’s writer, I was surprised it used ONE CUP of cornstarch!!! Also, the thought of ketchup in Asian food doesn’t really get me excited, but if you think about it, ketchup is just tomatoes, sugar, vinegar and spices. That doesn’t sound too freaky, right?? **

Korean Seasoned Fried Chicken
3 chicken breasts, cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces (yes, there were leftovers)
½ onion, grated
1 clove garlic, minced (with my handy new SLAP CHOP!!)
1 large egg
1 C cold water
1 C cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable Oil (I added some Sesame Oil)
3 Tbs Korean chile paste (I used Sriracha)
5 Tbs sugar
4 Tbs ketchup
2 Tbs toasted sesame seeds
Juice of ½ lemon (I forgot to get a lemon, so I substituted ½ C of OJ – I realize this totally changes the flavor, but in a good way)

First I marinated the chicken with the onion and garlic for about 30 minutes in the fridge. While the chicken was marinating, I made the sauce/glaze by combining Sriracha, sugar, ketchup, sesame seeds, and OJ in two separate bowls. Since the pregnant LOML is extra sensitive to strongly spiced foods, I made one bowl without the Sriracha, and one with (PS – If you do use the Sriracha, you will get a tasty sauce, but it has some HEAT!!). I added a little soy sauce and garlic powder to hers to help “Asian” it up.

For the batter/breading, you combine the egg, water, cornstarch, salt, and pepper together until just moist. I’m not sure how to combine until “just moist” because my batter was completely wet. Was there a phantom dry ingredient I missed??

After the chicken had marinated, and the sauce and batter complete, I heated the vegetable/sesame oil over medium heat, until a drop of water sizzled. Then I dumped the chicken pieces into the cornstarch mixture, and dropped them in the hot oil, making sure the pieces didn’t touch each other.

I imagined the batter would cling to the chicken a little better to make light and crispy breaded chicken, but honestly a lot of the batter came off in the frying pan. Maybe I should have kept that deep fryer JD gave me two years ago??? Anyhow, basically you fry the chicken on both sides (maybe 10-12 minutes total) and then drain on a paper towel. Afterwards, toss the chicken with your sauce and BOOM, dinner is served.

** Speaking of freaky, did anyone ever see that Kids in the Hall sketch where the two guys ate nothing but Kraft Macaroni & cheese and ketchup?? Now that made me a little queasy . . .

Happy Anniversary

2009-07-07T12:02:00.007-05:00

I love you, dear!!

07.07.07

Man vs. Blog

2009-07-06T17:19:00.011-05:00

Does anyone else watch Man vs. Food on the Travel channel?? Although it seems like a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives rip-off, I’ll admit I’ve been sucked into an episode (or seven) this past year. When host Adam Richman visited Minneapolis, and tried a “Jucy Lucy” I thought to myself, I must try one!!

The LOML and I had our 2nd annual Fourth of July Party on Saturday, and while the general admission guests had regular hamburgers and hot dogs (and chips, watermelon, cherry cobbler, etc.), I had reserved one “special” hamburger for myself . . . the TMF’H Lucy!!

Ok, so basically, a Jucy Lucy is just two hamburger patties with cheese in the middle that melts whilst you cook it. I took two 1/6 patties, and squashed them pretty thin using a meat mallet, before putting them in the freezer to firm up. Next I took a slice of cheddar cheese and folded it over twice (that’s a thickness of 4 slices) to get a nice square block of cheesy goodness! After “crimping” the edges, it went back into the freezer to firm up some more.

(Note: I’m such an idiot, and took a really sweet “Before” picture of the two hamburger patties and the cheddar cheese all set out separately before assembly. What did I do when reviewing my photographic achievement?? Deleted it!! Doh!!)

Here is what the TMF’H Lucy looked like after assembly!

Here is the TMF’H Lucy grilling up nicely. I think “freezing” the hamburger for an hour or two before hand helped to keep it from over-cooking on the grill.

And finally the finished product!

What did my old roommate, lil mane Andy think??

GREAT SUCCESS!!

Life's Worth Living in Fort Smith, Arkansas

2009-07-02T22:12:00.010-05:00

Hello from beautiful Fort Smith, Arkansas!!! That’s right, nine years after I came to “Hell on the Border” for a CUTCO regional training; I am back . . . And ready to count some fishing lures (seriously)!!! Now for those of you who haven’t been to the Ft. Smith Regional Airport, it is straight out of a 1980’s Southern Baptist church foyer. But I shouldn’t rag on Ft. Smith. Janice at the Budget rental car was super friendly. And the Courtyard here seems well kept and relatively new.

If I had more time to explore, I might visit Miss Laura’s Social Club, the only former “house of ill-repute” that is on the National Register of Historic Places!! Somehow, I don’t think a souvenir t-shirt would be appropriate at the next church family picnic.

I had a brief layover in Memphis and treated myself to half a rack of ribs at Jim Neely’s Interstate BBQ (I usually opt for pulled pork). I love me some BBQ. If someone asks me where to eat BBQ in Memphis, I’ll recommend Interstate over Rendezvous (OVERRATED!) every time.

I know people say this all the time, but the meat fell off the bone! I’m no BBQ expert, but apparently you don’t want your BBQ to fall off the bone?? I still thought they tasted great. The slaw was chopped fine, a bit runny, but still got me a little nostalgic. The baked beans (with smoky pieces of pulled pork) were awesome. The sweet tea, ehhh . . . sorry Memphis, Birmingham has ya beat.

Also on the flight from BHM to Memphis, was University of Wisconsin’s head wrestling coach, Barry Davis. Very nice gentleman, and we had a good discussion about Malcolm Gladwell (I started Blink on the flight . . . finished Moneyball last Friday). I guess you never know when you’re going to sit next to an Olympic Medalist???

Surin of Homewood

2009-06-25T17:23:00.011-05:00

The Mrs. and I are big Thai food fans. Our first date was actually at Surin West almost five years ago. I’ve been itching to use the Coconut Milk that’s been sitting in our pantry for an embarrassingly too long amount of time (it had two months until expiration!!) and last week I did a bit of experimenting to create my first Thai Peanut Chicken Stir Fry. Here’s what I used:

Chicken breast
Green Pepper, Zucchini, Onion, Mushrooms
Coconut Milk
Peanut Butter
Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil
Rice Vinegar
Honey
Salt/Pepper

In one skillet I heated about a tablespoon of sesame oil over medium high heat and cooked the chicken for a minute or two, before adding half a can of Coconut Milk and the Mushrooms. I didn’t want to have COMPLETELY raw chicken cooking in the coconut milk, but it may not have been necessary. I covered and cooked that on medium heat for maybe 10 minutes or so.

I decided to stir fry the other vegetables in a separate skillet before adding to the chicken and mushrooms (I wanted a little crunch left and didn’t want to “boil” them). While the peppers, zucchini and onions were cooking, I combined maybe a tablespoon each of Peanut Butter, Soy Sauce, and Rice Vinegar in a bowl and micro-waved for 30 seconds. Stir it around and it looks like this:

After the chicken looked good and cooked, I stirred in the peanut mixture and let it simmer for a few more minutes before adding the vegetables. At this point, I tasted it and realized it needed salt and something sweet (maybe a tablespoon of honey).

All in all, it was a pretty tasty dish, but I definitely could have used some extra ingredients to “tie” it up (get it??? Tie/Thai).

Things I would have liked to Add:
Lime
Mint
Ginger
Bean Sprouts
Jalapenos
Curry Powder
Garlic (duh, I totally should have added Garlic Powder)

Any blog stalkers out there have any suggestions for Thai Cooking at Home??

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T20:17:00.008-05:00

In case you haven't seen the LOML or my FB status today, we're finally revealing to the internetz world we're PREGGERS!!!*

Baby TMF'H set to drop mid-January 2k10 (doesn't that look weird with two numerals after the k??)

Hope everyone had a GREAT weekend!!! I spent the afternoon FINALLY finishing the backyard patio (so fatherly, I know)!

* I knew I'd need an exciting topic for my 100th post!

Chillin' at the Hampton Inn

2009-06-18T21:08:00.017-05:00

In addition to hanging out with Mimi & Op last weekend, the LOML and I also went to see Brad & Elle in the Big Apple!! We actually drove into NYC Saturday morning and then rode with BLEE to the Hamptons (cue P. Diddy). That’s right; we were rubbing elbows with Billy & Katie Lee (ooops!!) and rolling 26’s on the Bentley!!

Saturday we went to the Barefoot Contessa’s favorite Farmer’s Market (no lie), hung out at the pool, walked around downtown East Hampton, had $5 ice cream cones, and caught up on all our Condé Nast publications. BLEE is renting their house (in Amagansett) with another couple and the wife is a kitchen manager for Martha Stewart. We quickly tricked her into cooking dinner for us Saturday night. OMG, I could have eaten this Chimichurri sauce on my Top-Siders for dinner, it was that good (don’t worry; I’ll recreate it for yall later in the summer)!!!

Sunday we drove up to Montauk and had lunch at Lunch (while Lunch may be world famous for the Lobster Rolls, their website is HTML-lame!). When in Rome, I decided to do as the Hamptonians do and had one of their world famous Lobster Rolls.

Can I be honest?? The roll was the best part (hot, buttery and delicious) of the sandwich. Maybe I was expecting it to be the best food I ever put in my mouth, but the Lobster was really just alright for me, dawg. I mean, I’m glad I tried it, but I don’t get all the hype?? After lunch, we walked on the beach, took various awkward family photos, and then went for a drink and people watching at the Surf Lodge.

The thing that struck me about the Hamptons was how LUSH and GREEN everything was! It’s not like the usual beach towns you’re used to. Everything is covered in thick hedges and tall trees (no palm trees). It’s very New England-y and a bit Euro-rustic. We saw some crazy big houses (mostly covered in those thick 20 ft hedges), but I think everyone would be just as happy on the Florida or Carolina coast.

The LOML and I had a great time and loved hanging out with BLEE (along with Boston Rob and Alison!!). Thank yall again for having us and hopefully it won’t be 2 years before we fellowship again!!! OMK!!

Greetings from TMF'H

2009-06-18T17:13:00.012-05:00

So last weekend, the LOML and I took a mini-vacation to the Tri-State Region. We haven’t been up to see my grandparents since their 50th Wedding Celebration (a little over two years ago) and really wanted to fly up to the Garden State for a visit. We had a FANTASTIC dinner at Reggiano’s Thursday night (I really want to recreate the prosciutto and fontina wrapped asparagus) and also went to my Aunt & Uncle’s Friday night for a cook-out with my cousins.

In addition to being two kind, generous, and loving people, Mimi & Op are both really hip and “with it” (Mim is an avid Facebooker (and Blog commenter!), and although Op can’t stand Conan or Dave, he thinks Craig Ferguson is pretty funny). Friday afternoon, Mimi took the LOML and me on a tour of NJ (Montclair, Glenn Ridge, Livingston, etc.) where we drove past my grandparents’ old homes, and also stopped at a Border’s (Mim said we could each pick out two items). I don’t care if you’re 7 or 27, it’s still exciting to pick out a toy (or book, rather) with your grandmother. I picked up When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris and A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg.

This was my first foray into David Sedaris, but I’m sure everyone else has been reading him for years (Did you know his sister was Amy Sedaris from Strangers with Candy??). I was walking through the store, contemplating my next choice, when I told the LOML I was thinking of getting this book, because I heard he was funny. One of the Border’s employees was like “OMG, he is hilarious, you have to get this book!” so I took the plunge and picked it up. He is known for his dry, self-depricating humour and reminds me a lot of Larry David. As a bonus, Mim also gave me her old copies of Barrel Fever, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Naked!!! (I told you she was “with it”)

Molly Wizenberg is the author of the popular Orangette food blog. I added her to my Google Reader last Fall, and although she’s taken a hiatus from blogging (as of 5/18/09), you should still poke around there for some good reading. I didn’t really know if this book was going to be a memoir or a cook book (it’s kind of both), but after the food blogging community was raving about it a few months ago, I thought I’d check it out. I read the first 4 or 5 recipes (each has a 2-3 page background story) and I’ll try and post some recipes here in the (near?) future. Also, if you’re (blog-stalkers) ever in Seattle, Molly and her husband are set to open a sweet pizza joint, Delancey, in the “late spring”??

Thanks again for everything, Mimi & Op!! We love you!!

Anybody Seen Michael Jordan??

2009-06-10T17:21:00.007-05:00

Last night we went to a Birmingham Barons baseball game with our church small group. It was $.25 Hot Dog night, and the perfect example of “You get what you pay for” (I had three).

In addition to a rousing AA baseball game (the Barons lost 1-6), we also noticed a number of “old timers” in front of us scribbling down minor league stats in spiral notebooks. Having finished about 80% of Moneyball (I’ll finish it by July!) I assumed these sabermetrics were scouts (looking for the next Jeremy Brown???). Various members of the Baron’s staff came over throughout the game to discuss players, the MLB Draft (started last night), and one of the old guy’s sweet baseball card shirt!

There's a Magazine Called Sunset

2009-06-09T18:05:00.009-05:00

Last night whilst the LOML was watching the Bachelorette (no, I was not paying attention), I was catching up on a magazine when it hit me . . . we subscribe to a TON of magazines!!

Runner's World

Real Simple

Cooking Light

Journal of Accountancy

YOU'RE WELCOME, PRINT MEDIA INDUSTRY!!

I will point out that two of these were gift subscriptions, two were reward point subscriptions (expiring United sky miles), one comes free with membership in the AICPA, and one is a trial subscription that ends soon (?)

Anyways, just a boring nuance in the lives of TMF'H . . . thought I'd share since there's not too much else going on right now . . .

Sorry, Ladies

2009-06-04T13:29:00.010-05:00

This weekend Handsome Rob is getting hitched. Tonight we'll be at Niffer's doing this:

The e-mail chain that started last week amongst his groomsmen has now topped over 400 (we are all very diligent employees). This weekend will be fun. I know a lot of ladies will be crying in their Pitu Saturday night . . .

On the Back Patio

2009-06-01T20:36:00.012-05:00

Over the past couple years, most of the bushery (or shrubbery) in our back yard has gotten away from the LOML and I, leaving our flower beds dead and barren. We talked a few months ago about expanding the little patio area off our back deck (home of dead shrubbery), and this past weekend, we commenced the tackling of this DIY/HGTV/FLN/TLC project.

Our good buddy, Craiger, gave us a tip about Alabama Wholesale Stone Company, and we were able to pick up 3,200 POUNDS (that’s over a ton and a half!) of Blue Flagstone at a pretty reasonable price (at least I thought so). This picture doesn’t do it justice, but we were riding low (and dirty).

I also rented a 5 HP Tiller from Huffstutler’s Hardware to till out the area where we would lay the patio. This thing was a BEAST!! After tilling the Earth, JD came over and helped move 15 or so wheel barrow loads of dirt to the back of our yard. I kinda want a tiller now for my Birthday.

Most of the instructions I read online said you should lay an inch or so of sand before placing your flagstone. I picked up 8 bags of sand (.5 cu ft each) from Lowe’s which was not near enough. The Mrs. and I “sprinkled” what little sand we had, and then started to lay some of the stones to see how it looked (we came to the conclusion, that we really did need that extra sand). Here is what our patio looks like now:

Luckily, Cahaba Heights Hardware Store has a pretty good deal on bulk sand (wish I had known that early Saturday morning!), but it may be a week (or more) before we can finish this project. Don’t worry, we’ll have it ready for the 2nd annual 4th of July Bash. Here is what you missed last year!! (the slide that is)

Boom!!

and by "New" (REMIX)

2009-05-25T13:01:00.011-05:00

Hehehe (awkward laughter)

I totally did not check out any cd’s from the library and burn them to my home computer . . . that would be illegal . . . don’t do it, kids!!

When it Comes to Getting Bread I Lost the Keys to the Bakery

2009-05-20T21:48:00.014-05:00

Sadly, I am not a Bread Wizard (I don’t even think I’m a half-blood). Sunday was my 2nd attempt at bread baking, and, well, you’ll have to see for yourself . . .

Last year, the LOML and I came back from visiting the Bridgers in Chicago (where Stephen grew up) all psyched about baking bread from a Sourdough Starter. I did a bunch of research online and found multiple websites/instructions for making your own bread starter (obviously, I was too proud to get my starter from someone else). I “fed” my starter according to plans and after a week, tried to bake a loaf. I was pretty excited . . . except the bread didn’t rise and the finished product looked (and tasted) like a bagel brick . . .

A month ago, I looked up Mark Bittman’s recipe after JCCVI said I could impress my friends and become a Bread Wizard. This recipe sound good. I already pictured us getting a larger Le Creuset as obviously, this recipe seemed fail-proof, and we’d soon be baking artisanal bread semi-regularly and supplying Chris Hastings with our home-baked goods.

The recipe starts easy enough: Bread, Water, Salt, and Yeast. After combining, covering and leaving alone for 18 hours, the dough was dotted with bubbles. Sweet!! That meant the yeast worked!!

Next the receipt called for folding over the dough once or twice on a floured work surface and then covering with plastic wrap for 15 minutes. I’m not sure how you can fold over really runny dough, but I did my best. As you can see, the dough ran pretty flat, but I still had hope for our bread.

Since this recipe was supposed to fit in a 6-8 quart Le Creuset (and we were working with a 2 qt) I tried to divide the dough in half and let rise separately. After two hours, I saw no noticeable rise. Oh well, I pulled my dough from the cloth towel (WHY could this not have been something else?? parchment paper, plastic wrap, etc.), poured it in the pre-heated dish, and put it in the 450 degree oven.

I will say it had a good crust. I’ll give it that. But it was small. And it was dense. And it kind of tasted like a bagel. As you can see, there were some pockets of air in the bread, but still dense. Very dense.

What did I do wrong?

Will I try this again?

Will any blog-stalkers out there give me bread-baking tips?

** Unbeknownst to me, there is an on-line Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge that just started over at Pinch my Salt. While I don’t have the book, I’ll be following along and may (or probably not) try a loaf or two along the way????

TV ON THE RADIO

2009-05-14T17:00:00.008-05:00

I can’t say I was that familiar with their music before the show (I burned a couple cd’s from Stephen and D, and saw them on SNL and the Colbert Report earlier this year), but TV on the Radio put on a ROCKING good time Wednesday night.* This band oozes New York City cool and makes you want to move to Brooklyn and participate in a literary collective or slow food co-op. Kyp Malone also makes you want to grow a very, very large beard.

Any blog post re: this show wouldn't be complete without mentioning the fact that TVOTR played before an intimate crowd of 300 at Bottletree (tickets sold out back in February) whereas they've been accustomed to playing shows to audiences of hundreds (thousands?) more! The sign on the door said no photography or video equipment allowed, so you’ll have to settle for this really blurry/crappy camera pict!

* If you’ve got an extra $.99 on an old iTunes gift card, go ahead and download "Staring at the Sun," last night’s closer!

Fried Oysters and Remoulade

2009-05-11T20:51:00.010-05:00

So a few months ago I stumbled upon this post on Friday Oysters. The LOML and I always enjoy a good Fried Oyster appetizer if we’re at a “nice” (Little Savannah, etc.) restaurant, and since reading that post, I’ve been itching to fry up some ourselves (Note: we fried these up about 3 weeks ago)

First, I have to say that the Fish Monger at Whole Foods was very friendly/helpful when I went to buy these oysters, but he didn’t know about how many were in a Pint. I told him, they’d be for about 10 folks, and he said there were “probably a dozen (12) or two (24)” in a pint??? I think in the future, I’m going to double quantities if I’m not sure.

How much time do you need to finish up the audit?

Oh, probably 5 or 10 days.

But I digest. Being overly ambitious, I thought I’d make my own breadcrumbs from a loaf of French bread . . . except when we got back from Publix, I picked up a whole wheat loaf!! I threw in a little corn meal as well, and you could definitely see it in the batter, but I agree with C&L that breadcrumbs were a good choice (and the whole wheat tasted pretty good, too). The blending Wondra flour was worth the investment, and I’m looking forward to battering and frying something else in the near future (Mmmmmm, CFS). I had not heard of this kind of super-fine flour before, but I think it helped with the Crispiness.

To go along with these ambitious oyster appetizers, I also wanted to make my own remoulade. I couldn’t really find a recipe on the interweb I liked, so I winged it and threw this little beauty together. I would have loved to throw in some chopped capers, but didn’t have any in the fridge :( All in all, I thought it was pretty authentic and tasted good with the Oysters.

TMF’H Remoulade
1.25 C Mayo
.5 C Sour Cream
Lemon Juice (.5)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
.25 C Ketchup
10 shakes Tabasco/Texas Pete’s
Chives

Directions: Combine/Mix, Chill, Serve

We took these to our church’s Small Group as an appetizer and I thought they turned out well . . . BUT, our kitchen/house smelled like Captain D’s for a solid 36 hours afterwards!!!

I Will Possess Your Blog

2009-05-11T20:45:00.006-05:00

Catching up on the ole blog (blah, blah, blah) . . .

Went to Death Cab for Cutie last Tuesday night. Scored a photo pass and took some close-up picts. Still waiting for Zooey Deschanel to confirm my Facebook friendship request . . . You know the drill . . . head over to BHAM.FM for more

PS – In case you were wondering what else I do besides cook, go to concerts, and take pictures of both, I’ve got two more shows to look forward to (this month):

Wednesday (5/13/09) – TV ON THE RADIO
Monday (5/18/09) – COLDLPAY (with the LOML)

Pork Barrel Spending

2009-05-04T12:52:00.011-05:00

The LOML and I met our friends for drinks (don’t we sound so cosmopolitan?) Friday Night at the new Dram Whiskey Bar in Mountain Brook Village. The Menu/Drink list was pretty impressive (pricey, but impressive) and I ordered the Smokehouse (Bacon-infused Early Times, Honey, and a Bacon Garnish) . . .

Although I couldn’t taste any sweetness/honey, you could definitely detect a smokey bacon scent in the bourbon. Looks like someone in Mountain Brook has been watching Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives????

Check out Bhamsandwich for some other thoughts/photos on Dram/AVO.

The Avett Brothers Should Be Your New Favorite Band

2009-04-27T21:14:00.008-05:00

The Avett Brothers were SWEET!!!

Go buy their records!! Go see them live!! Go to BHAM.FM to see some other picts and thoughts from the show!!