Archive for the ‘Journal’ Category
Do you have a favorite food? I think everyone does but unless you ask you may never know what it is. For most of my life bacon was my favorite but as with all things, changes can occur. I still love bacon and will eat it until I die regardless of the possible consequences to my health.
‘My favorite pie.’
I now have a new love in my life that captured my attention about ten years ago. For me it was like finding the Holy Grail. I’ve been obsessed with it ever since and there’s no end in sight. What is it you ask . . . Habanero Peppers. They’ve changed my life as well as my taste buds, FOREVER!!
Many people love hot food laced with Cayenne, Serrano, or even Ghost peppers but heat isn’t everything. I require as much heat as possible but I also want flavor as well. I’ve tried almost every hot pepper I could find over the years and even came up with a few exotic mixtures in my lame attempt to find excellent flavor with head-sweating heat.
‘Red-Savina’
After a few years I began hearing about a type of habanero pepper called red-savina. I ordered some from a place in New Mexico and my life was changed forever. Since my discovery I’ve made many batches of chili and salsa using red-savina’s as the heat. The flavor is incredible and the heat is a killer. The perfect pepper for me. It’s difficult to find them in regular markets but my solution was to periodically purchase a red-savina mash on–line. It lasts a reasonable length of time in the frig and I can get a half pint for approximately $10.00. That will last me a good six months.
Recently I found myself running out of red-savina’s and was forced to temporarily fallback to using the standard habanero peppers. Some were grown in my garden and the remainder were purchased from a local food store. Then it was time to get to work. I put on my extra thick latex gloves and began the process.
‘My babies.’
‘Sliced and Diced’
‘And Dehydrated’
If you’re going to try this make sure you wear the appropriate mask to keep the dust from your nose and sinuses as you’re grinding it. You’ve been warned, it really is painful. The end result is a small jar of habanero dust good to use with almost any meal you’d like to prepare.
I’m working on a new recipe which uses habanero soaked bacon strips laid across a stack of tasty pancakes covered with maple syrup. Sinfully delicious and hot enough to make you cry.
With the season change looming and with a few days of rain expected, it’s time to get back to work on some of my side projects. One in particular needs immediate attention because I’m running out of time to have it done by November 14th. It’s a weird but special gift for my better-half the beer connoisseur. On top of being a beer expert she’s also a collector of sorts. Over the last twenty-five years she’s religiously saved bottle caps from every type of beer she’s ever tasted. We ended up with a garbage bag filled with hundreds of beer memories (bottle caps) but had no idea what to do with them.
It’s funny how things fall together at times. Just as I was cutting our ties with the Dish Network by removing their equipment from the side of our house, I had a revelation. I took the dish and all of it’s component parts, reconstructed them into a sort of interesting but weird side table.
As I was working on the table I looked over to the corner of the workshop and saw the bag of bottle caps. It was then I decided to use the colorful and interesting bottle caps to create a mosaic top for my Dish Network Memorial Table. What better gift for a beer connoisseur than a one-of-a-kind table for her to sit her beer on.
I used a floor-leveler compound to flatten out the dish interior a little and then got to work on the mosaic top. The wide range of bottle cap colors surprised me a bit but made the job much easier.
Two coats of high gloss paint will make it pretty and mounting it on a wooded base will keep it sturdy enough for everyday use. Then it’s adhesive, bottle cap placement, and a decorative grout. I’ll post my future progress (if I have any) and hopefully this thing will be finished in time for the birthday celebration.
“I will never forget.” is the extent of my comments for today on all of the 9/11 anniversary coverage. I have no need to write paragraph after paragraph about that day or to show any of the many horrific photographs. “I can’t and won’t ever forget.”
For too many years of my life I’ve wasted time fretting about politics and inept politicians. I’ve allowed myself to become upset and irate about how this country has slowly eroded many of our civil and human rights without a second thought. With the new presidential campaign beginning it’s time for me to bury my head in the sand and go into seclusion from it all.
I see nothing that interests me. It’s more of the same idiocy, the Clinton’s, the Obama’s, and the Bush’s. All we need is for someone to throw in a couple of Kennedy’s and we’ll finally have completed our time travel back to the 1960’s.
I’m one of the many citizens who’ve lost faith in our politicians as well as the American voting public. Any group of people, large or small, who are gullible enough to vote for an obvious anti-American to a second term as president deserve exactly what they get. This country has been in decline since the arrival of the Obama’s who’ve done nothing to stop it, if anything, they’ve accelerated it. Now the Democrats want Joe Biden to step in and attempt a third Obama term. The way things are going in this country he’ll probably get elected and the media will convince everyone it’s a huge mandate. Then he can become the scapegoat that can then be blamed for the downfall of the United States as a superpower. Turn out the lights people the effing party’s almost over.
I’ve finally eliminated from my life the constant barrage of political propaganda, both Republican and Democrat, that’s being spewed from millions of televisions across the country every day. I’ve also stopped listening to the radio which has become just as bad as television, if not worse. I’m done with it all.
My late father always told me that my vote meant something. I’m glad he didn’t live long enough to see what happening to this country . . . it would have killed him. The individual vote means nothing any longer because the political parties have successfully separated the citizens into small and diverse groups based on any number of differences. They play the blacks against the whites, the whites against the blacks, the heterosexuals against the gays, the blacks and whites against the Hispanics, and even the religious against the non-religious. We now have Red states against Blue states which helps keep everyone arguing and fighting on stupid social issues that mask all of the games that the political elite love to play. It’s become almost impossible with all of the factional infighting to elect a president with a majority of the popular vote.
So I hope you’re all prepared for the browbeating and propagandizing that’s coming your way for the next year. Let me know how it’s going from time-to-time if you can because I’m tired of trying to do the right thing and having it thrown back in my face. I’m tuning out just like the powers-that-be want me to do. They’ve won the battles and they’ve won the war. By disenfranchising us citizens they can continue to rule as they please without interference from the “great unwashed”.
HAPPY DAYS
A short time ago I posted ten questions created to assist a person in examining their own motivations and ethics when confronted with difficult problems. I was surprised by some of the responses and even more so by the numerous requests for additional questions. Never let it be said I don’t respond to my readers.
Here are ten more puzzlers to get you thinking along with my own answers.
1. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by five years to become extremely attractive?
a. No, I’d prefer to have the women I know become more attractive. Then I’d give up the five years without hesitation.
2. Have you ever considered suicide? If yes, what is so important to you that without it life would not be worth living?
a. Yes, my eyesight.
3. If your friends and acquaintances were willing to bluntly and honestly tell you what they really thought of you, would you want them to?
a. Sure why not. For the most part I know my faults but maybe I’d find out about one I wasn’t aware of. Either way I don’t really care.
4. Do you believe in capital punishment? Would you be willing to execute a man sentenced to death by the courts if you were selected by lot to do so and he would go free if you refused? Assume you know no details of the trial.
a. I do believe in capital punishment and I would execute a criminal who had been properly convicted through the courts. The alternative of freeing him is not an option.
5 If you went to a beach and it turned out to be a nude beach, would you stay and go swimming? Would you swim nude?
a. Yes and Yes.
6. Do you find it so hard to say “no” that you regularly do favors you do not want to do? If so, why?
a. No I find it pretty easy to say no.
7. Would you like to know the precise date of your death?
a. No.
8. If by getting a 2 inch by 2 inch tattoo, you could save five lives and prevent a terrorist attack, would you do so? If you were allowed to select the location and design, where would you have it placed and what would the design be?
a. Yes I‘d get the tattoo. A red crescent on my butt.
9. On an airplane you are talking pleasantly to a stranger of average appearance. Unexpectedly, the person offers you $10,000.00 for one night of sex. Knowing that there is no danger and that payment is certain, would you accept the offer?
a. Of course . . . If the person were really attractive I might do it for $5,000.00. LOL
10. Would you be willing to commit perjury for a friend? For example, might you testify that he was driving carefully when he hit a pedestrian even though he had been joking around and not paying attention.
a. No, he’s on his own.
Well there you have it. Ten more questions to make you wonder about yourself and your significant other (assuming they are answering them with you). Enjoy.
With Summer slowly fading away our daily routine changes once again. The nights have been cold enough recently to require a little help from my electric blanket. I rolled over the other morning and found my cat snuggling up against me, something he almost never does unless his fur coat isn’t getting the job done. I touched his back and it was ice cold so I threw a blanket over the little dummy and went back to sleep. Another real indicator of Winter like caterpillars with extra thick fur.
I’m forever raving about how great I think Maine is but I’ve never shown any photographs of it’s main export. While I’m not a lobster lover my better-half is. We had a family cook-out yesterday with all the normal grilling food, burgers, dogs, sausages, and as extra added bonus . . . lobsters. As you can see these poor fellows look pretty contented in the first photo but not so much in the second. They are now just a memory but left my better-half, her daughter, and son-in-law with dribbles of melted butter on their chins and a smile on their faces.
‘Before’
‘After”
Our menial tasks continued this week with the canning of more pickles, the making of more zucchini bread, and the drying of more herbs. Over the next few days I’ll be harvesting and drying batches of tarragon, basil, parsley, and chives. I have so many damn chives growing everywhere it’s getting ridiculous. If I dry too many I’ll just have to package them up and give them to friends and family members.
I hope to begin removing plants from the garden next week. I have a lot of work ahead but would like to get it done as soon as possible. Once the plants are removed I can begin making a few changes to the garden. I’m expanding the rhubarb area because it’s growing so fast I can’t contain it. I’m also adding on two additional frames, one abutting each large frame, to help expand the sunflower areas. We both love having as many sunflowers as possible in the garden and the birds will be thrilled with all of the extra food. I thought it best to do this construction now rather than in the Spring.
Life in Maine continues.
I finally was able to motivate myself yesterday to begin the process of collecting and drying herbs from the garden. It’s one of the sadder things I have to do every year as Fall approaches. I’m forced to admit to that Winter is closing in on us and that my garden is beginning to fade away.
My better-half has been threatening to restart her daily regime of drinking healthy but unappetizing smoothies and wants some of the ingredients fresh from the garden. Today was kale day.
I started out with a trip to the garden and harvested two large baskets of freshly cut leaves. I then spent almost an hour cleaning and cutting the leaves and making sure no little critters were hanging around. We occasionally have slugs attacking some of the plants but I found only a few and they were disposed of (I hate slugs).
Then it was upstairs to wash the leaves, blanch them in boiling water, and then drop them into an ice bath. This kills any bacteria and gives the leaves a vibrant green color. Using a Salad Spinner I removed the excess water to prepare the leaves for dehydration.
I spread the leaves on a series of shelves and placed them into the dehydrator for four hours at 140 degrees.
‘In’
‘Out’
After the dehydration was complete I removed the leaves from the shelves and ground them into a fine powder with an herb grinder. Here’s the end result of all my efforts. Approximately 3/4 of a cup of clean and healthy smoothie ingredients. Drop a half teaspoon of the kale into any smoothie and you’re good to go.
‘Done’
I do have to admit I’m not a big fan of healthy smoothies. Give me a good old-fashioned, high calorie, sugar loaded, milkshake made with ice cream. You can bet I won’t be sprinkling kale on that.
‘Oh Yeah!’
There’s a chill in the night air these days and I certainly know what that means. It means we have just a month or so before we start dismantling the garden, cleaning and inspecting the heating system, and unpacking all of our Winter clothing. This summer came and went much too quickly.
This week the better-half had two days-off which means only one thing . . . Road Trip! We made our way westward across Maine and entered New Hampshire just north of Lake Winnipesaukee and proceeded north through the lakes region. We traveled mostly on the back roads where the traffic is light and the scenery is spectacular.
Of course as you can imagine, my better-half required numerous pee stops, coffee breaks, and an obsession to stop at every dirty and filthy antique shop (her term, not mine). This was the nicest one we saw the entire day.
The roads we chose wound in and around the numerous small lakes and ponds and made for a great ride. All the while we could see the White Mountains slowly approaching in the distance.
After a few hours we arrived in Conway, New Hampshire which is a town known for it’s never-ending supply of outlet stores. Normally the better-half could spend an entire day roaming around this area and shopping . . . but not today. Fortunately for me we both received matching text messages from our home alarm system that reported a motion alarm on our enclosed and locked rear porch. It was the perfect excuse to leave immediately for home which we did.
Luckily it was just a false alarm that actually saved me from an addition two or three hours of shopping. All in all it was a great day with a lot of sunshine and the discovery of a little jewel of a pizza shop in the bustling metropolis of Cornish, ME. If you’re in the area and you like pizza, stop and have lunch at Susie Q’s. Good food, good prices, and friendly people.
Goodbye August! Now begins our downhill slide into Fall and the always unavoidable Winter. This Summer has sped by faster than any I can even remember.
The better-half and I spent a couple of hours yesterday canning the remaining cucumbers, jalapenos, and assorted hot peppers from the garden. With all of the canning competed I can now start dehydrating my collection of our main cooking herbs. It’s amazing to me just how many herbs we consume each winter. That’ll be my main job during the coming week because we have a large supply of oregano, tarragon, mints, parsley, and thyme to choose from.
We still have a few zucchini’s to be used along with a few kohlrabi’s and beans. The sunflowers are now in bloom and the birds are already circling. Those little beasts can strip a sunflower in a matter of hours once the seeds are ready to eat.
We didn’t feel much like cooking yesterday which means an afternoon visit to Applebee’s. For a lot of years we avoided the place because the food was mediocre and over priced. Going there now is like visiting a brand new restaurant. They’ve changed their menu to something on the order of a TGIF. The food selection is terrific, the preparation is excellent, and the prices won’t break the bank. It was Fish & Chips for me and Shrimp for the better-half. I also washed it all down with a couple of extra tall Gin & Tonics. Life is good.
With August in the rear view mirror, this week was a mix of this, that, and everything else. I was a little unfocused but that’s not all that unusual anyway. I spent part of the week back in the swamps looking for those illusive little dragonflies that were as always, illusive. A few dozen mosquito bites and another overexposure to bug spray yielded very little.
There were more than a few in the area but they avoided getting anywhere near me. I’ll be trying again in a week or so after the next crop hatches. I have a few decent pictures but I need five or six more before the cold weather sets in.
I was wandering around my garage looking for something to do when I saw my former satellite dish lying in the corner. For more than four years that dish provided me with thousands of hours of television and cost me a few thousand dollars in fees and charges. With that much of an investment I just couldn’t discard that dish. The company told me they didn’t want it back so threw it in the corner which gave some time to think about it.
I take great pride in my ability to repurpose objects that have out lived their original usefulness, why not this stupid dish. I dismantled the old dish, took everything apart, and began the changeover from satellite dish to table.
There’s a lot more work to do including a nice, deep black, and high gloss paint job. Once it’s complete it will take it’s honored place among my other trophies as a game table in my man-cave. Thanks again Dish Network.
The crappy weather continues here in Maine giving me an overabundance of reading time. Recently I picked up a small book at a local church flea market for $.50 and as I began reading it I thought it would make an interesting discussion for the blog.
Half the fun of living your life is examining the hell out of it as you get older and hopefully smarter. I know I’ve second guessed virtually every decision I’ve ever made in my life. I always seem to have a better answer now than I had with the original decision. Things I thought as a teenager and in my early twenties sound so stupid now it’s a little scary.
This book’s all about difficult questions designed to make us think about ourselves and our decision making capabilities. There are no right or wrong answers but they will challenge your common sense and good=headedness.
I’ll list 10 questions with my own answers below. If you’re interested after that then take a few minutes and jot down your own answers. I recommend that you do it together with your partner, significant other, or spouse. I’m sure that regardless of the answers they’re sure to spark a few interesting discussions about your differences. Lets get started:
1. If you could spend one year of your life in perfect happiness but afterward would remember nothing of the experience would you do so? If not, why not?
a. I think I’d pass on this one. If I couldn’t remember the happiness then it never really happened and what’s the point.
2. If a new medicine were developed that would cure arthritis but cause a fatal reaction in 1% of those who took it, would you want it to be released to the public?
a. If I’ve done my math correctly that means that out of every million people treated, 10,000 would die. That’s insanity and a big no from me.
3. Would you accept $1,000,000 to leave the country and never set foot in it again?
a. That would be a big “Hell No”.
4. Would you be willing to become extremely ugly physically if it meant you would live for 1,000 years at any physical age you chose?
a. No thank you. To me a thousand years of being terribly ugly would be worse than dying.
5. If you could wake up tomorrow having gained one ability or quality, what would it be?
a. I’d want the ability to speak and understand every language on earth.
6. Would you accept twenty years of extraordinary happiness and fulfillment if it meant you would die at the end of the period?
a. No thank you.
7. If the person you were engaged to marry had an accident and became a paraplegic, would you go through with the marriage or back out of it?
a. I must have loved that person very much or wouldn’t have wanted a marriage. It’s a commitment I’d honor completely.
8. Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as your dinner guest?, as your close friend? , and as your lover?
a. Dinner Guest: Any wounded veteran; Close Friend: Bill Gates; Lover: Rachael Hendrix. The Close Friend and Lover could change at a moments notice because friends and lovers come and go. The Dinner Guest would remain the same permanently.
9. A good friend pulls off a well-conceived practical joke that plays on one of your foibles and makes you look ridiculous. How would you react?
a. I’d be a little embarrassed at first, laugh a little for a few minutes, and then begin planning some good old down-home REVENGE.
10. For $20,000 would you go for three months without washing, brushing your teeth, or using deodorant? Assume you could not explain your reasons to anyone.
a. No how, no way . . . . but I might reconsider it for $100,000.
BE AS TRUTHFUL AS POSSIBLE
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