chili

(i created a "chili" label for all of my chili recipe testings)

Yesterday's recipe:

1/2 lb spicy pork sausage 

1/2 lb steak, cubed

1 red pepper

2 red onions

6 garlic cloves

few pinches of cumin

handful of ancho chili powder

1 bottle of beer

1/2 can red beans

1 can of black beans

2 habernero peppers (from my garden), whole

1 16 oz can of fire-roasted diced tomatos 

2 tablespoons brown sugar

12 oz chicken stock

Thoughts:

I like the recipe. Nice heat, putting the habernero's in whole seems to give it good heat without over powering. And I don't have to chop them up, which my contact lenses appreciate later in the evening. 

I think I want to try and chop the meat a little smaller, such that the meet chunks are about the same size as the red beans, maybe slightly larger, but not much. I think this would give the chili a nice consistent look/feel. 

As always, I add the black bean immediately before serving. This provide the Chili with good texture. Overall, the cooking time for this chili was good, about 2 hours. I judge the best time to cook the chili by the doneness of the meat. Too much cooking, and the meat has nothing left; not enough, the meat is still not tender enough. 

I don't like the look of the red pepper. I'll go back to using a green one next time. 

a basketful of lemons

I got a basket full of lemons and they all taste the same
A window and a pigeon with a broken wing
You can spend your whole life working for something
Just to have it taken away

If you are looking for our secret spot, drive west from Denver. Once you arrive in Glenwood Springs you know you are getting close. The air smells cleaner, cellular phone signals begin to flutter, and the liquor goes up in price by 50%. Keep driving.

Carbondale comes into view, a small little town on a fork in the road. Stay left and you’re off to Aspen. Hang right and the secluded beauty of the mountains, the forest, and rushing rivers greet you as a friend who welcomes you back to remember the moment you shared with her once before.

Now turn off your cell phone. Stop checking if you have a signal. I assure you it’s not going to work. It’s baffling how addicted we’ve become to technology. ‘No Signal’ might as well mean ‘no idea what to do now.’ Calm down. It’s going to be o.k.

Leave the highway. Make a time to find your way. Watch the dust settle back to the earth behind you. By now, the anticipation should be absolutely bursting inside your veins. Remember the river which separates peace from chaos? It’s approaching. You are going to cross it soon. Just one more turn and you’ll see her. You can already hear the rapids echoing though the canyon, a voice from heaven reminding you to take a deep breath, relax, and cherish each moment as it slowly passes into the embrace of memory.

I have basket full of lemons; thank god someone had enough foresight to bring vodka. Matthew, Joshua, Jesse, Jason and I spent four days in perfect peace. Just like last year, we crossed a small mountain creek and in an instant an enormous gulf emerged between us and the rest of the world. We were alone, free to think and dream and reflect. Or: time on our hands, whiskey in our blood, strategies for the next horseshoe game consuming our thoughts, and plenty of arguments about why Jesse and I have enlightened progressive political views and the rest of the rotten bastards we camp with will just never get it.

But alas, this is the camping trip which reminds Cletus why he never wants to work on a dude ranch. I might cook his breakfast, but he still has to saddle my horse and listen to me snivel about how my ass hurts. My biggest problem is that horses don’t much like me. Horses make me anxious. They are big, moody animals.

There’s a fundamental problem with being anxious around a horse. I believe we are all control freaks at heart. But when I sit on a horse, I don’t feel like I am in control and I start to feel nervous, especially when I kick bruises into its ribs and it still won’t go where I tell it. My suspicion is that when the rider gets nervous, the horse (at least the good for nothing ass-clown my “friends” make me ride), starts to get twitchy. I know, I know…horses can be controlled by people-just beat the shit out of them and they’ll get the point. Or, as my good buddy Cletus admonishes me, “Wrangle that horse, cowboy!” But I ain’t no cowboy and I like my worldview just the way it is. I’m no closer to a cowboy than I am a mermaid.

There ain’t no reason things are this way, and there are no explanations why I should be friends with people so different than me. Republicans! Readers of this space know it well - I don’t have many friends and I don’t care to. But could it be that the crazy idiots I sit around a campfire with really aren’t that different than me? We have common hopes, common passion for a better world, and a shared enjoyment of discussions which border on argumentative. As I reflect on our differences (I like showers, they like backstroking through a muddy river), I begin to wonder if maybe we are much the same. Horses make me nervous but I do my best to look brave and ride them anyway. Jack Daniels makes Cletus and Josh nervous but they do their best to look brave and ride it anyway.

I am being intentionally short on the details. And yet, not much happened. That’s the beauty of the trip. We literally get together, sit around a fire, and tell Matthew why cows are bad for the environment. (read the article for yourself: it takes 8kg of grain to produce 1kg of beef). Of course, there’s a few more things which happened, but the river keeps our secrets. I’m already thinking of next year. Josh, it’s your turn to bring the lemons.

Read 2007's travel log here
Read a ode to my late horse here

good stuff

Check out Timmer's 7 part series, Surprised by Hope. Read the first post here

sing it to me martin

Too cool not to watch. Martin's body is a wonderland. Loving me is like loving a fifth of the finest bourbon. Just ask my wife.

hope

while we breathe, we will hope

o man

An excellent summary of why Hillary is a dimwit here.

new music monday

Check out Pandora.com.
I love it - you tell it what song or artist you like, and it creates a radio station of songs that are similar. The scientific analysis behind different music is impressive. For example, I enjoy Elliott Smith because it features "Electric rock instrumentation, mild rhythmic syncopation, demanding instrumental part writing, minor key tonality and electric rhythm guitars."


For the best music of 2007. Just go read what Speckled Mind says. He knows music better than anyone I know. Seriously - where do you find the time to find all the good music?

new hampshire debate

I watched the debate last night. I'm just that much of a political wonk. And I followed along with the nytimes live blog.

My favorite comment:

I wish someone would say the following to Hillary:

Senator, I served with Bill Clinton; I knew Bill Clinton; Bill Clinton was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Bill Clinton.

As I watched the Republican debate, I was reminded that my favorite Republican candidate, John McCain, is much to hawkish for my tastes. Never fear - if Hilary wins the Democratic nomination I'll probably still vote for McCain, but reluctantly. I don't like the "Muslims are out to get us so we should fight wars to prove we are badasses" rhetoric.

As for the democratic debate: I see a Obama-Edwards ticket brewing. First, Hilary only hurt herself by getting red faced mad and claiming she has 35 years of experience making change. Here's the problem - when she talks of her "experience" she's implicitly asking people to vote for her because she's Bill's husband, not because of her own merits. Her "experience" is that of a President's wife, not as a president. And she tried to reform health care....i don't think it ended as succesfully as she'd like. If she's spent 35 years making change, why are things so shitty now? If this is "change," I'm not interested.

Back to the Obama-Edwards ticket. Obama is now the front runner. As such, he avoided direct criticisms of Hilary. He left the attacking for Mr. Edwards. Brilliant. John knows he's not going to be nominated, so why not start campaigning for Vice-President? I like it.

And he kept up the attacks today while campaigning, too! Check out this report from the New Hampshire campaign trail, where Edwards calls the Clinton campaign "without conscience."

new hampshire

As a Obama supporter, I'm a bit anxious about the outcome in New Hampshire. I'm especially interested to see how the independent vote falls on primary night. According to the Iowa entrance polls, Obama drew significant support from independents. But a New Hampshire favorite, John McCain, also draws well with independents. Will John and Barack compete for votes in New Hampshire? 

iowa

Obama won Iowa. David Brooks from the New York Times summarizes best here.

I listened to Obama's speech last night and was inspired. You can watch it here.

I listened to Huckabee's speech and I now understand why he's gaining momentum. He's just downright likable. You listen to him and understand that even if you don't agree with his policies, you agree with his personality. Of course, voting for someone who is likable is what started this mess: many of us (myself included) voted for Bush Jr. in 2000 because he was "likable."

if you build it they will come

The latest poll from Iowa has Obama leading Clinton and Edwards. Can't wait to see what happens on Thursday.
Link

I've heard all sorts of statistics about how winning the Iowa caucus doesn't mean much in terms of who eventually wins the nomination. Remember Howard Dean?

It's a bit unnerving to think that two small states (Iowa and New Hampshire) tremendously impact the outcome of our presidential election system. Or is it? Check out this article at the economist.

say it again

My favorite part of being a parent: saying everything four times. 

The secret to being a good parent: do not say what is going through your head when you repeat yourself for the fifth time. 

obama

Nearly four years ago, I unenthusiastically endorsed John Kerry for president. Many of did likewise, but in the end, a "anybody but Bush" mentality ended depressingly, much like the candidates themselves. I wasn't excited about the last election as much as I was anxious to see a president (Bush) I didn't much care for, ushered into presidential retirement, where he could make plans for his library in Texas.

This year (almost), I'm excited for an election, mostly because I'm excited to back a candidate: Barack Obama. What do I like?

1. He's handsome. Handsome candidates win elections.
   
2. He's honest, at least by politician standards. When asked if he "inhaled," his answer (which cleverly also attacked Billary), "of course I inhaled. That was the point."
   
3. Oprah likes him.
   
4. I like his strategy on energy. He supports developing alternative fuels, but also specifically draws attention to the fact that Corn-based ethanol is a bad idea.
5. His "inexperience," which is currently being criticized by the Clinton and Edwards camp, is refreshing. If "experience" in Washington is what has produced the malaise of the last 8 years, I'm not impressed.
   
6. He opposed the Iraq war before he opposed it.
   
7. His ability to articulate a message makes me suspicious I could once again watch a State of the Union address.
   
8. I'm hopeful his background lends well to a better, more moderate, foreign policy, where diplomacy is once again a focus.

chili log...update

How did I like the chili? (See previous post below). It was....below average. I like heat in my chili, but in this recipe I didn't like the chipotle peppers - the smoky flavor over-dominated. I also didn't like the tortilla chips. They were used as a thickener, but I feel they added too much salt. I prefer tomato paste as a thickener.

What I learned for next time: no tortilla chips, no chipotle peppers. If smoky undertunes is what you're after, use a couple dashes of smoky tabasco sauce.

chili log

I make a lot of chili, especially during football season. I find nothing goes better with football than a bowl of chili and a few dozen beers.

My chili is never the same. My ADD shines through.

In an effort to keep track of the batches I like and the batches I end up giving to my neighbors, I'm going to start blogging the recipe everytime I make chili. Here's what I did today:

1/2 pound rib steak, cubed
1/2 pound hot Italian sausage
1/2 red onion
a handful of ancho chili pepper
3 garlic cloves
1 green pepper
4 embasa chipotle peppers
1 bottle of Sam Adams
14.5 oz can of whole peeled tomatos, lightly chopped
handful of tortilla chips, crumpled up
8 oz of chicken stock

I'll let you know how I like it in about 4 hours.