Peppers!

Few things grow so well in our garden as peppers.  Though the tomatoes are looking quite fabulous.  We have one tomato on the window sill to ripen off vine.  (Husbando thought some harm would befall it).  Last year our garden (and most in our area) did nothing.  Even robust peppers said "Eh, I'm not producing for you this year."  It wasn't the peppers but the weather....lack of sun for the first time in a long time.

Well, this year's peppers (and cukes and squash) have been enjoying fabulous weather.  Last, year's alpaca'as soil amenities (poop from this sweet girl and others) are really letting the garden produce.

It is impossible to eat or even give away all of the peppers that are produced.  One thing I enjoy doing with the bounty of the peppers is to make a hot pepper relish.  It is easy and delicious. It's terrific on anything you enjoy relish with (hot dogs, sandwiches, hamburgers, salad dressings and more).

Mixing sweet peppers with hot peppers keeps the heat down and the flavor up.  We are not 'hot-stuff' junkies.  It's heat + flavor, and the higher the heat, the less flavor comes through (in my opinion). 

Did you know?  There is a Scoville Chile Heat chart?  Here it is on the right.  I have some Big Jim (mild) , Pablano, Cayenne, Jalepeno and Serrano pepperr. 

In the past, I had the dumb idea that having beautiful pepper rings in a lovely sweet pickling mix would be my ideal end product.  Let me tell you that it was divine.  Make no mistake about that.  But in a home kitchen, hand slicing was the only way to achieve that.  (I thought that perhaps a food processor might work, but with so many different sized peppers, arranging them would take more time than hand slicing them.)

I started with 16lbs of untrimmed peppers. I'm embarrassed to say how long it took me to process these. At the end of that time I had

1. the most beautiful pepper rings of all sorts of sizes.  
2. an aching back
3. aching feet
4. a semi-paralized hand.

PFFFFFT!  to ever doing THAT again. I that kitchen chore for a few days.  Now, I'm content with Cuisinart-chopped peppers.I don't add onions or anything else.  Just peppers, sugar, vinegar and salt.

Gloves are a must.  Capsaician will burn your skin--you don't need any lingering reminders of your canning efforts except for your product. 

These are the only thing I bother to put in jars.  I can't buy this relish as good as I can make it.  We eat all of our squash and cucumbers.  Tomatoes....we eat a great deal of them; and we give many away.  I don't find canned tomatoes objectionable in the least, and I have no desire to can them v. using Hunts' offering.

Off to visit my SIL and her mother, who is visiting from Alexandria (VA).  I have pork spareribs in the oven.  I hope that your holiday was restful and fun.  I sure enjoyed my weekend.

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Get Your Geek On!

Over the last month and a half, I have been immersed in technical learning.  I won't bore you with the details, but it involves databases and Crystal Reports.  I wrote a longish post that is still relegated to the "draft" graveyard.  It would likely bore most to tears.

It is too easy for any of us to say, "I can't learn 'that'"--with "that" being any number of things that seem too complicated for us to master.  The truth of the matter is that to learn something means carving out precious time from other activities, and fully engaging one's grey matter (or mush as mine sometimes feels like) in the task at hand.

I'm motivated by frustration.  I like to do my work quickly and accurately.  Because I work with large amounts of data, it is important that I understand how to acquire and manipulate it. Excel is my go-to, but it is limited in terms of accumulating information. When I worked for larger companies, I had an IT department that shielded me from this knowledge. Data was given to me on a silver platter.

As I do mostly small business consulting, amplifying my ability to work with the front end of the data and having working knowledge of wider methods in working with such data, allows me to better serve clients.  Because I generally have the broadest knowledge of where all information is coming from and where it ultimately ends up (such is the nature of being a CFO), having a better understanding of the granular aspects helps me discover new opportunities to use data.

Okay...enough of that.  I want to share with you what I used to help me acquire this information in the privacy of my own office.  Please take a look at the Get Your Geek On! menu for some cost effective resources that will help you gain understanding (and in some cases mastery) of all of those technical things that you've managed to dodge in your professional life. If you have a blog, learn how to manipulate elements using CSS. If you regularly work with databases at work in glancing blows, but want to have a more confident approach to your work, consider taking relational database courses and understand SQL.

For my own part, I was amazed at the amount of high quality, low-cost learning that was available to me. I used Teach U Comp, Lynda.com and Infinite Skills to learn Crystal reports. I let go of my Teach U Comp subscription, because they had limited offerings, but the Crystal Reports was quite good.   I also used Lynda.com and Infinite Skills to understand better databases as well as using their Crystal Reports tutorials--all very excellent.  My only dismay is that I had not tackled these sooner.  I even reviewed some Excel stuff--my bread and butter--and learned a tip or two.  I'm now interested in learning VBA...but I may be getting ahead of myself.

These videos are the equivalent of a cooking show.  If you learn by watching and then by doing,  then these are a great resources. Consider using these tutorials to gain better working knowledge of any of the Microsoft series of products (Outlook, Work Excel, Access, etc).  Being able to effectively leverage the technical tools that are available to you will enable you to get your work done more effectively (no matter what your level) as well as improve work process at an individual, group or company level.

The cost?  Well, each of the resources that I noted costs $25 per month.  So for $75, I learned Crystal Reports to be able to build upon my skills.  Already I have used that skill to save time AND to improve informational reporting.  I dropped Teach U  Comp, but I have kept Lynda.com and Infinite Skills.  It is in an investment in my professional (and personal) development.  The subscriptions allow you to stop at anytime.  Check out the websites (see my "Get your Geek On!" links), and see if you have some time to increase your learning.  I promise that you'll be glad you did.

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Blackberries!

The first of July marks the top of blackberry season.  We have blackberry bushes scattered throughout our property, thanks to the birds.  I have many memories of blackberry picking! When I was 8 years old, I had found the first purple jewels in the blackberry bushes across the street from my childhood home.  What a marvelous bramble of berries!

With my right hand full of these jewels, I was peddling feverishly home (no more than a city block), barefoot, excited and then....injured.  My foot slipped off the pedal, and I crashed my bike.  The berries crushed in my hand which made for a horrible presentation along with my broken arm and dislocated elbow.   It was a very long day.

Other childhood memories involved being in the canopy picking the most succulent berries that ripen out of the sun's harsh rays so that the are divinely plump.  It is a quiet place of great bounty until you realize that you are not alone and there is a serpent in the bush with you--either in the bush or at your feet.

The reason for the excitement (and bravery!) was that my mother would always make a wonderful blackberry cobbler for us.  Who can resist fresh blackberry cobbler served with a splash of cream, whipped cream or still warm and topped with vanilla ice cream.  

And then there are adult memories of my beloved dog Dieter and Heidi, who would accompany me in my current blackberry hunting grounds--making enough noise to scare away any serpents, and eating the ripe berries--plenty for me and my body guards.

Yesterday Mark and I picked some.  I'll go out and get some more, and make a blackberry pie or cobbler.  That will be a nice treat for this holiday.  I don't have 4 cups worth, but I have some other berries to combine.

I will use this pie crust recipe from Simply Recipes.  I have also included this website in my Food and Cooking links in the menu above.  (As separated from Health and Nutrition!).  I will build my links over time, and I hope that you'll check them out.  Also check out the weights and measures from King Arthur Flour.  Every good cook needs an accurate scale.  I always use weights v. measures for flour.  Check out the link and make your baking more fool proof!

One of the problems with all butter crusts is that it softens quickly making the dough sticky and hard to work with.  One solution?  Use a gel cool mat.  Put a Silipat mat over a gel mat while rolling out the crust--from time to time.  (I always lightly flour the Silipat.).  By alternating a rest on top of the mat (mat, silipat, dough), then you keep the dough cold and can work with it more easily.  Yeah, I know that 'vodka' is a solution.  I'd rather work with rich butter in temperature controlled circumstances.

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Facebook Adios

For the span of maybe two weeks, I did try Facebook.  As of yesterday, I decided that it was not for me...and for all of the reasons I thought in the beginning that it would be not be for me.  The most important reason:  I felt barraged by 'stuff'.  Too much for this brain to process.

If I want to see how someone is doing, I'm going to email them or call them. 

Interestingly, to delete an account is counter-intuitive.  Thank goodness for Google.  Now, in order to delete your account, you have to not log onto it for 14 days.  I'll not have any trouble with that.  But it is a reminder that we have less control of our stuff on the internet than we would otherwise suppose.

Much of my dismay  dissatisfaction with Facebook is that it is a cluttered amalgamation of stuff. I did not find it visually pleasing, and there was sidebar content that I didn't have any interest in receiving much less reading. Upon logging in. . . 

• I saw more stuff that I didn't care to see
• resented Facebook's suggestions cajoling  about people that I might know or popping up suggestions of people if I were typing a name in a post.
• found it cluttered and claustrophobic in its rendering of content
• wondered WTF (start with who) would care if I changed my avatar photo, my status or my page photo?  And...if any of those items were not enough. . . 
• Facebook engaged in a surreptitious campaign to manipulate news feeds to members to measure the effect of such manipulation (preponderance of good v. the obverse).

I guess that I'm used to what I'm used to. This Blogger venue is a much easier way to express thoughts and share interests--and it is a venue in which I have control. To be sure, it takes more work to visit a blog than it does to be barraged by information on Facebook.  In that arena, Facebook is champs.  Nevertheless, I'll stick with my quiet corner of the blogosphere!

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Blog Style Retooling

I converted to this Sorbet Blogger template a few months ago.  I was ready for a new look, and found this template which I was instantly in love with.  It was clean, colorful and interesting.  Despite my love at first site, there was a splinter of frustration:  I no longer had any bullets. This splinter worked its way deeper and deeper into my skin to the point where it was festering and feverish.  Each time I wanted a well-considered list, I had NOTHING.  As I consider bullets are essential elements for a pleasant viewing experience, losing bullets was like losing part of the alphabet--it impaired my writing.  Time to get that splinter out, and clean up the festering.  (Sorry for such a nasty metaphor, but it is how I felt).

With the July 4th  holiday, I had a bit of time to chew on why I have no bullets (a grave loss) or other formatting on my much-beloved lists, I hunkered down today to revisit how I might modify my new blog style to include the bullets.  We are laying low this holiday.  A graduation party we were to attend was missing an essential element--a graduate--due to a work schedule.  That opened up our holiday to have some free time.  I had a long week, so here I am working on my blog design to eliminate this frustration.They show on the Blogger "compose", but not on the preview.

I don't know CSS very well-- enough to hack away.  The admonition with any such hacking is to back up your template.  I did.  And I was glad for it!

I found this nifty list style at http://codeitdown.com/ordered-list-css-styles/   Yes, I made a few modifications to the weight and line height, etc. But I did it for harmonization (at least to my eye).

I elected to to use the simple list for my ordered list.  It has been a while since I have worked with CSS.  I can hardly understand all of the 2500 lines of code on my template. Much of this is for cross platform browsing. However, I knew enough to look for the ol tag.  I did several experiments, the last of which totally crashed my site.  Thank goodness for the back up template.

1. never 'tinker' without having a back up
2. if it can crash it will
1. test
3. as you can see, I'm simply doing a list demo with some practical advice 
4. I need to fix some ordering/number, but not for today.

• For now
• I'm happy to get 
• bullets back
• and interesting numbering schema

I've now removed the big objection that I had with this template. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the way this works.

Next housekeeping item is to fix my menu and link to stuff that I find interesting.  Reminder: creating your own blog is a great way to organize your on-line life.  You can keep it private, and have it solely for your personal use, or that for other invitees.  I've been blogging now since 10/2006.  I frequently go to my blog to figure out what happened when.  As well as to find recipes, links, quotes, etc.

I completed my housekeeping for now. I realized that there was no date posting--just the time of the post.  Geez...with all of the lines of code, I had to hunt and peck through it to figure out how to get a date up.  Further,  I updated my links in my menu.  See the glyph?  Click on that for my super-nifty drop down menu.  As you can see from my "menu". 

I have an interest in a great many things.  I hope that you find these resources informative.

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Boating Menu

Yesterday we invited some friends to boat with us on the beautiful Chickahominy River.  The day could not have been ordered better.  Lots of sun, enough wind to be comfortable without making the water too choppy.  In addition to wanting to get together with friends, we were also reciprocating hospitality that we had received.

K made a special libation for the trip:  Chickahominy Breeze:  Cranberry juice, coconut rum and pineapple juice--served in a giant sippy cup.  You cannot beat a Turvis Tumbler with a straw to provide safe delivery of your beverage of choice to your mouth.

While we have been boating for many, many years, we don't entertain on the boat.  I wanted to do something special, but appropriate for our circumstance (size of boat etc).  It's a 21 ft 1988 Century 3500 Sport LX.  It's a great boat to have folks on.  Six adults is a comfortable seating--because with boating, everyone needs a bag and a cooler, etc.  Any more and it is too crowded. Here are some bullet point logistics that worked well for us.  Your mileage may vary.

In my usual fashion, I spent some time researching ideas. Surprisingly, I didn't find a great deal of combination menus for a boat outing. So this post is my contribution to the blogosphere on a fantastic scalable lunch outing.

Objective:  To have a flavorful menu that doesn't (1)  kill your guests or (2) gets soggy. (click here to get some tips from Rubbermaid on how to optimize your cooler's job.). 

First, some packing tips (these are my tips, not expert tips, but it worked for me!)  Separate like kinds.  For non-perishable foodstuffs (bread, brownies, chips)  put them in a cooler bag.  It's a boat, and any temperature constancy and protection from splashing is important to consider. A cooler bag will keep condensation out of your baked goods and offer protection from the water splashing in from outside the boat or from drippy people emerging from the water.

• For perishables, I used both a regular Igloo Cooler and another California Innovation  bag.  I like the bag because it can be stuffed out of the way, and I think that they perform well for the time period that I need <8 hours.
• To keep perishables from getting soggy in your cooler of choice, consider using the space-saver bags (due to larger sizes) to separate your food stuff from the surrounding ice.  The bags come in many sizes, and they are stronger and larger than regular Zipoc bags.  (I use these when brining my turkey! to keep the brining liquid undiluted from the ice).  If you have a value pack, of these, there are several sizes.  Simply choose the size that with your food containers and meat/cheese containers and pack them in. Zip it up.  Put it in the cooler.
• To support your hard working bag ice, consider freezing bottles of water.  Their cylinder shape makes them easy to slip here and there.  Also, using an "Ice mat" like aThermos one  on the bottom of your cooler/cooler bag, allows your perishables to sit on a mat that is already freezing. (Yes, I know that cool travels down, but often one's bag is sitting on another thermal dynamic surface where heat travels up. Protect against this!) You could also make your own ice walls  if you own a vacuum system and fill the bags with water and seal allowing for expansion.

For our trip I opted for the following menu  (Click here if you want a link to the recipes I used.):

1. Roast beef sandwiches on onion rolls (BJ's Bakery). (See recipe pdf and comments below--the dijon, horseradish dressing is wonderful, and I also used it on the sandwich below)
2. Italian meats ( BJ's Daniele Italian combo which was 8-Oz. Presliced Gourmet Variety Pack (Hot Calabrese, Pepper Salame, Hot Capocollo and Provolone Cheese) on Chiabatta Rolls (BJ's Bakery)  Rolls dressed with Tasso's Roasted Pepper and cheese spread on side 1 and the dijon horseradish on side 2.
3. Romain hearts (separated and washed and packed into a ziploc gallon bag) to dress the sandwiches or to nestle the shrimp and mango salad for those looking for less carbs.
4. Claussen Pickles (out of the jar and into a baggie for lightening up the load!)
5. Shrimp and mango salad (see recipe pdf)
6. Bacon potato salad (with potatoes from our garden)
7. Robert's ultimate brownies (see recipe pdf)  (The Chickahominy Breeze affected me so much, I didn't quite remember to serve these!)

Sturdy Chinet plates, sturdy plastic spoons, forks, knives and colorful napkins make for a stable consumption environment that can then be discarded into the garbage bag.

There was a period of deluded consideration of  making the sandwich rolls.  Thank goodness I abandoned that idea!  The onion rolls and ciabatta rolls were sturdy and delicious, so go for structure (for travel and eating)  such as these hearty rolls.I did buy and roast an eye of round (for $20) v. the $75 tenderloin in Ina G's recipe.  Here are my cook's notes on the eye of round:

I slathed with olive oil, salt, more salt and garlic powder, pepper. Further I slit the roast with sharp knife and inserted garlic cloves.  Roasted a 5.5 lb roast for 25 minutes at 500 (It was recommended 5 minutes/lb).  Stopped oven and took it out in 1 hour.  I saw many other recipes that called for a longer oven-dwelling time after the 500 degree roast.  I used a my temp probe.  If it had stayed in any longer, I would have had a 5.5lb lump of junk.  I'm of the opinion that as the roast is almost a perfect cylinder no matter what the poundage, that whether it is a 3lb roast or a 5lb roast, that the upfront roasting time SHOULD NOT BE BASED ON LBS.  I would have roasted for 10 minutes less (15 v. 25), and turned the oven back.  Nevertheless I never cook anything in the oven without my probe.  So the meat was rescued.  I tented it.  It rested. Cool meat slices easier.  So best to put in fridge.  I did not, but my knife was razor sharp and I sliced this roast into the thinest of slices.  (Almost shaved).  I put it in a container with the juices that rendered when slicing.  The meat was tender, moist and delicious--and almost 1/4th the cost of tenderloin. (Which is lost in a sandwich to my way of thinking).  The dijon horseradish sauce is quite good, and I also put it on .....

When I told my guests of their choices, all wanted 1/2 sandwich of both.  Sturdy rolls (onion / ciabatta) and a good bread knife made it easy to half each sandwich.

It was a wonderful day with friends.  Revitalizing and fun.

I hope this post gives some an idea or two to incorporate on their boating or other outdoor outing.

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EggCiting News

When my daughter got married, my sister and I (because I thought this a good idea at the time) were going to make deviled eggs for the dinner to accompany the wonderful Buzz and Ned's food that was served.

Given the task at hand, I followed Julia Child's method.  I had good luck with that method until that important day where I was making the most eggs (72 eggs for 144 halves).  Oldish eggs really are a boon to deviled egg making.  My eggs were store bought the day before.  Ugh.  (And you can check an egg for being inedible by seeing if it is a 'floater'.  Any egg that floats in your water should be discarded.  Best not to open it or you may never eat an egg again!)

I pricked the shells to let air out, I boiled and then covered, put in ice bath, returned to hot water--all of the steps that had led to great eggs....until that needful day.

Our peel failure rate was high and time was ticking!  About halfway through, we almost gave up.  The dogs were happy, because nothing is better than a failed peeled egg!

Despite our problems, we ended up with beautiful eggs, but....about halfway through, we almost jumped ship.

I stumbled upon this wonderful video from Food and Wine. (I'm hoping that it shows below). It's the greatest tip! Using a spoon to peel an egg.






Be sure to look at some of the other Mad Genius tips! (He also has one on grating frozen butter for biscuits, etc--I can happily say that I had my own mad genius moment on that some years ago!)

My mad genius tip to share? Use a potato ricer for the egg yolks.  Never used a potato ricer?  If you are a kitchen gadgeteer, it is a must for super creamy mashed potatoes.

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