All posts by brianS

The Nation Has An Appetite

Summer Salad Satisfaction

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In Friday's CoC, Greek(??) was calling for recipes to up his veggie intake. The specific context was Indian food, but I was determined to have burritos last night, so the Indian recipes will have to wait.

Instead, I'm offering a refreshing, crunchy salad/salsa, easy to make and perfect to accompany something On The Grill (ahem -- consider that a Batsignal, Banjo).

Cucumber-Corn Salad with Chile-Lime Dressing

1 can sweet corn (or 2 ears fresh corn, preferably roasted, and stripped) 1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and chopped 1 avocado, diced
1 tbsp chopped cilantro, with stems chile-lime vinaigrette to taste

for the dressing:
1 tsp ground chile (New Mexico or California, or paprika can substitute, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne
a big pinch of kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper

1-2 cloves of garlic, smushed into a paste, 1 tbsp honey
juice of 1/2 lime plus grated lime zest, extra virgin olive oil

gently heat the chile, salt and pepper to "bloom" the essential oils (a quick zap in the microwave, or heat briefly in a small frying pan). Put into a small mixing bowl and combine with honey, then the garlic and lime. Whisk in olive oil until you've reached your desired consistency (about 1/3 cup of oil). Check for seasoning. If it needs more acidity, add a few drops of red wine vinegar or more lime juice.

gently combine all vegetables and dress with the viniagrette. Mix in the cilantro and serve. This works as a salad or salsa. Great accompaniment to grilled chicken, ribs, pork, fish, black beans...beer and chips.

2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 59: Senators at Naps

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The Arizona Diamondbacks are 13-4 since May 20, when they began a three-game sweep of our boys (and 18-5 back to May 14. I just wanted to point that out, because through April, the Snakes were 28th in MLB in FIP (just ahead of the Twins) and 26th in pitching WAR (the Twins were dead last). Now Arizona is in the hunt in the NL West, a half-game back of SF, thanks to much improved pitching (they were middle-of-the-pack in FIP, xFIP and pitching WAR in May).

The Twins ride into Cleveland on the wings of a four-game sweep of the Landed Gentlemen. Not exactly the 1927 Yankees there, but a feel-good weekend nonetheless. But if the Twins are going to make a move, now is the time to get it started, with a series win against the surprise division leaders.

Pitching matchup:

Scott Baker (3.86 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 3.65 xFIP, 66:23 K:BB, 10 HR in 67 2/3)
Josh Tomlin (3.27 ERA, 4.33 FIP, 3.86 xFIP, 41:11 K:BB, 11 HR in 71 2/3)

Tomlin, a righty, has been riding the tiger in Cleveland. He's 7-2, thanks in significant part to best-in-the-majors run support (7.91 r/g), a .213 BAA and unsustainable .213 BABIP, despite not missing very many bats and having given up HRs at the same pace as our boy Scotty. He throws a pedestrian 2-seam fastball, cutter, curve and changeup and recently has been compared unfavorably to Phil Humber. If only we had some healthy, left-handed sluggers to put in the lineup against this Cinderella Story.... Go, Red Wings Rock Cats!!!111one111!!!

First Monday Book Day

First Monday Book Day: The age of recycling

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The oldest trick in the literary book is to re-write somebody else's story. And of course, it helps to steal from really good stories.

This month's selection, James Lovegrove's The Age of Odin, is the third in his non-trilogy threesome of godpunk/military scifi retellings of ancient mythological stories. Here, it is Ragnarök with M16s and RPGs.

I was suckered into purchasing this number by the back-cover blurb from The Guardian (actually about another of the three books), "The kind of complex, action-oriented SF Dan Brown would write if Dan Brown could write."

Seriously. I was so amused that the publisher (Solaris Books) had the balls to take such a swipe at another writer on the cover of the book that I gave this one a chance. Now that I have, I will offer my own version of the plug: "The kind of pulpy, shallow action-oriented SF that Neil Gaiman would write if he were 15."

Ok, that's a bit harsh. I found this book mildly entertaining, if derivative (some of the ideas appear to be lifted from -- err, homages to -- Gaiman's fantastic American Gods; in both, the protagonists meet up with more-than-he-seems-to-be old man after a car accident; Gaiman's kills the protagonist's wife; Lovegrove's kills his ex-army buddy; etc. etc.). Lovegrove isn't overly interested in developing either story or character, but he seems to be pretty good at writing blood-and-gore fight scenes. Pretty much the whole book is fight scenes.

This is beach reading, perfect for a teenage boy who has already seen Thor and X-Men: First Class, waiting eagerly for Green Lantern to open. Disposable, largely devoid of any effort to raise Big Ideas, and somewhat hampered by a rather clumsily done development of the bad guy (Loki) as a thinly veiled Sarah Palin. Oooh, so topical! But it reads quickly for its 585 pages. And, perhaps most importantly, it got me in the mood to start George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.
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2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 46: Mariners at Twins

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Another "tough weekend" in the rearview mirror.

Twins fans were a-twitter after a three-game run against Seattle and Oakland that seemed to signal that the end of the dark times was nigh, as predicted by the prophet Harold Camping. All those hopes foundered on the plain of Megiddo Maricopa, as the Righteous were denied three times by the serpents in the service of Kirk Gogson.

But the false prediction might not be so easily effaced from the lives of Twins followers. The L.A. Times writes that a 38-year-old tractor trailer driver took a road trip with his family to see the Twins before the world ended.

"With maxed-out credit cards and a growing mountain of bills, he said, some wins would have been a relief," the paper writes.

But he is not angry at Camping for his false prediction. "Worst-case scenario for me, I got to see Baker and Liriano outhit their catchers," he told the paper. "If I should be angry at anybody, it should be me."

An east coast fan, who spent $140,000 of his life savings to advertise the Twins resurrection in New York, said he was dumbfounded when life went on as usual Saturday.

"I do not understand why ...," he told Reuters while awaiting the event in Times Square. "I do not understand why they just can't seem to get it done. I thought Morneau was out of his slump and that Dusty Hughes would make all the difference."

Fortunately, life and the season go on.

Seattle comes in on a roll, having won five straight since the Twins bested F-Her.
Pitching matchup:

Jason Vargas (3.39 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 3.78 xFIP, 110 tRA+, 41:14 K:BB, 4 HR in 58 1/3)
Pavanostache (5.30 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 4.65 xFIP, 85 tRA+, 20:14 K:BB, 5 HR in 54 1/3)

also, THOME TONIGHT!!!!!1111one1111!!!! (thanks, socal)

The Nation Has An Appetite

Winner, Winner, Chickpea Dinner

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Afternoon baseball has a way of building an appetite while simultaneously sapping the will to invest the time and effort to make a complex meal. This dish tastes complex, but it's pretty simple to make, and takes only one pot (plus a pot for rice). The inspiration for this dish comes from here, here and here. It can be made with dried chana dal, but my kids actually prefer the quick version with canned chick peas (garbanzo beans).
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2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 39: Twins at Mariners

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Finally, the Twins get to pick on somebody their own size. The Worst Team in Baseball is 12-256; the Mariners, 16-23 and in last place in the A.L. West, percentage points "up" on the Bitch Sox for second worst record in the A.L.

Seattle returns home from an 0-4 East Coast (err, Bal'more and Cleveland) trip that ended with consecutive rainouts. So they should be well rested.

Pitching matchup

Scott Baker (3.71 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 3.76 xFIP, 97 tRA+, 40:15 K:BB in 43 2/3) vs.
Michael Pineda (2.84 ERA, 2.67 FIP, 3.31 xFIP, 145 tRA+, 45:13 K:BB in 44 1/3)

The 22-year old rookie right-hander Pineda has been very effective to date, echoing his minor league performance (2.49 ERA, 396:93 K:BB in 404 1/3). He's a fastball-slider guy and, according to PitchFx, Pineda has a VERY live fastball (avg 95.1 MPH), with the slider coming in at 84.7. A right-handed F-Bomb??

Oh, and in case that wasn't discouraging enough, here's some salt in your wounds from the Yahoo preview:

Minnesota outfielder Delmon Young(notes) went 1 for 12 with seven strikeouts against Toronto over the weekend in his return from rib soreness that sidelined him nearly a month. Young is a .227 lifetime hitter at Safeco Field with 18 strikeouts in 66 at-bats.

Enjoy some West Coast baseball, kids. I will be at the Girl's violin lesson for most of this one.

The Nation Has An Appetite

Comfort food — a plate o’ beans

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It's an off-day today. Which doesn't really distinguish today from most of the days of the past month, really, now does it?

As the parent of a vegetablearian daughter (nay -- a vegan daughter!!!111one111!!), I'm always on the lookout for simple, satisfying and repeatable dishes that I can make for the whole family. Today's contribution is drawn from the very essence of simple, satisfying, and repeatable: pinto beans.

Yea, I know. Gloppy refried beans on your tray on "Mexican food" days in school. Ugh. But I'm here to tell you that, properly made, pinto beans are sublime. And really easy to make.

My recipe has three steps to it: soaking, simmering, and finishing. While I add some minor bells and whistles, the approach is simplicity itself. Anyone can make a great bowl/plate of beans. And trust me, these are deliciously creamy and flavorful. You will question why anyone would ever buy canned refried beans after making these.
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2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 33: Twins at Sawks

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So, about that winning streak. It was nice, wasn't it? The last two games, not so much.

Tonight, Our Boys make an appearance on Monday Night Baseball on the 4ltr. I'm sure we are all excited to have the nation see our AAAA (AAA?) squad take the field. Will Cuddyer play shortstop?? Go team!

Game time: 6:10 p.m. Central.
Pitching matchup:
Nick Blackburn (4.41 ERA, 5.53 FIP, 4.47 xFIP, 6.18 tRA, 15:13 K:BB, 6 HR, 34 2/3 innings)
Josh Beckett (2.35 ERA, 3.14 FIP, 3.26 xFIP, 3.07 tRA, 35:12 K:BB, 3 HR, 38 1/3 innings)

On paper, this one does not look good. We get Blackie instead of F-Bomb, who has been suffering from "Flu-like symptoms." Mebbe next year, the team can set up a flu shot clinic, please?

Blackburn has been awful in three of his six starts so far, having given up five runs each on April 15 and April 20, then seven in 3 1/3 horrible innings at home on April 28. But there are glimmers of hope, as his other three starts have been quite good, including a solid 6 2/3 inning outing to beat the Bitch Sox on May 4. When things are going well, Blackburn is a league-average pitcher who doesn't miss many bats, but who generates a lot of ground balls. In his three good outings, he induced 35 ground balls against only 17 fly balls and 9 line drives. In his three bad outings -- 27:19:16.

For his part, Beckett has been good-not-great so far. I see some hope in that he gave up 7 fly balls and 3 walks in a rain-abbreviated 4 1/3 innings against LAAAAAA on May 4th in his last start, and got hit hard by the Orioles (4 runs on 2 HR, 10 fly balls and 5 LDs in 6 innings) the start before that.

Fenway Bandbox isn't the sort of place you want to be giving up a lot of fly balls in, so let's hope the Good Blackie shows his beard tonight, and Beckett pipes a few to the Dude and Mountie.

The Nation Has An Appetite

Chaat room: Pav Bhaji

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It has been mentioned once or twice that this site could use more food posts. Never let it be said that Management is unresponsive. And consider this an invitation to all with authoring privileges to contribute to this intermittent series, The Nation Has An Appetite. (If you don't have authoring privileges and have a burning desire to contribute posts, talk to the Milkman)

I recently purchased from my local grocer a handful of foil pouch packages of heat-and-serve Indian dishes, one of which I had for lunch last week at work -- Pav Bhaji, or Mashed Vegetable curry, by Kitchens of India. It was among the better $3 I've spent recently, because that stuff was delicious.

Still, I knew that I could probably make a whole vat of bhaji (the "pav" part refers to the bread that is the traditional accompaniment) for about the same price as this single serving. My mouth has been watering at the prospect for days.
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