Tag Archives: featured

The Nation Has An Appetite

Pepper Butter

17 Comments

If I make peanut butter, it should logically be called Pepper Butter, yes?

With that important matter taken care of, here's what you need to know: assuming you own a food processor, this is insanely easy and also delicious. Roasting the peanuts is key to getting fantastic flavor, and I love that you can tweak the amount of salt and honey to get exactly the flavor YOU like best.

Ingredients
15 ounces shelled and skinned raw peanuts
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread peanuts on a rimmed cookie sheet. Roast for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Place the peanuts, salt, and honey into the bowl of a food processor. Process for about 5 minutes. The mixture will look dry and rather dough-like for the first few minutes, but keep going. Eventually, like magic, it’ll liquefy. Scrape down sides of the food processor. Place the lid back on and continue to process while slowly drizzling in the oil and process for another minute or so. Taste and adjust salt, honey, or oil if needed. (A little extra oil helps if it’s not quite as smooth as you’d like.) In my first attempt, I added a little more honey and oil.

Place the peanut butter in an airtight container (I used a mason jar) and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

Adapted from here.

Parentgood

Father Knows Best – Not the Papa

6 Comments

So, eighteen months ago, one of the couples I am friends with had a child. I was 35 at the time, and while I had other friends who had children, this was the first couple in my closest group of friends to have a child. I suppose here is where I should maybe mention that he’s named after another friend and I.

J & I are child free by choice. J had never wanted children; I was petty ambivalent about it growing up. In 2010 I had a vasectomy, much to my mother’s chagrin. She assumed we would change our mind at some point I guess. I’d always told her, and continue to tell her, that we will be the cool aunt and uncle, but raising children just really isn’t for us.

In the last several months I have spent quite a bit of time with these friends and their boy, who I guess I will call Dub Z. Before he was born, my friends talked a lot about how they wanted us to be like uncles to Dub Z. I think I have hit that point in his eyes. His parents say he talks about me all the time when I am not there, and he gets real excited when I come to visit. I’ve grown pretty close to him and feel that we are good presences in each other’s lives. Even though I've never felt like fatherhood is something that I must do, I have to admit that watching him grow and change and bond with me is a really great feeling.

I've had two major realizations as a result of all this.

The first is that folks, like my mother, who wonder how or why J & I don't want kids, seem shocked that I am close with Dub Z. I don't really understand this line of thinking? Neither of us don't want children because we hate kids or something. I have pretty severe anxiety in groups of people, and being around children can definitely stress me out (they don't behave like adults so the same coping mechanisms I apply don't work!) but that doesn't mean I hate them. The things that I want out of life, personally, will be easier to obtain without children. I've been told by my mom (and others!) that this is selfish, but I think the truly selfish act would be having children that I am not fully prepared for. And I'm definitely not. But that doesn't mean that I can't go hang out with a kiddo and his parents and share my life with him a little bit. Honestly, the opportunity to instill a young boy with positive values is huge, and I want to take every advantage of that I can.

And that brings me to the second point. While spending this time with him is great, and I make every effort do so as often as I can, it has reinforced my belief that being a parent is not the right life for me. Raising kids is a ton of work! I'm pretty constantly in awe of the ways my friends have been able to adapt to parenthood. And I know that those types of adaptations are ones which I am not really capable of. For an example, Dub Z has recently started potty training, so my friends spent a lot of time checking in with him to make sure he doesn't need to poop or pee. I will literally sit at my desk until I'm in pain because I forget to go to the bathroom unless my body reminds me. I'm not sure I'd be a great teacher or example here!

With all that said, I think that our arrangement works out pretty well. I stop by basically every Saturday that I am home and we have low key hangouts together. We make a dinner plan as a group, and I try to bring over a treat for them. They get to have conversations with an adult, and they don't have to worry about me being weird or uncomfortable around Dub Z. It's not how I expected to be spending my weekends when I was younger, but it's pretty great.

Now that you've all read my ramblings, I'll ask you for a little bit of advice. I'd like to set aside a little money for Dub Z to use towards school when he graduates, and share my relative good fortune with him. I'm not super comfortable talking to his folks about it; I think they would appreciate it, but I also don't want to make them uncomfortable in some way. I also don't want to create some sort of tax burden or liability for them, especially if it impacts his ability to get financial aid. Bonds or something seem simplest but I'm open to any good ideas. I've got another 16 years to get things sorted, but I'd like to start sooner rather than later, and hopefully help get his adult life a solid start.

The Nation Has An Appetite

Instant-aneous Indian: Instant Pot Shrimp Biryani

9 Comments

Bonus Appetite post this month. I heard an interview with Urvashi Pitre ("The Butter Chicken Lady") recently and saw a recipe on the NYT for pressure cooker shrimp biryani that she swore would taste authentic and take mere minutes. She was right on both counts.
mis-en-place
Biryani on the stovetop takes a long time and a lot of prep. This version is quick and easy, once the (not so lot of) prep is done.
1. Soak 2 cups of your favorite long-grain rice for at least 30 minutes in water to cover by 2 inches or so. I used basmati, but jasmine would work well too. When you are ready to start sauteeing the veg, drain and rinse the rice and set aside.
2. Chop an onion
3. Finely chop about a tbsp of ginger and 3-5 cloves garlic
4. I wanted more veg than the recipe called for, so I cut a handful of green beans into 1-inch lengths and chunked a half of a yellow pepper and seeded/chopped a jalapeno (use a serrano for more bite). Even more veg would be good.
5. One small can of diced tomatoes, with juices.
6. Spices: a tsp of black mustard seeds plus 3-4 crushed green cardamom pods in one container. In another container: 1 tsp each turmeric, hot chile powder (such as cayenne; I used an Indian chile; use to taste if you don't like super spicey, although this amount did not make the dish hot, per the Mrs, who is not a chile head), smoked paprika, and granulated garlic, plus 1 tbsp kosher salt and ten fresh curry leaves, torn into small pieces (this is an optional, as curry leaves can be hard to find).
7. 1.5 cups boiling water.
8. Juice of a lime plus wedges for garnish
9. A half cup or so of chopped cilantro for garnish.
10. At least a dozen extra large or jumbo shrimp (I used 21-25s, which worked fine; bigger would be even better), peeled and deveined. At least 3-4 per serving. This amount of rice will easily serve 4-5 as a main course. Mine were frozen, so I had to thaw. They were very cold still when they went in, which probably helped them not over-cook.

Technique.
1. Put the Miracle Machine on "saute" to get hot, then add a nub of butter (I used about an ounce) and a tbsp or so of oil. When the oil is hot, add the cardamom and mustard seeds. Let sputter for a few seconds, stirring, then add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the veg and saute for a minute or so.
9. Add the ginger and garlic and stir for a few seconds.
10. Add the remaining spices and stir for a few seconds until fragrant.
11. Add the boiling water. Scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any fond.
12. Add the rice, shrimp and tomatoes. Stir briefly, then put the lid on. Set to manual, high pressure for THREE MINUTES. I actually added the rice, stirred in the tomatoes, then put the shrimp on top.
13. When the timer goes off, do a manual release (mine did not even release any steam!), remove lid and stir in the lime juice. Turn off the machine. Put the lid back on and let rest for five minutes.
14. Serve. You can stir in the cilantro or use it for garnish if you have some cilantro haters.
15. Enjoy.

Start to finish, this took about 30 minutes.
shrimp biryani

Book Club

September Book: The Maltese Falcon

36 Comments

The Maltese Falcon CoverFigured I had better get this post up since it's not that long of a book.

Good Reads Link
Amazon (Note that if you buy  the  kindle Canadian version, the price drops to $4, and if you are in Canada it is public domain)

Anyway, I'll start some threads for those who want to talk about chapters as they go along.

If you want to plan ahead for library reasons, we'll do Wintering by Peter Geye next month.

The Nation Has An Appetite

French Onion Soup, the easy(ish) way.

16 Comments

As I said last night I'm not really a soup kind of person. Though, now that I think about it I actually have become more of a soup person over the years. We make a green chili stew when it's not hotter'n the blazes - which here is like 2 months of the year - and I'll order pho over bun every day ... and we've been making this white bean and corn soup ... and we've been making crab and corn bisque ... I'm a soup guy? That doesn't line up with my self image. anywho ...

This is lifted from America's Test Kitchen

4lbs onion - yeah, seems like a lot ... it isn't
3 tbs butter cut into three slices
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 cups of water plus additional for deglazing
4 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of beef broth - I used better than broth - its my secret weapon for beefy magic flavor
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
crusty baguette
shredded gruyere

Method:
Cut onions in half through the roots, and slice pole to pole in 1/4 inch slices. Preheat oven to 400˚. Put onions into a well oiled dutch oven, top with butter and a 1/4 tsp salt. Put dutch oven in oven covered for an hour. (their method has you then take the pot out of the oven and stir the onions, replace the pot in the oven with the lid cracked for another 1.5 to 1.75 hours- I just cranked up the heat on the burner and stirred the onions to keep them from burning. You're looking for the liquid to evaporate and for the pot to run dry. When a dark crust begins to form on the bottom of the pan add a quarter cup of water to deglaze the pan. Continue to run the pot dry several times until the onions are dark brown - but not burnt! - and are beginning to break apart. the last time you deglaze the pot use the 1/2 cup of dry sherry and cook until the liquid evaporates. Add the water, stock beef broth (or better than broth), bay leaf, and thyme stir to combine, and then bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Slice the baguette into thick slices and bake dry in the oven - drying these out will improve the crunchy texture of the crust when they're submerged into the soup - once dry top with shredded gruyere and broil until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown on top. Serve in a deep bowl with cheesy bread dunked into the bowl.

This was phenomenal. The hardest part is standing over the pot making sure the onions don't burn.

Soccer

2018-19 EPL Prediction Contest

19 Comments

Looks like Mags isn't around to get this set up, so I'll throw this together and figure out how to do a spreadsheet later (or rely upon a spreadsheet maestro like DG or spooky).

Anyway, for your choices

AFC Bournemouth
Arsenal
Brighton & Hove Albion
Burnley
Cardiff City
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Huddersfield Town
Leicester City
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
Watford
West Ham United
Wolves

Comment with SPOILERS below and I'll get it all compiled. (Or maybe I'll outsource it.) You got till next Saturdayish to get it in.

Keeping Track

Where They Stand

Minnesota is 53-61, in second place in the AL Central, eleven games behind Cleveland.  The Twins are 5-5 in their last ten games.

Rochester is 52-63, in fifth place in the IL North, seventeen games behind Lehigh Valley.  The Red Wings are 5-5 in their last ten games.

Chattanooga is 56-59, 20-26 in the second half.  They are in fifth place in the SL North, 6.5 games behind Montgomery.  The Lookouts are 6-4 in their last ten games.

Fort Myers is 56-59, 28-19 in the second half.  They are in second place in the FSL South, 1.5 games behind Charlotte.  They are 8-2 in their last ten games.

Cedar Rapids is 62-54, 30-17 in the second half.  They are in first place in the ML Western, leading Peoria by a game.  They are 4-6 in their last ten games.

Elizabethton is 27-18, in first place in the AL West, leading Kingsport by four games.  They are 5-5 in their last ten games.

The GCL Twins are 25-19, in second place in the GCL South, two games behind the Red Sox.  They are 5-5 in their last ten games.

The DSL Twins are 40-19, in second place in the DSL South, one game behind the DSL Cardinals Blue.  They are 6-4 in their last ten games.

History

Maximum Times Scoring Some Runs

6 Comments

Inspired by Rhu_Ru's question in Saturday's game, I decided to look it up. An hour later and I have something to check every game from 1901 through 2017. I split up the analysis into two groups, one team and combined teams, and categorized that based on length of game: fewer than nine innings, nine innings, and extra innings. The nine inning games can be either the full nine innings or nine for the visitor and eight for the home team. Fewer than nine innings required both teams to play no more than eight innings while extra innings requires both teams to play at least ten.

Nine Innings

Minimum Runs Scored Times for One Team One Team Games Times for Both Teams Combined Team Games
1 9 4: BLF191507012 PHI192306010 CHN196409130 CHN199905050 14 12: PHA190105070 PHI192306010 PHI192307050 DET192704230 DET194007020 CHN197507060 CHN197605050 DET199505280 COL199606300 SEA199906120 COL200109240 CHA200707061
2 7 8: PHI192009140 NY1192409101 PHA193206030 KC1195504230 CHN195709021 CHN195908130 DET199604240 ATL199906130 11 3: PHI192009140 PHI192905181 PHA193206030
3 6 3: KC1195504230 CHN198708160 DET199604240 8 3: PHI192305110 PHI193009230 CHN198708160
4 4 30: CIN190106090 NY1191206050 BOS191607152 PHI192307130 PIT192506200 CHN193006230 PHI193505150 PHA193605240 BRO193607291 PHA193906281 CIN194006080 NY1194404301 BOS195006080 KC1195504230 BAL195508142 KC1196208190 TOR197806260 PHI198506110 SFN198807090 COL199305300 SEA199405200 COL199508180 COL199905190 SFN200409030 BAL200708221 SLN201008030 NYA201108250 BOS201508150 WAS201704300 KCA201707200 6 3: CIN190106090 PHI193009230 BOS201508150
5 4 3: PHA193605240 BOS195006080 BAL200708221 4 15: CIN190106090 NYA190707011 DET192007250 CHN192208250 PHI192307130 CHN193509140 PHA193605240 BOS195006080 CHN197508230 TOR199507290 NYA199804100 TEX200005050 COL200107210 CHA200109020 BAL200708221
6 3 2: CLE192807290 BAL200708221 4 1: CHN192208250
7 2 50: PHA190105020 CIN190109230 CIN190205130 NYA190407140 PHI191105110 CIN191106040 CHN192208250 SLN192506220 WS1192509192 CIN192509250 CLE192807290 PHI192907062 PHI193208010 SLA193605110 WS1193806120 PHA194007200 BOS194009270 BRO194307100 DET194606261 BRO194707030 BOS195006080 BOS195006100 BRO195006240 BSN195106300 SLN195306230 CIN195706010 MON197406110 DET197608082 CHN197705170 CHA198104231 PHI198506110 MON199010010 BOS199109080 MIN199304250 SEA199606280 CLE199905070 PHI199907030 ARI199908020 BOS200006190 OAK200009300 CHN200105050 MIN200306120 BAL200708221 COL200905250 CHA201006090 BOS201204210 TEX201205300 CHA201209040 NYN201209200 MIN201706130 3 3: PHI191105110 CHN192208250 WS1193806120
8 2 13: PHA190105020 NYA190407140 PHI191105110 CHN192208250 SLN192506220 CLE192807290 PHI192907062 BRO194307100 CHN197705170 OAK200009300 CHN200105050 BAL200708221 TEX201205300 3 1: CHN192208250
9 2 5: PHA190105020 CHN192208250 PHI192907062 BRO194307100 BAL200708221 2 8: PHA190105020 CHN192208250 PHI192907062 NY1193004290 NYA193306030 BRO194307100 TBA200607220 BAL200708221
10 2 3: CHN192208250 PHI192907062 BRO194307100 2 4: CHN192208250 PHI192907062 NYA193306030 BRO194307100

Eight or Fewer Innings

Minimum Runs Scored Times for One Team One Team Games Times for Both Teams Combined Team Games
1 7 4: NY1190708220 BRO191408152 DET192010012 PHA193606132 11 3: NY1190708220 BRO194208220 BOS196904160
2 6 2: DET190109150 PHA193606132 7 5: CHN190710020 BOS194105170 BRO194707041 CHA194708242 CHN195405022
3 4 12: NY1190109052 DET190109150 DET190205180 BRO191204110 CHA192309010 DET192707092 PHA193606132 PHA193908132 BOS194105170 PHI194307112 CHA194708242 BRO195208160 6 2: DET190205180 BOS194105170
4 4 1: DET190205180 6 1: DET190205180
5 3 2: DET190205180 PHA193908132 5 1: DET190205180
6 2 5: MLA190109070 PHI193405220 CHA193509292 NYA194008132 PIT195107042 2 8: MLA190109070 BOS191205292 CLE192507090 PHI193405220 CHA193509292 NYA194008132 PIT195107042 CHA197607200
7 2 3: MLA190109070 NYA194008132 PIT195107042 2 4: MLA190109070 NYA194008132 PIT195107042 CHA197607200
8 1 45: MLA190109070 CIN190208242 NYA190409020 SLN191204160 BOS191209260 CIN191410042 DET191605292 BRO191609150 BRO192209242 CLE192406280 PHI192409052 PHI192705140 WS1192908042 BSN193006012 PHA193408090 SLA193409222 CHA193509292 NYA193608282 BRO193809292 PHA194005302 BOS194008252 PIT194107272 BRO194507292 NY1194707010 NY1194707112 CHN194909040 CHN195405022 NYA195407070 CHN195608232 CLE195809090 CIN196608130 DET196906222 SLN197208020 TEX197605230 CIN198008180 CHA198309150 DET198309200 KCA198309240 BOS198908292 CHN199307180 BOS200406250 CLE200606210 SEA200709261 BOS200909120 CLE201109190 1 45: MLA190109070 CIN190208242 NYA190409020 SLN191204160 BOS191209260 CIN191410042 DET191605292 BRO191609150 BRO192209242 CLE192406280 PHI192409052 PHI192705140 WS1192908042 BSN193006012 PHA193408090 SLA193409222 CHA193509292 NYA193608282 BRO193809292 PHA194005302 BOS194008252 PIT194107272 BRO194507292 NY1194707010 NY1194707112 CHN194909040 CHN195405022 NYA195407070 CHN195608232 CLE195809090 CIN196608130 DET196906222 SLN197208020 TEX197605230 CIN198008180 CHA198309150 DET198309200 KCA198309240 BOS198908292 CHN199307180 BOS200406250 CLE200606210 SEA200709261 BOS200909120 CLE201109190
9 1 21: MLA190109070 CIN190208242 SLN191204160 DET191605292 BRO192209242 PHI192409052 BSN193006012 PHA193408090 SLA193409222 NYA193608282 PHA194005302 BOS194008252 BRO194507292 DET196906222 SLN197208020 TEX197605230 CHA198309150 DET198309200 KCA198309240 BOS198908292 CLE201109190 1 21: MLA190109070 CIN190208242 SLN191204160 DET191605292 BRO192209242 PHI192409052 BSN193006012 PHA193408090 SLA193409222 NYA193608282 PHA194005302 BOS194008252 BRO194507292 DET196906222 SLN197208020 TEX197605230 CHA198309150 DET198309200 KCA198309240 BOS198908292 CLE201109190
10 1 8: SLN191204160 BRO192209242 BSN193006012 SLA193409222 NYA193608282 BOS194008252 CHA198309150 DET198309200 1 8: SLN191204160 BRO192209242 BSN193006012 SLA193409222 NYA193608282 BOS194008252 CHA198309150 DET198309200

Extra Innings

Minimum Runs Scored Times for One Team One Team Games Times for Both Teams Combined Team Games
1 8 17: DET192009170 BSN192704180 PIT192906150 PHI193007232 CLE193207100 DET193307270 CHN193507220 NYA193807130 CHN197707280 CHN197809190 ATL198507040 OAK198907050 CLE199407200 CHN199509280 COL199709061 DET199809140 ATL200409120 15 6: PIT192906150 PHI193007232 CLE193207100 CHN193507220 ATL198507040 CHN199509280
2 6 2: BRO192206210 MIN197009290 11 1: BRO192206210
3 5 1: CHN197905170 8 1: CHN197905170
4 3 4: BSN192504180 DET193209091 CHN197905170 TEX198305140 5 3: BSN192504180 DET193209091 CHN197905170
5 2 35: NYA191908020 DET192009170 PHI192207250 BSN192306270 BSN192408091 PHI193009160 CHA193506140 PHI193707162 CHA193807281 BOS194604211 PHI194905081 PHA195208230 PHI195806012 SFN197005230 BOS197006210 BOS197006250 MIN197009290 CHA197206030 MIL197507272 CHN197604170 CLE197605180 CHN197905170 CHN197905170 KCA197905220 SLN198704180 SFN199304180 CAL199404150 TBA199804130 DET199809140 CLE199904172 COL199908131 COL199908131 KCA200209080 DET201009250 ATL201205020 4 2: CHN197905170 COL199908131
6 2 3: BSN192306270 CHN197905170 CHN197905170 4 1: CHN197905170
7 2 1: CHN197905170 3 1: CHN197905170
8 1 56: WS1190106100 BRO191009300 BSN191107060 SLN191306250 SLF191406160 BRO191905150 WS1192005200 NY1192208060 DET192305140 PIT192307230 DET192807261 PIT192906150 CLE193104280 PIT193307120 DET193308051 PHI193707162 BRO194005302 WS1194307230 DET194708200 PHI194708241 CHN194805160 DET194905030 DET195105010 PHA195305172 MLN195408291 DET195906290 CIN196606020 OAK196906210 CAL197007240 DET197008010 LAN197009230 CHA197206030 CHA197307082 NYA197608220 CHN197905170 CIN198005020 OAK198307030 MON198407240 NYA198706260 SEA199109230 COL199406282 PHI199505280 CLE199808280 MIL200005190 CHA200104060 CLE200108050 COL200206200 KCA200209080 TEX200405080 TEX200405080 KCA200608230 CIN200705250 BAL200908160 DET201206150 BOS201208230 SEA201508080 2 1: TEX200405080
9 1 17: BRO191905150 PIT192307230 DET192807261 DET193308051 DET194708200 PHI194708241 DET194905030 OAK196906210 LAN197009230 CHA197307082 OAK198307030 NYA198706260 COL199406282 PHI199505280 TEX200405080 KCA200608230 BAL200908160 1 17: BRO191905150 PIT192307230 DET192807261 DET193308051 DET194708200 PHI194708241 DET194905030 OAK196906210 LAN197009230 CHA197307082 OAK198307030 NYA198706260 COL199406282 PHI199505280 TEX200405080 KCA200608230 BAL200908160
10 1 7: BRO191905150 DET192807261 OAK196906210 OAK198307030 NYA198706260 TEX200405080 KCA200608230 1 7: BRO191905150 DET192807261 OAK196906210 OAK198307030 NYA198706260 TEX200405080 KCA200608230

I went above ten runs scored in an inning but it gets uninteresting quickly. While searching through games with higher number of runs scored in an inning I came across two games I found interesting in some way.

First, I believe this game has the most runs scored in a single inning in modern baseball.

Spoiler SelectShow

Second, the start of this game must have been extremely depressing for any Reds fans following the game.

Spoiler SelectShow