Richard of Gloucester
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Richard of Gloucester" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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01:52 pm
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I believe I can fry...I believe I can cook the sky...
--one dozen jalepenos, de-stemmed, de-seeded, and sliced in half length wise
--one bowl of cheese mixture containing mozzarella, fontina, gorgonzola, and parmesean with chopped green onion and sun-dried tomato bits
--one bowl of egg
--one bowl of all-purpose flour
--one bowl of breadcrumbs seasoned Italian
--one deep-fryer with vegetable oil
press a small handful of the cheese mixture (a lump about the size of a gumball) into an oblong shape and place inside one of the jalepeno halves. Repeat until all jalepenos are filled.
take the first one and roll it lightly in flour, then dip it in egg coating generously, then roll it in breadcrumbs. place on a cookie sheet. Repeat until all jalepenos are thus processed.
chill for 15 minutes in fridge. ...On second thought, you chill for fifteen minutes at your computer, and chill the jalepenos for fifteen minutes in the fridge.
turn on the fryer and heat the oil. when it is hot, dunk the first batch for three minutes. drain, and overturn onto a plate. Repeat until all jalepenos are cooked.
Recipe: A- The Reginelli's cheese mix really was meant to be for pizza, but it's still damn good in other stuff. I did get a couple of jalepenos that were hotter than the rest.
Hardware: A+ Emeril's makes a fine deep fryer. The lid fits nicely, and prevents scary popping. It also aparently filters and stores its own oil automatically, but that's still three hours off since it has to cool.
The breading process: B+ There is apparently more art than science to the breading. I did read Alton Brown's advice, and so I could tell when I had done something wrong. However, I think it'll just take practice to get it right. Even so, the breading got done evenly, formed a good shell for the food, and tastes good, so it did work in spite of my inexperienced clumsiness.
The cooking process: B I orriginally set the temp at 370, which was way too hot for this food. I got lucky with the first batch, in that I put it in too early, so it wasn't quite that hot yet. The results were perfect. The second batch was overdone, and the third batch almost was, but I cut the time back to two minutes. Next time, I will set the temp at 320.
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10:46 am
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First attempt at deep frying:
Normally, when I embark upon a new cooking technique, I show proper respect for my pre-existing ignorance by trying a simple recipe by the book. That may be the advisable thing to do tomorrow, but it is not what I will do. Instead, I am going to gamble on my cooking instinct and leap right into the experiment headfirst--
--wow. That sounds so wrong when we talk about deep frying, doesn't it?
ANYWAY, here is what I intend to attempt tomorrow:
Jalepeno poppers stuffed with a mixture of mozarella, fontina, gorgonzola, and parmesean cheeses, with green onion and tomato, in a batter of flour, egg, and Italian breadcrumbs. I will be using canola vegetable oil, and an Emeril's deep fat fryer given to me by my mother. I will also need to purchase a sifter for the flour.
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11:38 am
[Link] | This weekend: Deep frying. I haven't decided what yet. Possibly Scotch eggs, possibly jalepeno poppers, possibly wontons, possibly something else yet. If you have a suggestion, by all means, post it.
Next weekend: Home canning and preserving. I know at least one recipe is going to involve all-beef kosher franks which I will pickle the hell out of.
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08:36 am
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Heading back to Dallas
tomorrow morning as early as possible. I will be staying until Tuesday morning.
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12:47 pm
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And also...
http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/10/26/lotto.optical.illusions/index.html
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09:37 am
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The Mighty Quinn, Part One
( Come all without, come all within... )
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08:13 am
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The House Blend
I have decided, given my recent and very successful experiments, to go ahead and declare chipotle, lime, garlic, cilantro, and onion to be the five basic ingredients of my house cooking. Kinda like how you have the "holy trinity" of cajun cooking (onion, bell pepper, and celery)? You can go almost anywhere with my house blend: taquitos, fish, shrimp, chicken, chicken sausage--this morning I did a quesadilla, by combining it with JP's unstoppable tortilla-frying technique and some jack cheese. I would imagine you could do it with salsas, picantes, fajitas, anything that is either mixed or pan-sautee'd. For some dishes, add some smoked spanish paprika, bell pepper, substitute some green onion in place of what you normally use, maybe even some cider vinegar.
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07:24 pm
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Family taquito recipe
I call this a family taquito recipe because it is very heavily influenced by my cousin-in-law's famous taquito recipe. Those familiar with his will notice many key ingredients and steps in common.
--corn tortillas
--butter (about two tbsp
--1 lb ground beef
--one bell pepper, chopped
--about five pearl onions, chopped*
--about ten cherry tomatoes, quartered*
--about four tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (I just snipped it off in the skillet until it looked right)
--1 Penzey's dried chipotle pepper, minced
--two small or one medium or large clove of garlic, pressed
--about 1 to 1 and a half tbsp smoked spanish paprika
--1 lime
--half a wheel of cotija cheese
--about a teaspoon of salt
brown the meat with all the seasonings and veggies except the lime and the butter.
add the cheese, mix in well. It won't truly melt-I think I got the wrong kind. I was trying to remember what JP used, and took a guess. Even so, the results were good.
juice the lime into the meat mixture and stir/mix well. turn off heat or reduce to low to keep warm.
melt the butter in a second, smaller skillet. drop in one tortilla, cook until desired doneness.
put the tortilla on a plate, fill with meat mixture. repeat process until desired portions reached.
*Since I only cook for myself most days, I find myself wasting portions of celery, onion, etc because I can only get them in units about twice to four times the size I need. I can't really fix that for celery, but I fix that for onion and tomato by buying the packages of the little tiny ones instead of one whole one, since that way I can measure out only what I need that night.
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11:13 am
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Best homemade ramen broth I've ever had
--2 1/2 cups of water
--handful of rice noodles
--about 1 1/2 tbsp beef base. doesn't have to be exact.
--1 clove of garlic, peeled but whole
--just a hint of ground ginger, maybe a quarter teaspoon at most
--about two tbsp leftover fresh cilantro
--maybe two tbsp leftover onion (I'd have preferred to use fresh green onion, chopped, but I was using what I had)
--about a teaspoon of soy sauce
--salt and pepper to taste
--half a lime
combine all ingredients except the lime and the rice noodles, boil about ten minutes
add rice noodles, cook until limp
pour the whole thing into a bowl
juice the lime into the bowl
eat
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08:53 am
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news on Carrie
I'm having trouble posting on Facebook, as is, so I'll post here and hope my facebook RSS-feed actually picks it up like it's supposed to. It's been somewhat hit and miss along with my connection.
Anyway, she got moved out of CCU and is now in her own private room. I was over at Mom and Jim's when the news came down, and I got the email from Rebecca this morning. She's on the mend, on the move, and now the family will be taking a more direct role in her PT and OT.
So yeah. Absolutely phenomenal. "Doot doooooo dee doo-doo!" Oh fer cryin' out loud--get them outta here! Friggin' muppets. Nothing is sacred these days. It's abominable. "Doot doo-dee doot!" GAHHH! Stop it!
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08:46 am
[Link] | http://www.theonion.com/content/news/legion_of_terra_cotta_mouseketeers?utm_source=c-section
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08:26 am
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How to write a good horroscope column:
Step 1: Know your readers. For example, if you're writing for a newspaper, most of your readers (like, 90-95%) are Graves level 5, going into 6, with less than ideal 2 to 3 in their past. If you can also narrow down a good age range, even better, because then you can take a guess at common life events that shaped them.
Step 2: Compose a list of about a hundred traits shared by 90-95% of the people who fit the description above. It's okay to be a little hit-and-miss, because, statistically, you'll be right more often than not. Basic human traits are solid gold, like "emotionally driven." Here's a hint: everyone acts on emotion, whether they admit it or not. Siimilarly, it's okay to include converses, like "logical thinker." We're Human and sentient, basic logic is our bread and butter, and we all like to think we're good at it, whether we use it like a rapier or a club.
Step 3: Divide the traits above among the 12 zodiac signs. It's okay to repeat a few--for example, "emotionally sensitive" appears in Libra, Cancer, and Aquarius that I know of. Be sure to include some negative and potentially negative traits in each, for authenticity.
Step 4: When writing the horroscope for the appropriate zodiac sign, pander to the good traits, and occasionally warn the reader about the bad ones. Stick to vague, common-sense statements like "Tread carefully with your obligations this week," and "This is not the time to waste your energy."
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10:40 am
[Link] | "Once I had a theory, made it work,
made it work all the time
once I had a theory
then it broke.
Brother, can you paradigm?..."
( ODD SITUATION SURVIVAL )
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01:52 pm
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All quiet on the western front
Carrie is having some really good days. She sat up in the chair for two hours watching cartoons with me. Spirits are high all around, Carrie's progress is phenomenal. ("doot dooooo de-doo-doo!") *blinks* Phenomenal. ("doot doo-dee-doo!")
...
...Phenomenal. "doot doooo dee-doo-doo, dee-doo-doo, dee-doo-doo, dee-doo-doo, dee-doodle-doodle-doot-doot-doo-doo-doot!"
...
...Right then. ANYWAY, It's going very well here. I'm contemplating writing an "odd situation survival tips thing, and it's going to start with hospital waiting room camping. I should be returning on Saturday. Billy, I can't correct my absences entry on the wiki, but I will be late on Saturday, not absent. Ironically, the late will be because of the bojitsu class, not travel.
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07:11 am
[Link] | Change of plans. We're leaving tomorrow morning.
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10:46 am
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Here's the scoop:
I am going to Dallas Sunday morning. I don't know how long I will be there, but I will be coming back at the very latest before the first of the month, due to logistical constraints.
A big thank you to everyone who has been praying for Carrie, and please, keep it up. Wegener's is not a very forgiving disease, and baby steps are the best a person can do coming back from it. The process is very lengthy, and she still has a long road ahead of her. The good news is she is deffinitely on that road.
I will be out of contact beginning when I sign off around midnight Saturday the 19th. In an emergency situation, I can be reached by the store phone number, at least until my mother leaves. I will attempt to post as often as is reasonable or called for. Dannie, I'll try to get squared away on MT Friday.
Remaining to do:
--pack clothes and necessities
--obtain cash
--obtain travel foods
--pick up incidentals for mother
--last house-in-order cleaning of truck and apartment
--recharge iPod
--load up and go
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10:13 am
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Top ten signs you might be an action hero
10: Jerry Bruckheimer is following you around with a camera, in direct violation of the restraining order.
9: The last hostage situation you negotiated happened on Thursday at 7 PM, and lasted exactly an hour. And the one before that, and the one before that, and the one before that.
8: Message on your answering machine: "John Williams here. I need you to stop by and tell me what you think of the new piece I'm working on for you."
7: Jeez, you deliver one sardonic one-liner, and suddenly your face is a halloween mask...
6: You seem to have discovered the only pod of nazi alien Cthulhu-cultists left on earth.
5: Which seems kinda odd, since you dealt with the anarchist mutant war-machine robots from space last week. WTF?
4: Your auto-insurance has stopped covering you for explosions.
3: Message on your answering machine: "Yah, Ahnold herh. I was wondering if we could get togethah foh lattes and talk about how I am going to play you in thuh movie."
2: You're probably the only person on the planet who knows proper first aid for a rabid radioactive dinosaur bite.
1: "You expect me to give you this pizza for free after getting stuck in crosstown traffic at 5 pm on a Friday, when I'm already working overtime?" "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die." "Oh. ...no tip then?"
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01:38 pm
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And now,
In honor of the Disney buyout of Marvel Comics, it's time for another...
( ABSURD CELEBRITY THEATRE! )
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09:03 pm
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Heart of the Universe rough draft
I have a beta draft of Heart of the Universe ready for any volunteer readers. Just comment here or message me.
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10:01 am
[Link] | Was seriously delayed getting in last night, and had to hit the ground sprinting this morning. Details on my New Hampshire trip to follow when I get a breather.
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