music review / boris - akuma no uta

Turns out Boris is Japanese for heavy rock.

Even though they’ve turned out 17 studio albums and even though my musical maturation included rock and punk during the early 1990’s I had never heard of them until just last month.  I’ve wasted a lot of time when I could have been deep into their brand experimental rock.  Boris is a three piece from Japan made up of drummer Atsuo, bassist/ guitarist Takeshi, and Wata on vocals and guitar.  The band gets their name from a song on the godfathers of sludge rock, the Melvins’ EP Bullhead.  They recorded their first album in 1996 on their own label Fangs Anal Satan.  The flavor of their sound is influenced by a mix of Nick Cave, Black Sabbath, Kyuss, and guitar by Billy Corgan back when he was good.  And the fact that they’re a three piece brings to mind the real southern sludge of early Weedeater.

Their fifth record, Akuma no Uta (The Devil’s Song), was released in 2003 and reissued in 2005.  It combines the best of their styles from heavy ‘70s rock, sludge, punk, drone, and psychedelic rock.  Get your headphones out, turn it up, and get lost.  The intro track is stoner ambient droning.  They quickly punk it up on Ibitsu and Furi.  Both tracks fly out and easily amp you right to their level.  I thought track 4  was an intro for the second half of the album.  The title track and Ano Onna no Onryou are straight headbangin sludge.   They groove it out and then speed it up over and again on the 9 plus minute Ano.  If you don’t know Japanese you can still make up your own words and sing along with the chorus and sonic effected  rock.

If you want to hear where they went from here check out their 2005 release Pink or their double album Attention Please and Heavy Rocks that comes out this month.  Boris is proof that nothing will ever replace that feeling you get from heavy, garage-style rock ‘n roll.

skillet tortillas and pollo picante

Real, fresh, true-to-their-origin foods have always held tight to a place in my heart. Unfortunately most restaurants these days sacrifice taste and authenticity in order to please the masses. Now, I don’t know about you, but I would prefer to save money and cook something at home that is closer to the real thing than go to an over-priced restaurant that’s pawning off an untraditional meal. 

With that being said, I have a question. Who doesn’t love tacos? Tacos are one of those foods where it’s difficult to have just one of them. I’m sure most of you get your tacos from Amigos, El Charolais (or some other El “insert Spanish word here”). All of which are very good restaurants but, even though they might claim, it they’re not exactly authentic. One beef that I have with these restaurants is the lack of thought and care that they give to these so-called tortillas they serve to their patrons. I have officially sworn off of those cardboard-in-a-bag, tasteless things they sell in stores. Even though corn tortillas can be made just as easily, Alan and I prefer the flour ones. With just a few ingredients, you’ll be on your way to eating tasty homemade tortillas! 

skillet tortillas.

makes 16

2-½ cups all-purpose flour
2-½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cups plus 2 tablespoons lard or shortening
1 cup hot water

I know you might not be too sure about buying lard, let alone even know where it is in the store. But trust me, you’ll find that it will give your tortillas and many other ethnic foods a fabulous taste and texture. If you’re lucky you can find it in your grocer’s butcher section or where other cooking fats and oils are sold. Many Hispanic markets sell lard as well, so just look around (check out the market at La Perla 3 if you’re in Johnson City). And trust me, the experience you’ll have cooking with lard should totally desensitize you from all the negative thoughts you might have towards innocent ol’ lard. 

So after you’ve combined all your dry ingredients together, you’re going to take your lard in pieces and cut it into the flour mixture until you create a grainy, cornmeal-like texture. 

You need to make sure your water is hot when adding it to your dough. Combine thoroughly and fold your dough into itself about 30 to 40 times until it’s not so sticky. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest for about 5 minutes.

Roll into ping-pong sized balls and allow to sit for an additional 20 minutes.

Roll each dough ball on a lightly floured surface. You can roll them out a little larger than your skillet because they will shrink up a bit while cooking.

Make sure to coat the bottom of your pan with olive oil before cooking. With your stove set on medium-high each side should take about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. You'll want the surface of your tortillas to be golden with touches of dark brown spots. Make sure not to over-cook them however; you still want them to be soft and pliable. Once they’re done cooking wrap in a tea towel to preserve softness and tin foil to keep in the heat.

pollo picante.

makes about 3 cups 

2 large bone-in chicken breasts
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of green chilies
1 can of salsa de jalapeno
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
pinch of kosher salt

For the filling I decided to do my pollo picante recipe, a filling that packs a little heat and lots of flavor. I prefer to use bone-in chicken breast when making foods that involve sauce or broth from the chicken because they tend to bring in more flavors to the dish. Two breasts will give you plenty with leftovers to spare.

Add the salsa de jalapeno, tomatoes, green chilies, garlic and spices to your chicken. Cover and cook for 25 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally until the chicken is cooked. Remove chicken, allow to cool and shred. Remember when shredding your chicken breast to make sure and remove any bones that might be hiding. Return meat to pot and simmer.

If you like the cheese found in your Mexican restaurants, have no fear, it can be had at home! Either in the local Hispanic market or your grocer’s gourmet cheese or dairy section you will find asadero, or queso oaxaca, the soft and creamy white cheese you’ve come to love. But if this cheese eludes you, a fresh mozzarella cheese can be a quick and easy substitute. Add some lettuce and salsa fresca to the mix and you’re on your way to a satisfied, stuffed belly.

If you’ve got a taste for spice I would suggest a chile verde hot sauce to pair with these tasty tacos. A fiery bite that’s just right.

Espero que les guste esta receta!

music review - joe fletcher and the wrong reasons

Unless you’re from the icy nether-regions of Providence, RI you’ve probably never heard of Joe Fletcher and the Wrong Reasons. But thanks to parttime Johnson City resident and fulltime drinking partner Chris Owens, I got the chance to hear them on a Sunday night in April at the Acoustic Coffee House as their road trip detoured into Northeast Tennessee on its way south. The 4-piece was made up by front-man and songwriter Joe Fletcher, Damian Puerini, Scott Boutier, with the recent addition of Chris on mandolin and fiddle. The night featured songs off their 2010 record White Lighter along with some newer material worked in – and I was lucky to be there.

Plaid shirt wearin’, whiskey drinkin’, alt-country songs kept the beers flowing in my glass and in my mind. These tunes had road-trips listening to Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown in them with enough rock-a-billy riffs to make me think Social Distortion. The opening song, Say What you Will, set the tone for the night. As Fletcher sang “I’ve seen everything I’ve set out to see” I was already anticipating hearing about it. Ambulances and Flat Tire were drivin’ Dylan poetry songs complete with harmonica, regret and lonesome wit. They slowed the tempo and twanged it out in an ode to mistakes and where those mistakes can take us on The Drowsy Surgeon. My favorite song of the night was Drunk and Single. Fletcher introduced it in a dedication to George Jones. Upbeat and full of sweet irony for the self-aware man, I’m not sure it was suppose to be a funny song but it made me laugh.

It was good for me to see my friend even if it was only a short stop over for him. There was talk of the band being back in town this summer – and if so, you shouldn’t miss them. You can check out their music and schedule on Facebook. But the real highlight of the night was that our 3 month old daughter Phoebe, went with me and Hannah…so she’s been to her first show…maybe she’ll take me to one someday.

-cheers, alan

kitchen basics. (pantry–baked goods)

So I thought it would be timely to touch on a few essential for anyone trying to find success in the kitchen. No matter what you’re cooking in the kitchen there are some ingredients you just can’t live without.

for baking breads, rolls, biscuits, pastries, etc.


essential:

all-purpose flour
yeast
white sugar
kosher salt


Flour. It’s a must-have in any kitchen. Use it to make bread, cakes, cookies, thicken soups, gravies – the possibilities are endless.

If you want your bread to rise you’ve got to have yeast. Rule of thumb: less yeast + more rise time = mature, flavorful breads.

Sugar; earth's natural sweetener. So versatile and simple you can add some to just about any recipe. It’s also acts as food to yeast – it helps your dough rise quicker and with breads it adds a a hint of sweetness to the finished product.



optional:

eggs
milk
butter
shortening
oats
corn meal
gluten
corn starch


Gluten is a protein found in and added to flour to give dough its elastic qualities, keep rising and shape uniform, and give bread-products a chewy texture. You can opt-out of this product and simply bake with all-purpose flour, or purchase bread flour. But you’ll see that your bread comes out lighter, chewier, crispier, and less ‘crumby’ if you add a powdered gluten to the mix.

Both eggs, butter, and milk can be used in bread recipes, making for a more moist bread. Whisk up an egg yolk with a dab of milk and you’ll have a nice egg wash to brush on a pre-oven/post-rising loaf of bread or on the tops of some yeast rolls.

You can transform any loaf of bread with a dusting of corn meal or rolled oats over a butter coated top.
Shortening is the key to producing light and flaky baked goods such as home-style biscuits, tarts, pie crusts and more.

A lot of pastry and desert recipes will often call for a tablespoon or two of corn starch. Corn starch produces a thicker pie crust and makes for more tender baked goods.




for other baked goods: cookies, cakes, muffins, etc.



essential:

pure vanilla extract
baking soda
baking powder
brown sugar
cocoa powder
peanut butter
vegetable oil
spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, cream of tartar, cardamon


In addition to the first essential list above, these ingredients are used most often in baked goods recipes. Without baking soda and baking powder you might find it difficult to get any of your cookies to hold their shape.
Allspice and clove are also excellent spices to keep stocked in your kitchen if you enjoy baking lots of cookies.
And peanut butter? Well I don’t think Alan would survive with out it so we’ve always got a jar on-hand. Try adding some to your next brownie recipe and see how it brightens up an old "goodie".






optional:

semi-sweet chocolate morsels
baker’s chocolate - unsweetened or semi-sweet
espresso powder
chopped nuts – pecans, walnuts, almonds
confectioner’s sugar
cream cheese
fruit – fresh: blueberries, strawberries, bananas / dried: raisins, cranberries, apricots
extracts and oils – almond, rum, peppermint, orange, rose, mint
shredded coconut
marshmallows
cold cereals
evaporated milk
corn syrup – light or dark
sweeteners – honey, agave nectar, molasses



Chocolate chips can be added to cookies or bars and baker’s chocolate can be melted down for frosting or grated down to add a nice garnish to a cake.

Blueberry muffins wouldn’t be blueberry muffins without, what? Blueberries. Banana nut bread wouldn’t be…well… you get the picture.
Cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar can be used to make icings, frosting, fillings, etc.






The recipes I'll be posting here will include many of the ingredients I've listed and if you keep your kitchen stocked you should have no problem making anything your (sweet) heart desires!

happy earth day!

In honor of this fine holiday I’m going to give you a tour of everything we’re cultivating here at our home.

It was a lovely spring day here and today loudly shouted “April showers bring May flowers”. The rain was light yet lovely and it also helped me check a chore off my list – watering all the plants!

You will definitely notice when visiting our house that Alan loves potted plants, especially the tropical ones. We’ve got bamboo plants everywhere!

As I said before, I love using fresh herbs when cooking and one way to guarantee freshness is to grow them yourself! I started my potted herb garden in early March, but you can really start them at any time of year, as long as you bring them indoors when it’s chilly. All you need to start are a few terra-cotta pots and some good potting soil. If using a larger pot you can have two plants share the same pot as long as they both enjoy the same amount of water; basil and parsley are water-lovers, when on the other hand, rosemary, sage, and oregano all prefer a bit less H2O.

This spring I’ve chosen to grow some cilantro, basil, parsley, and rosemary. They’re all very low maintenance and with just a little attention, water, and plenty of sunlight you can grow some beautiful herbs.

In the backyard, Alan and I are starting our annual Spring/Summer projects. We’re breathing new life into our 10+ year old outdoor furniture by painting on a fresh coat of wood stain. We’ll also be treating and staining the porch and laying down some paving bricks in front of our shed to prevent some unsightly flooding.

Out back we’ve got two raised box gardens where we're growing some of the ingredients that I’m constantly using in the kitchen. Here are a few of the plants we have sewn so far:

Alan and I love finding a little spice in our foods so we’ve got some mild, yet sweet banana and red peppers as well as some jalapenos planted.

Since we both love salads and sandwiches we decided to seed some spinach and lettuce along with our young mesclun plants.

Tomatoes. Gotta have em. And we’ve got plenty. We made sure to plant some marigolds next to our tomatoes to keep away the pests. Also, one great way to keep them growing well is to prune the bottom of the plants so they grow big and healthy.

Onions and garlic are a necessity for me, so we’ve got some of those sprouting as well.

We've also got some carrots and sunflowers down in the soil waiting to sprout. The blueberry and strawberry bushes are taking their sweet little time. We also plan on trying out some potatoes and corn soon, but we need to do some tilling first.

I’ll make sure to keep you posted on how our plants are doing and we wish you happy gardening and the best of luck with your own cultivations!

the most important meal of the day (two).

When I started cooking breakfast this morning, I got this text from my sister, Amber...

"I'm comin' over. What are you making me to eat???"

How did she know? Well, I guess she knows me too well to know that I've always got something going on in the kitchen. I told her 'of course' and to come on by. I'm always down to cook for company. Since these they are always fun to make for people, I decided to make a simple parfait to start off. As long as there's some great fresh fruit, granola and a good yogurt involved, I'm all for it. This time I've added a little something extra.... Some agave nectar! This stuff is fantastic as a substitute for sugar or honey and it’s always a treat to find some in your parfait.

 

 

The granola I’m using is Udi’s Au Naturel, a whole grain oat caramelized with some wildflower honey. Delicious? Yes. And it’s got a great crunch and a simple flavor that pairs fabulously with some strawberry yogurt. When it comes to yogurt, any will do, but I prefer to use an organic yogurt and something of Grecian decent. Greek yogurts have a great flavor and solid texture which makes it work wonders in a parfait..

And here come’s Amber, just in time!

springtime parfait.

3 ripened strawberries
4-6 oz. strawberry Greek yogurt (preferably organic)
1/4 cup granola
about 1/2 tbsp of agave nectar

 

First, slice your strawberry. Slice 'em anyway you like!

Once they're sliced, just layer your ingredients; agave nectar, granola, yogurt, strawberries. That’s it.

That's why I just love parfaits. They're so simple, yet you can do just about anything with them. You can make your own granola to add to them, use a variety of different yogurts and fruits. It's easy to please the pickiest of eaters with this easy treat.


With that being said, let’s see what Amber thinks of it.

Now that she seems satisfied for the time being, what else might satisfy her hunger? 

Omelets, perhaps?

I actually learned how to make these things when working at the Mid City Grill, here in Johnson City, TN. It's a late-night joint that serves up some delicious foods like biscuits and gravy, omelettes, tofu sandwiches, burgers, and GREAT hummus. When working there, I had a few loyal customers who would give me free-range to make them whatever I was feeling that night. A ticket would come in that said "Sam Omelette". So by the time this became a routine thing, I began to learn what flavors meshed well together in an omelette other than your typical meat and cheese.

So this morning, we are actually going to use a filling that is from some homemade raviolis I made earlier this week (this filling is also great spread on some toasted bread if you feeling a bit like snacking).

italian sausage and spinach ripieno.

makes about 3 cups

2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
2 large white mushroom caps
8 oz. of ground italian sausage
4 oz. goat cheese
8 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese
1/4 cup of grated parmesean
1/4 cup shredded italian cheese (asiago, romano, or blends)
1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1 garlic clove
pinch of salt and white pepper
olive oil
*a good conversion method when it comes to fresh herbs - 1 tbsp. of fresh herbs = 1 tsp of dried herbs

Put your cheese in a large mixing bowl and allow to reach room temperature so that it is easier to mix. If they are not soft enough when it comes mixing time, just stick in the microwave for about 45 seconds or until malleable. Clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth (do not completely soak mushrooms; they will be come water-logged). Dice and set to side. Finely chop garlic clove and set aside with mushrooms. The best way I've found to skin a clove of garlic is to lay the clove flat and place the flat side of your knife on it, then with the heal of your palm quickly hit the knife, causing an easy break up of the skin and also a softer clove to more easily chop..

Place spinach in a medium saucepan and fill with water until covered. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle in some olive oil. On medium heat, cook spinach until wilted. Drain water and squeeze the excess water from the spinach and chop. Set aside.

Drizzle a medium sauté pan with olive oil and heat to medium-high. Throw in the herbs and the chopped mushrooms and garlic you had put to the side. Cook for about 2 minutes then add your 8 oz. of ground italian sausage. Cook until browned, drain and allow to cool. Place in the large mixing bowl containing your cheeses. Incorporate your spinach to the mixture and combine until you achieve a uniform mixture.

Finito! That's it!



Now that we have the filling finished, we're ready to start making our omelet.

 

omelet fresco.

3 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 oz. italian sausage and spinach ripieno
half of a roma tomato
pinch of salt and white pepper
olive oil

Chop your roma tomato and set to the side. Heat your portion of ripieno in the microwave for about 45 seconds.

 

Break three eggs into a bowl with your cream and whisk together with some white pepper. Don't add the salt to the raw mixture, though; it begins breaking down the eggs. I would suggest using three eggs, but if you are looking for something a little lighter, you can always use just two. But if you decide to do that, you'll also need to lessen the amount of cream you use as well. You see, the key to a great fluffy omelet is to use high heat to cook it quick and low amounts of liquids so that the egg is able to cook up nice and airy.

The sauté pan that you'll want to use is going to be about 8 to 9 inches in diameter and have a non-stick or high polish finish. If you choose the high polish, no non-stick pan, you might want to season your pan. However, either will be fine. Have your sauté pan on medium-high heat with about 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp of olive oil to coat the pan completely, but not have too much resting on the bottom. Now, once the oil becomes thinner, it's time to pour in the eggs. 

Now here comes the tricky part. You need to make sure to keep the eggs moving, first by slightly scrambling them in the center. After a few seconds, you will see that the edges are starting to cook up. Pull them towards the center of the pan, as to let the runny parts of the egg refill the space, cooking up the edges again. You’ll want the bottom of your eggs to look slightly golden while you are able to life them cleanly off the pan. Once that is achieved it’s time to broil! Hold your pan up to the coils, and allow to cook for about 45 seconds, or until no longer runny. It's good to have the eggs a little al dente on top, so make sure not to overcook.

You should be able to slide the eggs right off into the plate!

Now, add your fillings...

Fold it up..

And voila!

Amber and I put some Sriracha hot sauce on the side with our omelet which made for a delicious combo. If you’re a hot sauce fanatic like I am, I would suggest making this stuff a staple in your kitchen. You can find this Japanese hot sauce in just about any grocery or specialty store.

So, this being Amber's first time having one of my omelets, I was curious about what she thought.

And the end result?

I think the plate says it all.