Andrew

Turkey (or chicken) Vatapa

Food No Responses »
Jul 252010

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp peanut oil
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
  • 1 Cup water
  • 1 (28 ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 12-ounce can light beer
  • 1/4 cup unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
  • 3 Cups chopped, skinned turkey (or chicken)
  • 1/2 Cup light coconut milk
  • 1/2 Cup finely chopped parsley
  • 1/2 Cup finely chopped cilantro
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Steps:

  • Heat oil in a dutch oven (or a big pot)
  • Add onion and garlic, sauté 2 minutes
  • Add ginger and jalapeño sauté 30 seconds
  • Stir in water, tomatoes, and beer.  Bring to a boil and cover.
  • Reduce heat, simmer 20 minutes.
  • Place peanuts in spice grinder, grind until fine.  (you can substitute peanut butter too)
  • Add peanuts, meat, and coconut milk to pan.  Stir to combine.
  • Increase heat to medium, bring to simmer, cook 5 minutes.
  • Stir in parsley, cilantro, juice, salt, and black pepper.
  • Garnish with cilantro sprigs if desired.
Posted by Andrew at 6:50 pm

Caribbean Chicken

Food No Responses »
Jul 252010

Ingredients:

For the Rub:

  • 1 Tbsp curry powder
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground pepper

Mix these together to make a rub.

For the rest:

  • 1 3 pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces (or 8 chicken thighs or similar)
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 Onions finely chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 28 oz can ready-cut peeled tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 Cups chicken stock or canned broth
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onions
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
  • 3 cups water
  • 1/2/ cup chopped raisins (optional)

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 350
  • Rub the mix you made at the top onto the chicken.  Save 2 Tbsp of the rub for the rice later.
  • Dip chicken into flour, shake off excess.
  • Heat oil in large heavy skillet.
  • Add chicken and brown well, turning frequently.
  • Transfer chicken to paper towels and drain.
  • Ad 2 onions, bell peppers, garlic and cumin to skillet and sauté until onions brown a bit.
  • Mix in tomatoes, stock, green onions and 1/4 cup parsley.
  • Arrange chicken in large baking dish.  Pour sauce over chicken.
  • Bake until cooked through, about 35 minutes, or longer to tenderfy the chicken even more.

Grab a beer, then make rice…

  • Melt butter in heavy pan
  • Add rice and remaining 2  tsp of spice rub.  Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  • Add 3 cups water and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat until rice is done…blah blah blah…you know how to make rice….
  • Mix raisins into rice if you want (I don’t).
  • Spoon rice onto platter, top with chicken, devour.
Posted by Andrew at 6:12 pm

Moroccan Chicken

Food No Responses »
Jul 252010

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C currants of raisins
  • 1/4 C Dry Sherry
  • 3 Tbsp Butter
  • 2 Tbsp finely chopped Onion
  • 1 C Milk
  • 1 Med Apple
  • 3 T flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
  • 6 boneless chicken breasts

Steps:

  • Soak currants in sherry
  • Melt butter in heavy skillet (low)
  • Add onions – saute.
  • Add flour and curry
  • Whisk in milk
  • Bring to boil
  • Add currants and apple
  • Remove from heat
  • Salt to taste.
  • Put chicken in buttered pan, cover with sauce
  • Top with almonds
  • Bake @ 350 for about 30 minutes.
Posted by Andrew at 5:57 pm

Italian Country Chicken

Food No Responses »
Jul 252010

Simple to make, but tastes good!

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 pound boneless chicken, cut in strips
  • 1 1/2 6oz jars marinated artichoke hearts
  • One 7 oz jar roasted peppers
  • 1/2 Cup black olives
  • Salt, pepper, Parmesan
  • 3.4 pound Tri-color Fusilli

Steps:

  • Cook onion and garlic in oil until clear
  • Add chicken, cook about 5 min
  • Mix in Artichoke hearts, peppers (with liquid) and olives.  Heat through.
  • Season with salt and pepper.
  • Pour over pasta and serve with Parmesan.
Posted by Andrew at 5:33 pm

Chicken Curry

Food No Responses »
Jul 232010
Chicken Curry

Chicken Curry

From a reddit post, placed here so I can find it quickly later

INGREDIENTS Basmati rice or naan

Chicken, 1.5-2 lbs, preferably with bone

Onion, 1 red or 2 yellow, about fist sized

Potatoes, 5-6 medium ‘size B’ (red skin)

Tomatoes, 2-3 Roma (twice as much if out of season)

Garam masala

Bay, 1 or 2 leaves

Green or Black Cardamom, 3-5 seeds

Thai Chilies, 5 or 6 or chili powder (Cayenne, 90 KHU works ok)

Cinnamon, 1 large stick or 2 medium

Garlic to taste

Ginger root, fresh

Salt, kosher, 4 tsp

Turmeric, 1 tsp (be careful, it will stain everything)

PREP Slice onion, tomatoes, and potatoes. Onion should be smallest, somewhere between dicing and chunking. Tomato and potato approximately into twelfths or sixteenths. Grate a handful of ginger.

COOK

1. Heat a capful of oil until it is fluid but not popping/smoking.

2. Add cinnamon, bay, cardamom, and heat briefly. –Crack green cardamom before adding, add black cardamom as is. –If these begin to burn, just continue immediately to next step.

3. Add onions, turn down the heat. Add ginger (and garlic). Caramelize the onions—not fully, just until they are a deep brown.

4. Add tomato and stir occasionally for several minutes. Continue until tomatoes are cooked and slightly limp.

5. Add salt, turmeric (chili powder goes in here), mix thoroughly.

6. Add potato and fresh chilies, and approximately 2 cups of water, stir occasionally, cover. –Slit chilies and remove stems before adding, and wash your hands. –Potatoes take forever, maybe nuke for 1-2 minutes before adding. –Water will continue to reduce as potatoes cook, add ¼ – ½ cup as necessary.

7. After the potatoes are finally done, add chicken to cook fully and finish the flavour.

8. You forgot to make rice.

Posted by Andrew at 5:10 pm

Maïna Sailing Trip Log – August 2003

Life 2 Responses »
Jun 182010

Sailing Maina - Pointing Well Up To Concarneau

Sailing Log of Maïna

What follows is the log of our trip to France sailing on Maïna, a Beneteau Oceanis 411. The convention is pretty easy to follow, sections starting with “(A)” were log entries written by Andrew, sections beginning with “(D)” were written by Dad (Jim). Truly an awesome experience!

Also, you will see reference to “bets” between dad and I.  This is an idea we stole from a book “My Old Man and The Sea” where the son and father use large, fake bets to make the trip more interesting. (The book is a good read and I recommend it to anyone who likes reading this kind if stuff, which, if you’re reading this (and like it), you probably do.)

Anyway…on with the show!

Continue reading »

Posted by Andrew at 1:41 pm

Grandma’s Granola

Food No Responses »
May 112010

4 C Rolled oats
4 C Rolled wheat
1.5 C Shredded coconut
1 C Wheat germ
1 C Sunflower seeds, shelled
1 C Pumpkin seeds, shelled
Nuts and Raisins (to taste)

  1. Heat 3/4 C oil and mix in 1-2 teaspoons vanilla
  2. Toss with dry ingredients
  3. Bake 375 F on an oiled cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes, stirring to mix every 5-10 minutes

Some additions I’m going to try:

  1. No coconut
  2. Add chocolate chips after it’s out of the oven.
  3. Add Brown sugar or honey or something.
Posted by Andrew at 10:13 am

Betty Ann 2010 – The Short Version

Uncategorized No Responses »
Apr 272010

I was in Palmetto, just south of Tampa Bay on Wednesday night (April 14th) and Thursday morning. Then the next morning the boat left for Key West with myself, Archie (captain), father (first officer), and Larry (Cook). We sailed through the night, and unfortunately my dad took a spill in the morning carrying dishes down to the galley. The boat hit a large wave and he went flying. We packed his foot with frozen peas, beans and carrots, and then I wrapped it in an elastic bandage. We arrived in Key west at night, spent the night on anchor, and then pulled into a dockside berth in the morning. We stayed there for one night and I made full use of it. I got to see Michael McCloud play at Schooner Wharf Bar and another guy play at some other hotel bar (it was later on in the night). My dad went to the ER and found out that he had a double fracture in his ankle that would require surgery. However, he elected to stay on the boat until we got to Ft. Lauderdale and fly out from there.

We left Key West at daybreak on the 18th (I think). We had some nasty rollers off our bow that was causing the boat to roll upwards of 50 degrees. That’s an estimate, but when the sailboat’s prop is coming out of the water because of a roll, you know it’s pretty dramatic. We slowed down a few knots and this helped to alleviate some of the rolling. It was still an uncomfortable night trying to sleep though. We pulled into Ft. Lauderdale Tuesday morning, April 20th. My dad took a taxi to his flight back home (the surgeon would be the same one who did his hip) and the remaining crew (Archie, Larry and myself) took showers and relaxed dockside. We had dinner at a nice restaurant on the water, then the next morning we set sail again for Charleston, South Carolina, which would be my final leg of sailing (the boat is continuing to Point Judith). The sail would take about 3 days of offshore sailing ( 2 nights), and with only three people on the boat the overnight watches were a little long. I was on deck (alone for the most part) from 6 – 9:30 PM and then back up on deck from 2 to 6 AM.

However, just because the sailing was over didn’t mean that my adventure was over. My cousin who was deployed in Iraq was going to be home for the week, and there was a party for him on the coming Saturday. So I canceled my flight and instead rented a car. But not just any car, a Cadillac SRX. It was only $140 for 24 hours, not bad really. It was a really nice ride, and the 70 MPH speed limits in SC, and NC make the miles go by fast. It had a Bluetooth-enabled radio that allowed me to hook up my phone’s MP3 player, so I was all set. Windows down, tunes cranked and singing along, and loving going 80MPH (sometimes 90) instead of the boat’s 8! I made a stop at South of the Border for some “gifts” for my cousin and continued on to Maryland where they live.

Party on Saturday, where I finally got to try a Texas “Shiner Bock” beer that I’ve heard so much about. Then do the DC tour thing on Sunday with my brother, his wife and kids. I bummed a ride with him on Monday back up north, and he dropped me off at the Old Saybrook train station. I bought a ticket from there to Westerly (only $13) where my mom picked me up and drove me back to their house. I was full from road food, but she was making my dad’s birthday dinner of Lamb chops, and they smelled so good I couldn’t resist. Three lamb chops, a baked potato and two glasses of wine later I was an extremely satisfied man.

This morning she drive me back to Johnston (where I live now), I picked up my truck and drove to work….The end.

Whew, that’s the “condensed version” believe it or not.

Posted by Andrew at 11:50 am

Old Friend, Vampires and a Magic Forest

Dreams No Responses »
Feb 012010

From the morning of February 1st

Vampires

Had a cool dream about vampires:

  • Being chased through a flooded town.  Lots of people were vampires, just not sure who.
  • Hide underneath a car, but something large lands on top of it, crushing the car into the mud (a la Jurassic Park)
  • I punch up through the floor of the car, hoping to kill the vampire I guess, but I hit the transmission fluid line by mistake.  The fluid then starts running over my face and I get some in my mouth (it also happens to look a lot like blood, not sure if I knew it was transmission fluid in the dream.)
  • Dream switches to a mall scene.  I’m running through the hallways trying to get to an electronics store.
  • I finally get to the store and find someone I know, a powerful vampire, waiting for me.
  • He asks if I drank the transmission fluid.  I realize that he wants to know because it determines weather or not he can bite me.
  • I play coy and say “maybe, maybe not”.
  • He decides to bite me and immediately turns has a blue glow around him.
  • He frantically searches around the store, consuming other vampires that were there.  This keeps him alive.  However, he soon runs out of other vampires to kill and dissolves into nothing.
  • The entire mall goes crazy, realizing that the “big head vampire” is dead.
  • Immediate chaos and looting ensues.

The Old Friend

This was a very short dream.  I was playing with my old dog Ena.  Good times!

The Magic Forest

  • I’m running through a forest, in Maine I believe.  But there’s also an abandoned building that looks familiar.  It  is on the side of a river and is old, and beaten.  I think I’ve seen the building before (in the dream).  It looks like it belongs on a deep-south river or something.  There’s probably crocs in the water.
  • I’m back on the trail in the forest and realize that we’re climbing.  My aunt Laurel is there and we come out into the large path heading up a steep mountain.
  • Flowers start to bloom all along the trail around us.  It looks like one of those stop-motion films of spring where the flowers pop out from nothing to full-bloom in ten seconds.  They’re also very pastel and bright primary colors.
  • The dream switches to an overhead camera shot and I can see that this is happening all along the trail, both in front and behind us.
  • Even where there are large boulders they soon become mountains of vegetation.
  • I have my camera, but every time I try to take a picture of one of the flowers or plants that is growing, the color fades out of the viewfinder.  No joy!
  • We take a left between two especially large rock-hill-things and we find ourselves back at the building on the water.  Except this time it is full of people and candle-driven yellow light, and a large feast.
Posted by Andrew at 11:24 am

I’ve Got No Home

Uncategorized No Responses »
Jan 132010
----------------------------------------------------------------
Chords / Melody
----------------------------------------------------------------
probably G to C to D... (138 bpm)
With a "D walkdown", 

end of chorus holds on a walkdown (to C?), and then
changes (to d) and holds again (...but I've got no home)

upbeat (which is strange because it's a sad-ish song)

----------------------------------------------------------------
Drums / beat
----------------------------------------------------------------
Main (Repeat 3 times):
1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8
do      dat     do-do  dat      do      dat     do-do   dat

Walkdown:
1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8
do-do  dat-dat  do-do   dat-dat do-do   dat-dat do-do   dat-dat

End (i got, plenty of friends)...er something like this,
hopefully it gets the idea across:

1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8
do-do   dat-dat Crash   rest    rest    rest    rest    rest

1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8
rest    rest    rest    rest    dat-dat do-do   dat-dat Crash   

----------------------------------------------------------------
Lyrics
----------------------------------------------------------------
Woke up this morning just starin' at the sky
Lyin' in my bed just a'wonderin' why
why can't I find what I seem to need
Why is my life so full of weeds.

Been lookin' for years, for piece of mind
A slice this earth that I can call mine
A few pepper plants, a couple peach trees
this world wasn't made for men like me

Yeah...I got plenty of friends...
But I've got no home.

(instrumental)

Can't keep livin' with an empty heart
Rusty and broken, gonna fall apart
How much longer can I last this way
How much longer can I laugh it away

Watching my life come slowly undone
Time's one thing you can never outrun
For so long I thought I had a plan
The boy has grown, this child is a man

Yeah...I got plenty of friends...
But I've got no home.

(instrumental)
(walk down)
[bridge - modulate]
I've had things I wanted to go for,
Most of those have been kicked out the back door,
It's been a blast, and I've had fun,
But I feel like I lost more than I won

(de-modulate)
I got plenty of friends...
But I've got no home.
Posted by Andrew at 3:01 pm
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