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July 6th, 2009
July 5th, 2009
05:54 pm - ROUX REDUX
Today I made one of my favorite things: some kind of lame brown "curry" gravy that works well with stir-fries and what-not.
It's based on a sort of bastardized roux. It's not authentic or even all that interesting. But it is a very, very tasty way to stretch leftovers. Foodies in the audience: please feel free to cringe, skip this, groan, or chastise me. I can take it. This is probably not very authentic, like, at all, in any estimation, but here's the interesting thing about curry: it's different all over the world! If you have a stew-like dish with a vibrant spicy sauce, you might as well call it curry, because it probably is curry-like to someone.
My cooking abilities are woefully limited, but I figured, hey, I might as well buy a big tin of curry powder from the Asian market, and figure out how to use it. And after some trial and error, I learned to work with a roux and make a delicious savory brownish gravy that works with all sorts of meats, veggies, and noodles. Now, if you can work with flour and fat and a liquid in a hot pan, it's NOT rocket science. But it's so disheartening to do it wrong, and so easy to get it right, and so rewarding when you make something delicious. There's something very comforting and satisfying about using carbs and fat to make magic happen. Because of my obsession with this recipe, I can now make decent gravies from pan drippings; I can make a reasonable béchamel, etc. Learn to work with a roux, guys! I might totally suck at cooking, but at least I can make you fat and happy!
Here goes.
I have a big tin of curry powder from the local Asian market. It's the "Roland" brand, and it's quite inexpensive. It was only $5 or $6 for that big tin. (If you get curry powder from the spice aisle of your supermarket, it might be very expensive. I prefer to buy in bulk.) Most curry powders will function about the same in this recipe, no matter where you get them or what they're made of - it's just that I think the Roland "Madras" powder tastes really good.
NB: If you are wearing clothes you want to wear later, or if you have clean laundry in the immediate vicinity, I recommend that you take the aforementioned clothes to another room and shut the door. Curry smells VERY STRONG, and this stuff will linger in clothes.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp Curry Powder
2 tbsp Flour
Salt, to taste
Cumin, cayenne, paprika, etc if desired--about 1/2 to 1 tsp each, if you like
2 cups water
A few tablespoons of vegetable oil (I guestimated)
Several tablespoons ginger, minced or grated tiny (ditto)
Several tablespoons garlic, minced or grated tiny (ditto)
And now, a lot of images, after the jump!
( ROUX REDUX OF THE CURRY KIND )
The finished product is very versatile. It's a great base for curry udon or curry ramen. It's also good for stir-fries--saute your favorite meats and veggies until they're tender and cooked through, then add in some of this sauce, heat through, and serve over hot noodles or rice. One of my favorite things is to dice an onion, saute until translucent and a bit brown, dump in a can of diced tomatoes with juice, throw in a generous portion of this curry sauce, stir-fry for a bit, add a can of chick peas, et voila: easy veggie curry.
It's a good way to use up leftovers, and it's fast and economical. It's not authentic or even particularly interesting, but hell, I like it.
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July 4th, 2009
01:09 pm
This is the nicest picture I have ever taken with my iPhone.
No reason for this. I just liked it.
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June 27th, 2009
08:59 pm
I just spent a lovely sunny day with the inimitable ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) davidsfoley. We went to the New Jersey Museum of Agriculture, which was lovely. (Also we were both dressed like dotty, dapper 60-year-old retirees at some kind of shuffleboard outing.) Then we drank mucho cervesas, played with cats, played with guitars, drank more beers, hung out, chatted, and generally enjoyed a lovely ol' Saturday.
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June 26th, 2009
11:03 am
YOU GUYS THE EXTERMINATORS CAME OVER AND THEY WERE SUPER NICE AND THEY TREATED THE WHOLE UNIT AND ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS AND IT WAS AWESOME AND THEY WERE REALLY POLITE AND NICE.
Sorry, I had to get that out of my system. HEEEEEE! I'm very excited about this.
They said I might need another application in a week; that my apartment looks very clean and it's unlikely that I'm attracting any unwanted bugs; that these things happen when it gets warm out; etc etc. They also said I can leave my bait traps out if I want more protection. HURRAY!
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June 25th, 2009
11:21 am - BUG HAPPENINGS AFOOT
TOMORROW IS A VERY BUG BIG DAY
BUGS ON A MSPAINT, by ~tscheese on deviantART
clicky for embiggening
YOU GUYS THE EXTERMINATOR IS COMING OVER TOMORROW I AM SO EXCITED. I am going to fangirl and squeal all over him and ask a million questions.
I made this in MS Paint, WITH A MOUSE AND NOT A TABLET, over two or three lunch hours. It was very cathartic.
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06:27 am
The weather has been insane for the last like, two months solid. It's been a humid bath of CONSTANT rain. In the NYC area, June tends to segue into July with a sort of sticky, muggy gracelessness--but it doesn't usually do so with this much precipitation. I think I've taken more "steady, soaking rain causing every layer of clothing to become sodden" showers than ACTUAL showers.
NYC weather, let's make a deal. You're completely insane lately, right? Like, nuts off-the-wall insane, right? I suggest you have a sudden cold snap. Like, say, 10F? Just for like, a day?
Seriously, no one will even notice.
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June 24th, 2009
10:11 am
I am putting this behind a cut because I know you're sick of this.
( cut for another bug rant )
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June 23rd, 2009
10:38 am
This post was more jubilant before but I'm not feeling it now.
Anyhoodle.
The sink is fixed and I have a new smoke detector! And the bug guy is coming to spray on Friday.
I'm not sure what I need to do. I may call the office in a couple of days to see if the super knows--like if I need to move stuff out from the walls, or stay out of the unit for X amount of hours, or what. I'd sort of like to BE there to ask the bug guy some questions, but I might not be able to work from home that day, and I might not even want to be in the unit that day.
Anyone ever had an exterminator spray for roaches?
Also I totally found a half-dead, flailing baby cockroach on its back next to a poison bait trap this morning. It was spazzing and flailing and freaking the hell out. It couldn't right itself.
I laughed at it for like five minutes straight, then flushed it alive. Bon voyage, bitch.
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June 22nd, 2009
10:22 am - the bug battle continues
I've talked about this topic before, but as some of you know, I'm not really THAT much of a slob.
I attract a little bit of "clean clutter", which tends to be a few laundry baskets of clean clothes I just haven't hung up yet. Or a pile of sketchpads here and there I haven't sorted. Or a growing pile of mail. That sort of thing. Clean clutter, not the sticky, gunky, food-crusted variety of mess. I sweep, mop, and vacuum regularly, but I often forget to dust.
Areas that attract yuckies? Like the range and the kitchen sink and the toilet and the shower? I keep those damn things AS CLEAN AS POSSIBLE. I hate creepy crawly uninvited guests, and as most apartment-dwellers know, the easiest way to invite bugs over is to leave a bunch of crusty food crap festering all over. Dry goods without resealable containers are locked solidly in Ziplock bags or airtight Rubbermaid things. Everything else goes in the fridge--yes, even fruit and bread. Yes, it would be nice to have a fruitbowl and a breadbox, but it's so humid and fruitflies (and nastier bugs) abound. I don't want six-legged jerks eating my nice tomatoes, so into the fridge they go, even though this is a mortal sin.
I'm not a neat freak, really, but everyone who's visited my apartment has commented on the cleanliness of the kitchen. When I found a small, dead beetle, my homeboy davidsfoley once commented that it had perhaps starved to death, in a vast and glittering expanse of foodlessness.
Which is why I'm at my wits' end re: bugs.
( If you don't like creepy crawlies, I advise you not to click. )
The super was really nice and totally understanding, and didn't flinch a bit (she's been doing this awhile.) They'll fix my sink and put up my new smoke detector today, and--as I found out--the apartment complex employs an exterminator that visits every Friday! So he'll be at my place come Friday, probably just spraying along the floorboards.
I know this is just a battle and not the war, but it's still good to know. My long nightmare may be coming to an end.
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06:59 am - water water everywhere
Dear Weather,
You know what? This is getting old.
I like cloudy and grey as much as the next girl, don't get me wrong--but since I don't have a car, I rely on mass transit and my own two feet. Both are squelchy, snarly, and very unpleasant when it's constantly this wet. The NJ Turnpike grinds to a halt in torrential rain; so do my plans for strolling about the neighborhood and, I dunno, buying groceries I need to survive.
Think about that, weather. You've been doing this "OH LOL RAIN EVERY DAY LOL" for like, the last month. HAVE YOU NO DECENCY?
I think you should take some time off to reflect on this, weather.
-Tscheese
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June 21st, 2009
08:29 am - TOMATOOOO
A tomato, by ~tscheese on deviantART
Clicky for embiggening!
As many of you know, the humble tomato is probably my most favorite food, ever, on the planet. Most of you have seen me gorge myself on these heavenly nightshades. Most of you know my love for this savory, meaty fruit OH GOD I AM DROOLING.
I eat tomatoes like they're apples. I drink salsa and marinara sauce straight from the container. I add tomatoes to nearly everything I cook and eat, whether or not tomatoes are contraindicated. So it was only a matter of time before I painted a big one for my wall.
I think it looks too much like a peach, but oh well. India ink, watercolor, and acrylic on Bristol board. There are some pens on the picture for scale. It's a crappy iPhone photo. I might take a better one later.
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June 19th, 2009
10:59 am - ALL CAPS ALL CAPS ALL CAPS FRANDS FILTAR
YOU GUYS YOU GUYS YOU GUYS
YOU GUYS
YOU GUYS DO YOU WANT TO BE ON A CUSTOM FRIENDS FILTER THAT IS IN ALL CAPS. I THINK IT IS HILARIOUS. ALSO THERE WILL BE A GREAT DEAL OF SPARKLE TEXT.
ON MY SPARKLY ALL CAPS FILTER THERE WILL BE FREQUENT AND DELIBERATE MISSPELLINGS OF WORDS. I WILL TALK ABOUT RANDOM LAME-O STUFF THAT IS OF NO CONSEQUENCE. PARTICIPANTS IN THIS FILTER MUST REPLY TO MY RANDOM-ASS ALLCAPS POSTS IN ALL CAPS WITH COPIOUS USE OF SPARKLEFONT AND LOLCAT.
REPLY TO THIS ENTRY IF YOU WANT IN!!!!!!!11 AND REMEMBER THE RULES
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June 18th, 2009
11:01 pm - HAY CRAZY BIRTHDAY ARTS
AS I SAID PREVIOUSLY IT IS isle_of_apples's BIRTHDAY TODAY. I volunteered to make her a really horrible ten-minute drawing. As a sort of like, completely terrible birthday present. Part of the conditions of this drawing: I could only spend ten minutes, total, on the sketching, linework, color, dialogue, everything. This is what the poor woman got.
She wanted something that indicated that she was choosing Prince Caspian over Edward Cullen. I cannot say I blame her.
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09:39 am - BIRFDAY
HAPPY FREAKIN' BIRTHDAY MISS isle_of_apples.
TONIGHT I SHALL HOIST A BREWSKI IN YOUR HONOR.
EDIT
ALSO THIS HAPPENED BUT YOU HAVE TO GUESS WHICH ONE IS ME AND WHICH ONE IS CAITLIN
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June 17th, 2009
09:30 am - sundogs
Sundogs!
This was taken on the Driscoll Bridge this morning on the Garden State Parkway. The iPhone is a nasty tool for capturing atmospherics, so you'll have to forgive the picture quality.
See the big prism-like thing to the left of the big white blob? The prism is a sundog, as I'm sure you're aware, and I've sure you've seen them. But it's a little odd to see these on a breezy morning in June. I always associate sundogs with winter, though they can appear during any season if the conditions are right.
I like atmospheric phenomena, so I just thought I'd share.
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June 14th, 2009
02:47 pm - THE SHADES OF SUN
You might have already seen this over on Twitter, but:
I got new sunglasses. They fit over my glasses! Plus, if I ever decide to start wearing contacts again, these frames also fit your face without glasses. Also, I am making a stupid face and I find this very exciting.
It was sort of a stupid thing to spend money on, but summer is difficult enough without sunglasses, so I allowed myself this minor splurge. Plus, they were only like $19 at the local drugstore. No big. What do you think, folks? Glam or lame?
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June 13th, 2009
08:03 am - The Mysterious Minute-Men: A NEW BOOK IS AVAILABLE
savageknight I GOT YOUR BOOK OMGGGG!
Everyone, please go check out Mr. Aragona's books, the Mysterious Minute-Men Omnibus and The Mysterious Minute-Men: Ready For the Future. They are simply hilarious, and savageknight is one of the genuinely nicest, cleverest folks you'll ever come across on LJ! (Also I may or may not be plugging this because each book might feature a teeny tiny bit of my artwork, but I will reserve myself that one conceit.)
The books are also really beautifully printed and bound, and they'd look really fierce on your bookshelf. You know you want to.
Please go check it out!
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June 8th, 2009
10:23 am
So a few weeks ago, I took a tumble that landed me in the ER--it wasn't urgent, just a knee that was basically gravel-filled hamburger, and with all the gore and guts, it was just best for me to take it to a pro to cut the risk of infection. Also got a tetanus booster. Good stuff, right?
Except I didn't have my insurance card on me at the time, so the hospital was like, "Okay, well, we'll just send you a bill." Now, I've gone to other doctors before where I didn't have my insurance card, and they were able to use my date of birth and SSN to look me up under my insurer's network without needing my card. But I figured, I'll just deal with the bill when I get it and then get reimbursed by filing a claim with my insurance. It's a hassle, but it's the way the system works.
A few weeks pass. I still didn't have my bill, and I was getting nervous. (Right, because most people in the American healthcare system are just DYING to pay more money, right?) So this morning I called up the hospital, got their billing department. They said a bill had just been sent out for like, $160, blah blah. (Which is a lot, but less than I was expecting, and my insurance will pay for $110 of that, so there's that.)
"Oh," I said. "Well, I have my insurance card now, though I didn't when I was in the ER. Can I just give you my information so you can bill my insurer directly? This means I won't have to deal with the hassle of filing a claim--"
"Of course," said the friendly billing department person. "Who is your insurer?"
I told her, and--get this--she DIDN'T EVEN NEED MY INSURANCE CARD INFORMATION. She just punched in my SSN and DOB into some online thing and it came right up.
I was like, why the hell couldn't I have done this at the ER? I wouldn't have had to wait ages and ages to get the bill, the hospital wouldn't have needed to mail a damn letter, I wouldn't have had to use up the operator's time and resources, I wouldn't have had to call my insurer and have them send a new card--oh, and, now my insurance provider will have to go through some kind of rigmarole with the hospital to ultimately drag my copay out of me, so that means more paper, more envelopes, more time and resources consumed.
I mean, in the scheme of things, it's not a big deal to me, or the hospital, or my insurer; I'll pay my copay and continue to fork out my premiums, because hell, I'm lucky to have health care. And I mean, this is not even a particularly egregious example of health care red tape! This is a pretty normal thing that everyone just thinks "just happens." But imagine this same scenario happening with thousands and thousands of patients--think of the cost! It's a waste of time, paper, and resources. When the billing system is a silly, confounding maze, and thousands of patients have to navigate a silly, confounding maze, think of the cumulative effect in terms of costs.
Dealing with insurance and paying medical bills is always a nightmare, but it could be streamlined a little, couldn't it?
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June 4th, 2009
10:50 pm
I JUST KILLED SOME KIND OF GIANT BUG IN MY BEDROOM OH MY GOD I WILL NEVER SLEEP AGAIN
It was too stupid and fluttery to be a cockroach. Cockroaches I kind of understand; they scamper away, like they're guilty or some shit, and they understand that Turning On The Light Means The Giant Hominid Is Here For The Smashening.
I don't know what the hell this thing was. It was dumb as hell. Like, almost moth-like. Then I did this thing I do with arthropods that prevents their identification: I sort of kind of mashed it to a pulp with my brilliant tennis-serve style flyswatter-kata. But oh god, it was gross. I WAS GOING TO GO TO BED, YOU JERK. I CAN'T NOW, YOU JERK. SHUT UP, YOU JERK.
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