Rock & Roll?

I don't play the guitar...though I really wish I did. It's been a long-standing resolution of mine to learn. And it's been a long-standing habit of mine never to learn. My Dad lent me his old Epiphone when he bought a new one and it's mainly been leaning against my wall ever since. Getting it off the floor has always been a challenge. Until, I saw this: http://rootsandwingsco.blogspot.com/2011/04/rock-and-roll-home-decor-vinyl-record.html

I thought finding records would be difficult. My first thought was to go to Amazon and order a cheap-as-dirt vinyl record. After I paid $7 plus shipping for a brand-spanking new piece of vinyl, I discovered that old-piece-of-shit vinyl was available at my local thrift store for $0.25 a piece. Bugger. Though, as luck would have it, even brand-spanking new vinyl is hard to come by. Though Amazon said it was available, a few days after I ordered it, for some reason it couldn't be shipped. A day later I was skipping and whistling to the Sally Ann to buy 4 records for less than the price of one. And, they were old crappy records that I didn't mind destroying.

So, I started with this:

After several more minutes in the oven than the source blog led me to believe and several more degrees of heat on the dial than was originally suggested, I ended up with my very own guitar hanger. Not as pretty as the original, but just as functional. The one thing that was left out was the fact that the back of the record has to sit flush on a flat surface as the edges are pulled up around the neck of the guitar. Otherwise, it won't sit nicely on the wall. My first attempt fit nicely on the guitar, but would not reliably hold the guitar up when it was nailed to the wall.

And after MANY attempts, this was the result:

And now my cat has one more thing to knock over. The End.

Inaugural Post - Celebrating with Food from my Home

Dish #1: Classic Bouillabaisse (from: The Ultimate Soup Cookbook)
Dish #2: Buttermilk Biscuits (from: The Ultimate Soup Cookbook)

So...the tagline should say it all. I'm celebrating the start of this zen-project by making something French-inspired with a bunch of ingredients from my homeland: the East Coast. Buying the fish & seafood today reminded me of home as the fishmonger at my local, highly landlocked grocery store complimented me on my choices. "They're all yours, love," he said with a lilting accent I couldn't quite place because it was all but drowned out by the noise from the freezers.

Before:
8 oz. fresh or thawed sole
8 oz. fresh or thawed frozen sea scallops
1 frozen small rock lobster tail
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 3/4 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine or low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp saffron threads (optional)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can minced clams

I had to use canned lobster instead of frozen lobster tail because, as you might guess, they don't have frozen lobster tail just hanging around here. I also forewent the optional saffron...which I find doesn't really taste like anything anyway (I know, I'm a troglodite), and (hee, hee, hee, oops!) forgot to buy the fresh parsley. This is funny because just last week I accidentally bought fresh parsley without meaning to. C'est la vie.

1. Rinse fish, scallops and lobster and pat dry. Cut fish into 2" pieces, halve large scallops, halve lobster tail lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 6 portions.

2. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in broth, tomatoes, wine, parsley, bay leaves, thyme, fennel seed, salt, saffron, if desired, and cayenne. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, 30 minutes.

3. Line a large sieve with 2 layers of cheesecloh and set in a large saucepan. Strain vegetable mixture, discarding vegetables and seasonings.

4. Bring liquid to boil, add fish, scallops, lobster and clams. Return to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring, 4 minutes or until fish flakes easily and scallops and lobster are opaque.

After:
So, I kind of skipped step #3 because I happen not to mind the texture of cooked onion and chomping on the occasional surprise piece of fennel. Note the whole lobster claw. Totally worth the $22 a can for the lobster. The combination of cayenne, fennel and tomato really makes this very simple soup taste super-rich and delicious. The mountains of shellfish doesn't hurt either.


Before:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 sp salt
1/4 cup butter, cut up
2 tbsp vegetable shortening
1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 450F. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir lightly with a fork just until a soft dough forms.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 6 to 8 times.

3. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.

After:
Three things about this recipe. 1. It tastes really buttery, but it's nearly impossible to get a "coarse meal" texture with this recipe's butter to flour ratio. The fact that I used olive oil instead of vegetable shortening probably contributed to this problem (woops!) 2. Whoever thought I might be able to knead this dough is imagining things. It was WAY too sticky. 3. Grease the pan. Even though it says not to. Unless you have non-stick oven-ware. In which case fill your boots.

Until next time.