Cat's Have Had It!

Day 14 is approaching. The house is still empty. We are awaiting a moving truck with our furniture, etc. The cats have been pacing around with no furniture to play and sleep on.

Well...The cats started taking over the house and now I sit on the floor as the cats have realized they ARE the bosses. Sarah and I are just the feeders and cat litter changers. At least we know our place now.



This is our little family out here in New Mexico.

Day 11

It has been eleven days since we moved.

We are waiting for the moving truck to arrive with everything we own.

Eleven days ago we packed light, for a week max. So, to me, that means a few pairs of socks and underwear.

I have run out of everything clean. My wife is the one concerned because she has to work in dirty, wrinkled clothes. I'm a bum so I am supposed to look and smell this way.

Well....The end is in sight now. All of our crap should be here on Tuesday, ending the fourteen day wait.

Goodbye air mattress, goodbye patio furniture in living room, goodbye empty house...and hello actual furniture, hello homebrewing supplies!

New Mexico or Bust!

926 miles east of Nipomo, CA, we ended up in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Everyone asks "WHY?" and everyone says, "Well, at least New Mexico is beautiful...oh, you're in the far south? You should just smuggle aliens across the border."

We came here for work, since Sarah just graduated and took a job here.

So, we found a house to live in on the edge of town were only coyote's and cockroaches roam.

We are have an air mattress to sleep on and patio furniture in our living room. We're waiting for the moving truck to arrive.

Yesterday the cable guy hooked us up and it was like giving fire to a cave man. I opened my laptop and the light almost blinded me. We had gone days disconnected from the world and drifting aimlessly, but now we have been found. Got caught up on Hell's Kitchen.

The house is mostly empty and the few things we have are scattered around with no real place for them to go.


The cable TV box sits on the floor with nothing attached. To entertain myself I have been killing bugs and checking all the light bulbs to see if they work.

Yesterday, some little ants came in and started eating the cats food. I went to the store and found the aisle of death sprays and brought home 4 spray bottles. I believe in using every available chemical to kills pests. Sarah and I worked in tandem just like Bonnie and Clyde spraying away at the little invaders and watching them die.

Zoe and Blackberry, the two cats, are wondering around looking for new places to explore.

It's really quiet here. Maybe too quiet...

Sarah Graduates 2010

Big news

The big news is that Sarah and I are moving to Las Cruces, New Mexico!

We are moving for work. I will let you all know more about it soon.

Back on the Horse

The last time I cooked in a crock-pot it imploded.

So, I had to get back on that horse, buy a crock-pot,and make something in it.

Today I made chili. I love chili. So today I followed some structure and a basic recipe, then tweaked it a little.

Below is the chili cooking in our new crock-pot:



Here's the what I did:

Ingredients:
• 3 pounds ground beef, browned (can substitute some beef for sausage)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups chicken or beef broth
• 2 15 oz can beans (red, pinto or both)
• 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
• 2 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 7 oz can fire roasted green chilles or 2 Anaheim peppers, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced

Chili Powder (a little spicy):
• 1/2 tablespoon chipotle chile powder (medium hotness)
• 3 tablespoons pasilla chile powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons ground cumin, (3 Tbls can be a bit strong, but I like it)
• 1 pinch fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, ground
• 1 teaspoon salt, then add to taste

Tom’s Chili Recipe Directions:

In a skillet on medium heat, add olive oil and cook onions until soft and yummy. Add the celery and peppers and cook for a few more minutes.

In a large pot, brown the ground beef, making sure to continuously break up large pieces with a spatula. Once browned drain fat off of meat. Return the ground beef to the pot.

Add onions, peppers, and celery to meat.

Add the chili powder. Heat over medium heat with stirring for 15 minutes.

Add it all to to crock-pot and turn to high heat.

Pour in the broth, beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, cider vinegar.

Stir it up good and cook a long time.

Final Day- Beer Judge

Final day of beer judging here in Lodi.

I started the day out tasting porter type beers. A porter is traditionally an English style but there are also American, Russian, and Polish types. This is a great style to drink. It is bold but very drinkable.

After the porters, I was judging a category called Sour Ales. These are something I have had before, but I don't drink very often. I can appreciate these for the difficulty and the balance needed to not be overwhelming and puckering.

Most of these sour beers come from Belgium, however one style called Berliner Weisse of course comes from Germany. These can be refreshing, some are deeply complex like a good wine, and others are more artistic and funky even downright nasty.

The category that is strangest is the Belgian Lambics. It is a tart and sour beer style. What makes it interesting , to some, is that it can be described as smelling like a barnyard, gym socks, or as I said when I was judging, "an old leather shoe. Sounds yummy right? In this style, these are compliments to the beer quality.

If you want to see what styles of beer are out there, check the BJCP styles.

So, that's my weekend and if you want to know more about beer judging go to the Beer Judge Certification site.

Day 1 - Beer Judge

It was a long drive to get here. Out in the middle of Northern California in the town of Lodi.

I am here to be a part of a huge national home-brewed beer competition call the National Homebrew Competition. It starts out in several regional competitions through the US, then the winners at the regionals go on to a national judging panel to determine who has the best beer in America. I entered two beers myself, a Kolsch and an American Brown Ale.

My day here started out judging beer in the "stout" category. I tasted about 8 of these dark, roast coffee and chocolate flavored beers. Along with tasting I filled out a sheet with my comments about aroma, appearance, flavor, mouth-feel, and overall impression. I then assign a score somewhere from 13 to 50 points. I then discuss the beer with a fellow judge and we talk about the beer to make sure we had a similar experience.

After a great lunch, I acted as a judge assistant, called a steward.

It was a great and fun day tasting many types of homebrewed beer. Most of the people were great to work with.

Now I am back in the hotel about to take a nap. good night

When Samsung LCD TV's Go Bad

Over the last 6 months, our Samsung 40" LCD has declined to work properly. It worked, but you would turn it on, hear clicking sounds until it finally turned on. The time to turn on has slowly increased over time. When it does come on there were blue dots were all over the screen.

Click to enlarge picture

As you see, even the cats watch TV at our house.

To temporarily fix this we would just turn it off and on again and it was ok to watch. Since it seemed to be getting worse I looked into fixing it.

I found thousands of people out there with the same problem. One thing they all had in common was the 1 year waranty was up and Samsung basically said "Screw you" to most people who asked for help.

The problem is a group of capacitors on the power board. For some reason, the capacitors "wear" out, the tops bulge up, and even some of the black electrolyte fluid leaks out.

According to a consumer affairs site "Samsung installed 10 volt 1000 micro Farad capasitors on a 12 volt bus of the power board."

After looking at our TV, we found all four 1000 uF capacitors were dying and fluid leaking out of the tops.

Click to enlarge picture

My thinking here is that I have three options:

1) Repair it myself for about $12 plus any soldering equipment I needed.

2) Buy a new power board for $100 from a place like http://www.partstore.com/Default.aspx .

3) Have a certified repair person fix it for who knows how much ($200 to $400 is common).

So, after some great information on the problem and a great YouTube video from a guy who shows us all how to do it, I was ready to fix it myself or blow up the TV trying.

Video Part 1 , Video Part 2

I removed the power board, heated up and removed the old capacitors, then soldered the new ones into place.

After completing the work and putting the TV back together, we tried it out...

It works! No clicking. No abnormal lag time to start up.

I'll keep you posted if it catches on fire.

Next time I think I'll buy a Sony.

When Good Crockpots Go Bad...

There was a sound in the kitchen. The sound was glass braking. I looked to see where the two cats were. Both were sleeping soundly, not causing trouble. Huhhh...I wonder what that was?

Where is the lid to the crockpot???


The lid imploded into the spaghetti sauce. The cause: 30 minutes before I had chipped the edge of the glass lid. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see the round handle from the lid in the center of the mess. Should I even be aloud into kitchens? That is a rhetorical question, thank you.

On a good note, I made baklava that was yummy the night before and nothing exploded.

What you see on the plate was my dinner Wednesday night.

Wife Blames Husband for Bad Chili

I love chili! I really do. I like beans or no beans. I like chunks of beef or ground up chuck. I like it mild or spicy. It must have cornbread to go with it or it is incomplete.

I think about the ways I can add flavors that are layered and make you want to lick the bowl when you're done.

I demand good chili and there can be nothing less, just like making beer.

The only problem is that I suck at making it. No, really. It's not as bad as my Chinese food is, but it lacks the basic idea of chili, whatever that is. I have even read Chili Cooking for Dummies and I got more stupid.

Right now, the smell of chili has engulfed my home. The crock-pot is filled to the brim with my latest secret recipe. I spent almost an hour planning it. I know that's more than most men talk to their wife in a day, but not as much time as I play Wii.

Now, the back story here is about the last time I made chili.

You see, I am a victim of spousal abuse. I trust my wonderful wife who cooks great food to tell me the basics of many things in the cooking realm. Since her father is a famous chili chef, I figured I should ask her the chili basics.

I was WRONG!

She, not me, suggested a lot of red wine in it. OK, stop. Don't ever do that. It is not a good idea to add a lot of wine and especially not half a bottle!

I put half of a bottle of red wine in the chili. It went very wrong at this point.

There was some awesome chunks of beef and no beans. I set out to make the greatest Texas style chili in California. I failed to make even edible food. It was almost purple in color. Don't eat purple chili!

I did learn something from this experience...It was all my fault. Well, that's what she told me. When I told her that I added half a bottle of wine because she told me to, she said "That's way too much even for spaghetti sauce." Oh, now she knows! Great!

Now back to today...

I have a great tasting chili. I stuck to the basics. It tastes good now, but tomorrow for lunch it will be heaven on earth.

On a side note:

I may be sleeping on the couch tonight, if not for this article, then for the chili beans.

Good night from warm California.

Moving On...A Block Away.

Well, over the last 2 months, Sarah and I have been busy.

We started the new year having to find a new place to live. We had to move because the owner was not paying the house mortgage and the bank the property.

We were given 90 days to vacate with an option to leave earlier for cash. We wanted to just get out out find a new place to call home. So, we went with the Cash for keys option and moved out in 30 days. The bank paid us the two months rent we would have paid anywhere plus $500 in moving fees. It was a bit scary but it all worked out perfectly.

We moved only a block away, so imagine me rolling a washing machine down the street on a dolly to the new place a block away. Oh yeah, it happened. A neighbor saw me moving the washing machine and asked if I was ok. I was fine, just looting a house that I live in.

So, we are now settled into our new home. The cats are back to their normal mischievous ways. We have a little more space and are back to our normal lives, whatever that means.

Home Cooking Feb 2010

How about homemade tomato soup with an apple tart for dessert???

Here you go:

Skin tomatoes, chop up the other stuff,

cook it all, season, puree, simmer, season again, serve.

BASIL!

And for dessert...

an Apple Tart Fine from Gordon Ramsey's the F Word

Christmas Eve

I am out here, far from home, in Sugar Land, Texas. I am at the in-laws.

It's Christmas Eve and the stockings are laying on the floor by the fake fireplace where they can be mauled by the wild cats loose in the house.

The presents are wrapped and under the tree that has no color. Santa has been good this year as the booty is great.

The weather has turned cold, as it should be for Christmas.

Have a great Christmas!

SWMBO

I came across this acronym, SWMBO, when I was in a beer brewing forum. Sometimes I don't bother to pay attention to the geek acronyms, but this one I liked.

It seems that we men are tough and independant, well...as much as we dare to be.

It all comes back around to the same old thing...

does She Who Must Be Obeyed approve?

I am sure that SWMBO does NOT approve of anything. That is why the old men I know have given me valuable advice such as "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."

Risotto for Everyone

What they heck is this risotto stuff?
Is it pasta or rice?
Why do so many chefs make this dang stuff?
What is the correct pronunciation?

The first time I saw risotto being cooked was on Emeril. He made a Halloween special version that was black with squid ink. I am not sure how squid ink tastes but I was curious why Emeril was making a rice dish that he seemed to think was so special.

Before I made risotto, I wasn't even sure if I had eaten it before. It turns out I have had it all my life but I didn't know the name. It's funny because I also realized that Rice-a-Roni must be a quick version of risotto.

The basic procedure for making risotto goes as follows:

1. Have a prepared stock hot and ready to add to risotto
2. Saute any meat or veggies now (to be added at end)
3. In a wide saucepan, add butter, onion, and garlic. Saute just a minute.
4. Throw in the rice, stir it up, let sit for a couple minutes.
5. Add wine, let absorb
6. Add stock solution 1/2 cup at a time, letting each addition absorb.
[Should take about 30 minutes]
7. Throw in cooked meat or veggies and freshly grated cheese, stir, serve.

When you consider making risotto, the stock is the heart of the flavor. Of course the purists, or people who have time, make beef, chicken, or vegetable stock from scratch. Well, I don't mind the stock from the store so much, but I did make fish stock recently for seafood risotto and it was great. Certainly making the stock from scratch gives control over the flavor.

Another thing to consider is the wine used. Just before adding the stock to risotto, a little wine is absorbed into the rice. This can affect the flavor just like the stock does.

Here's some pics of some recent dinners:

Throw on a crab cake, some cheese and Enjoy!

WHAT THE HELL???

I don't know what to say about this TV commercial...

Hardware Store

For over a year now, I have been having to travel out of town to get my hardware store fix.

I can walk into Home Depot and just wander around for an hour. I dream about the things I could build, the work bench I could solve the world's problems on, cat towers I can create, and things that would make life better.

Here in the little town of Nipomo, we had a dying hardware store that lacked the most basic tools or hardware. It went out of business, as you might have guessed.

After much anticipation, Miner's Ace Hardware opened it's doors. Hundreds of pickups and hundreds of deprived men ascended to see tools, wood, and screws...and we don't know why. I guess it's a cave man thing. I don't care, I just like to go and wonder through every isle and know every type of bolt, hammer, drill-bit, shelf bracket, and chain saw that is available. They even have something everyone should have, Anti-Monkey Butt powder...

One important part of the hardware store experience is old men. They are the pros of hardware shopping. They wonder the isles looking for obscure items that may not exist and just love asking the teenage boys were they can find a 45 degree flaring tool. The kid always has to get on his radio and ask a more experienced worker to assist.

One of the old guys favorite things to do is flirting with the young female cashiers. It is a subtle art form they have worked on for years, likely since about 10 years old. They do sneaky things to spend more time with the cute cashier. Things like removing price tags so she will have to figure out the actual price. Sometimes the cashier just makes up a price to get the old man away. Another tactic used by old men is to buy something everyone on earth knows how to use, then ask the pretty young cashier how this items works. He will listen and say things like "I didn't know this saw could cut wood" or "So you turn this light bulb to the right to put it in the lamp?"

Of course you could just buy your stuff and get out, but the old men want more of an experience out of the visit. It isn't uncommon they have no idea what they came in for. It is also common, after an hour wandering around, they will leave with nothing.

When they get home their wife will say, "You were gone three hours, did you get the 3-sided tape you needed?" and the man will shrug and say "No, I looked everywhere and they didn't have it."

Thanksgiving

Ahhh, Thanksgiving is finally here. All the preparation and planning is coming to head.

This year we have guest coming over for a feast. My Uncle Dan and Grandmother are dropping by to eat. The meal is being served at 1pm, so the bird had to go in early, at 9am. Well early to me. The turkey is an eleven pounder, so the anticipated cooking time is about 3 hours.

The bird...


I got a new digital dual probe thermometer just for this (and homebrewing of course). So I sterilized the probes, stuck them into the disease covered bird, and now I am ready to watch the temperature rise! I wasn't sure where to put the probes, but since I have two of them I placed one in some place near the thigh (whatever that is) and the other in the breast (I know what that is). I figure I can take the square root of the average and it should be close enough. Well, actually the wife will have gotten out of bed by then (noonish) and taken over all cooking decisions. I'll be watching football and entertaining guests.

(See the two black wires coming from the bird below?)

The favorite part for Sarah is the Pecan Pie. She made it yesterday and it is ready to eat!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!