Chili Con Carne [7/15/2009]

1/2 onion diced
1/2 bell pepper diced
1/2 jalapeno diced
1 lb ground beef
1/2 can roasted tomatoes
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seed slightly crushed
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
3 dashes cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt

Mix the beef, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and tomato in a small saucepan over high heat. Add 1/4 cup water and cover for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, and spices. Turn the heat down to low, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Top with a dollop of sour cream.

Finished The Third Culture [7/01/2009]

I had very mixed feelings about this book. The concept of short essays by scientists is great, and I definitely plan to read more of the Edge.org/Brockman collections. This one is quite outdated having been written in 1995, as a lot of the issues on the forefront of science have changed significantly since then. It was nevertheless interesting and thought-provoking.

In some cases, I wished there was more meat to the arguments and less pretty floweriness. Not having read their research papers, and with little background especially in the physics sections, I had a lot of difficulty judging what was reasonable and what wasn't. Depending on my mood at the time cynical/argumentative, or relaxed/happy I found myself much more or less receptive to the ideas presented. I often found myself switching between thinking, "He might really be on to something here." and "This is complete and total BS."

This got me thinking about a general but important problem, how are the laypeople supposed to recognize the true masters among the quacks? The language used to describe the theories is often very philosophical and obscure, and it changes dramatically between people. Almost everyone seems to invent their own strange terms. Unfortunately, it seems this makes it easy for charlatans or sub-par theorists to slip into the mix. If we flock around these esteemed professors as if they were preachers, following them based only on what appeals to our personal aesthetic, we are probably missing out on something big. They can't all be right, right?

The conversational tone of the essays made them easy to read. I was quite surprised though, by the amount of emotion and personality that came through. At times, the defensiveness and/or overconfidence was a bit much for me. I am encouraged though to try to branch out and read more popular science books, even if it is frustrating in parts.

Here are the scientists included in this first book:

George C. Williams
Stephen Jay Gould
Richard Dawkins
Brian Goodwin
Steve Jones
Niles Eldredge
Lynn Margulis
Marvin Minsky
Roger Schank
Daniel C Dennett
Nicholas Humphrey
Francisco Varela
Steven Pinker
Roger Penrose
Martin Rees
Alan Guth
Lee Smolin
Paul Davies
Murray Gell-Mann
Stuart Kauffman
Christopher G. Langton
J. Doyne Farmer
W. Daniel Hillis

Draft Magazine Craft Brewing Festival 2009 [6/20/2009]

My first ever brewfest was totally awesome. The only disappointment was that I didn't get to try as many different beers as I would have liked. Apparently 4 hours isn't enough sampling time for someone who is a very slow drinker and lightweight like me. They practically had to kick us out and I wished I had kept better track of the time.

Everything tasted pretty good, although once inebriated I think it's harder to be a good judge. I took a few sporadic notes, not really rating anything thoroughly.

Stone - Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout - very syrupy, better than their smoked porter or imperial
Dupont - Farmhouse Ale - interesting
Sun Up - Hefeweizen - grapefruity
Sun Up - Red Ale - citrus tones
Dogfish - Sah'tea - curious
Dogfish - Palo Santo Marron - nice and dark
San Tan - Strawberry Wit - not at all subtle strawberry flavor
Papago - Coconut Joe - coffee overpowered any coconut in there

One of the highlights was a quick chat with the brewer for Sun Up Brewing/Sonora Brewhouse one of my favorite local eats. We were able to complement him on the recent excellent small batch Triple Blonde, and his consistently good Midnight Porter.

Thanks so much to Draft Magazine for creating the best PBS benefit I've heard of, and thanks to PBS for providing well researched science and political coverage like Nova, the News Hour, and Frontline.

Finished The Difference Engine [6/15/2009]

This is the first book I've read in the "alternative history" or "steampunk" genre. I enjoyed it of course, because it's Gibson, and I love his style of mystery where nothing gets answered. Not having read anything by Sterling before, I can't say how much of the style was his. The description of the Central Statistics Bureau had a scifi quality to it, despite being in London in 1885. I discovered how little I know about late 19th century English history. I ended up looking up a lot of articles on wikipedia about people mentioned in the book. I loved the description of London falling into anarchy, it just builds and builds into an almost dream.

Nut Crusted Pork Piccatta [6/02/2009]

4 pork chops
1 cup chopped nuts (should have a large percentage of either pecans or almonds, plus whatever else is available thrown in: brazil, macadamia, walnuts, pine nuts)
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
enough olive oil to fill the frying pan about 1/4 inch deep

heat oil very high
add salt and pepper to nut mixture in one bowl
put flour in a separate bowl
beat eggs in a third bowl
dip pork chops so they are covered first in flour, then eggs, then nuts
fry in pan using a splatter screen

Piccatta topping ingredients:
juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon parsley chopped
3 heaping teaspoons capers
1 teaspoon caper juice
dash garlic salt
dash pepper

mix topping ingredients together and heat
spoon on top of the pork chops

Porter Sampling No. 5 [6/01/2009]

Brewery	Name	Location	Short Description	Rating
Prescott Brewing Co	Raven Maniac Stout	Prescott, AZ	Yummy	94
Prescott Brewing Co	Petrified Porter	Prescott, AZ	Flavorful, Rich	94
Lost Coast Brewery	Eight-Ball Stout	Eureka, CA	Hoppy, Flavorful	89
Left Coast Brewery	Black Magic Stout	Eureka, CA	Hoppy, Decent	86
Samuel Smith	Oatmeal Stout	England	Rich, Tasty	94
Avery Brewing Co.	The Czar Imperial Stout	Boulder, CO	Strong Alcohol 11.73%, Hoppy, Heavy	89
Rogue Ales	Imperial Stout	Newport, OR	Strong Alcohol 11%, Hoppy, Too Bitter	85
Brouwerij Sterkens	Hoogstraten Poorter	Meer, Belgium	Wine-Like, more dark ale than porter, Smooth	90
Port Brewing Co.	Old Viscosity Ale	San Marcos, CA	Thick, Molasses flavor, strange tasting Hops	90
Stone Brewing Company	Stone Imperial Russian Stout	Escondido, CA	10.8%, Thick, Rich	91

See Also:
Porter Sampling No. 7
Porter Sampling No. 6
Porter Sampling No. 4
Porter Sampling No. 3
Porter Sampling No. 2
Porter Sampling No. 1

Finished The Selfish Gene [5/30/2009]

I enjoyed reading Dawkins' classic, The Selfish Gene. I especially liked the descriptions of various symbiotic relationships. I found the speculation about how symbiosis might have contributed to early life evolving into complex forms to be interesting and I wish that part was expanded more.

I'm not sure exactly why, but, while reading the book, I was reminded of a print we had up in our family room when I was a kid. It's Dwarf Caiman and False Coral Snake (from The Insects of Suriname, 1719) by the botanical artist, Maria Sibylla Merian.

Yummy New Potatoes [5/28/2009]

18-24 small new red potatoes quartered
6 cloves garlic chopped
1 small onion chopped
2-3 tablespoons rosemary chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Coat bottom of casserole dish with half of the oil
Add remaining ingredients
Drizzle with the rest of the oil
Mix

Bake 30-40 min at 450 until edges are crispy/slightly browned

Pea Soup [5/28/2009]

16 ounce dried split pea package (cleaned and washed)
8 cups/64 oz chicken broth
1 bunch very small carrots chopped
3 tablespoons butter
1 onion chopped
1.5 tablespoons garlic minced
1 teaspoon hot madras curry powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 jalapeno
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
dash of cayenne pepper

melt butter
sweat onion, garlic, salt, pepper
add peas, broth, carrots
bring to a boil
add jalapeno, cayenne, and curry powders
reduce heat to a simmer
cook 1 hour
let cool
add 2 handfuls of ice to help speed along cooling
blend until smooth

(This is my alteration of Alton Brown's recipe that was recommended by Aaron)

Finished After Dark [4/28/2009]

The narrative style of After Dark is a very weird, it reads more like a play than a novel and it kind of bothered me. As usual for Murakami the characters are little off and sort of social outcasts. However, these characters were also a lot more lovable and easier to start caring about.

I like the fact that this book didn't have the foreshadowing that seemed to heavy in both Kafka on the Shore and The Wind Up Bird Chronicle. But, it was also a lot shorter, and I would have liked it to go on for longer.

I would have liked to learn more about Kaoru and her past. I loved the scene between her and the pimp. I would like to know what continued to happen later between them. Overall, it was quite enjoyable and I'm now fully hooked on Murakami and plan to read all the rest of his books.


Here is a great review of After Dark:
http://quarterlyconversation.com/after-dark-by-haruki-murakami-review