The tomatillos came up in just about 4 days and two of them are already potted on into larger containers. A third is ready for that, too, and two are growing more slowly.
Friday, December 05, 2014
We have seedlings!
As of yesterday, a pepper seed has sprouted.
The tomatillos came up in just about 4 days and two of them are already potted on into larger containers. A third is ready for that, too, and two are growing more slowly.
The tomatillos came up in just about 4 days and two of them are already potted on into larger containers. A third is ready for that, too, and two are growing more slowly.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Recent adventures in Mexican food
We've been doing our best to enjoy Mexican food, both at home and out
in the world. Our recent visit to the US was a good excuse to eat as
much Mexican food as possible, in LA, San Fran, New York, and even
Honolulu.
Here in Melbourne, we visited the Mexican Independence Day celebration at Federation Square. There, we discovered huaraches, at the Los Amates stall--and they were so good that not only did we go back for more, but then we sought out Los Amates' restaurant. It's in Fitzroy (or is it North Carlton at that point?), and conveniently right across the street from Casa Iberica, one of my favorite Mexi-Latino markets here.
We've also gone twice to Radio Mexico, in St. Kilda. In Winter, they had a great happy hour, with a taco and a Mexican beer (I gave mine to Noah) for just $10. They don't have this special anymore now, but they do still have good crab tostaditas and a yummy shrimp-poblano dish.
At this point, my ranking of Melbourne Mexican restaurants is:
1. Los Amates
2. Radio Mexico
3. La Tortilleria (Kensington)
4. Blue Corn (St. Kilda)
5. Bay City Burritos (St. Kilda)
6. Mamasita (CBD; and yep, no higher than this)
7. Zambrero (Port Melbourne)
Finally, here are some of the favorite new recipes I've been using in home cooking. They've worked out REALLY well.
Sopes
Elotes (off the cob)
Requeson Revuelto
Here in Melbourne, we visited the Mexican Independence Day celebration at Federation Square. There, we discovered huaraches, at the Los Amates stall--and they were so good that not only did we go back for more, but then we sought out Los Amates' restaurant. It's in Fitzroy (or is it North Carlton at that point?), and conveniently right across the street from Casa Iberica, one of my favorite Mexi-Latino markets here.
We've also gone twice to Radio Mexico, in St. Kilda. In Winter, they had a great happy hour, with a taco and a Mexican beer (I gave mine to Noah) for just $10. They don't have this special anymore now, but they do still have good crab tostaditas and a yummy shrimp-poblano dish.
At this point, my ranking of Melbourne Mexican restaurants is:
1. Los Amates
2. Radio Mexico
3. La Tortilleria (Kensington)
4. Blue Corn (St. Kilda)
5. Bay City Burritos (St. Kilda)
6. Mamasita (CBD; and yep, no higher than this)
7. Zambrero (Port Melbourne)
Finally, here are some of the favorite new recipes I've been using in home cooking. They've worked out REALLY well.
Sopes
Elotes (off the cob)
Requeson Revuelto
Moving is really disruptive
Uh....it's been a while. During the last few months, we've found and
moved into our "permanent" house (more on that some time); I've taught
my first three courses in Australia; I got dreadfully sick for three
full weeks and then mildly sick for three more; we took our first trip
back to the US, with stops in Hawaii and New Zealand on the way back;
and we did a whole lot of shopping.
Speaking of which, we were prepared for Australia to be expensive. We did our research, checked Expatistan and Numbeo, looked at websites, even walked through stores with a list and a calculator during one of our visits. But we were utterly unprepared for just how expensive Australia actually is. It's kind of insane. We can't figure out how people live on "average" salaries. I may write more about this in the future. But if anyone ever reads this who is considering a move...on our visit back last month, we visited several of the most expensive cities in the US--LA, San Francisco, New York, Honolulu--and kept exclaiming over how cheap everything was, without exception. It is hard to understand how much more it is here, until you're here.
Meanwhile, here's an update on my growing progress. I posted my germination set-up way back in May, then nothing. Why? Because absolutely nothing happened. Here's what my set-up looked like weeks and months after my previous post:
The big problem, I think, was that I didn't understand how to manage watering of the little peat pods. At first, I was worried about their being too waterlogged. But very quickly, they dried out, and I probably never watered them properly afterward.
I'm about to try again. This time I won't bother with jalapeños, which are readily available here in Melbourne. I can find poblanos with some frequency at the Coles on Bay Street in Port Melbourne, and recently at the South Melbourne Market as well; but they're not regular enough, so I've planted another 5 seeds. If they don't work this time, when I'm pretty sure I know how to water, I'll blame my hand-harvested seeds (I just cut open poblanos from Coles), then I'll order seeds from a garden center.
I did also order tomatillo seeds from Beautanicals, and I've planted 5 of those along with my 5 poblano seeds. Come on, hot weather!! (First...come on, germination!)
Finally, I also ordered some supplies to make cotija cheese, following instructions I found here and here, from Cheeselinks. That project has to wait until I figure out where to buy a high-quality milk for cheese-making. More soon, I hope!
Speaking of which, we were prepared for Australia to be expensive. We did our research, checked Expatistan and Numbeo, looked at websites, even walked through stores with a list and a calculator during one of our visits. But we were utterly unprepared for just how expensive Australia actually is. It's kind of insane. We can't figure out how people live on "average" salaries. I may write more about this in the future. But if anyone ever reads this who is considering a move...on our visit back last month, we visited several of the most expensive cities in the US--LA, San Francisco, New York, Honolulu--and kept exclaiming over how cheap everything was, without exception. It is hard to understand how much more it is here, until you're here.
Meanwhile, here's an update on my growing progress. I posted my germination set-up way back in May, then nothing. Why? Because absolutely nothing happened. Here's what my set-up looked like weeks and months after my previous post:
The big problem, I think, was that I didn't understand how to manage watering of the little peat pods. At first, I was worried about their being too waterlogged. But very quickly, they dried out, and I probably never watered them properly afterward.
I'm about to try again. This time I won't bother with jalapeños, which are readily available here in Melbourne. I can find poblanos with some frequency at the Coles on Bay Street in Port Melbourne, and recently at the South Melbourne Market as well; but they're not regular enough, so I've planted another 5 seeds. If they don't work this time, when I'm pretty sure I know how to water, I'll blame my hand-harvested seeds (I just cut open poblanos from Coles), then I'll order seeds from a garden center.
I did also order tomatillo seeds from Beautanicals, and I've planted 5 of those along with my 5 poblano seeds. Come on, hot weather!! (First...come on, germination!)
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Step 1: Growing chiles
During our pre-move visits to Melbourne, my husband Noah and I stopped several times at grocery stores and big markets to check out the resources for Mexican cooking. I was rather concerned about the chile situation: Though there were jalapeños and many, many Asian chilies, I did not see any of my Mexican standbys, such as Poblanos and Hatch chiles. Among the dried chiles available at local markets such as El Cielo, I can find Ancho, Pasilla, and Guajillo, but not Chiles Negros (though I must admit, I'm wondering whether the local Rancho Market in Salt Lake City actually sold real Chilhuacles, or some Pasilla-oriented substitute?). And though I've seen chiles that look much like Anaheims, I've read that these Australian versions don't have the correct flavor profile.
Imagine my joy when, after we moved, I discovered that the local Port Melbourne Cole's grocery story carries poblanos! But the friendly produce guy warned that they don't always have them and can't predict when they will and won't.
What to do? Well, obviously, to grow our own!
I started by buying some poblanos and jalapeños at Coles. When I cooked with them, instead of throwing away the scraped-out seeds, I saved them, drying them between layers of paper towel in a shallow plastic tray. (Note that I've started this project while still living in our small, temporary post-move apartment with very inadequate kitchen facilities. Note too that it's mid-winter.) After 5 days of drying, the seeds looked ready for the next stage. I'll save space here by saying that I followed the directions in this YouTube video as precisely as possible. I soaked and planted (in peat pellets) 6 poblano and 6 jalapeño seeds, and put them into a heated propagator that I found at Bunnings, along with a propagation thermometer.
Because this is my first time propagating from seed, let alone growing chiles (which I gather are tough to grow), I relied on a couple of other sites for tips, as well. But that UK YouTube video was my main tutor.
It's now just day 2 of germination and there's not much to see.
Just trying to keep the temperature steady between 20 and 30C, and to figure out the proper level of moisture. The video guy said to water with a pipette every day, but the pellets look too wet to me so I am not watering today. Perhaps I'll mist tomorrow. Anyway, I'll update as new things occur!
Of course, just as I start this new blog project, my teaching term at the university is about to begin, and that may slow me down--the priority will be keeping these chiles alive over posting. ;-) Plus, we move into our new "permanent" house in just a week, and that will certainly mean some upheaval. Stay tuned.
Imagine my joy when, after we moved, I discovered that the local Port Melbourne Cole's grocery story carries poblanos! But the friendly produce guy warned that they don't always have them and can't predict when they will and won't.
What to do? Well, obviously, to grow our own!
I started by buying some poblanos and jalapeños at Coles. When I cooked with them, instead of throwing away the scraped-out seeds, I saved them, drying them between layers of paper towel in a shallow plastic tray. (Note that I've started this project while still living in our small, temporary post-move apartment with very inadequate kitchen facilities. Note too that it's mid-winter.) After 5 days of drying, the seeds looked ready for the next stage. I'll save space here by saying that I followed the directions in this YouTube video as precisely as possible. I soaked and planted (in peat pellets) 6 poblano and 6 jalapeño seeds, and put them into a heated propagator that I found at Bunnings, along with a propagation thermometer.
It's now just day 2 of germination and there's not much to see.
Of course, just as I start this new blog project, my teaching term at the university is about to begin, and that may slow me down--the priority will be keeping these chiles alive over posting. ;-) Plus, we move into our new "permanent" house in just a week, and that will certainly mean some upheaval. Stay tuned.
Site reboot! Why this is becoming a Mexican food blog!
This post represents a new era for this blog. After 7 years (!!) of inactivity, it's being rebooted as a place for me to document my new Ordinary Life adventures in my new home: Australia. Some day I may tell the story of how this came to be, but right now I want to cut to the chase of this new blog era. Australia is awesome (if expensive) in so many ways, but it has one major deficiency: a lack of the kind of Texas-Arizona-California Mexican food that we love so much. Sure, there are Mexican restaurants, but they are a higher-end niche serving more delicate and refined items than we know from home. There are only a few markets selling Mexican items, and those are heavy on the canned goods (and sometimes, thankfully, good corn tortillas) and very light on fresh produce, cheeses, and other staples.
So, a new hobby is born. I'll be spending a fair amount of my leisure time in Melbourne on gardening, cheesemaking, and cooking--all in an effort to keep good, hearty, Southwestern-Mex meals abundant at our house. Stay tuned for updates and let me know if you are a local reader with any suggestions or tips!
So, a new hobby is born. I'll be spending a fair amount of my leisure time in Melbourne on gardening, cheesemaking, and cooking--all in an effort to keep good, hearty, Southwestern-Mex meals abundant at our house. Stay tuned for updates and let me know if you are a local reader with any suggestions or tips!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Two poems
I just think these are funny. They are not particularly meaningful but I can't figure out where to file the photocopies I have, so I thought I'd post them here.
Cinderella's Diary
I miss my stepmother. What a thing to say
but it's true. The prince is so boring: four
hours to dress and then the cheering throngs.
Again. The page who holds the door is cute
enough to eat. Where is he once Mr. Charming
kisses my forehead goodnight?
Every morning I gaze out a casement window
at the hunters, dark men with blood on their
boots who joke and mount, their black trousers
straining, rough beards, callused hands, selfish,
abrupt...
Oh, dear diary! I am lost in ever after:
Those insufferable birds, someone in every
room with a lute, the queen calling me to look
at another painting of her son, this time
holding the transparent slipper I wish
I'd never seen.
-Ron Koertge, from Fever
Kryptonite
Lois liked to see the bullets bounce
off Superman's chest, and of course
she was proud when he leaned into
a locomotive and saved the crippled
orphan who had fallen on the tracks.
Yet on those long nights when he was
readjusting longitude or destroying
a meteor headed right for some nun,
Lois considered carrying just a smidgen
of kryptonite in her purse or at least
making a tincture to dab behind her ears.
She pictured his knees giving way,
the color draining from his cheeks.
He'd lie on the couch like a guy with
the flu, too weak to paint the front
porch or take out the garbage. She
could peek down his tights or draw
on his cheek with a ball point. She
might even muss his hair and slap
him around.
"Hey, what'd I do?" he'd croak just
like a regular boyfriend. At last.
-??
Cinderella's Diary
I miss my stepmother. What a thing to say
but it's true. The prince is so boring: four
hours to dress and then the cheering throngs.
Again. The page who holds the door is cute
enough to eat. Where is he once Mr. Charming
kisses my forehead goodnight?
Every morning I gaze out a casement window
at the hunters, dark men with blood on their
boots who joke and mount, their black trousers
straining, rough beards, callused hands, selfish,
abrupt...
Oh, dear diary! I am lost in ever after:
Those insufferable birds, someone in every
room with a lute, the queen calling me to look
at another painting of her son, this time
holding the transparent slipper I wish
I'd never seen.
-Ron Koertge, from Fever
Kryptonite
Lois liked to see the bullets bounce
off Superman's chest, and of course
she was proud when he leaned into
a locomotive and saved the crippled
orphan who had fallen on the tracks.
Yet on those long nights when he was
readjusting longitude or destroying
a meteor headed right for some nun,
Lois considered carrying just a smidgen
of kryptonite in her purse or at least
making a tincture to dab behind her ears.
She pictured his knees giving way,
the color draining from his cheeks.
He'd lie on the couch like a guy with
the flu, too weak to paint the front
porch or take out the garbage. She
could peek down his tights or draw
on his cheek with a ball point. She
might even muss his hair and slap
him around.
"Hey, what'd I do?" he'd croak just
like a regular boyfriend. At last.
-??
Saturday, September 09, 2006
I'm not my brother's keeper, but they are
(Wow--it's been a while since I've posted here!)
The last few days have seen a media build-up to the 5th anniversary of September 11, and I've noted a recurring theme. Whether on Larry Mantle's interview show on the local NPR affiliate, in letters to Time magazine, or in just about any other medium covering the anniversary, some Americans are indignant that American Muslims don't seem to be sufficiently penitent about terrorism committed by their coreligionists.
On Larry Mantle's show, an angry and strident caller kept insisting that American Muslims never express any disavowal of any terrorist act that occurs. In Time, a widow of a 9/11 victim says that American Muslims "maintain a deafening silence in the face of atrocities." One of Mantle's Muslim guests pointed out that, in fact, every major Muslim organization (and many minor ones) certainly do disavow and condemn all attacks, but the media do not cover their statements. She urged the caller to check the organizations' websites--condemnations would be found there. But he kept insisting that, if the media didn't convey the disavowals, then they'd never been made. He hung up as angry as when he called.
Somehow I don't recall hearing how American Christians rushed to condemn the terrorist attack by Timothy McVeigh as Christians. I don't recall hearing the major churches or famous Christian leaders disavow what the Serbs did in Kosovo. And when the IRA conducted bombings in Britain, did the local archdiocese issue a statement? Of course, then we didn't have the proper perspective. Now that we hear how important it is for Muslims to apologize for everything another Muslim does, I look forward to the rush of Christian apologies for Christian acts (raping and murdering a 14-year-old in Iraq, anyone??) that will inevitably ensue.
I thought I'd personally offer my apology for atrocities committed by my co-religionists, but there are not a lot of atheist/Buddhist committers out there. I'll have to settle for this: I personally condemn and disavow the terrible acts committed by Lenin, Stalin, and the Marquis de Sade, and wish to state that in no way does my own practice of atheism/Buddhism accommodate or justify such acts.
The last few days have seen a media build-up to the 5th anniversary of September 11, and I've noted a recurring theme. Whether on Larry Mantle's interview show on the local NPR affiliate, in letters to Time magazine, or in just about any other medium covering the anniversary, some Americans are indignant that American Muslims don't seem to be sufficiently penitent about terrorism committed by their coreligionists.
On Larry Mantle's show, an angry and strident caller kept insisting that American Muslims never express any disavowal of any terrorist act that occurs. In Time, a widow of a 9/11 victim says that American Muslims "maintain a deafening silence in the face of atrocities." One of Mantle's Muslim guests pointed out that, in fact, every major Muslim organization (and many minor ones) certainly do disavow and condemn all attacks, but the media do not cover their statements. She urged the caller to check the organizations' websites--condemnations would be found there. But he kept insisting that, if the media didn't convey the disavowals, then they'd never been made. He hung up as angry as when he called.
Somehow I don't recall hearing how American Christians rushed to condemn the terrorist attack by Timothy McVeigh as Christians. I don't recall hearing the major churches or famous Christian leaders disavow what the Serbs did in Kosovo. And when the IRA conducted bombings in Britain, did the local archdiocese issue a statement? Of course, then we didn't have the proper perspective. Now that we hear how important it is for Muslims to apologize for everything another Muslim does, I look forward to the rush of Christian apologies for Christian acts (raping and murdering a 14-year-old in Iraq, anyone??) that will inevitably ensue.
I thought I'd personally offer my apology for atrocities committed by my co-religionists, but there are not a lot of atheist/Buddhist committers out there. I'll have to settle for this: I personally condemn and disavow the terrible acts committed by Lenin, Stalin, and the Marquis de Sade, and wish to state that in no way does my own practice of atheism/Buddhism accommodate or justify such acts.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Will this just blow over too?
This is the kind of thing that I always think will definitely change everything. Surely this time the Bush administration can't get away with this! Now that almost every ordinary American, including Red-state bible-thumpers, is probably affected, they too will care. We'll see.
So USA Today breaks a story today that the Bush Administration has been amassing a huge database of all domestic phone calls in the U.S. From what I can tell, the info collected is essentially a cross-tabulation of phone numbers, incoming and outgoing. (By the way, the guy in charge? Michael Hayden. The nominee for CIA head. Nice.) The three largest carriers--Bell South, Verizon (ours!!), and AT&T--all complied. The only holdout in the country was Qwest. If we only still lived in Boulder, we wouldn't have been spied on! And why? Qwest's legal team, and its CEO, actually scrutinized the NSA's request and found it to be of dubious legality. They were willing to endure the high-pressure tactics (including questioning of patriotism) by the government, and stood firm. I wish I could drop Verizon and use Qwest. I'd do it in a second.
My first thought was to remember Alberto Gonzales's testimony to the Senate about the NSA international wiretapping. He would not deny the existence of other spying programs (the example I'm clipping came up over and over, with different specific questions asked by Senators--including about domestic phone calls).
In fact, he was so cagey that, in February this year, the Washington Post's coverage included the following quote:
Technorati led me to an interesting blog entry looking at the laws affecting this case. In short, the Administration will be able to marshal its usual team of right-wing blowhards and government flaks to go out and blanket the talk shows with Bush's defense of the program. But if anyone could actually DO anything, there are laws that appear to make the program illegal. And in case it wasn't already clear, once again we are in a situation in which the government obtained NO WARRANTS for the data it sought.
This just seems so appalling, but I can't imagine any scandal actually sticking to these guys. Still, I'll be making whatever calls I can, to let some folks in Congress and the phone companies know that some of the American public is awake, has a pulse, and is steamed about this violation of our civil liberties. Hope I won't be the only one.
So USA Today breaks a story today that the Bush Administration has been amassing a huge database of all domestic phone calls in the U.S. From what I can tell, the info collected is essentially a cross-tabulation of phone numbers, incoming and outgoing. (By the way, the guy in charge? Michael Hayden. The nominee for CIA head. Nice.) The three largest carriers--Bell South, Verizon (ours!!), and AT&T--all complied. The only holdout in the country was Qwest. If we only still lived in Boulder, we wouldn't have been spied on! And why? Qwest's legal team, and its CEO, actually scrutinized the NSA's request and found it to be of dubious legality. They were willing to endure the high-pressure tactics (including questioning of patriotism) by the government, and stood firm. I wish I could drop Verizon and use Qwest. I'd do it in a second.
My first thought was to remember Alberto Gonzales's testimony to the Senate about the NSA international wiretapping. He would not deny the existence of other spying programs (the example I'm clipping came up over and over, with different specific questions asked by Senators--including about domestic phone calls).
SPECTER: Well, then, let me ask you this.
Under your interpretation of this, can you go in and do mail searches? Can you go into e-mails? Can you open mail? Can you do black-bag jobs?
And under the idea that you don't have much time to go through what you described as a cumbersome procedure, what most people think is a pretty easy procedure, to get a FISA warrant, can you go and do that of Americans?
GONZALES: Sir, I've tried to outline for you and the committee what the president has authorized, and that is all that he has authorized.
LEAHY: Did it authorize the opening of first-class mail of U.S. citizens? That you can answer yes or no.
GONZALES: There is all kinds of wild speculation about...
LEAHY: Did it authorize it?
SPECTER: Let him finish.
GONZALES: There is all kinds of wild speculation out there about what the president has authorized and what we're actually doing. And I'm not going to get into a discussion, Senator, about...
LEAHY: Mr. Attorney General, you're not answering my question. I'm not asking you what the president authorized.
Does this law -- you're the chief law enforcement officer of the country -- does this law authorize the opening of first-class mail of U.S. citizens, yes or no, under your interpretation?
GONZALES: Senator, I think that, again, that is not what is going on here.
We're only focused on international communications where one part of the communication is Al Qaida. That's what this program is all about.
LEAHY: You haven't answered my question .
In fact, he was so cagey that, in February this year, the Washington Post's coverage included the following quote:
"It seems to me he is conceding that there are other NSA surveillance programs ongoing that the president hasn't told anyone about,"said Bruce Fein, a government lawyer in the Nixon, Carter and Reagan administrations.
Technorati led me to an interesting blog entry looking at the laws affecting this case. In short, the Administration will be able to marshal its usual team of right-wing blowhards and government flaks to go out and blanket the talk shows with Bush's defense of the program. But if anyone could actually DO anything, there are laws that appear to make the program illegal. And in case it wasn't already clear, once again we are in a situation in which the government obtained NO WARRANTS for the data it sought.
This just seems so appalling, but I can't imagine any scandal actually sticking to these guys. Still, I'll be making whatever calls I can, to let some folks in Congress and the phone companies know that some of the American public is awake, has a pulse, and is steamed about this violation of our civil liberties. Hope I won't be the only one.
Monday, May 01, 2006
From the Dalai Lama
As quoted in The Week:
It is fascinating. In the West, you have bigger homes, yet smaller families; you have endless conveniences, yet you never seem to have any time. You can travel anywhere in the world, yet you don't cross the road to meet your neighbors; you have more food than you can eat, yet that makes [overweight people] miserable. I don't think people have become more selfish, but their lives have become easier and that has spoiled them. They expect more, they constantly compare themselves to others, and they have too much choice--which brings no real freedom.Word.
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