The other day I was solo parenting and desperately needed to have an ace supper ready by the time I came home so that way I would not be subjected to the horrors instant of macaroni and cheese. As I was packing kid friendly snacks and putting on rain boots a flash of inspiration came to me and the Easy Thai Crockpot / Slow Cooker Chicken was born.
Ingredients:
1 pack Chicken thighs
1 onion, sliced
1 stalk of lemongrass, bruised
1 handful crumbled sliced dried shitake mushrooms (optional)
1 can cheap beer
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 thumb ginger, chopped
1 fist cilantro stems, really chopped
1 sq inch of tamarind concentrate block
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Tom Yum paste
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Bang everything into your crockpot / slow cooker except for the cornstarch. Put on low and let cook away all day. Before serving add cornstarch to thicken liquid. Serve with steamed rice and garnish with chopped cilantro leaves. My kids loved it and my parenting sanity was saved. How can you go wrong with that?
My wife is away for 3 days taking a very deserved break leaving me to be super daddy and to not go crazy while she is gone. This should not be hard. Joanna cares for our 3 children by herself all the time as do millions of women and single moms all over the world. It is not like I am looking for a medal or anything here. The only issue is that I am night weening my son cold turkey and I lack the female bits necessary to give him what he really wants. And so far, things have been going great. So in order to keep my girls occupied and to stop them from turning on each other like caged rats I thought we should make some Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins! I found this recipe on Epicurious.com and it rules.
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line twelve 1/3-cup muffin cups with foil muffin liners. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Mix mashed bananas, egg, melted butter and milk in medium bowl. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until blended (do not overmix). Stir in chocolate chips.
Divide batter among prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Sprinkle streusel topping on top of each muffin. Bake muffins until tops are pale golden and tester inserted into center comes out with some melted chocolate attached but no crumbs, about 25 -30 minutes. Transfer muffins to rack; cool.
For streusel topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Of course there is absolutely nothing healthy about these muffins, nor should there be, so they make very effective single parent bartering chips. Consider yourself warned and distribute freely to your children to buy yourself a few minutes of sanity.
So yesterday was fairly eventful. It was the one year anniversary of when I cut off my beautiful dreadlocked mane of glory at Sandra's birthday party. Here is a before picture...
Baby Eleanor and me chillin' at our GQ shoot...
and here is an after pic.
I would like to propose at toast to my follicular hero, Kramer...
Yesterday Joanna, Sophia and Pax were also in a car accident in our faithful 94 Ford Aerostar minivan, which the girls had dubbed "the Zack Van". (Affectionately named after Zack de la Rocha... (the antenna was bent in a Z shape and our license plate ended in RGE).
Before you panic, everyone is just fine. No one was hurt at all, and today we took everyone to the doctor's and chiropractor's for thorough check overs, and everyone is OK. But the Zack Van didn't fair so well and he no longer looks like the picture below whatsoever. Well, he would if you removed the enormous dent in the passenger door shaped like a tool-loaded, speeding construction van, and if you replaced all the shattered glass, and if you could still open the sliding door, and if you put the front bumper back on, and stuffed the driver's airbag back in the steering wheel, and if you repaired the crushed front right rim and flat tire. Obviously, all that is not going to happen, and the Zack Van is gone for good.
I'm having difficulty processing all my emotions about yesterday. Above all, I am eternally grateful that my family is safe and healthy. I am very thankful for all our emergency services who were able to care for my loved ones with such kindness, gentleness (the firemen even gave Sophia a teddy bear!), and professionalism and for the invention of child car seats. (Make sure to educate yourself about the BC Paramedic Strike). I would also like to give a special shout out to Chris, Hillary, Stu, Jacqui, Mike, Gordie, Peter, and Sandra for taking such good care of us.
But I am still working through my feelings of helplessness and loss on top of the reality check about what really matters most in life. I wish I could celebrate the safety of my wife and kids without having to deal with the business of doctors and insurance companies and liability. And I feel robbed and cheated.
I kinda liked the Zack Van. I have never been a "car guy", but Joanna's cousin, Kelly, and her family gave us this van in September and helped us with $$$ to insure it. Their kindness and generosity was overwhelming and was a huge blessing to us as a family. The Zack Van was not new, the roof leaked, and my kids had done short work of getting cracker crumbs everywhere, but it had provided a new level of freedom and convenience to us that made our busy lives so much easier. It was also a sign of provision, hope, faithfulness, and goodness to me. And now it is gone. The really ironic thing is that in morning six hours before the accident I got a $50 parking ticket out in front of our house and Joanna also went and got an $85 massage for her tense shoulders.
Obviously I know that the world is not going to fall apart because I no longer have use of an aging chunk of rolling fiberglass, but I'm just trying to work through all of it, d'ya know what I mean? I guess the lesson here, kids, is to be grateful for whatcha got before it's gone and to cherish the ones you love every day. Can I have an Amen, brothers and sisters?
And now this next one goes out to the Zack Van.
We didn't have a lot of time together, buddy, but it was a good time. Thank you for your faithful service to our family and may you rest in peace.
And because this is supposed to be a food blog, here is a collection of recipes taken from "Being Dead Is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral". When you are chowing down make sure that you pour one out for the Zack Van.
The other day it was raining here in the 'Couv (not all that unusual...) and it was just the kind of gray miserable day when you wanted to be home, wearing jammies, and eating something good, warm, and yummy. So one thing led to another and soon the jammies were on and the yummy Asian food was on it's way to our bellies. Just in case you are having a jammy day, I wanted to share this recipe with you. I guarantee that it will make you feel much better.
Speaking of jammies and desperately needing some yummy Asian food, my nephew Mason has been in and out of the hospital lately while he continues to kick leukemia's ass. Although he is only 14, Mason already is a ninja in the kitchen and can do some serious Asian yumminess throwdown. Mason, this episode of DIY Gourmet goes out to you...
Mason, demonstrating a few of his Ninja moves
Rainy Day Malaysian Chicken Stew Ingredients
2 lbs chicken, cubed 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1 thumb ginger, grated 3 onions, sliced 6 cups water 1 cup dried, chopped shitake mushrooms reconstituted in 2 cups boiling water 2 lbs potatoes, cubed 1/2 cup soy 2/3 cup miso paste 2 tablespoons brown sugar 4 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 cup cold water
Throw first 4 ingredients in hot wok with a big glug of oil. Fry until browned. Add remaining ingredients except for the cornstarch and bring to a boil until the potatoes are cooked. Add cornstarch to thicken and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve over rice and pray for Mason's speedy recovery.
Mason, here are some more Ninjas in the kitchen, just to make your day.
Tonight we had a bunch of friends over and Joanna was able to score a smokin' good deal on some salmon, so I was feeling inspired. But I didn't have a lot of time to marinade or BBQ so I decided to steam the fish in newspaper. "Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?", you say. Yep, first you smear delicious goo and fresh herbs all over your fish, and then you wrap it in newspaper, soak it in water, and roast it in the oven. The fish essentially steams inside the paper and gets a gentle and subtle flavour from your additions. Because I live in Vancouver, and because even when my fridge is basically empty I always have strange Asian condiments around, and because I just got back from Thailand, I decided to go with a Southeast Asian groove. Here it is, y'all...
Asian Steamed Fish Paper Parcels Ingredients 1 whole fish (salmon, tilapia, mahi mahi, or anything else you can get your hands on), cleaned 1 fist fresh cilantro 2 big thumbs of ginger 6 cloves fresh garlic 2 stalks fresh lemongrass 2 tablespoons peanut butter 2 tablespoons miso paste 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar newspaper stapler, or kitchen twine, or packing/duct tape if you are really desperate
Assembling the fish and parcel
Instructions Using your favorite, sharp, big-ass kitchen knife, cut slits of both sides of the fish 2 cms apart. (This will allow your flavour goo and herbs more access to the meat.) In a food processor, whizzola the cilantro, garlic, ginger, and lemongrass into oblivion. In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, miso, oil, and vinegar until smooth.
The parcel, steamed, and cut open
Spread out a moderately thick sheath of newspaper. Sprinkle 1/3 of the herb mixture down on the paper. Using a spoon, smear a bit of your flavour goo on one side of the fish, making sure to rub it into the slit cuts. Place fish goo side down onto of the herbs. Spoon more goo into the belly cavity and rub some herbs in there as well. Finally, smear the rest of the goo on top of the fish, rubbing it into the cuts and sprinkling the last of your herb mixture on top.
Oh yeah!
Roll the fish up in the newspaper and fold the ends twice so that way steam will not escape. Seal the parcel however you can, hopefully with staples or kitchen twine, but I was desperate and used packing tape (yes, it does melt). Preheat the oven to 400 and soak the parcel in cold water in the sink for 5 minutes. Put the parcel on a baking sheet and bang it in the oven until it is done. Use a meat thermometer if you are sketchy, but I did mine for about 45 min. When it is done, pull it out, cut it open, and let the feasting begin! While you are enjoying your Asian aquatic yumminess, trip out on this...
I rarely have time to think these days, much less spend a long preparing a meal. With the demands of being a super-daddy that I face every day, relaxing moments are sometimes hard to come by. So today I would like to present to you some simple-zen-in-a-bowl... Easy Miso Soup Ingredients - 2 litres H2O - 1/3 cup miso paste - 1 pack (2 teaspoons) bonito soup base powder (available at Japanese grocery stores) - 1 cube chicken bullion.
Throw in pot. Boil. Stir. Eat.
(If you want to get crazy you can cube up a little bit of firm tofu and throw that in along with some chopped green onion and some udon noodles, but don't break a sweat.)
Now that you are feeling all nice, chilled out, and relaxed, here is some irritating, sappy, kiddy J-pop (apparently extolling the virtues of miso soup) to snap you back to the harsh reality of life.
The last few days have been beautiful in Vancouver and it finally feels that spring has arrived. The sun is shining and the cherry trees are in bloom. I was in the mood for something festive last night so I whipped up something that was bubbly, but wasn't too sweet. However, it does go down very easily. Consider yourself warned. Pop Tart Martini (It isn't made with toaster pastry but it pops, and it's a bit tart) Ingredients 1 shot gin 1 shot pomegranate juice 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon simple syrup 1 dash bitters ice white sugar 2 shots sparkling white wine 2 shots Mountain Dew Rim a martini glass with sugar. Put first 5 ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake like you are having an epileptic fit. Strain into martini glass. Gently stir in sparkling wine and Mountain Dew. Make sure that you raise a toast to spring... This recipe goes out to my buddies Lars and Phil who, at this very moment, are chatting on Facebook, joking about drunken heckling in the back of church tomorrow. You guys rule.
Speaking of Pop Tarts and Phil and Lars, I will leave y'all with this gem.
Friday, February 06, 2009
This last week has been full of disappointment and bad news so feeling really creative to come up with amazing gourmet dishes has been a bit of a challenge. But because my freakin' awesome wife, Joanna, IS SO HOT RIGHT NOW! she managed to do some serious menu planning and came up with a brilliant plan to make a delicious pasta dinner out of all the random things that we had laying around in our cupboard. This recipe comes from epicurious.com which is my web 2.0 ace card when I need a recipe. Check it out.
Cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Return pasta to same pot. Add sauce; toss over medium-high heat until sauce coats pasta thickly, about 5 minutes. Mix in basil; season with salt and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges. Turn on the Cure - Disintegration, slurp your delicious spaghetti, have a sip of wine, enjoy this one beautiful moment, and feel free to forget how much life sucks.
I set up a Facebook group yesterday to let people know when I updated my blog and many of you have already joined and left kind messages and encouraging comments... except you Mary. Mary was bummed that I hyped up the taco's and did not actually give a recipe, so today this one is for you, Mary.
For me a good taco has to start with a good tortilla. My personal tortilla epiphany happened in the mountains of Guatemala in 1991. I was in the middle of nowhere on a missions trip and the local indigenous women made us fresh tortillas over the open fire. They passed us some little balls of dough and tried to teach us how to pat them out with our hands and then openly mocked us as the stupid gringos that we were. That day the scales fell off my eyes and my life changed forever because I tasted manna for the first time and I have been ruined for anything else labeled a "tortilla" ever since.
Nothing else has ever came close but the following recipe is the best that we can hope for (unless you are harbouring a secret harem of indigenous Latin women in your basement to do your evil tortilla bidding.) Ingredients 1 cup white flour 3/4 cup masa mix (mexican corn flour, available at Latin markets) 1/4 cup brown flour 1 teaspoons white sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup butter or shortening 3/4 cup hot water
Directions Mix together dry ingredients. Add shortening and use fork or pastry knife or even the tips of your fingers to work the fat into the dry ingredients until small pea-sized balls form. Gradually add hot water and mix until a stiff ball forms. Gently knead for 3-5 minutes, shape into ball, place in bowl, cover and let rest for 1 hour. Then pinch off golf ball-sized pieces and roll into balls. Dust with flour, cover and let rest for another hour. When you are ready to cook, roll out into tortilla shape on floured counter with a floured rolling pin. Cook individually on a preheated super-hot cast iron frying pan until bubbles start to show on surface then flip over. (10 - 30 seconds/side) Eat while hot. Have a shot of tequila. Repeat. Listen to Pixies "Surfer Rosa" and continue alternating between fresh tortillas and tequila.
Over New Year's we were in San Diego to attend a wedding. Being the culturally sensitive types that we are, we had to search out some amazing tacos. Our friends Craig and Kay Charlotte hooked us up at their favorite place, Taco El Gordo.
Eleanor rockin' the quesadilla
Sophia drunk on taco awesomeness
As you can see from the pictures, Eleanor and Sophia ate their faces off. I decided to walk on the wild side and promptly ordered one heart taco, one brain, and one tripe. The heart taco was surprisingly plain and boring. The brain taco was bland and mushy. If you have texture issues, you should definitely steer away from this one. But the tripe taco was AWESOME. It was a little bit crispy, full of flavor, and every time I bit into it, my tongue did a Mexican Hat Dance. Ole!
So next time that you visit your local taqueria, why don't you grab some cahones, be a man, and chow down on the spicy intestine. Make me proud, y'all.
Yep, I am natty no more but we auctioned off the dreads for over $2800! And all together we raised over $12000 for Sandra's expenses as she continues to kick cancer's butt. A great night was had by all. (except for my neck, which is still really, really cold)
I have some news. I have decided to cut off my dreadlocks. Yep. You read that right.
And here is why. I think it's time. I"m almost 40 years old and I have enough hair to weave a drag net. My dreads are heavy and they drag on the floor when i work concerts. But really, the reason is Sandra.
Sandra is our dear, dear friend. Godmother to Eleanor, doula to both girl's births, permanent dinner guest, family photographer, only one of 2 non-blood-family members to have a soap dedicated to them, and dreadlock technician. Yes, Sandra made my dreads in 2001 and has maintained "our hair" faithfully ever since, up until the last year. Sandra, you see, has breast cancer, and she can't lift her arms to do the dread maintenance any more. She is also unable to work as a photographer now, her mainstay for income, and so we are throwing her a birthday party that is also a fundraiser next Sunday night.
And, at the party, I am going to auction off the right to cut off each one of all 45 dreadlocks to raise money for the woman who brought those babies into being.
You can buy a dreadlock, the minimum bid is $20 a dread, more if you like. If we sell them all at a minimum bid, it would bring San $900 but I think I have at least a $1000 head of hair, so spread the word.
If you would like to buy a dread but you can't jet up to Vancouver for this stylin' shindig, go to the www.happybirthdaysandra.wordpress.com and click on "Donate", fill out the Paypal and then send me and email saying that your donation is to buy a dread.
Sandra is nearing the end of her radiation treatments and is doing well, but would still appreciate your thoughts and prayers for quick healing and energy, especially to enjoy her own party.
There will also be folk and tango dancing, 80's trance remix, cash bar, amazing door prizes, a killer silent auction, and birthday cake of course!
Many years ago I was trained as a barista at an upscale vegetarian restaurant in Victoria which allowed my life long infatuation with one of God's kindest gifts to mankind to fully blossom into a gourmet obsession. Of course, at that time I was unmarried, I didn't have any children, and I actually had disposable income that I spent quite freely on ridiculously overpriced coffee beans, sushi, and CD's. Since then my coffee spending habits have REALLY changed but I think I have finally stumbled on my ultimate economic caffienation solution. Roast your own beans!
Now I have been reading online for years about people who have roasted their own coffee in a hot air popcorn popper and I haven't bothered because I thought it would be too much work. Finally one day I went down to my local independent microroaster cafe where my awesome friend Brandy works and I bought a kilo (that's 2.2 lbs for all my American friends) of high quality, organic green beans for not all that much $$$. (Really great coffee is way cheaper if you buy it green...) I came home, checked out www.coffeegeek.com to find some roasting tips, and dug out my popcorn popper. I poured some beans it, cranked it up, and waited, and waited, and waited... Apparently, my old popper just doesn't have the cojones to get hot enough to roast coffee. So I whipped out my trusty cast iron skillet, fired up my gas stove, grabbed a wooden spoon and got down with the roastin'! Below you will find a video of my first experiments.
Since then I have tweaked my process just a little. I now roast 3 cups at a time and when all the beans get to a light roast and take about 1/4 cup out. Then when they get to a medium roast I take another 1/4 cup out. I take the remaining beans to a standard dark roast and then take almost all the beans out of the pan leaving about a 1/4 cup to go to a very dark espresso roast. Then your final roast is a beautiful, multi-nuanced roast sensation. Let it cool off overnight and when you get up in the morning prepare yourself for the best cup of coffee you have ever had. Oh yes, you are that cool. Feel free to dig out your black beret, your anarchist poetry journal, and practice phrases like "delicious mouthfeel" and "complex acidity" and "Oh yeah? Well your mom drinks instant!"
So we are currently on vacation with our favorite families, the Wilsons and the Alexanders. The kids are playing in the sun, splashing in the pool, and the margaritas have been plentiful. (And there was much rejoicing.) On top of that there has also been copious amounts of meat and karaoke (Did I already mention that Ian is really fast on blender duty for the margaritas?)
Mexi Peach Wet Rub 2 peaches 1 onion 1 big tomato 1 fist of fresh cilantro zest and juice of 1 live 2 teaspoons brown sugar 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 shot tequila 1/4 cup ketchup 1 canned chipotle pepper 1 whole fresh chicken 1 can cheap, nasty near beer (why would you shove a really good beer up a chicken's butt?)
Throw all ingredients into blender or food processor and get your groove on. Separate skin from the meat of the chicken and pretend that you are a customs officer doing a body cavity search and grab a handful o' tasty goo and rub it all over under the chicken skin (breast, thighs, legs, and back) and inside of the cavity. It is best if you let your chicken have some privacy after you have violated it so thoroughly. If possible, let it marinade in the fridge for at least 4 hours. While you are feeling like a big man because you have complete, total power over this poor, defenseless chicken, prepare the...
Mexican Spice Rub 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon cocoa powder 1 tablespoon cumin 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon black pepper 1 tablespoon oregano 2 tablespoons brown sugar.
Combine, stir, and rub all over, baby. Take your nasty near beer, open it and poke a few extra holes in the top of the can. Grab a funnel and pour some left over spice rub into the can. Take your chicken out of the fridge and tell it to look up at the ceiling and cough while you shove the can of beer up its butt. It should form a little tripod with the chicken legs forward and the can providing most of the support.
Ian, in the background, celebrating his margarita prowess
Before you turn on your BBQ, put a disposable aluminum pan directly in the middle of the BBQ, underneath the grill surface. fill it full of boiling water, replace the grill, and turn your BBQ on medium. Place your enema canned chicken directly over top of the pan and close the lid. Wait 10 minutes and then brush on the...
Chili Peach Glaze 1/2 cup peach jam 1/4 cup ketchup 1 chipotle pepper diced zest and juice of 1 live 1 clove of garlic, diced 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro 1./2 teaspoon salt
Continue to BBQ until internal temperature of the chicken reaches 180 degrees C, when taken with a meat thermometer. If all the water in the drip pan steams away, add more boiling water. Serve with anything Mexican-y and lots of Ian Wilson margaritas.
Yep, I haven't posted a recipe SINCE FRIGGIN' MARCH! Please feel free to leave a snarky comment about how lazy I am right after you pull your weight and come over to my house and scrub the floor, because I think that is the only thing that I didn't get done today.
Seriously, I am just stoked that I found 10 minutes of "leisure time" to blog somewhere inbetween my 4 jobs, the endless dirty dishes, the 6 loads of laundry that I did today, and the constant containment of the swath of domestic destruction that my 2 little girls manage to leave in their wake.
Soo... if you're a seriously sleep deprived, frazzled house-husband like me, nothing takes away the tension of a hot afternoon spent with overtired and hungry little girls like large amounts of caffeine and sugar. And here is the perfect delivery system... Anti-Infaticide Iced Coffee 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon hazelnut syrup 1 tablespoon cocoa powder 2 tablespoons evaporated milk 3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk 6 frozen coffee ice cubes 1 cup RIDICULOUSLY strong chilled coffee
(Obviously you are going to plan a bit in advance to make coffee cubes and have extra coffee to chill. Just make another pot when you get up in the morning. But if you are as nonfunctional as I am in the morning, you will probably just end up drinking that pot as well. If so, make another pot of coffee when you get out of the shower. Make some coffee ice cubes and chill the rest cuz if you drink this pot you will just be peeing all day.)
Combine all ingredients in blender. Breathe deeply while the children scream. Pour into tall glass and add a few shots of Bailey's if you really need it. Sip slowly and notice how suddenly everything isn't so bad after all.
My excellent niece and nephew, Kelsi and Mason, are staying with us for a few days. They have spent their spring break visiting their Dad in Kamloops and experienced a bit of culture shock (which is surprising seeing how the logging redneck interior of British Columbia is so similar to the locals-only vibe of Waimanalo... insert sarcasm here).
So when they arrived I whipped them up a quick snack of Spam Musubi. For those of you not in the know, Spam Musubi is the snack that truly fuels the aloha spirit. And quite frankly, if you are going to eat Spam, (like if someone puts a gun to your head), you should definitely choose to enjoy your mystery meat in this fabulous pan-pacific-asian cross-cultural dish. Ingredients
2-3 sheets nori
2 cups rice
2 cups water
1 can spam
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Mason, the Spam / Aloha Ambassador
Cooking Directions
Cook the rice, using equal parts rice and water. I use a rice cooker, but you can also cook it on the stove if you don't have a rice cooker.
Mix the soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar in a bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Cut the spam into 8 equal pieces, horizontally (like you are slicing the top off each time). Keep the can!
Place the spam slices in the sauce mix, marinate for as long as possible. I did about and hour.
Put the oil in a frying pan, heat over medium heat.
Fry the marinated spam until brown, about 2 minutes on each side.
Cut the nori into strips about 2.5 inches wide.
Wash the can that the spam was in very well and lightly oil the can
Fill the can with about an inch and a half of loosely packed rice, then squish it down very tightly. I even used my espresso tamper for extra packability. To get the rice out of the can, I slammed the can upside down on the cutting board until the rice came out. You might also try to line the can with plastic wrap before you pack the rice, so it’s easy to pull it out.
Place the rice on one end of the nori, so that they are perpendicular.
Place a slice of spam on the rice.
Wrap the nori around the spam/rice stack. Hold closed for a few seconds, it should stick. If it doesn’t stay closed, use a drop of water to close it.
He is risen! Yes, happy Easter y'all. This weekend Joanna took the culinary reins and whipped up the most amazing easter ham I have ever tasted. Yes, Jesus died to fulfill the New Covenant so that we could eat bacon... and delicious ham. And just to help you celebrate your religious freedom, please allow me to enable your next pork-induced coma.
Ham with Orange and Ginger Glaze 1 bone in ham 1/2 cup ginger ale 1/4 cup orange juice Glaze
3/4
cup Orange Marmalade
1
tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
2
teaspoons Dijon Mustard
Sauce
1
tablespoon cornstarch
2
tablespoons orange juice
2
teaspoons brown sugar
Directions
1.
Rub ham with salt and pepper and prepare and bake ham according to package directions, removing from oven 30 minutes before the end of baking time.
2.
Make Glaze: Mix marmalade, ginger and mustard in small bowl until well blended.
3.
Uncover; brush with the Orange and Ginger Glaze. Pour ginger ale and 1/4 cup orange juice into pan. Increase oven temperature to 425�F. Continue baking ham, uncovered, 30 minutes, basting with the pan juices every 10 minutes.Remove ham from oven; loosely cover with aluminum foil. Let stand about 15 minutes.
4.
Make Sauce: Meanwhile, beat cornstarch and 2 tablespoons orange juice in small bowl with wire whisk until well blended; set aside. Pour pan juices from ham into small saucepan; stir in sugar. Cook over medium-high heat 1 minute, or until mixture comes to a boil. Add cornstarch mixture; cook 1 to 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.
5.
Carve ham. Drizzle with the Sauce just before serving.
I thought I should also mention that my friend Rick gave me 2 awesome Simpsons books for my birthday as well as an Itunes gift card. The books have been just the thing as I have laid around the house not having any motivation to move.
So I guess all is not suckitude, and hey, it looks like the sun is going to shine today. Oh yeah, and Filter gave me a pound of dark roast Kona peaberry, which has definitely been my happy place the last few days, so I will stop whining now. Rick and Phil, you guys are good friends.
So as almost a full week has passed since my birthday, things have continued to suck. My wife, myself, and our 2 little girls are now all sick and I am exhausted from everything that had to be done last week. I think that I am going to call a do-over on this whole birthday thing and plan some amazing celebration when we have all recovered from this crazy thing called life. Maybe in April sometime. On a more positive note, my friend Ryan gave me 2 (count them, 2, not 1, 2) boxes of Captain Crunch for my birthday. Boo ya! Even though life might be kicking me in the ribs, I still have awesome friends.
