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.

Palermo Pasta with Clam Sauce

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 6 caper-wrapped anchovies in oil, drained (1 1/2 tablespoons oil reserved), chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 10-ounce cans baby clams, drained well, juices reserved
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

• 1 pound spaghettini
• 1/2 cup (packed) sliced fresh basil
• Lemon wedges

Directions

Melt butter with anchovy oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped anchovy mixture and garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add clam juices and wine; boil 4 minutes to reduce slightly. Mix in cream and clams; set aside.

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.

Thoughts about a tortilla...

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.

Taco Adventures

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.

They're gone!

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 guess I need to change my screen name now...

Yup, I'm cutting off the dreads...

Dear Friends,

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!

See ya there!
~pwade

My Drug of Choice

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!"

Mexican Beer Can Chicken

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?)

Last night we had a fever... and the only thing that could cure it was not cowbell, but rather Mexican Beer Can Chicken. If you are up for the challenge, here it is...

Mexican Beer Can Chicken

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.