eggs and griots

logotv: REBLOG if you want Jinkx Monsoon to be America’s Next...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:59:03 -0400

logotv:

REBLOG if you want Jinkx Monsoon to be America’s Next Drag Superstar!

Interview under the influence of habañero chiles. Genius.

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 14:05:34 -0500

Interview under the influence of habañero chiles. Genius.

I never follow recipes exactly. I’d also never made ropa...

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 16:24:53 -0400

I never follow recipes exactly. I’d also never made ropa vieja, so I adhered to the recipe in this article down to the last quarter-teaspoon and it came out freaking spectacular so it stands to reason that the rest of the recipes are just as good. That indio pudding looks CRAZY.

OMG I CANNOT

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:59:18 -0400

OMG I CANNOT:

I CANNOT with how AMAZING this fake menu that got handed out at Googamooga is. Do not click if you plan on breathing again like ever.

It’s unclear whether hatred of cilantro has a genetic...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:30:07 -0400

It’s unclear whether hatred of cilantro has a genetic component or people who hate cilantro are just big whiny babies, but I think we can all agree that hedgehogs eating cilantro are the best.

All hail BARFCUP

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:25:07 -0400

All hail BARFCUP

urhajos: Chocolate Skulls by Sparganum

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:30:05 -0400

urhajos:

Chocolate Skulls by Sparganum

Poetic Billboard-Jacking by Robert Montgomery Montgomery’s art...

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 11:30:05 -0400

Poetic Billboard-Jacking by Robert Montgomery

Montgomery’s art lies in his secret, ninja-like ability to sneak up to billboards in the dead of night and plaster over them with his own thought and poems. This hijacking of the corporate message replaces consumerism with personal exploration; the only real crime committed here is by the original billboard, its punishment is to live the rest of its existence as a reflection of the world around it.

My husband has been working with a gentleman with the delightful...

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 11:30:06 -0400

My husband has been working with a gentleman with the delightful name of Mgozi Njoku. According to Google this name means “blessing of the yam god”, which seems whimsical until you take into account that in West Africa, where Mr. Njoku is from, yams are extremely important. Saith wiki:

Yams are a primary agricultural and culturally important commodity in West Africa, where over 95 percent of world’s yam crop is harvested. Yams are still important for survival in these regions. Some varieties of these tubers can be stored up to six months without refrigeration, which makes them a valuable resource for the yearly period of food scarcity at the beginning of the wet season…

Due to their abundance and importance to survival, the yam was highly regarded in Nigerian ceremonial culture and is part of many West African ceremonies.

Long minutes of investigating yams and West Africa on the internet gave me a hankering for my inauthentic, bastardized version of African peanut stew. I make this about twice a year, but I should do it more often; it is vegan, cheap, easy and delicious.

The tahini seems like a peculiar addition but I swear it’s essential. Peanut soup can taste excessively of peanut butter, which is undesirable; what you’re going for is something that tastes like peanuts. A fine but important distinction. Tahini ramps up the nuttiness and adds a pleasing astringency.

Since it’s so rich you could probably eke six servings out of this recipe, over rice.

You need:

Neutral oil like peanut or canola
A big onion, chopped
Garlic to taste, minced
Fresh ginger to taste, also minced
14-oz can tomatoes
Quart vegetable broth or water
A bunch of collard greens
2 sweet potatoes (not technically yams I know)
1 14-oz can chickpeas
1 cup (or more) peanut butter (chunky and smooth are both fine but please no transfats)
1/4 cup tahini paste
Salt
Cayenne pepper to taste

You do:

Heat oil in big pot over medium-ish heat. Gently saute onions in it until they are wilted and translucent but not brown, 5-7 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and saute for a minute more. Add can of tomatoes with juice and the stock or water. Bring to a simmer.

While pot is simmering, cut the tough ribs out of the collards and slice them into ribbons. Cut the sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces. (You don’t have to peel them.) Drain and rinse the chickpeas.

Add peanut butter and tahini to the pot and then hit the soup with an immersion blender, or puree in batches in a regular blender. When all is pureed and returned to the pot if necessary, taste for salt. Bring soup back to the simmer and put in the collards. When they’re thoroughly wilted, add the sweet potatoes and simmer until potatoes are done. Add chickpeas and simmer until they’re warmed through. Taste again; you might want to add more peanut butter or tahini. Salt and add cayenne to taste.

Serve over brown rice. Send thanks to the yam gods. And in summer, when CSA boxes everywhere are groaning with okra, make it with okra instead of collards. Ahhhhh.

Not sure if this is the best idea ever or the worst. Cadbury...

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:24:07 -0400

Not sure if this is the best idea ever or the worst. Cadbury Creme Egg “salad” on pound cake, with buttercream frosting, almonds and green coconut “lettuce”. My teeth itch just thinking about it.

“What would prompt you to do something so stupid,...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:30:40 -0400

“What would prompt you to do something so stupid, sir?”

“Guacamole.”

I am at a loss for words to describe this except for one word...

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:34:30 -0400

I am at a loss for words to describe this except for one word and that is AMAZING.

advertising sins: food and masculinity

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 01:17:43 -0400

advertising sins: food and masculinity:

From feminist dudeblog No, Seriously, What About Teh Menz comes a brief take on something I really really really hate — the idea that there is Boy Food and Girl Food, one being authentic and ribsticking and devil-may-care, and the other being prissy, punitive and repressed. With videos!

I have previously expressed my puzzlement at the bizarre gendering of food. Men like Big Portions, did you know? And meat! Women like teeny portions and gourmet food and vegetables, possibly because they are always dieting because our sizeist culture is under the impression that if you’re not size zero you’re worthless as a person.

lamb korma for Holi

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:43:39 -0400

Holi is a spring holiday celebrated wherever Hindus are.

The main day, Holi, also known as Dhuli in Sanskrit, also Dhulheti, Dhulandi orDhulendi, is celebrated by people throwing scented powder and perfume at each other. Bonfires are lit on the eve of the festival, also known as Holika Dahan (burning ofHolika) orChhoti Holi (little Holi). After doing holika dahan prayers are said and praise is offered. The bonfires are lit in memory of the miraculous escape that youngPrahladaccomplished when Demoness Holika, sister ofHiranyakashipu, carried him into the fire. Holika was burnt but Prahlad, a staunch devotee of godVishnu, escaped without any injuries due to his unshakable devotion. Holika Dahan is referred to asKama Dahanam inSouth India.

Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar monthPhalguna(February/March), (PhalgunPurnima), which usually falls in the later part of February or March. In 2009, Holi (Dhulandi) was on March 11 and Holika Dahan was on March 10. In 2010, Holi was on March 1 and Holika Dahan was on February 28. In 2011, Holi was on March 20 and Holika Dahan was on March 19.

In most areas, Holi lasts about two days. One of Holi’s biggest customs is the loosening strictness of social structures, which normally include age, sex, status, and caste. Holi closes the wide gaps between social classes and brings Hindus together. Together, the rich and poor, women and men, enjoy each other’s presence on this joyous day. Additionally, Holi lowers the strictness of social norms. No one expects polite behavior; as a result, the atmosphere is filled with excitement and joy.

Every year, thousands of Hindus participate in the festival Holi. The festival has many purposes. First and foremost, it celebrates the beginning of the new season, spring. It also has a religious purpose, commemorating many events that are present in Hindu mythology. Although it is the least religious holiday, it is probably one of the most exhilarating ones in existence. During this event, participants hold a bonfire, throw colored powder at each other, and celebrate wildly.

Doesn’t that sound like the best thing? And timely! For Holi I made lamb korma, a dish I’ve become fond of as part of my ongoing learning-to-like-lamb project. I used this recipe, which is pretty spot-on except the part where you brown the lamb. Meat for korma is not browned as it’s supposed to be left with very little structural integrity, a vehicle for the cream. I used Craisins instead of raisins as usual, and next time I hope to figure out how best to grind almonds so they don’t become almond butter. Also all the lamb shoulder at the market looked really rough and fatty, so I used shoulder blade chops, and threw the bones in the pot while everything was going.

One of those elemental things. Meat, fruit, almonds. Delicious and festive with dal and rice. Next year I’ll throw a party with a million more Indian things and we’ll all pelt each other with tempera paint, it will be amazing.

The comment section for every article ever written about PETA

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 14:28:54 -0400

The comment section for every article ever written about PETA:

I tried reading this out loud to my husband but couldn’t get through it because I was dying so hard. He did not laugh because he is a functional human beng who doesn’t read the comments on articles about PETA and therefore doesn’t understand how FREAKING DEAD-ON IT IS.

This video could not be more beautiful and charming if it tried.

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:56:42 -0500

This video could not be more beautiful and charming if it tried.

Yelping with Cormac: Chipotle Mexican Grill

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:57:10 -0500

Yelping with Cormac: Chipotle Mexican Grill:

yelpingwithcormac:

SOMA - San Francisco, CA

Cormac M. | Author | Lost in the chaparral, NM

Three stars.

See that false burrito. See it swaddled in tinfoil on the desk in the bowels of that great tower, a bundle of meat and sauce in a place long ago ceded to silicone and copper. The stooped man eating that peasant…

My new favorite Tumblr.

OH NOOOO. It’s that time again! Time for Costco Amish...

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:48:48 -0500

OH NOOOO. It’s that time again! Time for Costco Amish Drunk Nog!

This isn’t a product recommendation, exactly, because Costco Amish Drunk Nog is absolutely delicious (even if you hate eggnog as much as I do), cheap as dirt ($11 for a handle) and will make you want to sing “The Wassail Song” many, many times after about three glasses, but it will also give you the worst headache ever — the alternate outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis of headaches — and will make you act like an asshole (endless repetitions of “The Wassail Song” are just the beginning). Get you some, and don’t say I didn’t warn you. (The blow can be cushioned by mixing it about 2/1 with club soda.)

magical arsenal: colcannon

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 19:22:00 -0500

Colcannon, like mujaddara, is a thing that made me rue all the bleak days before I discovered it. Like mujaddara, it is cheap (and has almost no ingredients). It’s easy to make, and it is delicious all out of proportion to the effort you put in. There’s also the “no, seriously” factor, because it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be very interesting or good and then people’s faces change when they take a bite.

Unlike mujaddara, however, it might not be very good for you. It pains me to admit this, and for a long time I defended my colcannon habit by saying “LOOK AT ALL THE CABBAGE IN THERE!” And there is a lot of cabbage; there’s also a gut-bomb of glucogenic white starch and, more critically, a ton of butter. Colcannon is basically an excuse to eat butter. I am not entirely sold on the idea that butter is unhealthy, but my capacity for self-delusion is legendary.

Colcannon comes from Ireland and it is basically cabbage and an onion element mixed up with mashed potatoes. I understand that in Éire they make it by boiling cabbage and potatoes until they disintegrate and then moosh them together with drippings of some sort. This says a lot about the reputation of Irish cooking.

I do not make colcannon that way. It’s such a rough, peasanty dish that treating it gently and reverently pays dividends. Also it’s important to remember that cabbage, like most crucifers, loves having the shit burned out of it. It becomes savory rather than sulfurous, and it maintains crunch within the potato matrix instead of being homogenous and squishy.

So here’s how it’s done, and you should make some pretty much immediately.

Shred up a bunch of green cabbage, as if you were making coleslaw, and thinly slice your onion element. Leeks are traditional, but regular yellow onions work fine. (Red onions will make your colcannon an icky color.) Melt butter in a big, deep skillet — how much is up to you but keep in mind that the butter is the point — and get it hot enough to start browning a little, then put in the cabbage and onion element and let it all fry. Don’t move it around too much, you want the cabbage to catch and brown in places. It’s done when it’s thoroughly cooked but still has a little snap.

Meanwhile, peel, slice and boil your potatoes. You have to peel them, I’m sorry, and when they’re done you kind of have to put them through a ricer or a food mill. If you don’t own these things (nobody actually owns a food mill) then you’re permitted to use a potato masher but NOT BY GOD THE SQUIGGLY-LINE KIND. Those things are terrible. A grid masher will work, but a ricer is best. You want these potatoes really suave, light and not lumpy.

Then you stir the riced potatoes right into the pan with the cabbage and onions and mix well, and add a little hot milk or cream if it looks too stiff. Salt and pepper, and voila!

You can eat your colcannon as it comes, or you can spread it in a casserole dish and bake it so the top gets crunchy. I like to cover the baked kind with a layer of Irish cheddar cheese or politically dubious English banger sausages. You can also let it sit around so it kind of seizes up, then make it into little cakes and fry in more butter or bacon grease.

Mostly it’s excellent by itself, one of the best things in the world to eat on a cold night, and I recently discovered that it is possible to make a pretty version with red cabbage and sweet potatoes, that doesn’t even need all THAT much butter.

smoke monster

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:46:00 -0500

As I get older, I’ve become one of those insufferable “less is more, let the ingredients shine” cooks. Or maybe it’s less because I’m ancient and more because now I live in Los Angeles, home of easily-accessible, cheap, spectacular produce. Whatever the reason, I used to just pile on the flavoring agents and now I realize that a good result is mostly a matter of salting things correctly. I’ve even backed off the garlic some.

There’s one exception, though, and that is smoke. I touched on this in the last recipe I posted. If I want a smoky effect in what I’m cooking — and I usually do in the late fall — I will go apeshit. Bacon, chipotles, smoked paprika, smoked sea salt, all of the above, please. These things are all smoky-tasting, obvs, but they have different critical qualities — greasy/meaty like what billowed out of the smokehouse when Pa was putting up a deer in “Little House In The Big Woods”, sweet-fiery-adobo, slightly petrochemical. Even the realm of pimenton is pretty vast and I own three varieties, all different. I dump in as many carcinogens as I can get away with and it usually makes me happy indeed.

In this spirit, a recipe.

Smoke Monster Red Beans

You need:

A few slices bacon, roughly chopped (or olive oil, if you wanna go veg)
A big onion, a couple of celery stalks and half a red bell pepper, all finely chopped
Half a head of garlic, minced (maybe I lied about the garlic)
Big pinch each of dried thyme, dried oregano, and a bay leaf
A teaspoon or more of smoked paprika
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed (if you cook the beans from dried this will of course be much better but it’s a PITA)
1 can crushed tomatoes with juice
Chopped chipotle peppers in adobo to taste, and some of the adobo
A little chicken or veg broth
Smoked sea salt or regular salt

You do:

Fry the bacon in a big skillet over low heat and remove it when it’s mostly crisp. (Or heat some olive oil, either way.) Raise the heat to medium and saute the onion, celery and bell pepper in the grease until the veg are soft and translucent. Add the garlic, herbs and smoked paprika and stir-fry for a couple of minutes, then add the beans, tomatoes, cooked bacon, chipotles, and enough broth so it doesn’t look dry. The idea is to create a stewy thing that can simmer for awhile without scorching. Turn the heat to low, stir once in awhile, and cook until the tomatoes have broken down and everything is homogenous. This will take more salt than you think because kidney beans are sweet. And if it’s still too runny, you can hit it with a potato masher so the beans squoosh and thicken it up.

Serve with white rice and stewed mixed greens. If you’re completely insane you can stew the greens with a smoked pork hock, but there may be such a thing as going too far with this.