Archive for October, 2007

“Time! …is Marching On!”



Analog Time Sand


Well I forgot to mention that Chile has “sprung forward” one hour. Currently we are two hours ahead of CDT (one hour ahead of EDT). When USA time “falls back” there will be an additional hour in between the USA and Chile.

time - is marching on
and time - is still marching on

this day will soon be at an end
and now it’s even sooner
and now it’s even sooner
and now it’s even sooner

this day will soon be at an end
and now it’s even sooner
and now it’s sooner still
(From TMBG - Older)

“Lo siento”



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Well it happened over a week ago, but I may as well let the world know. My television set has died.

Several friends came over to hang out on a Saturday night and they brought their Gamecube in hand. While I was cooking some grilled beef sandwiches, I heard a yelp, and glanced over to see the TV tip forward and smash to bits on the floor. The floor is ok. There was a small electrical fire inside and in the smoke I saw a little tri-colored dot matrix soul dissipate in the air.

Oh well. I don’t have cable.

“Ya, Vee Laav German Füd”

Last Monday, I, again, had the pleasure and honor, rather, honored pleasure to cook with two fine gentlemen. As it has become a tradition, every once in a while Jeff, Mark, and I get together to cook something divine. This round was of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Jeff had the Kielbasa; Mark had the Mixed Berries Custard Kuchen, and I had the Hot Potato Salad. Scrumptious.

Er hebt den Deckel auf, zu sehen, was kocht
Yes, it’s still there.
Sauerkraut und Äpfel
Sauerkraut und Äpfel = yum-oh!
Lecker kuchen!
KUCHEN!
Vanillepudding Kuchen mit verschiedenen Beeren
Oh so good.
Kielbasa und Kartoffelsalat
Vinegar, EVERYWHERE!
Freundschaft vereint in Küche
Freundschaft vereint in Küche

Berry Custard Kuchen

-from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup cold butter or margarine
* 2 tablespoons whipping cream
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 3 cups fresh raspberries (or bag of mixed frozen berries)
TOPPING:
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1 cup whipping cream
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine 1 cup flour and salt; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream; pat into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Combine the sugar and remaining flour; sprinkle over crust. Arrange raspberries over crust. For topping, combine sugar and flour. Stir in eggs, cream and vanilla; pour over berries. Bake at 375 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm or chilled. Store in refrigerator.

Kielbasa

-from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
* 6 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
* 1 (32 ounce) package sauerkraut
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 2 pounds kielbasa sausage, sliced

Combine the apples and sauerkraut in a deep skillet over medium heat. Bring to a simmer then cook for about 10 minutes, until apples are starting to soften. Stir in the brown sugar and kielbasa. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until heated through. It took a bit longer. Also cook with lid off to reduce vinegar conent.

What Jeff said:

We used three cups of sauerkraut and four apples. I added green onion toward the end, but this should have waited until just before serving. I spiced it up some with some cruched red pepper. Also, using a pound and a quarter of sausage, the sausage was browned some in a separate pan before adding to the apple/saurkraut mixture.

Hot German Potato Salad

-from about.com

Ingredients
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 Tbsp. flour
* 3/4 cup cider vinegar
* 1 cup water
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 lb. fully cooked Polish sausage, cut into chunks
* 6 cups cooked, peeled, sliced potatoes (6 medium russets)
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1/4 tsp. pepper

Melt butter; add onion and garlic. Cook and stir until crisp tender. Add flour; cook and stir for one minute. Add vinegar, water, and sugar; bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add sliced potatoes and sausage and stir. Add sour cream, salt and pepper and heat thoroughly (do NOT boil), stirring gently.

Chile 2 | 0 Perú

After our Bible study tonight, several of us stayed at the church building to watch the Chile - Perú soccer match. As you can see, Chile won (which is great in the face of a loss to Argentina, of course, on Saturday). I was in charge of the food and ended up buying WAY TOO much. Well, at least we have plenty for next week. Thank God for freezers.

Jugadores celebrando la victoria.

Life is Busy

There has been quite alot going on recently. At various moments I have the opportunity to read or do something on the Internet. These are a few of those things I’ve been tuning in to recently:

My brother’s photos (I would like to see what their house looks like)
Candidates + issues matrix
Robert in DC
“Janet Reno likes folk music?”

Interesting stuff. I’ll post soon, I promise, about what’s going on in my life.

Enjoy.

Día de Tapas

So, if you did not know, I love to cook. A my favorite people to cook with are here in Santiago; who would have thought? A year after cooking our infamous paella together, Jeff, Mark, and I convened on the house of Dean to return to our Spanish roots.

The menu:

Apple & Murcia Cheese Salad with Walnuts
Esparragos de Mariscos (Seafood Asparagus)
Tortilla de Patatas (Potato Omelette)

Jeff’s Concocted Chicken in a White Wine Mushroom Sauce

Tapas are very easy to make and are rich in flavor. I recommend the apple and cheese salad and seafood asparagus. The two are simple and make a great light meal together.

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Denise get out of the kitchen.
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Huh?
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Yo Pierce!
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Nice job, Pierce.
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A proud man and his tortilla.
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Refreshments
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In the words of Mace Williamson, “Oh yes daddy.”
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Testing
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Happy gentlemen.