I am posting this later as it was started and not finished until some time after I reached Asia.
At 10:30 PM on Tuesday night I walk in to the perpetual chaos of Tom Bradley international terminal. Most often when I fly internationally it's at midnight or sometime there after, I guess it's cheaper to fly after midnight...and flight MH095 was scheduled for a 1:40 AM departure, Oh goody.
It feels a little surreal, I keep reminding my self I am not coming back in a week or ten days... My ex-wife drove me to the airport, as she was going to keep my... well, her truck now. I unloaded my bags out onto the curb, rushing guiltily as if I am personally holding up all the cars jockeying for position at the curb. Even my ex ran around to get in to drivers seat for a quick getaway. So when I get my bags out, I awkwardly shake her hand and say thanks. As she drives away I stand on the curb with way too much stuff, and it sinks in I am starting the newest stage of my life,
Luckily the Malaysian airline counter was near the door and I could slip right in line, me and my dunnage, is that a word? I think it is, doesn't it mean cargo? if it doesn't it should. Anyway as you can tell I am fixated on how much stuff I'm taking (and I refuse to talk about what I shipped ahead) It's funny how we... (most of the Americans I know) are attached to our stuff...like security blankets. When I travel no mater the length of the trip I attempt to carry on my stuff, not this time.
I start the crawl to the check in counter, the guy in front of me strikes up a conversation as we're making small talk about international travel, a swarthy young guy (Ha! I have always wanted to use that word) I think he's Malay, like I know... but anyway he's looking at my bags (yes I know they're ginormus) he asks "do you know what our weight limits are?" so the three of us start discussing it...Malaysia Airlines has just recently lowered the max check in bag weight from 70 lbs. to 50 lbs. with the caveat that it applied to tickets purchased before some time in April. But, as well as Malaysian airlines appears to be run (more on that later) their website isn't very user friendly. because no one else seemed to know it, and I missed the part about carry on's weighing less than 11 lbs. So after so creative cargo shifting, collecting my boarding pass (with the admonishment " we will be boarding at 12:00 AM... really? I doubt that highly) it's off to play x-ray, x-ray where is the baggage x-ray, Oh... and after that , security....I am all a twitter with excitement.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
"If" By: Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Becoming an English teacher (or do I really want a CELTA?)
As I said in a previous post when I decided to leave the US and live overseas, teaching English seemed the natural thing to do; I'm a native speaker right? Reasonably intelligent right? Should be easy....
So: I sold most of my things, packed the stuff I couldn't part with, enrolled in a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) course at the British Council in Kuala Lumpur and bought a one way ticket to Malaysia.
I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, met by my friend who I would be staying with. I had a couple of weeks before my course started to acclimate to living in Malaysia. I enjoyed that mini vacation. The course started on July 16th and ran until August 12th, I won't bore you with all the details. However I will say it was one of the hardest things I have ever done, their description of an "intensive course", doesn't come close to describing how hard, stressful and agonizing this 5 weeks can be. I thought my previous tests for levels of black belt in Shaolin Chuan Fa were bad and physically they were, but this took the cake for mental torture.
There were 11 of us; 2 from England, 1 from from New Zealand, 3 Malaysian Indians, 1 Saudi Arabian, 3 Malaysian Chinese and me the lone American which was real special since I was the only one speaking and writing American English. There were a number of times I did not think I would pass the course, and a few times I didn't care if I did...
Two of my course mates didn't pass...a very expensive lesson.
Most of us got pretty close during the course as people do when sharing a trying experience. Now we have mostly gone our separate ways with vows of keeping in touch...speaking of which I need to send an email...Anyway 1 is off to South Korea to teach, 1 is looking to work here at the British council, and most of the Malaysians went to their respective homes to find work or continue at their previous jobs.
I sent out numerous CV's (Resumes) to places here in KL and and Singapore. I was contacted and interviewed by a school called ELS, they offered me a part time position to gain experience needed for the work permit. I observed some lessons, taught a demo. I worked there for a while when I received an email from the West Business school in Singapore, I went for and an interview and accepted a full time position which much better pay and benefits than ELS.
So now I will be moving to Singapore for at least a year maybe longer. I start on September 12th. I am searching for a room to rent and a way to get my things to S'pore without it costing more than it would to replace them...
So: I sold most of my things, packed the stuff I couldn't part with, enrolled in a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) course at the British Council in Kuala Lumpur and bought a one way ticket to Malaysia.
I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, met by my friend who I would be staying with. I had a couple of weeks before my course started to acclimate to living in Malaysia. I enjoyed that mini vacation. The course started on July 16th and ran until August 12th, I won't bore you with all the details. However I will say it was one of the hardest things I have ever done, their description of an "intensive course", doesn't come close to describing how hard, stressful and agonizing this 5 weeks can be. I thought my previous tests for levels of black belt in Shaolin Chuan Fa were bad and physically they were, but this took the cake for mental torture.
There were 11 of us; 2 from England, 1 from from New Zealand, 3 Malaysian Indians, 1 Saudi Arabian, 3 Malaysian Chinese and me the lone American which was real special since I was the only one speaking and writing American English. There were a number of times I did not think I would pass the course, and a few times I didn't care if I did...
Two of my course mates didn't pass...a very expensive lesson.
Most of us got pretty close during the course as people do when sharing a trying experience. Now we have mostly gone our separate ways with vows of keeping in touch...speaking of which I need to send an email...Anyway 1 is off to South Korea to teach, 1 is looking to work here at the British council, and most of the Malaysians went to their respective homes to find work or continue at their previous jobs.
I sent out numerous CV's (Resumes) to places here in KL and and Singapore. I was contacted and interviewed by a school called ELS, they offered me a part time position to gain experience needed for the work permit. I observed some lessons, taught a demo. I worked there for a while when I received an email from the West Business school in Singapore, I went for and an interview and accepted a full time position which much better pay and benefits than ELS.
So now I will be moving to Singapore for at least a year maybe longer. I start on September 12th. I am searching for a room to rent and a way to get my things to S'pore without it costing more than it would to replace them...
Biscuits and Sawmill Gravy
I came across a blog called The Art of Manliness, and a discussion of cooking. Well this in my opinion is one of the most manly dishes any man can make....
Biscuits and gravy...oh how I love thee... This, to me is the soul of comfort food.
Growing up in a Bakersfield "okie",household most Sunday morning breakfasts consisted of: bacon, fried eggs, sausage patties, fried potatoes, drop biscuits and gravy. I guess it was a throwback to my Fathers Texas farmer roots.
At the time I didn't know there were different types of gravy; sawmill, bacon, redeye...Mom mostly made bacon gravy, since that's what dad grew up with, I just remember sitting down to mounds of the most unhealthy but, the most delicious breakfast fare ever imagined.
After leaving home, I would try to recapture that wonderful fluffy biscuit covered in hot creamy gravy with bits of meat. I ordered it in restaurants to be miserably disappointed, even in the South. Friends made it for me...wrong, I tried to make it...wrong. Then I discovered Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet. His cooking show first and then his books. In The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American he had a recipe for biscuits and gravy...eureka! I finally found a way to recreate that bucolic meal of my youth. This was a recipe for ,"Sawmill gravy" made with bulk sausage, years later my mom was making gravy for me and I discovered she had always made bacon gravy but as I said I didn't know the difference.
Which is better? I like them both...but, sorry mom I like the sawmill version better.
This works great at home, but it really shines when camping. Most people would agree that food is always better eaten, "outside". The gravy is dead easy and the biscuits while a little harder to do when camping, become easy with a good Dutch oven and some practice. I will write the home method and give some advice for camping after.
Biscuits;
It is perfectly acceptable to used the "canned" pre-made ready to cook type found in grocery store's refrigerated section, or even better or the pre-made frozen ready to cook variety. Follow the baking instructions provided.
I always made Bisquick or other variety of baking mix drop biscuits. Just follow the package directions.
Sawmill gravy; (here are measurements)
1/2 pound or a "chub" of bulk pork breakfast sausage
2-3 tablespoons chopped onion (optional)
3-4 tablespoons of flour (Wondra works well)
2 cups milk
Pepper and salt
Having given amounts I will describe the easiest way to make it.
In a good size frying pan with high sides (cast iron is best, especially camping) fry the sausage (I use the 1 lb chub) and onion until the sausage is browned (some recipes will tell you to drain off all but 2 tablespoons of grease...I won't) I then take the canister of wondra and sprinkle it over the sausage to coat it very well, add enough of the flour so the pan looks "dry" and all the meat is coated and grease is absorbed. It will look a tan-ish brown. Let the flour cook a bit stirring to mix it. Once the flour has cooked, start adding the milk a little at a time stirring and scraping (I don't measure the milk, I just keep adding it till the consistency looks good) the gravy will thicken as it cooks. Its a good idea to make it a little on the, "thin" side because it will thicken as it sits. Season it with liberal amounts of black pepper and taste it to see if it needs salt.
To make bacon gravy you can dice the bacon and fry it to render the grease, sprinkle in the flour and continue just as you do for the sausage gravy.
To serve you can split the biscuit and spoon the gravy generously over the halves or as I do just break the biscuit into pieces in a pile and ladle away!
Another tip for camping, use cast iron pans. With proper seasoning they are better than Teflon, they are near destructible and the best part...the hold the heat so while you are sitting down to eat your food stays warm.
A pinch of cayenne pepper will "kick it up"
To make biscuits while camping and impress and amaze your friends and family; find a Dutch oven, the type with 3 legs and a lid with tall sides. If it's new season it well ( wash it, heat the oven to 350 coat the entire Dutch oven in vegetable oil (I like peanut, higher smoke point) put the coated pot and lid in the oven and let is "bake" 1 hour then turn the oven off and let the pieces cool with the oven, do this two or three times)
When you want cook the biscuits, light about 50 charcoal briquettes. When the briquettes are glowing find a flat non flammable surface ( dirt clear of anything that will catch fire) and arrange about 10 coals in two concentric circles, 4 coals making a small circle, 6 coals ringing them the outer circle should be a bit smaller than the size of your Dutch oven.
Put the prepared biscuits in the oven, sides touching. Put the lid on and set the oven over the coals. Arrange about 20 coals on the lid, you want more coals on the top than the bottom.
Cook for about 30-40 min's then check the biscuits, add coals if needed....But be patient! do try to speed it up with more heat...or burn it, you will... And that's not sexy
Biscuits and gravy...oh how I love thee... This, to me is the soul of comfort food.
Growing up in a Bakersfield "okie",household most Sunday morning breakfasts consisted of: bacon, fried eggs, sausage patties, fried potatoes, drop biscuits and gravy. I guess it was a throwback to my Fathers Texas farmer roots.
At the time I didn't know there were different types of gravy; sawmill, bacon, redeye...Mom mostly made bacon gravy, since that's what dad grew up with, I just remember sitting down to mounds of the most unhealthy but, the most delicious breakfast fare ever imagined.
After leaving home, I would try to recapture that wonderful fluffy biscuit covered in hot creamy gravy with bits of meat. I ordered it in restaurants to be miserably disappointed, even in the South. Friends made it for me...wrong, I tried to make it...wrong. Then I discovered Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet. His cooking show first and then his books. In The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American he had a recipe for biscuits and gravy...eureka! I finally found a way to recreate that bucolic meal of my youth. This was a recipe for ,"Sawmill gravy" made with bulk sausage, years later my mom was making gravy for me and I discovered she had always made bacon gravy but as I said I didn't know the difference.
Which is better? I like them both...but, sorry mom I like the sawmill version better.
This works great at home, but it really shines when camping. Most people would agree that food is always better eaten, "outside". The gravy is dead easy and the biscuits while a little harder to do when camping, become easy with a good Dutch oven and some practice. I will write the home method and give some advice for camping after.
Biscuits;
It is perfectly acceptable to used the "canned" pre-made ready to cook type found in grocery store's refrigerated section, or even better or the pre-made frozen ready to cook variety. Follow the baking instructions provided.
I always made Bisquick or other variety of baking mix drop biscuits. Just follow the package directions.
Sawmill gravy; (here are measurements)
1/2 pound or a "chub" of bulk pork breakfast sausage
2-3 tablespoons chopped onion (optional)
3-4 tablespoons of flour (Wondra works well)
2 cups milk
Pepper and salt
Having given amounts I will describe the easiest way to make it.
In a good size frying pan with high sides (cast iron is best, especially camping) fry the sausage (I use the 1 lb chub) and onion until the sausage is browned (some recipes will tell you to drain off all but 2 tablespoons of grease...I won't) I then take the canister of wondra and sprinkle it over the sausage to coat it very well, add enough of the flour so the pan looks "dry" and all the meat is coated and grease is absorbed. It will look a tan-ish brown. Let the flour cook a bit stirring to mix it. Once the flour has cooked, start adding the milk a little at a time stirring and scraping (I don't measure the milk, I just keep adding it till the consistency looks good) the gravy will thicken as it cooks. Its a good idea to make it a little on the, "thin" side because it will thicken as it sits. Season it with liberal amounts of black pepper and taste it to see if it needs salt.
To make bacon gravy you can dice the bacon and fry it to render the grease, sprinkle in the flour and continue just as you do for the sausage gravy.
To serve you can split the biscuit and spoon the gravy generously over the halves or as I do just break the biscuit into pieces in a pile and ladle away!
Another tip for camping, use cast iron pans. With proper seasoning they are better than Teflon, they are near destructible and the best part...the hold the heat so while you are sitting down to eat your food stays warm.
A pinch of cayenne pepper will "kick it up"
To make biscuits while camping and impress and amaze your friends and family; find a Dutch oven, the type with 3 legs and a lid with tall sides. If it's new season it well ( wash it, heat the oven to 350 coat the entire Dutch oven in vegetable oil (I like peanut, higher smoke point) put the coated pot and lid in the oven and let is "bake" 1 hour then turn the oven off and let the pieces cool with the oven, do this two or three times)
When you want cook the biscuits, light about 50 charcoal briquettes. When the briquettes are glowing find a flat non flammable surface ( dirt clear of anything that will catch fire) and arrange about 10 coals in two concentric circles, 4 coals making a small circle, 6 coals ringing them the outer circle should be a bit smaller than the size of your Dutch oven.
Put the prepared biscuits in the oven, sides touching. Put the lid on and set the oven over the coals. Arrange about 20 coals on the lid, you want more coals on the top than the bottom.
Cook for about 30-40 min's then check the biscuits, add coals if needed....But be patient! do try to speed it up with more heat...or burn it, you will... And that's not sexy
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Tinga Poblana
I have a much used and loved copy of Rick Bayless's cookbook Authentic Mexican. I have loved everything I have made from this book, but this recipe is my favorite and I decided to post it in my blog in case I lose the book I will still have this recipe. I am even taking three cans of chipotle chiles with me to Malaysia much to my sisters amusement, "yes I know you can ship stuff to me"...but just in case...
I was living in Seattle for six months and I left the book here in LA, so when I was craving this little slice of epicurean nirvana and didn't have the recipe...yes you'd think I would have memorized it by now, but since hitting forty....hard, I can hardly remember where I've parked my car.
During a cold slightly snowy weekend I wanted to make this, and to my dismay I didn't have the book, so I scoured the web. I use to believe you could find anything on the Internet, until I could not find this recipe. I found many close to it, and the one I picked just wasn't it.
So here in my never to be humble opinion is the best Tinga recipe, which I am sure is divinely inspired. (and slightly tinkered with...)
Yield: 4 servings (yeah right, so whadda you gonna eat?)
I was living in Seattle for six months and I left the book here in LA, so when I was craving this little slice of epicurean nirvana and didn't have the recipe...yes you'd think I would have memorized it by now, but since hitting forty....hard, I can hardly remember where I've parked my car.
During a cold slightly snowy weekend I wanted to make this, and to my dismay I didn't have the book, so I scoured the web. I use to believe you could find anything on the Internet, until I could not find this recipe. I found many close to it, and the one I picked just wasn't it.
So here in my never to be humble opinion is the best Tinga recipe, which I am sure is divinely inspired. (and slightly tinkered with...)
Yield: 4 servings (yeah right, so whadda you gonna eat?)
- 1 pound lean, boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes.
- 1/2 teaspoon mixed dried herbs (thyme, marjoram,)
- 3 Bay leaves
- 2 medium (about 10 oz) red potatoes quartered
- 1 1/2 pounds (3 large) ripe tomatoes, roasted and peeled OR one 28 oz can
- 4 to 6 ounces of Chorizo (hmm bet I wont find that in KL either so I will add that recipe as well)
- vegetable oil
- 1 onion diced (medium)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 of the chiles chipotle from the can seeded and chopped
- 4 tsp of the Adobo sauce from the can
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- The Meat. Bring about a quart of water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add salt then the pork, skim the grayish foam that rises to the top during the first few minutes of simmering, add any of the dried herbs and bay leaves. Partially cover and simmer over medium heat until the meat is tender about 50 minutes. If you have the time let the meat cool in the broth, remove the meat, strain the broth, de-fat it and reserve 1 cup. when meat is cool enough break it up the bigger pieces.
- The potatoes, tomatoes and chorizo. Boil the potatoes in salted water to cover until just tender approx. 15 minutes; drain, and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Dice tomatoes (if not canned diced). Fry the chorizo (in oil if needed it can be pretty fatty) in a large heavy skillet over med heat. ( this is where I deviate, I leave the chorizo in and brown the pork and onions all at once) Stir in the garlic and let get fragrant.
- Finishing the stew. Pour in the tomatoes (sort of de-glazing the pan) add the potatoes, oregano, the chopped chiles, adobo sauce and the reserved broth and stir and simmer for 10 minutes or so to blend.
- Serve garnished with avocado slices, fresh cheese like queso fresco, any other soft style cheese...or just eat it.
CELTA in Malaysia
I started this blog to write about my journey from a martial arts instructor in Los Angeles, to an ESL teacher in Asia, and of course my first two posts had nothing to do with that.
Once I made the decision to take the leap, I had to decide if I wanted to get a teaching certificate. There are several certificates out there; TESOL, TEFL, CELTA, TESL and are mostly all the same. I could go to China as a "foreign expert" being a native English speaker, but I think I would have better opportunities (and better pay) with a teaching certificate. I liked the CELTA it seemed to be the most widely accepted, and recognized...as well as the most difficult to get.
Now, where should I go to get this award? I met a Malaysian woman in Bangkok in conversation she suggested the British Council in Kuala Lumpur. When I returned home to the US I looked into the school and Malaysia, I decided to visit this new friend and experience KL and look into the course. Malaysia, to most Americans is not widely know, and when I told people I was going to live and work there, responses varied from "Wow...to Where? or Why Malaysia...?"My friend told me she would be happy to be my guide in KL, so I went. I liked Malaysia the people were really friendly, I think their culture is unique with the Bumiputras (indigenous Malays) the Chinese and Indian immigrants all trying to coexist, while mixing cultures and holding on to their identities at the same time.
After visiting the school, I decided to get the Cambridge English Teaching Award from the British council in Kuala Lumpur.
So far so good, I have made the decision to completely change my life, I decided where I will go, I've decided to get a certificate and where to get it (I passed the entrance exam and interview for the British council), Now where will I work? I don't know yet... There are a lot of resources on the web, and one of the things I discovered is I can't really get a job until ( well first I must get the certificate) I am in Malaysia. So I will have to take it on faith that I will find a position, and if I can't I can always go to China, Vietnam, Thailand or pretty much anywhere to teach.
All of this has occurred over the last three or four months, and now it's down to six days before I leave. I have given away, sold, or stored (thanks mom) most of my possessions, shipped the stuff I felt I couldn't live with out (do they have books in Malaysia?) which was an interesting exercise in itself, not to mention buying a one way ticket.
So to keep the folks at home informed and entertained I am now blogging about this foray into expat-hood.
More to come...
Once I made the decision to take the leap, I had to decide if I wanted to get a teaching certificate. There are several certificates out there; TESOL, TEFL, CELTA, TESL and are mostly all the same. I could go to China as a "foreign expert" being a native English speaker, but I think I would have better opportunities (and better pay) with a teaching certificate. I liked the CELTA it seemed to be the most widely accepted, and recognized...as well as the most difficult to get.
Now, where should I go to get this award? I met a Malaysian woman in Bangkok in conversation she suggested the British Council in Kuala Lumpur. When I returned home to the US I looked into the school and Malaysia, I decided to visit this new friend and experience KL and look into the course. Malaysia, to most Americans is not widely know, and when I told people I was going to live and work there, responses varied from "Wow...to Where? or Why Malaysia...?"My friend told me she would be happy to be my guide in KL, so I went. I liked Malaysia the people were really friendly, I think their culture is unique with the Bumiputras (indigenous Malays) the Chinese and Indian immigrants all trying to coexist, while mixing cultures and holding on to their identities at the same time.
So far so good, I have made the decision to completely change my life, I decided where I will go, I've decided to get a certificate and where to get it (I passed the entrance exam and interview for the British council), Now where will I work? I don't know yet... There are a lot of resources on the web, and one of the things I discovered is I can't really get a job until ( well first I must get the certificate) I am in Malaysia. So I will have to take it on faith that I will find a position, and if I can't I can always go to China, Vietnam, Thailand or pretty much anywhere to teach.
All of this has occurred over the last three or four months, and now it's down to six days before I leave. I have given away, sold, or stored (thanks mom) most of my possessions, shipped the stuff I felt I couldn't live with out (do they have books in Malaysia?) which was an interesting exercise in itself, not to mention buying a one way ticket.
So to keep the folks at home informed and entertained I am now blogging about this foray into expat-hood.
More to come...
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Short Ribs?
My girlfriend has been bugging me. . . I mean, urging me to write a second post, she even suggested topics. First, she suggested the place we stayed when I visited her in Singapore. We went to the Malaysian island Pulau Kapas, to a beautiful property called Turtle Valley. I thought yes, I would like to write/review that place
Then last night we were talking while I was cooking dinner for my mom and sister and she asked "what are you making?" I replied "Beef short ribs" . Mmmm she said, "You should write the recipe and post it in your blog, yeah!!.... and you could take pictures and...don't touch it before you take a picture!!...
Ok ! ok ! I replied and took the pictures, not knowing if I would write about them or not.
She is right,...this is one of the reasons for this blog and it's name "Mouthful" writing about things which interest me like cooking, eating, travel, living well, and of course my transition to ESL teaching expat.
I don't have a recipe for beef short ribs, Nor have I ever cooked them....That's how it all got started, I asked my mom if she'd ever cooked them before, and how to do it... she hadn't really either. A few days later she went to the local grocery and brought home short ribs.
So I jump online to scour the Food Network and Cooks Illustrated, oh and Chow.com for short rib recipes. Hundreds of ways to cook short ribs, from simply putting them in a slow cooker with a jar of barbeque sauce to complicated Korean style, Zinfandel glazed or honey vinegar concoctions.
Each recipe had some ingredient I didn't have or a laborious technique I wasn't prepared to endure. That's one of the reasons I like the social networking/foodie sites like Chow.com or Allreciepes.com, people post simple recipes or just the technique to cook it.
So I looked through the recipes and checked them against the fridge and pantry and I decided on a red wine braise.
I had;
- 2 pounds of beef short ribs
- 1 Onion (chopped)
- 3 Celery ribs (chopped)
- Red wine (about 2 cups)
- Boxed Chicken stock (about 1 cup)
- 2 Carrots(chopped)
- Garlic (minced in a jar)
- Canned fire roasted tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Russet potatoes (cubed)
- Salt and Pepper
Heat the the oven to 350 degrees F. ( I always wonder about pre-heating, how do you heat before you heat...)
A lot of the recipes read just like a pot roast, so that's how I would treat the ribs. I seasoned the ribs and let them sit and come to room temperature, I put some olive oil in a hot large skillet, then browned the ribs in batches. I let them brown real well to develop a good fond (that caramelized brown gunk left behind) that's braising gold. I took the ribs out, threw in the onion, celery and carrot and let them cook...I wanted to build some great layers of flavors, I didn't have any fresh herbs like Thyme, that would have been really nice. But I had some dried Oregano and Cumin.
After the root veggies cooked down a bit I tossed in the garlic about 6 cloves let them cook a little then deglazed with the canned Tomatoes and their liquid, then added the Wine and Stock to the party. I cooked it all on high for just a few minutes to heat through and combine, reduce and generally just get yummy.
I added the ribs, let everyone get acquainted, put a lid on and put it in the oven to cook low and slow for about an hour and a half. I was going to roast the potatoes but decided to mash them instead, to make a nice fluffy bed for the ribs and a sponge for the lovely sauce which would develop. 
Now we wait....I know I know it will be worth it, but I am all about instant gratification..
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Hey, I'm blogging!
So...... my first post. What do I write?
I created this blog to write and share thoughts, ideas, experiences... and then nothing.....The introversion is reasserting it's self again, telling me I've nothing to say....hmmm I beg to differ.
So I will use my first post to tell you, the hoards of people who are reading.... no devouring my every word who I am.
So...that means I should know right? I guess that's one of the multitudes of reasons to do this.
I am a soon to be ex martial arts instructor from the Los Angeles area of California to become ESL teacher in Malaysia.
I will write about that transition and hopefully share things that people will find enjoyable to read.
Whew! take that introversion I have just written my first blog post!! huh? yes..I know it's short...wadda ya mean vague? So what, I've started....Hey I'm blogging!
I created this blog to write and share thoughts, ideas, experiences... and then nothing.....The introversion is reasserting it's self again, telling me I've nothing to say....hmmm I beg to differ.
So I will use my first post to tell you, the hoards of people who are reading.... no devouring my every word who I am.
So...that means I should know right? I guess that's one of the multitudes of reasons to do this.
I am a soon to be ex martial arts instructor from the Los Angeles area of California to become ESL teacher in Malaysia.
I will write about that transition and hopefully share things that people will find enjoyable to read.
Whew! take that introversion I have just written my first blog post!! huh? yes..I know it's short...wadda ya mean vague? So what, I've started....Hey I'm blogging!
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