Pepper powder perks up plain provender perfectly

Here's a standard on my table. Unfortunately I just used up the last dried peppers from last year to make another batch, and this year's pepper crop isn't looking too good, so this may be the last I have around for a while, unless I buy the peppers instead (the horror!)

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried Jalapeños
• 2 cups dried Serranos
• 2 cups dried Habaneros

Instructions

Process in food processor or blender until the desired consistency is reached - flakes, powder, whatever you're going for. "Pulsing" is better if you want it to be pepper flakes. Decant slowly and gently using a wide mouthed funnel into a shaker jar. Sprinkle on everything while eating to bring some zest back into your life.

Hint: Let it sit after grinding with the lid still on the processor or blender for five minutes so the pepper dust has a chance to settle and you won't kill your nose, lungs and eyes when you take the lid off. Be careful when gently pouring it through the funnel for the same reason.

Advanced hint: Don't yank the food processor bowl so hard off the base that the lid goes flying and you spill toxic pepper dust all over the stove, counter and floor. This sort of negates the benefits of the above hint and makes the kitchen unlivable for a bit. Just sayin'.

Grilled stir fry

This won't be so much a recipe as a technique, something I tried a few weeks ago and again last night with good results.

I like to cook Chinese-style stir fry dishes, usually either with beef or chicken. I typically slice and stir fry the meat first, set aside, stir fry the veggies, set aside, then make the sauce and bring them all back together for the final short simmering. However, I was never really happy with how the stir fried meat would turn out. Over the years I had learned not to overcook it during the initial stir frying since it has a chance to cook a bit more in the sauce, but the meat was still usually a bit "soggy." I felt I was missing something.

Then I got the bright idea to grill the steak or chicken instead. So now I grill them until they are about five minutes away from being "done" (for whatever "done" means to you when grilling), take them off and set them aside. Then I proceed as usual with the vegetables, and when the sauce is simmering I then thinly slice the meat and add it with the stir fried veggies for the final mixing and blending of flavors. The meat turns out much better that way - firmer, and with a better taste. I have been salting and peppering the meat before grilling - I may try marinating in soy or teriyaki sauce, too. I could also see not putting the sliced meat in the sauce itself, but using it as a "garnish" or topping right before serving, which would keep the grilled flavor even more.

Either way, try it out the next time you do some stir fry - I think you'll like it.

Dear Delta Airlines

I would like to take this opportunity to complain about the way you handle baggage and security lines in your terminal at La Guardia airport in New York.

Yesterday, Monday, August 16, I had a flight from La Guardia to Memphis scheduled for 6:45am. Given that I knew any airport in the New York City area would be busy, I showed up at 4:40am, over two hours early. I quickly checked in at the kiosk and then went to stand in the line to hand my checked bag to a Delta employee. Here is where the problems started.

The line was moving rather slowly, since there were only four employees doing baggage checks. Then, to make matters worse, around 4:55am the contract employees managing the line started calling out, "Does anyone have a flight at 6:00?" Everyone who raised their hand were then allowed to cut to the front of the line. This happened again five minutes later when they called out for 6:05am flight, and every five minutes after that. Then when I got to the security line, the same thing happened again. The net result was that it took an hour and fifteen minutes to get through lines that were not that long.

I've flown often and through very busy airports – O'Hare, Heathrow, Los Angeles, Schiphol. I've seen both good and not-so-good check-in procedures. But yesterday's was by far the worse. By allowing people who arrive late to skip to the head of the line, you are teaching all other people there that in the future they should just show up late to get special treatment. In fact, you are incenting them to be late.

I now know that if I ever fly through La Guardia again on your airline, I will just show up late and plead some sob story and get to go to the head of the line. Which sort of makes all your SkyMiles Medallion express lines worthless, doesn't it?

Don't be a square

This post will finish up my New York City ramblings on my rambles and other adventures.

It had finally dawned on me that a little theater literally 100 feet down the street from my hotel's front door was an improv shop. So Friday night I went into the Magnet Theater and paid $5 to see Lead McEnroe and Taco Supreme. It was a great hour of laughs by two teams (the former all male, the latter all female). I was hooked. If I had known about the place earlier in the week I would have gone every night (except Monday, when I went to see Anne McCue).

Saturday morning I walked south along 7th Avenue to 14th Street, then east over to Broadway, and up Broadway and back. I passed by Union Square Park and Madison Square Park. There was an incredible farmer's market by Union Square Park, with great looking organic produce, cheeses and bread (I bought some of the bread).

Speaking of Broadway, something has been bugging me about it and its relationship with the street grid in NYC. If you look at a map you see that Broadway runs NW-SE across the grid of streets and avenues, which makes for some interesting intersections. And at some of the most interesting intersections there is a "square." Like Times Square. Greeley Square. Worth Square. Herald Square. But here's the thing. They're not square. Not even rectangular. They're triangular, with Broadway being the hypotenuse. So why are they called "squares?"

But I digress.

Saturday evening I went back for not one but two improv shows at the Magnet. The first was The Theory of Everything, a duo who took a phrase from the audience and made a story out of it. Someone called out "deadly bread" and before you know it what started as a forensic doctor and police detective at a crime scene slowly morphed into them exploring their relationship as professionals and ultimately friends. It was very funny, but I also found myself being moved. They did a really good job. I then went and got (a crappy) dinner and hurried back for another show. In the second show there were two teams, Featherweight and Phooka, and they were both funny. Both shows were again $5 each, so $10 for the night's entertainment. What a great value!

Sunday morning I walked over to the Hudson River and down the Hudson River Park, a greenbelt/pedestrian walkway/bikepath that runs along the river from Battery Park up to 59th Street. I walked from 29th down to 12th and then over through the edge of Greenwich Village and back up 8th Avenue to the hotel. It was a great walk, and the only one all week where I didn't have to worry about traffic (once I hit the park itself). There were lots of piers that the walkway went out and around, including a couple where there were parks (complete with grass and trees) built on top of piers, with water visible underneath. Very cool.

I closed out Sunday with yet another show at the Magnet, this time "Test Drive," a standing weekly feature where two teams who have never been seen on stage before try out their hand. The teams on Sunday were Dastardly (Tony da Costa and Dan Scivoletti) and Bryan Linsky (Emily Bryan and Leanne Linsky). While Dastardly were good, I have to admit Bryan Linsky were better. I think Dastardly tried to reach too far, whereas Bryan Linsky again took a phrase from the audience ("walk-in closet") and ended up with a half hour piece about two sisters, one helping the other move, and while it was funny there were some pretty intense emotional moments in there, too. It felt "real." Great stuff.

Just to finish it all off and be done with the series, I had the hotel reserve a limo for me since I had to leave for the airport at 4:30am and in NYC you can't call a cab – you have to hail them, and I didn't feel like wandering around looking for a cab at o'dark-thirty in the morning. And the fixed price for the limo wasn't bad – not much more than I had paid for the cab to the hotel. When I came out of the hotel at 4:15, my carriage awaited. I had been expecting a black Lincoln town car or some such, but no, I got the full-on stretch white limo suitable for prom. So even though I was tired, I had to smile as I left Manhattan in style.

Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure:

Eastward, ho!

So most of my wanderings so far have been north and south of the hotel on 29th Street between the ranges of 6th and 10th Avenues (the hotel is between 7th and 8th Avenues). Today I decided to head east and see if I could get to the East River. I walked straight east on 29th, past a very cool Episcopalian church, until I got to First Avenue, headed north past the New York Medical Center until I could finally cut over to a riverfront park around 34th or so. Wasn't much there except the transients who live in the park - well-behaved, especially since two policemen were wandering among them, looking through their belongings pretty much without asking. I guess you lose some privacy when you live on public land.

I then headed along 1st Avenue until I got to the United Nations plaza (42nd to 48th Streets) and took some fairly bland photos of the buildings from a little park across the street. There were stairs heading up to a street behind the park so I took those and was on East 43rd Street looking right up at the Chrysler Building (I love that building, actually). I walked along until it ran right into Grand Central Station. I went in and snapped some photos, but since I needed to get a move-on to class and it was hot in the station I didn't tarry too long to people watch (especially since there are armed soldiers patrolling there).

I walked up 42nd Street to 5th and turned south and walked past the New York Library. I would have taken pictures but it was all covered with scaffolding (except for the lions). Then down 40th past Bryant Park behind the library and south on 6th until I reached 29th again and headed for class. All in all another good one and a half hour jaunt. It was a little cooler today but I was still a bit sweaty when I got to class. And actually, now that's it's early evening it is much cooler, and a welcome relief it is.

Here are some pics. The first two are of the top of the Empire State Building at night, taken a couple of days ago. The one thing you can't see is the fairly constant flash of cameras from the observation deck, clearly visible ten blocks away. Pretty cool sight, actually. The rest are from this morning's walk.

I was there, but where was King Kong?

So, the best thing about this class I am taking is it doesn't start until 10:00am, and gets out at 6:00pm. That leaves some nice time in the morning and evening to walk around and see things. Last night I walked down Seventh Avenue to 24th Street and had some good Indian food (not as good as what I had in England, but better than most here in the States). I then walked back to the hotel, then down Ninth Avenue to around 22nd Street and into the Chelsea area to look for some good restaurants for later this week (have found Thai, Greek, Italian and a few others that look promising). While walking back I saw the illuminated spire of the Empire State Building, and even from seven or eight blocks away you could see the camera flashes going off in the dark on the observation deck. Which got me to thinking...

I checked the weather when I got back to the hotel and tomorrow (today, now) looked to be the last day guaranteed to be clear, so I set my sights to get to the ESB right before it opened at 8:00am to beat the crowds and get some good time on top before going to class. I got up this morning at 7:00 and was out the door by 7:20 and walked the six blocks to the ESB and was in the lobby waiting by 7:40, probably 20th in line. The doors opened at 8:00 and up the escalator we all went. First through security screening (like at the airport), then to purchase tickets, and then up the elevators. It all went well, and I was on the 86th floor observation deck (I didn't pony the extra $15 for the 102nd floor deck in the spire) by 8:15. Perfect! The weather was a bit hazy (it's New York), but it was clear and not too hot yet.

I ended up wandering around and around the outside deck, taking pictures pretty much of the same things over and over. Part of that was because the only camera I carry is my phone and I can never be too sure (especially in bright sunlight, when I can't see the screen) the quality of the shots I'm getting. So I just kept taking pics, trying to be sure not to drop my phone over the side. Then I stopped and just walked around for a while looking at everything so I would remember it, too, and not just have the pictures, later.

The deck was filling up with people pretty fast, and from the various roped lanes we had passed for security, tickets and the elevators when it just opened I can tell it gets crowded later in the day. By 9:00 I decided to descend, then stopped at Herald Square for some coffee and sat in the square watching the traffic and people go by on Sixth Avenue. Then off to class, where I comfortably arrived by 9:45. It was a great start to a good day!

Here are some pics for your enjoyment:

The only living boy in New York

"Half of the time we're gone but we don't know where,

And we don't know where."

- Simon and Garfunkle, The Only Living Boy in New York

Yesterday I flew to New York City (cue Pace picante commercial, "New York City!") for iPhone/iPad programming training. I will be here for a week, flying out next Monday morning.


My plane landed a bit early, and I knew one of my (and Les's) favorite musicians in the whole world, Anne McCue, was playing in a club in Manhattan that night. I had thought about going and then over-cautious that I often am had talked myself out of it. But when I got to the hotel by 7:15, knowing she went on at 9:00 and it was only three miles away (I am on 29th between 7th and 8th, the club was on Ludlow between E. Houston and Delancey, for you New Yorkers who may be reading) I thought "What the heck!," checked in and dumped my bag on the bed and went straight out and hailed a taxi to The Living Room.


The Living Room runs a tight ship - an act an hour (approximately). It's also a very small venue - I'd say 20, maybe 30 tables in the downstairs stage area, tops. I was there by 7:45. I had never heard of the singer coming up before Anne, Sarah Jaffe (I know - that probably just labeled me as a completely unhip dude), but they were charging $10 cover for her whereas if I waited for Anne it'd be free. I decided "What the heck!," if I am going to go on an adventure, I am going to discover some new music, paid the $10 and grabbed a seat at the third table back from the center of the stage.


Sarah and her band came on (her on guitar and bass, a violinist, pianist and drummer) and for the next hour was a great mix of singer-songwriter fare mixed with driving, heartfelt music of loss and vulnerability (here's a review). And I mean that in a good way! Les and I will be picking up some Sarah Jaffe CDs in the future, that's for sure.

Sarah Jaffe

Then Anne came on and it was time to get really excited. She played tunes from most of her albums, including a lovely explanation behind Milkman's Daughter (about her dad) that made the song suddenly make sense. She also did Tiny Little Song, which is pretty much my favorite of hers. Besides these, the rest of the time she rocked, as only Anne can. It was great to see so much sound coming out of her playing. I just love the way she plays guitar.

Anne McCue

An interesting point about her band - Anne tours alone and uses different backing musicians in each city. That must be a pretty interesting exercise in flexibility for both her and the musicians! Last night she had a bass player named Ben Rubin and a drummer named Lee Falco (here's a much better pic than any I took). Lee looked young, Anne even joking the first time she introduced them that he was 85 and still going strong; it turns out he was 15, with what I took to be his parents and sisters in the audience. Very cool. He did great. I think he'll go far - I hope he does, anyway!

Anne McCue, Lee Falco and Ben Rubin

Afterwards I got to meet her manager Linda Lewis and then Anne, and bought the one CD we didn't already have a copy of and got Anne to autograph it for Les, since she was jealous of me getting to go to the show (not really - at least Les has said she's happy I got to go :o). Then it was a cab trip back to the hotel and a quick walk around to see if I could get anything to eat. I am trying to eat healthy this trip and the only things open were pizza places and Irish pubs (there are about a zillion "Irish pubs" around here - what gives?), so I ended up just going to bed without eating; I wasn't that hungry anyway.


The classes don't start until 10:00 each day, so this morning I got up and after some fruit and yogurt walked around. First I walked up 28th Street, which is like "The Flower Market Street" for New York. Then I went up 6th Avenue quite a ways, cut over to 7th Avenue past Macys, walked up to Times Square and did the tourist pictures thing, and then walked back down 8th past Penn Station and Madison Square Garden and then to class. It was already getting hot, and my shirt was soaked when I hit the class. And then I got spent eight hours learning something new and geeky.


All in all, it's been a good 24 hours!


Here are some tourist pictures:

 Macys

 Me taking a picture of a billboard taking a picture of me (I'm in the white part)

 The Flatiron Building is somewhere under those signs.

Looking back down Broadway

 James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave doing Driving Miss Daisy

 Green Day lost some of its punk credibility with me with their off-Broadway show