Not a cure for insomnia, but....

A few years ago, I started waking up in the night.  Not for any special reason, just for the hell of it, so to speak.
What to do?  Roll over, close eyes, try to sleep again.  No luck.
Don't start thinking!  That will just lead to worried insomnia.
Get up?  Uh uh.  Don't want to do that.  What if I get sleepy and I'm not in my bed?
Can't read.  Can't turn on the TV.  Can't really do anything without disturbing Left Brain's sleep.
Listen to my Ipod!  But I don't want to listen to music, that just wakes me up more.

What's a podcast, anyway?  Hmmmm.

And that was the beginning of my love affair with late-night listening.  Now, I have to know that my Ipod is right there, ready to grab if I should wake up, which unfortunately, I still do from time to time. 

And I've found some really wonderful listening is to be had,  and free!

Some of my favorites:

Persiflagers Infectious Disease Puscast- Dr. Mark Crislip of Portland talks about recent literature in his speciality, Infectious Disease.  Now, you might think that this  really must be boring, but no!  If you have any interest in medicine and disease, which I do, it's just plain fascinating, and if I don't always get the arcane language and technical jargon, I get enough to get the gist of what's been studied, and it's fascinating!   Dr. Crislip is funny and gives it just enough personality to keep you coming back.  Also, his voice is soothing in an odd way and after a while of being half interested and entertained, off to sleep you go!  Another way to enjoy Dr. Crisplip's wit and voice is to listen to the QuackCast, wherein he debunks the frauds and pseudo-science of Alternative Medicine.  I wish I could get more people to listen to this and stop supporting SCAMS!
PRI Selected Shorts-  Live performances of great short stories, read by actors.  Wonderful!
This American Life- Another great program from Public Radio International, this show takes a theme and people tell true stories that amplify and elucidate that particular theme, in depth.  Hard to describe, but once you listen, you'll be hooked.  Funny, informative, thought and discussion -provoking themes every week.  I save these for when I take a walk; they usually run about 45 minutes.

The Moth- Another idea that is hard to describe.  People get up in front of an audience and tell stories, without notes. Usually about 10 minutes long.  Not that these stories aren't rehearsed, you don't hear anyone hemming and hawing, but they are told in a personal way about all kinds of situations in life, funny ones, sad, stories with lessons, sometimes about extraordinary people or events.  I've heard a few I wish I'd never bothered with, but most are very good and some I listen to more than once.
Coopette.com- An Englishwoman talks about her garden and gardening.  Very informative, but the thing is, she just has the loveliest, most melodic voice and phrasing, and I just adore listening to her. Very sleep inducing, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.
The Survival Podcast- Jack Spirko wants us all to be self-reliant and ready to face whatever comes our way.  His topics range from world economy to canning green beans and which shotgun we should have. He'll tell you how to store food for emergencies and how to plan an escape to a B.O.L. (bug-out-location).  He'll talk about squash bugs.  I love it.  I think I inherited the survival gene from my grandmother,  who never could have enough food "put away",  and I want to be prepared for anything that comes down the pike.  Jack tends to get a little over-excited, but you can't fault the man for his passion and downright smarts.  For someone who is self-educated, he knows an awful lot about a lot of things, and has common sense as well.  I do have to skip the long intro, though.  I understand he has to do it, but it gets old.

I have other podcasts that I listen to, and I'm open to suggestions, but if you are interested, this is a good place to start.  It's certainly better than laying awake and "stewing".

Mazatlan Smoked Marlin Dip

In Mazatlan, Mexico, there is a famous old restaurant called "The Shrimp Bucket" on the malecon- the avenue that runs along the sea-wall.  Many a shrimp and a margarita have been consumed there out on the front porch, happily gazing at the Pacific Ocean.  It's still a wonderful place to go.
They have an appetizer there, usually served in a leaf of a purple cabbage, and with delicious freshly cooked tostadas (see prior post) that I just love.  So naturally, I went about getting myself some smoked marlin and re-creating it.

Now, I'm not sure how this works, but it seems that the smoked "marlin" that one buys in Mazatlan may not be marlin, but tuna.  As you can see on the package that I bought, it says Marlin y Atun Ahumado.  Marlin and Tuna Smoked.  So I suppose they must not be discernably different in taste or texture.  I'd sure like to know more about this.  However, to continue...

Smoked Marlin/Tuna Dip
1/2 kilo or 1+ pounds of smoked fish
1/2 block of cream cheesse
1/2 c. good mayonaise
1/2 c. sour cream
juice of 1 lime
1T. soy sauce
1T. worchestershire sauce
3T sweet pickle relish
1T hot sauce or 1 chipotle jalapeno adobo
1 tsp. thai fish sauce (optional)
Place all in a blender or food processor and mix until smooth.

This is delicious and unusual.  Sit back and enjoy people saying "What is this?"

Tostadas, The Real Deal

You might remember I told you that I think pre-made taco shells are nasty.  And if you've ever eaten freshly fried corn tortillas that are known around here as tostadas (in some places  totopos) that are crisp and warm and salty, you know that Doritos are a cheap (tasting) and much inferior substitute.  So what's it going to be, steak or baloney?  Eggs or Eggbeaters? Rasberries or fruit roll-ups? Okay, enough already.  You get it.

First you need some corn tortillas.  With tortillas, fresh is always better.  However if they've been in your fridge for a while they are still better than you-know-what.

This is a 5lb. bag of corn tortillas.  It cost $3.89.  I'm going to fry up this whole bag of tortillas for a party.   Look how much this makes!

You're going to want to get the thinnest tortillas you can find for this job.

You will also need some oil. Well, OK, a lot of oil.  I've gotten to be a big fan of  peanut oil for frying.  It has a very high smoke point, has a very neutral/pleasant taste, and since it has mostly monounsaturated fat it is better for your heart.  I used about a half gallon for this, because it was a big ol' stack of tortillas.  That's about $6.00 worth of peanut oil.

Use a heavy dutch oven with high sides, or a deep fryer.  This is a lot of oil that will be dangerously hot, so protect yourself.  Also get a big tray, sheet pan, or some other receptacle to put the cooked tostadas on, and line it with lots of paper.  You can use paper towels, or brown paper bags, or even newsprint. Or you could let it drain on a rack.   I used the brown paper I keep around for this purpose.

I recommend cutting  the tortillas into 8ths.   Quarters are too big for bite-size.

Get your oil hot, hot, hot but not smoking.  Then take about 20 tortilla eighths and separate them by bending the chunk like this,

and then layering them on your fry scooper or some other implement.    Put them in the oil gently and then, gently stir the pot and separate the tostadas.   Don't go splashing hot oil around!  

When you see your tostadas are turning brown on the edges, scoop them out, let them drain over the pot a minute, then put them down on the paper.  If your grease is hot enough, the oil will run right out of them and there will be very little oil left in the chip.  

Sprinkle a little salt on each batch and taste one.  Come on, isn't that about a kajillion times better than one of those proccessed things made out of who knows what?  I'd say.

Rhubarb Shortcake

Rhubarb is a fruit (deemed so in 1947 by court decree, although it is botanically a vegetable) that many people don't know much about.  It is very high in fiber and contains substances that "aid digestion" and you all know what that means!  It's very low in calories, but you do have to sweeten the dawg out of it so it's not exactly a diet food.
My Mom and Dad loved rhubarb, and so do I.  They liked theirs stewed and had it in the morning with breakfast.  However, if you have ever seen a bowl of boiled rhubarb, you will readily understand why this isn't my favorite way to serve it.

I like to roast my rhubarb and serve it with cake or shortcake.  And this is NOT with strawberries.  Talk about gilding the lily!
I also like to make rhubarb crisp which is just like any other crisp.   But for today,  here is how to make Rhubarb Shortcake.

Try to buy thin stalks of rhubarb, about the size of very big celery.  You might have to make do with giant stalks, but the thinner the better.  Don't worry if they aren't all bright red. They are usually available here in May through the summer.  Sometimes I have to pester the produce man to order it for me.

Get about 6-8 stalks of rhubarb and wash it,  and if it's big, run a knife down the stalk and cut it in two.  Then cut it into pieces about 1 inch long.  More or less.

Put it into a bowl with about a cup of sugar, and toss it around until the pieces are coated.
Spread it out over a sheet pan. 
Put it in a hot oven (400)  for 20-30 minutes.  Some of the sugar will be browned and the rhubarb will be tender.

With a spatula scrape it off the foil into a bowl and give it a taste. Be sure to get all the juice!  If it's too sour, add more sugar and toss gently.   That's all there is to it.

Here's my recipe for shortcake:
2C. SR flour
1/4 C. sugar
1 good pinch of salt
1 stick of softened butter
1/4 brick of softened creamed cheese (optional)
1C. milk
Mix the dry ingredients.  Cut in the butter and cream cheese.  You can leave some large chunks.
Add milk, stir and form into a ball.
Flatten the ball into a greased pie plate, or shape into individual biscuits.
Cook at 350 for 30 minutes.
Slice the pieces horizontally in half before serving.

You are also going to need some whipped cream, creme fraiche, or ice cream. 

Then assemble your rhubarb and shortcake in layers: shortcake, rhubarb, cream, shortcake, rhubarb, cream and mint if you have some.
Oh, yes.  This is much better than a bowl of stewed rhubarb, don't you think?

Guacamole

Everyone has their own guacamole recipe.  Isn't that right?  Some like it with onion, garlic, cilantro, whatever floats your boat.  Some people don't include tomato.  My family likes it this way----simple. 

 You will need perfectly ripe avocados.  They give to the touch,  but are not mushy soft.  I  like Hass avocados best, the ones with the bumpy skin.

Take your avocado and a big, sharp knife.

Put the knife in at the mid-point and roll the avocado down it, cutting it in two around the pit.  Twist the two sides and pull them apart, pop!

Carefully stick your knife into the pit and twist it slightly, until the pit can be removed.

Then, take a soup spoon and slip it between the skin and the meat of the avocado and separate the two.

There you go!

And you didn't even have to touch the slimy avocado!  

So into the bowl go the aguacates and the skinned tomatoes.  Don't know how to do that?  Just submerge the tomatoes into boiling water for about 10 seconds.







When you take them out of the boiling water, the skin should just slip off, like this:

Dice your tomatoes and add them to the bowl, along with salt and the juice of limes.  Here's the basic ratio:

 1 tomato per each 2 avocados.  1 lime per each tomato, extra if they are not juicy.  Salt to taste.  That's it, todo completo. 



Then, you mush/mix it up with a pastry blender, or a potato masher, or pair of knives.  There are those who want pieces of actual avocado in their guacamole, not pureed into baby food, and I am one of those.   Which leads me to a story...
Once in a classroom long, long ago, an ESL teacher was encouraging her students to talk about movies they had seen.  The movie "Exorcist" was not that old, at the time.  Fermin Wong excitedly waved his hand.  "Yes, Fermin?"  "Mees, did you see that movie?  She threw out guacamole!"
She sure did.

So when it's just the way you like it, take one of the pits and put it in the bowl.  It keeps your guacah from turning brown. 


How are you going to eat it?  Up to you.  I like it as part of a steak, dinner, myself.

Chinese Barbecue Sauce aka Char Siu

Many people don't know that Chinese Roast Pork is called Char Siu Bao.   The only reason I'm  a smarty-pants is because when I saw it posted on foodgawker.com by My Asian Kitchen I realized that my recipe box was missing something that I truly loved.  Remember Moon Garden, anyone?  Wow, was that exotic!  Driving downtown, the chinese music and waiters.  What a thrill for a little farm girl from Chamberino.
So, most of the recipes go something like this:

Pork.  Most recipes use Butt or Belly.  Have you ever seen pork belly for sale, here in West Texas?  Please tell me where.  And another thing, isn't that called bacon?  Anyway...  I use what I can get.
1c. sugar
6T soy sauce
3T hoisin sauce
4T rice wine or sherry
1T salt
1T Chinese 5 Spice
1/2 tsp. garlic chile or just red chile flakes
Red food coloring (but why bother?)

Just mix it up and marinate your pork in it.  Several hours, if possible.   If you cook a loin roast, set the oven at 400, put it on a rack and turn it after 30 minutes. I cooked these ribs in the oven for about 2 hours at 325, turning and painting again once.   Some recipes call for a coating of honey and/or  Maltose at the end for shininess, but if you put water under your roast or ribs you won't need it.  If you grill it, you might just use honey thinned with a little  water right before you take it off. 

Chinese chicken salad minus the chicken would be a great side for this, it seems to me.