No lack of inquisitiveness

It's been a while since the last post, huh? It's not for lack of questions.

Question of the day: is this our Miz Kollar mentioned?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2008966279_nwwporttownsend020.html

Roasted Chestnuts

1. Poke an X in the curved side with the tip of a very sharp knife. Serrated knives won't work; that's how I nicked a finger. Aim for the curved side because that lets you press the flat side against a cutting board. Plates won't work. And forget about only cutting through the shell. How can you tell you haven't punctured the nutmeat?
2. Arrange the chestnuts in a single layer in an enameled cast-iron pot. The heavy lid is important--if a chestnut explodes, the heavy pot contains the mess nicely.
3. Place said pot in a 350-degree oven. Bake for roughly 20 minutes, until the shells show black spots and they start peeling back at the X. Or some other location. It appeared rather arbitrary.
4. Take out the pot and put it over a medium-low flame on the stove. This will keep the chestnuts warm while you are peeling them.
5. Peel the chestnuts, using a paper towel to help you hold them. Keep a small knife on hand to help with the fibrous parts. Use the tip of said knife to dig out the meat because peeling only works well in theory.
6. Dip hands occasionally in cool water to stave off burns.

Verdict: forget it. I'm staring at the nick on my finger right now.

Question of the day.

Why is it, whenever I'm recovering from a cold, that all the goo in my chest comes out my nose while I'm still stuck with a nagging cough?

Whee...

Some ideas for Wii game titles, just in case they haven't been done yet. (I'm still building out my knowledge. For all I know they've been done.)

* Wii Curling: the thrill of curling without the ice.
* Wii Plumber: make housecalls and fix emergency leaks.
* Wii Painter: Van Gogh never had an electronic canvas.
* Wii Sculptor: carve marble, wood, or form whatever you want, and possibly even have the option to order real versions of your design.
* Wii House Painter: requires business acumen but no artistic talent.
* Wii Handyperson: now you have to diagnose the problem.
* Wii Auto Mechanic: now you're fixing cars.
* Wii Botanist: like Endless Ocean, but in the jungle, with animals you probably shouldn't pet.
* Wii Deadliest Catch: like Rock Band, but without the special toys and with lots of crab.
* Wii Dentist: like Trauma Center, but without the urgency and with lots of teeth.

There's a special place.

There's a special place for people who

* come to work sick
* turn then signal
* don't wash their hands after going to the restroom
* don't clean up their exploded food from the microwave
* hide in the back row when there are other seats available, and refuse to move when asked
* take up multiple parking spaces
* don't turn on their headlights in the rain
* don't read the question before answering
* believe that if they're not interested in it, no one is
* drive slowly in the left lane
* pass in the right lane

Question of the day.

How would a turkey roasted Cantonese-style taste?

Question of the day.

We don't wear suits in Silicon Valley. Is the badge on a lanyard the pathogen-carrying tech equivalent of the necktie?

Maybe I was wrong to ask for stock.

I am the proud owner of a Wii. It is the first game console I've ever owned, partly because I've been put off by the prospect of paying a premium for older graphics, partly because I've been put off by the prospect of having to keep buying new games for what was sure to become obsolete.

After all, cookbooks pay off more, don't they? And stocks pay real dividends.

Now I'm reconsidering this line of thought. A video game console is indeed something every well-rounded kid should own, along with the bookshelf of good books (containing the Anne of Green Gables, Chronicles of Narnia, and Lord of the Rings series, as well a bunch of others that escape my mind at the moment).

One weekend of suffering a strained shoulder from Wii tennis, and another weekend of carpal tunnel from Williams Pinball is downright embarrassing. Definitely something that could have been averted had I bothered to play my friends' consoles earlier in life.

Products I hope never go away.

* Swiffer in the mop and duster form.
* The bug killer from Home Depot that comes in the gray bottle.
* Rickshaw tea.
* Unsalted chicken broth in the aseptic carton.
* Engineering graph paper.
* Those little palmier cookies at Costco.
* Schweppes Ginger Beer, Bitter Lemon, Grapefruit, Dry Ginger Ale, and Cream Soda, in that order.
* Disinfecting wipes.
* Neutrogena clarifying shampoo.
* Coke One.
* Trader Joe's dark chocolate-covered caramels.
* Act in its original, non-alcoholic, 0.05% fluoride form. It boggles the mind that other mouthwashes don't offer fluoride.

Discontinued products I wish they would bring back.

* Trader Joe's Gummi Chewies, both the ones shaped like fruits and the "tropical" ones shaped like animals.
* Trader Joe's Gummi Bears.
* Trader Joe's mango sauce. At least I thought they made one at some point. Now I'm disappointed because I want to experiment with mango turnovers.
* Robitussin Cough and Cold, the kind with pseudophedrine.
* Trader Joe's ladyfingers.
* Haagen-Dazs burnt caramel.
* Ben and Jerry's White Russian.
* Costco French chocolates, not the Swiss ones.
* Costco caramel nut frozen yogurt topping.
* Costco hot lattes and mochas.
* Yoplait guava.
* Trader Joe's rice senbei.

Shrimp in "Crazy Water", Modified

Ingredients
~24 shrimp, thawed
1 c Corona Light
0.5 c unsalted chicken broth
1 small yellow onion, sliced into thin half-moons
2 cloves garlic, smashed
couple shakes red pepper flakes
2 small handfuls sugar plum tomatoes, halved
couple tablespoons olive oil

Method
1. Saute onion and garlic until the onion turns translucent and slightly golden.
2. Add (carefully) beer and broth, and tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes.
3. Add shrimp and cover until done.

The truth about black grapes.

They probably contain more antioxidants.

They probably taste different than the red and green ones.

None of that matters.

They just look cooler, that's all.

Question of the day.

How many cooking games do we really need for the Nintendo DS?

Thought of the day.

The Democratic National Convention looks great in HD. Now it's time to go watch cartoons.

Homma's Brown Rice Sushi

2363 B Birch St, Palo Alto, CA 94306

* Had the chef's choice Combo #1, $8
* Combo #1 had tuna nigiri, smoked salmon nigiri, couple pieces of white fish nigiri, 3 pieces tuna roll, and 3 pieces cucumber roll
* Also sampled the unagi roll, futomaki, unagi donburi, and spicy smoked salmon asparagus roll

* I didn't realize brown sushi rice could stick together about as well as the white kind.
* The texture of the rice was nicely chewy (but not overly so) and the fish and other ingredients were very fresh. The fillings were nicely proportioned to the rice as well as to each other.
* The rice itself seemed to have a wasabi kick. This offset the slight nuttiness of the rice but was surprising at first.
* The unagi was very good, with the skin nicely broiled to give it a crispy charred edge. I think it worked better in the roll because it the texture of the skin was immediately offset by the texture of the rice. However, the donburi is a better choice if you want to focus on the eel.
* Since there is only one chef, it takes a while to get your order. Although it is worth the wait, the wait itself is a test of patience.
* As with all sushi, I found everything on the salty side.

Costco Polish a la Japadog

Ingredients
1 Costco Polish sausage with bun from the deli
2 tbl thick Korean barbeque sauce (teriyaki works too)
1 snack pack seasoned nori seaweed

Method
* Apply sauce.
* Shred seaweed and top sausage.

I'm off the bagged spinach.

I was so grossed out last night I neglected to take a photo. The underside of one leaf of my spinach contained a neat cluster of little grey spheres. They were either insect eggs or styrofoam packing material of some sort. The meal ended right there.

The e-coli didn't get me, the foreign matter did.

Question of the day.

You know what's great about summer? Being able to eat a bowl of blueberries like I would a bowl of cereal. Only it's blueberries, not cereal.

So Gong Dong Tofu House

4127 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306

* Had the combination tofu stew (no spice), $9.24
* Nice smooth tofu stew with bits of beef, clam, and a couple whole shrimp.
* Rice was mixed with a little black rice and beans, giving everything a reddish hue. Perhaps J can fill me in on what it's called when that is done and why it's done.
* Banchan included kimchi, seaweed in ketchup/spicy sauce, pickled cucumber, potato, garlicky bean sprouts, and those clear noodles stirfried in sesame oil.

* I liked the rice, that the stew contained very little onion, the flavor of the beef, and how the clams miraculously didn't turn into rubber bands. My favorite banchan was the noodles, followed by the potato.
* The ventilation system was a little smoky. Also I think $9.24 is a little pricey for tofu stew, but then, the cheaper option in Santa Clara contains a lot of onion.

Question of the day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/arts/television/04watc.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Solar-powered tanning beds.

Run that by me again?