listen: Pandora

Pandora™ is the doorway to this vast trove of musical information. With Pandora you can explore to your heart's content. Just drop the name of one of your favorite songs or artists into Pandora and let the Genome Project go. It will quickly scan its entire world of analyzed music, almost a century of popular recordings - new and old, well known and completely obscure - to find songs with interesting musical similarities to your choice. Then sit back and enjoy as it creates a listening experience full of current and soon-to-be favorite songs for you.

http://www.pandora.com/

barley soup w/ porcinis & dill

1/2 cup drained porcini shrooms, soaked in 1 cup very hot water for 20 minutes
1 tbls olive oil
6 shallots, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 cup pearl barley
5 cups veg stock or mushroom stock
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbls minced fresh dill

~ remove porcinis from liquid, thinly slice and add back into liquid
~ heat oil on medium, carmelize shallots & carrot, covered for 10 minutes
~ add the barley & stock, boil, reduce to simmer for 20 minutes
~ add in porcinis & liquid, cook ten more minutes until barley is done
~ stir in dill

sloppy bob's & kettle chips

1 box Boca Soy Crumbles
1 small can tomato paste
1 small sweet onion
roughly a cup of water or beer
3 garlic cloves
1 green bell pepper
2 tsp turmeric
2 tbls apple cidar vinegar
2 tbls worschetshire sauce
1 tbls ground mustard
cayene, pepper & salt to taste

~ saute aromatics in olive oi
~ add in pepper & sweat
~ add vinegar, worsch and simmer a fwe mintues
~ add spices, tomato paste, mustard & beer
~ add in soy crumbles until hot

serve on grilled sourdough bread or buns. top with pickles & sharp cheddar cheese & chips to scoop up the crap that oozes off your bread!

rutabaga & fresh beet ~ potato latkes w/ garlicy sour cream sauce

makes 4 ~ serves two

1 1/2 cups peeled and grated russet potatoes

1/4 cup grated onion

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tbls white flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup peeled and grated rutabaga

1/4 cup peeled and grated beets

2 tbls vegetable oil

~ lay down multiple sheets of paper towels and place upon them the grated onions & russet potatoes, roll up and squeeze out as much moisture as you can...adding more paper towels if needed. set aside

~ in a large bowl stir egg, flour, powder, sal & pepper. add in russets & onion

~ divide the mixture into two smaller bowls

~ mix the rutabaga in one bowl

~ mix the beet in the other bowl

~ preheat oven to 200 degrees

~ warm the oil on high heat in a large heavy cast iron or nonstick skillet until a drop of batter sizzles

~ take one of the bowls of latke batter & divide it into two portions, about 1/2 cup each. drop into hot skillet and flatten out with spatula. cook each side about 5 minutes. take out and place on a pan in the oven to stay warm.

~ proceed again until all latkes are cooked

~ serve with sauce & sauteed cabbage

Garlicky Sour Cream Sauce

1 1/2 tbls minced roasted red bell peppers

2 tsp minced scallion greens

2 tsp fresh lime juice

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp sugar

1 cup sour cream

salt to taste

~ combine in a bowl & refridgerate. yeilda 1 1/4 cups will keep for 5 days.

listen: Rocky Volato

http://www.rockyvotolato.com/rocky.html

"white daisy passing"

just lovely!

african sweet potato & peanut stew

1 tbls olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp ginger, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayene pepper
1 1/2 pounds sweet pots, peeled and chopped into dice
one 14.5 can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups veg stock
one 15 oz. can red kidney beans
2 tbls natural peanut butter
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts for garnish

~ saute onions for 5 minutes
~ add in bell pepper & garlic 5 minutes
~ stir in spices, 30 seconds
~ add sweet pots, stir to coat
~ add stock & tomato & salt, bring to a boil
~ reduce heat & simmer for 30 minutes, until pots are soft
~ about 10 minutes before done, add in beans
~ place peanut butter in a small bowl & stir up with 1/4 cup of broth, add into stew
~ taste & adjust , serve with chopped peanuts!

listen: Cat Power

Chan Marshall stops time. She sits at a piano or lays her guitar across her lap, and whether it’s a noisy club overflowing with drunks or a coffee house full of laptoppers, Chan Marshall draws all the attention in the room and makes the world stop spinning. As Cat Power, Marshall’s music seems to rise from nowhere, envelop the room, then vanish; listeners know they’ve been hit by something but they’re not sure what.

listen & buy http://www.matadorrecords.com/cat_power/

teriyaki - glazed tofu w/ fresh crisp vegetables

16 ounces fresh tofu, firm & sliced into big two inched pieces

3 tbls tamari

3 tbls fresh orange juice (or more)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbls toasted sesame oil

1 tbls pure maple syrup, or honey

salt & pepper

2 tbls peanut oil

~ lightly saute the veggie of your choice in the peanut oil & sprinkle with salt. just long enough to brighten them, maybe 3 minutes. set aside

~ Oops, first marinade your tofu for an hour in the sauce above. combine the tamari, orange juice, garlic, sesame oil, syrup & salt & pepper. whisk & add tofu.

~ use a slotted spoon, transfer tofu to a platter, reserving the marinade

~ heat peanut oil again, over med- hi heat. cook tofu until brown on both sides. add in the marinade and let cook to thicken, about 10 minutes.

~ serve over brown rice then top with veggies.

Linguine w/ Sage & White Bean Sauce

from bob.

2 tbls olive oil

1 small yellow onion, minced

1/4 cup fresh sage leaves

1 1/2 cup cooked cannellini beans

1 tbls balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

fresh pepper

1/2 cup hot veg stock

1 pound linguine

whole fresh sage as garnish

~ saute onions about 5 minutes, add the torn sage leaves for 1 minute then add in beans, vinegar, salt pepper and stir

~ transfer to a food processor and blend, adding the stock as you need. transfer to small pan and keep warm over low heat

~ cook linguine

~ top with sauce!

Szechuan String Beans & Miso Baked Rice

1 1/2 pounds green beans, ends trimmed
3 tbls tamari
1 tbls toasted sesame oil
1 tbls mirin
1 tsp raw sugar
2 tbls peanut oil
3 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp peeled minced ginger
3 tbls minced scallions
1 tsp red pepper flakes

~ lightly steam beans about 5 minutes. rinse in cold waterto stop cooking & preserve bright green color, set aside.
~ in a small bowl combine tamari, sesame oil, mirin & sugar. whisk together & set aside.
~ heat peanut oil in a wok or heavy bottom skillet over med-hi heat. when hot, saute beans a handful at a time for 30 seconds or so, transferring out with a slotted spoon as you go.
~ let oil reheat once beans are flash cooked. add in your shallots, ginger, garlic, scallions & pepper, stir fry 10 seconds. return beans to the wok for 30 seconds. add tamari sauce and stir fry until all beans are coated.

serve with rice:

Miso Baked Rice ~

make 1 1/2 cups broth from sweet white miso
combine with one cup raw short grain brown rice & bring to a boil.
as soon as boiling, turn heat to low, cover and let cook 25 minutes.
remove and place in oven safe individual dishes at 350* and bake just until
a little crunchy on top.