9/29/2013

Suzy Bogguss in Concert

Waiting for Suzy
So...  Suzy Bogguss in concert!  I had a seat very close to the stage.  She started on time and sang for almost two hours without a break, at the acoustically wonderful Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) auditorium in north Phoenix.

Her accompaniment was lead guitarist Paul Kramer and bassist Charlie Chadwick.  Suzy played rhythm guitar as I think most lead singers do.  She sang many songs I knew, from Aces mostly which is the one album I owned until now. She also included several traditional American folk songs that everyone knew all from her most recent album - in 2011. One she didn't play that I would have loved to hear was "Music on the Wind" from "Aces."

Her live performance "voice" is a bit more "clipped" than you get in the studio recordings -- her voice doesn't soar quite as much in live sets.  If you are familiar with the limitations of live performance I don't need to explain why.  But no matter -- it was wonderful and I loved every minute of it.  It was like having a great performance in your own living room and Suzy Boggus has one of the purest, sweetest singing voices you've ever heard. This lady can sing and her back-ups were top-notch.


At another show...
After the concert and the encore, she said she'd meet us "all" outside the theater -- she'd stay as long as we did.  To me, she's a "Big Star"  and I have NEVER seen any performer do that in my entire life.  She stayed until she shook the last hand, posed for the last photo, hugged the last kid.  I know, 'cause I watched.  One thing that surprised me was that the audience was a predominantly older group.  I guess it shouldn't, since she's been around for a while -- just like those of us who went to see and hear her last night.  I feel sorry for those who don't like this kind of music -- tuneful, country, sweet, folksy, and decidedly American.

What a warm human being and a class act.  I'm really kind of irritated though.  Now I have to buy a lot more of her music.  Just can't help it.

8/27/2013

Uncle Bob's Enchiladas del Pollo (Chicken Enchiladas)

Me gusta mucho...
These were not spicy as I made them this evening... my roomie is 93 and her days of spicy food are over... but you can heat them up very easily and if you like that kind of flavor, I suspect you know exactly how to accomplish it.

I started with several chicken thighs, covered them in approximately two cups of water and brought them to a simmer.  They were ready in 40 or 45 minutes.  I poured off the broth into a jar, and refrigerated both for a day or two.  This broth can be made richer by the addition of a carrot, some onion and celery while cooking...  if you prefer.  And why not?

Preparation time: 

I removed the lard from the chicken broth and made sauce out of the broth.

- 3 TB Shortening or Butter, or oil.  I used a combination of shortening and oil tonight. You can use some of the chicken fat as well if you wish.  I don't eat chicken fat too much...
- 3 TB Flour
- 1 TB chili powder (results in milder flavor, normally I'd add two in my enchilada sauce)
- Sprinkle of dry onion bits
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- Coarse ground black pepper to taste

Place the above in a saucepan and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add 2 cups of cold broth all at once, stir and cook until thickened.  Set aside.

Skin, debone and shred the chicken.  I left mine a little chunky.  Set aside after heating in the microwave for a couple of minutes, at half power.  I wanted to just warm it a little, but not dry it out.

To assemble:

Preheat oven to at least 400 degrees.
Chop a yellow, brown or white onion.
1 lb of Mexican style cheese, shredded.  I like a mild cheese in my Mexican food -- I do NOT use cheddar.
Open 1 small can of Hatch green chilies* (or whatever you can get where you live.)  Rosarita, Macayo, etc.
El chicken, as prepared
12 corn tortillas

* Or, even better, grill and char a couple of mild green chili peppers, skin and chop them.  Fresh is best but I was in a hurry!

Heat a griddle or skillet to sizzling (a little bit of oil).

Fry a tortilla for a few seconds until it softens, flip and fry a few more seconds.  You do not want them crispy for enchiladas.  I add a tiny bit of oil to the griddle for each tortilla.

Place the tortilla on a plate, smear it with a TB of the sauce.  Place a bit of chicken, some onion, some green chili bits and a pile of queso (cheese!) on the center of the tortilla, slightly off center.  Roll the tortilla around the fillings loosely and place in a 13x9 baking pan, loose (flap) side down.  You've already prepared the pan by generously greasing the bottom, and added several TB of sauce to it.  If you lay two enchiladas end to end the long way, you can get six on each half of the pan.  (See photo above).

Repeat for all twelve tortillas.

Place uncovered in the oven for about 7 or 8 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle some chopped onions over the top, and ladle the remaining sauce over it.  Sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on top.  I add the leftover green chilies also, if any.  Back in the oven, uncovered, bake for about 12-15 minutes, until melted and bubbling.

I served these with buttery mashed potatoes.  Not exactly Mexican, but it was fantastic and they went well together.  I couldn't stay out of it.  No room for dessert!

Uncle Bob

8/17/2013

Vivitek D825MS - problems!

Lamp problems (flashing intermittently) and display compressed...
 
Just in case anyone is having problems with their Vivitek DLP projector -- mine is a D825MS, about three years old.  It's provided yeoman service up until now... I didn't really WANT to replace it, and I couldn't find any advice online about this particular malfunction.  Vivitek's apparently lousy customer service didn't bother to return my request for assistance, even though I know they received it and got an initial "we got your note" reply.  It's been over a week since I wrote to them -- I am assuming at this point I am not going to hear from them.  That will be a factor in any future decisions I make about an eventual replacement.  Even a "Gee, we don't have a clue unless we look at it" would have been better than "Worm, you do not exist."  That's OK though, I have a memory like an elephant... and a mouth like the neighborhood gossip.
 
I use the projector in my classes -- with PowerPoint programs and videos, etc. It's been malfunctioning lately - it's lamp has been flashing on and off, and eventually, the picture "scrunched" in on itself (compressed drastically). So my first thought was that this was its way of telling me the lamp was going. Heavy sigh. They're pretty expensive, as you probably know.

I searched the problem online, hoping to find some direction from others who had experienced the same problem. I didn't find much about this specific problem -- one user mentioned that the "auto" picture function could cause the flashing if it was not working properly. I figured it was either the lamp or the VGA cable -- and I went to the store (and I looked at new projectors just in case).  Just about the time I thought it might not be bad to have a brand new LED-lamp projector ($600) with a 30,000 hour lamp-life expectancy, I brought a new VGA cable home to try that possible "fix."  It was the cheapest possible fix and I was hopin'.  Bingo.

Apparently, the cable started deteriorating some time ago - I think maybe it was the cause of my inability to use some PowerPoint programs that I initially thought were just memory hogs. A techie told me my laptop should be fully capable of running those programs (enough RAM, etc) -- so I thought maybe the programs I had were themselves the problem (glitchy in some way) -- but APPARENTLY, the VGA cable was not transmitting the data well enough -- and when it got even worse, it couldn't even carry enough data to support a static display.

If the fix lasts, proves permanent, then I saved perhaps $600 - $700 with a $24 cable ('cause I WAS really looking at that fancy, miniature LED projector with a 30,000 hour lamp...)  I probably could have gotten that $24 cable on Amazon for half the cost had I not been so impatient.   But I'm a happy camper, and my projector seems like it is back to normal operating condition.  Can't beat that!


[Update:  August 29, 2013 - Vivitek has never responded.  Jeers to them!]
[ Update: January 14, 2014 - Never got any response from Vivitek.  The projector continues to function normally.  Yay!]
[Update: January 27, 2015 - projector still functioning normally!]

8/04/2013

An LA Weekend in August!

I had a four-day holiday and I spent it on Los Angeles.  Pathetic, just pathetic!  No, really, I had a pretty good time.  I left Friday mid-morning, took I-10 all the way to Banning and then SR 60/91 the rest of the way to Long Beach (Carson).  I got into LA rush hour almost from Riverside on, but made it OK – no wrecks to turn it into a nightmare.  No, THAT came upon arrival at the motel…

Motel 6 in Carson didn’t mention at all that their hotel is torn up for remodeling from one end to the other.  That was pretty disturbing when I first saw it, plus the apparent attitude of the staff when I checked in was "we don't give a s*#t what you think about it.  I don’t usually stay at Motel 6 anymore, although they used to be my habit.  But I’ve had more than one bad experience with them and figure the slight savings these days isn’t worth the aggravation.  Plus, I’ve come across a couple of them in recent years that were suffering from some serious FILTH. 

But prices are high in Los Angeles this time of year, almost double what I paid.  If I had found something decent-looking in the $80-$100 range, I’d have taken it.  But no luck.  So.  On the web and at the last minute (part of the problem, obviously), this hotel’s photos made it look a LOT better than it really was.  What saved it for me, was the room I was in had already been remodeled and it was clean.  The bed was OK and I searched for bugs and found none.  So it was OK – the place was a bit noisy but while that lasted late into the evening, it did not continue overnight, either night. It was also a convenient neighborhood for me, with some needed shopping nearby (Target!) and some good restaurants.  So in the end, no complaint.  I won't do it again though - the remodeling isn't being done with much quality from what I could see -- and I doubt the upgrades will last.  It's going to be junk again, and fairly soon.

I had dinner on Friday night at Chili’s, and bought a movie to watch – The Great Outdoors with John Candy and Dan Ackroyd (it's got Bart the Bear in it!).  Saturday morning, I got out on the road at about 10 am after breakfast at Denny’s.  I jumped on the 405 and slogged my way through LA Saturday traffic (heavy, unfortunately) all the way up to downtown.  First stop, the LA Farmer’s Market at Fairfax and 3rd St.  I parked across the street at a shopping center and walked the last half a block – cruised through quickly and bought peanut brittle in a funny round-manufactured shape, a banana, a box of organic strawberries, some “fancy mixed nuts” and a croissant (which I never finished).  I already had plans for lunch, but I figured I’d want snacks, or Sunday breakfast, right? 

I really should have planned the stops more carefully… my next planned excursion was to visit the site of the original 1781 Los Angeles – and that was maybe 15 miles away.  Then, as it turns out, lunch was back where I was near the Market – not too far from it.  When I got to the Old Pueblo, parking was $10!  I got a little discouraged about that and decided I would eat lunch first.  At this point I discovered that Pink’s Hot Dog Stand was back in the direction from whence I’d come.  I never did make it back to Old Town.  But I think at this point I didn’t miss it, or much.

Note the queue...
I arrived at Pink’s to discover the ever-present line.  I had to wait probably 30 to 45 minutes to place and receive my order.  Others in line told me it was “worth it.”  They didn’t know I’ve wanted to eat at Pink’s for about five years – ever since I first heard about it.  And I’d have waited if it had been two hours.  I already knew it wasn’t that good.  But I should have gotten two of them after waiting that long for something.  Pink’s is a Los Angeles landmark – and counts many movie stars among its clientele.  The dog was good – an old fashioned one in a natural case and a good size.  You can get anything you want on them – I had mustard, ketchup, relish, onions and chopped tomatoes.  Had I sprung for a second one (the only reason I didn’t was I also had plans for supper and a 2nd dog would have dampened them…), it would have been a famous Pink’s chili dog.

Dockweiler State Beach
After lunch, it was back south to the airport to watch the planes.  Yes, really.  I had looked at maps and there is a state park right where the runways meet the Pacific – Dockweiler State Beach.  I figured that would be a great place to watch the takeoffs as they always go out in that direction at LAX. 

Alas, the beach was backed by a large system of levies – and you can’t see the field at all from the beach.  You can see the jets as they roar over directly overhead, but nothing else. 

A lady was walking past with her kids, headed for the sand (I was standing by my car, parked along the roadway), and we talked for a moment or two, she said hi, I said hi, etc, and she told me about a better place – right off the highway that runs along the west-side of the field there is a neighborhood and it is on the side of a hill.  You can park there along the road and they have benches and little tables and you can see the WHOLE FIELD.  Of course, LAX is so huge I had to use my field glasses.  But I stayed for about an hour, probably, and among the usual run of the mill domestic airliners and regional jets (and props), I saw a new 787 take off and also a Lufthansa 747-8 – also brand-spankin’ new.  That one taxied all the way to the west end, crossed the runway, then down the west fence-line all the way to the EAST end, right in front of me, then took off on LAX’s far western runway right past me again.  It was a great view throughout all of this, and the paint on that jet was so new it glistened!

After the plane-watching I drove back to Carson to the motel and relaxed for a few moments before going out to supper.  It was at this point I had to open up the new GPS – my present one has pretty much bitten the dust.    I updated the firmware and the maps before leaving and what had been a perfectly well-functioning GPS is now a useless piece of plastic.  It seizes and freezes, requiring multiple resets to get it to work at all – for about ten minutes until it freezes again.  And the lane-assist feature is now just a white blank screen. Thanks, Garmin! The new cheaper one I bought as “insurance” isn’t near as capable as the old one was – the difference being about $200.  But I’ll never spend that much for one again – they just don’t last long enough.

Roscoe's
For supper, it was Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles.  I had a two-piece with two waffles – didn’t eat it all.  I took half the waffles and one piece of chicken with me.  Ate the chicken for breakfast, threw the waffles away. It was good enough – it’s a famous place the Prez ate at when he was in LA – but we have a couple of places here in Phoenix that are just as good – Mrs. White’s and also Lolo’s Chicken and Waffles.  When it comes to Soul Food, the City of Angels got nuthin’ on La Ciudad de Phoenix! 


At Point Fermin Park near Long Beach
After eating, I drove out through Long Beach, past the RMS Queen Mary, past the USS Iowa (didn’t even know that was there, until this trip), to Point Fermin Park – which sits on the edge of the Pacific atop some coastal cliffs.  Got a couple nice shots of the lighthouse, tried to hike up the hill to a viewpoint on top – but a security person waited until I got within about 50 feet of the top after a 10 minute climb – and then told me it was closed.  Couldn’t they just as easily have told me that at the bottom?  Before the brutal climb?  Anyway, it is a very pretty place and the sun was about to set.  I walked around, threatened to take some pictures of some young ladies who were dancing in the parking lot beside their car to some hip-hop music (I think that’s what it was anyway); then I drove back to the motel (20 miles away). Anyway, can you believe that the beautiful view in the photo, that rugged coastline, is in the middle of Los Angeles?  It is! 

Point Fermin Light
Started to watch “Bridge on the River Kwai” but ran out of steam.  I had planned to visit the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, but it was closed Saturday and Sunday both.  So instead of stopping there on the way past this morning, I got on the road toward home and zoomed on by Yorba Linda and Tricky Dick. 

I stopped for a hamburger at Chiriaco Summit – on this trip I learned a little of its history – and its late owner, Joe Chiriaco.  The first time I stopped there, it was just a “filling station” and a little truck stop (I think you could get diesel there, but I am not sure; I probably only stopped to use the phone - no cell phones back then of course).  But anyway, off in the dirt beyond the gas station there was a pay phone and booth.  I had been told to check it out by other drivers… it was an old-fashioned telephone with a crank.  You spun the crank, waited, an operator came on and she completed your call for you. Just like Petticoat Junction!

This was in 1978 – and that phone was still there years later and I showed it to my kids.  I had never seen a crank phone before (in operation in the real world anyway).  It is gone now, of course.  It occurs to me that I could have met Joe Chiriaco back then, had I known about him.  He lived until 1996 and his wife too.  He bought that land and started that business almost before the highway was paved. There was no electricity if you didn't make it yourself, and no reliable water.  There was no air conditioning.  This is out in the middle of the Mohave Desert (think like Death Valley). Joe must have been some kind of rugged hard-working character (not to mention, his wife and kids shared all of that luxury with him). His family still runs the place – now much increased and modernized.  I always enjoy stopping there – and the family has a memorial to General Patton, along with a museum that the government and the Patton estate helped put together.  It’s worth a look - and the food was good.

Well, all good things must end…  I was watching a physics and astronomy program this morning that explained how over eons of time our entire universe will cool and the stars will all blink out.  But they said that we are living at the most perfect possible relative moment in that entire cosmic cycle, from Big Bang to Lights Out.  So with that in mind and in spirit with the harmony of all universal things, my little 2013 summer road trip is over and I am pleased.  Tomorrow it is back to the salt mine. 

 

7/22/2013

Bob’s Chicken Soup Summer 2013

A quick southwestern-style chicken soup for a simple summer supper…

Oil
1 green chili (Anaheim-type mild)
4 chicken thighs
¼ of a med sweet onion, sliced
2 cans chicken broth
Shredded cabbage
Sliced celery
3 or 4 green onions
1 can Mexican-style cut tomatoes (or Rotel if you like those; they’re spicier)
1 can Niblets-type corn, drained
1 garlic clove
¼ to ½ cup rice
Garlic powder, salt, pepper, chili powder, other seasonings as desired.
3 or 4 corn tortillas, cut into short strips
Shredded cheese (opt)
Sour cream (opt)

The best thing to do is to char the green chile on the grill in the normal fashion and sweat it, peel it, remove the seeds and chop it (this is the best flavor).  In a pinch, cut it up and de-seed it, place it in a pan with a little hot oil… and fry it with about ½ to ¾ cup shredded cabbage, the green onions and the celery (which you’ve sliced thin).  Add your seasonings to this mixture as you sauté it just long enough that it is about tender.  Set this aside.

Meanwhile, heat a couple of TB of oil in a soup pot, add the 1/4 sliced onion, the whole garlic clove in halves and the chicken thighs.  Brown them on both sides, then add the broth.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 or 40 minutes.  Remove the chicken pieces, set aside to cool.  Add the rice to this at the right time for the rice you are using – I use 20-minute rice so I added it when there was 20 or 30 minutes left on the total cooking time.  Before adding the rice, I fish out the onion and garlic I used while simmering the chicken and toss it out.
 
After removing the chicken, I add the lightly-sautéed vegetables, the corn and the tomatoes.  Pull the chicken, tossing the skin.  Add the pulled chicken to the pot.  Add more seasonings as desired.  I used about 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp or two of chili powder, 1 tsp of garlic powder, some chopped parsley. You could add red pepper or a jalapeno for heat if you want it, and maybe some cilantro if you wish.  Heat the soup through and then leave on very low heat for about 20 or 30 minutes.
 
Just before serving, heat some oil in a heavy skillet, and when it is sizzling hot, add the tortilla strips.  Fry until they are starting to brown a little – then drain on paper towel.  You don’t want to do them too soon, or they’ll get soggy while resting.  Do this JUST before serving.

If using cheese, jack would be good.   Spoon shredded cheese into bottom of each serving bowl. Ladle the hot soup onto the cheese and top with crispy corn tortilla strips.  I think a dollop of sour cream would also be good.

Instead of adding the cheese to the soup, I served this with no cheese but had a grilled cheese sandwich on the side.


[Note: If you have the time to cook your soup longer and slower, then you can also create your own broth by using water instead of canned broth, and adjusting the cooking method for a longer process.  Much healthier, less salt!]

 

5/02/2013

Can I interest you in some beef and noodles?

Beef and noodles, sourdough and salad.

Good old American comfort food.  Sometimes you just have to have it.  Tonight, I made beef and noodles, garden pea pods with butter, a fresh green salad with a red-wine vinaigrette, and a hot loaf of sourdough bread.  I have a peach and cherry cobbler in the oven for dessert. 

BEEF AND NOODLES

Make a batch of noodles:  In a medium or large bowl, mix 1 egg with 2 TB milk.  Whisk until well-combined.  Sift together 1 cup flour, ½ tsp baking powder and ½ tsp kosher salt.  Add about a tsp of fresh ground pepper.  Add this to the egg mixture and stir to combine into a stiff dough.  

Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out as thin as possible.  Let rest for 20 minutes.  Flour each surface to prevent sticking and roll the dough loosely, like a jelly roll.  Slice into thin strips with a sharp thin knife (⅛ to ¼ inch thick).  Unroll each noodle carefully and place on a cookie sheet or a half sheet – let them dry at least two hours, longer if you can.

Meanwhile, brown a lb of stew meat in a skillet with a couple TB of oil.  Add a few slices of onion – I use about  of a med onion.  When browned nicely, place in a large covered pot with 2 cans of low-sodium beef broth.  Heat to a boil and then simmer for two hours.  Add a sliced carrot and maybe some celery to the pot of beef for the last 40 minutes or so, and maybe some garlic.

Slice the rest of the onion and a carton of mushrooms and sauté them for a while in some oil or butter, adding a splash of red or white wine to the pan as they cook. When the mushrooms are browned nicely, set them aside for a little while.  

When the meat is tender, remove it from the broth and add the noodles to the pot.  Bring to a boil and cook for ten minutes or a bit more, until tender.  Add a bit more water (or broth, or red wine) if needed to keep everything from sticking. Meanwhile, smash the beef chunks into shreds and small pieces with the side of a knife blade and add back to the pot with the mushrooms and onion.

Mix 2 TB of cornstarch into about  cup cold water and after the noodles are cooked tender mix this into the boiling noodles to cook and thicken.  Turn off the heat and let it rest for 10 or 15 minutes, serve.

This would probably be good with a dollop of sour cream on the top.  Variations on the basic theme are almost endless – add some fresh herbs like rosemary, parsley, etc.  Red pepper… you name it.

3/31/2013

Mom's Flowers

Mom at Boyce-Thompson - 2005
Mom’s been growing flowers in the backyard since the 1950’s.  She has slowed down a lot in the last two or three years, but she hasn't quit.

I can remember our many trips back to Indiana and Missouri to see my grandmother and my aunts… and during which they spent many hours wandering around their yards and flower beds and gardens looking at this, looking at that, cutting this, cutting that.  Coming home, we always had trunk-loads of paper sacks and other containers with stuff Mom was trying to keep alive long enough to get it home and into the dirt here.  Some of the stuff made it and thrived and some of it didn't, but not for lack of trying.  Arizona’s soil and climate is good for some things, but not for others.

Sweet Pea
We were driving home in June, 1968 and as we were cruising along on a Colorado highway somewhere in the valley over between Poncha Springs and Del Norte along US285, she spied a lilac bush growing and blooming up by a small ranch house.  She pulled off, grabbed her cutting tool and went to knock on the front door. Not receiving an answer, she didn't think those homeowners would mind too much her having just one little piece of their shrub (or maybe two...) and she clipped off some cuttings to see if she could get them to grow around here...  alas, lilacs are one of the things that will NOT grow in the Arizona desert. Up north in the higher country, yes, but here in the Sonoran Desert heat an emphatic no-go despite Mom's attentive ministrations and plaintiff exhortations.

Christmas Stuff?
Heading south again on that highway that day I could almost feel the hot breath of the Colorado State Horticultural Law Enforcement and Plant Theft Patrol (the CSHLEPTP, or just say "schleptip") on the back of our necks as we sped away from the scene of the crime.

So I was looking around the backyard this afternoon in the great late-afternoon-springtime light and I grabbed my camera to take some photos of some of the stuff she’s growing.  I noticed that the rose bush she and I planted on New Year’s didn't leaf out, so I guess that will be yanked out and taken back to the nursery for a refund, if she ever gets around to it.  I think the prettiest ones are the bright red carnations - at least I think that's what they are. (No room for that photo.)

Iris
There are lots of other things growing out there... as you can see. Her favorites were always her Iris's.  The past few years, they haven't bloomed in the abundant quantities of years past -- but there is this one out there today, a royal purple one. We don't know why they are not as prolific as in years past -- perhaps the soil needs something. Or maybe her bulbs are just too old.

Good news for me… along with all of the flowers, she’s also got cabbage out there, Swiss Chard, lettuce, beets, peas… probably green onions…  I can’t say the flowers aren't real pretty, but I’m partial to stuff I can EAT, you know? And I do NOT eat flowers. But vegetables aren’t as photogenic, are they?

Roses
These photos are all of stuff Mom's got going in the back yard right now -- all of it obtained legally I assure you.  It’s just that she cannot outrun the fuzz as well as she used to, so she gave up on that life of interstate landscape crime and sneaking around other people's backyards, clippers in hand…

April 17, 2013