Best ever?

L said the tamales were the best ever. I'm not quite so sure, but the dinner was a success, despite a last-minute series of unfortunate cancellations. But that just means more leftovers for us.

Let's review:

• Roasted onion soup with chilis, corn, and coconut milk.
  Calling this one 'roasted onion' soup is a bit of a misnomer. The onion is a minor (albeit yummy) note. It's more of a squash and coconut take on corn chowder: not at all thick, but the accent is definitely on the fresh corn. I'm still not sure what the achiote does for us other than add color, but the whole thing came together very well. It's a keeper.



• Grilled rabbit tamales with tomatillo salsa and queso fresco.
  Usually this is a dish I make with chicken, but that 4H bunny was calling. It turned out great. I think I followed the tamal recipe a little more closely than usual in the proportion of moisture to masa: They were much moister than previous attempts. Lacking an abuelita to properly teach me the art, I've been winging it for about 11 years now. It seems a half-and-half combination of butter and shortening does the trick, along with about the same stock and water. I've really got to try using pork lard one of these days, but until then, I'm sticking with this version. I also left a little extra water in the tomatillos when grilling them--that makes for a fresher tasting, less pungent, salsa.



• Orange marinated tacos carnitas.
  The tortillas weren't just fresh when L brought them home: they were hot. She said that she had to beg them straight off the conveyor belt when she got to the store. The marinade was a real winner here, taking $1 / pound pork and turning it into a delight. Orange marmelade, vinegar, and rosemary overnight, skewered with poblanos and grilled over high heat. The tacos included plantain, yam, and crema fresca. Too good.



• Mexi-slaw.
  More likely found on fish tacos, this was a simple side: red and white cabbage and carrots as a base, with mango salsa and bottled jalapeno ranch dressing over it. Yeah, kind of low brow, but it was a great side.



• Fresh fruit over ice cream.
  We were gonna poach these in syrup, but L decided they were just too perfectly ripe.

Success.

Harvest-fest

We've started preparation for a fancy dinner tomorrow. The rabbit is spread-eagled on the counter, dusted with salt, pepper and thyme. A bit of oil too, for browning. Tomatillos are on the grill. The yard is looking sharp.

Tomatoes and peaches are on their way. Pork will sit overnight in orange marmelade.

I think the menu is finalized at:

• Roasted onion soup with corn and coconut.
  a clear base with chilis and tomatoes


• Rabbit tamales.
  4-H rabbits hugged to death with tomatillo salsa and queso fresco.


• Chili-orange pork brochettes.
  skewers of marinated pork, squash and poblanos, served with fresh tortillas, plantains, sweet potatoes, and crema


• Slaw.


• Poached peaches and strawberries.

We're still debating the dessert, but I think you get the picture.

I harvested our one stalk of volunteer corn. Folks are right: there were a few kernels, but nothing that I would call an ear. We continue to drown in squash. Both basils are kicking in to high gear. I imagine there will be two more good batches of pesto (we've had one already). We spent a pleasant evening earlier in the week tieing back rasberry and tomato vines, a task that was long overdue.

GIS blog-o-rama

This post got lost in the shuffle. This stuff is still worth linking to though, so here:

With the ESRI User Conference going on, the geo-blogs have exploded with information. I could track this stuff for days.

This guy was having a great time. DSMAPBOOK.ZIP sounds like something I could have used a while ago.

Vector One also thoughtfully points to this industry analysis.

And hey: didn't I want to look into visual ahtropology a while ago?

And hey again: why haven't I read Tufte's Beautiful Evidence
yet?

Caterpillars

No, we're not having an insect problem (other than the years-long battle with moths--Annie keeps her nuts in the freezer). The supplies came together for a poke and crab salad roll, covered with alternating strips of unagi and avocado. I even tried to make little antenna.

The presentation wasn't perfect, but it tasted fantastic. The guests were rolling on the floor.

Thanks uwijimaya!

On the zine scene

Well, what an epic weekend in Portland. I think it finally feels like summer.

First I got stomped at the PacNW USTA championships. That wasn't very pleasant, but I didn't play all that badly. Next was a pleasant chat on the Park Blocks, followed by a Cuban dinner at Pambiche. I had the oxtail, since L doesn't care for it, which leaves me no opportunities to make oxtail-barley soup. We noticed that lengue on the menu was described as 'roasted and sliced pork.' First of all, I've never seen pork tongue on a menu (but a companion who's spent time in Puerto Rico says it's common--I guess my people save it for sausages and prefer the beef tongue as a main dish), but second: isn't it a little nasty for the menu not to come right our and say what cut of meat it really is?

Or maybe it's no different from not advertising the exact ingredients of the kaszinka I made Kelly taste a couple weeks ago in Boston.

Today we visited St. John's, where the sis'-in-law will be moving in just a few weeks. Breakfast was really tasty, and we got to catch people coming off of the Portland Bridge Ride. St. John's turns out to be a side of PDX I've never seen before, and reminded me a lot of West Seattle about 10 years ago.

The culmination of the weekend was the Portland Zine Symposium. Awesome! L picked up (and met) the originator of Murder Can Be Fun, and even caught one of the original SITOites at a table. She got all excited about an upcoming Gridcosm DVD. Gosh, I wish I had kept more active with those folks. Little fits and starts was all I every accomplished.

For me, meeting one-half of the duo behind A Softer World may have been the highlight. No--I take that back, the highlight was hearing the panelists of the "How to Research-base your Zine" workshop singing the praises of reference librarians. I love getting gushed over.

We ended our Portland day with happy hour sushi and a trip to Uwijimaya for sushi supplies. Yum!

ok, battery dying. good night.

Not much, you?

Just back from Bean Town. wow. But before telling you that....

A recurring topic of conversation was what superpower we would choose, as well as what ordinary human talent. Oddly, the former question was the qualifying question on Whaddya Know just now. How random is that?

So L wandered down to Providence before coming back, and I am here being thouroughly domestic. Veggie stock is on the stove. Garlic is harvested and I am now sorting the cloves according to size. The biggest will go back in the ground. As soon as I get some shade, I'll be attacking the outside top of the hedge.

Happy Saturday.