Me + John Hodgman
It only took me 8 months to find out, but apparently John Hodgman (also known as PC from the Apple commercials and from The Daily Show) has visited my site. I posted what I hoped was a humorous comment about him using his iPhone upside-down on The Daily Show, and I guess he took notice. You can see his reply post here.
I have since removed that blog (moving on from that style of blogging), but for fun I’ve restored the original post for your viewing pleasure.
Spicy Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons smooth natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons "lite" coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
Directions
Whisk together peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar and crushed red pepper in a small bowl until smooth.
Thai Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce (see Ingredient note)
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 pound chicken tenders
- Spicy Peanut Sauce (recipe follows)
Directions
To marinate chicken: Whisk lime juice, oil, soy sauce, fish sauce and crushed red pepper in a shallow baking dish until combined; add chicken and turn to coat. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Preheat grill to high.
To grill chicken and serve: Thread each chicken tender onto a wooden skewer (see Tip). Grill the chicken skewers until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, about 3 minutes per side. Serve warm or chilled with Spicy Peanut Sauce for dipping.
To prevent wooden skewers from burning on the grill, wrap the exposed portion in foil before grilling. (Contrary to popular wisdom, soaking them in water doesn’t prevent them from burning.)Ingredient note: Fish sauce is a pungent Southeast Asian sauce made from salted, fermented fish. You can find it in the Asian section of large supermarkets and in Asian specialty markets.
Simple Crock Pot Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds Stew meat cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1/4 cup flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 3 carrots sliced
- 3 potatoes diced
- 1 to 2 Onions chopped
- 1 stalk Celery sliced
- 2 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet optional
Directions
Place meat in crockpot. Mix flour, salt and pepper and pour over meat; stir to coat. Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours. (High: 4-5 hours). Stir stew thorougly before serving.
How To: Burn Any Video File to a Playable Video DVD
Here’s a pretty good article outlining how to burn practically any video file to DVD.
http://lifehacker.com/5082262/how-to-burn-any-video-file-to-a-playable-video-dvd
How To: Wrap Your Headphones
There are lots of ways to wrap your headphones. Only one of them is correct. Some ways are more wrong than others—if you hate your buds, looping them tightly around your iPod like a bondage rope is the surest way to kill them fast while making it look like it was done in by natural causes. This is how you’re supposed to do it.
It keeps them nice and untangly, so they don’t come out looking like a ball of yarn or something that would entertain your cat for hours. You might already know the art. This is for everyone else, the uneducated masses. Feel free to share your wrapping method blasphemy in the comments, though.
[gizmodo]
How To: Max Out Apple TV’s Potential With Boxee
This is a guide that, if followed, will unchain your Apple TV from its cruel iTunes tether, turning it into the useful living room conduit of music, video and web-based content it should have been all along via the media center software Boxee. Boxee can be installed fairly easily via the ATV’s USB port to bring Hulu and Comedy Central streaming, playback of any video or music file anywhere on your network in virtually any file type imagineable, and a bevy of internet A/V sources like Flickr, Last.fm, NPR and BBC podcasts and tons of others—all upping the usefulness and fun of Apple’s notoriously underachieving box by a factor of 10, easily. If you have an ATV, Boxee is a must-install, and it’s 100% free. Let’s get started.
[gizmodo]
[boxee]
Swordfish with Tomatoes and Capers
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
- 1 cup chopped fennel (1 bulb)
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 28 ounces canned plum tomatoes, drained
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons good dry white wine
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 4 (1-inch-thick) swordfish fillets (about 2 1/2 pounds)
- Fresh basil leaves
Directions
For the sauce, cook the onions and fennel in the oil in a large saute pan on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the drained tomatoes, smashing them in the pan with a fork, plus the salt and pepper. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Add the chicken stock and white wine and simmer for 10 more minutes to reduce the liquid. Add the basil, capers, and butter and cook for 1 minute more.
Prepare a grill with hot coals. Brush the swordfish with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill on high heat for 5 minutes on each side until the center is no longer raw. Do not overcook. Place the sauce on the bottom of a plate, arrange the swordfish on top, and garnish with basil leaves. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Hearty Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. pepper
- 1 can (1 lb. 12 oz.) whole tomatoes
- 3 beef bouillon cubes
- 3 c. water
- 1 can or bottle (12 oz.) beer
- 1 c. thinly sliced carrots
- 1 c. thinly sliced celery
- 1 c. raw potatoes
- 1 c. chopped onions
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen green beans
- 1/2 c. spaghetti, broken into 1″ pieces
Directions:
Season ground beef with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, brown in large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven. Pour off grease. Add tomatoes, bouillon cubes, water, beer, carrots, celery, onion, potatoes, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat and simmer for 30-60 minutes. Add green beans and spaghetti for about 30 minutes more. Can substitute more water for beer.
Blog is back
Seems like I can’t get away from this blogging business. Well, it’s back.