Not my tweets

I feel dumb, but I've got someone else's Twitter feed on my blog.  Trying to fix it, for now, just know that's not me.

Pintos round II

OK, two key discoveries in round two with this recipe.

1.) Turkey Bacon does not fry up nice like pork bacon for the exact reason that most people eat turkey bacon in the first place - not enough fat!  But I don't care about reducing fat, I care about nice, crispy, smokey-tasting goodness (minus pork and nitrates).  Obvious solution? Add fat!  When you first start cooking turkey bacon, it releases some water (instead of the fat released by pork bacon).  Thankfully that water quickly evaporates, but unfortunately, you're then left watching dry strips of turkey quietly turning to jerky despite your hope that they'll somehow end up crispy and tempting.  In the midst of this travesty I got the bright idea to spray a little canola oil on there and, wouldn't you know it, I was fryin' again!  I had nice dark, crispy strips in minutes.

2.) I overcooked them last time - they were yummy, but a little too squishy.  What went wrong?  Cooked them just the way I wanted them, turned off the burner, and walked away.  Duh, they kept cooking!  This time I stopped at about the same point (maybe a bit earlier, even), but then took the pot off the hot burner for about five minutes then iced the pot in a sink full of ice water.  There may be a more elegant way to stop the cooking process, but that's what I learned back in the Bertucci's days.  I'm especially prone to "ice" food I intend to reheat later.

Hope this helps!

Just don't lose it with the ringer off!

OK, this is awesome, especially for those that don't have a land line.  Either way, you can tell I'm a fan of simple service websites, and WheresMyCellPhone is one I'll definitely need someday.

(Via Download Squad)

Return My Pants

OK, now this is a nice simple way to solve a very real problem for many people. Lenders of things who lose track, and borrowers of things who's intentions are better than their memories.

But mostly, I just love the name of the site, so check out Return My Pants (via Lifehacker).

Magic Beans!

OK, so you know I've been trying to make beans and rice, but you might not know why it was a challenge. For this geek, the issue is not with getting a tasty meal, it's with creating a beans and rice "process" that results in several tasty meals for minimal time, money, and effort. So far, my experiments with beans and rice have all been tasty (some a bit too spicy, I admit), but they yielded 2-4 big servings at most.

As a side note, if you're at all uncertain about why you should definitely be eating beans, this article is a good start.

So I looked for the right recipe, and did not find it. After studying a few different recipe styles, I made three decisions:

1.) Cook the beans seperately and just spoon them onto rice (simple, versatile, stores better)

2.) Start with pinto beans (versatile, available, cheap)

3.) Make sure everyone in the house can eat it (no pork, no nitrates, not too spicy)

So with a couple of reference recipes to get an idea of ratios and cook-times plus the flavors I've liked the best in previous experiments, this is what I came up with. It saves time by creating a HUGE batch that still fits in our biggest 5qt pot (barely), uses mostly fresh incredients, it's tasty (spicy enough for me, not too spicy for the Missus), very diet-friendly (especially since we serve it w/ brown rice), and it contains no pork or nitrates. Admittedly, uncured turkey bacon is a luxury (compared with other meats I could have picked), but pork was a no-go and the flavor it imparts is key. And if we bring this to an event any time soon, I'll just use regular bacon. Pork virtually gets its own food group down here, so I'm pretty sure no one will mind.

So here it is - subject to refinement, though I could eat it just like this and be very happy.

Into a big pot (5qt minimum) goes...

2lbs Pinto Beans (pre-soaked overnight)

10C water

2tbs olive oil (extra virgin if you have it)

1 Jalepeno (seeded and diced)

2 small yellow onions (diced)

3 cloves garlic (minced or crushed)

7 cooked strips of uncured (nitrate-free) turkey bacon (chopped after cooking - 3/4"?)

Bring all this to a boil then lower heat and cook on medium for 45 minutes stirring occasionally

Add:

3 med (or 2 large) tomatoes (pureed)

1/2 tsp cumin

2tsp salt

Lower heat and simmer for another hour stirring occasionally

Add:

Handful cilantro (minced)

Simmer until it looks/feels the way you like.

Serve:
... In a bowl over a scoop of your favorite type of rice (cooked, of course).

I could see increasing the Jalepenos to 2 (or 1, but keep the seeds) if your household is OK with a higher spice level. The thing I'm really interested in is to find out if it's possible to modify this recipe to work with dry beans/longer slower cooking and avoid the soaking step. Probably not possible in a 5qt pot, but that's ok for now.

Blackberry Dialing Tip

Quick tip for Blackberry users.

Trying to dial, say, 1-800-FLOWERS on your Blackberry? Think you need to have a real phone handy to figure out which numbers go with those letters? Nope.

Simply hold down the ALT key while dialing the letters. Blackberries apparently have the phone keypad memorized, and will insert the corresponding number when you hit the dial key.

The surprise geek

I am a geek.

But though it comes as no surprise to many, I can't just drop that and walk away because my brother reads this, and he's the only person in my life who confronts my word abuse. So, I tried Google and a smattering of online dictionaries for a definition, but most of what I found was too specific - centered around either computers or biting heads off of chickens.

My friend Heather was surprised, and shocked me by wondering out loud when I'd "become such a geek" after I gushed on Facebook about Google Voice and syncing my cell contacts with Google. I know Heather from my second career (I'm on number five) as the Director of Operations (DOO) at a non-profit camp and conference center. And I was surely a geek back then. I once drove hours to attend a seminar on floor cleaning and proper use of entryway floor mats. More importantly, to this day, I'm excited about that seminar and how I applied what I learned. I still have the handouts, and I haven't been responsible for the condition of an entryway mat in ten years. Here's my point: Even though this joy in knowledge was not computer-y, it was deeply, deeply geeky.

That's why this definition from Wikipedia grabbed me - "A person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who passionately pursues skill (especially technical skill) and imagination, not mainstream social acceptance."

There are all kinds of geeks. Any skill can be learned, but there is a best way to do everything. CARING to look up, discover, or even claim the best way, defines geek. Wait till Heather finds out she's a cooking geek.

So wherefore the blog? My mission is to make your life simpler, cheaper, and funner so that you can focus on making the world a better place. To that end, I'll post all manner of "hacks" or tricks or systems that I discover or run across (both computer-y and noncomputer-y). On the flip side, the geeky systems that I create for myself can be handy, but they can also become an end in themselves - a distraction from the relationships that make life worthwhile - so, there will be posts about relationships and personal growth. Cheaper than a therapist, so thanks in advance. I'll post a couple of times a month - more if I get around to it or start writing faster.

Out of curiosity, I found and took this test on line and rated around 30% or "Total Geek" which was only the third of eight levels of geekiness. I think I'm geekier than that, but I also think the test was skewed toward computer geekiness. And if you're wondering if that critique is fair, you're a candidate - so just go take the test. Full disclosure: I did answer "Yes" on "I exaggerated on this test to score better", because I also said "Yes" on the question about owning a lightsaber, when, in fact, I own a Stormtrooper blaster. Which is mounted on the wall. In my office.

On perfectionism: An incomplete list

You know how long it's taken me to start this blog? Years. Half a decade. Course, if you have one, you probably already know that starting a blog is simplicity itself. If you've already got a Google account, setting up a Blogger account takes five minutes, if that. Start writing, bang out a post, hit "publish", done. You're there. You've blogged.

But wait. Settle down just a second. Aren't there things bloggers should know about? Isn't there a right way to blog? Turns out there is...

• You need a plan
• You need a vision
• You need a topic
• You need material
• You need to be relevant
• You need a blogging platform
• You need a layout
• You need readers/audience/market

And for this perfectionist geek, each line in this incomplete list represents a minefield of wrong decisions. That means research. Not the cool kind of research that broadens your perspective and makes better posts. But the kind of research that pulls together enough conflicting opinions about proper blogging that half a decade goes by with no posts.

Perfectionism is an oil spill on the wings of creativity.

Have I waxed overly philosohpical for an opening post?
Shouldn't I have told you what I was planning to write about on this blog?
Is my theme too whimsical?

Stop. Hit "Publish". Done.