[FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Fairfield, v1.0
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb wrote: > > > > Excellent. That's *real*, and a celebration of the > > little things in life that make life worth living. No > > one had to "change the world," no one had to be all > > enlightened, and no one seemed in need of deeper > > meaning or importance. > > No one had to be in Paris, either. ;-) You got it. And no one had to be smirked at, belittled or denounced. > > > > > Just as you say about a balsamic reduction, the Law > > Of Nature of a good "life reduction" seems to be to > > just simmer life slowly, without adding all that other > > crap like spirituality and self-importance. > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Alex Stanley" > > wrote: > > > > > > Despite being the laziest person on the planet, overeating at Rory and > > > Rena's Easter potluck, sleeping like crap, and dragging my sorry carcass > > > out of bed at 7am, I actually had a very productive day. > > > > > > First project: I decided to upgrade the iMac that serves up > > > http://alex.natel.net/ from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion. And rather > > > than simply running the downloaded upgrade app, I extracted the install > > > data from the download and used it to create a bootable USB flash drive. > > > That way, I always have bootable media from which to reinstall the OS, > > > even if the hard drive shits the bed. > > > > > > Second project: Putting together an EP-960 Teeter Hang Up inversion > > > table. The written instructions that come with it are worthless, and just > > > as I was about to call up the company and rip 'em a new one, I remembered > > > the DVD that came with it. So, I fired it up, and sure enough, the DVD > > > has a chapter that perfectly demonstrates proper assembly. Duh. > > > > > > Getting back to the potluck... > > > > > > Law of Nature: The positively absolutely unmistakably *BEST* way to cook > > > boneless skinless chicken breast is sous vide at 140 deg F for 3 hours. > > > > > > My favorite source of external validation is cooking outstanding food for > > > potlucks, and potlucks chez Rory and Rena are great because they are a > > > meat-friendly household. So, on Saturday morning, I cooked a couple > > > organic chicken breasts at 140 deg F for 3 hours and then popped the bag > > > into the fridge until Sunday morning. I then made some balsamic vinegar > > > reduction, using a recipe I found online that called for balsamic > > > vinegar, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Big mistake. > > > > > > Law of Nature: The *ONLY* ingredient in a balsamic vinegar reduction is > > > balsamic vinegar. > > > > > > The soy sauce and sugar ruined it, so I tossed it down the drain and made > > > a fresh batch in accord with Natural Law. > > > > > > Rena was going to make roast lamb, and I suggested she buy some Crosse & > > > Blackwell mint sauce, which is a vinegar based mint sauce, instead of > > > that godawful, radioactive green, jelly crap. She couldn't find any, so I > > > made my own version of it. I made a cider vinegar reduction, sweetened it > > > with jaggery, and infused mint leaves in the hot reduction. > > > > > > I woke up Sunday morning and did my usual Sunday ritual: had my coffee, > > > turned on the far infrared sauna, and watched CBS Sunday Morning from > > > inside the sauna. After that, I hit the kitchen. First task: make > > > lime-ginger flash pickles. Inspired by this video: > > > > > > http://youtu.be/yuDFFJ2mazg > > > > > > I make a pickling liquid from either fresh squeezed lemons or limes and > > > then use a vacuum canister and the vacuum port on my foodvac to vacuum > > > infuse the liquid into the cucumber slices. This time, I used limes, and > > > for the first time, used the single-gear juicer to make fresh ginger > > > juice to add to the citrus. In the future, I won't add quite so much > > > ginger, as the pickles were a bit medicinally bitter. I almost didn't > > > bring them to the potluck, but I'm glad I did because people LOVED them. > > > > > > Second task: make the chicken breast hors d'oeuvres. I cut the chicken > > > breast into neat little rectangles and topped them with fresh basil > > > and/or fresh tarragon and half a cherry tomato, with a toothpick holding > > > them together. Then I drizzled them with the balsamic vinegar reduction. > > > I tried one and was totally blown away... unbelievably delicious. What's > > > great about cooking chicken at 140 degrees is that very little liquid > > > separates out; it's fully cooked, and any microorganisms are destroyed, > > > but the meat is not subject to higher temperatures where the proteins > > > contract and express out all the moisture. At the potluck, the chicken > > > breast was a HUGE hit; people raved about it, and they polished off the > > > entire platter. > > > > > >
[FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Fairfield, v1.0
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb wrote: > > Excellent. That's *real*, and a celebration of the > little things in life that make life worth living. No > one had to "change the world," no one had to be all > enlightened, and no one seemed in need of deeper > meaning or importance. No one had to be in Paris, either. ;-) > Just as you say about a balsamic reduction, the Law > Of Nature of a good "life reduction" seems to be to > just simmer life slowly, without adding all that other > crap like spirituality and self-importance. > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Alex Stanley" > wrote: > > > > Despite being the laziest person on the planet, overeating at Rory and > > Rena's Easter potluck, sleeping like crap, and dragging my sorry carcass > > out of bed at 7am, I actually had a very productive day. > > > > First project: I decided to upgrade the iMac that serves up > > http://alex.natel.net/ from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion. And rather than > > simply running the downloaded upgrade app, I extracted the install data > > from the download and used it to create a bootable USB flash drive. That > > way, I always have bootable media from which to reinstall the OS, even if > > the hard drive shits the bed. > > > > Second project: Putting together an EP-960 Teeter Hang Up inversion table. > > The written instructions that come with it are worthless, and just as I was > > about to call up the company and rip 'em a new one, I remembered the DVD > > that came with it. So, I fired it up, and sure enough, the DVD has a > > chapter that perfectly demonstrates proper assembly. Duh. > > > > Getting back to the potluck... > > > > Law of Nature: The positively absolutely unmistakably *BEST* way to cook > > boneless skinless chicken breast is sous vide at 140 deg F for 3 hours. > > > > My favorite source of external validation is cooking outstanding food for > > potlucks, and potlucks chez Rory and Rena are great because they are a > > meat-friendly household. So, on Saturday morning, I cooked a couple organic > > chicken breasts at 140 deg F for 3 hours and then popped the bag into the > > fridge until Sunday morning. I then made some balsamic vinegar reduction, > > using a recipe I found online that called for balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, > > and brown sugar. Big mistake. > > > > Law of Nature: The *ONLY* ingredient in a balsamic vinegar reduction is > > balsamic vinegar. > > > > The soy sauce and sugar ruined it, so I tossed it down the drain and made a > > fresh batch in accord with Natural Law. > > > > Rena was going to make roast lamb, and I suggested she buy some Crosse & > > Blackwell mint sauce, which is a vinegar based mint sauce, instead of that > > godawful, radioactive green, jelly crap. She couldn't find any, so I made > > my own version of it. I made a cider vinegar reduction, sweetened it with > > jaggery, and infused mint leaves in the hot reduction. > > > > I woke up Sunday morning and did my usual Sunday ritual: had my coffee, > > turned on the far infrared sauna, and watched CBS Sunday Morning from > > inside the sauna. After that, I hit the kitchen. First task: make > > lime-ginger flash pickles. Inspired by this video: > > > > http://youtu.be/yuDFFJ2mazg > > > > I make a pickling liquid from either fresh squeezed lemons or limes and > > then use a vacuum canister and the vacuum port on my foodvac to vacuum > > infuse the liquid into the cucumber slices. This time, I used limes, and > > for the first time, used the single-gear juicer to make fresh ginger juice > > to add to the citrus. In the future, I won't add quite so much ginger, as > > the pickles were a bit medicinally bitter. I almost didn't bring them to > > the potluck, but I'm glad I did because people LOVED them. > > > > Second task: make the chicken breast hors d'oeuvres. I cut the chicken > > breast into neat little rectangles and topped them with fresh basil and/or > > fresh tarragon and half a cherry tomato, with a toothpick holding them > > together. Then I drizzled them with the balsamic vinegar reduction. I tried > > one and was totally blown away... unbelievably delicious. What's great > > about cooking chicken at 140 degrees is that very little liquid separates > > out; it's fully cooked, and any microorganisms are destroyed, but the meat > > is not subject to higher temperatures where the proteins contract and > > express out all the moisture. At the potluck, the chicken breast was a HUGE > > hit; people raved about it, and they polished off the entire platter. > > >
[FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Fairfield, v1.0
After man invented the extensive use of electricity etc. less than 200 years ago, or so, life has become much more entertaining. It's understandable that before movies and all that, life was extremely boring and dark so man had to come up with all kinds of stoopid stuff like Yogic Flying and Gods and stuff, just to entertain themselves?? :D --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb wrote: > > Excellent. That's *real*, and a celebration of the > little things in life that make life worth living. No > one had to "change the world," no one had to be all > enlightened, and no one seemed in need of deeper > meaning or importance. > > Just as you say about a balsamic reduction, the Law > Of Nature of a good "life reduction" seems to be to > just simmer life slowly, without adding all that other > crap like spirituality and self-importance. > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Alex Stanley" > wrote: > > > > Despite being the laziest person on the planet, overeating at Rory and > > Rena's Easter potluck, sleeping like crap, and dragging my sorry carcass > > out of bed at 7am, I actually had a very productive day. > > > > First project: I decided to upgrade the iMac that serves up > > http://alex.natel.net/ from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion. And rather than > > simply running the downloaded upgrade app, I extracted the install data > > from the download and used it to create a bootable USB flash drive. That > > way, I always have bootable media from which to reinstall the OS, even if > > the hard drive shits the bed. > > > > Second project: Putting together an EP-960 Teeter Hang Up inversion table. > > The written instructions that come with it are worthless, and just as I was > > about to call up the company and rip 'em a new one, I remembered the DVD > > that came with it. So, I fired it up, and sure enough, the DVD has a > > chapter that perfectly demonstrates proper assembly. Duh. > > > > Getting back to the potluck... > > > > Law of Nature: The positively absolutely unmistakably *BEST* way to cook > > boneless skinless chicken breast is sous vide at 140 deg F for 3 hours. > > > > My favorite source of external validation is cooking outstanding food for > > potlucks, and potlucks chez Rory and Rena are great because they are a > > meat-friendly household. So, on Saturday morning, I cooked a couple organic > > chicken breasts at 140 deg F for 3 hours and then popped the bag into the > > fridge until Sunday morning. I then made some balsamic vinegar reduction, > > using a recipe I found online that called for balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, > > and brown sugar. Big mistake. > > > > Law of Nature: The *ONLY* ingredient in a balsamic vinegar reduction is > > balsamic vinegar. > > > > The soy sauce and sugar ruined it, so I tossed it down the drain and made a > > fresh batch in accord with Natural Law. > > > > Rena was going to make roast lamb, and I suggested she buy some Crosse & > > Blackwell mint sauce, which is a vinegar based mint sauce, instead of that > > godawful, radioactive green, jelly crap. She couldn't find any, so I made > > my own version of it. I made a cider vinegar reduction, sweetened it with > > jaggery, and infused mint leaves in the hot reduction. > > > > I woke up Sunday morning and did my usual Sunday ritual: had my coffee, > > turned on the far infrared sauna, and watched CBS Sunday Morning from > > inside the sauna. After that, I hit the kitchen. First task: make > > lime-ginger flash pickles. Inspired by this video: > > > > http://youtu.be/yuDFFJ2mazg > > > > I make a pickling liquid from either fresh squeezed lemons or limes and > > then use a vacuum canister and the vacuum port on my foodvac to vacuum > > infuse the liquid into the cucumber slices. This time, I used limes, and > > for the first time, used the single-gear juicer to make fresh ginger juice > > to add to the citrus. In the future, I won't add quite so much ginger, as > > the pickles were a bit medicinally bitter. I almost didn't bring them to > > the potluck, but I'm glad I did because people LOVED them. > > > > Second task: make the chicken breast hors d'oeuvres. I cut the chicken > > breast into neat little rectangles and topped them with fresh basil and/or > > fresh tarragon and half a cherry tomato, with a toothpick holding them > > together. Then I drizzled them with the balsamic vinegar reduction. I tried > > one and was totally blown away... unbelievably delicious. What's great > > about cooking chicken at 140 degrees is that very little liquid separates > > out; it's fully cooked, and any microorganisms are destroyed, but the meat > > is not subject to higher temperatures where the proteins contract and > > express out all the moisture. At the potluck, the chicken breast was a HUGE > > hit; people raved about it, and they polished off the entire platter. > > >
[FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Fairfield, v1.0
Excellent. That's *real*, and a celebration of the little things in life that make life worth living. No one had to "change the world," no one had to be all enlightened, and no one seemed in need of deeper meaning or importance. Just as you say about a balsamic reduction, the Law Of Nature of a good "life reduction" seems to be to just simmer life slowly, without adding all that other crap like spirituality and self-importance. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Alex Stanley" wrote: > > Despite being the laziest person on the planet, overeating at Rory and Rena's > Easter potluck, sleeping like crap, and dragging my sorry carcass out of bed > at 7am, I actually had a very productive day. > > First project: I decided to upgrade the iMac that serves up > http://alex.natel.net/ from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion. And rather than > simply running the downloaded upgrade app, I extracted the install data from > the download and used it to create a bootable USB flash drive. That way, I > always have bootable media from which to reinstall the OS, even if the hard > drive shits the bed. > > Second project: Putting together an EP-960 Teeter Hang Up inversion table. > The written instructions that come with it are worthless, and just as I was > about to call up the company and rip 'em a new one, I remembered the DVD that > came with it. So, I fired it up, and sure enough, the DVD has a chapter that > perfectly demonstrates proper assembly. Duh. > > Getting back to the potluck... > > Law of Nature: The positively absolutely unmistakably *BEST* way to cook > boneless skinless chicken breast is sous vide at 140 deg F for 3 hours. > > My favorite source of external validation is cooking outstanding food for > potlucks, and potlucks chez Rory and Rena are great because they are a > meat-friendly household. So, on Saturday morning, I cooked a couple organic > chicken breasts at 140 deg F for 3 hours and then popped the bag into the > fridge until Sunday morning. I then made some balsamic vinegar reduction, > using a recipe I found online that called for balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, > and brown sugar. Big mistake. > > Law of Nature: The *ONLY* ingredient in a balsamic vinegar reduction is > balsamic vinegar. > > The soy sauce and sugar ruined it, so I tossed it down the drain and made a > fresh batch in accord with Natural Law. > > Rena was going to make roast lamb, and I suggested she buy some Crosse & > Blackwell mint sauce, which is a vinegar based mint sauce, instead of that > godawful, radioactive green, jelly crap. She couldn't find any, so I made my > own version of it. I made a cider vinegar reduction, sweetened it with > jaggery, and infused mint leaves in the hot reduction. > > I woke up Sunday morning and did my usual Sunday ritual: had my coffee, > turned on the far infrared sauna, and watched CBS Sunday Morning from inside > the sauna. After that, I hit the kitchen. First task: make lime-ginger flash > pickles. Inspired by this video: > > http://youtu.be/yuDFFJ2mazg > > I make a pickling liquid from either fresh squeezed lemons or limes and then > use a vacuum canister and the vacuum port on my foodvac to vacuum infuse the > liquid into the cucumber slices. This time, I used limes, and for the first > time, used the single-gear juicer to make fresh ginger juice to add to the > citrus. In the future, I won't add quite so much ginger, as the pickles were > a bit medicinally bitter. I almost didn't bring them to the potluck, but I'm > glad I did because people LOVED them. > > Second task: make the chicken breast hors d'oeuvres. I cut the chicken breast > into neat little rectangles and topped them with fresh basil and/or fresh > tarragon and half a cherry tomato, with a toothpick holding them together. > Then I drizzled them with the balsamic vinegar reduction. I tried one and was > totally blown away... unbelievably delicious. What's great about cooking > chicken at 140 degrees is that very little liquid separates out; it's fully > cooked, and any microorganisms are destroyed, but the meat is not subject to > higher temperatures where the proteins contract and express out all the > moisture. At the potluck, the chicken breast was a HUGE hit; people raved > about it, and they polished off the entire platter. >
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Fairfield, v1.0
Ha ha ha...yes, I breezed over the term "sous vide." I'm not that good a cook - just looked it up - sounds a bit complicated for my skill level. I just started cooking two years ago and then took last year off, mostly, except for a few good soups. Oh dear, oh dear. I'm ready to pick it up again though. Perhaps I'll just go with a traditional cooking method for a naked chicken breast (not leaving the meat alone to dry out while I go out and mow the lawn) and start playing around with reductionssmile. Your inspired post has inspired me > > From: Alex Stanley >To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com >Sent: Monday, April 1, 2013 6:55 PM >Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Fairfield, v1.0 > > > > > >--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Emily Reyn wrote: >> >> Fabulous Alex! Â I will try this for a boneless, skinless chicken >> breast (although I like the skin, I sometimes buy them). Â 9.5 >> times out of 10 I overcook them and they come out dry - sauce or >> no sauce. Â They can be undercooked one minute and overcooked the >> next. Â I had given up. Â > >Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but you need a special "water oven" to cook sous >vide. Chefs first started cooking this way using laboratory grade water baths, >which cost $1000+. Some years ago, a company that makes digital temperature >controllers came out with a $120 unit into which you plug in a crock pot or >rice cooker, filled with water, and the controller turns the electricity on >and off, keeping the water at exactly the temperature it's set at. That's the >set-up I use, but there's now a company that makes a reasonably priced >consumer water bath: > >http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/ > >Still kinda pricey, and for best results, you should have a foodvac for vacuum >packing the food to be cooked. If you already own a crock pot, and you have >$150 burning a hole in your pocket, you can still get the latest version of >the unit I use: > >http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=44 > > > > >
[FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Fairfield, v1.0
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Ann" wrote: > > Alex, have I ever said I loved you? > No, I don't believe you ever have. But, if the urge to do so becomes too overwhelming, I'll try to keep my manly pheromones to a minimum.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Fairfield, v1.0
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Emily Reyn wrote: > > Fabulous Alex! Â I will try this for a boneless, skinless chicken > breast (although I like the skin, I sometimes buy them). Â 9.5 > times out of 10 I overcook them and they come out dry - sauce or > no sauce. Â They can be undercooked one minute and overcooked the > next. Â I had given up. Â Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but you need a special "water oven" to cook sous vide. Chefs first started cooking this way using laboratory grade water baths, which cost $1000+. Some years ago, a company that makes digital temperature controllers came out with a $120 unit into which you plug in a crock pot or rice cooker, filled with water, and the controller turns the electricity on and off, keeping the water at exactly the temperature it's set at. That's the set-up I use, but there's now a company that makes a reasonably priced consumer water bath: http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/ Still kinda pricey, and for best results, you should have a foodvac for vacuum packing the food to be cooked. If you already own a crock pot, and you have $150 burning a hole in your pocket, you can still get the latest version of the unit I use: http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=44
[FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Fairfield, v1.0
Alex, have I ever said I loved you? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Alex Stanley" wrote: > > Despite being the laziest person on the planet, overeating at Rory and Rena's > Easter potluck, sleeping like crap, and dragging my sorry carcass out of bed > at 7am, I actually had a very productive day. > > First project: I decided to upgrade the iMac that serves up > http://alex.natel.net/ from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion. And rather than > simply running the downloaded upgrade app, I extracted the install data from > the download and used it to create a bootable USB flash drive. That way, I > always have bootable media from which to reinstall the OS, even if the hard > drive shits the bed. > > Second project: Putting together an EP-960 Teeter Hang Up inversion table. > The written instructions that come with it are worthless, and just as I was > about to call up the company and rip 'em a new one, I remembered the DVD that > came with it. So, I fired it up, and sure enough, the DVD has a chapter that > perfectly demonstrates proper assembly. Duh. > > Getting back to the potluck... > > Law of Nature: The positively absolutely unmistakably *BEST* way to cook > boneless skinless chicken breast is sous vide at 140 deg F for 3 hours. > > My favorite source of external validation is cooking outstanding food for > potlucks, and potlucks chez Rory and Rena are great because they are a > meat-friendly household. So, on Saturday morning, I cooked a couple organic > chicken breasts at 140 deg F for 3 hours and then popped the bag into the > fridge until Sunday morning. I then made some balsamic vinegar reduction, > using a recipe I found online that called for balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, > and brown sugar. Big mistake. > > Law of Nature: The *ONLY* ingredient in a balsamic vinegar reduction is > balsamic vinegar. > > The soy sauce and sugar ruined it, so I tossed it down the drain and made a > fresh batch in accord with Natural Law. > > Rena was going to make roast lamb, and I suggested she buy some Crosse & > Blackwell mint sauce, which is a vinegar based mint sauce, instead of that > godawful, radioactive green, jelly crap. She couldn't find any, so I made my > own version of it. I made a cider vinegar reduction, sweetened it with > jaggery, and infused mint leaves in the hot reduction. > > I woke up Sunday morning and did my usual Sunday ritual: had my coffee, > turned on the far infrared sauna, and watched CBS Sunday Morning from inside > the sauna. After that, I hit the kitchen. First task: make lime-ginger flash > pickles. Inspired by this video: > > http://youtu.be/yuDFFJ2mazg > > I make a pickling liquid from either fresh squeezed lemons or limes and then > use a vacuum canister and the vacuum port on my foodvac to vacuum infuse the > liquid into the cucumber slices. This time, I used limes, and for the first > time, used the single-gear juicer to make fresh ginger juice to add to the > citrus. In the future, I won't add quite so much ginger, as the pickles were > a bit medicinally bitter. I almost didn't bring them to the potluck, but I'm > glad I did because people LOVED them. > > Second task: make the chicken breast hors d'oeuvres. I cut the chicken breast > into neat little rectangles and topped them with fresh basil and/or fresh > tarragon and half a cherry tomato, with a toothpick holding them together. > Then I drizzled them with the balsamic vinegar reduction. I tried one and was > totally blown away... unbelievably delicious. What's great about cooking > chicken at 140 degrees is that very little liquid separates out; it's fully > cooked, and any microorganisms are destroyed, but the meat is not subject to > higher temperatures where the proteins contract and express out all the > moisture. At the potluck, the chicken breast was a HUGE hit; people raved > about it, and they polished off the entire platter. >
