I got a Wacom Inkling a few months ago, but haven't used it much. It's a ball point pen, and I'm more of a Sharpies or Rapidograph kind of gal. I need to carry it with me and let the occasion to use it just happen. 


My pal Mats!? is one of my all time cartoon heroes- he's the arty one in a sign painters show this weekend at the Guerrero Gallery in SF. My other hero is other pal Kent Myers. His ability to render a shit ton of order and chaos in a single page, while making you both laugh and groan, is just unstoppable.

We've been using office supplies in the beginner Ruby class to act out some of the aspects of how the code behaves: post it notes, string, file cards, dropping notes on the floor when the variable points at something else...things like that.

I started my own notes due to my dislike of the class text book, and wanting to supplement my studies. I'm using a folded sheet 'zine format and have been filling them with fairly idiosyncratic notes, like cheat sheets, sort of specific to Gallery Star. They are a combination of crappy and awesome. I keep them nearby so I can look something up. There's so much to keep track of and I can't remember it all....yet.

I put the original files in dropbox so people can download them to print or modify. (Let me know if you are interested, and I'll send you a link). Some people are really excited about them, which inspires me to take it all more seriously. I've been wanting to learn Illustrator, and finally have the perfect task.

The handouts I'm making for the class will have some code, some visualized concepts, and also empty space for note taking. I don't think I can describe what I want in a study tool any better than that. Still working out my "drawing language". 


I'm less interested in "expressing myself" than in "expressing what I think is interesting and important to know and remember about Ruby"... especially as a beginner, since there is a lot to grasp all at once. I don't know Ruby very well, but I am clear that it is a programming language with a lot of "life" in it.

I was in the last generation of students to learn architectural drafting by hand, and I worked professionally for many years on some very old drawings. The sheets were mostly already filled with information, some worn through or torn. My job was to find a way to add more, or make changes without disrupting the originals.

I LOVED learning how words, numbers, dimensions and pictures can share a space. 


I love how those drawings are legal documents, expressing a hierarchy of information that a variety of people with different needs at different times will all use to build a whole new thing..

I think it's time to reconsider that extra dimension of “dimensions”...and to pay closer attention to how flexible a typed language can be.

Two Ships Passing in the Night

yep, I started a Girls Night Out Comix blog on tumbler. Go now!

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

Wash and remove loose leaves. Trim stem end and cut in half if large. In a skillet, sizzle up some butter, olive oil and chopped fresh garlic.

Add the brussel sprouts, toss to coat with the oil and poke 'em til they are laying cut face down in the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let them brown a bit.

In a separate pan, cook the best bacon you can find until soft and a little crispy- about 3/4 done. Chop the bacon into small bits and add to the browning brussel sprouts, stir well and and cook another minute.

Pour about 1/8" of chicken broth into the skillet. Stir well, cover the pan and turn the heat down to med-low. Let that simmer for about 5 minutes until they are soft. Don't over cook, or they will be mushy.

You can add mushrooms, which have been separately sauteed, as per usual, with garlic, thyme and white vermouth.

It might take a few tries to get the tenderness right, but once you do, you'll eat 'em straight from the pan (so make a large enough batch for leftovers.) They reheat well, just add a little water to the pan.

Ruby Instance Variable

=begin

This is an excerpt from the cover of my other new 'zine called =begin. Ruby is the name of the programming language I am currently studying. I decided to enlist the aid of a fun and easy to produce format to organize my learning process.

Old skool is a lot of cut and paste, ransom note style lettering (which I loooove). I'm gonna do my best to bring a combination of typed and hand drawn to the game. One of the things I'm trying to do is bring a visual component to the otherwise text based body of information. (I'm finding it difficult to grasp some of the conceptual aspects purely in words and numbers)

Comments are lines of text written into the code for the programmer's benefit. There are various ways to keep the machines from trying to process this text.

In Ruby, =begin is the way you start comment text that will be more than one line. (=end would be how you finish)

Issue #1 is ready. Contact me if you'd like a copy.

Rats Comix

- from the archives
Oakland, 1999

Turbulence Ahead!

Question Machine

It's the Law

Someone or someones in my neighborhood have been misbehaving. We are getting sick of it. Made some signs to post out front. SHEESH!

"Hello, World!"

Natural Born Cartoon Character

Conflicted Robot Cookie

Shape Shifting

girls night out comix

grammar fiends unite.

girlsnightoutcomix.com

GIRLSNIGHTOUTCOMIX.COM... new comic daily. The epic, hilarious, misadventures of a scene-averse, career crashing, hyper-social, cartoonish, dabblin', doodlin', thingmakin', care-takin' gal about town with friends and foes, features to fulfill, all kinds of imaginary evils lurking and smirking, while puns proliferate and alliterate, kettles boil and cups runneth over with Crazy Love for her bad ass Magician husband who is patiently trying to teach her to code.

It's a mighty and mysterious road trip marked by mistakes and malfunctions, the occasional smooth move, saves by the bell, precipitous predicaments, and bottomless refills in the undeniable face of potential Crash and Burns.

ALL THIS! And more, while floating in, fashionably late, on a half shell accompanied by sexy, sexy sea nymphs and imaginary cryptids oozing and snorting and licking at wounds. Cocktails at 6, Dinner at 8. RSVP for further details.

Gallery Star Alpha Launch

We did it! 

Gallery Star alpha launch party after 3 months of full time design/build work at home jam session. We hit many expected bugs and feature speed bumps, but with lots of snacks, 2 dogs and a funky bass background, we got up to speed in a few tries, figured out the next items to build and came home exhausted.

Introducing our awesome prototypers: Johansson Projects of Oakland, CA. They rock and rule as far as we're concerned. They've got some of the best shows in town, always knowledgeable and gracious. Best place to meet friends for the Oakland Art Murmur!!

Silver Surfer Hawaiian Shirt

This shirt is fabricated out of an old stilt walking costume I made back in the day...the center front portion and collar are iridescent, since I didn't have enough of any one color to finish. It's got metal buttons and a black (representing: negative space) lining for stability. It'll be on display and also for sale at the Rhythmix color show opening Sept 9 in Alameda, CA.

Sneak Preview for Colors show... WIP

My chosen color is SILVER.

I'm making a Breezy Rampage Hawaiian style shirt size XXL.

Kind of hard to photograph!

Show opens Sept. 9 in Alameda CA. 94501

NJ Girl Egg Foo Yung

When I was a kid in suburban NJ, Chun King brand products had to suffice in between monthly family outings to real Chinese restaurants. Egg Foo Yung is a typical dish in any old Chinese restaurant in NJ and NY, but I rarely find it on the menu here in CA. It's one of the dishes I crave on occasion, if not rather frequently, or maybe even: All the Time. What's a girl to do... make it at home, of course. It can become a project if you let it. Don't let it. 

Root around in your frozen seafood stash, and/or add any kind of leftovers, and it will magically morph into a hearty meal. There are many recipes online, but this is fast and easy and comes damn close to the flavors I remember. I'm not a stickler for ingredients- bean sprouts are important, but not a deal breaker. I make the gravy from the pan drippings.

1. Saute a bunch of minced garlic in oil. (peanut or olive) Do not brown.

1a. Grate fresh ginger into the pan and stir.

2. Add leftover Chinese broccoli or other vegetables, or bbq shrimp or whatever you want in there, and stir fry at med-high heat.

2a. Wet it down with soy sauce.

3. When reheated or mostly cooked, use a slotted spoon and pull these ingredients out of the pan into a bowl. The soy sauce will burn if the pan is too hot. If it burns, clean the pan and start over with the garlic and oil. You won't be able to mask the burned flavor, so don't even bother trying.

4. Reduce the remaining liquid on high heat, stirring frequently. Scoop this sludge out of pan and set aside. You can deglaze the pan with a splash of white Vermouth, if you like. Keep the pan dirty and on the dry side...

5. Add frozen seafood to the pan and turn the heat down. Simmer a few minutes. Return the other ingredients to the pan and let it all simmer until mostly cooked. (don't overcook). 

6. Once again, spoon off these ingredients to their own bowl, and add the remaining juices in the pan to the sludge you've set aside. Stir until blended. Let pan cool if it's starting to burn. (You can look up a more traditional brown gravy recipe, but you'll need to have thickeners and a bunch of ingredients on hand. I swear, this lazy version comes very close and tastes even better.)

7. Scramble eggs in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add those other ingredients to the eggs, leaving behind the liquid that's settled in the bottom of the bowl (add this liquid to your gravy bowl and stir it until blended) 

8. Return pan to med-high heat and melt some butter in it. When the foam has subsided, pour the egg and stuff mixture in there. Stir a bit to mix it up and let the egg flow around the parts that have already cooked. The technique is somewhere between scrambling and omeletting. Treat it like a pancake, which it is. Let it cook all the way through without burning. Use a spatula to flip or fold over. You can make it large and share it, or make smaller individual portions.

9.  Serve immediately with the gravy poured on top. I like it best hot, but can be reheated, eaten cold or at room temp. 

DIY Pizza Montage

"Mostly" DIY- we used store bought dough, but I made the tomato sauce, and sauteed the mushrooms, as per usual, with garlic, thyme and white vermouth, and gathered all the ingredients by hand...that counts, doesn't it? Oh yeah - we baked them outside on the gas grill on a plain terracotta tile, using parchment paper for ease of transfer. 

Yes, that is an officially licensed Star Trek pizza cutter from thinkgeek.com, which I got for free with Geek Points.

Clockwise from upper left:

-pizza margherita

-fig, mozzarella and arugula

-mushroom and mozzarella

-mushroom, coppa and kalamata olives

Five adults were too full to make any more pizza, so we moved on to the quiescently frozen course (see yesterday's post).  Oh c'mon, we'd started out with Pisco Sours, and moved to wine then beer. With snacks.

Today's experiment consists of trying to resurrect the dough that had been sitting out in various stages of rising....so curious if it will still work. Will add update here later.   <---nope. did not work. dough was stringy and full of bullshit tearing.

New Popsicle Molds

 

Excited about these new molds and this article by Mark Bittman.

We've been making experimental popsicles for about 6 years now, and have tried many molds- most of which suck for a variety of dumb reasons. These look promising: adult sized (each holds 1/2 cup of liquid), individually seated, and not a weird shape.

One thing about filling them- they say leave 1/2 inch for the stuff to expand, but really what happens is this: if the handles are wet when you insert them, that creates a wicking action and immediately your liquid will be pouring down the side of the mold into an annoying puddle. (this does not happen if the handles and the inside of that cup are dry when inserted) The liquid doesn't expand that much. Having a gap at the bottom of the popsicle creates a weird drip when you eat them, so USE TOTALLY DRY HANDLES and fill almost to the top (there will be a small amount of expansion).

I also have some old Ikea molds, which are great, but many of the handles have broken, and I've never seen them again for sale.  (I use whatever sticks I can find in my studio, and tape to hold in place while they freeze)

I set up some new ones tonight and will let you know tomorrow how they turn out.
<--- added notes like this

Each batch was run thru the blender to make as smooth as possible, as chunks tend to either
settle at the tip, or float near the top.

1. Orange juice with Campari.
<--- did not freeze. had to eat with a spoon.

2. Pineapple juice, Meyers rum, shredded coconut, Allspice Dram, half and half.
<---hands down winner. would sub coconut milk for shredded (texture was awful)

3. Plain soy milk, shredded coconut, fresh ginger, curry powder, fresh lime juice, salt, pepper, chili pepper
<-- was delicious out of the blender, but not so much in a popsicle.

4. Fresh nectarine, fresh watermelon, half and half, salt and pepper.
<--- needs an extra sweetener


* All time E-Ziest:
  -plain old Soy Dream brand chocolate soy milk. (sometimes add chili flakes for a hot cold effect)

* All time strangest:
  -plain yogurt with cocktail onions (Sweetie B LOVES cocktail onions)

* Last batch:
  -lemonade with tons of fresh ginger, Meyer lemon zest, simple syrup.

* Perennial favorite:
  -lemonade with rose water

Jenkins Family Traditional Birthday Cake

I married into a terrific birthday tradition! My husband's family has always made a chocolate peppermint cake for their birthdays. I tried many chocolate cake recipes until I found one that was reliably dark and moist.



I've been experimenting with the amount of oil, and currently believe 1/4 c is plenty. More than that, the cakes are too oily, especially after greasing the cupcake pan. The cakes tend to stick if they crown over the top of the paper cup, so you may want to grease AND flour the pan, especially around the top edge. My oven is old and unreliable, so check for doneness around 20 min when they start smelling amazing. Make sure you cool the coffee/chocolate mixture before adding to the eggs.

Makes 24 cupcakes or a 2 layer cake

Cake ingredients:

3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Scharffen-Berger or Ghirardelli dark chips.

1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee

3 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

3 large eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300° F. Grease pans or line bottoms with rounds of parchment paper and grease the paper, or use cupcake liners.

2. Rough chop chocolate, and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

3. Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

4. In another large bowl, beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla and melted chocolate mixture, beating until combined well. Don't overbeat the mix or the cakes will be dense and take longer to bake. 

5. Add sugar mixture, and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans. Fill cupcakes 3/4 full. Bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, approx 50-60 minutes. Hard to know... Cupcakes - mine took 20 min. (Check your oven - mine is completely unreliable for temperature) Learn to smell when it's done- it will smell great!

6. Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

3 tablespoons hot water

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups confectioner's sugar

1/4 tsp peppermint extract

Generous pinch of smoked salt

Glaze:

2-3 blocks of bittersweet chocolate

7. Beat butter, sugar, peppermint extract, salt and water in a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. With a spatula, skim coat each cupcake with peppermint frosting. Let it harden. 

8. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and let it cool a bit. Spoon over each cake and smooth into place with spatula. Let harden.

Skillet BBQ Shrimp

You can make this with shells on or off. Either way, frozen shrimp from Trader Joe's
makes this a super easy and last minute dish to sign on for.

Skillet BBQ Shrimp:

Defrost and clean shrimps- as many as you'll need. Set aside.
Mix together:
black pepper
salt
ketchup
Sriracha
brown sugar
lemon juice
cumin
dash liquid smoke
molasses

Add shrimp and marinate for 20 min.
Pan fry
Flip once.
Keep the pan hot- if there is too much moisture,
spoon out the shrimp and pour off the liquid.
Cook the shrimp until tender- do not overcook. Remove from pan.
Return the liquid to the pan and reduce to a thick sauce. Turn off heat.
Add shrimp and toss until coated. Let sit a few minutes.

Prepare a salad with chopped Romaine, arugula and chopped tomatoes.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, drizzle with seasoned rice vinegar and olive oil.
Add shrimp and toss.

You can also serve this over a bed of rice noodles-
add shredded carrots and chopped cucumber.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Note: If you have a tiny assistant, the outcome of your cookies is even more likely to be a success.

A lot of my recipes are cobbled from Cook's Illustrated Magazine. They do exhaustive research, and I get to modify based on flavor prefs, available equipment and time factors. Most of this recipe comes from the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe in the May 1, 2009 issue. They say to avoid using non-stick skillets for browning the butter as that pan color makes it hard to tell when it's ready. I use cast iron skillets exclusively cuz #1 I love em, and #2 that's what I've got. Light brown sugar makes the cookies less flavorful, and the brand of chips does make a big difference. The labor intensive stage of beating and resting the butter is where the texture of the cookie is more or less determined: the more you beat the egg/sugar/butter mixture, the more the egg whites will stiffen (I think anyway) When I slacked on the beating stage, the cookies came out much flatter and spread wider.

Ingredients:
1 ¾ c all purpose baking flour
½ tsp baking soda
14 T butter (1 ¾ sticks)
½ c granulated sugar
¾ c packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp salt (I like smoked salt)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 ¼ c dark (bittersweet) chocolate chips (Ghirardelli)
Optional:
¾ c chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or almonds)
-make sure they are fresh, crunchy and not rancid.

Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour and baking soda in a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Melt and brown the butter in a skillet over medium heat, stirring with a whisk to break up the solids.
Keep an eye on it, as it will go from browned to burned in no time. Pour it into the mixing bowl and add the sugars and salt. Stir a few times to wet everything and go crack the eggs.

One whole egg and one egg yolk- mix well with a fork and add to butter mixture once it's cooled enough to not cook the eggs. Add vanilla. Now you have all the wet ingredients together, and can start the blending routine. Do this 4 times: mix on med speed for 30 seconds, and then let rest for 3 minutes.
The final mixture should be thick, smooth and shiny.

Stir in flour mix until just combined. Scrape down sides of bowl.
Stir in chocolate chips (and nuts), and check for dry flour pockets.

Scoop out 1 T at a time and place on pan. A dozen will fit on a large pan, and prepare yourself to bake one sheet at a time. The good people at CI have demystified the baking procedure and scientifically proved that the upper and lower pans will bake unevenly, which totally makes sense. Don't do it!
This recipe yields about 2 ½ dozen cookies at that size. You can make them smaller or larger, but you'll need to adjust your baking time. My oven is old and rather unreliable for exact temperature, so I set a timer, and have come to know the smell of when they are done. It's 10 minutes, though other ovens have been roughly 11 or 12. The size of the cookie will also determine the texture- how crunchy vs how chewey. Anyhow, this recipe produces a nice balance of those two as well as intense flavors. Good luck!

Cool cookies completely on a wire rack, and store in an air tight container.

Roasted Eggplant Lasagna

This image is from a lazier era when I left the skin on.

Roasted Eggplant Lasagna:
preheat oven to 350.

large eggplants, washed and the stem end chopped off
tomato sauce (see recipe below)
lasagna noodles
ricotta cheese
mozzarella cheese
Optional: assorted, sliced or leafy vegetables such as mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, spinach,
arugula, nettles, etc. Pre-cook them as per your favorite seasoning technique.

Slice eggplants in half the long way, and place cut side down on baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes at 425 degrees. Let cool.

Par-boil lasagna noodles and drizzle with olive oil to keep from sticking together.

When eggplant is cool enough to handle, peel the halves and get rid of the seeds as bet you can. Slice length-wise, then crosswise into ¼ “ thick pieces. This will be messy, wet and slippery. Pour the extra juices into the ricotta cheese to thin it out. I like to season the ricotta a bit with black pepper and salt. Keep in mind how much salt you add, and where- salt in the pasta water, salt in your sauce, etc. The eggplant will be sweet, smokey, and nutty flavored from the roasting, so I try not to do anything else to it.

Start layering with sauce, then a layer of noodles, eggplant, cheeses, vegetables and repeat until you run out of ingredients or room in your pan.

Bake approx 1 hour at 350 degrees. Let stand 15 min before serving. Whether to tent with aluminum foil or not, or how tightly or for how long is something you'll have to wrestle with- it'll depend on how wet or dry your ingredients are, how deeply layered and all those personal lasagna construction choices. Put a pan on a rack below the dish in case anything bubbles over the side.

If you are making this in advance, bake for 45 minutes and cool, wrap, and store in the fridge. Let it come to room temp before reheating for about 15-20 min. Some things are enhanced by freezing, but ricotta cheese is not one of them, so keep this in mind when you make enough for an army.

Medicinal Quality Chicken Soup

Medicinal Quality Chicken Soup:

What you want to make is a nutritious broth that is easy to digest.
Sort of like a tea, but with vegetables and protein for energy.
Broth, onion, parsley, carrot, celery and tender chicken - keep it simple when you are run down.

Make a lot of it, and eat it often when you are chilled or congested, especially in the middle of the night when you can't sleep from coughing.

Key aspect: Do not boil! Simmer.

There are longer versions of this soup, (roast whole chicken, boil the bones, etc) but this is the speediest with the best qualities.

On that note- buy best quality organic ingredients if you can. You can do it in a hurry with a deli roasted chicken, but you have less control over the seasonings, etc. Sometimes I make just the broth and freeze it, adding chicken when ready to use.

Ingredients: Makes approx 8-10 portions.
2 qt chicken broth (Pacific brand or Swanson's) (Imagine brand is terrible) (bouillon cubes don't count)
1 large chicken breast on bone
4 thighs on bone
large yellow onion- slice off 2 rounds, then rough chop the rest
6 carrots- scrubbed and sliced into 1/4" thick coins
4 stalks of celery- chopped rough
bunch fresh parsley (Italian if you can)- wash well and rough chopped.
flour for dredging chicken parts
seasoned salt*
*Make or buy a mix you like to season chicken with
I make a salt mix with gray sea salt (the damp kind), dried thyme and lavender.
salt, pepper
6 qt kettle
12” skillet (cast iron is best)
cutting board
sharp knife, forks, ladle, spoon

Assembly:
-Pour 2 qt broth into kettle, add 2 qt water and bring to a slow boil.
-Reduce heat to simmer, and add sliced carrots, celery, chopped onion and most of the chopped parsley.
-Cover and simmer until tender. (about 10 min) Turn heat off (don't overcook)

-Wash, then cut fat and skin off chicken parts. (throw out)
-Slice deeply into flesh about every 1.5 inches across each piece.
-Rub seasoned salt into the slits and set aside.

-Heat skillet with olive oil and toss in the onion rounds (med-high heat), break up w/fork.
-Dredge the chicken pieces one at a time in the flour. Shake off excess flour.
-When oil is hot, and onions have started to soften, set chicken pieces into hot oil.

-Let the pieces cook around 7-8 min before turning, or the flour will fall off and make a mess in the oil. -Cook at med high heat so they don't burn. Poke at em so they don't stick.
-Once both sides have sealed, you can turn them every few min to keep from burning, and lower to med heat.

It will smell quite heavenly and you'll be feeling some healing already. Something about the intent, focus, and aromas makes this happen. The more tender the chicken, the more powerful the healing, so keep a close watch on the heat.

-Cooking chicken should take about 30 min. on med heat. About 3/4 done, I usually pull out the breast and chop it (thru the slits) into smaller pieces to let it cook all the way. By now, there'll be a nice pan of juices that they are simmering in. If it has begin to stick to the pan, use a little white Vermouth to deglaze, and turn the heat down.

-When the chicken is cooked, place on cutting board and cut all the meat from the bones. (Do your best to remove all cartiledge and bones. Gristle in your bowl is a buzzkill!)

-Add meat to the hot broth. I like to shred it rather than cut into chunks. Add the rest of the parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Try to never boil it, or the chicken will not be tender.

Chicken will freeze and defrost pretty well in a fully made soup, but it's better if you add it freshly to the kettle.

Grilled Shrimp and/or Scallops

You'll notice I rarely specify ingredients in terms of size or how many things, unless it's critical, as in baking, or if you are trying to make a specific amount of something, or there is a precise ratio between items.

After many years of restaurant and catering work and noodling in my own kitchen for fun and for parties, I've learned how to overbuy and make more than I think I might need. "Too much" is always better than not enough.* You will drop things, you will taste as you go, someone else will come tasting, someone will have 2nds and 3rds, you'll wish you had leftovers...

I prefer to practice and experiment on my own time before I'm preparing for a party and I highly recommend this practice. Sometimes a subtle difference in proportions will make a recipe sing louder for you.

Grilled Shrimp:
The larger, the better. This recipe scales well, so I won't dwell on how much of anything...

Rinse, peel and devein the fresh or frozen (and thawed) shrimp.

Place in a large enough bowl (preferably non-metallic) or ziplock bag.
Add olive oil, freshly minced garlic, salt, pepper, fresh lime juice, and a bit of crushed red pepper flakes. Toss and let sit for about 20 min (no longer than 30 min)

Thread the shrimp through the thickest part onto the first skewer. When that skewer is full, thread a 2nd skewer through the tail ends so they are parallel and hold the whole thing flat. This way the shrimp won't spin around while you attempt to turn them on the grill.

Sprinkle a bit of sugar on the side you are going to place down on the grill.

I like to start them on a high flame for about a minute on each side, then move to a section of the grill that isn't directly above the flame. They don't take too long- it really depends on how closely you've threaded them. The final colors will be bright pink and white, and all sides will be opaque, rather than translucent. Try not to overcook. You can baste with the marinade, just remember to let that cook off. Use a fresh sauce for dipping, and a fresh plate for removing from the grill.

You can let them cool on the skewers, or pull off with a fork while hot. If you like more seasonings, you can add to the marinade or after they're cooked.

Variation for Sea Scallops (the large ones):
Same recipe for scallops except add some white wine (chardonnay is nice), and substitute lemon for the lime. Skip the red pepper flakes.

Variation #2 for Scallops: Don't do anything to the scallops except wrap bacon around their circumference prior to threading onto skewer.

Grill on medium to med-high heat while being very careful about the bacon grease dripping into the flames.

*As with all creatures and critters you might be eating, treat them with utmost respect, and savor the hell out of them.

Very Basic Tomato Sauce

Very Basic Tomato Sauce
USE GOOD QUALITY INGREDIENTS!!
The key aspect is the sweet-bitter balance between carrot and celery.
What you want is a nice, clean bright flavor that will showcase the tomatoes. 

Seasoning adjustments depend on:
how large and how old the carrots are! (Older carrots are less sweet)
The right balance will make the rest of the flavor adjustments easier.

I've found it's generally too labor intensive to use fresh garden tomatoes- you need to steam, peel and seed them. If you have a LOT of tomatoes, and don't mind those steps, by all means, make a batch. But certain brands of canned tomatoes are excellent and time savers. *I use a different sauce recipe (below) for fresh tomatoes.

If you're serious about it, go ahead and buy a can of each different brand and do a taste test- with a spoon, right out of the can. Then you'll know which brands are a good substitute.

2 lg. cans crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen brand)
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
bunch of garlic cloves
fresh Italian parsley- chopped
¼ cup white Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
½ cup of red wine (Cabernet or Merlot is good- not too tart)
½ can or a few tablespoons of tomato paste
olive oil
few pinches oregano

sugar to taste

4 qt pot with a lid
-Dice and fry at medium temperature in olive oil: carrots, celery, parsley and garlic until soft. Don't burn.

-Sprinkle with salt and pepper, oregano, and add white Vermouth. Stir and simmer 2 minutes.

-Add cans of crushed tomatoes and stir- don't boil it, but keep it on a happy simmer.

-Add tomato paste

-Add red wine

Let simmer for ½ hour. Add water as needed by the ½ cup and stir to keep it from burning. Keep the flame medium low to simmer. Let it cook for about 2 hours with the lid mostly on (leave a tiny edge open) – adjust the flavor as you go: if it's tO_o tart, add sugar. Too sweet: add red wine, tomato paste, or parsley. Too bland: add salt, pepper, oregano, garlic.

I like it tangy but not tart. If you want to add:

Mushrooms: wash, slice and add to first round of cooking with carrots, etc. ADD THYME

Ground Beef: brown the beef in a separate skillet with diced onion and salt, and drain the fat before adding to softened carrots, etc.
Sausage: same as beef- brown in skillet (skip the onions and salt) and dump the grease before adding to sauce.

Don't put cheese in the sauce! Grate it fresh and add to the plate when serving.
Make it often and you will develop your own taste definition- then you'll know when to add any seasonings, and how much.

Don't burn it. Don't undercook it. Don't under season. Don't over season.
KEEP IT SIMPLE.
Make small batches until you get your recipe right. Then make a large batch, and freeze in small or medium containers. Label with the date you made it.


*Fresh tomatoes in garlic and olive oil:
This is basically an aglioli sauce, (aglio=garlic) + (olio=oil) = (aglioli, or agliolio) with fresh tomatoes.

Wash, chop and remove the seeds from a few fresh tomatoes, and set aside.
Fry up chopped, fresh garlic in olive oil over a med-low heat. This is the basis for this pan to plate gem, so make as much as you'll need by volume.

Do not brown the garlic. As soon as it begins to turn golden and lightly crispy, add chopped tomatoes. This will cause a water-oil splatter, so plan accordingly. Add salt and pepper to taste, and let it simmer for about 10 min. Stir ocasionally to keep from burning.
Optional: add a bit of basil, or some red wine. or both.

When ready, add cooked pasta to skillet and stir thoroughly over low heat for about a minute - this will make sure the oil based sauce has fully coated and heated the pasta. Plate that stuff, and while still hot, top with a bit of chopped parsley and grated cheese.

BBQ Pork Sammich

Some BBQ Pork and a nice cocktail.

Purchase pork loin at local butcher.
Coat with salt rub and let sit in fridge all day.

Salt Rub: (make a batch and keep in covered container.)
2 T salt
3 T brown sugar
2 T chili powder
2 T paprika
2 T black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne

Cook pork on grill over med heat.
Hack a BBQ sauce to brush on towards the end of cooking:
Stubbs in a bottle needed some brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, Sriracha sauce, plum sauce.

Let meat rest before slicing.

Toast bread, and spread with plum sauce. Add sliced pork and some fresh cilantro.
Make a nice cocktail with vodka, fresh lemon and Canton ginger liqueur.

Studio Rehab

I noticed a small mistake with huge consequences in my pattern, and decided my lighting could be better. Also, the cracked, chipped stained floor was contributing to a dingy, dust collecting clutter. I packed out bins and bins of projects I'm not going to do after all, though am glad I sorted thoroughly since I found some long lost treasures. Well, odd and unusual missing parts, anyway. I turned my cutting table into a giant ironing board with layers of wool, fleece and muslin. Now I can press large sections of cloth while looking out at the boats and bridge.

Rolled out some "rugs" and figured the whole sprucing up would take a couple of days...

SO SURE was I that I bought all the correct materials that I didn't double check...well into hand painting the details, I discovered a most tragic mistake: OIL BASED PAINT. My plan for layering disintegrated before my eyes. Footprints everywhere (including inside my shoes), and no place to clean up. And, oh, the smell in my tiny room!

I came back after the weekend with the correct paint and forgot to recheck my pattern. I repainted 3 times, while crawling around under the tables. At least it was drying quickly now.

At a certain point, it's a bunch of diminishing returns, so I clear coated all 5 rugs and got on with my day. It's been over a month. I had to re-hang all the art on the walls, since I moved everything. Bonus track: I did figure out how/where to photograph my flat pattern pieces to make a digital template...We hung some mirrors yesterday. Excited to get back to work on shirts.

Custom Shirt #3

I love when I clean up before I leave. (doesn't always happen) Back from Hawaii with lots of fun fabrics to try out.

The layout and cut out of this shirt made my eyes spin. Hand dyed batik, it's just about the same on both front and back, so "right side" and "wrong side" are a little harder to keep track of. Glad I bought extra yardage because it took a few cuts to get the patterns to match coherently. I let it spiral in the same direction all around, and took up the discontinuities at the side seams. I think I did, anyway.

The hard part of matching, aside from the crazy pattern, is that you can't pre-cut all the pieces. It's not exact where the edges will fall, and if you want things to be exactly matched, you just have to start sewing the body together. After that's set, you can see where to match the sleeves, pocket and collar. Such a simple shirt!

I had to conduct a little test to see if I oughta do anything fancy with the spiral pattern on the pocket, such as make it go in the other direction so you can see it!

I decided NO, it should blend. It's a simple shirt and does not need to be clever. EVER.

Here it's mostly done. I like to wash and dry one more time before doing the buttons. Maybe that's being prudent or maybe superstitious. Not sure.

new Breezy Rampage label

Breezy Rampage: Custom Shirts

Lihue bound...

Carol Reiley

We haz a new pal. How can one person be so COOL?

Tiny Knits

Working on some tiny knit accessories for Sergey Safonov's Kluth and Moon Fox

Rails Outreach Workshop

We installed, we talked, we schmoozed, we talked more, listened to analogies, learned about programs and frameworks, files and directories, typed and retyped, and got our apps up on the web just as the day was ending. Afterwards, we all went out for drinks and delicious snacks. All in all- a freakin great time.

LOVE MOVEMENT Now AVAILABLE at Storenvy

Here we are with Shin and Nao at the LOVE MOVEMENT show opening back in Dec.
Our piece and others are available for purchase at the new storenvy online venue.

The Science of Cocktails at the Exploratorium...

Great Date Night.

Why, yes, I AM married to James Bond, thank you for asking.