Friday, July 31, 2009

An Embarrassment of Mangoes by Ann Vanderhoof


In 'An Embarrassment of Mangoes', you get to travel with Ann and Steve as they venture out into the Caribbean. Putting their careers on hold, Ann and Steve take a 2 year sail on their boat, Receta, and visit such wonderful places such as the Bahamas, Granada, and the Dominican Republic. Basically, this book is put together from Ann's journal as she makes the voyage. Also, this book offers some great recipes that really add an excellent element to the book. Here's a few of my favorite recipe:

Luperon Papaya Salsa pg 101/102

Serve alongside grilled chicken or fish.

1/2 large ripe papaya, diced (about 2 cups)
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced and separated into 1/2 rings
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 small hot red 0r green pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 lime, juiced
3 tablespoons fruity olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine papaya, cucumber, onion, cilantro, and hot pepper. Set aside.
2. Whisk together the oil and half the lime juice, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Tass with papaya mixture.
3. Taste before serving and adjust flavor with additional lime juice.

Serves 4. I added mango. Yellow or White onion can be used instead.

Coo-Coo (Caribbean Polenta) pg 131

3 cups coconut milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup yellow cornmeal

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine coconut milk, butter, and salt. Bring to a boil.
2. Gradually stir in cornmeal. Lower heat and cook for about 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and leaves the sides of the pan.
3. Pour the mixture into a greased 8x8 inch pan. Allow to set for a few minutes, then cut into squares and serve warm.

Serves 6 to 8. If you are really adventurous add okra. Thinly slice 4 okras and cook in the coconut milk until soft, before adding the cornmeal. Slices of coo-coo are also excellent grilled. Brush lightly with olive oil and grill until crisp on both sides.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Paper Rock Scissors Quote

Quote via Unquality Website:

"I understand how scissors can beat paper, and I get how rock can beat scissors, but there’s no fucking way paper can beat rock. Is paper supposed to magically wrap around rock and leave it immobile? Why the hell can’t paper do this to scissors? Screw scissors, why can’t paper do this with people? Why aren’t sheets of college ruled notebook paper constantly suffocating students as they take notes in class? I’ll tell you why, because paper can’t beat anybody. When I play rock paper scissors, I always choose rock. Then when somebody claims to have beaten me with their paper I can punch them in the face with my already clenched fist and say, oh shit, I’m sorry, I thought paper would protect you, you asshole!"

Afternoon Work Conversation #2

Me talking to group: "Okay, so if I gave you a million dollars every-time you pushed a little red button on a box, but someone dies every time its pushed, would you push the button?"

J: "No, i would not want anyone to die and it's could be someone you know."

Me: "But its a million dollars"

J: "I wouldn't do it."

Me: "I would."

J speaking directly to me: "Button pusher."

Afternoon Work Conversation #1

Me: "Hey, J, if you could domesticate any animal what would it be and why?"

J: "Polar Bear"

Me: "That's cool. It'd be fun to have a bear on a leash. You could walk it down the highway."

J: "Yeah, or maybe an eagle."

Me: "Also, cool. Eagles are so much better than hawks. Could you imagine whistling, and then having a huge bald eagle swoop down and land on your shoulder? It would put those hawk tamers to shame because who wants a hawk when you can have an eagle or a Polar Bear."

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Free Mini Bowl Passes

Anybody interested in a free game of Mini Bowl at the newly opened Incredible Pizza in Greenwood? I've got 11 free game passes. Drop me a line if your interested.

Incredible Pizza - Now open in Greenwood.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

5 years of Marriage


I love you, Not only for what you are, but who I am when I am with you ~ Roy Croft

Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction. ~ Antoine De Saint Exupery

Today, Stacy and I celebrated our 5th year of marriage. We spent a marvelous day downtown petting elephants and sharks, chasing butterflies, and trying to capture a seahorse on film during a visit to the Indianapolis Zoo and White River Gardens.
We also treated ourselves to some wonderful pie from the Grand Traverse Pie Company for lunch
and dinner at Indy's best seafood restaurant, McCormick and Schmicks.

Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand. ~ Margery Williams (The Velveteen Rabbit)


Thursday, July 2, 2009

Pleasure Week 7/1 - 7/7: Matt's Guilty Pleasures 2

Okay, don't worry everybody, this post isn't going to be dirty. In honor of National Pleasure week, I am going to do some posts about my favorite guilty pleasures.

"Pleasure is commonly conceptualized as a positive experience, happiness, entertainment, enjoyment, ecstasy, and euphoria. ..."

So for day two of Pleasure week, I would like to delve into my fascination with Taco Bell. Yeah, I know, I work there, but that still explain my addiction. It's good stuff.

Damn near cocaine for the digestive system. But I do love it, I love all the good stuff. The crunchwraps, the cheesy gordita crunches, even the chalupas. If I could buy a gallon of lava sauce, I would. It's delisch!

You know, I love the stuff so much, I could walk into a store that was out of everything but cinnamon twists and leave happy. I feel guilty to admit that, but its true.

Baja blast is a blastin' good time.

Here's a secret pleasure, have you ever had a piece of flatbread fried and then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar? I have and its awesome.

What's your favorite Taco Bell item? Let me know.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Pleasure Week 7/1 - 7/7: Matt's Guilty Pleasures


Okay, don't worry everybody, this post isn't going to be dirty. In honor of National Pleasure week, I am going to do some posts about my favorite guilty pleasures.

"Pleasure is commonly conceptualized as a positive experience, happiness, entertainment, enjoyment, ecstasy, and euphoria. ..."

For my first post, let's cover a very deep and secretive pleasure. Most men will admit to it. Some just fantasize about it, but most go all out. My first guilty pleasure has plagued me since early adulthood. I bet you can already guess it.

That's right, fantasy sports. Since my brother first introduced me to Stratomatic, I've been playing fake, simulated sports games. There's nothing like the thrill of battle that comes from whipping friends based off of the statistics of your favorite sports heroes. From stratomatic, I developed a passion for online fantasy sports leagues. Currently, I'm participating in 4 different leagues spanning 2 sports. I'll likely continue to join leagues in Fantasy football, basketball, and maybe even hockey!

It's geeky and my wife doesn't understand, but its addicting and I love it. Just recently, I estimated that I spend on average about 20 days a year playing fantasy sports. Wooha! Jesusgeek put it best in his blog when he wrote, "I've been asked, "Why do I love fantasy sports so much?" It basically boils down to the fact that I hit all three characteristics of the perfect fantasy fan: 1) I'm a control freak. This allows me to have control over my team and do with it what I wish. 2) I get to create. Any sports fan has always said, "If I owned (insert favorite team) then I would ..." Now it's our chance. The best part is we can do it for free versus paying 600 million for the team. And 3) I'm a stat geek. I love stats. 99% of all fantasy sports is all about the numbers. I played fantasy hockey a few years back for the first time. I knew and still know nothing about the sport but I won my league. How? Because I payed attention to the numbers and not the names on the jerseys."

Additional Information:
Stratomatic
Jesusgeek Blog
How to play fantasy sports