My friend Ciel taught me a magic trick for poached eggs. Instead of poaching eggs in boiling water, all willy nilly, she said to put the egg in a ramekin and put it in a boiling water bath. The egg was in one solid piece and unmolded with no problem. I poached it in salt water with a bayleaf. While I was at it, I also hard-boiled a couple eggs. For my Bed Stuy eggs benedict, I used a really thin multi grain "sandwich thin" (not an English muffin) and shaved honey ham. The topping was vegan bean hollandaise based loosely on a recipe from Vegetarian Times. I failed to reserve a raw egg to make the hollandaise, so I googled for vegetarian alternatives. You veggies are so creative! Instead of silken tofu, I used a couple spoonfuls of paprika bean dip that I had made for a snack earlier this weekend. It wasn't a smooth sauce, but it was darn good. For a snack this afternoon, I stuffed a hardboiled egg with frizzled garlic chips (inspired by my friend Asif), anchovy, cayenne pepper (inspired by my new friend Jordan) and olive oil. After I peeled the egg, I cut the bottom so it would stand up. I took out the yolk, stuffed the white with my filling. Then I put the yolk back in. The garlic chips are an awesome contrast to the weird texture of egg yolk.And here's a picture of the stuffed egg after I bit into it:
I've been a fan of Miss Jenny Lewis for a long time. I used to go to the Rilo Kiley shows at Bottom of the Hill in SF all throughout college. I've been reminiscing about my days at KDVS and found this photo:
I was off-stage left at the Bottom of the Hill in SF, trying to shoot Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley on stage. My flash wasn't working and right about when I figured out the problem, my camera was snatched right out of my hands. I looked around in panic and didn't see where the perpetrator went. I looked everywhere but on stage. I saw Blake (also from Rilo Kiley) had taken my camera from me and started shooting really close pictures of Jenny. I downright had a heart attack and laughed my head off. I had a great time.
Where she stops, now you know!9/24/09 - ITP Night Out with Nullsleep, Bit Shifter, Minusbaby and No Carrier @ No Malice Palace (Free) 9/25/09 - The Tank's 2nd Annual Pajama Jammy Jam (Free for members + free breakfast) 9/26/09 - Gizmodo Gallery 9/26/09 - Pulsewave with Starpause, Burnkit 2600, Rhinostrich and Enso @ The Tank 9/28/09 - Bubblyfish, DaPantz and Kris Keyser @ Niagra (Free) 10/6/09 - Mushpot DJ Night @ Sputnik (Yours truly is DJing as Prom Night) 10/6/09 - Toxic Avenger Release Show @ Webster Hall Studio (Late)
Also, Blip Festival tickets are going on sale Monday September 28th! Two of the nights sold out last year, better get your dibs and watch Twitter.
Today is the eve of Why?'s Eskimo Snow release! A bit ago, Yoni Wolf collaborated with Themselves (Jel and Doseone) on a studio track called "Canada." Doseone aka Adam Drucker took some time to jive with me about his eating habits:
[blt-idm ] For future reference, if someone wanted to surprise you with lunch, do you have any dietary restrictions (allergy / voluntary)?
[Doseone] I only hate two things. 1) Water chestnuts, must be political or textural. 2) Grapefruit juice makes me gag, has since I was a boy. No allergies to speak of, except wack rappers. I start to sneeze around them or their managers.
[blt-idm ] If you were hosting a dinner at your house, what would we eat? Do you like to cook at home?
[Doseone] You know I do like to cook at home, but I get a little work obsessed. All too often I order out or stoop to some form of instantly preparable meal. My favorite "live alone meal" is steak, kale and potatoes. That being said, dinner party huh? Black bean salad, orzo and pork tenderloin -- unless I was inviting my friends who all have dietary restrictions. Then I would make painted cardboard with raisins and a side of pot.
[blt-idm] What is your favorite thing to eat between laying down tracks in the studio?
[Doseone] Coffeeeeeee and a good sandwich, something tasty and terminable that doesn't ask you to mind its preparation or condition, yet rewards your senses, that aren't [involved with] hearing....
[blt-idm] I want to know what inspires you. What's got the highest plays on your ipod/itunes right now? Are you excited for any upcoming releases?
[Doseone] Uhhhh, I am a weird one. When in the "make" mode, I listen to very little. Generally, when I do listen to something, its very clear to me what it will be, and I listen to it on repeat. That being said, I have been listening to Crusaders For Real Hip Hop (a not so amazing rap record from the 90's that makes me smile) and Fennesz Hotel Parallel (one of his many awesome albums, which I slowly spend my time with; each as good and better than the last).
[blt-idm] What's the last concert that you attended but didn't play?
[Doseone] TVOTR. Went to see my pals play in Oakland at the new Fox Theatre--which was great, since the O, never really gets to hold music I like.
[blt-idm] What's the best and worst food you've had on the road?
[Doseone] Hmmmm....best....there is a date almond smoothie in Toronto, I walked blocks and blocks for. Sage's Cafe in salt lake city is a perfect permanent tour staple, as are breakfast tacos in Austin. Worst food lurks in the nearly uncoverable distances between Texas and the new West: trucks stops and fuck spots....that's all. Worst meal ever was in Italy with 13&god. I, to this day, can't tell if they were fucking with us, but they gave us as a salad: a whole uncut tomoato and two torn leaves of lettuce. The meal was macaroni and tuna in a tin bowl the size of a recycling bin. I also ate a heart in Japan, that was a bit much.
[blt-idm] I grew up in Hercules, CA and I know anticon. hq is in the Bay Area! What is your favorite spot in the 510/415?
[Doseone] Pho84, 17th Street in downtown Oakland. Best Vietnamese food I have had, it's the spot I take my out of town pals and loved ones.
[blt-idm] And since your track collab with Yoni Wolf of Why? is called "Canada", have you ever been there? Would you try the poutine?
[Doseone] Oh yeah, lived there for 2 years. Hence the title. And I ate that shit often, one of my favorite meals there. This fritz place had the best one in Vancouver. The classic diner poutine can be a bit much, it really is like eating a wig with gravy on it.
I had some very awesome cockles (small saltwater clams) at Folquer. It was a simple garlic butter broth and Italian parsley. When I attempted to recreate it at my apartment, I let the cockles go for too long and the clams were a little rubbery; not to mention that my roux could have used more flour! I fixed the proportions the second time around and only let the broth tickle the clams--turned out great! Nibble on the baby clams and soak up the broth with some bread!
I went on a mission to find the squishy Catalonian tomatoes that tapas restaurants use for their pa amb tomaquet or tomato bread. The ones I'm talking about are vine ripened, sold in hanging bunches from stalls in La Boqueria. If you're not in Spain, you can make tomato pulp with a grater! The bread has to be sort of a flattened ciabatta, so when you cut it up, you get nice thin pieces. Olive oil is also a key ingredient. The Spanish olive oil we got was clean and fruity tasting.
It's so easy! You cut up the ciabatta into 4 inch long, flat pieces and toast them. Halve the tomatos and squish it, pulp-side-down, into the toasted bread. Toss on some salt and drizzle olive oil. Ta-dummmm! Now you can snarf it plain, with cheese or meat on top. We enjoyed thick slices of cured pork loin (lomo) and fuet (cured salami).
Wow, I haven't liked a band this much in a while. Something about the driving beat through the fuzz and bass makes me think of dark basements, warmth and lot's of pedals.
railcars are going on a massive US/Europe tour starting in Los Angeles on October 1st. They'll be making a stop here in Brooklyn at Market Hotel on October 26th.
If you are unable to get a hold of railcars' "Cities vs. Submarines EP" on wax, you can "download it for freesies."
I was on this "use everything in the pantry before you buy more groceries" thing a couple weeks back and found a cup of rice. I already had lunch, but it was so hot outside that I needed some refreshment. I looked up a bunch of recipes for horchata and they had different ways of treating the rice. I somehow combined all of them and came up with this recipe. Quick Horchata 1 cup of rice 5 cups of hot water 1/4 cup of sugar 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon Condensed milk or coconut milk High powered blender or food processor Cheesecloth Strainer
Blend 1/2 cup of the rice in the blender to a powder. Take the other half cup of rice and combine it with a cup of water in a bowl. Microwave the grains for 1 minute and then add it to the blender. Pulse the rice paste with another cup of water and cinnamon until it looks sandy. Stir in the remaining water. Cover the container and refrigerate for an hour or until it has cooled down. Run the horchata through a strainer twice and one more time through cheesecloth. Store in the fridge and don't drink the rice bits that settle on the bottom.
To finish! You can either add 1/2 teaspoon of condensed milk for every cup of horchata to sweeten it. And if you're a vegan-dude like my roommate Yawen, you can add 1 teaspoon of coconut milk for every cup! I prefer to shake the last ingredient with ice in a cocktail shaker for some nice volume.
Think about it! If you take away the cinnamon, condensed milk and sugar--you've got simple rice milk! I don't know how long you can store this stuff because it didn't last the day in my house...
Arranged a fruit plate for afternoon snack with mom. Papaya, apples, fresh figs, melon and passion fruit. For dessert one night, I made peaches and figs poaches in passion fruit and sangria. It was pretty bomb. Mom made a bunch of funny noises when she ate it.
Welcome to Facts n' Cheese! It's like Mac n' Cheese, but not! Join me on my awkward trek through cheeses of the world. In each episode, I'm joined by a friend and I make them eat cheese while I spout out all I know about a particular curd conglomeration. Special thanks to Jeff Stockton for designing our logo as well as Ryan Darrenkamp, Lisa Uhlman and Vance Spicer for their beer, house, camera equipment and editing!
We really turn the ridiculous level to eleven on this one. Episode 7 features Scottish Shropshire blue, my able bodied kitchen assistant Jeff Stockton and the song "Existential Quantifier" by exileFaker. Additional facts about Shropshire Blue:
Shropshire is cow's milk cheese
It was originally named "Inverness-blue" or Blue Stuart" after its origin, Castle Stuart dairy in Inverness, Scotland.
I was on my way to brunch at Maggie Brown's when my roommate and I heard lot's of loud music and saw parts of Myrtle Avenue blocked off. Today, Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership and the Department of Transportation’s kicked off Move About Myrtle, which will close off parts of Myrtle Avenue every Sunday in September for people to discover Myrtle Avenue's businesses. Really adorable, free yoga classes. A DJ plays to the crowd before the roast beef sandwich eating contest begins at 5 Spot. Free musical performances lined Myrtle Avenue. Free hula hoop classes!
Most people tell me that Barcelona is the "New York City" of Spain. I didn't believe it until we went to Las Ramblas, a touristy walkway of restaurants and souvenir stalls. Lot's of street performers have elaborate costumes that tourists can take pictures with. Walking Las Ramblas during the day time is like walking through Time's Square at night. Lot's of activity, lot's of people. I didn't know one could get to close to heaven...er, I mean, La Boqueria was cool, I guess. I got some boquerones or deep fried sardines. I drenched mine in lemon juice, so good.
I bought marinated olives (kalamata with garlic and a Tunisian mix), cockles, boquerones, papaya, Italian parsley, bread, peaches, passion fruit, figs, tomatoes, apples and lomo.
Where does she stop? Now you know. 9/3/09 - Daniel Klag @ the Tank 9/4-9/6/09 - Warp 20 Festivities (Free music video screenings at the New Museum) 9/5/09 - Taisha Busay @ Santos Party House 9/7/09 - The Lovely Eggs @ Cake Shop 9/9 - 9/11/09 - ITPalooza @ The Tank ( Nullsleep, Balun , Cassettenova)
I had trouble summarizing my experiences at the 2008 pool parties because there was so much to say. Working on the Jelly production team is no joke. Long hours, heavy lifting, moody city officials, picky bands, sun burns and WHAT THE HELL IS THIS PUDDLE I STEPPED INTO? We are the crew with the walkie talkies, barking at you not to climb the fence, cleaning up after you throw your beer cup on the floor, and dragging your sorry broken ass to the paramedics after you fail at stagediving. I find it difficult to digest concertgoer complaints when we bust ass to put on free shows with bands every week all Summer. My workday begins at 8am.
For the last show, our boss got us bacon, egg and cheese sammies from a bodega. A feast compared to our usual bagels and orange juice. Sometimes we're hungover and sleep deprived.When we opened the doors, I watched kids run up to the stage. It was about an hour and a half before Vega started their set. By about 4:30pm, we were hitting capacity for the VIP area (500) and for the park (8500). We instituted the "1 in, 1 out" policy at the front gate up until Grizzly Bear's last song. All of the bands were really nice to me on Sunday. Vega didn't want anything besides water and beer. Beach House wanted the standard stuff (chips, salsa, veggies, hummus, etc). Grizzly Bear wanted kombucha (a familiar item on band riders nowadays), energy bars and fruit. Granted, all of the bands had guests--but they freaking pummeled through a bottle of tequila, 2 bottles of whiskey, 2 bottles of wine, 7 cases of bottled beer, 1 case of 40 ounce beers and a case of tall boy beers.Gerard Butler, Mischa Barton, Beyonce, Solange and Jay-Z were in the house as well as members of NY bands Ravens and Chimes, Airwaves, Poingly and Chromeo.A long day of work is worth the tranquil and wondrous view of the city. Moments like these are why I still live in New York.We closed out the party with a pitiful game of dodgeball (prod. assistants vs the Dodgeball boys) and lot's of staff pictures against the setting sun. Until next Summer, SHUT UP POOL PARTIES!
(Jump shot of the Jelly production assistants by Sam Horine)
Oh, what to do with that leftover 1/2 bottle of cheap Rioja?
From the bottom: Juice of 1 orange, green tea simple syrup, green plums, apples, ice, improper orange zest (didn't have a zester!), cucumbers, sweet melon and figs. After we finished it, we filled the pitcher of fruit with sparkling water and kept it around for a couple days. Very nice!
For my Bed Stuy eggs benedict, I used a really thin multi grain "sandwich thin" (not an English muffin) and shaved honey ham.
The topping was vegan bean hollandaise based loosely on a recipe from Vegetarian Times. I failed to reserve a raw egg to make the hollandaise, so I googled for vegetarian alternatives. You veggies are so creative! Instead of silken tofu, I used a couple spoonfuls of paprika bean dip that I had made for a snack earlier this weekend. It wasn't a smooth sauce, but it was darn good.
For a snack this afternoon, I stuffed a hardboiled egg with frizzled garlic chips (inspired by my friend Asif), anchovy, cayenne pepper (inspired by my new friend Jordan) and olive oil. After I peeled the egg, I cut the bottom so it would stand up. I took out the yolk, stuffed the white with my filling. Then I put the yolk back in. The garlic chips are an awesome contrast to the weird texture of egg yolk.
And here's a picture of the stuffed egg after I bit into it:
