A New Hobby For Me!

I admit it, I am a tech geek! But the problem with that for me is that I half understand the concepts, just start to get used to equipment and then something new comes out. I get frustrated easily. Take music editing, for example. I am a musician and educator, so it would seem quite natural for me to be involved with recording studio principles. Yes, I have some audio equipment, and have had some minor successes, but it seems as if the technology constantly changes and there is always a new gizmo to own, whether it programs, computers, hardware ... you get my drift. It also gets very expensive very quickly.

I also have always enjoyed photography, but have had so little time for it with work and my other interests, which include of course includes writing and blogging. Recently I decided to upgrade my old camera with a new Nikon DSLR and also to take a few online classes. It's a whole new world to me; that world is so full of sights that we take for granted or never even notice. With this new hobby i have found myself taking far more interest in the environment around me; plants, wildlife, clouds, rock formations and lighting effects.

I'm learning how to adjust aperture and shutter settings to bring the spectacular out of the mundane. Here for example is an inexpensive water fountain on my wife's desk. It's just a collection of plastic tube with a few rocks and water highlighted by an LED light kit. Open up the aperture and slow down the shutter speed and textures you never imagined come into play:

As I get better I will be posting more pictures that I have composed here and on Facebook. It's a fun avocation and while it too can be pricey (some of those telephoto lenses can cost $1200 or more), you can easily build a nice portfolio with about a $700 initial investment. Brand loyalty I'm not in to. Canon makes great cameras as well (plus a few others). You don't have to spend a fortune either. Classes? Man, here is so much free stuff on the internet that I don't know if it is possible to absorb it all. Grab a camera and start experimenting!

Braised Chicken with Mushrooms

This dish is a combination of several recipes that I have run across over time. Sunday we were fretting over what to make for Sunday dinner and of course fried chicken comes to mind as a traditional kind of meal. So we decided to take a different angle on this dish and braise it with onions and mushrooms.

Ingredients

2 chicken breast halves, butterflied
1 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp milk
1 small onion, diced
2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chicken stock
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 oz. vodka
2 tsp paprika
1/4 stick of butter (about 2 tbsps.)
tsp of olive oil
chopped parsley sprigs
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Beat the eggs and milk together until mixed well in a shallow dish, season with salt, pepper and a teaspoon of paprika. On a plate or shallow tray mix the flour and remaining paprika, salt and pepper together. Heat a large cast iron skillet and melt the butter with the olive oil. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and coat with flour on both sides. Shake off the excess and fry in the skillet for 3-4 minutes a side.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a rack or paper towel to drain. Add the onions and mushrooms to the skillet and saute lightly until the onions are clear. I also like to season the vegetables at this time with salt and pepper, too. While the vegetables are cooking combine the chicken stock, vodka and lemon juice with the cornstarch and whisk until the cornstarch is dissolved in a bowl. Add the chicken back into the skillet and pour the stock and vodka mixture over the top. Reduce heat and cover for about 30 minutes.

This dish goes great with a rice variety, green vegetable or salad and a glass of Chardonnay!

Protecting the Precious Gift of Hearing

I'm a high school music teacher and musician; my hearing is not only a gift, but a vital part of my job. Hearing loss for me is a serious matter (as it should be for anyone) that not only would affect my lifestyle, but my livelihood.

For years I have worked in high volume environments; band and orchestra rehearsals and concerts, jazz band sessions, and teaching wind and percussion players on all instruments. There was a study a few years back that found the noise level of a marching band in an enclosed room was the equivalent of a 747 jet engine. No one would subject their ears to a jet engine unless they had to as part of their job, yet as a teacher and performer I have done that for years unwittingly.

Yes, I have used earplugs. There are some decent ones on the market, yet most are uncomfortable and I have found that they actually block sounds that I need to hear. And some don't block enough sound. Unfortunately I have therefore worn them indifferently, using them only as an afterthought. The toll on my hearing has been measurable.

About two months ago I noticed static white noise in both my ears, which grew louder as my environment became softer. This noise is full-time and constant. I self-diagnosed Tinnitus after doing online research, becoming dismayed at the prospect of cure (there is none, in reality). Armed with this background information I sought the medical advise of a doctor, and I was administered a comprehensive hearing exam very recently.

The Tinnitus in my ears is caused by the loss of signal between my ears and my brain. I have about a 35% loss of hearing in one ear in the low frequencies and 25% in the other in the high frequencies. I find that I sometimes miss the beginnings and or ends of conversations, when our voices naturally tail off in volume. I'll soon be fitted with a hearing aid to hopefully correct this deficit.

I am actually amazed at the new technology that is available to correct hearing now. Gone are those clunky devices that look like you are growing a third ear in the back of your head! In their place are sleek digital devices that filter, amplify and enhance the hearing experience. Many are even Blue Tooth enabled, opening connectivity possibilities with all sorts of other devices, including phones, pads and audio players.

With these new features of course comes cost, which is considerable, and most health insurances don't automatically cover them. Price range is anywhere from $1100 to $4000. depending on the make, features and how it is worn. The bottom line for everyone is simply this; we are subject in our everyday lives to so much noise pollution - loud TV's, sound systems, car stereos and personal audio devices. Everyone needs to become aware of the potential damage that could be done to our ears, and to make sure they get annual hearing checks. I didn't do this and so now I have to deal with the added expense of buying a hearing aid and hope that I don't suffer any significant additional hearing loss. Lesson learned.

Mexicali Pork Chops

I found a really good recipe on Allrecipes.com the other day and was thinking about it this weekend, when my better half, reading my mind, came home from the store with four pork cutlets. The recipe looked good but looked fairly bland for our tastes, so I notched up the heat and spice a little with the Anaheim peppers, chipotle powder and cumin (highlighted ingredient list), turning it into something indeed very tasty. Of course the dish will be fine with just the salt and pepper if you are not fond of those spices. I didn't have any today, but a finishing the dish with a few sprigs of cilantro would also be wonderful!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 Hatch or Anaheim chili, chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
• 1 cup whole kernel corn
• ½ tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 4 thick cut butterflied pork chops
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, Anaheim pepper, and season with salt, pepper and cumin. Sauté the vegetables for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and corn and continue to sauté for 5 more minutes. Pour this mixture into a 9x9 inch baking dish.

3. Melt the remaining butter or margarine in the same skillet over medium heat. Season and add the pork chops and sauté for 2 minutes per side, then place the chops in the baking dish over the vegetable mixture and cover with aluminum foil.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 12 to 15 minutes, or until internal pork temperature reaches 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

Camp Chili

I’ve posted chili recipes before, but this one, excerpted from a website selling cast iron cookware, was a little different because it did not make use of tomato sauce, beans or green peppers. It’s meant to be prepared in a cast iron Dutch oven out of doors, but heck folks, it was just too hot and humid for that today, so I used an electric cooktop and a hard anodized aluminum pot rather than cast iron. The result was still phenomenal. Oh and I used ground beef, as called for as an option.

“Chili is great for parties-whether it’s cool outside or not. You can always freeze leftovers in various sized bags to pop in a microwave oven for a quick meal. Coarsely chopping your own steak makes a heartier chili; you can always substitute hamburger meat.

Ingredients

7 to 8 pounds round steak, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound thick-sliced bacon, chopped
4 cups diced onions
¼ cup flour
2 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
8 cloves garlic, crushed
4 large tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons paprika
8 poblano peppers, roasted, peeled and chopped
4 cups beef stock

Preparation Directions

1. Brown bacon in large cast iron dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions before bacon is done and continue browning until onions are soft. Dip bacon and onions out.

2. Dredge meat in flour, salt and pepper. Place in Dutch oven, stirring continuously until beef is browned. Return cooked bacon and onions to pan; add garlic. Stir and brown 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Add ground cumin, paprika, peppers, tomatoes, beef stock and enough water to cover completely. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer from 2 ½ hours or until tender, stirring occasionally, adding a little water as needed.”

Excerpted from BBB, Biscuits & Beans by Bill Cauble and Cliff Teinart – bright sky press

Mars Science Laboratory

At 10:31 PDT on August 5th the latest unmanned rover, Curiosity, will land in Gale Crater on Mars after a nine-month voyage to the Red Planet. Following a harrowing, complicated seven minute ride to the surface (Google the NASA video "Seven Minutes of Hell", Curiosity will join a family of other rovers that are investigating Mars for the possibility of life on the planet, past and present. What makes Gale, a crater more than ninety miles across and has a central peak three miles high, interesting is that there are vast areas within the crater in which it appears that sub-layers have been exposed by wind and probably water at some time. This vehicle, the size of a car, is a hardy device that is hoped will be successful in traversing and some rugged and chaotic terrain while carrying out many scientific experiments and procedures.

I have always been fascinated by space; I can recall the later Mercury manned flights (Scott Carpenter and Gordon Cooper) and nearly all of the Gemini program flights. I followed all of the Apollo missions and the later unmanned flights to Mars and beyond. As a kid I would look up at the stars at night and wonder who was doing the same thing around all those countless stars. So with that said you know where to find me on Sunday night - online and viewing the video NASA will stream. I for one wish that "Seven Minutes of Hell" turns into a joyous celebration when Curiosity sends back that much awaited signal - "I'm OK!", or whatever the signal is that NASA is expecting!

An Open Letter to Jalapeno Peppers

Dear jalapeno pepper, what has happened to your spice? There was a time when you were the pepper of choice for the adventurous in all of us; the mere thought of a bite on a ring of your fire would send us crashing through the refrigerator for a glass of milk to quench your rage.

You were the star of so many great Mexican and Tex Mex dishes too; tacos, chili, burgers, salads, salsa, chips, for the more conventional, to ice cream for the more unconventional of us. It was all enough to get us reaching from our Tums to be sure! But sadly, you seem to have lost your touch, your ability to terrify. More often than not a bite out of you these days hardly has enough sting to remind us that you are a jalapeno and not the ubiquitous green pepper.

So who do we turn to now in order to satisfy our cravings for heat? Serrano peppers are the easy choice, but they don’t seem to quite have your flavor, despite packing a little more wallop. Of course you have cousins in Hatch peppers, Anchos and the like too. There are all kinds of Asian peppers too that can easily surpass the heat index requirement, if not the taste. And the same can be said for the Scotch Bonnet pepper; but again it’s heat without your flavor.

So what shall we do? I suppose the best bet, until you come to your senses and start showing your true nature, is to mix you with Serranos, to get their punch and your distinct flavor. Is that a deal?

*** UPDATE ***