Month: March 2010

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shellfish vindaloo with the flavor of Brazil

shellfish vindaloo
our Vindaloo with lobster, shrimp and crab

Shellfish Vindaloo

“Vindaloo” is one of those wonderful dishes that is rich in history, travel and taste. I first ran into the name studying Brazilian cuisine, which interestingly enough is where it really started, although adapted widely and augmented by India and others.

Vindaloo is a spicy meat dish often made with Curry and Garam Masala. As you know, both Curry and Garam Masala are spice blends and vary based on where it is made and who is assembling it. Generally a ‘hotter’ curry is used. Here is how Wikipedia  describes the dish:

Vindaloo or vindalu is an Indian dish. The term vindaloo derives from the Portuguese dish “Carne de Vinha d’ Alhos”, a dish of meat, usually lamb, with wine and garlic. Alternate terms are vindalho or vindallo. “Carne de Vinha d’ Alhos” was first brought to Goa by the Portuguese and became a Goan meal often served during special occasions. The traditional Portuguese dish was made with pork preserved in red wine or red wine vinegar, chili pepper, and stewed with garlic. The dish evolved into the vindaloo curry dish when it received the Goan treatment of adding plentiful amounts of spice. Restaurants often serve this dish with chicken or lamb sometimes mixed with potatoes. Traditional vindaloos do not include potatoes, the discrepancy arising because the word “aloo” means “potato” in Hindi.

Most of the recipes on-line show Vindaloo with potatoes but I did see a travel picture of this remarkable dish served with rice. My preference is to serve it ON rice.

Here is my version of Vindaloo

If you a luck enough to travel to Brazil, this is something to try… if not… make some for yourself and someone you love!

Roger

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building a better tiramisu with an american mascarpone

Tiramisu using an American Mascarpone
making a better Tiramisu with an American Mascarpone

Normally, I like to make recipes using the most authentic ingredients available. Sometimes, a ‘better ingredient’ is available just around the corner. I found a great Mascarpone made by a Wisconsin cheese company proud of their Italian roots… “Bel Gioioso.”

The real trick is in folding in a real meringue with your cheese and yolk mixture, adding grated white chocolate over each layer and soaking your lady fingers soaked in a nice blend of liquors.

Here is our recipe.

Roger

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ucsb’s virtual imaging lab and modern ghost busting

Laura at UCSB's virtual imaging lab
Modern Ghost buster or virtual warrior?

Laura has always loved science, football games and technology … things that most of the male community also gravitate. Laura will pass up the Oscars or the vast wasteland of soaps to watch the stuff I also enjoy like: the documentary channel, the super bowl game, the history channel or just sit around talking about the latest thoughts on evolutionary psychology or what William James would think if he was still alive.

So, I knew that the hardest thing would be to get her out of the Virtual Imaging lab which combines a lot of our favorite elements in a virtual environment.

Read her post.

It was fun to watch her overcome her fobias and ‘jump’ off a cliff and ‘walk over a deep ravine on a thin plank’ in the virtual world.

This picture of Laura just makes me smile.

Roger

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corned beef pie on saint patrick’s day

THE CORNED BEEF PIE AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW
THE CORNED BEEF PIE AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW

Personally, I can’t think of anything nicer than a corned beef pie on  Saint Paddy’s Day! And thanks to Karla we have a wonderful picture  to celebrate what we think is a real culinary golden pot at the end of the rainbow!

Here is our recipe.

12" corned beef pie ready for the oven!

A few ‘facts on Saint Patrick you might not have known:

1) He was born in Roman Britain in the fifth century, at the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave

2) Originally, the color associated with Saint Patrick was blue

3) New York’s first Saint Patrick’s Day Parade was held on 17 March 1762 by Irish soldiers in the British Army.The first celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day in New York City was held at the Crown and Thistle Tavern in 1766

4) Seattle and other cities paint the traffic stripe of their parade routes green. Wikipedia says Chicago dyes its river green and has done so since 1962 when sewer workers used green dye to check for sewer discharges and had the idea to turn the river green for Saint Patrick’s Day

As the folks at Guinness say,”everyone is GREEN on Saint Patrick’s Day!”

Enjoy the Day!

Roger Freberg

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lessons from Sparta

History is often written by the victors and so is the case of Sparta. Only now is Sparta recognized as the real birthplace of democracy and home to two of Greece’s greatest philosophers. Much has been made of Spartan’s military, however, this was a challenging time in the world and culture, society and civilization could not exist without protection.

Here are some of my favorite stories and quotes on Sparta:

1) Queen Gorgo ( Leonidas’ wife) asked why the only women in the world who could rule men were Spartan women ,said “Because we are the only women who give birth to men.”

Message for today: Choose the mother of your children wisely.

2) A beggar asked alms of a Spartan, who said, “If I should give to you, you will be the more a beggar; and for this unseemly conduct of yours he who first gave you is responsible, for he thus made you lazy.”

Message for today:  charity comes at a cost to one’s soul

3) One man who came to Sparta, and observed the honor which the young render to the old, said, “Only in Sparta does it pay to grow old.”

Message for today:  Honor & respect comes only to those who earn it.

4) When Philip of Macedon sent some orders to the Spartans by letter, they wrote in reply, “What you wrote about, ‘No.’ ” When he invaded the Spartans’ country, and all thought that they should be destroyed, he said to one of the Spartans, “What shall you do now, men of Sparta?” And the other said, “What else than die like men? For we alone of all the Greeks have learned to be free, and not to be subject to others.”

Message for today:  better to die on your feet than live on your knees.

5) A Spartan, being asked if the road into Sparta were safe, said, “That depends on what kind of a man you are; for the lions gang about where they will, but the hares we hunt over that land.”

Message for today:  don’t be a soft target

6) Some people, encountering Spartans on the road, said, “You are in luck, for robbers have just left this place,” but they said, “Egad, no, but it is they who are in luck for not encountering us.”

Message for today:  there are reasons some folks have no fear.

8) When two brothers quarreled with each other, the Spartans fined the father because he permitted his sons to quarrel.

Message for today:  parents are responsible for their children and their behavior

9) Someone on seeing a painting in which Spartans were depicted as slain by Athenians, kept repeating, “Brave, brave Athenians.” A Spartan cut in with, “Yes, in the picture!”

Message for today:  history is often depicted inaccurately….  even today.

Better to be a Spartan.

Roger Freberg

Here are some links for further reading:

Sparta Reconsidered

Laconic Phrases