Urban Hayseed

Spiritual Materialism (and Naan)

Rian — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:02:44 +0000

My new favorite (today) concept is ’spiritual materialism’. First, I have to say that I mention it as a kind of exorcism. You know how you hear a word, take note of it as a new term, and then hear the damn thing every time you turn around?

‘Spiritual Materialism’

Anyway, THAT TERM embodies the idea of [...]

Best… Snack… Ever.

Rian — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:16:38 +0000

I feel that it is important to take a moment to share this with you, my only friends.

The kim chee quesadilla is the most perfect of snacks. It combines the impulsive snacky goodness of the quesadilla with the mysterious and exotic flavors of the far Orient. It’s Mexorean. It’s Korexican.

Ingredients: Whole Wheat Tortillas Big [...]

Chicken And Cashew Nuts in Black Spices

Rian — Mon, 31 May 2010 22:28:49 +0000

Adapted from the recipe in the book called “The Great Curries of India” by Camellia Panjabi:

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken (light or dark or mixed, whatever tickles yer trigger) 1 c. grated coconut (look at the Asian market in the freezer section if you don’t feel like cracking open a coconut, which I did not) 10 tsp. [...]

Okonomiyaki ala Hayseed

Rian — Sun, 30 May 2010 09:24:49 +0000

Gotta jot this down before I forget…

Rian’s Really Good Okonomiyaki

Firstly, I have to say that this is going to require a trip to the Japanese market. Even the “Asian” market isn’t going to cut it. Nagaimo is something like taro root. You grate it up, and it makes something slimy and disgusting, but okonomiyaki is [...]

OK, Let’s Try This Again… and Kara Age (Japanese Fried Chicken)

Rian — Fri, 28 May 2010 23:23:05 +0000

Hey.

What’s up?

Oh yeah? Cool.

Yeah… me? Not much.

Good, now that we have THAT out of the way, let us resume talking about food and stuff. Due to factors too detailed to discuss, we’re gonna have to spend less time in the garden and more time in the kitchen. Still, as my zen [...]

Chuckles: R.I.P.

Rian — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:21:13 +0000

So… yeah… uh… my cat died, too.

Charles came from the pound in San Francisco about 14 years ago. He was likely part Maine Coon and part something walking down the street when his mom was taking a nap on the sidewalk. If mom was anything like Charles, she was completely inert and didn’t [...]

Garden Calendar Ideas for February

Rian — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:31:08 +0000

Since it’s on my own mind… and since Ted asked… here’s a few things I’d suggest doing in the garden this month:

Mason bees: If you haven’t done it already, clean out your mason bee houses. I just took all my tubes, unrolled them, washed the cocoons off in (very) mild bleach water (don’t worry, they [...]

More Death on the Farm

Rian — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:55:49 +0000

Washington hive, R.I.P.

Good night, girls.

Last week, we had some decent weather, and so I decided to go crack open the hives to see if they needed some sugar to supplement whatever honey they’d stashed. Seems that this is the time of year that they starve…

Well, as it turns out, Washington had… ceased to bee, [...]

Ethel: R.I.P.

Rian — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:52 +0000

I figure I should get some of the unpleasantries out of the way before I start posting sunny pictures of my perfect children eating fresh, organic produce.

Ethel the chicken has ceased to be.

Not totally sure about the birth and death dates. Pretty sure she's dead.

<irreverant, gross chicken story alert>

Ethel had, what we call in [...]

Let’s try this again…

Rian — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 10:58:38 +0000

Hey. What’s up?

Let me just catch you up since… about November. Firstly, I am feeling much better. I’ve been exercising a lot, eating moderately well, and generally trying to take better care of myself. Stress is a nasty, nasty thing on one’s mind and body. The other thing is that stress is a little like [...]