“Depression, contrary to popular belief, isn’t simply sadness; it’s physical exhaustion. It’s dragging a corpse through your life. It’s the inability to care about or enjoy most parts of your life, even the things you used to like. And if you find yourself enjoying something, it’s usually somewhat separated from you, like seeing a loved one through prison glass. It’s there, but not as you hoped it would be.”
Description: Beef rolls are thin slices of beef that can be filled, rolled up, and then braised. Beef rolls originated in medieval times when cooks prepared thin slices of beef, veal, or mutton with a stuffing.
Other Names: Beef olives, braciole (southern Italian), involtini (Italian, usually veal), paupiettes and roulades (French), roll-ups, Rouladen (German).
Meat Characteristics: Beef rolls are made from tough cuts of beef, which become tender when braised.
How Much Should I Buy: Choose the largest slices of single-muscle meat sliced about ¼ inch thick. About 4 ounces per person.
Common Flavor Combinations: Basil, capers, garlic, lemons, mustard, onions, Parmesan cheese, prosciutto, red wine, tomatoes.
Description: Short ribs are cut from the 12 ribs that start at the chuck and continue to the loin. Relatively square, short ribs have full-bodied flavor and luscious tenderness that develop when they are slow-cooked by hot-smoking, slow-roasting, or braising. Short ribs are especially popular in Korean, Chinese, and Jewish cuisines.
Meat Charcteristics: Short ribs consist of dense layers of rather tough, medium-coarse grain meat interwoven with layers of fat and connective tissue. They usually include the rib bones.
How much should I buy: Buy at least 1 pound of bone-in short ribs per person to allow for bone and shrinkage. Allow ½ pound of boneless short ribs per person.
Common flavor combinations: Cilantro, garlic, ginger, green onions, molasses, mushrooms, onions, red wine, sesame oil, soy sauce, thyme.
Note: They’re not as inexpensive as they used to be as they are rather in vogue right now, but still much cheaper than a quality steak.
Microgames was a phenomenon of especially the 1970’s and early 1980’s. One of my favorites was the gem of Barbarian Prince released by the long defunct Dwarfstar Heritage games. One of the things that separated it from other games of the time it was a solitaire game with endless adventures
From the box:
Evil events have overtaken the Northlands. You — Cal Arath, Barbarian Prince — are in hiding and the usurper who killed your father, the Old King, now sits on his throne. Now you must flee south and raise enough gold by adventuring to equip an army with which to regain your rightful heritage. The way will not be easy, for the men of the south are strange, and some are schooled in the black mysteries. The passes are guarded by monsters, it is said, and in the ruined cities lurk foul things never born of this earth. But you have your stubborn Northland will and your great sword — and woe to anyone or anything which stands between you and your quest . . .
BARBARIAN PRINCE is a solitaire game of heroic adventure in a forgotten age of barbarism and sorcery. No opponent is necessary as the Event Booklet takes you through a pre-programmed sequence of encounters which is different each time you play the game. For each event, you, as the Barbarian Prince Cal Arath, must make the decisions which will make your quest successful — or may cost you your life.
BARBARIAN PRINCE is a new concept in Adventure Gaming. No rules reading is required; the programmed event sequence lets you begin play as soon as you open the box.
BARBARIAN PRINCE contains — A full-color 12″x 14″ mapboard, a die, rules folder, Event Booklet, and summary sheet — and a detailed cast metal figure of the Barbarian Prince to mark your position on the board.
PLAY LEVEL – Introductory
Back cover:
Game Board:
For a game that was only a few dollars ($4.95) when In was released in 1981 it has grown in significant value among collectors or those just wanting to relive their youth. If you’re lucky enough to find a good copy with all its pieces on eBay or somewhere else it commonly sells for $200 or higher.
There is an alternative where you can download the game as well as other Dwarfstar Heritage microgames, but somehow it’s not the same. You can download it here:
“I awoke, went to drink a glass of water and walked back toward my room. I stopped dead in my tracks. My room was red and four cloaked figures floated above my bed with fire circling around them. Inside of the cloaks was a black abyss and I knew they had come for me. As long as I stayed out of my room they wouldn’t see me. I stared at them for what seemed like an hour before they went away. I slept on the couch that night.”
This is one of my favorite easy recipes from Chef Eric Ripert’s “Get Toasted” series. Simple recipes with a toaster over. I don’t personally own a toaster over, but these easily translate to a conventional oven.
Thomas Keller is considered by many, and rightfully so, the preeminent American Chef. He has won multiple James Beard Foundation awards and is annual winner in the Top 50 Restaurants in the World. His restaurant include: The French Laundry, Bouchon, Ad Hoc, and Per Se. He has been awarded three stars (the highest rating) by the Michelin Guide for both his New York restaurant Per Se and his Napa valley restaurant The French Laundry. With these two awards he holds the distinction of being the only American chef to be awarded three stars by Michelin for two restaurants at the same time.
His passion for food is obvious and can be seen in his roasting of a simple chicken:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus 4 tablespoons for pans 1 cup all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking powder 3 large eggs ⅔ cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract 1½ teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
Equipment
2 12 shell madeleines pans
Stand mixer
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Coat two 12-shell pans with melted 4 tablespoons butter and brush in each mold (cooking spray will work as well, although I prefer butter).
Whisk together flour and baking powder. Melt butter and place in a bowl to cool to room temperature.
Add eggs and sugar in a bowl and beat with a hand or stand mixer on medium-high speed until mixture is light and fluffy, around 3 to 5 minutes. Add vanilla and zest and continue beating for another minute or so. Fold in the flour mixture until just blended, then drizzle the cooled butter over the batter and incorporate completely.
Using a teaspoon, fill shell molds with batter until almost full. Carefully press batter to distribute it evenly.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until madeleines puff up and are golden brown. Remove pans from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 2 to 3 minutes, then invert and tap madeleines onto the rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
Allow to cool completely if planning to store and/or freeze. Serving madeleines warm from the oven is preferable for a special treat
Place unpeeled potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are thoroughly cooked. Drain the potatoes and allow them to rest a minute or so to dry out. Peel. Put potatoes in a ricer and rice into a saucepan. With each batch of potatoes add a chunk of refrigerated butter. Cold butter emulsifies better than room temperature and keeps your potatoes from getting overly oily. Joel Robuchon’s ultimate potato puree has a 2:1 potato to butter ratio. Use between 8 – 16 ounces of butter if desired.
Stir in Horseradish. Place saucepan over low heat and whip potatoes with a spoon for 1 – 2 minutes until smooth. Potatoes can be held at this point until ready to serve.
Before serving place potato puree over low heat. Warm potatoes stirring constantly. Stir in warm cream a third at a time stirring constantly so as not to burn potatoes. Stir in ¼ teaspoon Black Truffle oil or to taste. Stir potatoes rapidly until creamy and soft. If potatoes are too heavy or thick, stir in a tablespoon at a time of warm water to reach desire consistency. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
5-6 Ripe Peaches
2 Cups Water
1 Cup Apple Juice
1 Lime, Zest and Juice
Mint Sprigs
Cut a small “X” through the bottom of each peach. Then blanch for 20 seconds in a pot of boiling water. Transfer peaches to a bowl of ice water. When cooled drain well and then peel them.
Add peaches, water, apple juice, and lime zest and juice to a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste. If not sweet enough add ¼ cup on honey. Salt and pepper may be added depending upon taste. Chill for a minimum of two hours. Serve cold in bowls with mint sprigs as a garnish.
Mark Bere Peterson’s Counterculture, Urban Legends, Paganism & Witchcraft 