throw another bear in the canoe - i want to 'lectrify my soul

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i want to 'lectrify my soul

Oct. 15th, 2009 at 10:50 AM

Five things make a post, and I miss

wilfulcait.

1) Figured out a bunch about the devil ponies in the shower this morning, so I'm going to go write that down in a minute here.

2) Breakfast just now was garlic ciabatta with habanero lime oil and harissa on it. (Harissa is a new discovery. What I just had was not as good as the kind TNH had at Viable Paradise, and it has left me wondering how hard this stuff can possibly be to make.) Breakfast dessert was cottage cheese with strawberries and a splash of balsamic vinegar. I offered the bowl to the dog, but he declined: cottage cheese is for dogs, but vinegar not so much.

Don't you wish you lived with me?

3) the fingerless gloves (mitts, technically) my mom made for me cover my wrist braces completely. Score!

4) My toes are cold and I would go get a blanket, but the dog is being snuggly and I don't want to disturb him.

5) Woke up mostly not-sick this morning, and did experimental yoga, which went well. So now all I have to do is work out the inactivity kinks and I shall be back to normal, I hope. If I have time before I head north this afternoon, maybe there will be a Dogwalking.

Bonus Thing) There are worse ways to be memorialized than in an internet meme. I wonder how many people who every so often do a five-things post ever knew the source of it?

Mood: content
Music:John Hiatt - Straight Outta Time

Tags:

five things

Comments

( 32 comments — Leave a comment )

mrissa wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 03:06 pm (UTC)

I miss

wilfulcait, too. My tag for my "five things" posts is "i miss rise."

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matociquala wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 03:11 pm (UTC)

<3

I think she would get such a kick out of this devil ponies story I am writing, and it made me sad.

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mrissa wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 03:12 pm (UTC)

I finished the story I was writing for her the week she died. Her partner and kid didn't say so, but I strongly suspect I finished it too late for her to enjoy.

Do not approve am not resigned.

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matociquala wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 03:17 pm (UTC)

Kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight.

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mrissa wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 03:22 pm (UTC)

*kicks with weary obedience*

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tchernabyelo wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 03:10 pm (UTC)

I've had good and meh harissas from a variety of suppliers. The best was one from the UK, a company called al-Fez, based near Bristol; no idea if that is available over here. Making your own will probably invlve a lot of trial and error on how hot you like it, and the risk is always that with any different batch of raw materials (i.e. chillies) your balance will no longer work.

It zings up stuff like harira or tagines wonderfully. Moroccan food, mmm....

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pixel39 wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 03:29 pm (UTC)

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dipsandsauces/r/harissa.htm

That recipe implies by its short list of ingredients that it's fairly easy to make multiple batches. Have you ever made your own? My cayenne pepper went gonzo this year and I have another alfredo jar's worth of peppers to do something with now that they've been frosted.

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tchernabyelo wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 06:12 pm (UTC)

Oddly, we haven't, despite doing That Sort Of Thing from time to time.

Our chiles did not grow well this year. It did not help that a squirre ate some.

Not that chiles are in short supply here in NM.

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kightp wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 06:57 pm (UTC)

That's the harissa recipe I use, and I vary it according to what chiles are locally available. It's always good as long as you use the best olive oil you can lay hands on.

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thejunebug wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 03:21 pm (UTC)

For ideas in the shower, I recommend bathtub crayons. Sounds silly, but it's great to be able to scribble down ideas before they fall out of your head. :D

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matociquala wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 03:23 pm (UTC)

Dude! EYELINER. Or china markers.

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matociquala wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 03:23 pm (UTC)

Er, plumber's pencil, not china markers. I knew what I meant.

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thejunebug wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 03:34 pm (UTC)

Never thought of eyeliner! Wouldn't it melt?

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jerusha wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 03:51 pm (UTC)

Can't you just tuck your toes under the snuggly dog?

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matociquala wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 03:59 pm (UTC)

He's bony. And too well-insulated to give up much heat.

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kuroshii wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 06:10 pm (UTC)

yeah, but...that longhair fur? like unknitted socks? maybe?

oh OK. alas.

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aamcnamara wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 04:58 pm (UTC)

I never knew the source of it, and have always wondered.

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matociquala wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 05:17 pm (UTC)

I imagine you would have liked her

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cristalia wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 05:59 pm (UTC)

Harissa's pretty easy, actually; I can toss you a recipe when I get home.

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matociquala wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 06:03 pm (UTC)

Sure!!!!

Only question is, does this recipe have anything in it besides chilis, garlic, oil, and salt? Because a little experimentation is leading me to believe that once the carrots get involved, it's no good any more. *g*

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desperance wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 06:29 pm (UTC)

My harissa:

a teaspoon tomato puree, a teaspoon ground coriander, a pinch of saffron. A red pepper, roasted and skinned. A couple of red chillis. A little salt, and quite a lot of cayenne pepper.

Pound them all in a mortar or else whizz 'em in a whizzer, taste, and add more of what you like...

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matociquala wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 06:31 pm (UTC)

Sounds tasty, but I'm looking for one that's more or less peppers, garlic, oil, and salt.

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jane_drew_ wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 08:11 pm (UTC)

*wonders why the devil ponies are in the shower*

*realizes further caffeine intake is probably required*

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martianmooncrab wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 08:41 pm (UTC)

about the devil ponies in the shower

*giggle* pretty big shower eh?

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txanne wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 09:57 pm (UTC)

My harissa recipe came from a French friend whose family got kicked out of Algeria when she was 10. I don't know where I put it, but I know it involved copious amounts of cumin and cayenne--possibly in equal measure?--salt to taste, and enough olive oil to make a paste (or possibly a sauce, depending on what you wanted it for). The End.

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skogkatt wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 10:19 pm (UTC)

I didn't know the source of it, but I've done X things make a post posts before (sometimes only 3). I feel sad now, though I didn't know her. It does seem a good way to be remembered, at least. Oh, gloomy October the 15th, why are you so gloomy?

And yes, having read about rosemary lemon shortbread and harissa and scads of other delicious things in the last few days alone, I do rather wish I lived with you. Or at least near enough to beg food.

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matociquala wrote:

Oct. 16th, 2009 05:24 am (UTC)

*g* You would be welcome to drop by....

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skogkatt wrote:

Oct. 16th, 2009 12:59 pm (UTC)

Be careful, or I'll take you up on that.

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marykaykare wrote:

Oct. 15th, 2009 10:34 pm (UTC)

As requested, harissa recipe involving chiles, garlic, oil, and salt (Google is my friend)
http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dipsandsauces/r/harissa.htm

Say, um, exactly when this month is that book due out? Not that I'm like haunting bookstores or anything. Ahem.

MKK

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aliseadae wrote:

Oct. 16th, 2009 04:27 am (UTC)

Re: #2. I have my roommate to live with. She creates menus when most people just make noodles. I am very well fed. (I read your food out loud to her and she started wondering what harissa was. She's planning on making ciabatta soon.)

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crookedfeet wrote:

Oct. 16th, 2009 04:54 am (UTC)

A little late to the party, but I like this method
http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/food/la-fo-saucier26sep26,1,6676978.story
Also, a recipe using it that I also like
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/harissa-spaghettini-recipe.html

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dunegirl wrote:

Oct. 16th, 2009 04:30 pm (UTC)

Harissa Cheese

I found Harrisa-Infused Cheese at my local Trader Joe's exactly once. I stll look for it, forlornly, on every grocery trip.

If you find out how to make it, please post a recipe!

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