Thai Green Curry

Well, I invited a couple of friends over last night for dinner. And I got many more than I expected. And I was happy to have them. I cooked up my Thai Green Curry, which is one of my favorites, along with Thai Red Curry and Thai Yellow Curry.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 Chicken Things (bone-in) per person
1/3 Carrot, Sliced per person
1/4 Bell Pepper, 1-inch squares, per person
1/5 Yellow Onion per person
Coconut Milk (1 can per 5 persons)
Fish Sauce (just enough to hint at the taste)
Green Curry Paste (1 Tablespoon per 4 persons)
Salt and Pepper
Chicken Broth or Stock (about 4oz per person)
1/2 Lime per person
Handful of Cilantro

Method:
1. Sear the Chicken Thighs (salt and pepper each side) in a little olive oil, set aside.
2. Saute the veggies (with a little salt) in a little olive oil, set aside.
3. Cook the curry paste in a small amount of coconut milk until well dissolved, add the rest of the coconut milk and return all veggies and chicken to pot.
4. Add warm chicken stock, fish sauce, a little cilantro, and the juice of one lime (to taste).
5. Stew for 30-35 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve with jasmine rice.

White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

DO NOT FOLLOW THE RECIPE ON THE BACK OF THE GHIRARDELLI BAG.

Instead, use 2.5 cups of flour (instead of the 3 listed), otherwise they get too dry. Enjoy!

Food

I think food is more interesting than politics. And way less disappointing. So, instead of writing about politics once in a blue moon (which apparently is coming up soon), I'm going to write about food instead.

The Informant!

I just saw the movie The Informant! It was interesting, if a little slow during parts. The story of Mark Whitacre is an interesting one, albeit a frustrating one for someone who prefers to tell the truth (as the film illustrates, it is much easier to tell the truth than to have to remember the lies).

The wikipedia article is here.

The Confusion

I just finished reading The Confusion by Neal Stephenson. Now it's on to The System of the World, the third and final book of the Baroque Cycle. If you like historical fiction, this series of books is fantastic. It also helps if you are a little nerdy.

Banned Books Week

This week is the American Library Association's Banned Books Week. Check it out. And then read a book.

Leadership

What is leadership? Personally, I think its the ability to inspire confidence in others. I don't think anything is more important when it comes to a leader. When a leader empowers a follower, they open up completely new abilities in the follower. Things that person may not have even known were there. True leadership is something this country, this state, and this region need now more than ever. In difficult times, leadership is what gets us through it, and what gets us out of it.

The California Budget

Well, I think just about everyone in the US knows that the California budget is a joke. I have heard that even if the six million dollars worth of fund-raising propositions on the "Special Election" next week (which, in and of itself is a horrible waste of money, considering the current budget situation) PASS, we will still be seeing a 8 billion dollar plus shortfall. Now, that means there is most likely a 14 billion dollar plus shortfall (if I can do basic math).

The Governator has already publicly said that the local governments will be raided to help make up some of this shortfall. Even if I didn't work for a local government, I would think this is atrocious! This country prides itself on its ability to rule itself. This is true at the national level, and at the state level, and at the local level. The old adage "we vote with our feet" means that we are able to move somewhere in the country where we are happy. The more centralization, the less we are able to express our freedom through our feet. There has always been a cry for states' rights. But I think the new mantra should be locals' rights! We are inherently more free when we are able to control our government directly. And because of scale, only local governments are close to that ideal. Most of the money collected in taxes are funneled up the chain chipped away at and only a portion are returned to our local governments. And this time they come with severe restrictions, reporting requirements, and deadlines to meet. These are all artificially imposed from above so that the state and feds can rob us and tell us how to spend our own money. This is theft; there is no other word for it. This money should be very useful and it should better the lives of those who contributed it. But instead they are shipped off to other places are controlled by those that use it to bludgeon the local governments into submission. The politicians.

I think it's time...

I have taken a long time off from blogging. I used to run a site called Left Coast News and Review. I, on a whim, deleted it one day, fearing that my political opinions could hurt my chances for being elected king sometime in the future. Obviously, this is the least of my problems...

I think it's time I re-add my sarcastic voice to the dialog (assuming there is anything resembling a dialog going on).