New Blog Site Coming Soon

Thanks to advice from SpaceDevil13, who wrote to me and advised me to consider hosting this blog elsewhere, I am doing just that.

I am trying to decide if I should keep it all in one blog or have two separate blogs: one for things in Maine, and another for the more adult talk, my opinions and occasional rants. ‘Cause I need to vent somewhere, but a blog with cooking and places of interest in Maine, plus with the added stuff about the PUA lifestyle is not the right place to do it!

I’m still trying to pick out a good WordPress theme. I got the blog entries transferred okay, but some of the themes do funky things like say “No comments,” and then when you click on that, all the comments are there! Other themes have built-in widgets and if I add my own widgets, it shoves those down into the footer and makes for some funkalicioius eyecandy confusion.

I am also looking for a theme that allows me to use one or more of my photos in the header.

I know a tiny bit of HTML, the basic stuff. I can learn a little more if I have to. I know zip about CSS, except it looks like a lot of callouts to other files. I did get an ‘A’ in computer logic :::mumble, mumble::: years ago and I know a little COBOL. I’ve also made databases in FileMaker Pro so I’m familiar with fields and stuff like that. I know a little bit about graphic design but the last time I “made” a webpage from scratch was several years ago, before CSS became all the rage. I do have access to Dreamweaver if that helps.

I’ve been looking at 3-column themes, but not sure if that’s the way to go. I’d like to add my own widgets for tracking stats (I like StatCounter, open to other suggestions), and maybe an Amazon affiliate and/or a tip jar. Not that I expect to make a ton of bucks blogging, but I’d like to have the stuff there just in case Bill Gates stops by and likes what he sees

Someone told me adding my Twitter to my sidebar would be a good idea too (I don’t know why, ’cause I think my Tweets are pretty boring unless you like hearing me bitch about my cat waking me up at 4:00 a.m.).

I am probably going to have a main page with links to both blogs, and maybe links to my better photos and writing samples. Obviously, using WordPress software, the blogs are easiest to set up first. Well, they are easier in theory: as long as I can figure out which theme to use and how to do some simple alterations like changing the header photo and adding my own widgets.

Lastly, the book I just helped research and write is coming out soon, so I want to promote that as well. It’s an inexpensive consumer guide on how homeowners in danger of foreclosure can find resources and info to help them navigate the maze, as well as tidbits on how to assess their current situation, avoid scams, and how to rebuild their credit. There will be a website with news updates included in the price of the book, so it’s a lot of value for a very low price! So far I know of at least one woman who read the draft and was able to get herself out of hot water just by using one or two of the tips, and I’m excited to see this book finally coming to market, because it has the potential to educate and help a lot of people.

Any suggestions on all of this are welcome!

Ballet in Maine

Robert and I attended a ballet presentation yesterday. It was put on by the Konservatoriet dance school in Alfred. Robert is a part-time teacher and co-director at the Konservatoriet. The school is run by Lynne Penn-Davison, and she organized a workshop presentation using her students’ choreography. It was a great time and the students did a wonderful job.

We were most impressed by one 11-year-old girl (seen below in the full-length tutu), who not only choreographed an elaborate dance called “No Bedtime for Us!”, but danced very well herself in several of the presentations. The ages of the students ranged from 3 to over 50, and the purpose was to raise awareness about the scholarships needed to allow these young women to take classes on an ongoing basis.

Ballet and other forms of dance require more than one class per week in order for the students to gain the full benefit of this art form. It’s not only a healthy activity, it promotes self-confidence, teaches posture, and gives the girls a sense of accomplishment. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to pay for classes, so scholarships are often the only route for many of these students.

I took some pictures after the performance:

This last one is downtown Alfred. It’s a quaint little town south of Portland, and because the studio is in Alfred, Lynne can charge lower fees for the classes due to a lower overhead. So sponsoring a girl is not that expensive.

For more information on classes - including modern as well as ballet - or if you’d like to donate to Konservatoriet’s scholarship fund, please contact Lynne Penn-Davison at konservatoriet (at) verizon.net (substitute the “@” symbol for “(at)”, of course) or telephone (207) 324-6391.

Azaleas

The bumblebees like these flowers.

Taken with a Canon PowerShot A560, macro setting.

What’s for Suppah?

Yeah, I really do talk like that. Sometimes. I lived in the Midwest for years, but when you come back home, you pick up the accent again. I say “bahn” for “barn” and “cellar” for “basement,” among other things. When I was a kid, we used to say “daowwww” for “no.”

“I suck at darts.”

“Daoww, you do not!”

So anyway, what’s for suppah?

We’ve got some lamb shoulder chops, marinating in lemon juice, fresh rosemary, olive oil, and freshly chopped garlic. I’m not a huge fan of lamb, but if it is marinated with rosemary, it’s wicked good.

On the side, I’m doing turnip greens, according to Winona. I don’t know if this is the Winona, but it looks like danged good recipe, so I’m using it with my greens (I opted for turnip but use any greens you like). Unfortunately, I threw out my pork fat from the pulled pork the other night, and I am out of bacon. So I’m gonna fry up some link sausage and use the grease from those, then chop the cooked sausage up into bits and cook ‘em with the greens. This is all Emeril’s fault: I saw him cooking greens on TV yesterday and I got a taste for them.

For the carbs, I’m boiling up some white potatoes and am going to mix them with a little butter and fresh parsley. Italian parsley, I hear that has more flavor than the curly variety.

I am lucky enough to have a seasoned cast-iron pan that belonged to Robert’s mother, and therefore, I am using this method to cook the lamb chops. I imagine it would work with anything from veal to steak. I’ve seen a lot of Chef Ramsay’s YouTube videos, and I recall that he did a venison steak this way once, and served it with a chocolate sauce. Chef Ramsay, I will let you teach me how to make venison in my kitchen any day. For research purposes, of course. Also, Robert loves chocolate, so it would be a plus for me to learn how to combine meat with chocolate.

How do I do all of this? I use my iPod to keep me going. I have some pretty decent playlists, including one which I call “Feel Good.” Here it is, my cooking music, for your enjoyment:

Rock DJ - Robbie Williams

Shake Ya Tailfeather - Murphy Lee, Nelly & P. Diddy

Rich Girl - Gwen Stefani

Rock el Casbah - Rachid Taha (I got turned onto Rachid Taha last year by my bellydancing teacher)

Free Your Mind - En Vogue

The Flame - Cheap Trick (used to have “Live at Budokan” on vinyl. Yes, I am old, but not that old, and if you gew-gaw at someone having played vinyl albums, guess what, you will be old someday too)

Lullaby - Shawn Mullins (he is cute, and he got me through some bad times, so there)

Soak Up the Sun - Sheryl Crow (what can I say, Sheryl Crow rocks)

Brimful of Asha - Cornershop

All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow (yes, I clicked on her twice at the iTunes store, it’s a good song, she must’ve read my mind when she wrote this song)

Beverly Hills - Weezer

Mambo Italian (Hey Mambo) - The Hit Crew

Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White - Perez Prado Orchestra (hat tip to Weebl & Bob)

Hips Don’t Lie - Shakira

Desire - U2 (I love Bono, he has the coolest sunglasses)

That’s it, folks. If you have any more suggestions for feel good music, let me know. In the meantime, I’ve gotta go check my potatoes.

Pulled Pork - Result

The pulled pork turned out awesome. I took it out after roasting from 11:30 to 4:00. I could have taken it out at 3:30 but it was actually just right with the extra half hour, as the juices had carmelized enough to be mixed with the shredded pork. I let it sit and rest for a little while, then mashed the sweet potato and white potato together with a bit of butter and milk. Nuked some spinach to go alongside, and this is what it looked like:

Robert declared it delicious, and I gave some to my neighbors across the way, who said it was awesome. They want the recipe.

To recap:

I soaked the pork roast in a brine of bottled water, 12 oz. of kosher salt, 3/4 cup of molasses for about 10 hours (Alton Brown says 8 to 12, and 12 is better). Then I removed it from the brine, and pricked it with a fork. I set it in a glass dish that was high enough to almost cover the roast. You can use a heavy duty plastic bag if you like, I just didn’t have one on hand. I made a marinade of the juice of one lemon and one orange each, about a cup of apple cider vinegar, 5 garlic cloves, chopped, 1/2 a sweet onion, chopped, a handful of fresh cilantro, also chopped, 3 or 4 dried bay leaves, and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes. I added a little bit of olive oil, about 1/2 a cup, and let it sit overnight in this mixture, covered closely with plastic wrap. In the morning, I turned it over and let it sit another 3-4 hours.

I browned the roast in a cast iron pan set to medium-high, turning it every couple of minutes for even browning, and placed it in an enamel roasting pan sprayed with a little cooking spray (I used the bottom of my enameled broiler pan). I separated the onions and garlic from the marinade with a slotted spoon, and fried them until the edges of the onion turned brown. Then I added 1/2 can of chicken broth to deglaze the pan, and poured that mixture over the roast. I covered it with aluminum foil, and roasted it at 300 F for 4 1/2 hours, along with some sweet potato and white potato put into the oven during the last 1 1/2 hours of baking. The potatoes will take a little bit longer due to the low temp of the oven, so you can poke them with a knife and microwave them for about 4-5 minutes to get them started if you are short on time. I removed the roast and took off the foil, then used one piece of foil to make a loose tent over the meat. I let it rest about 1/2 hour or so, then I shredded the meat with two forks, pulling it apart. I discarded any bones and large pieces of fat, and stirred the meat up with the juices from the pan. Watch out for the bay leaves, one of them got past me when I fried the onions and garlic from the marinade.

This would make a great weekend dish, and I’m betting it can be done in a crockpot as well. You could make pulled pork sandwiches and bring them along for a picnic. Be aware that the roast will shrink a bit, so figure that into your portions when calculating them. This stuff is unbelievable, so count on people coming back for seconds! I used an inexpensive pork roast, with a small bone in and a large piece of fat on the back; I think it was about 89 cents a pound. I got a 6-7 lb. roast for less than $6.00, so you don’t have to buy anything pricey for this dish.

You could also serve a mojito before dinner. Only one though, if you make them right you can’t taste the rum!

——————-

It’s cooling off a bit. Today it’s supposed to be 65 F, as opposed to the 70’s from yesterday. My dashboard weather indicator says it will be in the 50’s the rest of this week. Still, all the trees are budding out and the azaleas are blossoming. It’s wonderful to sit on the porch in the morning with my coffee, watching the sun rise. I can hear a mourning dove cooing and see the light touching the delicate spray of green on the maple trees on my street. Sometimes a lone jogger runs by, but for the most part it is quiet early in the morning. This morning I caught sight of the waning moon in the pre-dawn sky. There’s something about moon gazing that is very restful to the soul.

Robert’s busy with work today, so I’m going to refocus on my fiction writing for at least part of the day. I’m still reading “Sperm Wars” by Robin Baker, but it’s going to take me a day or two at least to wade through the material enough to give it a thoughtful review. I delayed my fiction writing due to having a nasty cold, which I am now over, thank goodness! Also, writing requires big chunks of uninterrupted time, which means I have to shut off the phone, the chat, and force myself not to check my inbox every time something shows up. Once I get rolling, it’s not a huge effort, but it’s amazing how a tiny interruption can throw off my train of thought. The hazards of having a big imagination, I suppose. When you’re in creating mode, everything becomes fodder for writing, so you have to protect yourself against distractions and focus on the story.

That said, I’m off to do some plotting, have a great day!

Mouthwatering Aroma

Wow. I’ve been cooking this roast since 11:30 this morning, and the place is oozing with the delicious smell of roast park. I took it out of the marinade and browned it in a cast iron pan before putting it in the oven. Then, because I am a frugal New Englander, I scooped the onion and garlic out of the marinade and browned those up as well. I deglazed the pan with a little low-sodium chicken broth, and poured it on top of the roast:

A little while ago, I washed and stabbed a couple of sweet potatoes and a few white potatoes and stuck those in next to the roasting pan. I might whip them together with a little real butter and some salt and pepper. A dash of milk, ’cause I am out of cream. Maybe some spinach on the side. I’m also giving some to my neighbors, as I am going to have enough to feed an army. I don’t even know if I bought the right cut, I just got a roast that looked good. It has a small round bone in it; I wish Alton could tell me if that is a butt roast or what, ’cause it didn’t say on the package. I’m sure it will be good no matter what.

I got the laundry all done, thank you Garden Island Cleaners. That’s one of the cleanest laundromats I’ve ever been to, and they always have someone on hand to keep an eye on the place and assist customers. You have to buy a card, which you load money onto, and that saves me from going to the bank to get quarters. The card is re-usable.

Once I’d put the wash in, I walked over to The Bayou Kitchen for breakfast. I hadn’t been there in a while and I had forgotten how good the food is there! My waiter was very friendly and took my order right away. The atmosphere there is nice and cozy, old-fashioned tables, posters in the window for local activities, and a couple of chalk boards listing their specials and the types of breads they offer with your meal. I had the Cajun Scramble: eggs, crawfish, andouille sausage, jalepenos, and cheddar cheese, with wheat toast and a side of grits. It was delicious, and I practically inhaled it. Had to force myself to stop and taste the crawfish and sausage, I was so hungry! I topped the grits with locally made hot sauce, and they were awesome. I’ll get the hot sauce name later. I was busy reading “Sperm Wars,” by Robin Baker. The chef asked me how my meal was, and I think he was the owner, then handed me a take-out menu. Truly, this is an awesome place to have a relaxed and tasty breakfast in Portland. It’s real easy to get to, just take Forest Ave. from downtown and take a hard left onto Deering (across from Dunkin donuts). Deering is one-way on that block, so you can’t get to it from the other direction. Parking is on the street, and if you have trouble, park on Forest or on one of the side streets, ’cause it’s worth it! This is where the locals go, and we locals know our stuff when it comes to good eats.

After I got back with the laundry, we had some time to kill, so we went over to the Eastern Prom above the East End Beach. It was wicked windy, so we plunked down behind some bushes, and I wandered off to take some pics while Robert read his latest book. That man is a book-reading machine! After I’d had enough, we drove down to the parking lot below and I took some pics of the waves on the beach and the truck ferry loading some dump trucks. You can see them here. I am trying to figure out why some come out hazy and blueish and others are clear. Maybe I am using the wrong setting? I asked my photographer friend Jill, who is an accomplished and successful photographer in Phoenix, Arizona. Hopefully she’ll be able to shed some light on the matter, so to speak.

I have to give a shout-out to my awesome sister-in-law, Beth, who has finally entered the blogging arena. She is a whirlwind, as well as an all-around nice person. Make sure to bookmark her blog, I’m sure you’ll be seeing some interesting stuff there.

Pulled Pork

I marinated a butt roast in salt water and molasses yesterday, per this recipe by Alton Brown. Last night, I took it out of the brine and stabbed it, then made up a marinade consisting of chopped garlic, cilantro, chopped onion, apple cider vinegar, a bit of olive oil, and the juice of one lemon and one orange. Turned it over this morning. I’m going to roast it at about 300 F for several hours and see what happens. Trying to decide if I should sear it in the cast iron pan before roasting. It does give it good flavor when you sear it first.

Got a bunch of books at the library the other day. “The Game” has yet to arrive, however. I’m not against buying books, but I normally don’t buy books that I’m not intending to keep in my permanent personal library, waste of trees, yanno. If Neil Strauss wants to send me a copy, I’m up for that, heh. In case you missed it, I recently did a review of “Magic Bullets,” by Nick Savoy.

I skimmed “Love Matters,” by Dr. Phil last night. It’s not really pertinent to the Pick-Up Artist discussion we’ve been having though. It’s written to women who are looking for a man. I’m sure it’s full of good info, but Dr. Phil takes a long time to get to the meat. There’s a lot of “I’m going to show you/share techniques with you,” stuff, and I wanted to say, “Dr. Phil, I get what you’re saying, now let’s get down to the nitty gritty!” I did appreciate his honesty in sharing his past mistakes with his wife, and I admire his wife a lot more now. I didn’t know that much about her, but she has put up with a lot of crap from Dr. Phil so more power to her.

I’m afraid I don’t have too many crap-putting-up-with stories here on the Monteux homefront. We get along pretty well and if Robert says something bad, he holds out his hand and says, “I’m bad. Slap me, go ahead, I deserve it.” And I usually end up laughing.

Moving on, I have the following books to read:

Absent Fathers, Lost Sons, by Guy Corneau

The Evolution of Desire, by David Buss

Intimate Behavior, by Desmond Morris

Sperm Wars, by Robin Baker

Getting To I Do, by Dr. Patricia Allen and Sandra Harmon (I’ve read this one before but it was a long time ago)

I’ll be posting reviews as I read, in between all the other things I’ve got going on. Today’s my mundane chore day, gotta take care of the house and things like laundry. Also, it’s gonna be wicked nice out again today, so I’ll probably be heading out to the water again this afternoon. Everyone here is really happy about the nice weather after such a long and dreary winter. I think we had upwards of 100 inches of snow this winter. Makes the nice weather seem all the sweeter!

East End Beach

We drove over to East End Beach, and I walked up and down with my camera. It is gorgeous today, not quite as warm as they predicted, but I was quite comfortable in my shorts and sandals, along with a tank top covered by a light cotton flannel shirt. There was a sailboat in the bay, and lots of people out with their kids and dogs. Portland is a dog-fanatic city, there are dogs everywhere, and during the spring and fall you will see them at the East End Beach, galloping in the water and rushing madly to catch tennis balls flung by their owners.

There was an adorable Papillion cavorting around his mistress, and she kindly allowed me to photograph him (his name is Obie):

I walked down the beach to the rocky part. We have a lot of rocks in Maine, in case you didn’t know. I decided to try the video option on my new digital camera and film some waves. They picked up a little because a big tanker was pulling out to sea. You can see it on YouTube here. Please be gentle with me, it’s my first video! I think it got compressed too much in iMovie, so will have to figure that out now. Yet another software to learn!

After the beach, we went to the Old Port and got a couple of hot dogs from Mark. Mark has had a hot dog stand on Middle Street since 1983. He has one called “The Bomb,” that includes chili and sauerkraut, which I highly recommend. I’d show you a picture, but it’s inside my stomach right now.

If you want to see the rest of my pics, go here.

Good Eats courtesy of Alton Brown

I made Cuban style fish last night, using a recipe from Emeril. Yowsa, was that good! Covering the fish with tomato paste keeps it moist. Thanks, Emeril!

Today I’m brining a pork roast to make pulled pork tomorrow. I am using Alton Brown’s brining method from this recipe. However, I think instead of the rub, I am going to marinate it overnight with some citrus accents, and maybe some cilantro. I know, I know, some people say cilantro tastes like soap, but I love it and so does Robert.

Perhaps then I’ll do a citrus glaze when I cook it. I don’t have a smoker, so it’s gonna have to go in the oven low and slow. Then I’m gonna “pull” it using forks. I have some leftover jicama and carrot salad from last night, and I am gonna make some beans and rice for the side.

Well folks, it’s pretty warm here in Portland today. I’m gonna go get ready to head to the beach. Maybe I’ll post some pics later. Have a wonderful day!

Earth Day

It’s a little foggy this morning; well, we are on the coast, after all. No doubt it will clear up shortly, and the weather is supposed to be grand today and tomorrow. It’s warming up. I noticed the azaleas are starting to bud out. Here’s a pic for my good friend and fellow blogger, Psychicgeek:

First of all, I could not get to the library yesterday: it was Patriot’s Day and the library was closed. Which I realized when I walked up to the doors and saw the big iron gates drawn across the entry way. So I’ll go back today to get all the books I ordered for review. I also did not get to the grocery store, as we had too many other things going on. So we stopped for sandwiches at Kim’s on St. John Street. Not only are the sandwiches tasty, they are so friendly and welcoming that just the experience of ordering leaves you feeing satisfied. We Portlanders have so much diversity in the way of food and cultures here.

So today is Earth Day. What does that mean for the average citizen? It means being aware. Awareness is the first step to any major change, so for all the cynics out there who think it’s just a waste of time, think again. It only took one person, Rachel Carson, the author of Silent Spring, to bring awareness to the minds of millions. She single-handedly started a movement in the right direction, and it is up to us to make sure her efforts do not go to waste.

My biggest concern is water, in particular ground water. If you live in America or any developed country, you may not be especially concerned about the quality of your water. You can turn on the tap and drink safely and take a nice hot shower, do your dishes and you laundry. That’s a wonderful thing, yet there are parts of the world who do not have this luxury.

“So what?” you say. “I can’t help the entire Third World, I’m only one person!”

My answer to that is to look around your own neighborhood.

The next time you take a step outdoors, even if it’s to and from your car, look down at your feet. What are you standing on? Is it grass, or is it blacktop or cement? Chances are you have to step across some blacktop or cement to get to your car.

Now picture a coffee maker. You put your filter in every morning, add the ground coffee, and get a lovely stimulating beverage to start your day. Mmmm, tasty, isn’t it?

Try making your coffee without the filter and see what happens. It turns into a mess, a very nasty mess of water and bitter grounds. Not very appetizing, is it?

The ground is a filter. The more we pave over this filter, the worse it will be. Water has to go somewhere when it rains, and what’s happening is the water runs off instead of being absorbed into the ground, the Earth’s natural filter.

To add to the mix, homeowners and corporations alike are adding things like chemicals and fertilizers to the ground. When you fertilize your lawn to get that lush green look, you are adding nitrates to the groundwater. When a corporation dumps waste, it gets into your drinking water. We’re all familiar with pollution. It gets into the air and we get acid rain. Acid rain leaches things like calcium out of the soil. For the Earth, it means trees turn yellow and whither, as they are not getting the proper mix of nutrients. Trees and plants need vitamins too! For the homeowner, it means your tomato plants will yellow and not produce, particularly if you have a very wet Spring.

Some solutions to avoid the damages of runoff would be a roof top gardens or a rain garden. Instead of the rain washing off the dirty roofs, it gets absorbed into the dirt. Rooftop gardens also have many other benefits, they provide insulation so that heat and air conditioning loss is minimized, resulting in less use of energy. They are also very enjoyable oases in a city full of pollution. More and more places are utilizing this simple solution because it’s not only pleasant, it’s smart business.

Another thing to consider is growing grass that’s more suited to your region. Many grasses will go dormant in the hotter months and come back again in the fall. If you plant a grass seed that’s native to your location, you will be able to avoid a lot of the problems associated with trying to upkeep a lawn that should be growing in Florida instead of the Midwest. What about weeds? After your lawn is established, you can use a product in the Spring that’s environmentally friendly instead of herbicides. If you do use herbicides, follow the guidelines outlined in this article. Americans can find out more about what grasses grow well in their area by contacting your County Extension Office.

Heavy applications of chemical fertilizers upset the balance of nature. They seep into the ground, and often travel miles underground in aquifers, only to cause overgrowth of plants in nature preserves. Nitrates in large amounts can be fatal to babies. Try to avoid them in favor of organic fertilizers, which are available at many garden centers. I’ve experimented with these, and they do indeed make your grass green and lush, without harming the environment.

You can see there are many steps you can take as an individual to improve the quality of life on the planet. You can choose to give to organizations who are promoting water quality, take steps in your own backyard, join an environmental group, or write to your local representative to admonish them to fight for legislation to regulate ground water quality.

Have a great day, and be kind to the Earth and yourself.