slymongoose

328 Chinese

2010-01-08T11:44:10Z

Groot and I went to 328 Chinese on Wednesday night, Jan/6/2010 and, once again, I was blown away by the amazing cooking skills of John and his lovely wife, Min.

Groot ran into them in Soccoro where a select gang of miscreants known as Clan Spum (don't ask) would gather on Thursday nights and have Chinese Pi-Gowt ("Pig-Out") Night. During one of these, someone (probably Groot) asked John to make him General Tso style Scallops. John, good sport that he is, was willing, for an extra price. They were willing to pony up. Thus an awful tradition of Luxury was born! I have benefited, personally, from this. Not at first, because Groot would come up and tell me about these meals and I'd writhe around and howl because I had no way to drive down there to join them and experience this wonderful dish.

Then, John and Min moved up here to Albuquerque. Bwah ha ha!The spoon was on the other side of the plate, now.

Fortunately, Groot missed it, too, so we went and I asked if we could get the scallops? Why, yes, we could! BLISS!

Let me tell you, the man is a genius. His General Tso's was not just spicy. It is a complex and amazing dish. Studded with minced garlic, the sauce is light and has more flavor chops then a Bruce Lee film festival. Having this prep on Scallops is a dream come true.

This last Wednesday, Groot had a yen for shrimp, though. So we asked for a mixed plate of scallops and shrimp. John was gracious enough to make it up for us. I insisted we call in advance since sitting there waiting with the amazing aromas is too much for me.

We also wanted another dish, I voted for Szechuan eggplant, but John said he was out of eggplant! Tragedy! I asked if we could bring him some, would he be willing to do it up for us? He said yes! So, we scooted to the store and I made Groot get 3 of them. Hey, if we're going to make the man work his magic, might as well do a good batch (and I could take the rest home!).

The eggplant was handed off and the dish came shooting out of the kitchen in maybe 3 minutes. It was perfectly cooked through, soft and melting, yet not mush. It had texture and was delicately flavored with ginger and... well, perfection!

I know I am peppering this review with too many exclamation points. But, if you had been there and tasted this meal, you'd be going !, too!

All I can say is, if you have a craving for Chinese and you're in Albuquerque, head for 328 Chinese, 5617 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110 Phone= (505) 881-4468
I can't guarantee they'll make you the scallops, but you can ask. I know I sure will the very next time I am there!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

2010-01-08T00:45:22Z

I wanted to recreate the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes at Ezra's, as if I had any chance to - Ha! But having a little extra $ on hand, I thought I'd give it a whirl, with diabetic modifications. I based my attempt off Giada De Laurentis' recipe for Ricotta Pancakes:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/ricotta-pancakes-recipe/index.html

Here's what I did to the poor, unsuspecting recipe:

For the Honey sauce, I substituted in
* Zest of 1/2 a lemon
* 2 T of I Can't Believe it's Not Butter (cause it's soft and creamy)
* 1/3 C sugar free honey (Honey Tree brand I found it at Wal-Mart and it rocks!
http://www.honeytreehoney.com/specialty-sugarfree.html)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 1 2/3 C Make this total amount of Juice of 1 lemon, zest of 1/2 a lemon and
add water with sugar free lemonade drink powder a little strong to taste.
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Torani sugar free vanilla syrup
* 2 cups pancake and waffle mix (recommended: Krusteaz)
* 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
* I skipped the blueberries because I wanted intense lemon flavor!
* Melted butter (I did use the real stuff for the griddle)

Directions

I mushed up the 3 ingredients for the sauce, did not heat it and set it aside. It melts fast enough on the cakes.
After that, I followed the recipe just as she had it.

Results? Um.... well.... Good taste, but I think I needed to fluff up the ricotta before adding it to the batter. I didn't see the show where she made these, so I probably missed a trick. Maybe with some of the lemonade water? Because stirring it in rather killed the fluffy texture. My baking Fu is weak! I know this. I just don't do it often. So, I'll try it next time. And there will be a next time, because these were good!

Happy Birthday, New Mexico!

2010-01-06T22:38:46Z

The Land of Enchantment is 98 years old today. Yay!

T-Day Bump - All Better Now

2010-01-04T00:57:07Z

On Thanksgiving my friend, Carol forgot my *New* (almost 4 months old) car was parked behind hers in the driveway and backed up into it. She was MORTIFIED, of course. Here's the damage (It looks worse because of the winter frost all over it) :

The Hyundai dealership folks looked at it and the paint guy said he could do it without involving a body shop, so I figured I'd give his a shot at it, save Carol some money. Well, he did an Excellent Job! With one small blip. He had pulled out then panel and secured it with a "clip." All fine and good. He had just completed the painting and it was perfect, a glistening lake of "Laguna Sand!" And then the clip broke. Aieee! The paint guy couldn't mess with it or he'd have to re-paint. So, I took the car back for a weekend then brought it back in. There is now just a teensy little blip in the paint on the edge of the seam, but I think it's still pretty covered and looks beautiful once again. Yay! :

RIP: Aunt Dorothy

2010-01-03T00:30:40Z

My Aunt Dorothy passed away in Michigan today at 3:00pm EST.

Tournament of Roses - New Mexico Float

2010-01-01T19:57:32Z

I just saw the New Mexico entry in the Tournament of Roses Parade and it was Wonderful! It featured Pepe LePew and Penelope (remember "The Perils of?" well, I guess she was named after that famous lady, always in dire troubles for a good reason!). Penelope, faced with Pepe as a persistant suitor, has grabbed onto a balloon basket and is scrambling into it at the International Balloon Fiesta! Such Fun!

From the article:

Academy-Award®-winning Pepé Le Pew and Penelope Pussycat, entertainers of the young and the young at heart for more than 60 years, will take to the southern California skies aboard one of the Land of Enchantment’s most iconic images when New Mexico’s float – “Enchantment is in the Air” - travels Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, California January 1 in the 2010 Tournament of Roses® Parade.

The float design was unveiled this evening (October 29, 2009) at a reception at the Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum – a fitting location considering New Mexico is America’s premier ballooning capital; and Pepé Le Pew and Penelope Pussycat were created by the late cartoonist Chuck Jones. Even with his passing, Chuck’s ties to New Mexico remain strong - one of the three Chuck Jones Galleries is located near the Santa Fe Plaza.

Here is the concept art. I hope you caught the live view of the float. I'm looking for a picture of it. Meantime, this!:

NYE 2009

2010-01-01T05:07:33Z

Had loaded beef fajitas nachos, a MmmMMMmmmargharita with Patron Silver and a Blue Moon for NYE. Who is so rich as I?
If I don't make it to Midnight, here is a noisemaker noise:
Fweeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Merry Catmas!

2009-12-24T01:28:48Z

... and Stay WARM!

Happy Holidays to You All!

2009-12-23T00:59:05Z

Princess Knows Best (?!)

2009-12-21T11:50:51Z

see more Epic Fails

O. M. G.
and... "Princess"? ... Reeeeally?
This is why we need sex-ed in schools. Not because mom didn't tell her - it's because she didn't believe her!

Lebkuchen

2009-12-18T02:38:57Z

I went pretty nuts trying to find Lebkuchen (Contessa by Bahlsen) this year. All the online sources I hunted had already sold out. This, this morning, I did another search and Cost Plus (an import store like Pier 1 but better because they have food) popped up. They don't sell them online but there is one in town so I took a chance and went over. They had a lovely HUGE display of assorted ones! My fav, "Contessa" the sugar glazed with a bittersweet chocolate bottom, "Shoko" - which is totally covered in bittersweet chocolate and others. Yay!

It was more important to me to find them this year (well, it's become important every year to me since they are SooOoooo good!) because this year's Christmas Eve Dinner theme is Germany!

I'll get the menu down here for you, ASAP. Groot graciously ordered most of the food from germandeli.com.

So, now, I can relax a bit and I plan on enjoying the hell out of a cookie - RIGHT NOW. w00t!

H1N1

2009-12-16T14:05:13Z

I got my H1N1 'Flu shot yesterday. Yay!

Back in the Comfy Chair Again

2009-12-07T10:53:44Z

Groot brought back my computer chair last night in a state of total repair - YAY!!!
Somehow, I managed to break one of the bolts holding the base and back to the arms clean off, leaving some of the bolt burrowed deep down in the bolt-hole. My theory is that it and it's fellows got loose and thus more strain and sideways torque was placed upon it. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!
I could not screw a new bolt in, which I figured would turn the broken part and drop it down into the chair base where it could live forevermore. No, this was a job for someone who had the means to get a-holt of that thar bolt and twist it out so a totally new bolt could be inserted.
That someone was Groot's friend, Joe. He is a Jack-of-all-trades in Grootville and keeps busy fixing darn near everything. He is The Man, The Myth, The Moustache.
And, Lo! He fixed it but good! And I am one happy Mongoose.
Thanks, Joe!

I Make a Fonny at Wolfgang :D

2009-12-05T01:53:36Z

moar funny pictures

Needling the Issue

2009-09-22T12:48:39Z

I have put on my Devil's Advocate outfit for this entry and boy! Do I look cute in it! Oh, ahem... back to the topic!
My question, for the Court of Opinion is this:

Does the *TYPE* of needle used to draw blood effect the blood alcohol content test?

That is one argument going on in the trial of a drunk Lawyer here, who ran down a man crossing a street in Santa Fe, killing him. He had a passenger in the car, a police officer of some rank who was also drunk. They have video of the suspects being taken from the car showing them disorientated, at the very least. They had been downing more than a couple in a bar and stayed there for quite a bit of time before getting in their car and driving. They are also trying the passenger/policeman for not stopping his drunk buddy from driving that night.

They are saying that the nurse who drew the blood for the blood alcohol test did it with the wrong type of needle.

I just cannot think, beyond some amazing conspiracy theories of needles or vials the blood was drawn into containing secret shots of tequila (frozen margaritas for the Cold War Conspiracy spin!), how this could possibly effect the test!

So, how many of you think with me that this is a total waste of the court's time?

Hatch '09

2009-09-19T11:52:06Z

Gosh, I've been away a long time. :( Sorry! I got sucked into some online games to distract me from Life and it succeeded far beyond my expectations.

So, to get myself back, here is a report on the Green Chile crop for this year!

Hatch'09 is a Jekyll and Hyde deal. Friends up in Colorady report amplified heat. My first few bites were extremely mild. Then I got one that was challenging! Ok, it made me run around in panicked circles, then it let go in about 10 minutes. Next few were back to extreme mild. Go figure. That's all I can say.

Hatch'09 Report

2009-07-31T12:11:36Z

The green chile crop for this year is hitting Albuquerque today! Farmers say it could be the best crop in 10 years. No info on heat levels or flavor, yet. I say it will have a hard time beating the '07 crop for my perfect heat & flavor levels.

We All Float Down Here

2009-07-30T03:43:12Z

A drink with Jagermeister and Rumplemintz together is called a Dead Nazi.

So... If I put Jagermeister in Root Beer* and add vanilla Ice Cream can I call it a Floating Nazi?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(* - yes, it's diet root beer because I'm diabetic.)

PBR Fantasy - Season 2

2009-07-22T21:48:15Z

Bubba Mae done ok!

Season Two Rank: #3430
Season Two Points: 7101.00

It's not a giant leap forward but it's far from a cow flop. Ha!

PBR Fantasy is Back!

2009-07-17T01:17:24Z

Bubba Mae is all excited! After the summer break, the Bulls are back! WhooHoo and Yeeeeehaw!
See: http://roadtovegas.pbrfantasy.com/

Here's mah choices for the US Border Patrol Invitational:
Cowboys: Marchi, Briscoe, Dirteater, McCoy * & Jenkins
Bulls: Voodoo Child, Chicken on a Chain, Commotion & El Presidente.

Wish me luck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* - Welcome back, Cord McCoy! We missed you!

Wendy's - Spicy Asian Chicken

2009-07-13T23:03:31Z

I just tried Wendy's Spicy Asian Chicken. w00t! It really is spicy! Great sauce which I suspect is loaded with sugar. Otherwise it's chicken nuggets. y'know? It would be messy to eat with the fingers, though. I put them on a salad with a little extra asian type dressing. I can see doing a semi-home-made stir fry of veggies with these atop it. But still, pretty good. I'd order them again.

So make that an Official Mongoose Approved Product. Yay!

Physical Therapy - Enter The Pool

2009-07-13T22:55:04Z

I had my first Physical Therapy in the pool today. They put weights on my ankles and sent me to the deep end.
*bloop*!

Well... and floats for my arms. Ha! So no, I didn't go to sleep with the fishes. The weird thing is - I liked it! It stretches out the spine and I just floated there, happily. The worst part? Getting back out.

Car Wars

2009-07-10T14:05:12Z

I think I have narrowed my car choice down to three.

1. Hyundai Elantra GLS
2. Toyota Corolla LE
3. the brand new Kia Forte' EX

The Hyundai seems to have the lead, on paper and costs the least for the same features.

Anyone have any input I should know about? Please let me know!

I will be taking a good male pal who is a local mechanic and knows many of the people in several dealerships along with me on this venture, which I hope to have done by the 20th. There is a town up North of me called Las Vegas, NM where they will be having a tour of historical houses starting the 27th. Also that week, the old restaurant up in Chimayo, Rancho de Chimayo will be re-opening after the fire they suffered last year. I really want to go to both.

Kitteh Restaurant Review

2009-07-03T05:40:31Z

Happy Birthday, agedwiz!

2009-07-03T04:33:20Z

Are you now in your Golden Beer Years?
*ducks!*