RandellFever

Something Like Ratatouille

Let me start by saying that I’ve never eaten ratatouille before now.  I thought that it was a joke name for a fake rat dish until just a couple of years ago. Yeah, I know but still. Recently I was turned on to the idea of making the all vegetable dish by a funky little creature called @deekdeekster. I watched a YouTube video and chose the Julia Child method of cooking each vegetable individually. With a slight ingredients list and no idea what was about to happen I went to the market and bought some stuff for what turned into a three and a half hour vegetable slaughtering house party. Here’s how it went down in picture format.

Ramen or Penne Lisce pasta… both delicious.

Onion ringlets

Blanche tomatoes.

Get the seeds and goo out.

Peel and cube or strip the eggplant and zucchini.

Let them sit and sweat for a half an hour then rinse the water and salt off.

Fry on high… no, I mean high!

Crush and dice that crazy garlic now. Put it in! 2 heaping teaspoons of chili powder, a hand cup of basil and thyme and 3 bay leaves. Add a half cup of water and turn the heat down to medium low and cover for about 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Ignore the Italian sausage, what am i supposed to do? It’s all veg so… Eat it!

I have no idea if it tastes anything like ratatouille but it’s delicious. Here’s the video I used to help…
YouTube link to Ratatluille

Enjoy and have a safe landing.

Dig This Crazy Moth!

This moth is orange and had a lovely attitude.

It’s planet of origin is unconfirmed.

Curryish Beef

While in the home of an Indian family I was given a box of curry powder mix that they use straight out of their own cupboard. I assume that’s the traditional custom although I didn’t ask. All she said is that it’s really hot and spicy so only use half of the mix and use it on chicken so naturally I used it all in a delicious beef dish. Here’s how it went down in picture format.

This stuff’s the Shan!!

Brown rice… meat… beans…

Now make a volcano with the olive oil for fun.

Only work with curry using the cutest utensils possible.

The rest is pretty obvious.

Spinach… I don’t think I mentioned the spinach.

Now plate it and take an unusually close picture of it just before eating it.

And have some milk handy because this is one hot dish. There’s a clove of garlic but my feelings aren’t hurt that I didn’t give it any screen time. Now eat it.

Your Friend,

Randell

Amos BBQ & Biscuits

Today I went for BBQ at one of the local dives that I haven’t been to before. Small place with room for about a dozen inside at the most. I was a bit of an outsider as everyone seemed to know everyone except the weirdo that ordered enough food for 4, only ate a few bites of everything, took pictures and wrote in his little red book more than he ate.  Here’s how it went down in picture format.

Before the kid took my order he had to yell back into the kitchen “I’m helping a customer, Mama! What can I getcha?”

He sold me on the pulled pork, brunswick stew, fried okra and baked beans. forget all that, look inside this place.

The brunswick stew comes out first… appetizing appetizer.

Let’s look at pig butt and dead confederates.

No time for love Dr. Jones, cuisine is here in a jiffy!

The baked beans, average. The okra, really good. The sauce mild, slightly tangy and sweet. The pork, outstanding. Tender and subtly smoky. Now lets get brave and surprise the kitchen with a quick uninvited photo.

The element of surprise not always being the best bet, I’m being chased out of the kitchen… but not without evidence.

A great experience and fantastic people. The place is so small that you almost have to sit with someone to eat inside if there’s more that 4 people there. A man even took a guitar off the wall and played a couple of tunes before he left. I didn’t get a picture because my fingers were covered in sauce but trust me, it happened. I ordered a half rack of ribs and a couple of sides for a leftover test that I’ll post tomorrow.

Hope you feel as sticky as I do my lolly jollies.

Update: Leftover post will just be a little addition here.

To be honest, this stuff is fantastic heated up.

Especially the ribs. The dry rub is best without any sauce at all.

Happy Sticky!

Random Sketch

I’m not sure what to name the species or the individual. I am sure that it must have a massive colon.

Bob Hope

I met a very interesting man named Bob Hope. He’s a golfer and a machinist. I was sent to his house on an errand and before I knew it he was showing me his workshop, his toys that he’d made over the years, and old things that he’s collected. He told me 5 times that he’s been divorced for 29 years so I guess that’s worth a mention. Before I knew it he had pulled out a solid stick of bronze and began making me a ball marker for when I’m golfing on the green. I don’t play golf. Whatever, here’s how it went down in picture format.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Bob Hope.

Bob has one of the first electric refrigerators ever made. He got it out of a trash pile around 40 years ago and fixed it.

Over 100 years old he thinks and it still works.

The process of making a custom ball marker took about 45 minutes. Good thing he had a stick of raw bronze handy.

He tapped my initials onto the bottom using an 80 year old set of letter stamps.

Intermission.

Polish… seriously Bob Hope? Seriously.

I now have my very own ball marker on the off chance that I decide to pick up golf. I wonder if the kids on the coarse will make fun of me for having a homemade one instead of a flashy plastic one… Behold.

And that was my experience with Bob Hope. What i didn’t get a picture of was the air controlled train whistle that he made and mounted to his 1975 Jeep that he has been preparing for the upcoming Georgia Steam Engine Festival in October… I mean, I had to go man!

Hope you had a great time… Word.

Pig Face Fiasco (Hog Jowl)

Today my only goal was to go to a local BBQ dive and rate the pork. I’ve been looking forward to it all week. When I got there they were closed… figures. Luckily I had a slab of hog jowl in the fridge ready to roll. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the cuisine, it’s literally the side of the face. Here’s how it went down in picture format.

Sweet Cheeks

Now have some fruit while it cooks… for balance.

Keep it healthy, paper towel it to soak up some grease.

Turnip greens with turnips, onions and a ton of cayenne pepper.

Now put that face in your face.

So there you go. Now go try some pig cheek, my lovelies.

The Tallest Man On Earth

This is what i’m listening to right now… like right now.

The Tallest Man on Earth: Where Do My Bluebird Fly from shoottheplayer.com on Vimeo.

The Sardine Experience

Now just throw that shit in the yard and have some raisin bran. Have a nice summer.

Urban Art

This is a nice little shot of some urban art that i picked up downtown the other day. Just found it again so you look at it too.

Now that was fun… wasn’t it.