Testing

Welcome to our little internet cafe, where you'll find our musings on life, love, magic, music, food, spirituality, and more.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Hiro and the Pretty Pretty Day


Couldn't have been a prettier day to take Hiro out for a test... float?
Rocky Gorge Reservoir, Laurel, MD

Saturday, September 13, 2014

The Blog that Wanted to be a Real Boy

So if you suddenly decide your play blog should grow up to be a real blog, there are a few things you really need.  And Justin's birthday gave us an excuse to procure one of them today.  Meet the newest member of our family, Hiro.  He's a GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition.  We are still just in awe of the quality.  Sadly, we didn't realize until we got home that there was no adapter to attach Hiro to the new tripod we got for him.  But there has been plenty of other fun to be had while we learn how to play together.  He will be behind the scenes from now on, mostly, but will have a byline in every post!

Monday, September 8, 2014

Fierce Fierke Pickles

For the past two years, I have enjoyed the most perfect pickle EVER at Stones Rising, thanks to the pickling genius of Eric F.  This year, he graciously consented to give me his recipe.  This weekend, I made my first batch of what I will now call my Fierce Pickles.  He said I should feel free to "add more peppers," so of course... I added the rest of the Tabascos that Justin and I grew and then froze, ditto for a couple of habaƱeros, ditched the jalapeƱos in favor of some serranos, and left in the poblano, just because I like the flavor.  I also added a TON of garlic, and lots of onions.

I didn't ask Eric what process he used, so I just winged it... chopped everything up, sprinkled with a bunch of sea salt, threw it in a ziplock bag and put it in the fridge for about 3 hours, mushing it around a couple of times.  Then I dumped it all in a colander and rinsed it very, very thoroughly.

I then packed it all in jars (this made 3 quarts perfectly), heated up the brine made with Eric's recipe, and ladled the boiling mixture over the vegetables.  These are just refrigerator pickles, as I didn't process them, but the jars sealed up tight and now I am going to have to discipline myself not to taste-test an entire quart before they're done!

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Ethiopian Experiment #1

Today I finally tried my hand at making Ethiopian food at home.  Which is brave, on many levels, not the least of which is that Justin and I just got over a bout of intestinal ickiness.  But we picked up some boneless butterflied lamb leg yesterday and spent today ferreting out all the fun "extras" needed.

I wanted to try to replicate our favorite meal from Bete in downtown Silver Spring: the vegetarian platter with lamb tibs. I got worn out before I got around to making the beets, and I decided just one lentil dish was sufficient, and I left out the green been and potato thingie because this was just plain enough food... but otherwise, it was most of the same stuff.

Part of the fun was finding two versions of niter kibbeh, the spiced clarified butter so ubiquitous in Ethiopian cuisine. We also did some Google gymnastics to find alternative names, and managed to find nigella seeds and black cardamom.  The collards and the cabbage with carrots were the surprise scene stealers.  The red lentils, I'm gonna have to play with the recipe for them.  The one I followed called for an inordinate amount of water and then for draining them... but they still just wound up kinda watery.  The biggest issue with everything will be simple to fix next time though:  nothing was spicy enough!  But... here's how I made it all this time, with planned tweaks for next.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Stones Rising 2014


Our second time at Stones Rising together.  It was a very different experience from last year's, but powerful in different ways and memorable for different reasons. Of course, there are some things (themes?) that repeat year after year, but each trip down the path to the Stones is utterly unique.

Justin got to do a little more this year with the Stone Crew, something he really loves and to which he feels a great pull, as he does with fire.

I (Sunny) spent most of the week being an active Witness through photos, recorded memories, and an intentional mindset of watchfulness. Not always a quest to see the big picture and not having the same weighty implications as "mindfulness," watchfulness became an exercise in becoming The Observer.  It's an interesting perspective, if you can sustain it.  And quite desirable for the insights it can bring to light.