Wasn’t gonna do this! Very personal, very private! But after the past few months, after yesterday … I decided too. And it’s for me!!

Waneta Dam – June 1958

… defunkt the pistol that you pay for

in time I want to be your best friend, eastside love is living on the west end

go ask the dust for any answers

come back strong with 50 belly dancers

Bought this beer quite some time ago, just haven’t got around to trying it. What’s up with that? Usually I purchase and purge. It’s not like I’m aging it, like a fine wine. Moi not racing to down a beer, go figure? Cheers!!

some day you will find me caught beneath the landslide

I love rapini!! Just love it!! No matter what you fucking call it … broccoli rabe, or rapini. I was introduced to it many, many years ago and it’s without a doubt my favourite green to cook and eat. It’s my go to green. I’m lumping lots of vegetables into this category, some very similar in terms of classification, some not. Let me see … spinach, swiss chard, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, brussels sprouts immediately come to mind. This grouping, these types of vegetables is what I’m referring to. And since I am the one who cooks, and shops for the groceries too, I seem to never consider the other ones … and it’s not because I don’t like them, because I do. It’s just that they’re not on my radar when all I have is tunnel vision for broccoli rabe. The thing though is that most people DO NOT like rapini. In fact they HATE it!! I must admit, it really is an acquired taste … it can be very, very, bitter. Last night’s version was extremely bitter … and I loved it even more … the best I ever fucking made!! That appreciation is due to many, many servings of this fantastic food. Now I don’t even use recipes when I cook it … I think I used to, when I first started cooking it, and let me tell you … it’s all bullshit!! Initially, I used to take forever … carefully trimming every Goddamn piece!! Where now, I take my chef’s knife and cut just above the band, the Andy Boy band, discard the tied stalk below, keep the rest and voila, I immediately have a bunch ready to go. Next comes washing, and rinsing (multiple times) in a huge bowl. Ok, getting back to the bullshit part. Seems like these recipes insist on blanching the rapini, squeezing out excess water and then pan frying it!! That’s the fucking bullshit part folks!! So time consuming … what a fucking waste of time!! Not only is it it more difficult, but the results aren’t even as good. Oh, before I go further I want to point out, mention that the best best accompaniment to rapini is tilapia!! Absolutely the best … when done right, nothing, absolutely nothing beats this pairing!! Served with a fresh salad, Dodonis feta, kalamata olives, and a generous dollop of tzatziki!! I’m salivating thinking about it … But I digress, my apologizes. After multiple washes and rinses of the broccoli rabe, drain the excess water, leaving it wet throughout.This is key … those water droplets are essential and will come in handy during the braising process. Set aside the washed rapini, and heat a pot, preferably a heavy pot. I personally use Le Creuset … they’re the motherfucking best!! Turn the burner on high, pour a few splashes, tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and add a few smashed garlic gloves, only to infuse the oil and remove them after a few minutes, when they become dark golden brown … and now please pay attention here … add about 1 heaping tablespoon of chili flakes … crushed red pepper flakes (a little less if you’re shy … but I like heat, and in this recipe, when you do this, it really isn’t that hot) and let them dance in the bottom of the pan for 20 seconds. Now, when the pot is hot, throw in the slightly wet rapini, but don’t stir yet. Leave it be, don’t anything right away. Let it splatter and sizzle for a minute or two, then give a toss. Continue cooking like this for at least 5 minutes and up to ten … or so(I find the longer you cook it, the less bitter it is). Near the end of this process, you can squeeze a lemon on it, salt and pepper it liberally, turn off the heat, and put a lid on the pot until ready to serve. Easy, simple, done!! Yesterday to jazz it up, I first cubed and blanched three yukon gold potatoes until tender, drained the water, and hit them with butter, lemon, plenty of salt, and a special 4 peppercorn rub that I have. Then I put them into a saute pan and gently fried them, just to give them a light golden colour. When they were done, I added the spuds into the pot of rapini, gently tossed, kept a lid on it and waited until serving!! Now, I ask you … how fucking good is that??

This is a GREAT band, no doubting that, no questioning that!! Hey, personally I think they were the best band to come out of the 90’s. All Apologizes Nirvana (did you get that reference? No, seriously, did you?). But that debate is for a later date. Oh, and I realize, just in case you think I didn’t, that Appetite For Destruction debuted in the late 80’s, but I still consider them to be a 90’s band. At the present though we’re talking cover bands and I think that Guns is the GREATEST cover band (performer) of all time!! When you think covers, immediately Joe Cocker’s With A Little Help From My Friends comes to mind as perhaps the greatest cover ever. And you know what? … maybe it was. He also did The Letter, and You Are So Beautiful. Hey, no arguing he was great, despite his onstage antics, his pretend paraplegic performances … acting like a Goddamn gimped-out motherfucking retard!! Thing is though, that he was from a different era, a time so long ago. And also, there’s no denying Johnny Cash, and his covers. I mean, Jesus Christ when I hear Hurt, my fucking spine tingles!! After his version came out Trent Reznor even went so far as to say that Hurt now belongs to Johnny Cash!! Out of nowhere, it became his … I mean that’s some heady shit(praise). But Guns N’ Roses must lay claim to the greatest of all time. Live And Let Die is so, so fucking incredible!! What they did with that song just blows my mind … this was Axl in his prime, and the band at their best and until a few days ago I would have said the best cover of all time!! But Sympathy For The Devil is equally fucking awesome … I don’t know which one is better, they’re both motherfucking great!! Throw in Dylan’s Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door and Nazareth’s Hair Of The Dog … two more songs validating my opinion, and there it is, there we have it, the greatest cover band!! Go ahead, prove me wrong. Can’t do it!!

I went to a trendy, hip bakery today and the young female owner seeing that I was curious about a particular bread (actually it was a large bun) was insistent on letting me sample it. It was unique in that the complete exterior had a blackened, crispy crust … very much reminiscent of what caramelized onions look like, but really darkened and tasting nothing like onions would if they were caramelized. Oh, and it appeared to have an almost panko breadcrumb-ish like coating and the inside also had bits of this blackened crispy goodness mixed in as well, but was very light and fluffy … surprisingly, it was remarkably airy. I really was amazed at how good it was, and loved the balance of the textures!! Just curious, has anybody else ever seen, or tried this before?

we\’ll wake up, we\’ll make up, and do this for the last time

we’ll wake up, we’ll make up, and do this for the last time

if we break up, we’ll wind up losing both of our minds

make up your mind, and I’ll make up mine … don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine

This is my pick to win the Breeder’s Cup Classic on November 7 at Santa Anita. Let’s see if the winning streak will continue started by Sea The Stars!!

I said it before … and felt it needed repeating!!

So, I decided to steal … ok, ok, take a couple of my favourite dishes, ideas at least, from restaurants that I enjoy going to, and making it my own. From Allen’s on the Danforth I took their sweet potato fries served with a blue cheese/mayo dressing (but, actually jazzed it up to my liking) and combined it with Milestone’s Kobe Meatloaf (which, I also altered) …I’m serving it with a homemade 4 peppercorn, red wine reduction (Beaujolais to be precise)!! Pan seared, halved cremini mushrooms, seasoned with smashed garlic oil, and fresh thyme … and … oh, also milk-soaked sweet onions, then battered with a mixture of flour, cayenne, black pepper, and kosher salt … and then deep-pan fried (my own recipe, I might add)!!  How fucking good is that??

I like the way the black line runs up the back of your stockings. I’ve always liked those kind of high heels too.

Just digging shit right now!! Things are so motherfucking awesome for me right now!! What can I say? … lately I really really have the world by the proverbial balls …

All of this goodness makes feel like sharing a picture of myself … Christ!! I wanted to say it was a recent one, but after doing the math, it turns out it was taken almost 1 year ago. Not being one who loves the camera, I guess then for me it is fairly recent!! Whatever, I like this one!!

You\’re ageless timeless lace and fineness, you\’re beauty and elegance

Finally done with all of the Thanksgiving leftovers, save what turkey and ham I froze for a later time. I decided I needed to remove myself from that type of food for the next while so I’m going Mediterranean now!! I bought fresh tilapia, rapini (or how I prefer referring to it by its lesser known name of broccoli rabe … probably to fuck with people once again …lol), cremini mushrooms, garlic, yukon gold potatoes, vidalia onions, couscous, pita bread, tzatziki, kalamata olives, capers, lemons, and the undisputed king of all feta cheeses … Dodonis (imported from Greece … of course!!). My lady friend cashier noticed I had so much food and asked me if I was having a big dinner party. I said, “nope, just two of us”.  But I like to cook more than I need, just to be prepared in case people do come by. I mean, it certainly doesn’t hurt … and It’s great to enjoy the leftovers for a few days. I’m always going way overboard with this, with the excess … cuz, I guess that’s just how I motherfucking roll!!

I want to address this. I want to explain this. When I started blogging here, at WordPress, I really didn’t have a great pic to crop and insert. Hey, ideally my header would have been me on the mountain tops of B.C., standing on a 10 foot tree stump, pants down in all my glory taking a whiz (something I actually did, but my sis-in-law wanted no part in documenting with her camera … can’t say I blame her!!) overlooking my world, my kingdom, or what it appeared to be at the time, in such a glorious, peaceful setting. Still, it doesn’t detract from the beauty of this shot … and with the ChaoticSoul theme, the colours really blend so remarkably, so beautifully well together … and this is why I chose it!!  I must say … I love this pic … it really, really is so motherfucking beautiful!!

I Know, I Know For Sure, That Life Is Beautiful Around The World

Fantasy Christmas Gifts for this year. World’s fastest electric motorcycle. Capable of speeds up to 150 mph. Price: $73,000 (only 10 available)!!

Steal a car and go to Las Vegas

Ok, so I always do that … hahaha. But seriously, this one without a doubt was the best one. I dunno, maybe the way it all came together, the way it fell into place. Maybe, the combination of the great food, great company, spending time with family … as if for a brief moment the universe stopped and just let us enjoy ourselves and our time together. Like I said, I dunno, but whatever it was … it was GREAT!!