Grilled Herb Shrimp with Mango Salsa and Gazpacho

We went over to John and Christine’s last night for dinner. Being my own worst critic, I am happy with the fare I created.

Here are recipes for a light spring/summer dinner a la the Barefoot Contessa (all can be prepped the night before):

Gazpacho – Serves eight to ten

2 cucumbers, halved and seeded, but not peeled
3 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
5 bright red medium tomatoes (from vine)
2 red onions
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 46-ounce can tomato juice (not from concentrate)
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food-processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not over process! Place each vegetable, after it is chopped, into a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, cilantro, salt and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop. I let mine sit for 24 hours.

Mango Salsa – Makes two cups

2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced yellow onion (2 onions)
3 teaspoons peeled, minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 ripe mangos, peeled, seeded, and small-diced
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons minced fresh jalapeño pepper, to taste (1 pepper)
2 teaspoons minced fresh mint leaves

Sauté the olive oil, onions, and ginger in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the mangos; reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 more minutes. Add the orange juice, brown sugar, salt, black pepper, and jalapeños; cook for 10 more minutes, or until the orange juice is reduced, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and add the mint. Serve chilled.

Grilled Herb Shrimp – Serves six

5 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium yellow onion, small-diced
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup good olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons Cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
2 pounds jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), peeled (tails left on) and deveined

Combine the garlic, onion, parsley, basil, mustards, salt, pepper, paprika, Cayenne pepper, olive oil, lime and lemon juice. Add the shrimp and allow them to marinate for 1 hour at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Prepare a charcoal grill with hot coals, and brush the grilling rack with oil to prevent the shrimp from sticking. Skewer the shrimp. I use 5 or 6 shrimp on a 12-inch skewer for a dinner serving. Grill the shrimp for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Serve with Mango Salsa.

Happy Easter

… they (Australia) celebrate Easter the exact same way we do: commemorating the death and resurrection of Jesus by telling our children a giant bunny rabbit left chocolate eggs in the night. Now, I wonder why we’re f***** up as a race. Anybody got any idea? You know, I’ve read the Bible. I can’t find the word bunny or chocolate anywhere in the f***ing book. Where do they come up with this s***? Why not goldfish left Lincoln logs in your sock drawer? As long as you’re making s*** up – you know – go hog-wild. At least the goldfish with a Lincoln log on its back going across your carpet has some miraculous connotations:

“Mum, today I found a Lincoln log in me sock drawer.”

“That’s the story of Jesus…”

Bill Hicks

Casino El Camino, rose man

It’s Saturday morning. It’s 7 a.m., Saturday morning. It’s 7 a.m., Saturday morning and I’m showered, shaved, have eaten and am ready to…. take a nap. I don’t know why I got up so early today – guess it’s habit. I wish I could get out of bed that easily during the week!

I took Elise to Casino El Camino for hamburgers last night. Well, I had a hamburger, Elise had a veggie thing, it being Lent and all. I had been wanting to eat there for a really long time. I’ve always liked Casino El Camino – it’s one of those bars on 6th that’s been in Austin longer than I have. It’s one of those establishments where you can come as you are and you’d probably get laughed out the door if you asked for an apple martini or a spot to plug in your laptop. In my opinion, it’s homey. It’s a place by which the masses walk quickly on their way to the to-be-seen bars and pubs downtown.

I ordered a Coke on tap, Elise had a hefeweizen. I then went to the kitchen window to order our dinner. Elise chose the Blackjack – grilled eggplant, roasted tomato, provolone cheese, romaine, olive tapenade and shallot mayo on a multigrain bun. I opted for the Buffalo Burger – a half-pound burger grilled with hot wing sauce and smothered with bleu cheese. The cook asked me if I wanted mild, medium or hot sauce. I asked “is the ‘hot’ hot?” He replied, without even the faintest smile “That’s why it’s called ‘hot'”. I chose the medium.

Best burger I’ve had in Austin – though I think that’s why I woke up at 5:45 this morning. Oh well, it was worth it. If you want a really good hamburger, you don’t mind music from the darker side and enjoy eating below a gargoyle with green glowing eyes, try Casino El Camino.

Another reason I’m glad to be back in Austin: we saw the rose man on East Riverside. He’s been in Austin as long, if not longer than I. He’s always there, singing. Even if the windows are rolled up or the cars around me are too loud to hear him sing, I still find solace in knowing he’s there, singing.

We came home after dinner and watched Igby Goes Down. Interesting movie. I’m such a verbose movie critic. Every movie I watch now is just interesting. I think I’m going to go outside and wash the trusty Shadow now. Then I’ll wake up sleeping beauty and then we’re going to Kohl’s to get some new digs for yours truly. After that, we’re going to go get some new lenses for the old glazzies.

biscuits

We just did some serious shopping. While at Kohl’s, Elise saw a pair Hawaiian print swimming trunks that she said she liked. She said “I like that design, the one with the hibiscus”. I said “I would like to paint a picture of a couple of buttermilk biscuits sharing a marijuana cigarette… they would be high biscuits.” She laughed.

We went to the mall to get my new glasses. When we left the mall, Limp Bizkit was playing on the radio. Elise changed the station. I said “What, you don’t like Flaccid Pastry?” She laughed. She said “you’re on a roll…” We’re retarded.

No Evites

I just don’t like Evites. From my recent five minutes of research, there is no immediate indication that Evite spams. Even still, that’s a fist-full of lit firecrackers in my opinion. Ticketmaster currently owns Evite. Ticketmaster was notorious for price gouging in the past decade or so – why wouldn’t they sell Evite along with a database chock full of e-mail addresses? That list of e-mail addresses is a Faberge egg just waiting to be cashed in.

I received an Evite today. I only received it because I had neglected to setup a server-side filter to immediately delete Evites. With a snap-o-the-fingers, problem’s solved now.

BBBS

People with MSSW after their name scare me. They don’t scare as much as say… this tune.

I just got back from a lengthy interview with a social worker from Big Brothers Big Sisters. Your humble narrator is going to be a Big Brother (henceforth known as a “Big”). It was a complete background interview. It was kind of neat, but kind of scary in the same breath. I was on trial – I was proving who I was. I was more nervous during this interview than I was at my last job interview. I don’t have anything to hide, I was just afraid that I might answer a question incorrectly or in a way that would exclude me in the matching criteria.

I was asked some tough questions that I thought I would never be asked. I had to voice opinions on certain issues that I hadn’t really taken into consideration. It was really interesting. I’m still thinking about some of the questions that were asked.

Philip’s ‘girlfriend’ (who we’re yet to meet) inspired me to become a Big. As noted in the first annual Janicek Christmas Newsletter, I’m moving forward in my efforts to be more active in the community. I’m really excited as well as nervous about this new undertaking. I’m excited about the enlightenment I will gain. I’m excited about making an impact.

I’m going to a mentoring coaching session later this month. After that, I don’t know what happens. In the meantime, BBBS will be running a criminal and driving record background check on me. I’m clean, but I’m sure it’ll be a while before I get matched with a Little.

In other news… I don’t think there is any other news. Work is consuming my brain cells. I’m tired and sleep like a rock at nights. I’m still walking to work, though I rode the trusty Shadow yesterday and today.

Tracy and her boyfriend came into Austin yesterday evening. We met them at the Iron Cactus last night. No social or political issues were solved, we just caught up.

I bought a Sunrider soft top for the Jeep for Elise – well, she paid for it with the money she’s earned working for us, but I pushed the bid button on eBay. Now we have a huge box in the living room. We’re waiting until we go see my parents later this month so I can install it. The weather is so nice right now, I wish we could install it now.

The Archos MP3 player came loaded with several instances of the Nimda virus. Guess that happens when you buy used computer hardware. I wonder if it was malicious. Oh well, hence having anti-virus software.

That’s news for now. I need to start thinking about organizing my life. After that, I’ll probably play with whichever cat is at my disposal, drink some milk and go to bed. I have a lot of ‘side projects’ that need to be tended to before I actually become a Big. As a personal goal, I need to work on my time management. I’m timely by nature, but it’s been a while since I’ve really had to delegate what I do in my spare time. ‘Side projects’ sounds cool. Sounds like I’m in a really big heavy metal band and working with another band on an album. Okay, that’s retarded.

I’m tired now and am yet to talk to Elise about my interview.

Texas Chili Parlor, driving range

This past weekend wasn’t as fruitful as I had hoped.

Elise and I drove downtown on Saturday afternoon and headed to Spamarama. We approached the gate to find out that there was a $5.00 per person admission fee. We evaluated the ongoing festivities from beyond the chain link fence and decided that we could have more fun with a roll of duct tape and a set of chop sticks. Well, we didn’t decide that at the time, but now that I think about it, think of all the things you could do with duct tape and wooden sticks.

We decided on a late lunch at the Texas Chili Parlor. We had always wanted to try that place out. Not-so-great chili and horrible service. I had a large bowl of the XX Red and Elise had a small bowl of the Mild Red. The bus boy took our drink orders, our waitress took our orders. Elise had to go to the bar to fill our drinks for us. We never saw our waitress until she wanted money. Nobody came and apologized for the crappy service, but they did comp the combined six Cokes we had (the chili was hot!)

We drove around campus for a while and headed home. Before we got home, we rented a 8 Mile, Road to Perdition and One Hour Photo – we had a coupon (kyew-pon): rent up to three movies for $1.00. Elise says koo-pon, I say kyew-pon. 8 Mile was okay – even though I like Eminem, I would have felt let-down had I paid full price for the rental. One Hour Photo was interesting.

We were going to go to a party that night, but 10 p.m. snuck up on us and we were too tired to do anything. We must be getting old.

We woke up early on Sunday. Elise went to church and I played a hacked copy of Ghost Recon that came loaded on the Archos. Elise came home and we went to Rudy’s for a late lunch. We ate out too much this weekend, but we were determined to have a good meal out. Rudy’s has yet to fail.

We drove out to the overlook by the 360 bridge and walked around for bit. We watched a guy repel off of the eastern side of the highway cut out.

Next we drove down South Lamar and stopped at Austin Found. We browsed that junk for half an hour or so. We kept thinking we would come across something interesting. Nope. It reminded me of a rundown lot you’d see in downtown Houston.

To end our day, we drove home and then walked to the driving range. On our way we picked up a dozen or so golf balls. I stashed them in my pockets. We bought our bucket of balls and then I added our found lot. We saved one ball and had a putting contest. We tied at 2 each.

As we headed home, Elise marched on the side of Staggerbrush Road, twirling her putter like a baton. That was funny. I was a ninja as I cut the heads off my victims with my 7 and 9 iron katanas. Those weeds won’t mess with us again.

We went home and watched Road to Perdition and ate popcorn.

Johnny Carino’s – blech

We decided to try out Johnny Carino’s last night. We agreed that we’ll stick to the Olive Garden if we’re ever in the mood for faster Italian food.

We were rushed to a tiny two top table at the back of one of the wings of the franchise, our waitress mumbleasked what we wanted to drink and disappeared into the dimmed mood lights. She brought our drinks along with a bag of bread and a plate of cheap olive oil and burned garlic flakes.

I opted for soup and salad. Elise ordered the cheese tortellini. Elise’s food was okay – lukewarm and bland. She doctored her plate with crushed red pepper flakes. My soup had a subtle fresh-from-a-tin-can taste. My shrimp & artichoke Caesar was nothing to write home about. Now that I think about it, our $26.01 dinner outing tasted not much unlike banquet food.

The best part was our waitress, Christia brought the debit card receipt. I signed my wavy signature and took a glance at what was occupying my left hand… a gnarled pen cap. Our waitress gave me a pen that she had apparently mistaken for her chew toy. I hate thinking about being the root of someone’s termination, so I didn’t complain to a manager. I’m still debating with myself whether or not I should call up ol’ Mr. Carino and chewing on his ear some. I might just do that this afternoon. Maybe I could get a free meal out of it.

Prior to our outing I downloaded approximately 15gb of MP3s to the Archos. I think it took around 15-20 minutes. Pretty cool.

I don’t know what we’re doing today. It’s already 11 a.m. I think we’ll try the rodeo or Spamarama. Tonight we’ll probably go to a large party that Marshall’s co-hosting.

It’s alive (again)

Yes, yes… I’m good. I got my computer working again. Came home for lunch, determined to get it working – and I did.

I’m back to where I want it to be… 25gb boot drive with XP, 30gb MP3 drive, 655mb of SDRAM, USB 2.0 card (with the Intellimouse using one of the ports).

Everything looks good right now. Too bad I left the Archos at work… I’ll have to see if it works when I get home tonight.

Solution to hard drive problem: Plug everything in how you want it… reboot computer and press F1 to load BIOS utility. Save new BIOS.

My computer is in a coma!!!

I thought I was cool. I plugged in the Archos and XP read it as an external drive. Yeehaw. I went to transfer the existing music from the Archos onto my secondary hard drive. Oops… where did my secondary hard drive go?

I unplugged the Archos and restarted my computer. Still no ‘D’ drive (that’s my 30gb MP3 drive). I immediately started taking my computer apart. Once things were cleared out, I realized that the EIDE ribbon from the motherboard to the D drive had been disconnected. I’m thinking that happened when I installed the 128mb of RAM.

Well, since I had gutted my computer, it didn’t work when I tried to reboot. “Primary Hard Disk Error” That’s all I get now. I sat there, on the floor for two hours, trying to put humpty dumpty back together again. I’m sure Elise will have to go to church on my behalf next Sunday due to the profanities that were yelled by yours truly.

I took out the USB 2.0 card, the 128mb of RAM and my 30gb hard drive. Still no luck. My instincts were to call in the big guns – my Mom. I tinkered around with my computer for a while, I tried every combination of jumper settings on the hard drives, ribbon and power source seatings. I e-mailed Mom this morning – she suggested that I do what I’ve already done. The one thing I haven’t really looked deeply into is the BIOS settings.

I’m saving my larynx today so I can have air with which to cuss tonight. I’m really hoping my hard drive(s) aren’t fried.

The moral of the story: I really don’t know. I guess it would be: “If the lamp doesn’t turn on, check to see if it’s plugged in before you take the whole damn thing apart.”

Archos is in, more RAM, Henry David Thoreau

Arrr arrr arrr arrr… more power! I just added another 128mb of SDRAM to the box of circuits, bringing me to 655mb of RAM. I just got back from Discount Electronics where I purchased a 2-port USB 2.0 PCI card. I think they’ll be seeing a lot of me in there. I bought the USB 2.0 card for the Archos which came in today. A lot of geeking out will be going on this evening… so can’t write long. The RAM came with the Archos in the auction that I won. Windows XP took the PCI card like nothing ever changed. I even put the Intellimouse on the USB. I can’t wait to see how quickly I can transfer MP3s to the jukebox.

Elise and I started reading Thoreau’s Walden to each other last night. My high school English/Latin teacher would be proud. He probably wouldn’t be impressed with how stupid I sound while reading aloud. It’s been a while since I’ve read classic literature. We’re only on page 42 right now, but have already found words by which to live, and I will leave you with just that:

“In any weather, at any hour of the day or night, I have been anxious to improve the nick of time, and notch it on my stick too; to stand on the meeting of two eternities, the past and the future, which is precisely the present moment; to toe that line.”

Okay, back to being a geek now.*

* Like quoting Thoreau and talking all that 2-port USB 2.0 PCI crap wasn’t geeky enough.