Posted on

Responsive Design

Ugh. Two words I hate the most. YES I KNOW this site is not responsive. You know why? Because I don’t WANT it to be. Yes you have to zoom in on your phone. I really don’t care. This site looks the same on every device and I like it that way.

I detest it when I go to a site in a browser (on my Mac) and get the mobile experience. SO MANY companies do this. Even the taqueria site does this because the template sucks. But it was a massive job to beat that template into submission, so I leave it. I detest a site with infinite scroll (at least the taqueria template doesn’t do that). That seems to be the ultimate goal in “responsive” design: infinite scroll. I HATE IT. I will NOT comply. It is shit design and I won’t do it. (And: get off my lawn ya whippersnappers!)

I’m just waiting for the web design standards to shift again and leave the infinite scroll and hamburger menu (those ubiquitous three lines stacked like a burger that reveal the menu when clicked) crap behind. You should NEVER EVER see a hamburger menu when surfing on a computer. NEVER. It is a specific design tic for phones and has no place in a full fledged computer browser. Yet I see it often. GROSS.

You should NOT see two different sites when you surf there via phone or computer, IMO. Nor should you see a mobile site with infinite scroll and hamburger menus when on a computer. The site should look MOSTLY the same no matter what you use to view it, but most sites do not. Which is why this site will continue to be as it is for the foreseeable future. I just don’t have the time to tear it down and start from scratch. The Atahualpa theme was updated (half assedly, the theme is mostly dead) to be more “responsive”, but to install it, you have to pretty much start from scratch and/or rewrite half the CSS by hand. NOPE. I just hope the damn theme keeps working with WP updates. ::fingers crossed::

So, you’ll just have to deal with zooming in on your phones to read my site. I do not care. I am happy with the layout and the content prints beautifully (recipe printing), which are my main concerns. I’ll redo it one of these days, but probably not for a while. So, thanks for enduring the horror of a non responsive site for me. LOL Of course I know that most of you just read this on FB anyway, so whatever. Enjoy!

Posted on

Angela’s Cioppino

Cioppino is a traditional Italian Christmas dish. I decided to give it a go this year! I looked at a few recipes and came up with this one that is VERY easy and low maintenance – yet still gives you an excellent flavour. I used frozen and canned seafood rather than fresh, which saved me a ton of prep. I hope you enjoy it!

Angela’s Cioppino

Angela’s Cioppino

BROTH
EVOO
1 large shallot or 2 leeks, diced
1 small onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 Fresno chiles (sub a couple of serranos – not too many, they are much hotter than Fresnos), thin sliced
1/2 8oz box of creminis, diced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (more if you like)
1 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp dry oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 dry bay leaves
1 tsp Old Bay
zest of one lemon
4 Tbl tomato paste (one small can)
1 28oz can of San Marzano whole tomatoes, broken up by hand into pot
2 bottles clam juice
1 cup white wine
S/P

SEAFOOD
1 large can clams with juice
1 can oysters with juice
1 package frozen firm white fish (about 12 oz), I used cod, 1 inch dice
1/2 package frozen calamari, whole, cut into rings (about six small calamari)
1 # medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

FINISH
2 Tbl butter
1/4 cup dry sherry (pernod anise would be EXCELLENT here, especially if you ADD fennel to the veg)
juice of one lemon
handful of chopped fresh parsley

In a large chili pot or dutch oven (4qt+), put 1-2 Tbl EVOO and turn heat to medium. Add the first 11 ingredients and cook 5-6 minutes until soft and translucent. Then add tomato paste and cook for a minute. Then crush in the San Marzanos, clam juice and white wine. Stir and turn to a slow simmer for about 30 minutes, with lid ajar.

After 30 minutes, the broth should be reduced by about 20% and have a nice body to it. Check for S/P levels and add butter. Add in all the seafood and bring back to simmer. Simmer with lid ajar for about 10-15 minutes. The shrimp and fish should be opaque. When seafood is cooked, turn off heat, add the juice of the lemon, sherry and parsley, reserving some parsley for garnish.

Serve with crusty bread.

Angela’s Cioppino

This recipe makes about 4 quarts.

Posted on

Bison Lasagne

I really love using bison in lasagne! It just gives the perfect flavour. This is super cinchy! You can substitute 93/7 lean ground beef for the bison and you can use traditional lasagne (or gluten free) rather than the oven ready. I happen to like the oven ready lasagne sheets; they are thin and don’t fill me up like regular pasta. This recipe is for a 9×9 dish. You can stretch it to a 9×13 dish by increasing the veg, sauce, cheese and lasagne sheets.

Angela’s Bison Lasagne

Angela’s Bison Lasagne
1# ground bison (or 97% lean beef)
1 med shallot diced (sub 1/2 small onion)
1 small red pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small 8oz box of Cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp L&P Worcestershire Sauce

SAUCE
1 can tomato sauce
2 Tbl tomato paste
1 Tbl olive oil
1 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp dry oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced into paste (OR 1 Tbl garlic paste)

1/2 cup shredded parmesan
4 oz fresh mozzarella (in ball or square package), cut into 1/2″ wide strips, then cut into thirds
1/2 cup fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
4 sheets oven ready dry lasagne pasta (Barilla is my brand)**If you use regular pasta, cook halfway FIRST!

METHOD:
Mix up the sauce ingredients and set aside. In a large skillet over medium heat, start the shallots and peppers in olive oil. When they are transparent, put in the meat and turn up the heat to med high. Add garlic, S/P, red pepper flakes, L&P and finally the mushrooms. When the meat is almost cooked through, add in about 1/3 of the sauce mixture and half the parsley. Stir and take meat mixture off the heat.

Preheat oven to 375F. In a 9×9 baking dish that has been sprayed with food release spray, put 2 tbl of sauce to cover the bottom of the dish. Then put the first layer of pasta. Next, layer in half the meat mixture. Sprinkle 1/3 of the parmesan over the meat, then place half the mozzarella pieces on that. Put on the next layer of pasta in the other direction. Add the rest of the meat, pour on the rest of the sauce, cover with the rest of the parsley, then use the rest of the parm and finally top with the rest of the mozzarella.

Cook in 375F oven for about 30 minutes, until everything is bubbly and the mozzarella is nicely browned. ENJOY!

Posted on

The Best Bread & Butter Pickles

This recipe is really great! I’ve made it a couple of times with success! You’ll need canning equipment to make these. This is a small batch, double if you like.

Bread n Butter Pickles

B&B Pickles
(yield about 2-3 pints)
4 cups thinly sliced Kirby cucumbers (about 2.5#?)
1 med onion, halved and sliced thinly
1 small red pepper, thinly sliced (optional, I like the color)
BRINE
1.5 C cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 Tbl kosher salt
1 C sugar
1 Tbl mustard seed
1 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
6-8 whole allspice
4-5 whole cloves
1 tsp turmeric if you want the colour
IN JAR
1 clove garlic, cracked open
1/8 calcium (pickle crisp)

Prep cucs first and toss with a couple of Tbl of kosher salt. Put in fridge while you get set up do to the pickling.

Set up water bath and get to a boil. Process your jars and put lids (not rings) into a small pan with simmering water to prep the sealing ring. I like wide mouth pint jars, use whatever you like as long as they are proper canning jars.

In a large pot (big enough for brine AND cucs), stir together brine ingredients and bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Thoroughly drain the cucs, no need to rinse. Add cucs to brine and cook for about 5 minutes. Turn off and allow to cool while you prep jars.

In each jar, put one clove of garlic and 1/8 tsp pickle crisp. Use a slotted spoon to pack the pickles into the jar and leave about one inch headroom. Add brine over pickles and fill to about 1/2 inch headroom – try to split the spices amongst the jars. The veg should be covered, you may have to fiddle with the amt of pickles in each jar to ensure that the veg is covered and you’re at the half inch mark.

Clean rims of jars with a damp paper towel and put on lids with the ring just finger tight, not too tight, everything expands in boiling water.

Your water bath should be boiling at this point, put the filled jars in the bath and process at a strong simmer for 15 minutes. (185F at least)

Remove jars from bath and allow to sit on the counter until you hear the PING, which means they are sealed. Keep in a cool dark cupboard for at least a couple of weeks before you open them! Enjoy!

Posted on

Haiku for Stephen Hawking RIP 3/14/18

We lost Professor Hawking today, March 14, 2018. I think he’d be pleased to pass on Pi Day. RIP, Prof Hawking. You made a difference and you’ll live forever thanks to your amazing mind!

SH posted on FB, asking for scientific themed haikus. The winner gets a copy of his book and personal inscription. Here’s mine:

Light older than Earth
Shimmering beyond ages
Stars are forever

I love me some haiku!