Grilled Foccacia with Pesto, Tomato, Spinach and Fresh Mozzarella made from Standard Fare and Mouthful of Snow

Yesterday, outside of my apartment, I saw a wild thing (think gator). Later in the day, I went to see "Where the Wild Things Are" at the Sunset Cinema. I thought the movie was fine but it wasn't anything special, I expected more. My favorite line from the film, which I've already used today, was when KW (one of the wild things) said to Max "I don't want you to go, I'll eat you up, I love you so." Geeky as it may seem I didn't use the line on J-Fur but on the grilled foccacia sandwich I made. Is it a problem when you start talking to your food before you devour it? I may have to see someone about that.

Grilled Foccacia Sandwiches with Pesto, Tomato, Spinach and Fresh Mozzarella

(printable version)

-1 foccacia
-12 spinach leaves, washed
-4 Tbs. pesto
-2 vine ripened tomatoes, sliced thinly
-8 oz fresh mozzarella

1. Separate the top of the foccacia from the bottom. Cut both sides into fourths.

2. On the bottom of each slice spread a tablespoon of pesto and two tomato slices. Cover with fresh mozzarella and top of foccacia.

3. Place the foccacia sandwich on a grill (or grill pan). Grill each side for 3-5 minutes (or until mozzarella is oozing). Serve immediately.

The dish is simple, pretty standard fare. Works well because I have been enjoying Standard Fare a lot recently, especially their song "Dancing" which comes from their album The Noyelle Beat which comes out in album form tomorrow. You can buy "The Noyelle Beat" here.



Standard Fare-Dancing


Another band that has caught my attention is Mouthful of Snow. These Californians are in the process of mixing their first LP The truth hurts, but you would still like to hear it. With a perfect blend of ohhing and ahhing and screaming I have found myself enjoying their early demos. My favorite song, "Sleep on a Dream Canvas" can be downloaded here (along with the rest of their last demo). It should tide you over until their full length is finished.

French Vanilla Ice Cream and Strawberries frozen with Holy Roman Army and the Leaf Library

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Strawberry Festival in Plant City. One thing I failed to mention in that post is that J-Fur and I bought a half flat of strawberries. Most of them were eaten as is or on top of angel food cake (J-Fur's favorite). She was kind enough to let me use a few for the homemade French Vanilla Ice Cream I was attempting to make. I used an attachment for our stand mixer to make this recipe. Tweak it so that it works for your preferred ice cream making technique.


French Vanilla Ice Cream with Strawberries (adapted from Kitchen Aid recipe)
(printable version)

-2 1/2 cups of half and half
-8 egg yolks
-2 cups heavy cream
-4 tsp. of vanilla
-1/4 tsp. of salt
-2 cups of strawberries

1. In a saucepan heat half and half until very hot (do not boil). Set aside.

2. Combine egg yolks and sugar in stand mixer. Use wire whip to mix (at speed 2 for about 30 seconds). Mixture should be well blended and slightly thick. Continue mixing at a speed of 2 while adding half and half.

3. Return half and half mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat. Bubbles should form around the edge of the pan. Dump the half and half into a large bowl. Add heavy cream, vanilla and salt. Cover and chill (I did mine overnight but eight hours should be plenty).

4. Attach ice cream maker and freeze bowl to the stand mixer. Turn to speed 1 and pour the mixture into the bowl. Mix for 30 minutes. Add strawberries with ten minutes left. Immediately transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least four more hours.

*The strawberries didn't blend very well (taste wise) with the ice cream. The recipe suggests adding sugar (2 to 3 teaspoons) along with the strawberries which I didn't do. Next time I think I will try that along with pureeing the strawberries before putting them into the ice cream so that the strawberry taste is dispersed amongst the ice cream.

Waiting for the ice cream to freeze left me lots of time to enjoy some new music. One album I enjoyed was the Holy Roman Army's Desecrations EP. While the EP is technically new, the songs on it are not as they are all covers. Bon Iver, Pavement, Rollerskate Skinny and Peter Broderick all fall victim to the bands "desecrations." My favorite track is their revamping of Wave of Mutilation by the Pixies which becomes more mechanical and dreamy in Holy Roman Army's hands. You can download the entire album at the bands bandcamp page. Here is a video for one of their older songs, "Stagger Gently Home." The pictures in the video were created by some students (7-10 year olds) in Ireland.



Mark Linkous, mastermind behind Sparklehorse, was found dead a few weeks ago (a link to the Rolling Stone article about his death). As a tribute to him the Leaf Library released a beautiful cover of his song "Hundreds of Sparrows." You can check it out below. Thanks to Eardrums Music for pushing it into my aural cavity.

Hundreds Of Sparrows by The Leaf Library

St. Patrick's Day Recipe Links Driven by Dillinger Four, Titus Andronicus, Dropkick Murphys, The Tossers, Bell X1 and Great Big Sea

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Normally I do a vegetarian St. Patrick's Day feast and invite everyone over to my house. This year, because of out of town visitors, conflicting schedules and J-Fur's qualifying exams, I am putting the feast off until sometime in April. For now, I'll just celebrate by posting links to some of the food I've enjoyed in the past (or those that I would be trying this weekend had things worked out better).

Irish Soda Bread Scones from Smitten Kitchen. I came across these the other day and am very excited to try them out.

Vegetarian Irish Gypsy Stew from recipezaar. One of the few staples at every vegetarian St. Patrick's Day feast I've held. Consistently garners rave reviews (pictured at the top).

Guinness Cupcakes from Big City, Little Kitchen. I'll liked these, J-Fur did not. Oh well, there was more for me.

Colcannon. The other staple at all my feasts. Doesn't seem so unique considering we eat it year round.

Corned Beef Seitan at Huffington Post.


As wrong as it is, musically my St. Patrick's Day will consist of the Dropkick Murphys, The Tossers, Dillinger Four, and Great Big Sea, oldies but goodies.





Dillinger Four-Sally MacLennane

The Tossers-Chicago

For the more authentic Irish band Bell X1. This is "Rocky Took A Lover." Bell X1 was also mentioned here).


Rocky Took A Lover - Bell X1

Chris | MySpace Video

From the new release category comes Titus Andronicus' "A more perfect union." This song has been playing repeatedly on my MP3 player (not a small feat considering it is over seven minutes long). "A more perfect union" comes from the band's new album The Monitor, which was released last Tuesday on XL Recordings.



Or download it here (thanks to stereogum).
Titus Andronicus-A more Perfect Union

What will you be drinking, eating or listening to this St. Patrick's Day?

Baker's Dozen: Interview with Moreno

A man, a mac and a vision. When it boils down to it that is what allows Moreno, a prolific musician from Santiago, Chile, to put out so much great music. Consider this, Moreno has put out three full length albums in the last three years and that isn't even counting his splits and EP's. That is a career for some artists. How does the man do it? Recently I had the chance to ask him this (as well as twelve other questions) as part of our Baker's Dozen series. (Moreno won this honor because his track "Pica" was included on our Appendages in the Colcannon Mix).

TB: Let's start off with you telling us about yourself. Who is Moreno?

M: Basically I'm a solo musician who makes music in his apartment. I pick up my guitar, make some melodies and create songs through the days and record them using Garage Band. I also play live with my support band named "The Mafia Canyengue" and I also make my own videos.

TB: I've read that you spent your teens performing in punk, hardcore and grindcore bands. Is there truth to this rumor? What elements of these styles do your try to incorporate into the music you are making now?

M: That's true. I use to play in Alternocidio and Silencio Absoluto, both hardcore bands (you can find stuff on YouTube!). Also I played drums for sometime in Antitrust, a grindcore band. I think the feeling of freedom, its still in my Moreno songs. Basically that. Also, in some ways the sound, that old school sound, when we used to record tapes of our favorite hxc bands, for example.

TB: Did you really have your picture taken with Ian MacKaye?

M: Ha! Long time ago Fugazi came down to play. We opened for them that year with Silencio Absoluto. I was a huge fan of Ian's work so me and my friends took several photos with him, he even signed me a little paper!!! Ha!!

TB: Your new album, Pica, is your third full length in three years. What is the secret to your prolificness?

M: There's no secret. I don't know. I just can't live without music. And since I have my mac and my Garage Band I've been making songs almost everyday. I don't depend on labels, studios, etc so the process is very simple, just me, my music and the computer. Right now I'm planning to release 2 records; POLAROIDS and one of Moreno remixes made by my friend LATA.

TB: How does Pica differ from your previous two full lengths (El Nino, Su Padre, Su Madre, Sus Hermanos Y Sus Amigos and Broma)?

M: Maybe Pica sounds cleaner and has better songs, I don't know. Both previous works were made more spontaneously, I think. I don't know, for me making songs and records is like having my own diary where I write everyday what happens through the day.

TB: My favorite track on Pica is "Pica." Is there a back story for this song?

M: Pica means a lot of things, that's why I chose the name. It can be rage, spicy, there's a lemon flavor called pica, etc... At some point I realized I like all its meanings! And lyrics are very personal. It's hard for me to explain them in Spanish, imagine in English!

TB: Aside from your full lengths, you've also done a number of splits over the past few years with bands such as Transito, Cigarros Sueltos, Audiopostcards, Fico, Los Pantis and Vapourboat. Does anything change with your song writing when working on a split vs a full length album? Also, what do you hope to accomplish by teaming up with these other bands?

M: I don't try to accomplish anything. Basically they are all friends. I like the split format a lot. I used to buy a lot of 7" back in the day. The songs are basically "b-sides" that are left along the way or cover songs. In the case of Vapourboat, I made a cover of one of his songs and he made one of mine.

TB: I've seen you compared to J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, Sufjan Stevens, Guided by Voices and the Pixies. Are you flattered by these comparisons? Do you agree with them?

M: I agree with them. I'm very influenced by those artists. But I'm influenced by a lot of different music from around the world as well. But if people link my music to them, its no problem for me at all.

TB: When recording, you play all the instruments yourself. At shows you have a backing band. Is it difficult to let go of the control you have when doing everything yourself?

M: Playing live with the band is awesome! I show the songs to them and then we make our own live versions. Some songs turn out to be very similar to the original and some turn out to be very experimental which is alright with me. In the beginning, the band was always changing. Now "The Mafia Canyengue" is always the same. I like playing with music and I love transforming songs, there's no "control" problem with me.

TB: What is Santiago's music scene like? Any bands we need to know about?

M: There are a lot of bands around here and a lot of scenes I guess. But every weekend you can find some cool band to listen to in Santiago. My favorites? Intimate Stranger, Vapourboat, Fico (from Pichilemu), Ramixes, etc...

TB: Does Moreno get a chance to do any cooking? Any special recipes you care to share?

M: Of course! I love cooking! I think the perfect recipe to line with Moreno would be The Ceviche. It consists of raw fish with olive oil and a lot of "pica" lemon. Some onions, some peppers, salt, etc. And if you add this a "pisco sour" (a drink) you're read to enjoy any Moreno songs to the max! Hahaha!

TB: Any parting words?

M: Thanks for the interview and the good vibrations!!!

Here is a video for Moreno's song "Hoy es al Fin." The song appears on his album El Nino, Su Padre, Su Madre, Sus Hermanos Y Sus Amigos.



A video for "Pica" off the album of the same name.



Moreno has his previous albums available for free download. Just click on the links below.
Broma(2007)
El Nino, Su Padre, Su Madre, Sus Hermanos Y Sus Amigos (2008)
Pica (2009)

Keep up with Moreno via his Facebook page as well.

Pumpkin Sage Balls shaped with SXSW performers Arms and The Megaphonic Thrift

With standardized testing season upon us at school, it is easy to forget about some of the finer things in life. Like birthdays. Our team, which has been pretty good about making everyone's special day just that, totally blew it with KC. We skipped right over her birthday and didn't even recognize it. Thankfully we were given the opportunity for a do over and we made the best of it.

KC's special lunch included a fruit bowl, Cuban bread, various mayonnaise based salads, a cookie cake and mini pumpkin sage balls dipped in Tabasco sauce (my addition). Due to a lack of bread crumbs I had to slightly modify the Vegetarian Times Recipe. Here's my version:

Pumpkin Sage Balls (adapted from Vegetarian Times, March 2009)
(printable version)

-olive oil
-1/2 of an onion, finely
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-2 1/2 tsp sage
-3/4 cup pumpkin puree
-1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
-1/4 cup saltines, finely ground
-1 egg
-sea salt to taste
-ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Set aside.

3. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until light brown (about ten minutes), stirring occasionally. Add garlic and sage, and cook 2 minutes more. Set aside.

4. Combine pumpkin puree, breadcrumbs, saltines, egg, salt, and pepper in a large metal bowl. Mix until the egg has been beaten. Add the onion, garlic and sage mixture. Mix until the onions have been spread throughout the puree. Form into 1 1/2 -inch balls. Place the balls on the coated baking sheet and bake for 13-15 minutes (you want the bottoms of the balls to be golden brown).

5. Serve with Tabasco Sauce.

KC is a big karaoke fan, so as I slaved over the hot oven heat I did my best to make her proud. I belted out the tunes of Brooklyn's Arms, who have just released a new EP and are offering it for free. My favorite track so far is "Hot Heat and Water." You can check that one out here courtesy of MV Remix.

Arms-Hot Heat and Water

But why do that when you can, like I mentioned above, get the entire EP free. Just follow the link below.

Arms EP 2010

I also busted out "Acid Blues" by Norway's The Megaphonic Thrift. These guys have a new album Decay Decoy which was released March 1st via Hype City. You can purchase the album here. The Megaphonic Thrift are currently stateside. You can catch them tonight in NYC at the Bowery Electric for a SXSW send off show or at SXSW where they will be appearing five times over the course of two days (17th and 18th). Here is their video for "Acid Blues."



A couple other balls recipes you might enjoy:
Vegetarian Meatballs
Tofu-Spinach Dumplings

Florida Strawberry Festival Foods Dipped in BBU, Ivy St and Class of Kill 'em High

For the seventy-fifth year in a row, Plant City is celebrating their wonderful berry crop with a festival. The Florida Strawberry Festival (which ironically enough takes place on Lemon St.) is one of the top 50 fairs in the United States. Aside from the typical fair cuisine (think anything, add frying to it, and you'll find it here) the festival has many strawberry dishes. Some of what we devoured:

Strawberry Kabobs

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Strawberry Lemonade

Strawberry Shortcake

Build Your Own Strawberry Shortcake with homemade whipped cream

On our 45 minute drive to Plant City I entertained J-Fur and her sisters (who are visiting from Pennsylvania) with Chicago's BBU (originally mentioned here). Their follow up to "Chi Don't Dance" might be a little sloppy and rushed but it still catches my attention. Catch these guys at SXSW. Also check out their free mixtape, Fear of a Clear Channel Planet, which dropped on March 1st.

BBU-BB Who?

They were a blues influenced rock band that broke up. Then they carried on as solo act for four years. The latest incarnation of Class of Kill 'em High was formed last summer. We may have no idea what's up next for the group, but I like what is here now.

Class of Kill 'em High-Ultima Hombre

Tasmania's Ivy St put out their debut album Picture Machine last year. While not a fan of tripe, I am certainly a fan of those who produce it (especially if it is as raw and punky as Ivy St makes it out to be).

Ivy St-The Producers of Tripe

Blueberry buckle shined with Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt and The Pass

One of my favorite books to read my class when teaching them how to write letters is Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James. The story is about a girl who finds a whale in her backyard and the teacher that gives her information about whales, while not believing her. Had Emily faced the dilemma I did this week, perhaps one of her letters would've gone like this:

Dear Mr. Blueberry,

There most certainly is a whale in my pond. There are also blueberries in my freezer from last summer that need to be used. What shall I make?

Love,
Emily

The reply:

Dear Emily,

I am adamant that there is not a whale in your pond. About the blueberries, make a buckle. It is quite scrumptious and reminds me of a coffee cake.

Love,
Mr. Blueberry

Blueberry Buckle (from the book Lee Bailey's Country Desserts)
(printable version)

for the cake:
-2 cups and all purpose flour
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon sea salt
-1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
-3/4 cup sugar
-1 large egg
-1/2 cup milk (I used two percent)
-1 pint blueberries

for the topping:
-1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/3 cup sifted all purpose flour
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease an 8-inch spring form pan with butter.

2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and sea salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy (it took about 3 minutes). Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk. Fold in the blueberries. Pour batter into the spring form pan. Set aside.

3. Combine ingredients for topping with a fork to make crumbly mixture. Sprinkle this over the batter.

4. Bake for one hour. Test for being done by inserting a fork. If it comes out clean, it is done. If not, give the cake another 5 to 10 minutes to bake.

5. Allow the cake to cool slightly before serving.

The soundtrack for this baking experience began with a band that just so happens to be hitting Tampa tonight (at the Crowbar), the Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt. Aside from a tour, the band will be putting out a new album in May entitled I Love You! I Love You! I Love you and I'm in Love with you! Have an Awesome day! Have the best day of your life! Here is a preview of the album (and what you might hear if you head out to the Crowbar tonight).

I love you! I love you! I love you and I'm in love with you! from theterrorpigeon on Vimeo.

I also enjoyed Louisville's The Pass who recently released an independent EP, Colors before signing to SonaBlast Records. The band is currently working on an LP that they hope to have out this summer. Thanks to indie rock cafe for introducing me to them. "Cross Walk Stereo" comes from Colors.

The Pass-Cross Walk Stereo

Appendages in the Colcannon Mix: Tapedeck Mountain, Japanther, Sarah Jaffe, Rooftop Vigilantes, Werd, FM Belfast, Moreno, Arpline, Birdmonster...

I like to stick my fingers in things to taste them, especially mashed potatoes (or the version I make which is closer to colcannon). Some people may view this as unsanitary. I say, at least I'm not Mantan Moreland (check out 1:40).

Be it cake batter, icing, grease, hot sauce, soup, pie filling, it doesn't matter. I'ma gonna stick my finger in and lick it off. Appendage lickers (and stickers) this mix is for you.

Track Listing:

Tapedeck Mountain-On my honor
Japanther-Spread so thin
Sarah Jaffe-Clementine
Rooftop Vigilantes-Seth no jump
Werd-Ur not Emcees
Prizzy Prizzy Please-Large Hadron Collider
FM Belfast-Par Avion Master
Puerto Muerto-Drumming for Pistols
Moreno-Pica
Arpline-Fold up like a piece of paper
The Phonies-Crayon Factory
The Deadly Syndrome-Wingwalker
Birdmonster-All the holes in the walls
Girls in the Eighties-Vacation
Solvor Vermeer-The beaming light

Download Playlist Here

Download BTreotch/Comerfield Remix Here


Recipe: To make the colcannon pictured at the top. Fry 1/4 a head of thinly sliced green cabbage in olive oil. Set aside. Boil five potatoes until soft. Place into a mixer with 3 tablespoons butter and 2/3 a cup of milk. Mix until smooth (no lumps). Salt and pepper to taste. Mix the potatoes with the cabbage. Serve immediately.