Singapore Mei Fun with Shrimp

1 pkg (8.8 oz) Mei Fun (rice vermicelli)
1 Tbsp plus 2 tsps Hot Madras Curry Powder
1/4 cup Oyster Sauce 1/4 cup Thai Culinary Stock or chicken stock
1 egg
1 lb. frozen, peeled and deveined shrimp (41-50 ct)
1 Tbsp +2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 large onion, peeled, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
12 oz. Cleaned & Cut Asian Slaw (a mix of Napa cabbage, carrots & celery)
1 cup scallions, thinly sliced

Follow directions for preparing mei fun; drain well and set aside.

Combine curry powder, oyster sauce, and stock in small bowl; set aside.

Blanch shrimp 30 to 60 seconds in large pot of boiling salted water. Add slaw and green onion; blanch 5 seconds. Drain well; set aside.

Drizzle 2 tsp oil around sides of the largest wok you have; tilt pan to distribute evenly. Heat oil in pan on high until oil faintly smokes. (If oil smokes too much, pan is too hot.) Add egg; cook, scrambling it, just until set. Set aside. Wipe out pan with paper towel.

Drizzle remaining Tbsp oil around sides of pan; tilt pan to distribute evenly. Heat oil in pan on high until oil faintly smokes. Add onion slices; cook, stirring, about 2 min.

Add noodles and curry powder/stock mixture to pan. Stir fry about 1 min. Add shrimp, vegetables, and egg. Stir fry 1 min.

Nutrition Info, based on 4 servings: Each serving (2 cups) contains 330 calories, 43 g carbohydrate, (3 g fiber), 21 g protein, 7 g fat, (1 g saturated fat), 200 mg cholesterol, 280 mg omega-3 fats, and 910 mg sodium.

posted by Joe Elliott in Recipe and have No Comments

Popcorn Balls?

INGREDIENTS

  • * 3/4 cup light corn syrup
  • * 1/4 cup margarine
  • * 2 teaspoons cold water
  • * 2 5/8 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • * 1 cup marshmallows
  • * 5 quarts plain popped popcorn

DIRECTIONS

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the corn syrup, margarine, cold water, confectioners’ sugar and marshmallows. Heat and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Carefully combine the hot mixture with the popcorn, coating each kernel.
2. Grease hands with vegetable shortening and quickly shape the coated popcorn into balls before it cools. Wrap with cellophane or plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

posted by Joe Elliott in Recipe and have No Comments

Padre Island Visit

My mom and grandmother both came to visit Melissa & I this week.  It was pretty fabulous and I hope to elaborate a little more, but I would like to include a few pictures first.

The Padre Island Burger Company is pretty good, and I pretty much recommend it.  Definately the best burgers on the Island and possibly the entire coastal bend area!

posted by Joe Elliott in life and have No Comments

I’ve found a treasure!

Over the last few weeks Mel and I have been going to the beach two to three times per week.  It’s been a good time and a relaxing one for sure.  I have been attending school at Del Mar College… If I didn’t already tell you, I am in their Respiratory Therapy program, they guaranteed me acceptance to that and so I took the opportunity.

In other news, I am not as vague as I once was — probably because I don’t have the time anymore to be cryptic and ominous about life and happenings, I also am not embarrassed by what I’ve been doing.

We canceled the Dish Network we had because we have been watching movies on Netflix streaming through my X-Box.

We also get DVD’s almost daily from netflix, we watch and then send them back out sometimes the very same day.  I don’t know if that’s efficiency or some kind of neurosis.

I have enjoyed my little blog here, I should do this more often.

posted by Joe Elliott in life and have Comment (1)

Angryblue: Photoshop Brushes & Fonts

http://www.angryblue.com

*These are not hosted here, but instead are directly linked to where Angryblue links from.angryblue_brushset_01_preview

The brushes included here have been some that I have used since like, what…2000? I don’t know but its been awhile, and I still use them on a regular basis. I hope you get a kick out of them and make sure you check out Angryblue.

posted by Joe Elliott in Downloads and have No Comments

Just a few thoughts.

You know…giving a panhandler a dollar is not throwing it away, its giving them another chance to better their lives. If they make an other mistake with your dollar, maybe they wont with the next dollar they receive. In short, every gift you give to the homeless is another chance. Why not give them another chance?

Some places to give in addition to loose change

Nashville Rescue Mission
- www.nashvillerescuemission.org
639 Lafayette St, Nashville – (615) 255-2475

Mother Teresa Shelter
- motherteresashelter.org
513 Sam Rankin St, Corpus Christi – (361) 883-7372panhandler

posted by Joe Elliott in life and have No Comments

Roasted Red Pepper Stuffed Pasta

INGREDIENTS

roasted_red_peppers

  • Salt
  • 1/2 pound short whole wheat pasta
  • 4 large red bell peppers, tops cut off and reserved, seeded
  • Black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus more for drizzling
  • 4 jarred roasted red peppers
  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 small portobello mushroom caps, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 2 sprigs rosemary, stems discarded and leaves chopped
  • One 28-ounce can fire-roasted crushed or diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups arugula or baby spinach (a few generous handfuls)
  • 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
  • 1 cup grated pecorino-romano cheese

Preparation

rachael-ray-fhm-sexyPreheat the oven to 425°. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente.

Trim the bottoms of the bell peppers, without cutting a hole, so that they stand. Season inside with salt and black pepper. Turn the peppers bottom side up in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, set the tops alongside and drizzle with EVOO. Roast for 20 minutes.

Using a food processor, puree the roasted red peppers. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add the red onion, garlic, mushrooms, crushed red pepper and rosemary and cook until softened, 7 minutes. Stir in the pureed peppers and the fire-roasted tomatoes; season with salt and black pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pasta and toss. Add the arugula and basil and cook until wilted.

Preheat the broiler. Turn the peppers upright; fill with pasta. Top with the cheese and broil until melted, 2 minutes. Cover with the tops and serve with any extra pasta.

I got this recipe from Rachael Ray, who rules.  This was an amazing dish and I highly recommend it, which I guess is why I am posting it here, you know… in my Recipe section….right.

posted by Joe Elliott in Recipe and have No Comments

Portuguese Man-o-War

Portuguese Man-of-War

physaliaPhysalia physalis

Anyone unfamiliar with the biology of the venomous Portuguese man-of-war would likely mistake it for a jellyfish. Not only is it not a jellyfish, it’s not even an “it,” but a “they.” The Portuguese man-of-war is a siphonophore, an animal made up of a colony of organisms working together.The man-of-war comprises four separate polyps. It gets its name from the uppermost polyp, a gas-filled bladder, or pneumatophore, which sits above the water and somewhat resembles an old warship at full sail. Man-of-wars are also known as bluebottles for the purple-blue color of their pneumatophores.

The tentacles are the man-of-war’s second organism. These long, thin tendrils can extend 165 feet (50 meters) in length below the surface, although 30 feet (10 meters) is more the average. They are covered in venom-filled nematocysts used to paralyze and kill fish and other small creatures. For humans, a man-of-war sting is excruciatingly painful, but rarely deadly. But beware—even dead man-of-wars washed up on shore can deliver a sting.

Muscles in the tentacles draw prey up to a polyp containing the gastrozooids or digestive organisms. A fourth polyp contains the reproductive organisms.

Man-of-wars are found, sometimes in groups of 1,000 or more, floating in warm waters throughout the world’s oceans. They have no independent means of propulsion and either drift on the currents or catch the wind with their pneumatophores. To avoid threats on the surface, they can deflate their air bags and briefly submerge.

First-Aid

  • Pick off any visible tentacles with a gloved hand, stick, or anything handy, being careful to avoid further injury.
  • Rinse the sting thoroughly with salt or fresh water to remove any adhering tentacles as soon as possible.
  • Apply salt-water-ice for pain control, if none then use freshwater-ice (tapwater-ice) either works.
  • Irrigate exposed eyes with copious amounts of room temperature tap water for at least 15 minutes. If vision blurs, or the eyes continue to tear, hurt, swell, or are light sensitive after irrigating, see a doctor.
  • For persistent itching or skin rash, try 1 percent hydrocortisone ointment four times a day, and one or two 25 milligram diphenhydramine (Benadryl) tablets every 6 hours. These drugs are sold without prescription. Diphenhydramine may cause drowsiness. Don’t drive, swim or surf after taking this medication.

Although formerly considered effective, vinegar is no longer recommended for Portuguese man-of-war stings. In a laboratory experiment, vinegar dousing caused discharge of nematocysts from the larger (P. physalis) man-of-war species. The effect of vinegar on the nematocysts of the smaller species (which has less severe stings) is mixed: vinegar inhibited some, discharged others.

No studies support applying heat to Portuguese man-of-war stings. Studies on the effectiveness of meat tenderizer, baking soda, papain, or commercial sprays (containing aluminum sulfate and detergents) on nematocyst stings have been contradictory. It’s possible these substances cause further damage. In one U.S. Portuguese man-of-war fatality, lifeguards sprayed papain solution immediately on the victim’s sting. Within minutes, the woman was comatose, and later died.

Alcohol and human urine may be harmful on Portuguese man-of-war stings. An Australian study reports that both alcohol and urine caused massive nematocyst discharge in the box jellyfish, Chironex fleckeri.

Most Portuguese man-of-war stings disappear by themselves, sometimes within 15 or 20 minutes. Because of this, even harmful therapies often appear to work. A key concept in the first aid of any injury is: Do no harm. Therefore, avoid applying unproven, possibly harmful substances on stings.

map-portuguese-man-of-war

Indicates Man-o-War range

posted by Joe Elliott in La Playa and have No Comments

San Antonio & The Alamo!

Melissa and I met up with her Uncle Craig.  He was attending the 135th Imperial Council (Shriners International), so we drove up.  She and I arrived around 1pm (1300) cst.  It was pretty amazing, every one I spoke to told me I just *had* to see the river walk, well – I couldn’t help it if I wanted to, the Riverwalk takes up almost the entire downtown area, and is amazing, to say the least.

We visited the Alamo, where 30 Tennesseans and 6(I might be wrong) Missourians, and 0 Michiganders died in service to the Republic of Texas.  We also toured probably around 7-10 souvenir shops.  Then around 530 (1730) we met up with Mel’s Uncle Craig, who treated us to Fillet Mignon at a nearby Pub that had an amazing atmosphere.  Jamming delta-blues (I know, crazy right?) and some newer blues (Johnny Lang, etc) too.  He had some of the largest pork chops I have ever seen, and he also treated us to an appetizer of chicken and fried alligator.   We continued to walk around after dinner and saw some-more of the sights and scenery.  San Antonio is a gorgeous city, and aside from the large amounts of homeless people, it is pretty incredible.   As a side note, Texas has a surprising amount of homeless & panhandlers.  I can’t carry cash with me anymore, I give it all away.  Mel suggested I carry fiber-one bars with me instead, so I started this week.  Check flickr for photos if you’re interested, I uploaded a couple this morning.



mason plaque on the alamo
posted by Joe Elliott in life and have No Comments

Interviews & Photographs

I have been really enjoying my time here in Texas.  While I have time off from work, I have been getting up before dawn with Melissa and cooking breakfast and preparing her lunch.  She works 12 hour shifts so it doubles as time I get to see her, and I also get a good kickstart on the day.

I am still working on Dani & Trey’s photos, and I can promise they are almost done. You can see one of the teasers there to the right. :-)

I have also been jamming some Delta Blues pretty hard, also some Tom Waits.  He is a lyrical genius, and his musicianship is unmatched.  I have been jamming him for around 10 years now, but I just recently got more of his albums and have been really listening.

You get more time to do things like that when you are not taking summer classes and you have time off from work.

Though I have to say, regular house chores only list 5 items long took me 9 hours yesterday.  Wow, I can’t even imagine how much more difficult it would be if there were kids running around wrecking things behind me. ;-)

Anyway, More photos to come! Melissa & I setup a joint flickr account for our families to see.  Stay tuned!

posted by Joe Elliott in life and have No Comments