Ramblings of an Irishman

Hello!

2009-07-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

Here is our little nugget. 9 weeks 6 days. Heartbeat good, growth good. Slainte,

Kevin

Ramble...Balance...Ramble

2009-05-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

Its amazing how one can forget something. Jen stop laughing........I mean it.......wipe the tears out of your eyes.........ok, can I continue now?

I've always tried to be a balanced person. I believe that is a path to a successful life. One of many a person must take. A path that once started down will run parallel to every other.

This is not something I learned from any of my religion classes, church groups, church camps, or family. I taught myself. And lately, I seem to have forgotten that path. Or at least stopped for a brief rest. Bear with me as I try and find it again.

Most of the church's I ran into told me negative things about balance. Especially when it referred to the Yin Yang. I was told it was a satanic symbol. I was told I needed to strive to do everything a certain way. Christ's way. Be a good Christian. Be on fire for God. (En Fuego!!! Sorry, couldn't help it.)

Why is the idea and the symbol of the devil? None could give me a good answer except, “It's not in the Bible.” I find it hard to believe that God and Jesus would not want us to be balanced. All fire and no fuel will get us nowhere. Besides, what do you have left when you leave the secludedness of the summer camp, or the sanctuary? A fire that can't stand up to everyday life, unless you find fuel for it. Balance.

Why is the idea of good people doing bad things so hard to accept? Especially when people think of themselves as good people. “I don't see myself as this type of person. So I must not be capable of (insert action here).” We are all capable of good and evil. Good people do bad things. The balance comes from accepting that one may not always do good things, and how you move forward.

Balance. Zen. I'm a leaf on the fraking wind! Have a rambled enough? Perhaps enough to have remembered my balance.

Slainte,

Kevin

That Summer!

2009-04-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

I was reading a friends blog and thinking of times past. And here is what I came up with. So to all those who were there, raise a glass to that summer.

Bed Time

2009-03-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

It's nice to know that after 20 months of Mama putting the little one to bed(with only a couple of exceptions), Patrick will go to bed for daddy as well.

I was never jealous of his fixation on her. I knew he loved me, just as much as the boob...er....mommy. At some point he would favor me and the go back to her and so on.

I am just happy I can give my wonderful wife the freedom to go straight from work to an event without coming home to put the buddy to bed. She can go have fun. Adult fun. Without the kid.

So here's to you, always.

Slainte,

Kevin

Twilight

2009-03-23T14:31:00.001-07:00

So I just bought the movie Twilight. Yes, I know it was directed at teens. In particular teen girls. But I bought it. And the books. Deal with it.

I am predisposed to like movies like this. Meaning those pulled from existing novels. It always grates on me when someone gets on a soapbox and has to tell everyone in the tri-state area how it didn't follow the book. And how bad it was. Guess what? You still paid to see it, and I bet you bought it as well. (Hrmm...Guess that was a soapbox of my own. Hee hee.) This movie was no exception.

As a matter of fact, I thought the movie improved a bit on Meyer's mediocre writing. In pictures and dialogue, the movie described better what was going on in two hours than the whole of the first book.

To give her credit, Meyer's writing improved greatly over the four book series. Perhaps that was due to the fan base being different that she intended. Not all of us are pre-teen or teen girls. Oh, and not all of us are that whiny. But I digress.

I enjoyed the movie. I enjoyed trying to figure out what places in Oregon they were. I know some of them from reading, but I recognized the Columbia river and gorge during the top of the tree scene. And I'm pretty sure I have been to the beach the used for La Push. The lighthouse rang a bell or two.

The movie flowed well. The fight with James could have lasted longer, but oh well.

The only bit that bugged me a little was the cars. I can understand the Volvo. She never really mentions what model it is in the book, only that Edward takes the family to school in it. But Rose's car. Meyer specifically names it as a BMW M3. Not a Mercedes.

Anyway, have I rambled enough? Bottom line, I'm glad I bought the movie. Tomorrow I will by the new James Bond. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

Slainte,

Kevin

Nuff Said

2009-03-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

Change

2008-12-30T20:26:00.000-08:00

One morning I prayed.
I didn't know what I wanted.
I didn't even know where to start.
I just prayed.
Prayed and talked about what I didn't want,
And what scared me.

Slowly it came to me,
Through this conversation with my God.
The thing I was most afraid of,
Was what I wanted.
Something that had haunted me time and again.
Had been my tormentor.
Little did I know it would be the catalyst,
That started the rest of my life.

I prayed for change.
A change in myself,
And a change in what I wanted.

Strength,
Determination,
Beauty,
Compassion,
Love,
Caring,
Peace.

Some of these,
I already had.
Some needed changing.
Others I didn't have at all.
And so I prayed.

It is funny,
How God gives us what we want.
Even though the journey is not what we expect.

That summer,
For many of us,
Was just this side of Hell.
God was teaching me.
Teaching me that I was not with the right person.
This was not the person I prayed for.
She took me on a ride.
One that would leave marks,
But without hurt, there is no chance to heal.
And Learn.

And then with the subtleness,
That only God can have,
My prayers were answered.
He showed me who I needed.
And for once,
I had eyes to see.

Our path together began.

Little was I prepared
For what lay ahead.
So much learning,
So much growing,
So much love.

I stand in awe.

Marks were turned into lessons.
The veil was lifted.
Love took me by surprise.

The woman I prayed for,
Began to unlock,
Things in me I didn't know I had.
Aspects buried deep,
Never nurtured,
Until she came.

Strength,
Determination,
Beauty,
Compassion,
Love,
Caring,
Peace.

She taught me Strength
She taught me Determination.
She improved everything else.
Through her,
I found a Peace I never dreamed,
Could one day come to me.

Only through learning about myself,
Could I be the best person to her.

Only through learning from her,
Could I break away and find myself.
And be proud of who I had become.
Prayer,

Change,

Peace.

All that I am is yours, my love.
May you always be my inspiration.

Slainte,

Kevin

Grumble

2008-09-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

So, I read a post on a blog. It pissed me off. I mean, like really pissed me off. I couldn't belive someone had formed an opinion of me based off of so little information. But that's free speech for you. I proceeded to write a lengthy blog post of my own taking this person apart. If any of you caught it, your lucky. It was up for a grand total of about 33 minutes. That was about the time I decided to take it down. No matter how mad I was, no matter how wrong he was, I couldn't have something linking me to what he was talking about. Not on my own blog. Even though he didn't mention my name. Is that vague enough?

But that isn't the point of this post. The point is how fraking hard it is to brush something like that off. Even when you know the person is operating with a fraction of the info, and is biased from the start. Why do I want to prove to this person and everyone else how wrong he was? Why should it matter? I know what I did and accomplished, and many others know as well. Why does a fraking one liner in a post set me off?

Breathe, Kevin.

Channel Stuart Smally,

Or at least Katee Sackhoff(Hee hee)

Then picture this limp dick skinjob fraker's head on a pike. And his liver, with fava beans and a nice chianti, perhaps.

Or breathe. And realize he doesn't matter, not even a little bit.

Slainte,

Kevin

Parenting 201, in pics and video

2008-08-31T14:56:00.001-07:00

Greetings,

Here is a prime example of shit not to let your child do:

Don't let your child sit on the door to the stuffed full dishwasher......and play with the cheese grater. This look was a "is Daddy really going to let me play with this?" look.

Here we see one of the things he inherited from his Mommy.
I rarely if ever bruise. Even if I knock the frak out of myself. Today, Patrick barley wacked himself on the chair and raised this lovely line of a bruise. That he gets from Mommy.

For all those that do not have dogs, or dogs as active as ours here is a little taste my day today.

Well, that's all I can post right now. The child is calling. Take care.

Slainte,

Kevin

Another Obsession

2008-08-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

For those that know me, I tend to get obsessed with certain TV series'. Usually those with strong, smart, and hot female leads. Alias, Dark Angel, Buffy, Alias. Did I mention Alias? The exception was Highlander, although Adrian Paul was yummy.

My newest obsession I blame on the people down the street. They let me borrow season one and the first half of season two. I have since ordered the second half of season two, although I did find it for $10 including shipping.

*As a side note, each one of the monkey frakers in marketing who thought it would be a good idea to split the season into two different sets for DVD should be taken out into the street and shot, or stranded on Caprica with nothing but a butter knife and some cheese wiz*

If the side note was not a big enough hint as to what the series is, and if you are not a big dork like me, it probably wasn't, here is another one.

I absolutly loved this show when I was a kid. Granted I was watching it on reruns given it came out when I was two.

Now I bet your asking who the strong, smart, hot female lead is. DUH!!!! Starbuck. Not only is she from my home town, but Starbuck was my favorite character from the original series. Except that was played by Dirk Benedict. Who, incidently, played my favorite character on the A Team.

So not I am stuck waiting for the mail delivery of the next part of season two. And, like the good marketers they are, episode 2.10 was a clifhanger. But I will let the nice neighbors down the street borrow it to contine their obession. Well that's all for now. More updates if I can get off my fraking lazy ass do them. Toodles.

Slainte,

Kevin

My Past and Present

2008-06-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

I'm having trouble.

No, trouble isn't the right word. It doesn't quite encapsulate what is going on in my gray matter. Shit. Here goes.

I have always struggled with my self esteem. Not just the some days up and some days down. Everyone goes through that. This was, is, a constant battle with the second guessing monster. That tiny little fucker on your shoulder that makes you question everything you do. Causes you to sap your own confidence in yourself and your decision making. Taking little decisions, or choices and inflating them to epic proportions. Making little mistakes seem earth shattering.

I feel horrible about myself. Like I can't make any kind of decision by myself.

“I need to do this by myself.” I said.

On the other side of the phone in a plaintive and patronizing voice, “No, you don't have to do it by yourself.”

A small thing it was. But I needed to prove to myself that I could do it. I did, but that response has stayed with me for 13 years. I came out of it with a false idea of what an adult should be able to do. I berated myself for things I couldn't do on my own that I thought all adults were doing but me. I constantly second guessed my decisions.

Am I doing this the right way?

Am I hurting someone else's feelings?

Will everyone agree that I did the right thing?

And there it is. Will everyone agree that I did the right thing? The crux of the issue. Self esteem. What will other people think. Will I be able to please everyone? Will they agree? Self esteem.

I battle with this every time I deal with or encounter certain aspects of my life. I'm much better now, than I was.

Balance. That is what I seek. The balance between going over situations and decisions to learn from them, and still being confident that I made the right choice. And if I decide I didn't, to rectify it.

I know I am a good and kind and thoughtful person. I've worked hard to become that person. My next goal is to become as strong and confident as I want to be. Other people's opinions matter. They can help you grow. But I know myself the best.

Kindness

Strength

Confidence

Empathy

Humor

Love

These I wish for myself, and I have them. Now I work on improving them. Show others by my actions.

In Strength, Love and Gratitude,

Slainte,

Kevin

Sorry.

2008-04-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

Greetings all,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I wish I could say that life got in the way of posting, but that is not true. I simply forgot, and then put it off. Bad Blogger!!! No Biscuit!!!!

I will post more soon, but now I have to stop the child from eating Mommy's romance novels.

Slainte,

Kevin

Finally......

2008-02-20T13:02:00.001-08:00

Greetings,

For those that haven't read my wife's blog, it had finally happened. I have a job! Yay!!!!!!!!!!! I will be starting as a barista at Starbucks in the beginning of March. I had a good interview with the store manager yesterday, and am going shopping for job cloths today. Yay!!!!!!!

In the meantime, you all should come to the opera. It is The Barber of Seville and is playing March 7th-9th at the Pantages in downtown Tacoma. You can buy tickets here.

Slainte,

Kevin

Daycare is a Godsend

2008-02-12T11:28:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

So last week the kid gets sick with his first flu. Covering his sheets and himself in one go. I'd imagine it's because he is a new little guy, that it took 4 days for him to get over it. Then it happened. All you experienced parents out there, this is the time to chuckle. Yesterday, Jen came home from work vomiting. So I took point on kid care and did all I could to help her stay comfortable.

About 1am or so, I wake up. Shit. My turn. Pizza is good, but not that good. Especially in the amount I consumed.

Where does daycare come into this you ask? The fact that we can drop the buddy off and have nine hours to sleep and be with our pathetic selves. Hopefully we are getting better. Jen is asleep and my stomach, at least for now, has kept down the 7up and popsicles.

Slainte,

Kevin

Just because your old.......

2008-01-29T08:32:00.001-08:00

I had an interesting experience at Metropolitan Market last night. I was walking out to the car with the kiddo and happened to look to my right just in time to see this gentlemen(by which I mean cranky, crusty, asshole) full on kick the side of a passing pickup. Not just a love tap, mind you, the entire sole of his foot connected with the pickup. Accompanied by the sound of bending metal. He then proceeded to his vehicle parked next to mine. The guy driving the truck, I shall call him Kid(even though he is probably my age), stopped and got out to see what the hell just happened, as any of us would.

I told him to check the back of his pickup because I think the gentleman dented it. Meanwhile, the gentlemen is starting his car and prepping to back out. I motion for him to roll down his window and say, "Sir, I would get out and talk to him if I were you."

He does get out, the whole time trying to justify his action by saying that the Kid smarted off to him in the store and tried to run him over in the parking lot. (The gentlemen almost stepped out in front of the Kid while behind a planter box.) Calling the Kid a smartass he got back into his car. All the while Kid was taking down his liscence plate info.

At this point I step in and tell the gentleman he kicked and dented the Kids car. His answer, as if it was supposed to exonerate him, was to tell me rudely there was already a huge dent there. I repeated my statement, but not before telling him that he was not being a big person about this.
The Kid was still too shell shocked to say much. I asked for the gentleman's name and got it, and he drove away in his gray Toyota SUV.

I asked the kid what happened in the store. Both he and the gentleman were coming out of the store at the same time. Gentleman took his bags out of his cart and left it in the middle of the entry to the store. Kid called him nicely on it. That was it. Sounds like a capital offense to me. Better put the Kid on death row.

Oh, did I mention gentleman's wife was there as well, and that she tried to defend him from inside the car?

This just goes to show, no matter how many decent people there are in the world, there are just as many indecent.

Mr. King I hope you are happy. You proved you are just another retired ugly American, whose sense of entitlement and bully behavior, is adding to our country's world image. Thank you.

Slainte,

Kevin

What is the Universe Coming To?

2008-01-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

A couple of days ago I was taking the kid to the mall. After parking and getting the stroller ready, I notice a car from Texas pull in across from me. A man in BDU's gets out and takes the woman he was with into the mall. Normally this wouldn't have raised any notice, but something glinted as they pulled in. I waited until they went in and went to investigate. Here is what I found.

For those who have never been off planet, this is the symbol of the Mandalorians.
Now I know they are not so much a race as clan of many races. But I struggle to come to grips with this choice. What self respecting Mandalorian would own a beat up Ford Focus. What self respecting Mandalorian would let a friend or clanmate drive a beat up Ford Focus. I mean really. This is the guy that is always at the ass end of the pack holding everyone up. Even with a long range turbolaser mounted on top and proton torpedo tubes under the headlights this guy still couldn't catch a drunk bantha.

I suppose the only redeeming value for this guy is the light show he will give once an XJ7 quad linked lasers have a go at it.

There is one other option, however. Some schutta could have gotten his hands on a bit of white paint(see the streaks on the hood) and created a poor facsimile of the Mandalorian symbol. In which case, it will be a race to see who vapes this guy first. The Mandalorians or anyone else. Poor little man. Oh well.

Slainte,

Kevin

Art and the Body

2008-01-20T12:55:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

Well, I finally got some permanent art affixed to my body. Three and a half hours and $250 later I couldn't be happier. Here it is.

Slainte,

Kevin

There is a job out there somewhere.

2008-01-16T11:31:00.001-08:00

Greetings,

Does anyone out there know who I can talk to/how I can get my foot in the door at the convention center. There website diverts one to the city's job site and nothing is ever listed there for it. I would imagine there are jobs, even seasonal ones available. If anyone can help message/call/email me. Thanks.

Slainte,

Kevin

2008-01-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

Here is a video of our son. Please excuse my singing, I am a drummer.

Slainte,

Kevin

Visions

2008-01-07T16:17:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

Well, the job I interviewed for went to someone else. For all my attempts to keep in good spirits about this, saying it is their loss and this must not have been the place I am supposed to be. There is a part of me that feel differently. The dark side that wishes nothing but failure to the person who got the job instead of me. Visions of catastrophe. Visions of raging clients. Visions of that person getting fired.

But that is all they are. Visions. That vengeful person is not me. But it lurks there in the background, telling all of us things we need to hear in the first moments when the hiring manager tells us they hired someone else. Then the good, compassionate person takes over, and we wish the manager a good day and thank them. And we mean it. I mean it.

Now...........

All I want to do is crawl into the nearest corner and cry.

Take all the raw emotion generated and give it a healthy outlet. Leaving room for all the true thoughts. Those that tell me I am a good and talented person. I have skills that many companies would be lucky to have. And as hard as it is, even if it takes six months, there is a job out there for me.

Slainte,

Kevin

Oh God!

2007-12-25T10:55:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

Here is possibly the scariest woman I have ever seen. With the possible exception of Lolo Ferrari.

OI!!!!!

Slainte,

Kevin

Once More With the Hotness

2007-12-22T06:23:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

A few days ago we took Patrick for his first swim at the Sumner High School pool. He did great, except for the underwater part. That was not so fun. We started him in the big pool.

That was a bit cold. The poor buddy started to shiver. So we moved on to the 90 degree therapy pool.

That was much more fun. Except for the underwater part, he had a blast splashing and being moved around. And then there was the turtle. One of the lifeguards brought out some rubber toys for the kids to play with. Patrick grabbed on to the turtle and proceeded to chew on it for the last little bit we were there.

I bet your wondering where the hotness comes in to this. Well wonder no more. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present................My lovely wife!!!!

Slainte,

Kevin

Me and My Little Guy

2007-12-11T07:29:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

I realized that I haven't posted any pics of my son. Yea, my wife has but not me. So here he is with me before we headed off to Zoo Lights.

Slainte,

Kevin

I'm to Sexy for My Hair

2007-12-09T20:47:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

I know my wife posted this, but I just can't help myself. She is just too damn sexy not to post about. Ladies and gentlemen, my wife's new hair!!!!!

And again with the sexyness!!

Slainte,

Kevin

Finally a Stew Recipe From The Irishman

2007-12-09T20:28:00.001-08:00

Greetings,

I know this is two posts in one day, but I'm at the computer. The next recipe is one for Irish Stew. For me it is a wonderful thing to have on a cold day with a Guinness. The amount of beef and potatoes will vary depending on the size of your crock pot. Mine is fairly large so that is what this recipe is made for. I also like a lot of meat in my stew, hence the 3 pounds of beef.

It may seem not important, but browning the meat is crucial to getting a good stew. What browning does is seal the outside of the meat so it doesn't loose all of its juice while cooking. It is the same concept when searing a steak and finishing it in the broiler. All those lovely juices stay inside just waiting for us to enjoy them. It also helps to keep the meat tender and not rock like. Even though stew is cooked with a good deal of liquid, the meat can dry out.

The broth is make by a company called Pacific. They have so many good broth and soup products, most of which are organic. Their roasted red pepper and tomato soup is the only tomato soup I will eat. But I digress. You can find it many different places. My local Fred Meyer carries it in the health food section.

On a final note, I like a whole lot of black pepper in my stew. I don't know exactly how much I put in, but I am turning that grinder for a good long while. As a second final note, the Guinness in the stew is there for taste but also to help tenderize the meat. For those that don't drink, the alcohol cooks out.

Kevin’s Irish Stew

3lbs stew meat

4-6 yukon gold potatoes, cut into bits sized pieces

3 carrots, halved lengthwise and diced

3 celery sticks, slit down the middle and diced

1 32oz box Pacific beef broth

1 14.5oz can Guinness

4 tbsp ground cumin

2 tbsp ground coriander

Kosher salt

Fresh ground black pepper

2 tbsp Olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a pan at just over medium heat. Brown the meat until all sides are sealed. Place meat and veggies into the crock pot. Add the Guinness and then top of with the broth so that the liquid level. Add the cumin, coriander, and as much salt and black pepper as you like. Give it all a good stir to mix, put the lid on, and cook. There are two different cooking times you can go by. High for 4-5 hours, or low for 8-9 hours.

Slainte,

Kevin

Work and a Recipe

2007-12-09T19:54:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

Well, here I go with another post. To start with, I am officially out of a job. My company restructured my position and it no longer fit my needs. My last day was December 1. On the whole it is a relief to be gone from that place. I wish the theatre nothing but the best, but I am glad to not be working there.

Drama Drama is in full swing, but on hold. The big conversation is going to be had at a different time. Won't that make Christmas fun!!!

As far as recipes go, I have a couple to post here and one I need to figure out the measures for. That is the interesting bit about my cooking. I usually don't measure my ingredients except by sight or feel. Makes it hard to write it down. The first is a seafood pasta sauce. All of the canned seafood I found at Trader Joe's for a reasonable price and comes in the same size as tuna cans. Make sure the salmon package says boneless, otherwise you will get the back bone and some ribs to pick out.

2 cans whole baby clams, drained

2 cans crab meat, drained

1 can boneless, skinless salmon, drained

1lb prawns, deveined and peeled

1 cup whole milk

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

8-10 cloves garlic, crushed

Cayenne pepper

Kosher Salt

Fresh ground pepper

Fresh grated Parmisan cheese

Pour tomatoes and juice into a sauté pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce the liquid until you have a thick paste, stirring every few minutes. It will take about 10 minutes or so to reduce. In a large sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add clams, sauté for 3 minutes, then add crab, salmon, and prawns. Season with cayenne pepper to taste. Cook until prawns are orange. Add tomatoes from the other pan and the milk. Stir to combine.

The tomatoes should mix with the milk to form the sauce that holds the seafood together. Keep over the heat only long enough for the milk and tomatoes to heat through, 2-3 minutes. If the sauce is not as creamy as you would like it, add more milk until it is.

Spoon over your favorite pasta and top with the cheese, salt, and pepper to taste.

Again let me know how it goes. Take care all.

Slainte,

Kevin

2007-11-27T06:46:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

Well life has taken some interesting turns in the last week or so. My wife mentioned some in her blog so I won't repeat them here. As far as the rest, there will be job stuff and recipes in the next couple of days. I hope everyone had a good T Day. Take care.

Slainte,

Kevin

Work

2007-11-15T12:59:00.001-08:00

Greetings all,

For those that don't know yet, I am looking for another job. I have been since the beginning of September. So if anyone has a job lead they think I would be interested in, please contact me. Take care.

Slainte,

Kevin

More and More.

2007-10-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

Well, the opera is going great. I really like working with the director. He knows what he wants and keeps the rehearsal light hearted. I'm glad he is directing The Pajama Game for TLT in the spring.

The rest of life is moving forward as well. Patrick is such a joy, and my wife is as wonderful as always. I have a couple of recipes brewing in my head and will post them soon. Take care all.

Slainte,

Kevin

Bad Kevin! No Biscuit!

2007-10-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

So I have the best intentions. My good friend calls me and leaves a message. I think, cool I need to call him back when I am not in rehearsal. Then it becomes several days and he calls again. I think, oops I forgot to call him. Must do that when I get home. A couple of days go by. He comments on my blog. I think $@#!, I'm a bad friend. So here I am blogging about it, and going to call him afterwards. Sorry Jay.

Slainte,

Kevin

Oops!

2007-10-10T16:40:00.001-07:00

Greetings,

I missed something in the sauce recipe. I forgot to say when to add the sausage to the sauce. I have edited that in now. Oops, sorry.

Slainte,

Kevin

2007-10-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

Thanks all for reading and commenting! I kind of want to take the blog in the direction of posting recipies when I finish them, as well as talking about what is happening in life. Most of the baby posts will come from Jen's blog, but there will be some here as well. Take care.

Slainte,

Kevin

Another recipe for you

2007-10-08T11:34:00.000-07:00

Kevin’s Spicy Red Sauce

2 28oz cans Muir Glen crushed tomatoes with basil
2 14oz cans Muir Glen diced tomatoes
2 cans Muir Glen tomato paste
1 lb hot Italian sausage
1 large red onion, diced
2 cups crimini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
1 head (8-10 cloves) garlic, half diced, half smashed.
Red pepper flakes to taste
2 tbls Dried oregano
Olive oil

You are going to need a large pot for this. Several times while I was experimenting with this I used a sauce pan and had to transfer to something larger. But before that, heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Break up Italian sausage and add to the pan. Brown the meat until most of the fat is rendered and a small bit of carbon appears on the meat. Drain and set aside for now. In the large pot, heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil to medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté for 30-45 seconds, and add the onion and mushrooms. Sauté until the onion is a bit transparent, 5-6 minutes. Don’t worry if it seems a little dry for the mushrooms, they will shed some of their liquid while cooking.

When the onions and mushrooms are done, add the sausage, tomatoes, tomato paste, and oregano. Mix to combine all ingredients, and bring to a simmer. Turn heat down, cover the pot, and simmer for 2 21/2 hours stirring every 30 minutes or so.

Other bits to add

At times I have added several different ingredients to make this basic sauce different. Here are some of them.

-Mild Italian sausage for those who like the flavor without the heat.
-Black and green olives, sliced
-Different mushrooms like Portobello, shitake, and the like.
-Red, green, yellow, orange peppers.
-Zucchini and other squash

This recipe can also be the base for a smooth red sauce. Just omit the sausage, mushrooms and red pepper flakes.

Again, if you make this let me know what you think.

Slainte,

Kevin

A recipe for you

2007-10-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

Kevin’s Chili in the crock pot

2 lbs meat of your choice
-I used 1lb ground turkey, and 1lb ground hot Italian sausage
2 cans red kidney beans
1 can white kidney beans
2 28oz cans Muir Glen crushed tomatoes with basil
2 14oz cans Muir Glen diced tomatoes
1 can Muir Glen tomato paste
1 large red onion. Chopped
1 head garlic( 8-10 cloves), or to taste. Peeled and smashed
2 chipotles in adobo. Diced.
Red pepper flakes
Olive oil

Spice Mix
6 tbls chili powder
2 tbls ground cumin
1 tbls coriander
2 tbls whole fennel seeds
2 tbls paprika

Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan to just above medium. Add red pepper flakes and sauté for 30 seconds. Add meat and brown the meat just until carbon begins to form. While the meat is browning, gather the spices and mix them together. Put tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, garlic, and chipotles into the crock pot. When meat is done add to pot. Add spices and stir to combine. Cover the crock pot and set to high for 2 ½ hours. Drain and rinse the beans and add to the pot. Cook for another 30 minutes.

Serving

A family tradition with chili that goes back as far as I can remember is to put a bed of Fritos on a plate and put the chili over them. Then top with grated cheese, green onion, olives and anything else you think would be good.

If you do this recipe, post a comment about how it went.

Slainte,

Kevin

The day before....

2007-10-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

I start rehearsals for the opera tomorrow. Thankfully, the director has a day job so almost all of them are in the evening. "Orpheus in the Underworld" is the show we are doing. You should all come see it. The link has the info on it.

Today was all about preparing for this week. Jen and I went to Trader Joe's, Costco, and Fred Meyer to acquire everything we needed food wise. I spent the next few hours cooking up chili, pasta sauce and chicken so we can have meals for this week without a lot of fuss. Yay!! We have a full fridge. My next post will have the recipie for the chili I created myself. It turned out great and has a distinct flavor.

Slainte,

Kevin

Day Two

2007-10-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

Greetings all,

Yard work sucks. Especially when there is a section of yard that was over grown fifty years before your house was built, and the previous owner didn't care enough to even trim it. If you hadn't guessed, I have just come in from hacking through said plot of land. There is an apple tree buried in the mess of ivy and blackberry bushes I somehow need to get the chainsaw wrapped around. Thankfully, it is under as much control as can be expected for that part of the yard. GRRRRRR!!

Two nights ago, I refined my own recipe for seafood pasta. I added mushrooms and tomatoes. Surprisingly, my wife said it could use a little bit of hot pepper. She is not one for spice on the same level as me, and as such I didn't put any in. Oh well, I guess I will have to put some in next time and see how it goes. I will post the recipe when I get it perfected. That's all for now. Take care,

Slainte,

Kevin

Here goes

2007-09-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

Greetings all,

This is my first foray into blogging. My wife had been doing hers for a while, and I'm finally getting off my lazy Irish butt to do my own.

As the name of the blog implies, I am an Irishman. Well, half Irish any way. My birth mother did not put a father on my birth certificate, so I could be a myriad of other things. I was born in a small town on the southern end of Oregon, but grew up in Portland. Eventually I made my way north to Tacoma, WA were I met my wife and have settled. Amusingly enough, she lived about 10 minuets away from me in Portland and we never knew each other. She is the greatest thing in my life, apart from our wonderful son Patrick.

Well that's all for now. I will have to think of interesting bits to write about.

Slainte,

Kevin