Why all the construction on Staten Island?

There have been a lot of backups on the Island of late due to construction.  Here is a link to the plans that should be completed by 2013.  Despite the predictions, I am not optimistic that people will suddenly become smart and stop being zombie slaves to texting and electronic media.
JA

Here's the deal

A Spider and a tale of two hikes on Staten Island

Perhaps not quite as hard as finding a Pygmy Seahorse in a haystack, but still a challenge.  Hiking Mount Moses on Staten Island over the weekend.  Part of our Greenbelt.  Ran into this tiny spider species I never saw before.  Mount Moses is one of the highest points in the city and makes a nice short hike especially on the evening of the full moon.  Play the game and try to find the spider.

http://johnares.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/INSECTS-SPIDERS/G0000_66n_J7qzp0/I0000iydkkdhnJk4

BONUS HIKE:  Egbertville Ravine.  This trail starts right where the car was parked near Meisner Road and Manor Road.  Happy Accident.

RECIPE: Lobster Americaine

I have to explain this as you cannot hear my tone of voice.  The following is a joke (people get defensive about cooking):  


There are only three ways to cook lobster:  1. Steamed with drawn butter,  2. Butter Poached, and this, 3. Lobster Americaine.  It is a French version, tomatoey and hot and spicy.  Different from Lobster Fra Diavillo.  The sugar in the carrots moderates the black pepper and cayenne pepper.


Got this from the NY Times many moons ago.  Cooked it last night and leftovers made it to tonite.  It is a lot of work which is why I generally do it once a year.  BUT IT SO GOOD.  Have NEVER seen it offered in a restaurant due to the 90 minutes of labor required.  A great summer dish.  Serve with a great white like a Conundrum or a Sparking Cold Red like a Lambrusco.
JA

Lobster Americaine

Adapted from a NY TIMES Pierre Franey recipe from the Bronze Age

PARTS LIST

4 lobsters, about 1 1/4  pound each

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Salt to taste

4 tablespoons sweet butter

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 cup shallots

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup carrots, diced

1/4 cup brandy or Cognac

1 cup white wine

1  28 ounce can of imported canned tomatoes and liquid.  I like San Marzano.

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup water

4 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chervil (optional)

2 tablespoons brandy.

Trader Joes Lemon Pappardelle noodles.

DIRECTIONS

Prep time 1 Hour,  plus cooking about 30 minutes

Prepare all ingredients as described above. When finished:

1. Humanely kill the lobsters by inserting a knife into an upside down lobster directly in the middle of the head behind the eyes and twist quickly.   Then dismember the tail from the shell.  Twist off the claws and set aside. Cut the lobster tails in half lengthwise. Cut each half into three pieces.  I use a sharp serrated knife.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over high heat.  Place all the lobster pieces in the pot and toss them gently for about 2 minutes.  Pour off the oil and return pot to the heat.

3. Add to the pot one tablespoon of butter and the garlic, shallots, black pepper, carrots, brandy, white wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, water,  2 tablespoons tarragon, bay leaf, thyme and cayenne pepper.  Cover and cook over high heat.  Remove tail meat after 5-7 minutes and cook claws for a total of 10 minutes rotating during cooking.

4. GET WATER FOR THE NOODLES GOING  - Add noodles to be ready about 10 minutes after adding.  Trader Joes Lemon Pappardelle is a great pasta to use.

5. Reduce the sauce over high heat to about 3 cups.  While the sauce is reducing, add 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour.  Stir well until all are bound together.  Cook and stir a minute or two.

6. Add remaining:

        -    2 tablespoons of tarragon and the chervil. 

        -   Add remaining tablespoon of butter and the brandy. 

        -   Put the lobster pieces back into the sauce and heat just to warm them

                 before serving, with noodles.

Yield: 4 servings.,

Total time about 90 minutes

The London Fun Stuff Trip Log has been updated

http://jafunstufftriplog.blogspot.com/2012/07/london-june-2012.html

SUBLIME MUSIC: Mike Oldfield - Light & Shade

If you know me well, as the FUN STUFF blog audience does, you know I have music preferences dominated by the following families:  Dream Theater, Al Di Meola, Genesis (Steve Hackett), Pat Metheney, Yanni and Mike Oldfield.  Their extended kin include King Crimson, and many other Progressive Rock and Jazz influences.


By the way the BEATLES perhaps were the World's first progressive Rock Band.  Re-listen to a Day-in-the-life from Sgt Pepper to understand Progressive rock and all the timing and change-ups.  The song PROGRESSES to something else.  King Crimson perfected it but the Beatles started it.

So it is always an event when a new Mike Oldfield CD shows up.  Light & Shade is a two disc effort and was released in 2005.  This one got by me until now.  His distribution is odd.  The used Amazon discs* came from Bulgaria.  Cost me $5 but that is immaterial.

As usual the music is sublime, etherial and uplifting.  I cannot say that about many other things I have heard recently with the exception of last October's release of Dream Theater's "A Dramatic Turn of Events."  But they are not etherial.  They are the flat out EXCITING bobsled ride.

Check here for more details or listen to clips on iTunes.
JA

NEW: Roasting Broccoli RABE

Evidently, the recipe for Roasting Broccoli on the grill was a big hit with a bunch of folks.  Here is a variation on Brocolli Rabe from Richard and Diane:

Hi John, sounds like a great way to cook broccoli. 

Reminds me a little of how I do broccoli rabe which I will share with you now:

1. wash and chop up a bunch of BR;

2. toss it into a very hot, heavy pot or pan and pan roast dry until it starts to scorch;

3. push it over to the side to make a little space and add to the space a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, dried red pepper flakes to taste, and a generous dollop of extra virgin olive oil;

4. give it a minute to mellow the garlic and toss all together;

5. remove from heat -- the end.

This works for me because it cooks the BR to a state of tenderness without the parboiling that makes it watery tasting.  So the flavor has intensity, no wateriness, and not chewy like rope. 
Mmmm.

Staten Island: SERPENTINE COMMONS

Staten Island is a lot of things, and has many "Secret Places."  We discovered a place today that is a little gem.    It is called Serpentine Art and Nature Commons (SANC) .   It is not a city park, but privately owned.  Check the web link for more info in its fascinating history and wildlife opportunities.



























DETAILS:

Park near 589 Van Duzer Street.  The entrance is directly across the street through a door in a chain link fence.  The park is open from Dawn to Dusk.

• Class II hike.  Gain 225 feet in elevation.  Wear hiking shoes or sneaks.  Here is the map of the Serpentine Commons.  This may be the only one on the net. 

• Three trails, one is a the "9/10 of a mile" Orange trail with a spectacular view of NY Harbor and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.  The Red trail goes to Howard Avenue.  We did not do the Yellow Trail.
• Takes about an hour or so to do the Orange Trail loop.
• The entrance fools you.  There is no blaze and you think you need to go straight somehow.  WRONG  - MAKE A HARD LEFT and walk along the fence until you come up to the start of the ascent.

• Like anywhere in New York State, the state flower, POISON IVY is everywhere, so know your 100% ORGANIC, PURE AND ALL NATURAL TOXIC WEED.
• The Area is named for the SERPENTINE Rock formations in the area (see below)

• Enjoy the reward from the Orange Trail. - JA

UPDATE: Roasting Broccoli

An update on the Portland Taxi note a few months ago.  Doing the grill tonight for a Pork Chop with Honey Garlic Sauce, the second shelf was ideal for adding ROASTED BROCCOLI.  In a quart size bowl, drizzle great quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a ton of chopped garlic and broccoli tops for two.  Let it marinate for 10 minutes or so stirring occasionally,

Put on a non stick cookie pan with parchment paper if you have it, and put on the top rack to sizzle for 10 or 15 minutes.  Watch for the Neon green color to start fading with browning just starting.  It is done.

If you are using parchment paper, watch the temp as it should not go above 400 degrees.  I find it difficult not to cook broccoli this way any more.  George Bush the SR. never had broccoli this way.  TRUST ME, THIS WILL NOT LEAD TO TOFU.  :)

JA

FUN STUFF has been updated

It is Friday night.  A chance to breathe.  Yes, FUN STUFF has been updated.  New fun stories and STUFF.  As always, if any one wants off, just let me know.

JA

As always... BOOKMARK and check in when you want.  We respect the mailbox.  NO SPAM!

http://jafunstuff.blogspot.com/

WSJ.com - What's Wrong With America's Supermarkets?

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WSJ.com - Unlocking the Secrets of a Car Thief

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LONDON - A Sense of Place

Perhaps this belongs on a different blog but I thought the pure joy of this put it here.  We think of the English as having horrible food and great beer.  Correct.

We all have priorities.  What do we want to do.  What can we do.  Lets remove any obvious challenges or obstacles.

So items like travel, learning history, learning geography, eating different foods, cooking different foods, seeing how people live, watching different television, listening to different music, appreciating the differences achieve a higher meaning depending on your previous experiences.

A long winded way of saying we enjoyed London.  As an American, I think we approach the UK with a confused definition of the British, the United Kingdom and England.  Look them all up.

I love the English.  I love your beer.  I still think you cannot cook.  We have better fish and chips in America at Arthur Treachers.  And Newfoundland Canada. A "Sense of Place." 

 In Rome, it was there than I finally understood the anarchy of Staten Island. In Madrid, I understood the range of the Spanish empire in the New World. In Greece, I understood that my salad oil from Crete is the best and by the way came from the Minoans 10,000 years ago. Athens saw Plato strolling at the Acropolis where we see demonstrators near that nightly. Paris drips in romance and food.  Notice the order.  Still, world's best food after Manhattan.

London.  Donald Trump not.  Snookie. Not.  Standing on the grave of Henry the VIII.  Charles Darwin.  Isaac Newton.  Big Ben.  Oxford.  Stonehenge 2000 BC?  Hampton Court Castle.  Westminster Abbey, Tower of London in the year 1066, 10 Downing Street. The row houses that looked like the movie "HARD DAY'S NIGHT."  Wow.  You need to be there to "get it."

Changes ones perspective. It is a different culture.  We did break away.   A Sense of Place.  If travel does not change you, you did it wrong.  Details in the trip log coming soon.
See the photos.
JA

WSJ.com - Opinion: Teaching 'Taco Bell's Canon'

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SANDY HOOK, NJ BIKE PATH

Out of the last two weekends, today was the first with NO THUNDERSTORMS threatening. So we ventured off to the Jersey Shore for one of the best bike rides in the area. 12 mile round trip and flat. Lots of restaurants in the Atlantic Highlands and Highlands area for a reward afterwards.  

See the attached site for directions and maps. Admission for a cars is $15 or FREE AFTER 5pm. I like Sunday evenings. History buffs: you will cycle past the US Weapons Proving Grounds at Fort Hancock. It was active from the 1800's to the First World War. Lots of bird action too, take a backpack with your camera and binoculars.


Check out the maps and photos here:
http://www.boblucky.com/Biking/NewJersey/Sandyhook/Sandyhook.htm

WSJ.com - He Texts, She Tweets—Are They E-Compatible?

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