So I’ve been playing with spices and sprucing things up a little, as I’ve never much been into heavy spices in recipes, and I think that this recipe works out nicely- Not blazing and indiscriminately hot, but rather a subtler, more flavorful spice, with a little heat for fun. I emulated Middle Eastern and Caribbean cooking, picking a little from Jamacian jerk recipes, while adding what seems like good things to it. I’m sure there’s some other great things that can be thrown into this one, a little saffron powder, smoked salt, things like that. This is a really great recipe to play with and just have fun!

I named this recipe for fun for one of my favorite actors, John Barrowman. He’s a super talented British actor, but spent his formative years and was raised right close to me in Joliet, Illinois. He still visits sometimes, and I hope to bump into him on the street, or see a live performance here in Chicago! Wouldn’t that be so exciting?! Anyhow, this recipe is spicy and beeeefy (if you wish) like Mr. Barrowman. (heheh!) He also has a new CD of showtune covers coming out in just a few days, on March 1, 2010. He’s also playing a guest role in the last six episodes of this season’s Desperate Housewives on this side of the ocean, too! I also have to gush over the cufflinks made by Ian Flaherty that he’s chosen for his site- They’re all so wonderful!

Anyhow! After the jump, Onwards with the recipe!

Supplies: Bamboo skewers, Olive oil, Cast iron skillet or cookie sheet, lightly oiled.

Into The Meat:
1 to 1.25 pound of ground meat (Beef, Turkey, Chicken, Pork, Tofu substitute)
3 large cloves of garlic, microplaned or minced
1 tablespoon powdered Ginger
18 drops Tabasco
1/4 teaspoon Mustard Powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1/4 cup, minced Onion (Preferably sweet! I like the purple ones, or even better, Vidalia onions if they’re in season.)

Note! If you’re leaning closer to a pound of meat, you might have some issues with the meatballs holding together for you. That’s fine! Just add an egg, and that will help to bind it together for you.

Over the top:
Couple dashes of Soy Sauce
3 or 4 Lemon wedges (optional, but an excellent touch!)
Saffron Flowers, red chili pepper, any suitable garnishing spice. Not necessary, of course.

In-between: Green pepper, onion chunks (if you do this, cut out the onion in the meat) Whatever you like on your kabobs, really! I usually just use one or two kinds of vegetables, these get pretty meaty!

Preparation: Pretty straightforward. Just mix up the spices and meat, make little meatballs, and slide them onto the skewers. You’re bright, you can do it

On the side: Wrap up a piece of naan or pita bread in foil, with a thin coat of butter on a side, throw it in the oven at 350 degrees F for about three minutes. A dollop of plain yogurt goes very nicely as well, and helps to salvage over-cooked and dry meat.

Vegetarian notes: I am quite sure that there’s an excellent meat substitute out there for this recipe, and it seems an easy and delicious replacement.

… bake at 350, 25 minutes, and will feed two in a big way, or four light eaters. There’s no need to flip them halfway through, either. Also, I like to put some slices of lemon on top, the juice helps to vary the flavor in a pleasant manner. I usually get about four kebab out of quantities like this. Enjoy!

nom nom nom!

Hello!! I found a great recipe and gave it a go today.

Like most other people, I love Hummus, I can eat it up by the bucket, but sadly, to get the really good kinds, you really have to pay for it. Eight ounces can get up to five or so dollars, and hey! I can eat that in one sitting! So. the Great Unemployed Cook sets out again, in order to see what he can do about this. I started off with a few criteria before I found a recipe to try. I wanted everything as fresh as possible, of course, along with proper spices. I also wanted to use dried chickpeas (that’s Garbanzo beans, as well) over canned, for the sole reason that dried beans retain twice as much of their nutritional value over canned. Also, dried is cheaper! Sounds like two great wins to me. Certainly, you have to wait a bit longer for dried beans, but I think it’s worth it, on those two facts alone- and I suspect, that they probably taste better, too! Just something about something being preserved in a wet metal can with heat in god-knows-what just doesn’t sound optimal.. so, given the choice!

Anyhow, I’m going to go ahead and mention it: Get creative and add what you like to your hummus! Red peppers are easy to roast over a gas range, olives, garlic.. make yourself happy. You’re making something wonderful for your body, tasty, and just good all around. Also, if you have a lot of infused olive oil around.. hmm! Anyhow, after the jump, here’s the recipe I used with great success today, with my own notes thrown in.

Hummus

1-1/2 cups dried chick peas
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon, strained
1/4 cup tahini
Olive oil

Place chick peas in a large pot. Cover with water and let sit overnight. In the morning, drain the water. Return the beans to the pot. Cover with fresh water. Add the bay leaf and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 hour, or until the beans are tender. Drain the beans, saving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Discard the bay leaf.

Place the cooked beans in the jar of a food processor. Add the garlic, lemon, tahini, and 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Pulse. Add olive oil until a smooth paste is formed. Serve in a bowl as is, or with bread.

My notes: Warm chickpeas are easier to handle than cold ones. So, puree when they cool off enough to the touch. It’ll stiffen up more upon cooling. I’ve heard you can freeze this stuff, too! I doubled the recipe and am trying that. Also, when it comes to the garlic- before you peel, microwave the cloves for about 15 seconds. The skin will simply slip off! Much easier. Also, I used my handy-dandy Magic Bullet! food processor- worked perfectly. I changed up the recipe- I added about a sixteenth of a teaspoon of cumin, a little more salt.. it’s all about whatever floats your boat, bub- Have some fun with what you add!

More after the jump..

Okay!

You’re going to need some things. I’m keeping this really loose- I want you to taste, add, experiment.. but, I’ll tell you of a few things that I learned the hard way.

1. Wear latex gloves. DO NOT TOUCH EYE. I got habernero stuck in my contacts once. Way to go, brainiac.

2. Vinegar and salt raises the heat of the sauce. More salt, more heat.

Getting started:
Gather up these few things..

Food processor

Peppers of various heats, get what you like.. I prefer mostly Jalapeno, with Chipolte in equal quantities. Get what you like.

Salt, vinegar. The vinegar will act as a preservative, so this is important. Salt boosts the Scoville rating, but adding a little is good, As it will also aid in preservation.

A plastic or glass container, with tight fitting lid.

Jars to hold the final product.. duh.. be green and recycle whatever’s handy, or be an earth-hating perfectionist like me and buy new ones.

a SPOOOOON! (ala The Tick)

Ph Testing strips: You can get these at the aquarium store. Make sure that they can test below 4.0 on the scale, because that’s when the bad stuff happens- A Ph level of 4 or above is not sanitary and breeds bacteria. Sick diners and exploding bottles are not fun. The lower the number, the tarter it becomes, so, it’s a balancing act- but this is very, very important.

And the extras: You can use all sorts of neat stuff to give your sauce a new sort of kick.. In Florida, when tropical things abounded and farmer’s markets were everyday, I’d use fresh ginger, mangoes, big ol’ banana peppers, whatever looked good. Follow your instincts on this one, alright? I’ve also added wine, bruised fresh herbs, whatever you think will go well with it.. come up with an idea, and follow it- I’ve used a Chianti and basil in the past, with some not-so-hot peppers, and it came out wonderfully. Also, another idea is to use some very, very raw sugar or molasses, too. Garlic, always welcome, just use your brain, okay? And mind the darn Ph!

SO NOW.. you have stuff.

Cut the stems off the peppers, puree.. add to largeish glass container- DO NOT USE METAL. It’ll leave a nasty taste. Throw in a tablespoon or so of salt, to start, and enough vinegar to get down to the below-4 ph level.

Now, you let them sit and ‘ferment’ a while. Tabasco lets their “pepper mash” (which is what you’ve just made) sit for three years. As with most things, the longer the better. This would also be an ideal time to throw in some herbs, garlic, and such. I usually try to let it sit for a week, at least. Or not wait. It’s your sauce, baby.

So, now you have your mash all ready to go.  You could go pretty nutty with the additives, or just try a few different ideas.. let’s not overkill, alright? Just mind the damn Ph! After you do all that, time to prep your bottles. I give them a good boil, personally. Now, you have a choice- to strain, or not to strain? Straining takes out a lot of the seeds, and the heat, leaving more for flavor. I’m not a strainer. I’m lazy.

Funnel into bottles, seal up, hit up kinkos and make some labels, make them as nice as my pretty floral bonnet, and there you go. Enjoy!

If you’re lazier than me: You can order pepper mash & your bottles with neato heatshrink labels and other goodies at leeners.com. (Hey, Leener’s guys! Send over a yogurt maker or a stovetop smoker!)

Of course, if you’ve been reading for any length of time, or know me personally, You already know I’m all about the do it yourself ethic, and especially with food- I really enjoy making everything from scratch. I think my one big “pass!” is with pie crusts- and I think anyone who’s tried to make one from scratch agrees. I’ll gladly fork over two dollars to the man for the convenience of not having to make the things myself! Anyhow, Here’s the buttercream frosting recipe from Magnolia Bakery in NYC- easily the simplest, and best, icing recipe I’ve found. As always, my usual caveat- use poor quality ingredients, get poor quality food. Also, keep in mind that you can easily make this recipe with all hand utensils, I don’t own a blender! And with cupcakes, have even MORE fun with them! That big honkin’ photo to the right is a batch I made- The raspberries, blueberries, and shaved dark chocolate (Freeze the bar, shave with veggie peeler) added a nice touch of bitterness, which was lovely, with all the sugar involved. This is one of those things you can just hop right into and take anywhere you want! By the way, this is the stuff immortalized in the “Lazy Sunday” Saturday Night Live short skit.

Recipe after the jump!

Magnolia Bakery’s Buttercream Frosting Recipe!

Makes enough for one 2-layer 9-inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes*

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

• 6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar

• 1/2 cup milk

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

* Note from Chris: Add extra powdered sugar to make a stiffer frosting, if needed. It works both ways! And don’t chill it until after it’s on your baking. Otherwise, you’re in trouble!

Tools and supplies, software and a lot of links, after the jump!

Okay! I assume you already have a few things already, if you’ve read this far. I assume you have a soldering iron with some practice with it, a good mini-vise (That bad boy was worth every penny!), your usual assortment of wires, sockets and protoboard, a computer with an USB outlet, and some C for microcontrollers skills- What you’ve learned with your Arduino will help you with this.

Got a cup of coffee ready? Time for some reading.

1. Firstly, You will need an AVR programmer. I use Lady Ada’s USBtinyISP. Limor makes great products, and you’re supporting the community, too. You get the kit for 22 bucks, and it’s a steal at that price. It’s easily the cheapest and best In System Programmer you can get. Buy it, build it. Love it. Make it a special bed out of a cigar box to sleep in. I did!

2. Get to know your AVR microcontrollers, and order a little sampler from Mouser, Digikey, where ever. I ordered these to start, five of each. *don’t forget crystals and sockets! read the white pages for each chip to learn more* The list went: ATtiny13, ATtiny2313, ATmega168, and ATmega48. The ATtiny13 and ATmega48’s have been replaced by newer designs, so you might get lucky and find old stock somewhere, at a really good price. Basically, I went for a variety of chips, with different capacities and pins. I would have a look at the google ads on this page, perhaps you can find a good deal on hardware.

3. Software! You need software, of course, to make it all go. I use a mac, so I installed Crosspack, formerly known as AVR macpack. It includes AVRdude (AVR Downloader/UploaDEr – Kind of a stretch, if you ask me!) good ol’ GCC, and basically everything you will need in one package. Once again, Limor has provided an excellent tutorial on using AVRdude and her programmer in general. Read, learn, love. If you’ve got a windows box, you can use Atmel’s AVRStudio software, but please read Limor’s tutorial in order to learn how to use her programmer with it. I don’t have windows, so I don’t have the experience!

4. Lastly, You’ll need to wire up target boards, to hold your microprocessors while you throw code on them. EvilMadScientist Labs makes a great target board – get the development model with the ZIF socket and don’t forget the crystals for extra fanciness! This is only for a few MCU’s that you may find yourself using often. It’s not needed, really, but hey! It really looks cool, and is very tidy and professional, and ZIF sockets are just sweet! For your target board needs, though, I would like to refer you to this article I wrote not too long ago. They work nicely for me. And at about two bucks per, very inexpensive! I’ve labeled and attached all of my target boards inside small tins for tidiness, and longevities sake.

So, there you are! You now have what you need to start throwing code on AVR microcontrollers, on the cheap.

PS. Here’s something to get you started on using GCC for AVR’s. You’ll need it! GCC Tutorial for AVR

I like good popcorn, just like everyone else! So, microwaved popcorn doesn’t really do it for me- butter makes it mushy, and it’s rather icky and expensive, too! Not to mention all of the unpronounceable chemicals that are in it. So, I kick it old school- I get the soup pot out, and make some really tasty, healthy popcorn for my snacking needs!

My favorite combo right now is using an infused olive oil (garlic!) and a nice blend from The Spice House, a local spice shop. I like their Lakeshore Drive Seasoning best, and their Old Taylor Street Cheese Sprinkle sits nicely, too, but I’d skip the infused oil on that.

Recipe and kettle corn after the jump!

Okay! Here’s your recipe, culled, tested, and fudged about to give good results. (I actually forget where I got this from! Sorry!

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot with a tightfitting lid. When the oil shimmers, add the kernels and sugar, cover, and shake to evenly distribute. Once the kernels start popping, gently shake the pot until the popping dies down, about 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Remove the pot from heat, immediately toss the popcorn with the salt, and serve.

How hard can it get, really? I can only imagine how great this would be with some vanilla sugar, or hickory salt.. those little tweaks are what makes cooking so fun! So, quit spending so much on craptastic microwave popcorn- Sometimes, the old way’s the best way!

What you need:

1. Clear glass wine bottles, with cork.

2. Olive Oil. Wait for a sale, and buy in bulk! Get the best you can afford.

3. Herbs and spices! Fresh is nice, but dried will do. I suggest garlic, your green leafy herbs, and I also had good results with dried Italian seasoning. Just don’t add salts or anything powdery.

And there you go, really. Just add your herbs to the bottle after a good bruising, and label & cork. Set in your rack for at least six weeks, the longer being the better. You can stretch it out a bit by adding fresh olive oil after you’ve used a bit, but of course, the herbs only have enough oil to go so far. Also, adding the ‘born on’ date to your label is very helpful! These also look very nice, by they way- a wonderful ‘functional decoration’ for your counter, perhaps? In any case, use how you would any other olive oil, but I suggest saving it for when the taste of the olive oil will be appreciated. Bread, salads, just on pasta, and actually, popcorn! are my favorite applications for this stuff. Have fun!

What You’ll Need:

1. A nice essential oil, or Tiger Balm. This is up to you! Use what you like.

2. The following ingredients: Cocoa butter, Shea butter, and Beeswax. Get a little more cocoa butter.

3. A double-boiler- you know, that thing you use in the kitchen to melt chocolate. If you don’t have one, a heavy pyrex mesuring cup in a pot of boiling water will work the same.

4. A suitable mold. A plastic container will work fine. Be sure to use just a little olive oil to ensure that you can get your bar out easily

What to do:

Firstly, BE CAREFUL!!! You’re melting OILS here.

That aside, it’s not my fault if you start a fire or burn yourself. Be safe! Anyhow, melt one part beeswax, one part shea butter, and 1.5 parts Cocoa butter together. After that, add a few drops of your oil in there.. start off with a little, a drop per ounce. This will vary with the strength of your oil. Pour into container, let cool.

You’re done. How easy was that? And from here, you can get creative with it- add more cocoa butter for a softer bar, more beeswax for a harder bar, tiger balm for a muscle soreness remedy, and even decorative elements like flower petals and such. Have fun! (psst! try dried Adzuki beans for texture!!)

Okay, so it’s no big secret that I don’t drink alcohol. But, that doesn’t prevent me from serving wine at dinners, and using it in cooking. There’s something about dumping a bunch of Merlot into a beef stew that makes it just makes it good. But, I do get stuck with partial bottles of wine, and it’s also no secret that one of my pet peeves is wasting food. By the way, Tom, from NYC, taught me this one, along with a lot of other great cooking stuff.

So, what’s a guy to do? Make some wine vinegar! Ok, this is very very simple: Get one of those liquid dispensers with the tap at the bottom. Get a couple pints of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. You’ll have to order this online, likely. A bit of cheesecloth or an old but clean t-shirt to allow gases out, but keep the uglies out, too. Mix it all up, about 1 part vinegar to 2 parts wine. Let it sit undisurbed for a few weeks, give a taste, let it sit more, if needed. When you’re done, bottle it back up into a wine bottle, recork, and even bruise & infuse with some nice, fresh herbs. And then, marvel at the excellent quality, and the amount of cash you saved yourself. And for crying out loud, have some fun with it! try different things, herbs, whatever- this will work for champagne, too! I seriously have a dozen different bottles right now. Also, it makes an excellent small gift, when bottled in a fancy bottle with your own label.

PS: When you’re making the vinegar, a messy jelly thing may just appear on top. THIS IS GOOD. Don’t get all squirmy and come back to me all cranky because there’s a jellyfish in your wine. Just decant the wine vinegar, add more scrap wine. The goo is bacteria that’s making the process go.

AVR Target Board

I recently outgrew my still-loved Arduino, and desired to learn how to use AVR Microcontrollers in their intended way. So, I started assembling tools and software. I built a AVR programmer from Limor’s USBtinyISP kit, and it was easily the best choice for me. Then, I installed a bit of software, but then the big problem arose: How to interface the unique microcontrollers to this specific programmer. I found very little direction on how to complete this simple task, and I hope to fill in the blanks for you. I am assuming you know how to solder, and have some basic electronics know-how, ’cause you are playing with microcontrollers..

Parts! You need a 2 row, 6 pin connector. (Mouser Part #M22-2580305), a suitable piece of plain old protoboard, some thin gauge wire, and a IC header to fit the microcontroller you wish to use. And for God’s sake, use a marker to indicate which way is up for your chip!

So, for this simple process, you need to link six pins from your IC header to your 6 pin connector. But what goes where?! Good question! Lucky for us, there are standards. The programmer I am using is an ISP programmer, which means that each of the six pins goes to a unique pin on each microcontroller. To find out which pin does what on your microcontroller, simply obtain the white sheets on the chip. They’re on Atmel’s website. For our purposes, we’ll be using the popular ATtiny2313 microcontroller. To cut things short, have a look at the clip from the white pages for this chip.

ATtiny2313 layout

See those six items in red? They’re highlighted for a purpose. It’s because they correspond to the six pins in your 6-pin connector!  Now,  it’s  just  a matter of soldering your wire up to make a connection between the proper pins on both the header and connector. Here’s a little cheat sheet for what goes where on the connector:

6 Pin ISP connector

So, just clip some wire, and make your connections. Use a marker to remember which pin is #1! This will save you a lot of headache later.

Finally! One more step. Take a little more wire, and connect it in series with the Ground and VCC pins on your header. You need to feed your chip a little power. Personally, I leave these wires sticking up and out of the board, so I can take a 2xAA battery pack I’ve attached clips to for easy moving between target boards. And for crying out loud, use different colored wires, so you don’t mix things up.

From here, you’re all ready to go. I don’t want to rewire the same thing all the time, so I used some plastic standoffs, and glued the thing into a mint case, for safekeeping. You can even get extra fancy and use a ZIF socket. Whatever makes you happy, as long as you make those six little connections right and power your chip while programming it.

Have fun!