Christopher’s Internet Affliction

I like hot sauce. I like it a lot! But, sadly, I’ve been given a nervous stomach, so, I must be careful with the goods. And I don’t like it too hot, either, I like it with flavor! But, given as hot sauce and so much extra heat sells a lot better than the foodie-grade stuff, (I blame football and frat boys) I, once again, decided to make my own. This is one of my oldest projects, having been refined over the years, and some still sing the praises of my ‘green sauce’, which I made up in 2001. It’s something I’ve gotten to be very creative with, and that’s what I hope to inspire with this writing.

More after the jump..

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Howdy!

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!

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Okay! This is a little guide intended for those just getting started out in the weird, wild world of The Ultimate In Geek: Programming your own microcontrollers. After you outgrow your Arduino, and find out that it’s really too much for a lot of applications, programming your own AVR microcontrollers is the way to go. This is not intended to teach you how to do everything- There’s plenty of documentation on each part of the process out there. I merely intend to compile what has worked for me in one central place.

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

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Okay! So, I enjoy learning and practicing massage as a hobby. And being as that I like to make everything myself, I’ve also learned how to make my own moisturizing massage bars. It’s very simple!

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.

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Hi there!

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.

Good day!

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!

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Okay! It’s no secret at all that I loves me some coffee. And I also love to do things

Coffee Roasting

myself. So, after learning about the finer points of the coffee bean, in the employ of a large coffee chain (HEY! I had a lawyer to pay!) I appreciated it a whole lot more.

There’s an easy and a easier way about this. Really- I spend about two dollars per pound of freshly roasted coffee.. so here are your steps. I’m going to give the easy, beginner instructions.

1. Get a coffee roaster. You can get a nice Iroast 2, which is great- you can program all sorts of stuff into it, and it’ll do the work for you. The key is, with any roasting, to watch, smell, and listen. But I’d go easy your first time out, and get your wok out. This will do fine.

2. Buy some green coffee beans. Some ethnic food stores have these, but you are usually best served online, as you tend to get a better description of what you’re buying. I like beans from Java- low acidity, almost chocolate flavor. Blend, experiment. Get a sampler pack! Sweet Maria’s is the bomb for the new roaster. Pick up a Chemex, too. Total date points for the guys out there. Not that you need one, but they’re pretty great!

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