supergood

Global Capitalism

I sometimes read DailyKos. Actually, I read it every day, sometimes its useful, other times its not.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/8/13/14039/0932

In the above, there's a bit of firey discussion going on about how terrible this person's statement is. But apart from the definately-not-so-great-ness of sub-standard products potentially harming american kiddies or whatever, in my very limited knowledge, I kinda think maybe she has a point.

http://agonist.org/numerian/20070801/sub_prime_market_earthquake_is_felt_worldwide

I think this has to tie in somehow doesn't it? I wonder a bit about these lefty (perhaps better described as Democrat-y) bloggers, sometimes I get the feeling they want to have their cake and eat it too. They're often all over the place on issues.

But who am I, and what do I know?

Slacker than Slack

Ooops, another month has gone by, me ignoring all of the reminders I get that I really ought to put something up here.

I guess I don't care enough huh? All is swell, nothing much has changed. Im trying to get better at emailing people. So if you want to know more, try that.

Blood Diamond

One of the twins brought this back from the shop the other day, so I watched along. Im still not convinced that Leo is the shit hot actor that he and lots of other people think he is, but all in all it was harmless enough I suppose.

But then I gots to thinking, this is a film essentially about the exploitation and suffering of people. Brought about by the large sums of money to be made by selling diamonds.

So, is this film a great educator for those who have no idea where diamonds come from and how? Or is it more exploitation, albeit not quite as directly.

I was wondering to myself if Leo still got his $10 odd million for it, and if he did what he did with the money. Did the film make lots of money, what did they do with the money?

I suppose you're not supposed to be as cynical maybe? It was a reasonable film, but not great, I give it half a bunch of asparagus.

Oh, Hi! Oops.

Heh, I was vaguely thinking of criticising the Pixie for not writing anything in her blog for a month, when I actually had to go an check to see if I had done the same thing. And while I can definately say that I posted two things in the month of May, I didn't really write anything. So, now that I am in bed and nicely sated with a dram of Lagavulin, let me try to sum up what has happened in the last wee while.

May went super fast, and a lot of it in a hazy blur of alcohol. Well, maybe saying a lot of it actually glamorises things a little, but my bank balance tells me I didn't do as good a job at saving money as I might have.

I feel like I have been busy and rarely home, though I don't really know what I have been doing. I have sucked at Pub Quizes, and enjoyed many two for one Coronas. I have farewelled Sally, by eating lots of Chinese food, and drinking too much wine, and too many beers.

I've been much better at pool when drunk than when sober. I cooked up lots of mussels and other seafood - it was ok, but not really my best. I have hung out with people back from Korea, and people who never went to Korea. I have been waging a battle against the flu - and winning most of the time.

I caught up with some people from my old work accidentally, and been happy about it. I've tidied and reorganised things; busted, and fixed, other things. I've dreamt of plans and goals and ambitions, but worked little towards any of them.

I've achieved nothing of note, circumvented Kats and missed parties. I've been bored at work, and good at work. I saw a movie which moved me, and one that was dreadful but did have the cute Charlie from Heroes. I've caught a train, helped build a step, and wished a gran happy birthday.

And now, im going to go to sleep.

Hot Swiss Mistress and Dimmer

I suppose really I am taking liberties here, for it was Dimmer, with Hot Swiss Mistress last Friday at the bar with the dreadful name.

Jessie seemed to think she would have to bribe me into coming by letting me in for free, however I was always going to be there with bells on to see Hot Swiss Mistress again. Especially as i'd missed their previous gig due to being up in the bay.

Holy crap i'd almost forgotten how much I missed them. They're even better than I remember, new songs are choice, and all was grand. I bought their EP, The Falling Stars, which I believe can be acquired from Slowboat, and you ought to get it, or else. I haven't stopped listening to it yet.

Dimmer were cool too.

Hi, Hello, Goodnight

Sure i'm alive!

Just quickly then, because I feel guilty for not saying anything for the last wee while.

Things are ok here.

Just watched Stranger Than Fiction; loved it. Will try to write more later.

Bye!

Fillet Steak with Mushroom, Red Wine & Rosemary, on Kumara Chips

Ok, this is really really basic, but is indeed tasty as. Its what I made when my flatmates weren't home. One doesn't eat Kumara, and both don't eat Mushrooms. So I thought I would combine the two.

Im not going to go into much detail here, as its all pretty self explanatory.

I baked the Kumara chips with some Rosemary, Olive oil, salt and pepper I actually cut, them quite flat - almost wedge shaped, but not wedges, if that makes any sense at all. These were the base of the plate.

The Mushroom, Red Wine & Rosemary sauce was simple too:

Half a small onion, sliced.
4 Medium sized Portobello Mushrooms, sliced.
1/2 clove of garlic, minced.
40gms butter.
1/2 cup of Red Wine, I think I might have used a Cabernet Merlot, if such a thing exists. I could get up and go look at the bottle, but I am LAZY!
Some finely chopped Rosemary.

So obviously, gently sweat off the onion in 3/4 of the butter, then bump up the heat and add the mushrooms, garlic and remaining butter. Once mushrooms are, well, browned I suppose. Add the wine, cook out for a bit, then season.

Ok, here's where I pretend to be really thoughtful when I cook. When the Kumara is about 8 minutes away from being done, I pan-fried the Fillet steak. Its important to season the meat before you pan fry it, and as these were smallish steaks it took barely a minute on each side, before I took them off the heat to rest briefly. This way the meat is nice and rare, but wont bleed everywhere. If I was being really sensible here as well I would have deglazed the pan with a bit of red wine and added this to the Mushrooms.

Ok, Kumara comes out and is seasoned immediately, I don't know why exactly, but the salt works so much better if the chips are still really hot. Then I plated, because I like to make stuff look good, even if I am the only one who will see it.

Chips on the bottom.
1st Fillet.
1/2 the Mushrooms.
2nd Fillet.
Rest of Mushrooms.
Then the crispy Rosemary that was baked with the Kumara.

This is where a) I really need a camera; as b) I prove the obvious - simple = good.

Easter Is Good

Yes indeed, Easter is good. But not for the Jesus. Not for the buns. Not for the eggs. Easter is good for the days off work. However, Easter thwarts the goodness somewhat by silly alcohol licensing rules.

I had a busy, but mostly successful week of work. I do like my job, even though its kinda dumb. Well, I mean lots of my friends are in jobs where theoretically at least they ought to be helping to make other peoples' lives better in some way. My job doesn't really do this. Though I suppose you could say I help to make the jobs other people do easier, but its not quite the same.

Anyway, I appear to have acquired a drinking buddy from work. As the only evening we didn't drink was Tuesday. Which was good because Tuesday my flatties weren't home, so I got to cook some food that normally I can't cook.

Wednesday I got to catch up with Ms Chong. We tried to go to Auntie Mena's but it was full of hippies (surprised?) and they took forever to even think about asking us for our order, so we bailed and went to my old haunt The Oaks Satay Noodle House instead. Which was a good idea, because they're totally choice. Seriously, as Lis' dad says, if there are lots of asian people at an asian restaurant, its probably a good sign that its alright. Which isn't to say that The Oaks is high class, because it isn't, but its tasty and cheap! Though not BYO. Doh!

On Thursday night I went out again with some folks from work. After a drink at the bar opposite Leuven (whose name I forget) where we were easily the youngest people present, we upgraded (just barely) to The Loaded Hog. Actually I have no problem with this place, as whenever I have been there it has been 2 for 1 Corona's. Which meant that the bar staff were constantly coming past our table to clear the bottles. And, due to the fact that I didn't eat any dinners, Jimmy got drunken.

Then, because of some people's strange desire to dance, I was dragged off to Dockside. Which isn't really the sort of bar I would go to under normal circumstances. However, as things were going to be closing at midnight, and it was very close, it probably seemed like a good idea.

More beer and a whiskey, which was gross, ruined by lots of slushy ice. When pouring my own I prefer to use 3-4 cubes only, as that way the whiskey is coldish, but not overly watery. Anyway, midnight came and everybody got kicked out. Stupid, stupid Good Friday drinking rules.

After that I get a bit fuzzy, I thought we were catching a taxi, but seemed to lose the people I was with. So got a quick feed, but then there were no taxis, and I decided that I really was drunk enough, and I didn't want to be a silly boy so I bailed home.

Friday = hungover, all day. So I had to bail on playing some guitar with Benny.

Saturday I visited Te Papa, but it was chocker and not much fun, and I was in a grumpy mood.

Sunday is now, and I got to watch Bangladesh beat South Africa, HAH!

Ok, boring stories I know, but KP demanded, and I live to serve.

The Days and How They Passed

Im not sure when I last wrote to you, dearest blog of mine. I think it may have been when I talked about smoked fish. Which would place it nigh on a week ago. Im sorry I ignored the reminders to post something - sorry I broke the rules.

This does go slightly against my weak vow not to feel sorry for so many things - especially those things which are not much my fault.

So, perhaps a week since I last wrote, here I sit in my lounge, listening to National Radio, sweating a bit because its humid and I just drank two delicious cups of coffee. I'd like more coffee, however that would require standing up - an ability I possess, but one that my head protests against.

I have been spending silly amounts of money this week on gadgets. I bought a little adaptor for my MacBook which means I can plug it into a television. And I also bought two wireless routers - one is for my flatmates wee lassy - the other so that when I do have my lappy plugged into the TV I can access what I want to watch without the aid of cables.

Today, if I get motivated I am going to build a Ubuntu based NAS. These are geeky words for having a computer that doesn't use Windows with big hard drives inside of it turned on and plugged into the network. This means that I will have a much more stable storage facility than my slightly iffy external hard-drive. Like the last one its starting to grind and fuss and complain when its turned on. Im scared it will die.

So yes, if you weren't aware, Mr SuperGood IS a huge nerd. Sadly, even if it was the size of your NAS that made you a hit with the ladies, I will lose out there too, because mine isn't going to be massive.

Right, enough even with the geek talk. This week went very quickly. Work was reasonably busy - next week will be worse. I will have to catch up on work that wasn't done the way I would have done it, if I were doing the work. I would get rage if I cared more - all I am about is doing what I do as good as I can do it, and not worrying about how badly others do the same. Even if it makes it difficult for me. Just watch me try hard to be reasonable and nice.

I made some absolutely delicious burgers on Wednesday for dinner, but it annoys me that so much of the food I really like is quite probably turning me into a big fatty. Oh well. I've been trying to eat better for lunches as well, though the temptation of fried chicken is hard to resist.

Thursday I went to the pub quiz at Syn, because when I had last been there the team that won the first round got a free pizza. Unfortunately the rules had been changed, and it was the team with the best name. We lost out to one that borrowed heavily from the promotional material of the drink that is plastered all over the walls there: "Ribena, curing scurvy since 1892 - Yeah Right". We did really crap in the quiz, nowhere near the prizes.

Friday I went for one drink after work which just like last week turned into many. This new workmate is a terrible influence! I even met some clients / competitors of ours, I hope I didn't give away any tip top secrets. The Occidental is pretty rubbish, and so goddamned noizy. Arizona was mildly better, especially after the Export Gold slappers left, and the spinning for drinks stopped.

Then we wandered down to Vintage, which apparantely occupies the premises of a former gay bar. I didn't even know there were premises there. They had nice wallpaper, and drinks that tasted good despite not using the ingredients stated.

But I got bored, and decided I ought to leave before I did things I ought not to do. Then I gave in to the fried chicken temptation. Oh my god, I might have to follow the example of someone we now have to hates, and become a vegetarian just to prevent this from happening. It certainly isn't shrinking my tummy.

Ok, now I am bored of writing. I might go and see if the Pixie has emailed me yet, I bet she hasn't.

Smoked Tarakihi Salad

So we decided to have a finale for BBQing this summer. If we leave the BBQ out another winter we're sure to be hit with the cost of at least a new regulator, if not the burners as well. So soon we will be packing it away until summer.

I decided to make a salad I hadn't made in ages, because of the importance of the occasion. Its actually one I learnt while at school, tweaked ever so slightly - mostly in quantities, but a few slight changes of ingredient too. Hopefully im breaching some super hardout copyrights.

Anyway, I always get a little bit apprehensive about serving this, I worry that people will think smoked fish that isn't salmon is too freaky. When its absolutely delicious. Thankfully the guests concurred, and actually requested the recipe. I live to serve.

Ingredients:
200gm Smoked Tarakihi fillets - I have made this with Kahawai as well, and even Smoked Salmon. I think the key though is that the fish shouldn't completely overwhelm the rest of the ingredients, so Tarakihi is all good.

3-4 Medium Golden Kumara - Beauregard are choice for this.

1 Large, Crisp Apple - Try not to go for one that is really sweet.

6-8cm Telegraph Cucumber
1 Spring Onion
1 small tub Natural Yoghurt
50ml Sweet Whole Seed Mustard Dressing
30ml whole grain mustard
3 large handfuls Baby Spinach
Coriander
Cider Vinegar
Salt
Pepper

How you do it:
Peel and slice your Kumara into 5mm rounds, boil until just cooked in salted water, then drain, sprinkle with a little vinegar (about a capful) and allow to cool in a single layer.

Finely slice the Spring Onion, then roughly chop a few sprigs of Coriander, including the stalk.

Finely slice the Apple and Cucumber, and add to the Spring Onion & Coriander, sprinkly a cap or two of vinegar over this.

Mix the Mustard, Mustard Dressing and Natural Yoghurt together, season lightly with Salt, heavily with Pepper.

Gentle fold all of the above ingredients together, then prepare to plate.

Layer the bottom of a medium sized flatish bowl with spinach, you want it a couple of leaves thick, but keep the bowl shape.

Fill the space with the Kumara mixture, gently so you don't break up the Kumara too much.

Flake the Smoked Tarakihi on top, then garnish with a couple of sprigs of Coriander. The idea is that you can see all three layers of the dish.

At school we actually plated this individually, and layered the three ingredients into a little mountain, it looks ok, but this is a BBQ so it had to be in a big bowl.

Im thinking of trying this with baked Kumara chips or something similar, as the texture can get a little bit mushy if you make it too far ahead of time and the apple and cucumber lose its bite. If I get around to trying that out, I'll probably forget to tell you about it.