Posts from — December 2009

From a great Afghanistan blog, Ghosts of Alexander.

1. Offer simple explanations for everything, no matter how complex. Nobody wants to hear that there is no sound answer or that “it’s extremely complicated.”
2. Make a gross generalizations about Afghans based on a single Afghan you met (a far too small sample size will also suffice).
3. Ignore dissenting opinion on the ground if it contradicts your set of biases.
4. Mistake your English-speaking Kabuli contacts as representative of all Afghans.
5. Mistake the Kandahari guys you speak to through an interpreter as representative of all Afghans.
6. Repeat some false historical cliché about Afghanistan. Only the historians will be able to call your BS in a convincing manner.
7. Hold out the offer of a solution to all the problems with yourself and your ideas at the center (i.e., the Snake Oil approach).
8. Use exoticisms that make you sound really informed. Something like “Pashtunwali,” “Deobandi,” “badal,” “arbakai,” “jirga,” “shura,” etc… You don’t understand these terms in their social context. But no worries, neither does your reader.
9. Place yourself as a central character in your article. You are Lawrence of Arabia, or perhaps Tintin. You are the intrepid hero of your hopefully non-fictional adventure. Just go with it. People love a good story.
10. Create a “Pet Afghan.” Basically you need to cheer for some Afghan power figure like he’s your favorite sports team.
11. Power Point is a great way to cover up for your inability to communicate effectively. Use it.

The rest of the list is found here.

Courtesy of Mel Mack at CF Newport

I need a name for this. “Stephen’s Recipe Corner” sounds a little strange.  Anybody ideas?

—————–

Sirloin Steak with Curried-Apple Acorn Squash

Cooking grass-fed meats, like Bison require a little more attention than conventional counterparts. Due to the decreased fat composition of most grass-fed meats, the tendency for over-cooking is much greater, and this dryness is pretty unappetizing. To avoid this, here are a few suggestions you can follow:

First, use a thermometer. Even if you’ve become a master of guessing the correct doneness with normal beef, you’re calculations will most likely be off for the grass-fed. It requires some 30% less cooking time than normal beef. Check for an internal temperature around 125-130 degrees. Remember to remove the meat about 5-10 degrees below the desired temperature to account for carry-over cooking (how many degrees depends on the thickness of meat and how hot the source of heat is).

Second, cooking the meat until a slightly lower internal temperature than normal will result in a slightly rarer piece of meat, but much more tender. If you can’t stand the sight of redness (shame on you), then cooking over dry-heat may not be the best option – you may have to resort to liquid-based cooking such as braising or sous-vide. Nevertheless, these  are the most important guidelines to ensure a more tender steak. The same techniques used for regular beef such as the application of tenderizing marinades can also be applied, but the two suggestions above are the most important. Also, remember to bring your steak to room temperature prior to cooking to ensure even heat distribution.
Not too many ingredients necessary. Just choose whatever cut, add whatever spices and herbs you like and follow the instructions below. Sear the meat over high heat to form a flavorful crust and then transfer to the oven with a meat thermometer inserted into the average-thicker portion of the meat.
Wine reduction (optional)
If you’d like a quick sauce alongside the steak, that’s very simple to do. Once you’ve removed the steak and have it resting for 10 minutes, put the pan back over the stove (don’t wash out the delicious fond on the bottom of pan), remove excess fat, add some butter, shallots, and liquid of choice (for this dish I used red wine). By deglazing the pan, you’ll dissolve all the great flavor stuck to the bottom, and finally let the liquid reduce by half. Adjust for seasonings.

Acorn Squash
Ingredients: You’ll have to adjust the quantity for the acorn squash filling depending on the size of your squash
•    Acorn squash, cut in half and seeded – medium sized
•    Butter (Kerrygold Irish butter preferably)
•    ½ cup diced onion
•    ¼ apple – pealed and cubed
•    ½ cup of water or apple juice (beware of sugar content here)
•    Curry powder ( I used the leftover spice blend from the previous Middle Eastern Chicken dish)
•    Chopped garlic
•    Currants (optional)
•    Olive oil
•    Balsamic vinegar

Place the two halves of the acorn squash cut side down on a dish, cover, and microwave for close to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, in a pan over medium-high heat, add butter, onion, garlic, and spices. Cook until tender and add the diced apple. Sauté for a few minutes and add a splash of water or apple juice (optional), cover to fully cook the apples. Adding the currants (optional) would be good at this point. Once water has evaporated, evenly distribute the filling into each of the acorn squash cavities. Place in a baking dish with an additional dollop of butter on top and put under the broiler for 5 to 10 minutes, until slightly browned and crispy on top. Serve on top of a bed of lettuce, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar on top of the acorn squash. Serve alongside the steak with optional sauce.

Tonight your roommate is cooking for you.

In one week you are home for Christmas.

In two weeks you are celebrating 2010.

In three weeks you are unwinding after a stressful week at work.

In a month it is your anniversary.

In two months you are on vacation.

In six months you are hosting a barbecue.

In a year you are celebrating the new job.

In five years you are too busy with the family.

—————

There is always an excuse if you want one.

It is always someones birthday, some random holiday, or something you just HAVE to celebrate. There is always a reason why “just this weekend” you won’t eat right.

The stars don’t all have to be aligned for you to start eating right . Because guess what…. they never do.

I know you are truly committed when, on a “special occasion”, you say “I know it is Christmas, but I’ve committed to a plan and I’m going to stick to it”.

This is my roommate Scott’s setup while he was in Pakistan. Extra points for having the nasty Haji beard. He also gets extra points for wearing a Potomac Crossfit t shirt while in a third world country.