soiree

everything here represents value, and as you can see, we're pretty rich.

pork stew

A pot of pork stew was cooked and served at 7:38 PM on 11 March, 2009.



marinade:

soy sauce
redwine/apple cider vinegar
spicy brown mustard
garlic poweder
hot Hungarian paprika
chili powder
extra virgin olive oil
black/white pepper
brown sugar
bay leaves
cloves
mace (nutmeg)


2 lb pork, diced
2-3 tbsp canola oil
4 oz radishes, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 oz crimini mushrooms, chopped
2 scallions, diced
1 large onion(spanish or vidalia), diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1 inch ginger root, diced
28 oz crushed roma tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
crushed red pepper to taste
Chinese Five Spice, pinch
salt/pepper to taste
1 tsp acacia honey
1/2 cup water

-marinade pork in a container in fridge for at least 3-4 hours.
-in a pot, brown pork in canola oil on all sides, set aside
-saute garlic, onions, ginger till onions are translucent/caramelized
-throw mushrooms into pot, cook until aromatic
-throw radishes, carrots and celery into pot, cook about 5-8 minutes.
-mix browned pork, crushed tomatoes, scallions into pot.
-add tomato paste until desired thickness is achieved. Add some water is too thick
-mix contents, bring to a boil on high heat.
-reduce heat to a simmer, adding spices and honey.
-mix contents, cover with lid and simmer on low heat for at least 2 hours, or until desired texture of pork is achieved.

serve with good rye bread or bread of choice.

November 2006

very, very hungry
I sit waiting for pierogis to fry. I smell the onions in the butter and oil and my stomach punchs itself in the face. I have had nothing to eat all day and it is 8:12 PM. The reason for the absense of food is one crazy schedule. of course, I've put things off, deadlines approach and my procrastination haunts my empty stomach. but there is something to be said about being hungry; hunger reminds me of our early human ancestors. I understand why people fast. there is some spiritual gain from fasting, yet there is also a biological one involving a re-adjustment of the digestive system. mentally, it reaffirms life's bottom line. FOOD. My hunger makes me appreciate food more, and in effect, it reminds me of what I have in life; I love the things I call my own. Through this, however, I do not deny I am very privileged compared to millions of other people. Self-induced hunger is one thing that makes me feel alive.

Dead
They picked his head, they stuck his feet in mud, they ran rivers over his back. He still could not hit a golf ball to save his life. Still, his best friend was dead, deader than Dan Quayle’s political career.

It appears his life was not exactly fit for foraging for compliments inside his wallet. His gestures were too subtle to be noticed by anyone, save his own mind and maybe the eccentric friend. But he knew only the crying game, the nude sculpture, and the lost-mold technique. Having seen him in deadly predicaments prior to his current eviction, I sent him candles: wick and wax in a box full of newspapers. He lights candles, jumps over them and places a piece of fabric underneath where his right foot lands. The fabrics are all chosen carefully based on hue, material and susceptibility to flame. He rhymes colors with genders.

Like genders, he is usually happy or sad. Two of the same means two different things to him. I first saw his inner conflict when he left a house with no sex. He walked straight for the nearest tree and burned it down with his Zippo. He planted a new tree within a fortnight. After leaving the house, sexless and disgruntled, he wanders to a liquor store, buys a fifth of vodka, usually, and drinks only one shot, vehemently. The remaining ethyl is then poured on a flower, usually a rose if he can find any, or else, as I have observed during later outbursts, a tulip, someone’s lawn, the windshield of a car, a pile of garbage, a fjord, a dog, a man, a little boy, a sparrow, a woman or a stop sign will take the place of the rose. The empty bottle is then filled with milk shakes and he mails the bottle to his failed lover. He sometimes, as he has told me, writes an original poem on the bottle; ties are permanently severed upon deliverance of the bottle. This does not always occur, this iterative tirade. His severance is usually followed by intervals of isolation. I once did not see him after he mailed a fifth of Smirnoff (filled with strawberry milk shake) to Leonard St. for one month and four days. When I do see him again, he is in denial of anything, carrying on his business without faintly any indiscretions, as if he had been working at the market for the entire month.

very, very hungry

I sit waiting for pierogis to fry. I smell the onions in the butter and oil and my stomach punchs itself in the face. I have had nothing to eat all day and it is 8:12 PM. The reason for the absense of food is one crazy schedule. of course, I've put things off, deadlines approach and my procrastination haunts my empty stomach. but there is something to be said about being hungry; hunger reminds me of our early human ancestors. I understand why people fast. there is some spiritual gain from fasting, yet there is also a biological one involving a re-adjustment of the digestive system. mentally, it reaffirms life's bottom line. FOOD. My hunger makes me appreciate food more, and in effect, it reminds me of what I have in life; I love the things I call my own. Through this, however, I do not deny I am very privileged compared to millions of other people. Self-induced hunger is one thing that makes me feel alive.


i sit while the flooding is slowly subsiding. Binghamton is once again hit with rain and the converging rivers of the area are rising. the state of emergency is about to end, though i feel listening to it being reported scares one without any threat of danger. granted, conditions are dangerous on roads with loose soil and mud and fast moving water. but listening to a disembodied voice over the radio seems to make people scared and panic. people drive more reckless and only make matters worse.

the truth is one individual's reality. so there are many truths. a terrible truth for one might be a lax truth for someone else. it is the convolution of reality based on individual experience. a message does not contain just one meaning. a state of emergency can even hold various connotations.

Time to finally break my fast.