Made Red Bell Pepper Hummus

Today I made hummus again. This is a spread (or dip) made from pureed chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, dried basil leaves, ground pepper, and roasted red bell pepper. I then made sandwiches (resembling sliders) using the hummus as a spread on each half of the sandwich bun and loading up with more roasted bell peppers. The result was killer! I also discovered a savory new ingredient called SALT (I think it must stand for "Such A Lovely Taste"). I added a mere 1/4 teaspoon to the batch of hummus and it tasted great. I must remember to make even more use of this key ingredient in the future. The photos here aren't that great, but you can get an idea of how good it looks when sliced in half.

Field Tested Spy Camera in Del Mar

The Patio Area at En Fuego
Cantina & Grill, Del Mar

Harvest Ranch Market

Earth Song Book Store

Sidewalk area at Americana Restaurant

Stratford Court Cafe on 13th

Quite some time ago I purchased a digital camera disguised as a pair of sunglasses. The megapixel rating is 1.3, quite adequate considering the size and craftiness of the camera. Today I decided to field test it in the city of Del Mar, California. Attached are some sample photos. Some were taken outdoors, and many of the interior shots came out quite well.

Points of interest include The Plaza Shopping Center, Harvest Ranch Market, Stratford Square, The Stratford Court Cafe, En Fuego Cantina and Grill (currently my favorite), and Seagrove Park, among other places.

If you want to see the rest of the photos, go here.

As you can see, the stealth capabilities of this camera are more than enough to get by without people knowing pictures are being taken. The shutter is silently released via a bluetooth remote the size of a silver dollar, concealed in the pocket. Taking the pictures is still a bit of a learning curve. Pressing the button results in three audible beeps which only I can hear via the earphones attached to the glasses. The exposure is taken at some point in the middle of those three beeps, but I'm not exactly sure when. Hence, it is difficult to shoot moving subject matter.

With some of the photos, I've cropped them after the fact so that I can zoom in on the subject closer. That is why these appear to have lower resolution.

I shot over a hundred exposures before I got tired of taking pictures. I've included only a few here and on my Mobile Me Gallery.

As a side benefit, the sunglasses are also a digital mp3 player.

Made Chicken Broccoli Fettucini Alfredo

This time I really didn't use a recipe. I did everything kind of from scratch, except for the sauce, which I made by using Bear Creek Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup Mix. For the chicken I simply took breast meat, cubed it, then pan-sauteed it. I steam-cooked the broccoli in the microwave.

Listed 24 new pieces this evening on eBay

This week I've decided to slam eBay really hard. I've got some new pieces listed and I hope they do well, despite the fact that they are scheduled to end on the Memorial Day weekend.

Renaissance Pleasure Faire 2009

Today I went to the Renaissance Faire in Irwindale, California. I try to go there at least once each year. The atmosphere is the raison d’être of the whole experience, but for me the food is at the top of the list as well. I made a point of having the Pork Chop on a Stick, among other things, as well as sampling some meade, apple cider, and lager beer. I passed on the roasted turkey leg this year, because I’ve had my fill of turkey earlier this month.

This blogger lets me upload only five photos at a time, so I will try to include a link to more photos at a later time. Hope to keep up with the Ren Faire tradition in the years to come.

Sometimes Reverse Psychology works well.

The teacher doesn’t want Bart to do it, so it must be a good idea.

Turkey Pizza

I was inspired by the “starter” ingredient to make this dish: Pizza Bread from Loma Linda bakery in Loma Linda. I used the small size pre-baked pizza bread, a variety which—to a degree—resembles foccacia.

To this I added about half a 14-ounce jar of Prego Italian sauce (fresh mushroom flavor). Then about four ounces of shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, followed by close to half a pound of cooked ground turkey, some sliced black olives, and sliced red bell pepper.

I baked it on a cookie sheet in a 425° oven for 15 minutes. I’m thinking I could have gone an extra five minutes for a bit more doneness, although the meat portion was obviously pre-cooked. 

The result was a tasty, “deep” pizza, but definitely not a user-friendly finger food. A knife and fork works best for this dish. I will need to experiment with other ingredients in the near future.