Wednesday, February 18, 2004

I think the Democratic primary process is going quite swimmingly.  Dean quit the race today, and although I supported his candidacy, and am sorry that it's over, I still believe that he did (and can continue to do) a tremendous amount of good for the Democratic party.  If a scrappy, left-leaning candidate like Dean hadn't emerged so early in the race, I seriously believe we would be watching a bunch of fearful, tentative candidates uncertain of the line they had to tread in order to effectively take on Bush.  I fully expect a move to the center once the candidate is chosen (and I don't believe that it is completely in Kerry's pocket just yet), but even Dean said publicly that he would move right if he won the candidacy.  Nevertheless, we've had a relatively vibrant primary season, and I think the party base in energized, and will vote in record numbers, particularly if the Bush administration continues down their gaffe-ridden road.  I think both Kerry and Edwards are highly electable candidates.  I will happily vote for either one. I've been writing and reading, revising, then reading and writing again.  I don't have much time for other things.  My more creative cooking endeavors have tapered off considerably, but I have made some good, simple side dishes to go with our good, simple meals of late.  We've been grilling lots of stuff (salmon steaks, chicken breasts, turkey brats, chicken and feta brats, veggie brats) of late, and I've almost perfected an easy grilled-vegetable relish that goes wonderfully with stuff like this.   After the grill is hot, I put halved and seeded jalapeno and red bell peppers on the grill, along with an onion or two, peeled then sliced horizontally into thirds.  I let all that stuff blacken while the main course is cooking, then bring it inside, remove the skins from the peppers, and chop it all into a medium-size dice.  That goes into a bowl with red wine vinegar, good (but not best) olive oil, and a touch (maybe a scant tablespoon) of brown sugar.   It's very, very good - even better the next day after a long marinate overnight in the refrigerator, so make extra.  I've also been roasting root vegetables in the oven while the main course grills.  This is super-easy and fast.  Even children (or just big babies) like cauliflower or brussels sprouts prepared in this fashion, I've discovered.  For cauliflower, chop a head into one-inch pieces; for brussels sprouts, half the sprouts lengthwise.  The simple version involves tossing the vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper, then roasting (I use a shallow jelly-roll pan) in the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  The slightly more complex version involves tossing the vegetables with a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, and brown sugar.  This carmelizes the vegetables slightly, and is even better than the original.  I'm a big fan of bitter foods, but even the pickiest eater will like this, I promise. Also, I finally received my long-requested belgian waffle maker for Christmas.  My long-suffering girlfriend has listened to me request a belgian waffle maker for years, then reject everyone I see out of hand for not making waffles that are suitably thick.   Anyway, she finally found one that makes excellent, thick waffles.  I love this thing, and have made just about every kind of waffle imaginable over the past two months.  It's a Hamilton Beach model, and it has this feature in which, just after pouring the batter in, you flip the entire apparatus over, which creates air pockets in the batter, and results in an incredibly fluffy waffle.  This thing is so forgiving - I've put muffin mixes in it, bread mixes, weird combinations of fruits and nuts, and it comes out perfect every time.  This machine also allows you to crisp the waffles nice and brown without burning, which is good if you are making cornbread waffles (which are just incredible with chili).   I think it cost about $30, which certainly beats the only other flip & turn waffle iron I've seen (Kitchen Aid $299).  It is true that this machine does not make waffles as thick as a more traditional "belgian" but it is the closest to be had for the price.   After two months of near-daily practice, here's my own personal recipe for perfect waffles.  Mix one cup dry ingredients (either a commericial mix, or your own blend of stuff.  I use 1part whole wheat flour to 1part white flour with a tbsp. of baking powder and a tsp. of sugar), one cup of water, two tbsp. oil.  Separate two eggs, mix the yolks into the batter, then beat the whites until stiff before folding into the batter.  This makes them oh so crispy and light.  Add the extra stuff (fruit, nuts, chopped carmelized ginger, chocolate chips, diced jalapeno pepper, whatever) just after you pour the batter onto the iron.  Oh yeah.  Waffles. 3:56:43 PM