More on Kiva.org

This earlier post told some about Kiva, but there’s much more. The current issue of Business Week has an informative article:

Ann Brown and Maria Martinez have never met, but last March Brown loaned Martinez $50. It was part of a $400 loan Martinez needed to get her clothing store up and running in Danli, Honduras. She used the cash to buy colorful hairbands, bright shirts, frilly button-downs, and baby onesies. Sales have picked up, and now Martinez is paying Brown back in monthly installments via the Web site on which they found each other, Kiva.org. “When I was starting my handbag business, a neighbor wrote me a check for the startup capital,” says Brown, who sells bags at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. “I had nothing, and that made it possible for me.”

Superfood smoothie

Speaking of superfoods, take a look at this smoothie:

Avocado Blueberry Smoothie
Serves one

1/4 large, ripe California Avocado, peeled & seeded
1/2 organic apple (no stem, but include skin, core, and seeds)
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup tofu (preferably light (or “lite”) tofu)
1/3 cup pomegranate juice (significant cardio/artery benefits)
1/3 cup pure cranberry juice
1 tsp purple corn extract
2 Tbsp wheat germ
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (reduces insulin resistance)
1 cup frozen wild or organic blueberries
Small chunk of Meyer lemon if available (peel and all)

Place all ingredients in blender with lid.
Blend on high speed for two minutes or until smooth and creamy.
Pour into a glass to serve.

How to spatchcock a chicken

So long as we’re talking about hot-weather cooking, putting the heat outside (by using a grill) is a good thought. Here’s a video that shows exactly how to spatchcock a chicken to prepare it for grilling. I actually had to watch it multiple times to get it right—for example, I was trying to run my finger along the breastbone in the wrong direction. But I got it finally, and now I always prepare my chicken like this, even for roasting in the oven (generally after marinating the spatchcocked chicken).

Hot weather => Chilled gazpacho

Some time back the LA Times ran a good article on gazpacho (PDF file), and the weather got me thinking about that wonderful summertime soup again. The Eldest sent me a recipe that I published in my earlier blog (on Blogspot)and repeat here:

12 oz jar of roasted red peppers, drained and rinsed
1 lb good tomatoes, cored but not seeded or peeled
1 medium cucumber, seeded and peeled
1 clove garlic
1/2 c bread crumbs
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs sherry vinegar (or good red wine vinegar)

Blend it, chill it, taste for seasoning.

I haven’t made it yet, but will as soon as I buy the tomatoes and cucumber. I’ll probably modify the recipe with something to add some spice: good shot of Tabasco®, for example. Or perhaps a fresh habañero pepper (seeded) or a jalapeño (not seeded) before blending.

She commented later, “I made it and it is very good. It needed a fair amount of salt — around 3/4 tsp. — and lots of ground black pepper. I agree that Tabasco would be a good addition! I used fresh bread crumbs from a rustic loaf.”

Two more recipes from my files:

Mary Lou’s Gazpacho

Blend, 1/2 at a time:

1 large (28 oz) Italian plum tomatoes (or use two 14 oz. cans of tomatoes)
1/2 to 3/4 large Spanish onion (cut in 1/8ths)—more if onion is not bigger than your fist
1 peeled and seeded cucumber cut in 1/4ths
2 small cans Snappy Tom (12 oz total)
1/2 cup red wine
2-3 cloves garlic
2.5 Tbls olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
salt & pepper

Add to blended stuff : 1 chopped tomato

Simmer 10 minutes. Chill. Serve with chopped cucumber, chopped green pepper, chopped scallions, chopped black olives, and croutons.

Gazpacho from 1,000 Lowfat Recipes, by Terry Blonder Golson

1 quart tomato juice
1 lemon, juiced
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon frozen apple juice concentrate
3 ripe tomatoes, cored and diced
1/2 cup minced red onions
1 green bell pepper, minced
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried tarragon
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
One 14.5 ounce can whole tomatoes, or 3 very ripe fresh tomatoes
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and diced, divided
1 clove garlic

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the whole tomatoes (canned or fresh), one of the cucumbers, and the garlic.

Pour the juice from the canned tomatoes into the bowl. Remove the seeds from the canned tomatoes by rinsing them under gently running water. Canned tomatoes are so soft that they don’t need chopping; as you add them to the bow of other ingredients, squeeze them so that they break into pieces.

Purée the second cucumber with the garlic. Add this to the soup. (It contributes body.)

Chill and then season to taste.

I got to thinking about all this because it’s so darn hot here—77º in my living room!

Open-source this and that

The LA Times has a story on the open-source movement today. It even includes mention of an open-source religion Yoism (warning: sound).

I noted that my ability to learn so much about wet shaving in such a short time was due to the Internet and the Web, but it’s also due to the open-source idea somewhat: there’s no guild of wet shavers jealously guarding its secrets and imparting them only to members. Instead, the discussion groups are open forums with everyone free to post ideas and questions and problems—many experiments are tried and reported on, and the practice as a whole advances.

The seminal book on the whole open-source idea is The Cathedral and the Bazaar, and it’s available on-line. It undergoes more or less continual revision, so the on-line version is more up-to-date, in terms of the authori’s thinking, than the published book. Good stuff.