Archive for December 2nd, 2022
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is new to me, but looks good and interesting. It’s a site where you can specify the various musical genres that interest you, browse offerings, and buy CDs (physical or digital) or individual tracks or stream music. Some seem to be free samples.
For example, take a look at the album More Touch, by Patricia Brennan:
Marimbist, improviser and composer Patricia Brennan “has been widely feted as one of the instrument’s newerleaders.” observed The New York City Jazz Record. She has performed in venues such as Newport Jazz Festival, SF JAZZ, and Carnegie Hall, as well as international venues such as Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria, and Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.
Listen to “Unquiet Respect,” the first tune on the album.
released November 18, 2022
Marcus Gilmore drums
Mauricio Herrera percussion
Kim Cass bass
Patricia Brennan vibraphone with electronics, marimba
It’s sort of like Spotify, but with Bandcamp, the musicians get the money.
And if jazz isn’t your thing, they offer many genres and sub-genres.
Also:
On the first Friday of the month since March of 2020, we’ve waived our revenue share to help support the many artists who have seen their livelihoods disrupted by the pandemic. Over the course of 23 days, fans have paid artists and labels more than $84 million dollars, helping cover rents, mortgages, groceries, medications, and much more. If you’re among the nearly 800,000 fans who have participated, thank you.
The next Bandcamp Friday is January 6th. As always, isitbandcampfriday.com has the details.
If you’ve started to feel guilty about buying music on any other day of the month, here’s something to keep in mind: on Bandcamp Fridays, an average of 93% of your money reaches the artist/label (after payment processor fees). When you make a purchase on any other day (as millions of you have, with close to $1 billion now paid directly to artists), an average of 82% reaches the artist/label. Every day is a good day to support artists on Bandcamp!
Tempeh Chili
I thought I’d make a chili today, which is overcast and cold with snow predicted late this afternoon: a good day for chili. Shown above is the IKEA view — i.e., prior to assembly. Here’s what I’m doing.
The first step is to cut up the garlic so that it can rest for 10-15 minutes before it goes into a hot skillet In the photo above, the six cloves of Russian red garlic can be seen in front of the bowl of red kidney beans. At the right are the peeled cloves, next to the mandoline that will reduce them to thin slices.
At the left is a photo of the same cloves, now sliced. It took about one minute, which is why I like my garlic mandoline so much. Allowing the garlic to rest means that a heat-sensitive enzyme, necessary to produce the nutrient we want from garlic, has time to complete the reaction before it is destroyed by the heat of the skillet.
Once the garlic has rested, the process begins. First step was to drizzle about a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil into the 12″ MSMK nonstick skillet. In hindsight, a better choice would have been the 4-qt All-Clad Stainless sauté pan — the skillet got very full, and finally I had to transfer the batch to the sauté pan.
I added to the skillet:
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 10.6 oz lentil-&-wheat tempeh, slabs halved to make thinner slabs, then diced
• 1″ piece of ginger root, minced (in the photo, it’s in front of the ancho chili powder)
As I have said, my recipes are descriptive rather than prescriptive. I’m not saying to use 10.6 oz of tempeh, just that the amount I used turned out to be 10.6 oz.
I turned the heat to medium and cooked that, stirring frequently, until the onion started to get transparent. At that point I added:
• the sliced garlic
I cooked that for a few minutes, stirring to separate the garlic. Then I added:
• 1 small can tomato paste
I cooked that, stirring frequently, until the tomato paste darkened. This improves the taste. Then I add:
• 1 540ml (19-fl oz) can Aylmer® Accents® Chili Seasonings Diced Stewed Tomatoes
• 1 10-oz can Ro•Tel Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles
• 1 small can diced green chiles
I sure thought that can of green chiles was a can of chipotles in adobo, which I was going to blend and add. So it goes. So while those came to heat and began to simmer, I collected the herbs and spices in a little bowl and included some crushed red pepper and some ground chipotle in lieu of the chipotles in adobo. I put into the bowl:
• about 3 Tbsp Mexican oregano
• about 1.5 Tbsp ground cumin
• about 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• about 2 Tbsp dried marjoram (very high in antioxidants)
• about 1 Tbsp ground ancho
• about 2 tsp ground chipotle (not shown)
• about 2 tsp crushed red pepper (not shown)
• about 1 Tbsp Spanish smoked paprika (I store it in the Club House)
• about 1.5 teaspoons MSG (it’s okay)
I added those to the pan, along with;
• 1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (see this post)
• cooked red kidney beans (1 cup, measured before cooking)
• 2 Tbsp Gemai miso
• 5 domestic white mushrooms, halved then cut into thick slices
• 2 squares Baker’s unsweetened baking chocolate
• about 1 Tbsp Wright’s liquid smoke
• about 1.5 Tbsp Georgia Gold turmeric purée
• about 1.5 Tbsp ground black pepper
• good splash of Bragg’s apple-cider vinegar
• about 3/4 cup water
I stirred to mix, covered the pan, and simmered it for about 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. I’m having a bowl now, topped with about 1 Tbsp of Bragg’s nutritional yeast. Tasty, but a little spicier than I like — too much crushed red pepper is my guess. But I’ve noticed that after I refrigerate something spicy overnight, it seems noticeably less spicy the next day. We’ll see. In the meantime, it’s certainly good.
Update: The second bowl doesn’t seem so spicy as the first.
Black is the shave theme
My New England Shaving Company brush has a resilient synthetic knot, and it worked up quite good lather from Phoenix Artisan’s Black Shroud shaving soap. I’m not sure I am all that fond of the monster-man flashing his movie audience, but whatever. The important thing is the lather, and with the CK-6 formula it is very skin-friendly indeed. I also like the fragrance, an homage to Woodhue for Men:
Top notes: Menthol, Mint, Rose [Note: The product is not mentholated in feel]
Middle notes: Sandalwood, Amber, Spice, Floral
Bottom notes: Vetiver, Woody, Cedar, Vanilla
And there is indeed no menthol chill, just a hint of freshness.
This Edwin Jagger razor has a fluted rubber grip, comfortable and secure — and of course the superb Edwin Jagger head provides a wonderfully comfortable and efficient shave: three passes to perfect smoothness.
A splash of Black Shroud aftershave, and I am ready to enjoy a sunny (albeit cold) Friday — today I’m making tempeh chili.
The tea this morning is Murchie’s CBC Radio Blend: “A blend of choice Ceylon and China black teas, Jasmine and other green teas with a touch of citrus.”
Later On 