Towse: views from the hill

October 14, 2009

[RECIPE] Not Chicken Waterzooi

Filed under: life,recipes — Towse @ 3:49 pm

Since Sunday, chimes had jangled like mad. Jets took off in the other direction from SFO’s runways to adjust for winds from the south. Clear signs our first rains of the season were coming. Cue early morning hours. Pelting rain. Creaking trees…. Wild winds. I was awakened when a heavy set of chimes ripped from its moorings and landed downhill.

I sat next to the windows yesterday, watching the storm beating down. The wind sometimes blew the rain sideways. The parrots were in hiding.

A supper of stew seemed in order. I had no beef suitable for stewing in the house, so I opted for chicken. I was going to make Gentse Waterzooi, which his nibs adores, but had no leeks and no intention of leaving the house to pick up ingredients.

Here is what we wound up with for supper last night.

[RECIPE] Not Chicken Waterzooi

6 chunks of boneless chicken thighs cut into large pieces
2 large carrots, cut into chunks. (Next time I’ll shred them as is more proper for Waterzooi, but I was being lazy yesterday.)
half a large yellow onion, chopped
leftover grilled strips of trumpet mushroom and onion from the Bixby weekend

Toss into a crock pot with 1 1/2C chicken broth, parsley, mixed herb seasoning.

Let burble for several hours until the chicken and carrots are tender. Add as much frozen O’Brien hashbrown potatoes as you’d like to the mix. Cook until the potatoes are tender.

Serve in large soup bowls.

No added heavy whipping cream. No thickeners beyond the natural thickening talents of carrots and potatoes.

Delish.

[URL] Canadian disasters

Filed under: factoid,history — Towse @ 12:25 am

We were sitting around outside the Ferry Building Sunday morning talking of weird and useful Canadian bits of info.

Something someone said led me today to SOS! Canadian Disasters

For those who don’t know much about Canadian history and those who do. …

This site uses digitized collection material from Library and Archives Canada to feature 15 historical and contemporary disasters grouped under elemental the themes of Fire, Air, Earth and Water, plus the distinctly Canadian element of Ice. Each of these disasters has had a profound and life-altering impact on Canadian communities, families, and society in general. The site looks at these selected events, their scale, and their news coverage. This phase of the site also features a section on Shipwreck investigations in Canada.

October 12, 2009

Blue Angels flying over the Hill

Filed under: photographs,San Francisco — Towse @ 7:32 pm

 

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Hill homes

Filed under: photographs — Tags: , , , — Towse @ 5:48 pm

The PhotoShop wizard who was visiting from Up North last weekend gave me a quick walk through some features I didn’t know how to use. Crystal Ball sez: I see a deep time sink in your future.

BEFORE:
 

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AFTER (with an artsy finish):
 

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[Update: A more contrasty & saturated version per Don’s suggestion]
 

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October 8, 2009

[PHOTO] Blues

Filed under: photographs,San Francisco — Towse @ 11:53 pm

For some reason, our jet jockeys have decided to come RIGHT OVER the deck.

 

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LOUD!

October 6, 2009

The days of wine … and carnations

Filed under: photographs,travel — Towse @ 9:37 pm

A tradition in Ukraine is that a guy brings a single flower to the girl when he meets her for their first date.

 

Imagine the story behind this scene I found one morning on a low wall in Kyiv, while we were walking up to the Saint Sophia cathedral from the little apartment we’d rented for a couple nights while we saw the sights.

A wonderful first date? A failure? A memorable evening? A first-and-last date? The start of something wonderful and lasting? A cigarette (or two) was obviously involved.

[19Sep2009]

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