The space between

I read something profound once that

life is lived
in the gaps

intriguing, the idea of space, and nothing

and in those minutes,
when there's actually room,
to be

gratitude.

2014 MartyMuzik

twentyfourteen

Packed crowd of songs, and some of the more mainstream: Kongos, Vampire Weekend, etc ... well got booted !  Too much hard core, soft listening and techno jammed into one format - ah well, welcome back to MartyMuzik !

skipping over to song 3, "Algiers", is Cincinnati's own Afghan Whigs, I'm reminded of why vinyl and cd's are so fun man, its ... the cover art

i mean if these old fucks can still have us cringe by thinking about this cover for 'do the beast' you'll like the music intrigue even more

The alt rock contemporary Wolf Alice will rock you out hard, with some hints of pixies meets sleater kinney ... and perhaps cherry blossom finish.  female vocals just hit the spot

Wolf Alice (N. London)

the backdrop to newly outed lead, from Against Me!, Laura Jane Grace (who began life as Thomas James Gabrial) reminds us that when switch hitting, it is important to change all three of your names to avoid any confusion.  That being said, you're in for being sucked in like a straight man in Castro, with Transgender Dysphoria Blues (i'll save you looking it up, dysphoria is a 'general state of malaise, or uneasiness") ... understandable

The brother and sister duo Taking you on a Big Jet Plane is from Australia, 

Angus & Julia Stone

Song 10, Intro ~ is a fitting point to not-flip over your CD, he-he, thinking about the vinyl days.  Nope, you wouldn't get 20 songs on a single one.
Anyway, don't flip over your CD, you are simply entering the 'techno', more synthesized sound for a few songs ... its ok, it will soothe you and be reminiscent of many eras of music past, really its ok to feel the synth

I'd tell you more about Zhu, if they didn't choose to remain completely anonymous, and be judged only by their music.  Bold move, hope the royalties find their way to you :-)

Rochester, NY's Joywave is represented on two tracks (#1 Dangerous, as a collaborator, and #13 Tongues

If you are still not hip to Jack White (former, White Stripes) and have just returned from Mars, you need to see him on Lazzaretto in this video

if not for the guitar picking, or the slight resemblence to Johnny Depp, then for the very cool paisley suit.

And finishing with Ha Ha Tonka, what the hell kind of name is that ?!?... from West Plains, Missouri, these guys are like Dylan meets the Meat Puppets or something ... so smooth, its like butter

Just love the lyrics, because we all can't keep learning the same lessons over again. Fuckin' Missouri, right !?

Can I get an 'Amen'?


peace,
m.

Celery superfood

Growing up my mom would put cream cheese on celery, later I heard about peanut butter on celery ... and both of these so-called snacks, not only put a wad of bad fats in my mouth, but they damn near gag me to eat them.
But I crave celery.
So I searched the web to find out what this vegetable has, that I need ... and I did (find out):

1. Celery combats inflammation.   I battle inflammation all the time, from food, from alcohol, from working out ... it seems I'm pin-cushion material, maybe pop a naproxen and get it to chill ... but who wants to take drugs if a food can help out.
2. Celery is like crunchy water.   There is a high water content to celery, so it fills you up, but also hydrates you.
3. Celery has many essential salts
4. Celery is rich in flavonoids  (yes anti-cancer stuff, skip the glass of wine!)
5. Celery has lots of vitamin K, helps your bones

The list goes on, check out these two sites. for more info:
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/11-super-health-benefits-in-just-1-celery-stalk.html
and
http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/celery.html

So I set out to create some great celery salad, modified a recipe I found online and voila !  So happy to eat this salad I nearly wept, it was all-at-once, crunchy, salty, nutty, spicy, sour and felt very much a cross between Vietnamese and Thai, really, so here goes:

Thai Celery Salad

Ingredients
5 Stalks Celery, sliced on the bias (angle your knife sharply when cutting, while spinning the celery)
3 Green Onions, sliced thinly
3 tbs Red onion, sliced thinly, then chopped
1/2 Serrano Chile, sliced thingly
1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped (stems and leaves)
3 tbs peanuts, halved
1 tbs sesame seeds
Salt and Pepper
Sauce
2 tbs fresh lime juice
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp fish sauce


Directions
Whisk together sauce ingredients with a fork.   Make sure the serrano is sliced very thin, and even then cut those in half so the heat is dispersed a bit.

Pour the sauce over the salad, and toss, then plate.

Note:  I sprinkle the sesame seeds and peanuts on each individual plate, just a little goes a long way with the peanuts.  Remember, this dish is all about the celery !

Enjoy!

Vegan Asian Salad

Asian Salad packs a crunch ! Yum!

I always likes the Wonton Chicken Salad at SoupPlantation/Sweet Tomatoes.  Perhaps it was the thought that "protein" could happen, if I could get some of that sweet, tasty chicken meat.  Maybe it was the cheap side of me thinking, wow, I can get meat at this salad emporium, cool!

Well those days are behind me, having joined the vegan revolution of health and well-being, and I'm still hankering for that sweet/sour crunch, nutty goodness. I found a vegan recipe online, modified it a bit, and made it my own.

I don't even miss the deep fried wontons!

Vegan Asian Salad

Servings: 6

1/2 Head Chinese cabbage, sliced thin

1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped

1 cup red cabbage, sliced thin

1/2 whole red pepper, sliced

1 cup english cucumber, sliced

1 1/4 cups carrot, shredded

2 whole green onions, sliced

1/2 cup snap peas, halved

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons slivered almonds, roasted

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, roasted

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons natural peanut butter

1 tablespoon maple syrup

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon grated ginger root

1 teaspoon siracha

1 pinch sea salt

Mix ingredients for dressing: vinegar, peanut putter, maple syrup, sesame oil, ginger root, siracha and salt until fairly

smooth, set aside for flavors to meld.

Combine sesame seeds and almonds in small pan, heat until some become slightly browned. Set aside.

Mix all vegetables in big salad bowl, toss.

I put the salad in a bowl (individual) and gently spoon dressing on in appropriate amounts (noone likes over sauced chinese salad, so don't dump it all in), I mix the individual portion,

then top with Sesame and Almond slivers, give one more stir to incorporate.

Drizzle a bit more dressing on top, in spatter pattern.

Buckwheat fritter w/ Mushroom Gravy

Buckwheat - a work in progress

I got the wild idea that a gluten-free flour needs to come under my mastery. Dammit.

The one that popped into my head; grey, dense, really a non-riser was ~

Buckwheat!

I've tried many times to make a morning buckwheat pancake. They always taste the same:
yuck, ancient grainy-sawdusty-cant-put-enough-syrup-on-this-to-choke-it-down-yuk.

I like a challenge.

Buckwheat

So I'm thinking, break that density up with vegetables that have some carmilized brown on them, and put it in the batter, then cover it with mushroom gravy.

So basically for the mushroom gravy, you can find Mushroom Broth (near the Chicken and Vegetable broth), mince 1/4 cup of onion, slice up 1/2 cup Cremini mushrooms, add a dash of wine, salt+pepper, I put some almond milk (like a tablespoon, for color), reduce and at the end thickened it with a teaspoon or two of cornstarch and a little water.

While that's simmering, slice 1/2 a zuchini, thinly. Cut the bottom off an ear of corn and microwave in-the-husk, for 3 1/2 minutes.   Squeeze from the tassle end, and out pops your ear (or use canned corn, drained).   I added some yellow pepper, and a few Crimini mushrooms too.

Saute those sliced vegetables. Mix the buckwheat with flour and almond milk until the right consistency add some sweetener (agave, or sugar), 1 tbls of cornstarch and 1 tbls of baking power (dammit, didn't have the baking powder this time. They were F-L-A-T, and got no rise out of me either)

Center the batter in a hot pan (sprayed with some cooking spray), cook and keep watch; you want to add the vegetable before the pancake sets up completely, but the bottom side is cooked.

Press the veggies into the batter a bit, then you can put a lid on (for about 15-30 secs), before flipping.   Remove lid, and flip.

Let cook a few minutes more, cover if you like. Then flip onto a plate (veggie side up!).

Spoon mushroom gravy over and server.

So how was it?   eh.   The flavor of the other stuff was great, the veggies, the corn with a bit of caramelization, the mushroom gravy fantastic.

The buckwheat needs help.    Maybe it was the non-stick pan, ick.  Nothing better than the iron skillet for this. Maybe its the lightness on oil, of which I'm trying to be very light-to-non-existent. Likely it was the lack of a rising agent (baking powder or yeast).  Probably a combination of all of the above.

Conceptually this can work, I don't know if the "pancake" is the right format, and I will think about other ways to present the batter part (and crisp it up a bit, thru likely some time in the oven), I just don't want loaves or muffins or some-such thing.

I'm thinking thin the heck out if, get it to crepe up, and roll it.  May play with that, buckwheat crepes a bit.

Anyway, that's it for the Buckwheat Pancake Fritter ... to be continued.   Humphhhh.,  buckwheat wins again.

Let's go Buffalo (Wings)

I can't remember exactly how many $.10 cent wings I would down, at the Inn Between in my college town of Geneseo, NY on Tues. (or was it Thurs.), I do know that if I got 'hot' or 'suicidal', the pitchers of beer were hardly enough to douse the flames of eternal buffalo wing love ...   I would down them until it hurt, something like $2.00 worth (20) comes to mind.

Many years later (lets call it shy of 30, wow slash ouch) I'm reticent to discuss the effect that amount of deep fried chicken skin and fat, has on my digestive system.   Not because I wouldn't like to, or because I pull punches when talking about the more unsavory aspects of my gastrointestinal tract ... its because I'm going meat-free lately and looking for better options.

Enter Frank's Hot Sauce ...

I could put this on a piece of tree branch, and chew on.  Seriously, wear gloves lest you find yourself gnawing on your own finger, thinking "hmm, this doesn't taste too bad, with some Frank's".

Here's a recipe I found online, for Buffalo Cauliflower "Wings" that came out really good!

Are you ready for some football?   Find some celery, and bleu cheese and a friend that likes spice ... and enjoy!

Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

Ingredients

Cauliflower - 1 large head, pieces fairly large (1+ inches)

Milk - 1 cup

Flour - 1/2 cup

Panko Bread Crumbs - 1/4 cup

Garlic powder - 1 tbs

Black pepper - 1 teasp.

Franks Hot sauce and 1 tbs melted butter in a bowl (to toss)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 deg

Cut Cauliflower into large flowerets (1-2")

Combine milk, flour, bread crumbs, garlic powder and pepper in bowl

(note:  add milk slowly, and stop when the batter seems about pancake batter consistency, you don't want it too thin.  If less than a cup, then that's ok.)

Dredge Cauliflower pieces in batter and place them on a foil-lined cookie sheet (important, it'll stick)

Bake for 18 min. turning once.

Meanwhile, combine butter and Frank's in a large bowl  (I melt the butter in microwave)

Coat cauliflower in sauce, and bake 2-3 more minutes to set the sauce (I like it wet, so don't dry them out by baking too long, after tossing in the sauce)

Serve with Blue Cheese dressing (Marie's) and Celery sticks.

I like them wet and glistening with Frank's and Butter, Yum!

Take care of yourself

... because no well else will."

end-quote, who says this?  Who does this?   Everyone. Noone.

What does it mean, though?  To take care of yourself.

Let's state with what it isn't:

1. Its not:  Putting others first
   Ouch!   That hits the 'givers' right in the loin chops.  This is a weird paradox, to be sure.  Leads to Martyr Syndrome.
2. Its not:  Partying until you puke
   Ouch!   Food, drink slovenly, stupor.   Minimialist, easing your digestion and keeping the chemical balances from food and drink, so your brain and body feel ok.
3. Its not:  Doing nothing
   Ouch!   Relaxing, lazy-boy, lounging, sleeping more.   It's about restoring vitality to your soul, through movement.

So I guess I've inter strewn some positive reinforcement in saying what taking care of yourself is not, from my perspective.

Negative mirrors reflect truths.   Changes, revealed ... easier.