CSA Deliveries Going Strong!

This summer, we signed up for Community Supported Agriculture, a CSA. We get a share of everything the New Century CSA Farm produces this season. Each week, the delivery truck shows up and drops off a whole bunch of produce; whatever is ripe this week goes in the cooler. We've had a ton of sweet corn and even more lettuce. The peppers are starting to come into season and we're getting our first, big tomatoes and potatoes. It's been great so far! Looking forward to fresh blackberries next week!

Crunchie Bars!

We found Crunchie bars in the US! Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati imports them! Woo hoo! Let the munching begin! Yay! We bought an entire box to toss in the freezer. They'll keep for ages 'til we finally have a chance to get through them. Sooooooo yummy!

Here is some info about them from Cadbury NZ... and a couple of recipes that approximate what's inside the chocolate.

http://www.cadbury.co.nz/Products/Chocolate-Bars/Crunchie-Bar.aspx

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Crunchy-Part-of-a-Cadburys-Crunchie-Bar-50122

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crunchie

Creamy Coconut Shrimp

The other day, I was having a craving... and asked everyone for their favorite Coconut Shrimp recipes. There were lots of very interesting ones... but I ended up creating something a little different.

Normal Coconut Shrimp involves breading the little buggers in shredded coconut and deep frying them. I was aiming for something a little healthier.

This is a recipe cobbled together from several others, plus a dash of improvisation. It doesn't involve any deep frying... but the coconut milk keeps it from being "low fat." It's shrimp in a creamy, coconut sauce with a little bit of a spicy kick. Turns out, it's delicious and filling!

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
3 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded
1/2 medium-sized red onion, minced
1/2 cup minced red bell pepper
1/2 cup minced green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil

1 lime, zested and juiced
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 1/2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes

13.5 can coconut milk
2 pounds uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

PREPARATION:

Brown Rice: In a large sauce pan, combine 3 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups of uncooked brown rice a tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low heat and cover tightly for 50 minutes.

Creamy Shrimp Sauce:

Sauté onions, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, jalapeños, and garlic in olive oil.

Combine lime, cilantro, shredded coconut, cumin, curry, crushed red pepper and soy sauce in a food processor. Add the sauté mix. Blend until smooth.

Pour the blended mix into a large skillet. Add coconut milk and warm the mixture over medium heat, stirring often.

When it gets to a simmer, stir in the shrimp.

Pre-mix the cornstarch and cold water then stir it into the hot mixture.

Continue to simmer until the shrimp are cooked through and the sauce thickens, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Serve shrimp and sauce over hot, brown rice.

First Columbus Crew Game

Not a bad way to start. A playoff game! The Columbus Crew took on Real Salt Lake in the second game of the 2009 MLS Playoffs. It was my first Crew game… and Daniel's second.

Plus, we snagged tickets to sit with the "Hudson Street Hooligans" in the Nordecke (the northeast corner of the stadium).

The Crew scored twice in the first half to take a commanding lead. But penalties helped RSL tie the game by half time. Some questionable officiating helped RSL eventually win the game 3 to 2, knocking the defending champions out of the MLS playoffs.

More details about the game are here, on the Columbus Crew's website.

Potato Jalapeno Soup

This is a deliciously creamy potato soup with a delightful kick. It's not as spicy as you might expect… but you'll definitely know there's some jalapeno in there!

We had a bunch of jalapenos left over from this summer's garden. What do you do with them? Here is a great idea. It's a take off on a soup we had aboard a Royal Caribbean ship.

1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup margarine or butter
3 pounds potatoes, cubed
8 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 cup jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
1 pinch baking soda
4 cups evaporated milk
black pepper to taste
salt to taste
1/2 cup cilantro

• In a large stockpot, sauté the onion in butter or margarine until it becomes tender and translucent.
• Add the potatoes, chicken broth, and cumin.
• Bring to a boil, cover and cook until potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes).
• Remove from heat and add the jalapenos, baking soda (to keep it all from curdling), and the evaporated milk.
• Use a potato masher to coarsely mash the potatoes in the pot.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Put back on the stove and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often to keep the evaporated milk from burning or scalding.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit.
• Ladle several cups of the soup into a blender and puree for a minute or so.
• Continue pureeing small batches until all the soup is creamy and smooth.
• Return three cups back to the blender, add the cilantro and re-puree.
• Add that back to the main pot of creamy soup and stir until the cilantro flavor is mixed throughout.
• Garnish with cilantro sprigs and/or sour cream.

What A Great Caribbean Cruise!

Back from the Caribbean cruise! We had a great time! Horseback riding in Cozumel… exploring the Mayan ruins in Belize… visiting friends in Key West... and more incredible food than we knew what to do with! Details and photos are posted at Travel.MarshallMcPeek.com.

The Pittsburgh Weekend

It only took me a week to get it all posted... sorry.

But the pictures from the weekend holiday to Pittsburgh are posted at travel.marshallmcpeek.com!

We Walked Out of the Restaurant

Restaurants do lots of things to be "edgy." They try gimmicks to differentiate themselves from the competition. An Italian place has its servers write their names in crayon, upside-down and backward, so
the table can read it. Another joint's employees hurl rolls at each other from across the room. And the Smokey Bones chain apparently leaves hand-written "jokes" on the table.

Today was our first visit. We went to the store near Easton. Seemed like an okay place at first. They sat us relatively quickly. But when we got to the table, we found The Note. No, it wasn't directed at us. It was waiting for whomever the next patrons might happen to be. 

That didn't make it any less offensive.

"Do vampires get AIDS?" it said in big, hand-written, yellow letters.

"Well, that's just ignorant," I said. It's inappropriate on at least a dozen levels. There is no reason for that to be on a restaurant table. It speaks volumes about the education and sensitivity training that still need to be done.

I was ready to walk out immediately. Dan was calm and cool... unphased... willing to give them the benefit of the doubt... until the server arrived.

The guy showed up at the table all smiles. Dan handed him the note and said, "The bus boy must have forgotten to remove this." "Oh no," the server said. "That's supposed to be there." Benefit of the doubt relinquished, Dan --who is not usually one to cause a scene-- instantly rose from the booth and declared, "That's just ignorant. We're outta here." The kid was stunned.

As we headed for the door, we asked for a manager. The server handed him the message before sending him over to us. He told us "the kids bring in lists of these jokes that they print from the Internet." He says he usually pre-approves what actually goes to the tables... but this one got through... and he agreed it was inappropriate. He didn't make any effort to try to win back the two customers he had just lost. The discussion was brief... and, it seemed, fell on uncaring, unsympathetic ears.

We will not go back. And we shall not speak kindly of the establishment.

Whoever thought it was funny needs a serious lesson in customer relations. There's a fine line between "edgy" (as the manager called it), and downright offensive.

Key West: The Return Trip

All the details of the trip... including the nightmarish 39-hour voyage home... are on the travel blog.

Wanna get REALLY angry?

Check out Media General's SEC filings from last month.

Here are links to the "Definitive Proxy Statement" and the "Annual Report."

In the 2008 Annual Report, Media General reports a net loss of $631,854,000.

But despite the layoffs, downsizing, furloughs and massive cuts... the Company's upper management did pretty well for itself.  Seems everyone ELSE had to make cuts.

Here's what the SEC filing says about their "Total Compensation for 2008:"

Marshall Morton, CEO                  $2,767,867
Reid Ashe, EVP/COO                    $1,555,073
Graham Woodlief, VP                   $1,000,616
George Mahoney, VP/General Counsel    $1,064,601
John Schauss, VP Finance/CFO          $  884,856

Even shareholders had to sacrifice because "due to the economic uncertainty, the Board of Directors suspended the dividend in January 2009."  But management still got eye-popping paychecks.   Shouldn't the shareholders be outraged?

And the Annual Report says employees will continue to make sacrifices in 2009.  The Company is 

"delaying compensation increases, suspending payment of dividends, suspending the company match on the 401(k) plan effective at the beginning of April through the end of the year, and employee furlough program; additionally, the Company does not anticipate a level of earnings in 2009 that would generate a 401(k) plan profit sharing contribution or warrant management bonuses."

In other words:  no raises, cost of living or otherwise... nothing for the shareholders... no retirement contribution... and more mandated, unpaid time off.

Hmmmm... the only sacrifice upper management is making... is giving up its bonuses.  THE COMPANY LOST $632 MILLION DOLLARS.  And all you're giving up is your BONUS?  Are you kidding with this?!

Many Media General employees live paycheck-to-paycheck. Taking pay cuts and furloughs makes it very difficult for people to make ends meet. Some are even trying to pick up second (or third) jobs to make up the difference.  But upper-level managers still want us to think they're making sacrifices.

Let's review the Company's Values Statement:

Our mission is driven by our core values of Integrity, Quality and Innovation. We have a long-term commitment to our employees, our customers, the communities we serve and our shareholders.

So, what happened to the "long-term commitment to our employees?"