Orchids Galore

The Carter & Holmes minicatts have all settled in nicely, though I still haven't found ideal spots for a couple of them. They're all making new roots and new growths, even the 2 dug-ups whose roots were a bit sparse and I had to pot in sphagnum moss. They like the moss. Whew. I stopped using sphagnum moss years ago for anything but sickly plants, but I might re-think that and start using it for minis again.

A few of us went to Silva Orchids in January for their open house, and as usual found some nifty things. Paph (argus x niveum) has 2 big healthy growths. I'm such a sucker for paph primaries. Paph (Pinocchio x armeniacum) is a real honey, not the best shape in the world but great color and it lasts a long time. (see above) I also got Coelogyne mossiae even though I'll probably kill it even before summer begins. Guest vendor Cal-Orchid had brilliant offerings, and I picked up a fantastic Oeniella polystachys in spike, and a robust Leptotes bicolor in bud.

And then, the Deep Cut Orchid Show and all its vendors and splendors...I'm still wondering just where everything will end up, but I'm very pleased with the goodies I scored.

Uber Queen of Leftovers!

A typical meal can become not just 1 but 2 levels of leftover goodness! Observe:

Dinner ,#1. Lamb burgers: 2 lbs ground lamb, 1 slice soft bread, thyme, oregano, black pepper, salt. Form 4 patties per lb of meat. Cook in a very thin film of olive oil: don't turn them until the cooked part comes halfway up the sides. Then flip. 5 minutes later, flip back. 5 minutes later, flip back. Both sides should be very brown and crusty. The pan will be full of fat and juices. Turn off heat, remove burgers to a clean dish to sit 5 minutes. (Same as all cooked pieces of meat.)

Serve with rice or mashed potatoes, ketchup, and lots of veggies on the side (asparagus, broccoli, corn, whatever). 2 burgers per person is plenty. It's not a good idea calorie-wise to spoon the brown crusty pan juices over the starch, but it does taste wonderful.

Dinner, #2. Lamb burger hash: In olive oil, saute a chopped onion, some diced butternut squash and 1/2 bunch asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces. Frozen corn is good to add too. When nearing done-ness, add finely shredded Tuscan black kale and 1/2 cup slivered sun-dried tomatoes. Add leftover lamb burgers cut into bite-size pieces. Add a little water if the pan seems dry. Cover and let cook till the veggies are all tender. Serve with rice or potatoes or noodles.

Lunch, #3. Lamb burger bean hash: If you have more than 1 cup left of the hash, then put it in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil, and as it heats add 1 can drained/rinsed cannelini beans. Add leftover rice if you've got it. Cover and let cook till thoroughly heated. If you didn't add rice, serve over rice or couscous or whatever you've got.

I have made "hash" out of roast beef, corned beef, roast chicken, roast turkey, roast lamb, veal burgers, lamb burgers, and cooked salmon. General principles? Don't overcook the already cooked meat. Cut the vegs in nice small even pieces, and add them to the pan in some sort of order -- fastest cooking go in last. Diced potatoes are the foundation of most traditional beef hashes, but I'd rather spoon a potato-free hash over mashies.

Easy Fish Soup

Low-fat, extremely tasty, relatively cheap to make...what's not to like?

For 4 people:
Saute 1 chopped large onion, 1 chopped small fennel bulb, in olive oil, until translucent.
Add a generous spoonful of minced garlic.
Add 2 regular cans petite diced tomatoes (organic plz - Muir Glen or Del Monte)
Add 2 small bottles clam juice (I'm lucky to get a no-preservatives brand), or 2 cups fish stock
Add generous spoonful each fresh or dried thyme and oregano. Grind a lot of pepper too.
(Salt optional, unless it's low-sodium tomatoes)
Add: 1 can white beans, or 1 cup frozen baby limas
Add: several handfuls of baby spinach
Simmer about 5 minutes to get flavors blended.
Add: 1 lb mixed white fish fillets & steaks, deboned & skinned, cut into bite-size pieces (I've used hake, baja, blackfish, halibut...whatever's cheap is fine, and frozen is ok).
I also like to add a few shrimp for flavor too, no shells, cut in bite-size bits. Squid are great, cut into bite-size bits. Clams or mussels too. As many as you like per person.
SIMMER until the fish are all cooked through, and tender, about 7 minutes.
Optional: chopped red pepper, chopped celery to taste. That becomes more gumbo-like.

Serve with firm crusty dunkable bread, and Outerbridge Bermudan Sherry Peppers Sauce.
Also a nice dry white wine, like a Suavignon Blanc, or La Vielle Ferme Cotes du Luberon Blanc, or Sancerre...or else a wheat beer like Hoegaarten.

I promise you it's really good.

More 2008 Music, and 2009 Too

Finally did more listening to more albums...

David Byrne & Brian Eno "Everything that Happens will Happen Today": "Rei Momo" and "Uh-Oh" were terrific, but this might be Byrne's best solo album. Not coincidentally, it sounds the most like the last couple of Talking Heads albums. Catchy melodies, great arrangements, everything you'd hope for from a Byrne-Eno project.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds "Dig Lazarus Dig": I'm not the only listener who thinks Cave has finally made a commercial-sounding album. And I really like it. I would worry if Cave ever created an easy-to-listen-to record, and this comes close on a few tracks, but his lyrics are as edgy and amusing as ever. So whew.

Derek Trucks Band "Already Free": My new favorite album! My god this is good stuff. Super-sophisticated Allmans-flavored rock, virtuoso guitar and soulful manly singing, great songs...the radio track, Dylan cover "Down in the Flood", is just a taste of what awaits. Their earlier album "Songlines" was more experimental with world-music flavors and I'd love to hear more of that from this band, but I'm quite satisfied as is.

Bulbophyllum Confusion

I'm sometimes sorry I'm such a sucker for species orchids. And bulbophyllums.

This charming plant above, that I have nurtured and coddled for at least seven years, has been all along mis-labelled. It claimed to be Bulbo. curtisii "Pololei" but it wasn't. After my struggle with the newer plant I got that turned out to be Bulbo. corolliferum (but is still called Cirrhopetalum curtisii in Siegerist's book), it was clear that this older plant and the newer are two quite different things. "Pololei" would appear to in fact be Bulbophyllum lepidum, also very common in cultivation. Except that Bulbo. lepidum is no longer that, it is now Cirrhopetalum flabellovernis, or was, if you want to look at it from the perspective of that name being the older one by 34 years or so.

All fine and well! But I have one other elder plant in this pool: a Bulbophyllum makoyanum that had failed to flower for the past five years out of six. It looks just like "Pololei" vegetatively. As I hadn't photographed the flower six years ago, I forgot what it looked like, except that it was yellow and daisy-shaped. I was entirely satisfied it was the plant as labelled. Silly me.

Responding well to improved care -- lots more water, and a boost closer to the light source -- my supposed B. makoyanum has flowered again. As I remembered, it's yellow and daisy-shaped. But it's not B. makoyanum. The flowers are too short. They're not rolled. What I've in fact got is another Cirrhopetalum flabellovernis, a yellow-er form than my other plant.

Sigh.

Well, I'll keep both. They're cute. I like them. But I seriously, seriously have to repot both too. They have never been repotted. I hate repotting bulbophyllums. I am going to use very shallow pots and fill them with bark and sphagnum moss and hope for the best...tomorrow.

2008 Music #2

The 2008 albums I actually bought in 2008:

Black Keys "Attack and Release": Two guys playing dark dirty blues, this might be their best album.

Raconteurs "Consolers of the Lonely": Full of the dark/light grace and roots music of good Zep.

Foxboro Hot Tubs "Stop Drop & Roll": Sharp lyrics and great 50s garage sound from Green Day. Very very repeatable.

TV on the Radio "Dear Science": Yay Brooklyn! Sophisticated quirky sound and vocals, brash and sweet and keeps you engaged. Rolling Stone picked this as album of the year but I like it anyway. TV's earlier album "Cookie Mountain" was great too.

Beck "Modern Guilt": As deep as you need it to be. Quite melodic too. He might be getting old.

Kaiser Chiefs "Off With Their Heads": Loud Brit pop/rock with catchy riffs and singalong lyrics. Their 2 other albums are great too.

Elvis Costello "Momofuku": Press Play and be magically transported back to the late 70s! An entirely pop and rhythm-driven approachable new EC album. My god.

Kings of Leon "Only By the Night": A pretty good kick-ass assortment of songs in southern-rock style.

Mudcrutch "Mudcrutch": Tom Petty in disguise with his 1st band, gone back to blues and country rock stylings he kinda let alone for a while. A repeater.

MGMT "Oracular Spectacular": Boys angst without the emo. I almost wish I didn't feel like a cougar listening to this. These guys kick the Jonas Bro's collective arse.

Switches "Lay Down the Law": More well-crafted Brit pop/rock, reminiscent of Kaiser Chiefs and the Coral and Franz Ferdinand. Every track keeps it moving along.

Wolf Parade "At Mount Zoomer": Very alt, Reminiscent of the Shins and Interpol, with similar twang and depth to the sound. Crunchy.

Moby "Last Night": Pleasant, not spectacular, a bit heavy on the 'ludes.

REM "Accelerator": Middle age sucks. But they can still write melodies that sound like the 80s.

The Pete Best Band "Hayman's Green": Sounds like a "lost Beatles album," a tuneful 60s memoir in music. Reminiscent but not derivative. Sweet and thoughtful.

Black Francis "Svn Fngrs": Pretty much what you'd expect from Frank Black's more Pixie-ated alter ego. Hard sounds, growling/howling vocals and weird lyrics. Fun!!

Nada Surf "Lucky": A pleasant mellow set of semi-memorable pop songs that sound older than 2008. That's all. Not a bad thing.

Fleet Foxes "Fleet Foxes": I didn't expect to like this but I do. Alt folk? Alt choral? Late-night bad dreams music. Listen with the lights on.

Stephen Malkmus "Real Emotional Trash": Moody and strange. Might be dangerous. I like it!

Counting Crows "Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings": No surprises, and that's a good thing from this band. Only 1 or 2 cringe-worthy tracks.

Carbon/Silicon "The Last Post": No surprises from Mick Jones' latest project, but a good beat and you can skank to it.

Vampire Weekend "Vampire Weekend": A few great tracks with great hooks, the rest meh. Gotta love the "M79" song...my fave bus!

My Morning Jacket "Evil Urges": I HATE the 2 singles "I'm Amazed" and "Touch Me" so I trashed them, but I like the title track a lot, and a couple of the quirkier other tracks. I liked their old album Z more. Still, I'm glad they're getting lots of attention.

Death Cab for Cutie "Narrow Stairs": A few memorable radio tracks, the rest ain't bad either. A more diverse set of sounds for them. Nice pop hooks.

Snow Patrol "A Hundred Million Suns": see above.

Coldplay "Viva la Vida": see above. Brian Eno must be stopped.

Haven't listened yet:

David Byrne & Brian Eno "Everything that Happens will Happen Today"

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds "Dig Lazarus Dig"

Bob Dylan "Tell Tale Signs - Bootleg Vol 8"

The Stills "Oceans Will Rise"

The Killers "Day and Age"

2008 Music #1

There is obviously no such band as The Chesterfield Kings. "Psychedelic Sunrise" (from Wicked Cool Records) is obviously a collection of unreleased Rolling Stones tracks from 1966 - 1971. "Inside Looking Out" for example was probably going to be the b-side for "Lady Jane." "Yesterday's Sorrows" should have been on "Exile on Main Street." "Up and Down" was an alternative version of "She's a Rainbow." That said, it's a hell of a lot better album than the stuff the Stones released between "Exile" and "Some Girls." Andrew Loog Oldham's album notes are just a tip-off, a wink if you please.

Beck's "Modern Guilt" came up next in the CD tray. Not a bad segue.