herbiehancock

Oh man, I love Poblano Chiles ! I love the dark green color (wouldn't a scarf be great in that color?). I love the shape of them, the odor and the all the yummy dishes you can make with them! I bought a couple of Poblanos the other day thinking I would make some Chile Rellenos (my all-time favorite Mexican dish!) . But, as often happens in our house, our refrigerator is so packed with goodies, I kind of forget what I have tucked inside the drawers and behind the milk. So, yesterday, I found these two Poblanos-- poor things-- almost over the hill, but not quite! I cut out the soft spots and decided to cut them into strips and roast them. It's easy. Wash the chiles and cut them into strips. Put them on a rack and put them under the broiler until they're charred. I set my timer for 2 minutes so I can remember to check on them. (Why is it that it's so difficult to remember you have something under the broiler??) After the chiles are charred, put them in a plastic bag to st

This is Snowball. I think she is the neighbor's cat. I think she is a she . I decided to call her Snowball but sometimes I get confused and call her Snowflake. Also, Squeaker would be an appropriate name. Anyway, she's taken to hanging out in my backyard, and I don't mind at all. Cool eyes, eh!

Settled in Bangalore. Took a while to get the net connection back in. But finally through. Will be regular from here on. Definition of regular being worked on. And for all it's worth, comments is back up too.

No 498 - Back To The Future 2 Director - Robert Zemeckis This is the perfect film to watch over a cup of tea and a bowl of Muesli, and it allows me to talk about sequels. For where Back To The Future used the immortal line of " Roads, where we're going we don't need roads " to hint at a second story (it could have never happened) - this film is dropping blatant hints everywhere. Carefully setting up the situation to lead up to the 3rd film. Doc Brown mourns the fact that he'll never be able to visit his favourite era - the American West The time circuits are faulty, continually flickering between the selected date and 1885 In the Biff Tannen museum we are introduced to Biff's great-grandfather: Buford 'Mad Dog' Tannen, fastest gun in the West. Hmmm..... could we possibly be heading for a wild west finale to this trilogy? And whilst part 2 does build up perfectly to the third film, it fails to resolve itself as a single entity. This is a regular proble

You've seen these gadgets to make Beer Can Chicken, right? They do a mighty job! If you don't have one, you should get one! You'll have the moistest, most flavorful chicken ever - and it's fun! Bring a whole chicken home, remove and discard the innards (or save them for something else) and rinse the chicken. Rub a little olive oil all over the chicken and season with your favorite stuff... I use garlic powder, rosemary, parsley, whatever is on hand. Then pop open a beer and take a swig (the can should be about 3/4 full). I've used beer, soda, and sometimes just an empty soda can filled about 3/4 with water. The contents of the can doesn't seem to make a difference in the flavor or the moistness of the chicken. I used Coke Zero, because that's what I found in the fridge! Put the can in the holder and set the seasoned chicken on the can. At medium heat, it usually takes about an hour in a covered grill. To be sure, use a thermometer and cook until the chicken

No 23 - Back To The Future Director - Robert Zemeckis Right. Before we start, this is going to be a terrible bit of writing - but hell, I've got 499 other films to hone my skills on... and allow me to explain why we start with this random number and not with something more logical.... like 500..... The first film that I owned on the list was No 498 - Back To The Future Part 2 ( discussed tomorrow ), so it made sense to me to begin with the much higher ranking first film. I sit here with a cup of tea and Fore! playing in the background, to make sure that I stay in the right frame of mind. And to make sure that I can have the excellent Power of Love playing on loop. This film is an absolute gem - It is only two months younger than me, and unlike me it has aged marvellously well. The scenes set in the fifties look as fresh and as well shot as any recent film set in this period, meaning that you can still be fully transported by the film without loving it because it is kitsch, or part

Last year Rachael and I had a dreamy experience watching Gillian Welch at the HSB . Then I totally got a picture with her backstage (red hair, turquoise dress... you may need to squint).

I swear...

Questionable moment from a Kid's game... From another angle... The reaction...

Have you ever tried Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce ? Psst... you can find it in pretty much across the country in Wal-Mart. When I opened the bottle of this sauce, boy howdy did it smell great! I put a little (okay, a lot) on a spoon to taste it. It had a sweet (but not too sweet) and smoky flavor. Seems like just the right amount of vinegar and tomato for a great grilling sauce! I thought we'd better try this with some antelope burger! I mixed 1-1/2 pounds of burger with 1/2 cup of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce and one envelope of dry onion soup mix. That simple! Oops, you caught me! I couldn't keep my finger out of this delicious sauce! Country Bob's is a small company and they specialize in their All Purpose Sauce , All Purpose Spicy Sauce , Barbeque Sauce , and Seasoning Salt . You can find all sorts of recipes using products here at Country Bob's and there's even a place for kids to color... check out the "Just for Kids" tab! I made thre

B went bird hunting the other day and came home with two Sharp Tailed Grouse. Here's what they look like: Yup, that's a pretty sharp tail , all right! Never having cooked a Sharp Tailed Grouse before, I decided to put them on the grill using the same technique as we do for dove. I marinated the grouse breasts in bottled Italian Dressing overnight, then wrapped them in bacon. I use toothpicks to secure the bacon to the dove breasts, but these were much bigger, so I tied the bacon on with string. I'll tell you what... those grouse weren't going anywhere after I tied them up! I ground a little black pepper over them and gave them to the grill master. B kept them on medium heat for about 30 minutes. They weren't quite done, so I wrapped them in foil and put them back on the grill for another 20 minutes or so. They were delicious with all that crispy bacon! All we needed with this meal was a piece of corn!

RIP: Paul Newman (1925-2008). My life was never the same again after my first viewing of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Brooks, 1958). Gorgeous and extremely talented actor with a brain and a political conscience. You'll be missed.

Went to see La Fille de Monaco (Anne Fontaine, 2008). With Fabrice Luchini (not doing too much Luchini here), Roschdy Zem and Louise Bourgoin. Not bad. Didn't like the end. Very hazy shades of Hors de prix , The Devil Is a Woman , Death in Venice or even The Blue Angel . Anybody who's ever been on either end of a pathetic-old-person-in-lust-with-young-person situation will appreciate (with culture and refinement always on the side of the old person). "Il venait d'avoir dix-huit ans," and all that sort of thing. Louise Bourgoin (Julien Doré's girlfriend it would seem) has got tremendous hair (a wig?) and the most amazing pair of legs in Europe. I had croissants at that Monaco hotel: the worst in my life, and the most expensive.

Let’s take a glimpse on some of the highlights of Milan Fashion Week Spring 2009. Missoni Spring 2009 collection was comprised of different shades, tones and styles. The colour palette used in the collection is a combination of pink, gold, blue and yellow. Models walked the runway in palazzo pants, summer dresses, high-waisted straight skirts and silk blouses, accessorized with chunky belts. The evening gowns were embellished with studded detail, to give them added flair. Burberry Prorsum's Spring 2009 collection had an autumn/fall feel because it comes with shades of grey, brown, and bronze. The collection was made up of hats, Barbour-style hunting jackets, skinny cardigans, drop-waist dresses. Models were accessorized with oversized statement necklaces which Christopher also presented in his Fall 2008 collection. Prada's Spring 2009 collection was like the Fall 2008 lace collection, with cropped tops, bra tops and key hole dresses and crumpled pieces. Shrunken jackets had no

Sticky and Sweet OK. So I've had time to digest it all. The concert: Fabulous, except that gypsy moment (which is vaguely justified by the release of Filth and Wisdom ), and the terrible shoes I've mentioned. The singing doesn't matter, it never has. So what if some of it is pre-recorded? So what if her backup singers are doing most of it at times? Totally beside the point. Another reproach though: too much guitar-playing. She plays indifferently. We want to watch her dance, not just stand there with her guitar. Maybe it's because she's 50 now and so she can rest a bit when she does that (sorry that was my venomous minute). The tongue-in-cheek guitar-hero thing is amusing for five seconds. Everything else is perfect Madonna. Moves, costumes, references, it's all there and it's all great. Tremendous mise en scène of "She's Not Me." Exciting tributes to Britney. Setlist found on Wikipedia: Video Introduction (contains elements from "4 Minute

The U.K.'s top designers show Harry Potter's brightest girl, Emma Watson a.k.a Hermione Granger, how to cast a sartorial spell in the upcoming October 2008 issue of Harper's Bazaar . Check out some of the bewitching spreads as Emma got styled by Alexander McQueen, Christopher Bailey, Viviene Westwood, Marios Schwab, Philip Treacy, Matthew Williamson, and Giles Deacon. Source

After his aggressive photoshoot with Brad Pitt and Angelina , Steven Klein made another series of photos for the September issue of Vogue Italy. First he captured Guinness heiress, Daphne Guinness, in an amazing shoot for the editorial entitled "The Honorable Guinness" in the "Future Couture" supplement of the said magazine issue. In this dramatic shoot, Daphne is held hostage at gun point, watches a fellow model is burned on the pool lounge, and many more. Secondly. Steven Klein was also responsible for the editorial photos of the magazine entitled "The New Warriors". It features models Jessica Stam, Caroline Trentini and Catherine McNeil in chic warrior pieces of fur, Lycra leggings, high waisted leather pleated pants and platform shoes. The set of photos includes a usually angry face of a model with Cubist face paint and the other models were seem to be fighting woth each other. Photo Sources: 1 , 2