Music Day

 

Song:  Oil Of Angels

Group:  Cocteau Twins

For my main meal of the day...

in the early afternoon...

I, again, made Pad Thai.

However...

this time I used a different peanut sauce...

and it made a world of difference.

I really liked my Pad Thai before...

but I now absolutely love it.

When I cook Pad Thai...

I make a whole box (5 servings) at a time.

It tastes just as delicious warmed up...

even days later.

To make a box full at a time...

just steam at least 2 lbs of chicken...

and defrost 2 lbs of shrimp to add to the Pad Thai.

This peanut sauce is excellent.

The five servings almost fills a full 14" Wok.

After plating the Pad Thai...

I just drizzled on some of the peanut sauce

(it was so superior to the old sauce that I threw the other one away).

OMG...

it added a delightfully smooth and creamy texture and flavor.

Most restaurants don't add peanut sauce...

and it really shows in the lack of flavor.

I had been to one excellent Thai restaurant before...

and I could taste some peanut sauce in their Pad Thai.

This adds such a delicious dimension to this dish.

Plus...

in each serving (I get about 3-4 servings from each box)...

there is about a pound of chicken and shrimp...

so each meal is substantial...

and healthful...

as well as being madly addictive.

I just had such a good meal that I had to reemphasize the greatness of this Pad Thai...

with this peanut sauce.

(In some of my earlier articles I break down how to make this Pad Thai).

Whenever I have a delicious meal...

I get into an especially good mood.

Even though it was a beautiful day out...

I was in a particularly musical mood.

And so...

for the rest of the day...

I am going to work on more of my next cover song.

I hope to record the first layer soon.

I can hear the other instruments I will be adding to the song...

so, it will be just a matter of playing the melodies and rhythms

 I can hear from the maestro of the mind.

After eating my fill...

I put the rest of the Pad Thai in the fridge.

I can get 2-3 more meals out of this.

For men especially...

we need to eat more meat than do women.

This meal will give you plenty of meat...

and it will deeply satisfy you all day long.

I am now up in my loft...

and where I will remain for the rest of the day...

and into the night.

I have the 3rd deck door open...

as well as some windows upstairs and down...

to allow the cool mountain breeze to flow throughout.

And...

once again...

I know I am not particularly musically talented...

but, for me...

that is not the point.

I am chasing my passions in life...

I am completing my bucket list.

For the other senior citizens out there...

we are all going to die.

Besides living our lives as healthfully as possible...

we cannot control how long we live.

However...

we can control how well we live our lives.

Eat delicious food everyday.

If you aren't loving your meals...

where it makes you so happy inside...

learn to make meals from other lands.

There is a whole world of spices and flavors to experience.

Keep making progress in your passions in life.

If you aren't looking forwards to the future...

you have not properly placed carrots in your life.

--------------

I cannot stress this enough...

if you are not feeling a deep serenity and happiness everyday...

if looking at the clouds...

the sunrises and sunsets...

the night sky...

feeling the wind upon your face...

eating delicious foods...

listening to soul stirring music...

immersing yourself in all of the great simple pleasures of life...

do not give rise to your creative passions...

do not fill you with excitement and hope...

you are doing something wrong.

Just knowing you should always be deeply happy inside...

is the first step.

Spend some time in solitude...

think deeply...

write out your bucket list

(things you have always wanted to do).

This sets a direction in your life.

Once you have that direction...

live life by the basic four:

1)  Eat delicious and nutritious food.

2) Exercise regularly

3)  Get Deep and Restorative Sleep

4)  Pursue Your Creative Passions

Do these...

and all of the great simple pleasures of life

manifest themselves throughout everyday.

Life is simply too short to do otherwise.

The subconscious, among other things...

 is what provides us motivation.

We each may be thought of as a gem.

As a beautifully cut gem has many facets...

so has our personality.

The subconscious automatically shifts from facet to facet

depending on our environment and situation.

One very important facet you should never suppress...

outside of certain social situations...

is that of your inner child.

It is he (or she)...

who revels in novelty...

of beauty and wonder at everything...

who has insatiable curiosity...

and who is inherently happy.

Other important facets include:

 The Stoic (Philosopher/Psychologist)...

The Intellectual...

The Creative Artist...

The Warrior...

and...

The Dog (unfettered love and loyalty).

To think that we are just one person

is to ignore the potential to live life fully.

If you will notice...

none of the facets are negative.

If you but realize one thing in life...

your subconscious will guide you:

We are the masters of the self...

and so...

the masters of our destiny.

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Look at the pure joy in the expressions of children and dogs.

Their pure heartedness will remind you of your own inner child.

----------

Read and incorporate the teachings of the great philosophers.

The great philosophers had lived lives so incredibly difficult...

and yet...

had mastered themselves to go on to teach others.

Epictetus was a very notable example.

He was a slave...

and yet...

was later able to secure his freedom to go on to open his own school of philosophy...

and who's great realizations in life greatly influenced other great philosophers.

He had molded his way of life out of chaos...

and in what would have driven so many others to despair.

His was a way of life which was borne not of comfort...

but of defeating himself under arduous conditions.

So many of the modern day armchair psychologists and philosophers

think backwards.

They create these zany hypotheses and then try to influence others

of their validity because they hadn't realized a way of life

by having lived it and conquered difficult situations themselves...

and so...

they blame all others of not doing it right...

because that is how they think it should be...

without having taking into account actual human behavior

(Marxism...made by two armchair Philosophers...

and with Karl Marx being a professional parasite...

just one of many idiotic beliefs).

----------

Learn from the learned...

and...

know yourself...

and you shall know the world.

These two thoughts alone should tell you everything you should know

in your screening of information.

Look at how someone has lived his or her life...

not by what they merely say.

How do you know?

Look at their:

 Actions in the face of duty...

Inactions in the face of temptation...

and their Reactions to people at a disadvantage to them.

But...

for a quick measurement...

look at how serene and deeply happy they are.

And know the means and methods of deception.

A lack of emotion is indicative of someone who is guarding.

Phony expressions are out of synch with the quantity and quality

of the situation...especially in the eyes.

----------

Having a creative outlet is how we may defeat death.

It allows us to live for the future...

knowing that it will eventually outlive you.

It is to be happy in the now...

with the knowledge that someone in the future will be happy

because of your actions.

It also connects people at their deepest level.

It gives meaning to life.

-----------

Learn to cut out negative emotions...

by merely concentrating on the positive.

Notice I didn't say...

by not doing or thinking of the negative.

By not trying to do something is to think about it (the negative)...

and so...

reinforcing the negative.

----------

And...

most of all...

know that once true love touches your heart...

it will change your life...

forever.

People falsely think that a negative event in life...

permanently scars the heart.

NO...

our minds are very good at employing selective memory...

so long as you allow a positive event in life to overwrite the negative...

whether it be an actual event...

or a projected one.

To fall hopelessly in love...

is to erase all the negative...

to forever keep all the negative from ever breaching your armor...

as you will have the realization that even having lost the object of your love...

and that it will always yours to experience once again...

should you but allow yourself to love once more.

But...

once again...

you first must experience it.

But the beauty of love is that you need not experience it first hand.

By reading of great loves...

or through other mediums of love (dramas)...

if the writers are good enough...

 will have you falling in love with a certain character.

You will then fall in love with your imaginary perfect person...

and when you see the person who resembles that imaginary person in real life...

that is when love at first sight becomes a reality.

Even should their heart not be available to you...

you will forever have the unconquerable hope that true love does exist.

That is when life takes on a crystal clear quality...

and you will have the inner knowledge of true and deep happiness...

since you had experienced it.

This is the power of the facets of:

The Child...

and...

The Dog.

Without them...

the only enjoyment in life comes from evil or purely selfish intent.

Hedonism or power lusting is the only outlet for such people.

----------------

Pretty soon...

I will be taking Bandi out to differing parts of Colorado

to see the Autumn colors (besides near home).

I, will, of course...

be taking lots of photos.

----------------

Okay...

enough for now.

Back to my music.

For the cover song...

I will be using the classical guitar on one track...

and all on separate tracks...

I will be using the 12 string guitar...

the Bass Flute...

the Bass Guitar...

and multiple instruments on my Max - 10 music arranger keyboard.

This particular song will take me some time to complete...

as, again...

I am not particularly musically talented.

It is just one of my creative passions.

But...

it is one of the things in life that gives it so much depth and beauty.

Batch Cooking - Thai Green Curry

 

Song:  Drops Of Jupiter

Group:  Train

I had been waiting for my Thai Green Curry paste so I could make green curry.

I received notice that I had packages waiting for me at the post office...

so, the day after the holiday...

I drove to the post office in town.

I picked up my packages...

and then drove back home...

fully expecting to make Thai Green Curry later that same day.

I got home and opened up the packages.

Although I had received one other item I needed for the curry...

the package of the green curry paste was not in this delivery.

I just love Pad Thai.

I will always be sure to have plenty of the noodles and sauce.

I had also bought 10 more pounds of powdered milk for my homemade yogurt.

I looked outside...

and seeing it was a nice day...

I decided I would drive to my favorite Asian Market in Colorado Springs

to get the Thai Green Curry paste.

It was a nice drive there and back.

Finally...

I bought a large stock of the curry paste...

and I stocked up on peanut sauce as well

(for the Pad Thai).

I was tired after my shopping spree...

so, after putting everything away...

I went to sleep early.

On the afternoon of the following day...

I would start cooking a large batch of Thai Green Curry.

I would end up using 2 lbs of coconut milk powder for the curry.

I first filled the 12 quart stock pot about half way with water...

and I began soaking a couple of handfuls of Shiitake mushrooms

in it as I had it on low simmer to soften them.

In the meantime...

I laid out the implements I would be using for the mushrooms.

After half an hour...

the mushrooms were soft.

I would just use the mushroom infused water to cook with.

I sliced up the mushrooms.

I then added the coconut milk powder.

As I added each ingredient...

I sampled it often to get the right taste.

I always use the two spoon tasting method.

I then added sweetened condensed milk to the coconut milk 

to give it just the right amount of sweetness.

I then added the green curry paste...

a little at a time.

You must be careful when adding this...

as it is very easy to get the curry too spicy.

I just added some...

stirred it well...

and tasted...

over and over again.

I had ended up using all of this tub.

As most of the work was done once I had the curry sauce done...

I started the rice cooker.

I kept the heat on low simmer...

as I would be adding the chicken and shrimp.

I had over 6 lbs of steamed chicken from the other day.

I would end up using about four lbs of it.

The rest of it will be made into Pad Thai on the morrow.

I then added the mushrooms and two batches of shrimp.

I put the first batch of shrimp in (two lbs)...

to be sure it would fit inside the stockpot.

Seeing I still had enough room...

I added another two lbs of shrimp.

I fluffed the rice.

After adding in the final two pounds of shrimp...

I had just enough room to stir everything.

I then cut up some tofu to add to the dish once I put some curry in my bowl.

It was tasty and hearty.

This will be perfect to eat on cool autumn and cold winter days.

I turned off the heat...

and staged the freezer containers for filling once the curry cooled enough

(about three hours later).

I filled 15 containers...

one of which I put in the fridge...

and the rest I put into the deep freeze.

I have Japanese Curry on the left...

and Thai Green Curry on the right.

After a few minutes of cleanup...

I was done for the night.

------------

Tomorrow...

I am going to make Pad Thai.

I have three different peanut sauces to try over the Pad Thai.

Once I find my favorite peanut sauce...

I am going to ensure I stock up on plenty of it.

Right now...

I just can't get enough of Pad Thai.

I just love that dish.

------------

In a couple of days...

I am going to finish up the opened tofu

by making Kimchi Stew.

This is another perfect dish for cooler weather.

------------

Now that I know how to make my two favorite Thai dishes...

I am going to learn how to make some other country's dishes as well.

I just love food.

------------

I also want to get a large meat smoker some time in the future.

Right on the second deck...

there is a covered outdoor electrical outlet.

It will be the perfect place to smoke meats.

Thai Green Curry Prep - The Day Before

 

Song:  Where The Streets Have No Name

Group:  U2

I was notified that my package of Asian food had arrived at the post office...

however, as it was Sunday...

I'll have to wait for tomorrow to pick it up.

In the package...

one of the items included is Thai Green Curry paste.

And so...

on this day...

I went shopping at Safeway for plenty of chicken breasts...

shrimp...

and tofu...

as well as some cheese.

This is my medium cooler.

I keep the small and medium coolers in the car to transport my groceries

from inside the car once I arrive home from the grocery store.

Today's shopping just fit inside.

 Had I bought too much...

I would have just used the smaller cooler as well.

I like to keep the deep freeze fully stocked with items I usually cook with.

I had gotten about 18 lbs of chicken breasts...

and 16 lbs of shrimp...

among other items.

I bought frozen cooked shrimp...

as all I will have to do is to defrost them in a warm bath...

just before adding them to the curry.

I usually eat a large chunk of cheese with most meals.

I will add some tofu in this dish...

and the rest I will use in Kimchi Stew later on.

After I put away the groceries...

I then began steam cooking two packs of chicken breasts (about 7 lbs - just over 2 kilos).

I filled the pot about 1/4 the way with water.

I then put in the steamer basket...

...and placed in all of one package and part of another of chicken breasts.

These were for the second batch to steam.

I chose to steam them to keep the flavor neutral for the curry...

and for the uniform texture.

I readied the cutting board to place the freshly steamed chicken upon

to allow them to cool before I shredded them and put them in the large bowl.

They were ready in about 20 minutes.

As the first batch was cooling...

...I then emplaced the second batch for steaming.

As the second batch was steaming...

I shredded the first batch...

and just let the second batch cool.

After they cooled...

I shredded them as well.

I then just covered the bowl with foil and refrigerated it...

in preparation for tomorrow.

I will batch cook the Thai Green Curry and freeze it in many containers.

I will add in the Shiitake mushrooms as I heat the coconut milk 

with the green curry paste...

and just before I finish cooking them together...

I will add in the chicken and shrimp and let it simmer for a little while

before I turn off the heat.

The tofu I will add into the mixture once I bowl a serving...

as I am unsure how tofu tastes if frozen.

As much of the cooking was done today...

making the Thai Green Curry tomorrow will be fairly quick.

I will be making Basmati rice for use with this dish tomorrow.

--------------

I got plenty of chicken and shrimp as I love eating Pad Thai as well as Green Curry...

and of which in each...

I use a plentiful amount of chicken and shrimp.

These two dishes are my favorite Thai dishes...

and now that I can make them easily at home...

I can add these to my cooking repertoire.