Monthly Archives: April 2009

Night walk on Nose hill

Last night was our first hike/walk with Calgary Outdoor Club. Here are the pictures:

Nose hill sunset

Nose hill sunset

It was beautiful evening.

Calgary viewed from the Nose hill

Towers of Calgary from the Nose hill

Then the city lights came on.

Full moon above the city

Full moon above the city – shot from hand, hence the blur.

With the moon like this, we didn’t need flashlights.

Thanks, outdoorphil and the rest of the gang! See you soon, again!

UNR 9.04beta on AA1

Hey, I’ve just installed Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04beta daily build (.img file dated April 4, 2009). Here is the link to daily-live/current. It might change, of course. Not link, but .img file.

When tried previously, with alphas and previous beta builds, didn’t have luck with wireless and touchpad. Wifi didn’t work, and touchpad was flaky.

I have to report that today everything works without tweaking. Will test further and post it here.

New summer recipes … be prepared!

As found in Barbecues Galore 2009 flyer:

Planked, Sweet Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 4 large potatoes
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1 Tbsp melted butter
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese – grated
  • 2 cloves roasted garlic – minced
  • chives for decoration
  • 1 Tbsp chopped parsley
  • paprika for a bit of finishing colour
  • 1 cedar grilling plank, soak overnight

Peel and cube both kinds of potatoes and boil until tender (approx. 20 min). Add half the Parmesan , all the garlic, butter, cream, and sour cream. Mash it up. Arrange the potato mash onto the plank. Grill using indirect medium/high heat for about 25 min. Remove and top with the rest of the cheese and some greens (parsley, chives, etc.) so it looks pretty. Some salt and pepper to taste. Serve on the plank, blah, blah, blah, …

Pork Tenderloin with vaguely exotic spice rub

Ingredients:

  • 3 medium sized pork tenderloins
  • 3 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp ground pepper
  • 1 Tbsp chilli powder
  • 1 Tbsp dried thyme
  • 1 Tbsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp paprika

Mash up the rub ingredients with a mortar and pestle. Work the rub into the tenderloins and let sit for an hour or two. Grill on a medium heat for approx. 20 min. Let rest before slicing – against the grain – and serve.

Blind Bananas

Ingredients:

  • 4 bananas – not too ripe
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 4 tsp brown sugar
  • 2 tsp dark rum
  • Juice of a lime
  • Ice cream
  • A few berries as a decoration

Melt butter in the saucepan, add spices, sugar, and rum. Heat on low, stir, and let thicken. Cut bananas lengthwise leaving the skin on. Brush half the thickened sauce on the bananas and place them, skin side up, on the barbecue for about two minutes. Flip them over and grill them, skin side down, for another two minutes. Remove from grill, slip the bananas out of their skins and serve with ice cream, some berries and the remaining sauce.

Note: that’s the original recipe. I used what I had on hand. Instead of cinnamon, allspice, and ground cloves I put 1/2 tsp of spice for mulched wine. Didn’t have the berries, too, but it was good, nevertheless. Also, 1 Tbsp of butter per 1 banana is little bit too much (or I should let it thicken little bit more than I did). Rum is never too much!