Here, watch something cool:

Tags: inspiration, video

This post is exactly why I have a “downtime” tag and “production-free” category. That said, my wife (the usual food blogger) is sick and been in bed all day. I’ve been out doing various spring projects around the house and yard that winter prevents. I got a fair bit accomplished today. To reward myself I ran down to the local market and grabbed a Ribeye. For some reason, a rare steak + chilies sounded good so I snagged some serranos and habaneros. Then I got home and googled. Here’s what I’m rocking that made my eyes burn after trying the sauce pre-fridge:

*side note: the local microbrew I’m drinking takes on completely different and really amazingly good flavors post chile sauce taste*

Posted verbatim from here

My adjustments: 1 additional habenero- all seeds left in, 1 additional garlic clove, on one big-ass ribeye. Grilled with the sesame and olive oil rubbed on as it cooks. Grill as hot as possible to sear and eat rare.

Serves 2- (unless it’s my big-ass ribeye)

You will need:

• 4 serrano peppers
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon fish sauce
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 (1 1/2 pound) flat iron steak, about 1 inch thick
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Remove the seeds from two of the serrano peppers. Add peppers, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and rice vinegar to a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. In another bowl combine garlic powder, dried cilantro and kosher salt. Rub mixture over steak. Allow to rest for about 20 minutes.
3. Heat sesame and olive oils in a large heavy bottom skillet over medium heat. Cook steaks 3-4 minutes per-side for medium rare. Transfer to plate. Cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
4. Slice and transfer to a serving platter. Spoon chili-lime sauce over the top. Serve immediately.

Tags: downtime, food

So my wife and I took Friday off to ski at Red Lodge Mountain just outside of town here. They’ve been hit hard with snow, something like 27″ in the last week, 15″ of which was Thursday night and then another 5″ last night so we’ve had some sweet conditions. We’re going to to pack in one more half day tomorrow after church. I took the 50mm up today so I’ll put up some shots whenever I find my USB cable.

We got back tonight and were having some post-hot tub discussion about our dogs as we were sitting in the family room next to the fire. We have two (but watching three more of the in-law’s canines)- one lab and one Boston Terrier. Somehow the discussion got around to what kind of car they’d drive if they could drive cars. (Admit it, we all would love to see dogs drive- great movie idea).

Anyway Callie, our Boston Terrier is rather um, high-strung, obsessive, and overall rather bitchy. Wife agreed when I figured her to drive the huge diesel truck with diesel stacks out the back. You may have never seen one, it’s the Fast and the Furious in cowboy land I think (FYI, never try to race one, if you have a fast car because they typically have wicked amounts of torque and very large turbos):

(image stolen from a forum via google)

Hanging off the back would be those nasty nut-sacks and a sticker on the back window that says, “I bit these off myself” License Plate: (BITE EM).

For our other dog Migo, our lumbering, laid-back, somewhat dim-witted black lab, my wife thought he would drive an old-style beetle, while I thought he’s more of the old Dodge van type (with bubble window):

We debated and disagreed but both agree that it would be the worlds first butter-powered vehicle (he loves butter- once ate an entire stick off the counter wrapper and all). And when he wanted to stop for a snack, he’d just pull over and lick out the gas tank. License plate: LIKBTTA (like butter or lick butter, either one works).

I think my wife was going to put up her thoughts on her blog over here so check it out in a day or so.

What would YOUR dog drive?

Tags: downtime