Blog PostsFriends | BlogChinese Meatballs RecipeCHINESE MEATBALLS(American Cantonese-Style meatball stir-fry) INGREDIENTS: Meatballs: 1 lb. Ground beef (lean content as desired) 2 to 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced 1 to 2 Tbs fresh ginger, grated (powdered ginger is fine, just not as tasty, or you can do without if not a ginger fan) 2 Tbs Soy Sauce Garlic Salt to taste (normally ½ tspn) Black (or white) Pepper to taste (normally ¼ tspn) Sauce: ¼ Cup cold water 1 Tbs Cornstarch ¼ Cup Soy Sauce Garlic Salt/Powder to taste (remember that soy sauce is salty to begin with) 1 Tb Vinegar (Rice vinegar is standard, but white, apple cider, balsamic, wine, etc. are all good) 2 Tbs Sugar (White is standard, but brown sugar adds some depth) Another ½ cup of water (for even better flavor, use beef broth or add beef bouillion). Other: Veggies: This is entirely up to you! I've done this kind of stir fry with any combination of 3 to 5 of the following, but even just one significant veggie (such as broccoli) would work: yellow onion (big chunks), green onion (sliced diagonally for pretty, and yes, it's okay to have 2 kinds of onion), carrot (also diagonal, makes 'em fancy), sliced bamboo shoots and/or water chestnuts (canned), snow pea pods, bean sprouts, broccoli (fairly small pieces, I recommend, but up to your taste), edamame beans (not whole pods, ya lunk), any color bell peppers (also big chunks), zucchini slices, sliced celery (again, do the diagonal, it's worth it), chopped cabbage (bok choy or boring), sliced mushrooms (avoid canned, they're slimy and weak), green beans (if you're cooking for someone fussy), peas, and so on. You generally want about enough to fill 2 to 3 cups, depending on your desires for meat/veggie ratios. Keep in mind that some veggies (onions, cabbages, kale, etc.) cook down smaller. Rice or Noodles (whatever you prefer). Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs (just mush that shit in there). The variation in the amounts is merely a matter of taste. If you particularly like garlic or ginger, add more, and vice versa. You can also add all number of other crazy things as you like... some suggestions are Hoisin or Oyster sauce (1 or 2 Tbs), Five Spice Powder (1 tspn or so), Pre-cooked rice (not much, though, maybe just ¼ cup and add a bit more liquid, such as soy sauce, to balance it), minced onion (1 or 2 Tbs), flavored vinegar (such as balsamic, red wine or malt; about 1 Tbs), sesame oil (½ tspn) or seeds, etc. Form into gumball-sized balls (you can go larger or smaller, just keep in mind that large meatballs need to be cooked longer and at slightly lower heat, less time for smaller balls). You can use a melon baller/scoop, but make sure you hand-form a tad before they go in the pan or there will be some really funky shaped meatballs. Unless, of course, you throw your hands in the air, and ya just don't care... Put about 2 Tbs of your preferred cooking oil/medium in a wok (recommended) or large skillet. I lean towards straight-up canola oil with a few splashes of sesame oil. Note: Don't use sesame oil by itself, it burns. But olive oil, peanut oil (also preferred if you like it, as it's common in Asian flavors), etc. are all good. Heat oil on medium high for about a minute, then roll those suckers in there. Cook them for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on how done you want them and how weird your pan is, rolling them around every minute or so. Some will recommend putting a lid on, at first, for about 3 minutes, to get the insides cooked better. This is especially useful if you made yourself have big balls. While those are cooking you can start prepping the sauce if you didn't beforehand (because you're lazy). Start with the cold water and cornstarch, blending well, then throw the rest in. Mix. When meatballs are done, remove them to a paper towel (on a plate, dumbass) to remove some excess grease. Throw in your veggies and start stir-frying the little dickens. Note: If you're just using a pre-packaged mix of FROZEN veggies (which is fine), give them an extra 4 minutes or so in the pan to defrost, first. Otherwise, just stir those veggies around in the same medium-high heat for about 4 minutes or so (longer if you used more, but not much longer), then add the sauce. Yeah, just pour it in. It's THAT hard. It's slightly more efficient to slide all your veggies to the sides (especially if using a wok) and pour the sauce in the center, letting it get it's initial heating all by it's lonesome. Either way, it only take a couple of minutes for the sauce to heat and thicken. Then you just add the meatballs back in, stir it all up good and serve the whole mess over steamed riced or cooked noodles. Final Note: If ya like it saucier, double that sauce. It's okay, really. Song of mine titled "Worship"Worship by Jay FrenchAlbum: House of the Black Rose V1 Kingdom Come is callin' for me And I'm here to take the fall But my TV's got the answers All I have to do is call LI-1 Is it always your word? Is it always your way? 'Cause no matter what you've heard To get to heaven, I gotta pay LI-2 Some people worship the heavens Some people pray to the dark I ain't buyin' what they're sellin' I just listen to my heart CHORUS And I worship you You are all I need, all that's true And I worship you My deity, baptize me in you V2 Kingdom Hall is where I should be I can make it if I try Now ol' Split-foot's lookin' for me Good book's gotta tell me why LI-3 Is it always your herd? Is it always your game? 'Cause in order to be “good”, they gotta inflict some pain LI-4 Some only worship the goddess Some people just play the part I ain't hearin' what they're tellin' I'll just take it from the start CHORUS 2 And I worship you Your are all I need, all I do And I worship you Transcend me, enlighten me with you Trumps wins... humans loseNow that I know that nearly half of America is racist and ignorantly self-destructive, I give up. There's no saving humanity. All I can do now is tend to myself and my loved ones. We probably won't have long, but I'll try to make the best of it. If Trump does a quarter of what he's promised, I'll probably have to watch my disabled wife die.To those of you who made this happen, go fuck yourselves. The Hall“Ruff,” said the dog....But he couldn't leave it at that. “I'm telling you, we've reached a detente,” he added, dismissively. “Look, if you're just going to make veiled threats, I'm not going to continue this debate with you,” the cat responded, flatly. “I can always go back to the bedroom and lay on the laundry.” “Maybe that's for the best,” the dog still seemed to be staring off, only watching the cat from his peripheral vision. Clearly, he was trying to act uninterested. “If you'll be reasonable, I'd just like to get a drink,” the cat continued. “I thought we had an understanding.” “Don't turn this on me,” the dog reacted, now facing the cat directly, “I have made every effort to maintain our equity! You just can't simply expect me to ignore centuries of instinct.” “You're really going to pull the instinct card?” “Oh, don't play that aloof feline position, you know damn well that we both are hard pressed to resist our instinctual nature.” The dog seemed satisfied with himself, but seeing disbelief in the cat's face, added “I know about the catnip...” “We promised not to talk about that... or the things that you roll in,” the cat clearly was unsettled by the reference. “Also, there's no need to get racist about this.” The dog seemed flustered, embarrassed by his own immaturity, perhaps. He seemed to clearly be searching for a way out of the conversation, “Why don't you just get a drink from the toilet, like I do?” The cat stared, unamused. “Call it a matter of taste.” “You don't like the taste? How is it different from the water bowl?” “I mean to say that it's a matter of preference,” there was no question of the cat's position of superiority on the matter, though he added softly, “Besides... they left the lid down.” The dog was at a loss without his seemingly easy solution. “Can't you just wait until I'm on the other side of the room?” “Does that seem fair to you to make me wait because of YOUR 'quote, unquote' instinct?” The cat proudly countered. The dog lost focus for a moment, then looked as softly as he could muster at the cat, “I don't make any promises, but feel free to give it a try.” The cat gave a sidelong glance, suspicious but hopeful. An indeterminate period of silence and stillness filled the hall from the bedroom to the kitchen, as if time was busy making up its mind. The dog tried looking off into the depths of the hall as the cat adjusted subtly to prepare to trot off to quench his thirst. The cat gave a last glance at his companion, then attempted to accelerate with haste while not seeming rushed. Invariably and irresistibly, the dog gave chase. There has now been a call for renewed negotiations. Written for my middle daughterJust Like Meby Jay French Album: Shatter V1 She takes the long way home and stops to draw the flowers She has a hundred faces one for every hour She doesn't know all the words to her favorite songs She'll sing them anyway won't you sing along? LI She smiles... just like me She cries... just like me She easily forgets, fills up with regrets She doesn't even know why CHORUS (and) She's just like me She wants to love the world Just like me She'll never do you harm To be noticed, and have solace To be wanted, and to stop being haunted She's just like me. V2 I watch her grow and change finding her own way I'll always carry in me the day I walked away L2 She tries... just like me She flies... in her dreams She's seen the monster's eyes, I'd give anything if I could take that out of her, into me CHORUS REPEAT WinterWinterby Jay French Album: Change of Heart Leaves fall from their boughs leaving their beauty Snowfalls cover the ground to quiet the night I've seen wind & rain enough for a lifetime Leave me in winter's domain enshrouded in white Spring can bring liveliness Autumn is color Summer's adventure & joy (but) Winter to me is romance & love that wrought forth a man from a boy Warm fires, Christmas trees closely you hold me Living serenity I feel so alive Timeless eternity so simple an art Free of complexity enshrouded in white The winter in me speaks of ages gone by and whispers of joys to be soon I see that peace when I look in your eyes When I see the winter in you Crosses are Burninglyrics to "Crosses are Burning" from the album "Change of Heart"Crosses are burning the flag is in shreds our fathers will guide us with the strike of their hands Our mothers will teach us to hate other kinds the world is so twisted drive you out of your mind The fields are on fire the fighting in vain but fields of white powder eternally reign The children run freely their guns in their hands who'll be the hunter if the victim is man? In the East we are dying for oil-covered sands in the West we are killing merely 'cause we can Show me the opening Show me that there is a way we can stop what's begun Tell me the secret Tell me that there is a way to undo what's been done Crosses are burning there's judgment above the people are turning could it be that all we needed all this time was love? Our babies are crying while we stare at T.V. our children are dying while we fall to our knees Where is the answer? please tell me the way we must hold together and go day by day Is is to simple, to trust one another? We've got to before the next dawn. Is it so easy, to love one another? We've got to before it's all gone. |