In Southern California, this song is ubiquitous to anyone who's spent any amount of time in an old-school California Mexican restaurant. On Saturday and Sunday, the mariachis stroll through the place, playing all sorts of traditional songs that most of us know nothing about. We recognize them, but that's it.
The song is called "Cielito Lindo," and I had no idea what it was about. From my Bulgarian girlfriend's charming singing and translating, I learned that it's a love song.
Translated from Espanolish...
That beauty mark, next to your mouth, pretty darling,
don't give it to anyone, my beautiful love, for it belongs to me.
I don't know why there's an ear of corn in the picture above, but there's a strange connection to the next song...
Part of the fun of youtube is seeing the "related" videos, which in this case were more love songs with a Latin flair.
This is one of my longtime favorites, and while it doesn't have "secret" (e.g., Spanish) lyrics, I did find that the lyrics that I know were added later.
It's origin is a song called "El Choclo." That means "ear of corn" in spanish. The reason for that name is weirdly complicated, but it has nothing to do with my first song.
El Choclo is a famous tango from an Argentinian composer. It didn't have words, just music. A tango. I don't know how to tango, but I'm willing to learn.
...and it's inexpensive. Milk is as low as $1.99 for 16 cups, compared to $2-$5 for four cups of store bought yogurt. So, the worst case is that your yogurt is going to be one quarter the price of storebought. And, storebought at that $2 price often has thickeners
...and if you like Greek yogurt, you can do that, too. Greek yogurt is very expensive, and this isn't.
Things you need.
Small container (6 or 8oz) of plain, active culture yogurt - you really only 4-8 tablespoons, so you can eat the rest
Big carton or jug of milk - skim, 1%, 2%, or whole is up to you.
Big heavy pot
Flame Tamer (optional)
Wooden spoon
Candy thermometer (or some way to tell when the milk reaches around 190 degrees and cools to 125 degrees)
Containers for storing yogurt (I make 16 cups of yogurt and use four 4 cup plastic Glad containers). Sometimes I used eight 2 cup canning jars and lids.
Oven with an oven light
Slowly heat milk in the heavy pot until it reaches 180 degrees. If you have a flame tamer, use it to keep from scorching milk to the bottom of the pot. As it approaches 165 degrees, stir occasionally, but try not to touch the spoon to the floor of the pot, since there may be a milk 'skin' down there. You really want to leave it there, untouched. When your milk is 180 degrees, remove from heat and allow to cool until it reaches 125 degrees.
Spoon equal portions of yogurt (starter) into each of your jars or storage containers. When milk reaches 125 degrees, ladle or pour some milk into each container and stir to combine. Ladle or pour remaining milk, equally, into the yogurt containers. Stir gently to mix. Wipe container edges with a clean paper towel, and put the lids on the containers.
Place them in the oven and turn on the light. I've used all sorts of temperatures, from 80 degree 'room temperature' to 95 degrees in my oven with the light on. As long as you keep it under 115 degrees, it should be okay. Cooler takes longer to firm up.
Anyhow, back to the oven... Place them in the oven and turn on the light. Wait eight hours, then place yogurt in the refrigerator, because it's done.
Greek Yogurt
I'll call it strained yogurt, since this isn't Greece.
Line a collander with a very clean and fresh bandana, cloth napkin, or handkerchief . Cheesecloth is too loose without using a million layers, so don't bother. Pour in some yogurt, place in a large bowl that leaves room underneath the collander for the draining whey. Cover the yogurt and bowl with plastic wrap or a large plate to keep some of the moving fridge air out. Stick it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, you'll have strained yogurt like the Greek stuff.
For smaller batches, I use a drip coffee filter basket and filter over a mixing bowl.
For thicker stuff, like yogurt cheese, after you're already at the "Greek yogurt" stage, twist that bandana up so you have a ball, and place something heavy on the ball of yogurt for a few hours, or overnight, to press more liquid out.
I'm sure you remember that I was fat most of my life. I was also a sad and possibly depressed kid. I felt smart and dumb at the same time, bored in some classes while I struggled in others. Girls were my friends, but not my girlfriends. In my mind, I didn't have enough friend friends, or the right friends, and I'll bet the friends I did have felt the same way. I felt all alone in this, only learning years later that 90% of the kids around me probably felt the same way, in one way or another.
I remember lying awake in bed (and in the hard or easy classes) and dreaming about getting the hell out of there. Away from school and people, to be alone and left alone. Gilligan's Island sounded pretty awesome, but unworkable in the how-to-get-to-the-island department. Surviving in the local Southern California mountains, at least in the spring and summer, seamed like a decent option though. That would be extreme camping, but how hard is that?
I never did it, though. I only thought about it. Constantly.
Unhappy and overweight, another benefit of these extreme vacations was the self imposed make or break diet and exercise plan. In my mind, I came back at the end of the summer and everything in my head (and body) and been worked out. I was happy and slim and ready to get back into life.
Whether I was chicken shit or realistic (or some of each) I won't admit. You be the judge. And, those of you who've had those dreams yourself, notice that you also didn't actually do it. You just thought it, and possible still think about it.
Escape from Reality via Reality TV
In my teens, I was daydreaming of running off to my own personal version of Survivor to escape from the people that I didn't have in my life and to lose weight. In my mind, the two were tied together -- losing weight was the key to getting a girlfriend and more friends that actually wanted me around. Rather than add drama here and come back around to this point, I'll just say that I now know that my friends did want me around, but my own insecurities didn't let me see that. I'm sticking to my guns on the girlfriend, though!
Back to the issue...
I think that the popularity of certain reality television shows is catering to this unspoken, secret fantasy that so many of us have (Yes, have. Still).
Survivor is pure escapism. 30 plus days away from your worldly troubles. No one really wants to leave their family behind on purpose. We love them. We would miss them. Plus, they need us, either directly or for our money and support. We can't leave work for any great length of time, either because work really needs us or we're afraid to find out how little work actually does need us... With Survivor, we're given a 30+ day "pass" on all that. Tossed onto an island with 20 people in the same boat, we get to make friends with people who are our "equals," and try to last until the end and win the big bucks. Those big bucks lead to happiness and more friends, right? Even though we know money doesn't buy happiness, we know it actually does for us.
The Biggest Loser is like fat camp with a chance to win money! Yes, I dreamed of fat camp, too. Some place that would have forced me to eat right and exercise. See the previous paragraph on Survivor, because TBL is Survivor with personal trainers and treadmills.
The Apprentice is a little different, but in addition to the "fresh start," you get to show how awesome you are. Personally, I never thought I'd do well on The Apprentice, but many people do. What escape fantasies did they have as a kid?
There are other shows that I've seen once or twice. The Amazing Race seems fun, but not enough to watch every week. I don't know what that show says about the people who apply.
The Colony is scary. The people on the show are scary. They seem like the kind that actually dreamed about the end of civilization. It's a very negative show, from the few I've seen.
The military fits in here, somewhere. It's not a tv show, but people join the military to escape. I almost did.
I've often wondered about other people's escape daydreams. Mine are still pretty similar to the ones I had as a kid, but with a positive twist. Of course, there's no more daydreams of fat camp, but Survivor comes to mind. 30 or so days? Cake, and a vacation with a chance at millions. I'd miss my family, but I think they'd understand, since they love the show, too. It's no longer to get away from them, anyway. It's getting away from stresses of life. Even on an actual vacation, how many of us are spending precious brain time thinking about what they could be doing for work? Too many.
I put up the Message In A Bottle video for a reason. When we go off to the desert island, fat camp, Survivor, or run away from home as a little kid, we want to be missed. We want to be found. Looked for. Sought out. How many times didn't we leave because we feared not being missed. And feared that as much as we feared being hungry, alone, or scared?
I just typed up this long blog post, assuming others are on the same page as me. How embarrassing if I'm all alone in this... I doubt it. At work, or lunch with friends, people's eyes light up as they mention how great they'd be at Survivor. I've even had someone tell me that being sequestered on a jury would be a welcome thing (His job must have really sucked that day)!
I'm still addicted, in a good way. Always on the lookout for something new and good. A while back, I wrote about my like for coffees at both ends of the gourmand spectrum -- high end & diner coffees. Not much has changed. I've settled into the drip method at home, and find that Ruby's Diner has good coffee and good mugs, while Mimi's Cafe coffee is about the worst around. I don't get it.
I've got a few insignificant things to say now. In the grand scheme of things, what is coffee? But, here goes...
Starbucks Via Instant Coffee
If you like or dislike Starbucks medium brewed coffee, you will feel the same about this stuff. It's just as good. I was surprised.
I would buy it to take camping, for an office stash, or to a relative's place when I know they have crappy coffee.
Trader Joe's Joe
I buy most of my beans from Trader Joe's. TJ's continues to add new coffees and take away ones that are less popular. Their latest, called simply "Joe" is decent.
I love the can. I love that it's just "Joe." It's diner worthy. It's remarkably inexpensive, too. $3.49 for 14oz. The Two Buck Chuck of coffee beans. I like it better than the $7.99 Sulawatsis that I bought last time, so there's that.
I still haven't make the road trip for that coffee and diner trip I want to take. Someday...
I've always been partial to Dumbo. For some reason... There's a connection between our real life and animated souls.
Way back when (in the late 80s), there was a series of coincidences that brought Dumbo back to my attention (I used to hate the movie). The chain of events went something like this: There was a Christmas party where kids got a video of Dumbo. A day or so later, a radio station playing the Bonnie Raitt song in the first youtube clip below, but I couldn't tell who it was and they never said. Then a few days after that, my friend Paul gave me the tape, which he'd received as a gift and didn't like.
It's a sad movie, but it ends happily. Like Dumbo, I've grown into my ears. Not physically, but you know what I mean.
I haven't said much about my girlfriend on my blog. In the past, I've posted so much, directly or indirectly, about not having one that perhaps the blog silence is deafening. Make no mistake. She is it. IT. Yes, the it that people talk about when finally find it.
I've posted this clip (below) before. It was when I left her back in Little Rock. She had no clue, but I knew she could be IT for me someday. I didn't want to leave.
Oh, just in case it's not clear by now, I didn't really miss that plane out of Little Rock. The flight was overbooked, but I had a seat and gave it up to stay behind for one more day.
Browning the apples in a little butter makes this better than anyone else's sauce. The cardamom is just to rub it in...
Applesauce with Pear & Cardamom
1lb tart apples, such as Granny Smith
4 tbsp butter
1lb pear
cardamom -- ground seeds from 6 pods or 1 tsp ground cardamom
1 cup water
Peel, core, and cube the apples. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a saucepan with a lid. Add the apples to the butter and caramelize them, stirring occasionally. By the way, don't caramelize the pears. It doesn't go well. Just the apples.
While the apples are cooking, peel, core, and cube the pears. When the apples are browned, add the pears, cardamom, and water. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until the apples and pears are easily broken with the spoon.
Remove from heat and mash the sauce. I used a potato ricer, but you can use a blender, food processor, or even a potato masher, depending on what you have or how smooth you like your sauce.
Serve warm or chilled.
Makes about 2 cups
Nutrition (per half cup serving) -- 220 Calories, 12g Fat, 31g Carbs, 6g Fiber, 1g Protein
