Jalapeno Mango Kolaches

These were just a random idea for kolaches that actually turned out good.
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Kolache dough and Posypka (original recipe from the Homesick Texan)

Kolaches (adapted from recipes found in Texas Monthly and the Houston Chronicle)
Ingredients:
1 package of active dry yeast
1 cup of warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups of all-purpose flour
2 eggs
3/4 cup of melted butter
1 teaspoon of salt

Method:
In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm milk, sugar and one cup of flour. Cover and let it rise until doubled in size.
Beat together eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter (reserve 1/4 cup for brushing on the pastry) and salt.
Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and blend.
Stir in about two more cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should be soft and moist.
Knead dough for about 10 minutes on floured surface. Don't worry, it’s a joy to knead as the dough is smooth and highly malleable.
Put dough in a greased bowl and let rise covered until doubled in size—about an hour.
After dough has risen, punch it down and pull off egg-sized pieces. In your hands, roll pieces into balls and then flatten to about three inches in diameter. Brush with melted butter.
Place flattened pieces on a greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise again for another half-hour.
After second rising, with your finger gently make an indention in the center of the dough (be careful not to flatten it too much) and fill with one tablespoon of fruit filling (recipe to follow) and sprinkle with posypka (recipe to follow).
Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter when you take them out of the oven and serve warm.

Posypka
Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:
Mix all ingredients until crumbly.

Jalapeno Mango Filling

2 medium mangoes diced
3-4 jalapenos, cored, seeded and diced. (leave the seeds for heat if you want)
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tsp ancho chile powder

combine in a saucepan and cook low for about 15 minutes, then mash it up, or put it in a food processor and puree.

This should make about 18 kolaches according to Homesick Texan. I made 24 "normal" size out of the same dough.

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

1 pound chicken breast
3 scallions, whites only, thinly sliced on an angle
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-ince piece peeled fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon + I teaspoon cornstarch
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
approx. 1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
5-6 cups broccoli, trimmed sliced stalks and med. Florets (separate)
¾-1 teaspoon chili flakes
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

In a medium bowl, toss chicken with scallion whites, half of the garlic and ginger, soy sauce, sugar, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, I teaspoon salt, and sesame oil. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes. Mix remaining cornstarch with 1/3 cup of water.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat. Add broccoli stems and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add florets and remaining garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons water, and season with ¼ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Stir-fry until broccoli is bright green, but still crisp, about 2 min. Transfer to plate.

Heat skillet again, add 2 tablespoons oil. Add chicken and chili flakes, if using. Stir-fry until chicken loses color and gets a little brown, about 3 min. Add hoisin sauce, return broccoli to pan and toss to heat through. Stir in reserved cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil to thicken. Add more water to thin sauce if necessary. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if you like. Mound stir-fry on a serving platter or divide among 4 plates, serve with rice.

NOTE: I use 3 crowns of broccoli, just the florets, and add 1 to 2 spoonfuls of chili garlic sauce for heat.

Obligatory Blog Post Title

uhhh, so apparently its been a while? Theres not a whole lot going on. I'm building Warhammer stuff, building a website, and building a tolerance for bullshit. Birthday's Thursday. Gonna go to the midnight of Tron Legacy, have Pei Wei for lunch, watch the first Tron before seeing the new one; you know, normal shit. Had an infected and ingrown toenail, that was bullshit. I'm totally uneventful and boring.

ugh

computer was down for a week and a half. fresh OS and restore though, I'm up and running. not much exciting going on.

I'm Alive! :D

so apparently I do have readers lol. been semi-busy lately and theres time I just dont feel like blogging. hell, I dont even know what to write here right now. I just thought I'd update. maybe I'll write a more legit entry later? who knows. also, check out my soccer blog Http://rhymeswithorangedynamo.blogspot.com I try to keep it half-way updated.

V-day, or "How to know how painfully alone you are"

First and foremost: Fuck this month.

That feels good.

So, as some of you know, I find this farce of a holiday completely bullshit. Not only is it commonly referred to as "Singles Awareness Day", but it's an obvious ploy of corporate greed and this fleeting emotion of "love".

Love is bullshit. Or so I believe until someone shows me otherwise. It doesn't help that it was this was the day that my last girlfriend cheated on me. Then again, she was a controlling bitch, and I should have ended THAT farce before that even happened, but that's neither here nor there.

So here I am, broken (think C-3PO in Jedi: being carried around by Chewie in a backpack with parts hanging out), waiting for someone to fix me. I don't even know if I have all the missing parts anymore.

Reflections on this past year

It's almost my 22nd birthday, and I'd much rather reflect on a year from birthday to birthday than Jan.1-Dec.31 because it just seems more logical.

It's been a crazy year. This time last year, I was sitting in my apartment stressing over finals and wondering if i had the gas money to make it back home for Christmas. It was also the time I decided to move back home and regroup and refocus on school. It's been a constant struggle to keep myself interested in music. I love playing my trumpet and I love attempting to learn piano, but the necessary classes put a damper on the experience, especially since I've had 3 different advanced music theory teachers each telling me something different.

But, in light of the educational roadblock, I did get to live my life-long dream if only for a week. I literally quit my job and dropped everything for the chance to march in the Madison Scouts drum and bugle corps. It was the single-most enjoyable experience I've ever had. When you hear of a brotherhood and a shared bond between people who work so hard for a single goal, it absolutely embodies what these guys work for. 8 hour show day rehearsals 6 days a week and a 12 hour rehearsal day with a free day every couple weeks for 150+ members, 30 staff members and sometimes a small army of volunteers. Its a truly amazing thing to see and mind-blowing to be a part of.

This was also a rough year for my family. My grandfather passed away a couple days before mom's birthday, and we're still trying to get everything back to normal. Its strange to go to my grandparent's house and not see him there, and I'm sure most of my family feels the same way.

I've also discovered a few things about myself. I procrastinate (obviously). I'm not as smart as I think I am. Sometimes, I am completely over-confident, which leads to a major let-down. I can sometimes overlook what's really important to me. I'm completely unorganized. I;m occasionally reckless.

I've also discovered twitter this year, much to my parents dismay. I'm on it all the time, and enjoy talking to 99.9% of my friends on there. They've been a really good support system and keep me motivated. I also learned that I'm not as perverted as most people think I am. I think a few of my tweeps can prove that.

All-in-all, its been a decent year, despite not partying as much as I did when I was 20. Here's to finding employment, more friends, and making every moment count.

Prosit!
Andy065

(kinda surprised I didnt write about soccer in this, huh? well, I'm thinking of rolling out a soccer blog. Just something i've thrown around in the vast expanses of my mind. Maybe I can get a job writing a soccer column? highly unlikely, but who knows?)