These are scones of anarchy.

Scones of anarchy were invented to accompany the new single from Calling All Astronauts (official site), a London indie band whose dark electro punk sound is roughly what would happen if Sisters of Mercy had a life-changing fling with the Sex Pistols, followed by a hot rebound relationship with Nine Inch Nails.

If London is calling (yes, I know, Clash), it’s time for New British cuisine. But New British restaurants exhibit stereotypical English reticence. Where a comparable American menu would gush and bubble about “farm-raised,” “grilled on a bed of fresh rampions,” and “raspberry-leek reduction,” its London cousin murmurs a stiff-lipped “hake with leeks” and moves on.

Stymied, I did the American thing and simple-mindedly (as opposed to Simple Plannedly) associated “English” with “afternoon tea,” settling on a multi-cultural and violently spicy scone that started from the Joy of Baking’s gingerbread scones (recipe) but mostly rebelled against dictates of mass baking culture. Are you ready to hear something new? Read the rest of this entry »

A sudden urge to make tamale pie is not a source of pride. Tamale pie is among the most Americanized of pseudo-Mexican foods, with the bonus onus of lacking the hipster cred that’s been accrued by giant corporate burritos.

Your mom probably made tamale pie. Mine didn’t. Mine made the similar recipe that involved Fritos.

However, tamale pie links two ideas that had been on my plate. One is the monthly Top 10 Workout Songs from Run Hundred (site so you can vote!), which reliably includes something musically provocative. This month, the ear-catcher was a punk remix of Nicki Minaj’s mega-hit “Super Bass.” Meanwhile, Maura Johnston’s 11 Most Infuriating Trends of 2011 had called out white people revamping urban radio hits. In general, I value trend-watchers’ insights because my bent is for short, intense projects, not for longer-term absorption of the zeitgeist. This one, though… we gotta talk. Let’s start with the Nicki Minaj original. Read the rest of this entry »

M-m-m-muffins!

My modus operandi is to muster massive muffin enthusiasm because pulled pork was something I didn’t quite pull off, my souffle was insufferable, and a perfectly nice shrimp pesto pasta proved to be a dish I’ve used before. A small batch of muffins, however, saves the day.

In the spirit of finding the positive in the negative, let’s start tonight’s music with an original anti-bullying song from BlaiseSings (Twitter), a 16-year-old singer-songwriter from back East. She recently performed the song at an innovation gathering for teens in Manhattan (article). Read the rest of this entry »

Desperately needed inspiration comes from the oddest places. Dinner this week had included one salmon filet that must have been destined for sainthood, as it was raw after 20 minutes in boiling liquid, and three undistinguished chicken dishes, plus 28 indie bands with the same opening riff. Then @YoSwanny proposed #foodthursday in response to this series of tweets and the accompanying widespread revelation that many people had felt my same urge to tumble off the healthful eating bandwagon.

The only possible inauguration for #foodthursday is therefore a cheeseburger, accompanied by songs about cheeseburgers. Read the rest of this entry »

Having finished the package of chicken breast strips, I am now on to steak in my quest for high-protein, low-carb bliss. Note the presence of lettuce. This is not a garnish. I intend to consume it without undue bitching, whining, and moaning.

Since I’d been discussing Thinking vs. Feeling types elsewhere, the obvious band to accompany this endeavor is Love and Logic (listen — or don’t, as I’m about to do vids). Read the rest of this entry »

“My little dumpling” is probably a better endearment than “my little umlaut,” unless the target is feeling dumpy, in which case one is a lout for trying it. As part of my foray into Normal American Cooking, kccadtr had suggested chicken with dumplings, seconded by amystruth, while Curious_JG had thought chicken pot pie was a must-have.

Exploration proved that chicken-and-dumplings and chicken pot pie are roughly the same dish with different pastry constructions. So invigorated was I by my adventure with nectarine-blueberry cobbler that I decided to split the difference and create hearty chicken stew with a biscuit-like topping.

Since conversation had veered into whether today’s music is especially dreadful, I’d been thinking about disco, which fortunately is for me a vague, traumatic memory rather than a formative influence. This led to an urge to wallow in one of the earlier manifestations of New Wave as a Top 40 movement: Blondie. Read the rest of this entry »