Aloe Experiment

 You might call this the unintentional Aloe Experiment.  I have this Aloe Plant that I took to work.  I had often wondered if I had damaged it, or planted it wrong because it never did well at work.  It was in a laboratory environment.  Artificial light, industrial chemicals, and a continuously chaotic environment were the normal conditions for this Aloe Plant.  It, always looked sad, and sickly.  So, I wound up taking it home thinking that it might do better there.

When I got it home I put it out in the garden for a couple months, and then it has spent another month inside because it is winter, and cold outside.  So, tonight I was putting the Aloe Plants outside in order to give them some water, and fresh air.  I noticed that this previously sickly plant was vibrant green, and had a bunch of new growth on it.  A quiet, serene environment allowed this Aloe Plant to flourish, and grow again.  If an industrial environment does this to a plant, think what it is doing to you...

Z.Tec.US Chipotle Hot Sauce 2

 So, it took a couple hours to prepare it, and now I have ten bottles of Chipotle Hot Sauce.  It is Chipotle in Adobo, which are smoke dried Jalapenos which are preserved in an Adobo.  Then I augmented the Chipotle flavor with extra Garlic, Tomato, Vinegar, and Salt to change the Chipotle in Adobo to a Chipotle Hot Sauce.  It's perfect to add a little flavor where you need it, and a little heat too.  Try it on a Chicken Biscuit...

Z.Tec.US Chipotle Hot Sauce

 This is not really something new for me.  My Hot Sauce fascination spans many decades.  But, this time I am making my own Hot Sauce.  Over the past year and a half I have been experimenting with different flavors, and heat levels.  I've made many, and gave them to the people I know, and they give me feedback.  I generally get that people don't like the Super Hot Sauces like Carolina Reaper, Trinidad scorpion, and Red Savina Habanero.  They are just too hot.  There are other things to consider in a Hot sauce as well like overall flavor, acidity, and salinity.  It is a delicate balance to make a good Hot Sauce.

So, I think I have finally found that delicate balance.  A little heat, a little sweet, a little sour, and a balanced level of salinity.  The salinity is probably the most important.  Salt is something that your bodies need, and if it is missing the taste is wrong.  Also if the Hot Sauce is too salty you won't like the taste either, or you'll need a lot of water.  Balance is the key to good Hot Sauce.

Chilaquiles with Wagyu Beef Chili

 Chilaquiles are called Migas by Gringos.  Itz not a Migas, iz Chilaquiles...  They are informal enchiladas.  A formal Enchilada has a nice, fresh Tortilla that is rolled.  Chilaquiles use the leftover bits.  Nachos are even more formal than Chilaquiles.  Nachos are usually Round, or Triangular Tortilla chips that are uniform.  You want the best, freshest Tortilla chips for the Nachos.  Chilaquiles are different.  Chilaquiles are made with the leftover scraps.  Those little bits of Tortilla chips leftover at the bottom of the bag.  To us Texicans, some of the best food is the leftover bits that no one else wants which makes it dirt cheap.

You want to start with a little too much butter in a pan to fry the Tortilla bitz...

Then dump in the Tortilla flotsam, you know, the little leftover bitz from the bottom of the Tortilla Chip bag.

Let the Tortilla flotsam fry for a while, then dump in some Eggs.

 This is like a Country Scramble.  Put the Eggs in whole, let them set up a little, then knock them around.

Then dump in some cheeze.  Whatever you have.  This is Cheddar, but it can be whatever is leftover.

Then knock that around a while, and itz Chilaquiles.  Nomlishous.

Then I load them on a plate, add a side of my Wagyu Beef Chili, then Nom Nom Nom...

Harley says Om Nom Nom Nom...  I think that those are his favorite words...

Wagyu Beef Chili off the cuff

 OK, here we go...  Sick of making holiday food...  Sick of eating holiday food...  I'm launching into the New Year with Wagyu Beef.  Wagyu Beef is American Kobe Beef, like in Japan.  You will pay an enormous sum of money for a Kobe Steak, here or in Japan.  Well this is locally raised, and mass raised Wagyu Beef, right here in the Southwestern United States, and it is not nearly as expensive.  I've tried it as Cheezeburgers, and it's great.  So, lets make Chili with it...

It's ground beef, so we are going to treat it like normal Chili.  There is a slightly higher fat content.

As we are browning the Wagyu Beef I will season it liberally with the salt shaker, and add diced onions.

As it close to browned I'll add some diced Garlic, and keep seasoning with the salt shaker.

Next dump in some diced Tomatoes.  Typically I would add some diced green Chile as well.

You gotta has some Masa in the Chili, so this time I am using yellow Corn Tortillas.

Then add the spicy dry ingredients.  This is my usual Chili Spice Mix, Carroll Shelby's.  And a little more Red Chile Flakes.  I omitted the Green Chile, so gotta haz a little more Red Chile...

Next I add some Tomato Sauce, and a little water.  Keep tasting, and seasoning, gotta get the salinity right.

The final thing is Beer.  Then we'll let this simmer down for a while.  The Alcohol in the Beer brings the Nightshade Plant Flavors out, like the Tomato, and the Chile.  Chili absolutely has to have Chile, Tomato, Masa, and Beer.  It just doesn't taste correct without those ingredients.  We'll let it simmer down for a couple hours, and then have a Fiesta...  Viva la Wagyu Beef Chili...

Guerilla Astrophotography 4

 I am trying a different eyepiece now.  This is 9mm Orion Sirius Plossi.  Greater magnification, and a smaller aperture make this much more difficult.  The telescope is 1200mm focal length, and now I am using a 9mm ocular lens, so the magnification is 133.33x.  Almost too much.  Then I have the 4x zoom with the Power Shot A560.  Potentially 533.33x magnification, but that is outside of the theoretical specification of the telescope, so not going there.  It's a nice shot though at 133x magnification...

Keep in mind that the aperture of the lens is limiting my field of view.  Also the periphery of the image is not the edge of the Moon, and you are seeing a small portion of the Moon.  It is not focused perfectly, but it is the best image I got with the 9mm Plossi.  This is considerably more challenging than using the 25mm Plossi.  I have a 30mm Plossi, with a 2 inch mount, which is an exceptionally beautiful lens, but my SteadyPix Pro camera mount doesn't fit on it.  The SteadyPix Pro adapts to a 1.25 inch mount.  I've done some handheld shots with my phone on the 30mm Plossi, but have a hardtime acquiring an image that way.  I would much rather use the SteadyPix Pro to hold the camera.  So, yeah, I think this is progressing positively.  I think I would have much more fun with a Canon EOS 5DS with a 40 megapixel sensor.  You know, it's only $1500 for just the camera body...

Just found out the new Canon EOS 5DS has a 50.6 megapixel sensor, and is more like $2000...  Well, OK, that'll do...

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/details/cameras/eos-dslr-and-mirrorless-cameras/dslr/eos-5ds

Guerilla Astrophotography 3

 Starting to play with the optical zoom of the camera in combination with the telescopes magnification.  This is maybe one of the best shots I have ever got of the moon.  I'm going to look at Orion, M42, and Pleiades next...