An Update, It's Needed

It's been an eventful week or so, but I just haven't had the inspiration or inclination to write about any of it in detail.  I may need to up my coffee intake...

Here's a quick summary of what's going on in my world, and I'm sure I'll be writing longer posts on a few of these shortly.

• I'm moving.  I'll be leaving San Francisco, my home for the last 2.5 years, and moving back down south.  The actual move will take place between April 1st to June 1st, depending on work stuff.  I'll be in the LA area, and some of the places I'm interested in are Long Beach, Hermosa Beach, Marina Del Rey, Miracle Mile, and Downtown LA.  If anyone has suggestions on those areas, they would be appreciated.
• I got my eyes tasered.  On purpose.  Having dealt with contacts and glasses since the 5th grade, I finally had enough.  While I had been toying with the idea for years, the final decision came like a flash of lightning.  I scheduled the appointment to meet with the doctor and signed up for the first available opening.  Because I went with the PRK version of the test compared to LASIK, my recovery time is longer.  I am probably at about 20-40 vision right now, but with no pain or discomfort, and my eyes will slowly stabilize to 20-20 (or better).  The upside of the PRK is that my eyes will heal back just as strong as before the test, an important consideration if one engages in contact sports.  And speaking of contact sports...
• I am scheduled to fight in San Francisco on February 26th.  At 155 pounds. Hunger, I will have it.  Don't know anything about my opponent yet, but will get to fight in my own city, which is always a plus.  Only point of concern is that the eye surgery leaves me with only 10-14 days of hard sparring beforehand.  It should be plenty so long as I get in boss shape in the meantime.  I plan on being intimately acquainted with the many hills that San Francisco offers.  Joy.
• My good friend Susan thought my chili recipe sounded good, so I got an offer from her to cook it for her and her friends this coming Sunday.  I am proud of my culinary skills.  I hope they like fire.
• Going to do a kickass night hike and navigation course up Mt. Tam tomorrow night with my friends Clara and Ted.  Night hikes give me an opportunity to use my head lamp, and therefore, they rock. 

I suppose that's it for the major news.  A few of those events deserve a more detailed look, but I just don't have it in me at the mo'.

The Type of Chili that Will Kick Sand in your Face and Steal your Girlfriend

In the words of one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite books from one of my favorite authors, "a good bowl o' mountain red (chili) should just kick the dog piss outa ya and make your dick grow an inch."

Since I agree with the man on general principle, I make sure that my chili takes a bit of getting used to...especially if you are sensitive to spice.  Some people go for a bit of a bite in their chili...I'm going for tears and broken dreams. 



Makes 4-6 Servings, Depending on Whether You Go for Volume or Sampling

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1.75 lbs Sirloin Steak - cut in strips
Salt
Pepper
4 medium garlic cloves - chop all to hell
1 medium red onion, diced
1 Jalepeno Chilo & 2 Habanero Peppers - sliced and diced
0.5 lb ground sirloin beef
6 TBL Hot Red Chili Powder
1.5 TBL Paprika
2 Tea cumin
2.25 cups canned beef broth
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 TBL Brown Sugar
1.75 TBL Worcestershire sauce
2 Tea dried oregano
2 tea dried basil
2 tea dired thyme
1 bay leaf

Methods & Madnesses

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over high.  Sear the sirloin steak strips lightly after seasoning with some salt and pepper.  Set aside.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, onion, and peppers (jalapeno and habanero).  Saute for a minute or two.  Add the ground sirloin and seared steak.  Saute for another few minutes.

3. Add the shit-ton of chili powder, paprika, cumin and saute for another few minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  When you get everything together, stir in the broth, tomatoes, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, oregano, basil, thyme and a bay leaf.  Bring to a good and strong boil, and then reduce the heat until the concotion settles into a gentle simmer.  Cook for about an hour, when the steak slices are tender and the sauce is thick.

4. Taste the sauce and adjust with salt and pepper if needed. 

5. Pour yourself a decent bourbon or whiskey on ice, and settle in for battle.

Anthony Bourdain.  That's me.