My First Tortilla Española

I made my first ever Tortilla Española a few days ago and it game out great.  The local farms are hitting a peak time of year (there are two in central TX), so I used fresh farmer's market ingredients.  The eggs were from Farmer Chris of Milagro Farm and gold potatoes were from Phoenix Farms.  I used Mark Bittman's recipe.  Want it?  It's below.

Tortilla Española (Spanish Tortilla)

INGREDIENTS

1 ¼ pounds potatoes, 3 or 4 medium

1 medium onion

1 cup olive oil

 Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 extra-large or jumbo eggs

PREPARATION

1. Peel and thinly slice potatoes and onions; it's easiest if you use a mandoline. Meanwhile, heat oil in an 8- or 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. After 3 or 4 minutes, drop in a potato slice. When tiny bubbles appear around its edges, add potatoes, onions, a good pinch of salt and a liberal sprinkling of pepper. Gently turn mixture in oil with a wooden spoon, and adjust heat so oil bubbles lazily.
2. Cook, turning potatoes gently every few minutes, until they are tender when pierced with a small knife. Adjust the heat so they do not brown. If potatoes begin to break, they are overdone; stop cooking immediately. As potatoes cook, beat eggs with some salt and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Drain potatoes in a colander, reserving oil. Wipe out skillet, and heat over a medium flame for a minute. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Gently mix warm potatoes with eggs, and add to skillet. As soon as edges firm up, after a minute or so, reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 5 minutes.
4. Insert a rubber spatula all around edges of tortilla to make sure it will slide from pan. The top will still be runny. Carefully slide out onto a plate. Cover with another plate, and holding plates tightly, invert them. Add another tablespoon oil to skillet, and use the spatula to coax tortilla back in. Cook 5 minutes, then slide from skillet onto a clean plate. Serve warm (not hot), or at room temperature. Do not refrigerate.

Credit: Mark Bittman/New York Times

From Boston to Austin ... looks like we're not alone (Part 2)

A couple months ago I posted about how people are bolting from my old home state of Connecticut, whereas the reverse is true in Texas as people flood into the urban centers.  We all know Austin as an urban center is booming.  Connecticut's urban centers are not faring nearly as well.

How bad is it?  Estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show that Connecticut's primary urban counties - Hartford, New Haven and Fairfield - lost about 20,000 people to other U.S. areas just from July 2013 to July 2014.  According to this Hartford Courant article, "Hartford ranks 20th on the list of counties with the most domestic out-migration. New Haven County ranks 22nd, and Fairfield County ranks 24th. Each of them lost more people than 99 percent of the rest of the counties in the United States."  Pretty gloomy.

And their destinations?  "The biggest gainers were the Phoenix, Houston, Las Vegas, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Palm Beach metro areas."  Yup, three of those big gainers are here in Texas.

Yes, Austin is Booming

From an article on Slate titled All Hail Austin, Texas, the Boomingest Big City of Them All:

Credit: Jordan Weissman

Anthony Mason, Knicks' "best kept secret" from the '90s glory days, dies

Anthony Mason, a fan favorite and solid contributor for the strong New York Knicks teams of the mid-1990s, died too young early today.  I was born in the early 1970s and lived outside of New York for most of the next 35 years, and watched a lot of NBA basketball, particularly during that time, which is widely viewed as a peak for the league's popularity.  Michael Jordan was at his peak, as were other big-time stars like Patrick Ewing.  Ewing's Knicks and Jordan's Bulls played many good games, fighting with the Pacers, Heat and others for top dog in the Eastern Conference.  Mason played a key role on those Knicks teams.  He never had a ton of skill, and definitely didn't have the pedigree, but he fought his way up through the lesser leagues and eventually earned the respect of Knicks coach Pat Riley and a spot in the Knicks rotation, providing muscle, rebounding, second-chance points and a little intimidation and swagger.  I mean, Jordan was in a Michael Jackson video.  Mason?  Nah, his style was more fitting for legendary New York City hip-hop producer Diamond D, who released a classic LP in 1992 and put Mase front and center in this video for his song, Best Kept Secret.  And that was a good description for Mason.  If your team was playing against the Knicks, you'd think of Ewing or Starks or Oakley or Allan Houston, and then Mason would go for 16 and 12 with 2 steals and they'd beat you 80-78.  When I heard about his passing today, for some reason, it didn't take me long for my mind to drift to this somewhat goofy vid.

Here's Diamond's late golden age classic in full.

Another Short Post About the Blues in Honor of Booker White

Booker White (or "Bukka" in some circles) died 38 years ago today.  Seems like a good time for you (not me, you) to go back and read this here old post of ours about Booker.  Yes, our blog is pretty old.  While you're it, catch this:

First gay couple is legally married in Texas, and Texas Republican leaders freak out!

Congratulations, Suzanne Bryant and Sarah Goodfriend!

Yesterday morning, two women from Austin tied the not, becoming the first gay couple to be legally married in Texas.  The story is pretty heartwarming (I hate that word, but it is what comes to mind).  A state court judge ordered that the Travis County Clerk issue the couple a marriage license.  The judge, David Wahlberg, recognizing that one of the two women had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, found that the state law against same-sex marriage was causing irreparable harm and waived the 72-hour waiting period to perform a wedding.  The couple got the license and pounced.

That was probably a wise move.  Immediately fearing the major threat to humanity the marriage of these two women (who have been together for 31 years by the way) will cause, Texas Republican leaders sprang into action.  Attorney General Ken Paxton got the ball rolling by petitioning the Texas Supreme Court, which issued an "ambiguous afternoon order" purportedly blocking the ruling by Wahlberg.  Of course, the couple had already wed at that point, so despite possible arguments to the contrary, the more reasonable view would appear to be that the couple is indeed legally married.  Other top Republican leaders pledged to save non-gay Texans from suffering the wrath of married gay people.  Governor Greg Abbott pointed to the Texas Constitution, which was amended by voter approval in 2005 to define marriage as consisting only of the union of one man and one woman.  Said Abbott, "I am committed to ensuring that the Texas Constitution is upheld and that the rule of law is maintained in the state of Texas."  Added Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, "The rule of law must be upheld," he said.

In other words, "For the sake of humanity, we cannot let the nice lady marry her cancer-stricken companion of 31 years and live together happily.  We can't!"

They just do not get it.  The Texas Constitution can state anything, but if something is held to be in violation of the United States Constitution, it means squat.  So if Texans approved an amendment by 110 percent of voters to define marriage as "only the union of one non-handicapped person and another non-handicapped person," it would only stay on the books until a court could rule that the clause violated the equal protection clause of U.S. Constitution.

The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet ruled on gay marriage, but plans to issue a ruling this summer after hearing four cases in April.  I am putting my money on gay marriage.  It seems that the Brown v. Board of Education moment is coming for non-hetero people.  What side of history do you want to be on?

From Boston to Austin ... looks like we're not alone

Here's an interesting map of U.S. state-to-state migration from July 2013 to July 2014.  Our old home state of Connecticut lost about 0.73% of its population.  Texas?  Up 0.58%.  But what's the story with all those people moving to North Dakota?

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The Year in Music 2014, From an Austin, Texas Perspective

These days, I do not have nearly as much time as I would like to spend following the music scene, let alone write about it in this here little blog. It mostly has to do with working a full time job and helping to raise twins, but I do not care for excuses. Lucky for me and other music lovers that are in similar boots, there are a lot of great sources putting out "best of 2014" lists around this time of year. I use some of these lists as guides to explore music that is new to me. While no two people have exactly the same taste, I have found ways to zero in on people and publications that veer closer to my POV. There are always things like Acclaimed Music and Metacritic if you are interested in finding out what a very wide demographic thinks, or Pitchfork and the like for the hipster perspective. But honestly, you probably will not find all that many smaller, overlooked artists even there.

Instead, I focused on the Austin Chronicle's Best of 2014 lists this year, and in particular, those that focused on local Austin music. After listening to a bunch of songs from the Chronicle's many top ten lists, I think it was a pretty darn good year for Austin music. Check out some Austin music from 2014 on this list we made. You will find some familiar names like Spoon and Willie Nelson in there, but I promise there are a bunch of musicians you have never before heard of.