Elegy release show video
January 2nd, 2012Our release show 11/15 at the Neptune theater was one of our highlights of 2011.
We can’t wait to show you more of our new recordings.
C TZAR
November 7th, 2011Your friends are going to freak out and ask you how to make this. It’s awesome. I had been making it with 6-7 cloves of garlic but found myself regretting it the next couple of days…
This makes a couple of HUGE salads. For this one I used 2 heads of Romaine and a ton of delicious crutons from PCC.
What you need
5 Cloves of Garlic
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
½ Cup Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Anchovy Paste
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Finely mince the garlic and sprinkle it with a pinch of salt then using the side of your knife smear it into kind of a paste. Next add the rest of the ingredients to the Mason jar and shake for a good 30 seconds. Take a little taste and salt and pepper to your liking.
The headphone tuner.
September 23rd, 2011During the recording of our new album, we found a fun and useful trick for tuning acoustic instruments that we used often. All that you need is a pair of enclosed headphones with a 1/4 inch jack and a pedal tuner to tune instruments that don’t have a line output or pickup. Before explaining what this trick is, I’d like to explain why it works.
Headphones, or any speaker for that matter, may have more in common with microphones than you would have guessed. They share many of the same components and at a very basic level they have the same task; transduction. A transducer is anything that converts one form of energy to another. In this case, microphones convert sound energy into electrical energy, and speakers turn electrical energy into sound energy. The physical nature of sound energy is periodic variations in positive and negative air pressure, and electrical energy the same but with positive and negative charge. One way that you could think about the similarity between microphones and speakers is that they are essentially the same, only the signal flows in opposite directions.
To tune your instrument using headphones, simply plug the headphone output into the pedal tuner and play the string you need to tune. This method of tuning is not only accurate and dependable, it could save you in a situation where you have an instrument with no pickup and a tuner without a built in microphone.
The peanut butter and sriracha sandwich.
July 20th, 2011I was introduced to peanut-butter sriracha sandwiches through a recommendation from my friend Glynn Ward. Most people are incredulous when I first mention the ingredients, but no one who is bold enough to try it has any negative feedback. The combination definitely gives a nod to Thai flavors (specifically peanut sauce) and the spicy garlic flavor fits in a neat little palette pocket inside the salty and nutty PB.
It’s a controversial concoction. You must be comfortable with the fact that friends and loved ones may openly mock you, perhaps even spread rumors about your personal life. To you I say this: stand strong and believe in yourself and the haters will fade away.
Naturally, like with anything good I discover in the kitchen, I started adding bacon to it. Thus the peanut butter, bacon, sriracha sandwich was born.
The peanut butter, bacon, and sriracha sandwich.
Yam Fries: Transcendent
July 19th, 2011Yams provide a very good source of potassium and fiber. They also offer a good source of vitamins B1, B6, and C. In addition, yams are a good source of manganese and carbohydrates. – Murray , Michael N.D.. The Encyclopedia Of Healing Foods. New York: Atria Books, 2005.
Yam fries are a healthy and delicious snack that will impress your housemates, potential mates, parentals, and colleagues. Lets get into em.
Step 1. Clean yams without getting them wet
Use a damp paper towel to get the dirt off. If you must wash them under water, allow 30 minutes for yams to dry. Continuing with wet yams will make floppy fries. [Turn your oven on now-- 480 degrees fahrenheit.]
Step 2. Deep Cuts
Slice yam length-wise.
Now, with each halve face-down, begin making individual fries by cutting lengthwise again. The width of each slice is important– about one-half the width of an American dime, or one-third the width of a hotwheels car. You will improve with practice.
Let us marvel at the wonderful orange insides of the yam.
Step 3. Minimal seasoning
At most eateries, your order of fries constitutes a sad vessel of salt and fat. This is great if you want to get saltier and fatter, and magical if you’re several german beers past your limit, but unfortunate if your goal is to enjoy the full flavor of our dear friend the yam. For our yam fries, lets keep it minimal: moderate quantities of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Take the slices from one potato and put them in a rectangular container. Tupperware works great. Measure out 1 tablespoon of olive oil, one-third tablespoon of course salt and pepper each. If using finely ground salt and pepper, I would use less.
Now use your hands to spread the oil / salt / pepper all over the slices.
Step 4. Baking time
Almost there. Your oven should now be hot. If not, you should turn it on. 480 fahrenheit. Get a baking pan and lay out the potato slices so that they do not touch each other. If they touch, they will be floppy. Floppy = fail.
Place them in the oven. Set timer for 15 minutes. Read something wholesome while the wonderful smell of baking yam fries begins to fill your house. Breathe in and out deeply, through your nose. Recite the alphabet backwards. Ponder your existence. Think about the future. Turn your phone off. Plan your next hiking trip. Try to voice your favorite chords in your head– one note at a time. Think about the things you can’t say.
When 15 minutes is up, pull out the baking sheet and check the undersides of a few slices. The undersides should show the beginnings of ‘dark spots’ as pictured below.
If your fries don’t have any dark spots, they’re not ready. Leave them in for another five and check on them again. Oven temp may need to be higher. When they are looking right– use a utensil to flip each slice over. Super thin pieces may need to be taste-tested. Put the sheet back in the oven for ten more minutes.
Voila! You’ve made delicious baked yam fries. Prepare to receive A+ compliments, smiles, smooches, bedroom eyes, and all sorts of other great prizes.
Recap and closing notes
Most important points:
- Don’t get yams wet. Wet yams = tears.
- Slice them at the correct width. If thinner/thicker, baking time will need to be adjusted.
- Using minimal oil is very important for texture. Too much oil will leave floppy fries and sad eyes.
Closing notes
- Ketchup is great, but I prefer eating the fries in their pure essence straight from the oven.
- I tried a sriracha + peanut butter dip, but it over-powered the taste of the yam.
- Get creative with the seasoning. Add a small amount of cayenne to make things surprisingly spicy. Add cinnamon, curry powder, ground ginger, or whatever other spices you like.
Enjoy!
-Philip
