Chili cook-offs and 35mm

January 22nd, 2010 • chatter, food
Tags: 35mm, food, photography, yashica

The weekend is almost here for me, just about 10 more minutes and I’m FREE! I’m looking forward to this weekend because not only is the KISS Country Chili Cook-off on Sunday, this is the first weekend of the month I’ll be able to take some time to shoot film. Ever since getting the battery adapter for my Yashica Electro35 GSN, I’ve been dying to take it out and shoot. However, I’d not had the funds on hand to do so and I’m not about to waste my Porta and Fuji film stock on a camera with possible issues/light leaks. Wal-mart will be graced with my presence tomorrow when I go to pick up a few rolls of Superia 400. I’ve also got a backup for the Electro35 in case this one is a bust, my father just purchased another one and shipped it to me. The new one has a different custom leather case than mine does, so now I’m wondering if Yashica produced a number of different leather cases for them. Either way, will be cool to have two of them.

Tonight we’re getting dragged off to Singers Karaoke bar down on Sample Road and 95. I hate karaoke and I’m really not looking forward to going but I think it’ll be fun to see my buddy Jeff singing. It shouldn’t be as bad I’m imagining it to be but I know it’s going to at least yield some fun laughs. I’m going to take the Nikon D90 with me, but I’m unsure if they’ll allow it in. I’d definitely get up there and sing but I know for a fact they won’t have any death metal, grindcore, or really esoteric prog rock for me to belt out. I consider that a saving grace — not that I’d actually be singing, more growling. Depending on the camera situation tonight, I may not have a Project 365 photograph to upload.

Next week, after my classes, I’m going to try and do some shooting at FAU if I have the time. There’s some great landscape and fauna there. I’m typically just in too much of a rush to snap anything. I think this will be my push to finally get a super wide angle lens as my two zooms only go to 18mm (27mm on my APS-C sensor) and that’s just not wide enough for some of the stuff at school. I’ve got some great ideas for shots at the Breezeway/quad and of some architecture. I could do some fun shots with 12-14mm from the tops of the parking garages.

As mentioned, Sunday is the KISS Country Chili Cook-off. Another fantastic chance for photos except there’s no “professional cameras” allowed so we just have to get our Exilim snuck in. I’m really wanting to go because it’ll be with all of our friends and it just happens at the Zac Brown Band is going to be playing as well. Friends, beer, chili, and great music, not much else I can ask for. Except maybe good weather! This will be my first cook-off to attend in years so hopefully it’s not the last.

Time for Singers is almost here so I’ve got to go get ready!

No chip on my shoulder – photo of the day #2

November 4th, 2009 • 1 comment food, photography
Tags: d90, food, nikon, nikon d90, photo of the day, photography

7lb organic pork shoulder just before I sliced it and smoked it for almost 10 hours. Turned out smoky and delicious, juicy and sumptuous.

Speaking of pig skins…

December 17th, 2007 • chatter, food

I’m making homemade barbecue tomorrow and it’s going to be so good…hopefully. I’m only wavering because Winn-Dixie in Boca Raton does not apparently carry the house-brand Deep South, a staple barbecue sauce for non-offending and basic barbecue. I’ve been using the stuff for years as a base to my own homemade sauce but I’m stuck in unexplored territory this week — aside from a bottle of delectable Stubbs’ Mild — and I’m nervous. I’ve never made bad barbecue but I’ve made bad sauce in the past, hence my proclivity for ready-made stuff. Since I moved to FL, none of my significant others have the penchant for ultra-spicy barbecue sauce that I do so I must use the tamest I can find.

Today, the tamest had gone extinct it seems and I’m stuck with “Sweet Baby Ray’s” sauce. I hope it’s good or I just blew a bunch of money on 3 lbs of pork butt.

Who knew fried tripe tasted like pig skins?

December 16th, 2007 • chatter, food

We at dinner at Tacos Al Carbon in Lake Worth tonight and I was feeling adventurous so I ordered up a taco de tripa (beef tripe). For those of you don’t know, tripe is some fancy word for ‘stomach’ and it looks disgusting. White, slimy, honey-combed shaped, overall unappetizing. But I made the dive. At first look I thought I got an order of fried intestines since I expected a glob of white reticulum on my taco. At second look, I still thought I’d botched up my order and some how gotten a tortilla full of upper intestinal tract, deep fried for my delight. I was reluctant to even eat it, much more than I was when I sampled beef tongue, but I plunked down $2 for this and I was damned sure I was going to eat it. To my delight (and confusion!) it tasted just like pork rinds, then I thought I’d somehow ordered a taco de chicarron (pork skin). The lime and pepper sauce couldn’t detract from the strong pork taste. Had I gotten a chitlin taco instead? I had no idea so I finished the rather tasty treat and finished off my other tacos.

While Jess noshed on her tamales, I was befuddled by the fact that the gross white tripe I see in Publix tasted this good. Just to make sure I got tripe, I went and ordered another taco. Bam! Same thing. I had no idea that something so unappealing from a cow was going to taste like the deep fried skin of a pig. Boy, I’m glad I made the jump because it was quite good. Now I’ve only got one taco left on their menu that I haven’t eaten so I’ll get that next time.

I’ve very reluctant to try their burrito la combinada simply because their English translation is “other meat”. Are they trying to pawn off a Spam burrito on me?