Ron says … What!

[Ron]

Well, well, well. My chili turned out to not be as well seasoned as I might like, but it was nonetheless delicious considering its lack of oomph. I will not be using the prepackaged chili mix next time but my own mix of spices.

I added a spoonful of Calabrian chili and reheated a couple of bowls worth for lunch, and I topped it off with some sour cream. Not bad at all.

@Jason Rimbaud I will use your suggestion of tomato sauce rather than juice next time. While I like habanero in salsa and I have used them when making chili using stock (I like that they don't muddy up the appearance of things, with chicken stock especially), I like to work with something warmer like chipotles in adobo sauce with tomato-based chili (I unfortunately didn't have any on hand this time around). Do you have a particular beer suggestion? And what is your opinion on adding espresso or dark chocolate into the mix?

[Jason Rimbaud]

41 minutes ago, Ron said:

 

@Jason Rimbaud I will use your suggestion of tomato sauce rather than juice next time. While I like habanero in salsa and I have used them when making chili using stock (I like that they don't muddy up the appearance of things, with chicken stock especially), I like to work with something warmer like chipotles in adobo sauce with tomato-based chili (I unfortunately didn't have any on hand this time around). Do you have a particular beer suggestion? And what is your opinion on adding espresso or dark chocolate into the mix?

For beer, I like something dark, a porter or stout.  As for coffee, I don't drink coffee so I wouldn't use it or chocolate because of the bitterness. I prefer my chili a bit sweet, so I get my bitterness from the porter, so for me it wouldn't work. 

1 1/4 pound of protein (I usually use thinly sliced steak and sausage but you could use ground meat as well)
1 Yellow Onion, chopped and divided
1 Habanero pepper, sliced rounds keep seeds
1 Jalapeno pepper, sliced rounds keep seeds
2 Gloves garlic, chopped or minced
2 15oz Tomato sauce
1 16oz Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1 10oz Ro*tel Green Chili Peppers (do not drain, directly into pot with juice)
2 Tbl Chili powder
1 tbl Cumin
2 tbl Cayenne Peppe
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
3/4 Teaspoon white pepper
3/4 Teaspoon black pepper (I prefer course ground for texture)
1 12oz Dark Porter or Stout (guiness is good)
3 tbl Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 cup medium cheddar cheese
 

In pan, add peppers, garlic, half of the onion, and protein, cook until browned.
Transfer mixture into pot, add tomato sauce, Ro*tel (don't forget to add the juice), beans, 2 tbl chili powder, 1 tbl cumin, 2 tbl Cayenne pepper, salt, white and black pepper.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, simmer for 30 minutes. 
Stir in beer, Worcestershire sauce, the rest of the chili powder, cumin and simmer for about two hours

Great chili in about three hours.  

This chili is a bit sweet, spicy, and great for cold nights.  

[Ron]

1 hour ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

Great chili in about three hours

Sounds good. I’ll give your recipe a try next time.

[Ron]

I just finished watching Emma Stone in Easy A and I can’t remember ever seeing a clip of Huckleberry Finn used as a homoerotic interracial reference (of the ‘no-no’ kind), but there it was near the end of the movie. ( Questionable, yes). ( Anachronistically included, yes.) ( Unquestionably humorous at a perversive level, yes.)

[Ron]

Oh, Honey! We've all been there at one time or another.

[Ron]

I made a random, jarred curry-mix of Tikka Masala for dinner.

This reminded me of my time in Singapore. There was a government subsidized hawker-stall venue next to the condominium building where my former partner lived. Just beyond that was a stall that sold several versions of curry-based opportunities: Lamb; Beef; and Fish. 

Sometime, when my Ex was traveling, I would ask for the fish-based curry sauce, but without the fish in it (somehow, I always thought of the actual fish as sus, but I still ate the sauce ). I would dip their made-to-order roti prata bread (sometimes with an egg inside) into the curry and slurp it up while watching Game of Thrones on an Ikea shag carpet in front of a small Samsung TV with a wonky Wi-Fi connection, but at least there was a good sound system involved. I managed to never spill a thing and today I find that remarkable.

Edited October 22, 2025 by Ron

[Ron]

Ah, ah! I bought a head of cauliflower for purposes to be determined. It was a big head full of promise, but ended up being one of little substance — on the inside it was full of air, meaning the gaps between florets were massive.

My intention was for a couple of slabs of dense cauliflower simmered in a previously made amatriciana, pasta sauce until tender wasn’t to be. Instead I chopped up a half a head of airy cauliflower and with some additional no-salt-added chicken stock added to the pasta sauce, it would have to be enough.

Taste tests indicate a ‘Bravo’ is in order. Experimentation is the mother of invention!

Edited to correct a spelling mistake as pointed out by a friend.

Edited October 28, 2025 by Ron

[Zombie]

autocorrect knows far too much about us

it ’knew’ “simmer… until tender” just had to be ‘corrected’…

[Ron]

21 minutes ago, Zombie said:

autocorrect knows far too much about us

What are you on about? 

[Zombie]

On 10/26/2025 at 12:37 AM, Ron said:

simmered in a previously made amatriciana, pasta sauce until tinder

[Ron]

I'm listening to Bjork's Biophilia. I recall my first impression and experience of her in the movie Dancer in the Dark twenty-five years ago, now. I was extremely impressed with her voice. I've been an off-and-on listener over the years. I need to be in 'just the right mood.' I guess tonight's that night.

[ReaderPaul]

10 hours ago, Zombie said:

autocorrect knows far too much about us
 

Some years back I was texting and autocorrect kept "correcting" "I have a stuffy nose" to -- "I have a stiffy."

[Ron]

I've been playing this game of chance and skill I call 'get-the-number right' I made up for myself. I pour out a pile of pistachios in their shells on my counter whereby I make a guess of how many will equal 28g unshelled by weight. I've been close with my guessing but not close enough.

Tonight, and for the very first time I poured out exactly enough to hit 28g on the money. Awesome!!!

[Ron]

I've been recently thinking that my speakers (Bowers&Wilkens 683 S2 floorstanders and two 13" subwoofers capable of extremes of 2,500 watts peak dynamic power) weren't giving me all-they-got so to speak. To correct this musical deprecation, I was forming an opinion that I must reassess the positioning of all my speakers (subs are speakers too). That is nuclear among the options available to me as it requires a lengthy process of listening critically versus listening enjoyably after the realignment and digital sound processing. The result is a much-improved sound - generally.

I put on James Blake's Friends That Break Your Heart, Tidal Audio streamed via Marantz AVR (which is how I listen to most music) streaming in better-than-CD quality, this time ... .

WOW. I'm not changing a damn thing!

[Ron]

I'm listening to Benjamin Herman's Collected Dutch Courage at 44.1 khz (CD quality, meaning the music is sampled 44,100 time every second for the possibility of amplitude volume) and a bit-depth of 24-bit (which determines the actual number of amplitude volumes - going from a CD quality of 44.1 khz/16 bit to 24 bit is the difference in representing a musical volume from 65,536 bits of values to over 16,000,000 values), which as you might expect offers a greater level of detail. But, regardless the music stand for itself on for this work. And to that matter, what a great album to listen to if you're into Jazz. Here is the last song for this release ...

 

[Ron]

I hadn't had my fill of Benjamin Herman and proceeded to listen to True Love's Flame from 2022. I had planned on listening to just a couple of songs. Either my stereo system was excelling beyond my expectations (not the first time I suspected it of doing so, much to my enjoyment) or the music was just that more compelling than that of Collected Dutch Courage, and at the same playback ... Nevertheless I listened to the whole shebang. Really great music! Here is a simple sample (snort):

 

[Ron]

Now, at day ten of coughing up something or other, I finally called my healthcare provider asking my PCP for a prescription for a (prescription required) cough syrup ... Oh, that wonderful elixir; That thing that allows us to ... um, not cough so much. With typical timing, my request finally came through to my local pharmacy after I had already made the journey to 'check in' and require if said prescription maybe, might-have arrived. NO!

Two hours later the prescription arrived. Tomorrow. Tomorrow.

After negative Covid tests, I was resigned to believe I had the "Common Cold," with a side of asthma. Because I remain masked in public places I was perplexed as to how I acquired this nefarious thing, but then I recalled being maskless while experiencing the machinations of a dental hygienist ... after which, and three-days later, I came down with symptoms.

[Bill W]

1 hour ago, Ron said:

Now, at day ten of coughing up something or other, I finally called my healthcare provider asking my PCP for a prescription for a (prescription required) cough syrup ... Oh, that wonderful elixir; That thing that allows us to ... um, not cough so much. With typical timing, my request finally came through to my local pharmacy after I had already made the journey to 'check in' and require if said prescription maybe, might-have arrived. NO!

Two hours later the prescription arrived. Tomorrow. Tomorrow.

After negative Covid tests, I was resigned to believe I had the "Common Cold," with a side of asthma. Because I remain masked in public places I was perplexed as to how I acquired this nefarious thing, but then I recalled being maskless while experiencing the machinations of a dental hygienist ... after which, and three-days later, I came down with symptoms.

Best of luck battling this mysterious illness.  💊  💊 Take these two in the meantime and then head to your pharmacy in the morning.  Sorry, I couldn't find a cute male nurse to send to take care of you overnight.  

[Ron]

Do you like blueberry pancakes? I do. Here are two different versions of the same recipe. Which one do you like?

With blueberry pancakes one can't go wrong. Why, both of these recipes are 'audibly' delicious, as it were. And the nice thing about making a decision is that you don't have to choose at all! 

[Ron]

Have you ever acted out randomly, comically?

Did you then add a dialogue to your behavior?

Well, I have.

And let me tell you, the dialogue well fits the narrative.

l laughed myself into a fit of coughing!

[Ron]

Finally after 24 days of dealing with the coughing and nose blowing symptoms of having a cold I am having a good day, mostly free if not entirely free of symptoms. This was my first cold in 6 years (I am one of those people who continue to mask up in public places) and that one lasted for a month and a half. I'm fairly confident that I caught this one when I went to visit my dental hygienist for a cleaning.

I'll give it another week before I get my flu and Covid vaccinations which is a week later than I had originally planned for. Which would have given me peak efficacy just in time for Thanksgiving with a good friend and his family. Now, I won't be going and the logistics of attending would have been a bit of a hassle so maybe it's for the best that I stay home. I haven't attended a holiday celebration with anyone in years for various reasons so missing one more seems sort of trivial.

Here is a free to read article from the Boston Globe on the newest flu variant headed your way: VARIANT

[Ron]

I’ve noticed that since Amazon canceled the Robert Jordan based series The Eye of the World just when it was getting really good that the offering of any new production has basically gone bye-bye. We aren’t even getting the vastly inferior product based on Tolkien’s work — it’s been on hiatus for a very long time. Now, we are subject to male/female rom-coms along with dated movies and television shows — mostly long past their prime (no pun intended — well, maybe a little bit intended). One can only watch the past so long before it gets boring, and I have little to no patience in watching hetero rom-coms that watch like cookie-cutter versions of the same characters in similar situations. Booorrring!

[Ron]

Why doesn't handwriting have a spell-check option?

Think about that, will ya?! 

[Jason Rimbaud]

On 11/20/2025 at 6:09 PM, Ron said:

One can only watch the past so long before it gets boring,

I disagree when it comes to movies. I still watch movies from the 30's and 40's that I find just as entertaining today as they were when I first watched them thirty years ago. Methinks you are just watching the wrong ones. 

[Ron]

35 minutes ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

I still watch movies from the 30's and 40's

Ugh, I'm just going to 'snooze you' for shooting for the obvious, dude.