Chicken Vindaloo

SPIKE!

spike (verb)
a: to add an alcoholic beverage to (a drink) [spiked the punch]
b: to add a foreign substance to [spike the coffee with tranquilizers]
c: to add something highly reactive [as a radioactive tracer] to
d: to add vitality, zest, or spice to [spike the broth with peppers]
e: to liven [spiked the speech with humor]

 Today’s manic Monday word is SPIKE.   And I certainly felt that last night, when someone spiked my chicken vindaloo with some horribly spicy seasoning.

Usually when I go out for Indian, I tell them I want my dishes mild.  I am somewhat of a food wimp.  I used to be able to eat really highly spiced dishes, but lately I tend to like things that I can actually taste.

We go to a nice little  restaurant called Alissa’s.  It is a wide variety of foods, mostly American and Italian with really good pizza.  But an Indian gentleman has taken over the restaurant and has added some great Indian dishes to the menu.

I have tried several of them, but since the restaurant is not entirely Indian, I usually don’t tell them how I like it to be spiced.  Well, after about three forkfulls of the stuff my head was sweating and my eyes were tearing up.  Chris thought I was depressed and kept asking what was wrong.  I kept eating and crying and eating and sweating.  And the food had a nice flavor, truly. It was just too darn hot!

Luckily I had the tandoori roti bread with the tamarind sauce and that really helped cool things down.

So beware! They might spike your dinner with any number of hot spices!

I am not sure if this really fits the required word but I tried to use the word and still talk about what I wanted to talk about anyway. Not a bad deal for a Manic Monday.  Now I can go alert Morgen that I am still in the game and add my link to the mighty. Rock on!

Grace Kelly

Thanks to Duane for introducing me to Mika! Here is the song Grace Kelly.  I don’t have the CD yet, but it is on my list of cds I am longing to buy.

I also want:

Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World (I have the first one and I bought this one for my mom for her birthday. She really likes it!)

Belinda Carlisle – Voila – she is singing songs from the 50s and 60s in French. Looks like fun!

The Feeling.   I like the video for the song “Sewn.”  This is also an Import

Paolo Nutini – These Streets.  A Scottish singer that sounds very retro. My friend Barb discovered Paolo. 

Ah, payday!

 I am still trying to figure out coding on WordPress. I almost had the video embedded but something did not work and I wasn’t able to get it on the post for you! Then I had trouble coming up with the link and I had to play around with that to get the link almost right.   And the link seems to be the same shade as the text, so you might not know it is actually a link. (The link is the first sentence.)

I am learning as I go!

 UPDATE!  After playing around with my site, I managed to get the video embedded! There is NO stopping me now!

Gaslighting (part II)

Tonight is causing me more problems. My wireless connection at home is not working, so I am now attached to the Internet via Chris’s cell phone. And it is quite slow.  So I can’t load anything and am barely able to get wordpress up to do my nightly post.

I am still thinking about Gaslight.  Well, gas lights anyhow.

When I grew up in White Oak Pa, we had a little three bedroom house that had a nice front yard and a driveway. At the end of the drive was a lamp post.

It was a tall, black post with a traditional looking top, and as far as I can remember, it was lit by natural gas.  I am not sure how it was lit, or what you had to do to light it but I remember that we often had the light aglow at the end of the drive.

Then 1976 happened and we had a gas crisis. I remember that Carter was in office, and the gas prices skyrocketed and we would have to get in long lines to get our gas.  I also remember my father saying that they made an advisory and we should not use things like our natural gas lamp post.

So we stopped.

And, being the conscientious man that my father was, even after the crisis we never lit the lamp post again. My parents always used to tut tut the neighbors up the street that kept theirs lit among the chaos.

Another memory I had of the post was one of our frequent snowy days in winter. I was digging a tunnel under the snow in the front yard, burrowing like a little mole, and became quite disoriented.  I finally poked my head out of the snow, stood up, turned around and walked smack into the post, breaking my glasses.

This was but one occasion in which said glasses were broken. I was hopeless.  Except for the time I got hit in the face by a stray basketball. That was not my fault.  That was an act of providence.

Anyway. More memories are on the way!

Gaslighting

Last night we watched Gaslight with Ingrid Bergman.  I honestly don’t think I have ever seen this movie, although I seemed to know all about it.  It was a tremendous film and Charles Boyer was really creepy.

The film takes place in what appears to be the late eighteen hundreds, and the title comes from the gas lighting that the houses have installed.  (Remember, gas lighting? They had that in Meet Me in St. Louis as well.)  Ingrid Bergman is the niece of a world famous singer who has been murdered, causing Ingrid to live in Italy. There she meets Charles Boyer and falls in love and marries him.   Charles Boyer wants nothing more than to live in a house on a square in London and convinces Ingrid to move into the house that her famous aunt has left her.  This is also the house in which the aunt has died.  

Soon you become aware that Charles is trying to drive poor Ingrid over the edge.  He begins to tell her that she is losing things and sure enough, things are getting misplaced.  Then he accuses her of taking pictures from the walls and hiding them and sure enough, the pictures are found tucked behind statues.  And poor Ingrid begins to go ever slightly more mad…

I don’t want to give away the ending, but if you want a solid suspense thriller and don’t mind black and white films, give this one a try. It is on Netflix! 

Tonight or tomorrow I am going to watch the original Diabolique.  I haven’t seen that one in an age.  I remember really liking it though. I  do know that they attempted a remake with Sharon Stone in the nineties. I don’t think it was near as good.  I never bothered to see it because the original is so good. You just have to be willing to read French subtitles (unless you are lucky enough to speak French, then you can turn the subtitles off.)

Other than that I am feeling just a little bit Blah.  Yesterday I did not feel like posting or reading anybodies posts. I just felt like sitting. And I am sure it is not as cold as Tiger Yogi (or my mom) is facing, but it is a little cold for me, and it makes me quite inactive.

At least I have the coffee to keep me warm!  (and Chris. He does a good job as well.)  Anyway. Hope you are all having a grand Thursday and I am sure I will be back with more merriment tomorrow!

Dr. Who…

Chilly days here in Baltimore. I am sure it is nothing like some of the Northern states, but it is chilly enough to keep me indoors.  And we were having a heating problem at the office and yesterday was freezing.  I like to wear short sleeved polos to work and I had a severe chill.  And I could not walk for two days for fear of frost bitten fingers.

 So, I have been reading two enchanting little Dr. Who novels featuring the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler.   The two I picked are called “Stone Rose” and the “Feast of the Drowned”.  I finished Stone Rose and it was slow to get started but really picked up steam and had a really interesting ending.

Feast of the Drowned is just plain creepy. There is a battleship that has sunk and has been cut to pieces.  And, the dead sailors are appearing to members of their families asking for help. They are also mentioning some kind of feast.  Of course, the military are involved and are protecting the pieces of the ship, making it almost impossible for the Doctor to sweep in and discover what is going on.  But, if you know anything about the Doctor, you know that all will be well and he will solve the case. The Feast of the Drowned is by Stephen Cole and is available from BBC books and you can get them on Amazon.com for about ten bucks each.   I am definitely picking up a couple more titles when Chris gets paid tomorrow.

The novels are written for a younger audience, but anyone who likes the Doctor Who series and really wants a good adventure can’t go wrong.  The books are about 250 pages each and I have been able to read the entire novel in about a day and a half and still get other things done!

The night is winding down and I am getting sleepy. Chris brought along a decaf and a donut to work to keep me perked up for my last hour or so, and then home to the warmth of my blankets and a good DVD.

How is everyone out there in blogland taking the chill? My mother said she had four feet of snow in Northern PA.  I hope you are all keeping warm and making sure you wear your mittens, a scarf and a hat.  I don’t want any of you getting sick!

Manic Monday

Thanks Morgen for including me in the Manic Madness!  Please head over to It’s a Blog Eat Blog World for more Manic Monday!

The word of the morning is drifting.

Drifting reminds me of water and how much I really like swimming.  Well, not swimming exactly. Drifting.  I love to get an inflatable raft, trail my hands through the water and just drift.

When I lived in Memphis, I had a really nice apartment.  I was on the ground floor and the balcony looked right out to the pool.  The pool was lovely.  And the weather in Memphis was always nice so you had a long season to use the pool.  I had a great big inflatable raft.

I remember the first time I tried reading a Patricia Cornwell. I don’t really care for her, but I thought I should try her out because she was so popular.  I pulled out my inflatable raft, got it anchored to the side of the pool, managed to get on it and grab my paperback novel.  Needless to say, while I was drifting along, I managed to jostle my hands and the paperback novel fell right into the pool.

The pages absorbed the water, and the novel began to increase in size.  Luckily for me, it was not a library book but one that I had purchased. I would have hated to explain to the library that I dropped the book in the pool!

The last time I spent drifting in the water was when I visited Antigua on the cruise.  It was fabulous. The beach was soft and sandy and the water just lovely.  I went out and floated around a bit, and really enjoyed myself.  It was the day that I got a horrible sunburn, and I am not going to repeat that performance, let me tell you.   But I have always been a fan of water and I suppose I always will be.

Thanks again to Morgen for allowing me to drift along with this post!

A Date With Rebecca

I have been on a Hitchcock kick this weekend. Last night we watched Notorious with Ingrid Bergman, and tonight, Rebbecca with Joan Fontaine.  I really love Rebbecca. I think it is a fabulous story and the film really captures the drama.  It is a perfect film for a chilly Baltimore night. 

And chilly it is! Chris and I took a walk and his ears got really cold (he did not wear a hat).  Chris does not deal with cold well, but he soldiered on in order to support my walking.  We walked up the the drug store to refill a prescription and it was well over a mile and a half.   Then we went home for me to cook. 

I made Pasta ala Vodka tonight.  Chris and I never have booze around the house, we never entertain and most of our friends are non drinkers, so we stopped for vodka last night. We ended up with a tiny bottle because I really only needed a half a cup. I guess I could make one cocktail with the rest!   But dinner turned out fabulously (well, until I dropped the baquette on the floor).  But otherwise it went without a hitch. I am becoming quite the little domestic!

Anyway, I had better get back to the movie. I also have a new Doctor Who novel I would like to start, where the Tardis goes to ancient Rome.  It is a tenth Doctor and Rose adventure. I hope it is good!   See you tomorrow!

Murder in Three Acts

Today was quiet.  I was able to read a good deal. In fact, I started and finished a book in one day!

The book was Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie. I know what you are thinking. Is this guy ever going to get off the Christie Kick? Probably not. She was a favorite in high school. And she still is a favorite now.

I remember the English class booklist on which she appeared.  I think the first one I read was Death on the Nile.  My English teacher liked me, and he let me pick out novels that were not on the list.  That was how I was able to read N or M? I really must read that one again. I remember I really liked it.

Anyway, back to Three Act Tragedy. It was written in 1934 so is relatively early.  It features Hercule Poirot as the detective and it is amazing how little he appears in the novel.  He pops up, gets other characters to go and do interviews for him, and then makes sense out of what they find.

A member of the clergy, Mr. Babbington, dies suddenly at a cocktail party.  Was his death a natural occurance? Was it murder? You will have to read the book to find out!

I didn’t figure out who did it.  But I had some of the how did it solved. It uses some familiar Christie tricks you might know if you are familiar  with her books.  All in all it was a light diversion.  I like many of her others so much more.  She probably got better with age!

Chris and I took a walk today when I got home from work and went out for Mexican food. Now we are watching Magnum Force with Clint Eastwood.  I think Chris is on a Dirty Harry kick.  But I like them better than the Westerns.

Have a great weekend!

Rocket To Venus

As I write this, I am brewing some decaf.  Chris has put Sudden Impact with Clint Eastwood in the DVD player and I am trying to block it out.  It is quite hard to do!

Last night we tried a new restaurant here in Hampden. It is called “Rocket To Venus” and it is literally across the street (well, at the other end of the block).  It has been getting good reviews in the papers and I thought we could give it a go.

The one problem that I immediately saw was that the interior is so dim, I thought they were closed.  We almost went somewhere else, but as we drove by I thought I saw people inside, and luckily we turned around and headed back.  The restaurant is set up rather nicely. It has these huge retro looking booths and plenty of small tables for two. And a huge horseshoe bar right in the center. 

Chris got a Cosmo and thought it was very good.  I choose not to spend the money on a mixed drink because I would rather get soup or an appetizer.  I chose the soup. It was a thick mushroom bread soup and it was wonderful.  (It is not on the menu, but rather a special of the day.)

Chris got four little “wimpy” cheeseburgers and they looked awesome. They also had fresh cut fries seasoned with Indian spices, unusual and good. I snuck a few fries off the plate!

I had a big caesar salad with grilled salmon.  Trying to be healthier I know, but it was well worth it. The salmon was a good size and wonderfully seasoned, and the homemade caesar dressing was really good.

The restaraunt allows smoking later in the evening, but during the dinner hours (5-9) there is no smoking and I was glad for that. The staff dresses entirely in black and they were very friendly.  Most of the lighting in the room comes from the candles on the table. (and some other dim lighting) but it makes for a romantic evening. Maybe we can head there for  Valentine’s day?

Oh, and Tiger Yogi could go, they had several veggie dishes including a sloppy Jo-Fu, which I would love to try.  All in all a great night and a neat new place. Welcome to the neighborhood!

Hello World!

I am jumping off to WordPress. Things are a little confusing but we will see how this site works. I am furiously adding links but they are not showing up.  We shall see…