Our Iraqi friend is coming to Chicago!

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday November 01, 2016 · 12:49 PM PDT

2016/11/01 · 12:49

DEREK, SYRIA - NOVEMBER 13: Yazidi refugees celebrate news of the liberation of their homeland of Sinjar from ISIL extremists, while at a refugee camp on November 13, 2015 in Derek, Rojava, Syria. Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq say they have retaken Si — Not a terrorist. Also, not the guy in this story, but cute picture.

Just a quick story.

After six long years, a friend that my wife has cultivated on Facebook will be on a flight from Amman, Jordan to Chicago, IL, USA very soon!

Let me tell you, this man’s story is worth a better telling than I can provide here. I’ll give it a try below.

Poll

11 votes Show Results

Should we allow more or fewer immigrants from the Middle East to this country?

11 votes Vote Now!

Should we allow more or fewer immigrants from the Middle East to this country?

11 votes

Fewer

0 votes

Same

0 votes

Don't Know/No Opinion

0 votes

My Hurricane Matthew Experience

smokeymonkey

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday October 11, 2016 · 10:21 AM PDT

2016/10/11 · 10:21

So I survived Matthew in Jacksonville, FL. It didn’t really affect us too much, but the neighborhood in general took some damage from falling tree limbs. At least one tree uprooted on a power line nearby.

I’d like to share my experience and comment on some of the comments I observed in the run-up to the storm. I believe that an over-abundance of caution is good, but inducing panic is not. With a storm like this, it can be a fine line.

Let us walk that line together with this concrete example we’ve been provided.

Poll

6 votes Show Results

For Hurricane Matthew, I ...

6 votes Vote Now!

For Hurricane Matthew, I ...

Panicked and fled the state

0 votes

Rode it out

3 votes

Wish I had left

0 votes

Other, your questions are loaded, monkey

3 votes

Hurricane Matthew: From a Jacksonville Kossack

smokeymonkey

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday October 06, 2016 · 4:28 PM PDT

2016/10/06 · 16:28

Mothership. Please use this as check-in, updates, whatever.

I’m in the middle of Jacksonville, FL. Apparently, i get a front-row seat to a historic hurricane.

Here is what I know:

- Storm surge is potentially devastating across the entire Florida eastern coast

- Extensive flooding is expected in any low-lying areas inland <20 miles

- Evacuations have been issued for virtually the entire east coast for Florida and Georgia

- Florida is in an official federal state of emergency

- Disney World is closed for only the 4th time in its history (yeah, that actually means something here)

There are diaries from the following wonderful Kossacks covering this soon-to-be disaster:

Here are some news links:

Accuweather

Weather Channel

Weather Underground

Poll

64 votes Show Results

How many hurricanes have you been through?

64 votes Vote Now!

How many hurricanes have you been through?

Zero

25 votes

One

11 votes

Two

6 votes

3-5

19 votes

Damn, son, I surf these things

3 votes

A few questions for 'responsible' gun owners

smokeymonkey

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 30, 2016 · 11:02 AM PDT

2016/09/30 · 11:02

A gun enthusiast fires his Kimber 1911 pistol at the LAX Firing Range in Inglewood, California on September 7, 2016. / AFP / Frederic J. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images) — You really shouldn't ever have to do this.

I grew up in the Midwest, spent over 10 years in Arizona, and now I’m in crazy-ass Florida. I have talked to so many people that own guns, love their guns, shoot their guns often, that it is just a natural thing. The last time I went to see my dad, we went to an outdoor shooting range (in the middle of the swamp), and I saw more armament there than a Burn Notice episode.

It was fun. It was loud. It was impressive. One guy had an AR-15 setup with a tripod, scope, and siting kit (like a sniper’s spotter would have). He had it trained in on bulls-eye at 150 yards. I was lucky to hit the board with the 22 at 50 yards. Another man had a 50-caliber sniper rifle. Did I mention it was loud?

But in the end, I just have a few questions for these folks before we talk about the whole ‘taking the guns away’ thing.

Poll

36 votes Show Results

Have you ever had to use your gun in self-defense?

36 votes Vote Now!

Have you ever had to use your gun in self-defense?

12 votes

I do not own a gun

19 votes

I would never use a gun

3 votes

Yes (You will need to explain in the comments or be tracked by law enforcement)

2 votes

Perspective - My 6000th Comment on DailyKos.com

smokeymonkey

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday April 30, 2016 · 1:21 PM PDT

2016/04/30 · 13:21

no image description available — It's all fun and games until the flying smokeymonkey attacks.

The tip jar for this diary will be my 6000th comment on the site. Don’t Frist me, dude!

Suffice it to say I’ve been here for a while, and it has changed my paradigm in a significant way.

If you care to, join me below the no longer fold, formerly known as squiggly omni-lepticon, not a spaghetti monster resembling break.

Poll

22 votes Show Results

How often do you visit DailyKos?

22 votes Vote Now!

How often do you visit DailyKos?

Obsessively

5 votes

Constantly

2 votes

Daily

9 votes

Weekly

2 votes

Monthly

0 votes

Occasionally

1 vote

Never (wtf?)

1 vote

I can neither confirm nor deny that I visit such a site.

2 votes

I voted for Hillary today, but Bernie is awesome

smokeymonkey

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday February 14, 2016 · 8:57 AM PST

2016/02/14 · 08:57

The 2016 Florida Democratic Primary will officially be March 15, 2016. However, as any citizen of Duval County can do, I have registered for an ‘absentee’ or mail-in ballot. I received mine today, and I’ve voted for Hillary Clinton.

I’ve also seen enough of Bernie Sanders to know that if he does win the nomination, I’ll be happy to vote for him.

Poll

54 votes Show Results

What is your voter registration status?

54 votes Vote Now!

What is your voter registration status?

Registered, automatically

7 votes

Registered, mail-in/absentee ballot coming

16 votes

Registered, will vote at the polls

29 votes

Registered, may vote

2 votes

Why am I not registered?!?

0 votes

Healthy Eating: Blackened Fish with Pesto

smokeymonkey

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday April 19, 2012 · 2:34 PM PDT

2012/04/19 · 14:34

Our basil pot

I've been working for the last couple of months, so I haven't been cooking as much. My wife has taken up the slack quite well and made some great stuff. She's also been able to start a wonderful and growing garden on the back patio of our apartment. Some of the most prolific plants in the garden seem to be the three basil plantings. Originally there were four, but (thankfully in retrospect) one died early on. The other three are growing outrageously well.

So I figured I needed to make some pesto! But what to cook with it?

I decided to pull out the blackened fish recipe that I had successfully executed before and see if the pesto would work with it. It worked tremendously well!

Recipe below the orange squiggly.

smokeymonkey

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday January 18, 2012 · 6:22 PM PST

2012/01/18 · 18:22

New Year's weekend was a great time for me and my wife. We visited my father and step-mother at their farm, which I had not seen since the days when the only permanent structure was an outhouse he built using an artesian well and some pipe. Now there is a substantial house with a nice game room: I beat him at darts, and he beat me at pool.

More to the point, we ate very well. The best meal was New Year's Day when he grilled us a surf and turf with beef tenderloin and lobster tail. My father is an avid sportsman, and the lobster was caught on a scuba diving trip a few months prior. Frozen, yes, but essentially fresh out of the ocean. Grilled with a little butter, it is what I missed most about Florida while I was living in land-locked Arizona.

But aside from one of the best meals we've ever had (my wife said the filet mignon was the best steak she's ever eaten), we were sent home with a cooler full of other sustainably gathered meats, including hogfish, grouper, and a plethora of elk cuts.

Vault the squiggles, and let's talk about the elk!

Poll

93 votes Show Results

Have you ever tried elk?

93 votes Vote Now!

Have you ever tried elk?

Yes, and I loved it!

50 votes

Yes, it was okay

7 votes

Yes, didn't like it

1 vote

No, but I'd try it

31 votes

No way!

3 votes

Only in PIE!

1 vote

Monkey's Famous Salsa

smokeymonkey

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday January 07, 2012 · 5:37 PM PST

2012/01/07 · 17:37

Okay, so it's only famous with my friends and family.

One afternoon when I was in college, I set a study date with a girl that I was hot for. I have no idea what we were studying, and, no, I never hooked up with her, but I remember this day for one important reason: I tasted my first salsa fresca. One of the other residents of her apartment was studying to be a chef (and was also hot for her, I think), so he offered to bring us some of his fresh pico de gallo for munchies while we worked. The mixture of ecstasy and jealousy stuck with me for weeks. I vowed to make such a magnificent, girl-enticing concoction of my own one day.

Of course, that day came well after I had enticed my current wife, but I figure there are still those out there that could use this recipe to catch their future significant other. I hope to live vicariously through you!

Poll

31 votes Show Results

How chunky do you like your salsa?

31 votes Vote Now!

How chunky do you like your salsa?

Big, rough chunks

1 vote

Chunky

18 votes

Finely diced

7 votes

Blended

1 vote

Pureed

3 votes

Like my pie

1 vote

Unusual Cuts: Oxtail Stew

smokeymonkey

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday December 26, 2011 · 2:13 PM PST

2011/12/26 · 14:13

Oxtail just sounds cool. It is really just the tail of a standard beef cow, cut into vertebral sections. There is actually quite a bit of meat on these pieces typically, and the bone is porous - allowing the marrow to escape easily into your stew.

I found a local meat market that provides the unusual cuts that you won't find in a common grocery chain. Besides the oxtail, they had lamb leg, offal, and scraps of bacon fat (often called 'bits' or 'ends'). Unusual cuts (and offal) are basically considered waste by the big butchers, so they are usually very inexpensive.

I was interested in trying the oxtail because my wife spent much of her childhood in England, and oxtail soup is a staple there. Bolstered with barley and reduced down more than a soup, my recipe is below the squiggle.

Poll

31 votes Show Results

How often do you use unusual cuts of meat?

31 votes Vote Now!

How often do you use unusual cuts of meat?

Every day

0 votes

A couple times a week

3 votes

Once a week

5 votes

Occasionally

14 votes

Rarely

6 votes

Never

3 votes

Only in Pie!

0 votes

A Simple Veggie Stir Fry

smokeymonkey

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday December 21, 2011 · 2:53 PM PST

2011/12/21 · 14:53

I love to cook the simple stuff. I have no passion for complicated sauces and techniques that require years of practice. I'm interested in sharing the simple pleasures of a quick meal made from fresh ingredients.

It really is simple to stir fry. It's just a sautee at the highest heat your oil will stand. To impart the Asian flavors, you just need a couple of key ingredients. And the technique couldn't be easier; you just have to know which order to put the ingredients into the wok.

smokeymonkey

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday December 20, 2011 · 5:05 PM PST

2011/12/20 · 17:05

I have always loved fried green tomatoes. I'm not sure why it is considered a southern dish other than that it is ubiquitous here. My first experience with green tomatoes was from my grandmother's garden. Rhubarb, asparagus, corn, green beans, and tomatoes -- that is a quintessential garden in the Midwest. Of those vegetables, only the tomato can be used in various states of ripeness.

Poll

38 votes Show Results

What is your favorite southern-style dish?

38 votes Vote Now!

What is your favorite southern-style dish?

Fried Green Tomatoes

0 votes

Collard Greens

2 votes

Fried Chicken

8 votes

Grits

1 vote

Pulled Pork

4 votes

Cornbread

3 votes

Catfish

5 votes

Country Ham

2 votes

Hushpuppies

3 votes

Boiled Peanuts

5 votes

Grilled Peaches

2 votes

Pecan Pie

2 votes

(Other/Pie!)

1 vote

Butter (Hey Y'all!)

0 votes

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RSS

Our Iraqi friend is coming to Chicago!

My Hurricane Matthew Experience

Hurricane Matthew: From a Jacksonville Kossack

A few questions for 'responsible' gun owners

Perspective - My 6000th Comment on DailyKos.com

I voted for Hillary today, but Bernie is awesome

Healthy Eating: Blackened Fish with Pesto

Cooking Adventures: Elk

Monkey's Famous Salsa

Unusual Cuts: Oxtail Stew

A Simple Veggie Stir Fry

I'm in the South Now: Fried Green Tomatoes