How’s that title work for clickbait? No worries, this is not about my erection (I don’t have one) and all of the photos are safe for work.
Another Hash Monday is upon us and with it comes a morning-time post about the events that occurred in my so-called life in those very few hours since my last update. Not much to say about the gin and sodas I enjoyed at Cheap Charlies other than to report that my reduction of beer and bread seems to be working. Down seven pounds now and nine more to go to reach my 195-pound goal.
I also visited the Palm Tree hotel for dinner, which is right next door to Mango’s. I’m afraid my days of being a regular at Mango’s may have come to an end. The big attraction there for me had always been sitting beachside and enjoying the view. But the reopening of the floating island with all its residual impacts has completely blocked the view of the mountains and sunsets.
In other news, some cunt has reported to the government that bars are operating again in Barretto. Technically, bars are prohibited under quarantine rules but restaurants can operate and serve alcoholic beverages along with food. So, the bars in Barretto all became restaurants and life has gotten a little closer to normal. The mayor has called for a meeting with the bar restaurant owners on Tuesday. Hopefully, they won’t be forced to shut down again.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I confined my afternoon walking to the neighborhood. I can walk all the streets in about an hour. To make it a little more interesting I took some photos of all the erections I saw along the way. There’s a bit of a housing boom taking place in Alta Vista these days. Several new homes have just been completed and I counted eleven more in various stages of construction during my walk. Even at that, I’d guess less than 20% of the available lots have been built on.
Speaking of Alta Vista, today’s Hash will be starting and ending at the community center. My crew will be providing the foodservice once again. I’m contributing a double batch of slow-cooked chili con carne.
And here’s the secret to great BBQ:
All right, that’s it for now. Got to prepare myself for today’s adventure on the Hash trail. I’ll be back tomorrow with a full report!
Good luck on the hash.
Glad to see that you’re still keeping your spirits up even in these times when days and weeks coalesce into a puddle where we need calendars to remember the day of the week.
The photos are great. I didn’t realize that there was so much land left to build on in your subdivision. The big house without the vistas is great, as is the one that blocks your hiking path. I wonder why they already have a fence there whereas other houses are open to the streets. Would crime be a problem in that location, or is it just to keep stray dogs out? Or maybe they already know that it’s part of the hiking trail and they don’t want somebody traipsing past their windows?
Either way, looks like things are starting to get back to the good old days.
Enjoy the hike and the drinking, and all the related festivities.
Take lots of pictures, or better yet, get somebody to take the pictures while you enjoy your day
Gotta say, the house with the “million-dollar view” has frustratingly small windows facing away from the water. Is that because there’s nothing worthwhile to look at in that direction? “Neighbors? Who wants to see them? Fuck ’em!”
Chili’s lookin’ damn good.
James, most of the houses around here are surrounded by walls, I assume as a security measure. That’s why my place without them was such an easy target when I got robbed. I doubt the hiking paths are a big consideration, there’s always a way to walk around. Although there has been talk of fencing in the entire subdivision to keep people out.
Kev, I’ve not seen the inside of the big house but yeah, it seems the only view they want to see is the good one. Hard to blame them. The chili was the first to sell out and I got lots of compliments although my taste test found it a bit bland. You only say it looks good because you couldn’t see the onions I cooked into it…
If the onions were finely minced and thoroughly cooked, it’s not a problem. I’m more a hater of big, chunky pieces of onion, such as those found on hamburgers and pizza. Someone might protest that the sliced onions on pizza aren’t “chunky,” but I beg to differ. If it ain’t finely minced, it’s chunky in my book—at least when it comes to onions.
For more depth of flavor, cook your chili with beer and add chipotle (smoked jalapeño) flakes. Also, try deeply browning about a third of your beef before you add the rest of the chili ingredients. Browning produces the Maillard reaction, which is similar to caramelization, but with both protein and sugar, not just sugar alone. The Maillard reaction adds umami (depth of flavor, savoriness) to food, not to mention texture.
That said, I bet your chili was fine, especially if it sold out so fast.
Kev, yes onion was minced to my maximum capability with a knife and slow-cooked for the duration. You might have approved then! I’ll have to try that beer ingredient and I’ll look for chipotle, although I doubt I’ll find it at Royal. I deep brown ALL the beef before placing it in the crockpot; that’s okay, right?
Well, to make sure we’re on the same page: when I recommend deeply browning, I’m saying “brown until crispy.” You don’t want to do that to all your beef because that would dry the meat out. And don’t worry about crunchy chili: crispy beef won’t stay crispy one you slow-cook it for a long time, but the Maillard-induced umami will permeate the chili.
Wow. Good tip! Definitely going to try that next batch.
Who is building these homes and what are they going for? The disparity between the haves and have-nots is so apparent in the P.I. The haves are foreigners and the have-nots are native. Peace Out!
Soju, the prices I’ve seen are around $250,000 and up. Surprisingly, I’d guess that 50% of the new construction is Filipinos and the rest foreigners. There’s definitely a rich/poor disparity, but there are plenty of monied Filipinos. The 1% if you will.