Chile Verde a la BowlingJoe

It's no secret that I enjoy cooking. Especially when I'm cooking something that originated in the Southwest U.S. or south of the border. The results are normally not stellar enough to warrant a blog entry but last Sunday I think all of the culinary lottery numbers were present and in the right order.

I used a few different recipes that I found online and attempted to take what I felt was the best from each of them. I present to you....my rendition of Pork Chile Verde. The chiles I used, by the way, were fresh roasted Hatch chiles obtained from the Everett Farmers Market last fall and frozen for occasions such as this.

If there are any other fans of Southwest cooking who happen to read this and try out the recipe, let me know what you think.

BowlingJoe’s Pork Chile Verde

2.5 lbs pounds pork butt or shoulder or loin (with fat trimming optional), cut into 2-inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup flour
1/8 cup canola oil
2 small to medium white onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper roughly chopped
6 Hatch (or Anaheim) chiles (roasted, skinned, seeded and chopped)
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves chopped or run through a garlic press
1 pound tomatillos (peel off the husk, quarter and put in blender process so still chunky)
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
1 bay leaf
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
2-1/2 cups chicken stock

Directions

Add salt and pepper to flour. Put the pork into the flour and coat lightly.

Heat oil, and brown the pork on all sides. Remove from pan and put into a Dutch oven
.
Drain the oil from the frying pan and add the onions and green pepper, cooking until onions are translucent, 5 mins or so.

Add the Hatch chiles, jalapenos and garlic and cook 2-3 mins. Put this mixture into the Dutch oven; add the tomatillos, spices, cilantro and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 2 hrs or so, until the pork is tender. Serve with warm tortillas.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings

Weighing In on Bowling Averages

It’s been rough going for BowlingJoe on the lanes this year so far. My 2009-2010 league average is currently at 197. Down from a career-best 213 that I posted last year. There are probably a lot of reasons for this ranging from physical glitches in my release through the mental anguish that can snowball after weeks of not striking and missing easy spares.

While I’ve been trained to understand that correlation does not imply causation, I find it very interesting that my bowling average this year has dropped at roughly the same rate that pounds have dropped from my body. Is there something to this? And if there is, should I compromise my health and well being, gain 60 pounds and become the greatest bowler in the history of the sport?

A Weekend in Centralia

There’s something about taking a short trip on a train that just feels right. In the past, BowlingWidow and I have taken weekend jaunts both north to Vancouver B.C. and south to Portland, Oregon. A couple of weekends ago, Al Stewart and Dave Nachmanoff were playing a concert at Centralia Community College, creating the perfect opportunity to take Amtrak from Everett, WA to Centralia, WA, a small town around an hour south of Tacoma.

Along with our friends Leftynemesis and InteriorMaven (I met the left-handed one many years ago in my bowling league and in fact officiated the wedding between him and InteriorMaven…..but that’s another story), we boarded the train and settled in for the three and a half hour ride.
.
InteriorMaven and Leftynemesis in front of the hotel

From the Centralia station we walked a short block to our hotel: the refurbished Olympic Club Hotel and Theater. McMenamins (a Portland based group well known for buying old schools and other buildings and converting them to cool getaway places) bought this old relic several years ago and refurbished it just enough to make it comfortable yet keep its rustic uniqueness.

Rooms are basic. No TVs and no private baths, though they do have sinks. Want to take a shower or use the toilet? There are a few of those on each floor which really didn’t present much of a problem. Besides, where else can you get a room with a queen sized bed on a Saturday night for 60-bucks and NOT have to call the police at some point.
.
BowlingWidow: Lost in a Sea of Antiques

Did I mention that McMenamins brews their own beer and serves it in their restaurants and pubs? Yep, they do. Plays right into my hand. Hammerhead Ale. Terminator Stout. Sunflower IPA. And so on. They have something there for any beer lover.

The first thing we noticed while walking around downtown Centralia is the number of antique stores that are there. They’re everywhere. Centralia has more antique stores than there are Starbucks coffee places in Manhattan. None of us bought anything of any significance but it was a nice day just walking around.
.
After the show (L-R): Dave Nachmanoff, InteriorMaven, Leftynemesis, Al Stewart, BowlingJoe, BowlingWidow
In the evening, we made the short walk to the concert venue, a comfy small theater where Al and Dave put on yet another splendid show. The difference in this show is that our seats were actually front and center. I skillfully took advantage of this windfall by shamelessly stealing the set list on the stage just before the encore. Al (who said he wouldn’t need it anymore) and Dave were glad to autograph it for me.

After a night that was interrupted a few times by train whistles – we knew that would happen being next to the train tracks – we awoke to rain. No problems, though. We met Leftynemesis and InteriorMaven at a nice little restaurant called The Berry Fields and ate well.
.

The Concert's Set List: Shamelessly Stolen from Al Stewart

It became time for our friends to catch an earlier train back home, and with the rain BowlingWidow and I decided to hole up at The Olympic Club bar and watch some NFL playoff football with some appetizers and beverages. A fitting way to conclude what was a pretty nice little birthday weekend in Centralia.