Want to impress yourself? Make Thai Curry

If there's one food that's deceivingly easy to make, it's Thai.
Here is a simple recipe that you just can't F up.

Thai Curry
It doesn't matter what kind of curry you want to make (Red, Penang, Green, Massaman, etc.) you really only need four major ingredients:
1. Curry Paste
2. Coconut Milk
3. Some sort of Vegetable
4. Some sort of Protein

That's it.

Here's how it goes:

1. Pick your curry paste

I always use Maesri curry paste. You can find it at any Asian grocery store, and they come in small 4oz cans (the size of a tuna fish can). There a bunch of different kinds, but the traditional ones are Red, Green, Penang (red), and Massaman (yellow).

Red/Penang is on the spicy side (prepared with chicken & bamboo shoots), Green is great for vegetables (like Thai Eggplant), and Massaman is the most mild (prepared with potatoes and peanuts).

2. Buy some Coconut Milk

You can get coconut milk at any self-respecting grocer. You will find it in the ethnic isle, usually in the Asian section, but sometimes in the Latin/Hispanic section. Each curry dish takes 2-3 cans of coconut milk.

3. Pick a Vegetable

Of course this is purely optional, but I think vegetables make the curry.

Some traditional vegetables to add to curry: bamboo shoots, Thai Eggplant (aka "Kermit" eggplant), green beans, potatoes, peanuts, cauliflower, baby corn, etc. Best advice: follow the vegetable suggestion on the side of the curry can.

4. Pick a Protein

This is also optional, but most curry dishes contain chicken. Depending on your taste you can substitute tofu, pork, beef, or shrimp.

Directions: heat the curry paste in a saucepan on medium heat. Add in two cans of coconut milk and bring to a low boil. Add in chopped chicken/protein of your choice and let cook for ~10 minutes. Add in vegetable (bamboo shoots) and let cook for another 5 minutes. The curry will be spicy, so you can add in a couple tablespoons of sugar to cut the heat. Serve over rice.

Enjoy!

Big Picture delivers great movie... and booze!

Monday night I took a trip down the depths of El Gaucho, one of Seattle's premier steak restaurants. Through the facade of this classy 50's decor opens an entirely new movie experience just a few steps below the street surface...


As you descend the narrow stairwell into the basement of the restaurant, you're greeted by a unique "retro-swank" vibe and moody lighting. The first greeting you may receive is a request for ID... ID, for a movie?



This is the only place in Seattle where you can go see a movie and drink alcohol in the theatre!


To elevate this experience, you can place an order (for say, 30 minutes into the movie) for a drink and they will deliver it straight to your seat! I thought it was too good to be true, and apparently so did the sold out crowd of Monday night patrons.


The movie playing this week was "Zack and Miri Make a Porno".
Try and imagine the movie "Knocked Up", but more crude. Much, much more crude.

I laughed hysterically, but could sense the uncomfortable seat adjustments by some older couples in the audience. Certainly not a good "first date" movie...



I encourage you to check out Big Picture (especially on Monday and Tuesday nights when the tickets are at a discount) and enjoy the theatre the way it was meant to be experienced... with booze.

Dr Horrible Sings His Way Into My Heart

If you haven't yet seen "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog", stop reading this and watch it now.
It is a short (~40 minute total) three-part musical which was written by Joss Whedon during the writer's strike in early 2008. The three episodes were released in June 2008 and quickly became an Internet phenomenon through iTunes and Hulu.

It's a terrific comedy/tragedy starring Neil Patric Harris and tells the story of a villain-in-the-making.

The music is catchy, and was recently named one of the "Top 50 Inventions of 2008" by Time Magazine.

Check it out and enjoy!

BMW Doorlock Secret Unlocked

I have a BMW 330xi (2003).

I noticed after parking it with a valet that the doors automatically locked themselves while driving when over ~10mph (I do not have this option programmed for my car). After restarting the car, this no longer occurred.

By happenstance I figured out why the doors were locking themselves:

If you manually open the door (by inserting the key into the driver's side door and turning it left) the doors will automatically lock themselves when you start driving above ~8-10mph.

If you remotely open the door (by pressing the "unlock" button on the remote), the doors will not automatically lock when driving.


After the car as been turned off, this feature will no longer work.
No dealership or forum had this information, so I hope you find this useful.