Category Archives: Uncategorized

03/30/12 – w/Graham Reynolds\’ Golden Arm Trio & The Blue Cranes – Blue Monk On Belmont – Portland, OR

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Who
w/Graham Reynolds' Golden Arm Trio & The Blue Cranes
When
Friday, March 30, 2012
8:00pm - All Ages
Where
Blue Monk On Belmont (map)
3341 Southeast Belmont Street
Portland, OR, USA 97214
Other Info
http://www.marchmusicmoderne.org/2012/02/11/welcome-graham-reynolds-and-blue-cranes/#more-185

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03/16/12 – Graham Reynolds\’ Golden Arm Trio SXSW Showcase – The Elephant Room – Austin, TX

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Who
Graham Reynolds' Golden Arm Trio SXSW Showcase
When
Friday, March 16, 2012
11:15pm - All Ages
Where
The Elephant Room (map)
315 Congress Avenue
Austin, TX, USA 78701

Austin's legendary jazz venue.

Other Info
Austin's legendary basement jazz dive bar will once again get blown out for our annual SXSW appearance.

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Smoked Tomatoes for Sale!

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Man, the orders have just been rolling in! I’m starting very small scale and informal while I get the hang of the routine, but they’re sold almost as fast as I can make them. I’m also experimenting with smoking red bell peppers (while they’re cheap), which I’d never done before, and the results are varied, but all of them fascinating and delicious. When cut into quarter wedges, they come out in the end somewhere between a dried chile and red pepper jerky, the sweetness of the concentrated sugars in the bell pepper playing with the smoke and just the right amount of salt to create what I can only describe as “a smoked paprika roll-up.”

I’m still working on getting a dedicated page up on the site with a convenient little PayPal widget and all that stuff (a little help?), but for now, if you’d like a dozen (or more) smoked tomatoes, please PayPal $10 (includes S&H) to IowanChef at Gmail.com with the quantity requested, full name, and shipping address. I’ll even throw a smoked red bell pepper in with the order while I’m figuring them out, and you can provide feedback! Look at you, all helpful and sh*t..

So that’s all for now, friends, fans, and foodies. It looks like we’ve finally got a break in the rain, which means I no longer have to operate my smoker under the covered parking at my condo. But then again, all my neighbors’ cars will probably smell like smoked tomatoes and peppers for a week, so I’ve probably gained some future customers. Again, thanks for the support, feedback, and continued business. I’ll have the Human Treats jar filled back up at King Liquor tomorrow. See you there!

The people have spoken!

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Chances are, if you know me and we’ve been friends for more than, oh, six months, you’ve had one of my smoked tomatoes. I featured them briefly in my Jrm Says cooking show episode, “Smoke These & Spread \'Em!!” Graham Reynolds of Austin’s famed Golden Arm Trio (also featured in that episode) has been a huge fan of them for years now, and at last week’s Monday night workshop residency at Dive Bar & Lounge after a particularly ripping country set, he mentioned that I should consider selling them at King Liquor on Burnet Road where I work (plug plug plug). How this hadn’t occurred to me in over a year of working there has me kicking myself in the ass. Ass kicking aside, I’ve been crunching the yummy little numbers and have run them by my taste-testers, biz-savvy types, and potential out-of-state buyers..

So, starting Monday (March 5th), my smoked tomatoes (tentatively named “Human Treats”) will be available for purchase at King Liquor on Burnet road, $.50/single, $4/half dozen, $6/dozen. They keep exactly like sun-dried tomatoes but also freeze perfectly, however, if you’ve ever had one, you know that they don’t stick around long enough to go bad. In my 10+ years of making them, I have never EVER had a single one go bad.

Also keep an eye out for my smoked red bell pepper chips (like smoked paprika mousse!) and smoked portabella mushrooms (like vegan sausage or even unagi eel when brushed with teriyaki sauce), all coming soon AND at other locations around the 78756 area code. But for now, I’ve got orders of tomatoes to fill! Back to the smoker..

Thanks to everyone who chimed in and helped get this idea launched. RIP Denise Salles, the woman who single-handedly launched my culinary career and even named my catering company of two years, “Two Straight Guys Cookworks.” I know you’d be proud. I still miss you.. This is for you.