Dashboard Confessional - The Shade of Poison Trees

My latest purchase, The Shade of Poison Trees, is Dashboard Confessional's latest CD. Sure it's not like hearing them live. But seeing them live has it's own pros and cons. I experienced them live a month or two ago at the Summer Jamboree. If you're not into listening to screaming girls or a large crowd singing along to every song then it's probably best that you just get this CD and listen to in the privacy of your own home. All of the tracks and the entire CD of MP3s are available from Amazon here.

Dashboard Confessional - Shade of Poison Trees

Jon McLaughlin - Indiana

It was earlier this summer that my friend, Brad, introduced me to Jon McLaughlin. Well, not to Jon himself, but to his music. It was an easy sell. I was immediately hooked. I've loved listening to the MP3s I had but now I am the proud owner of his CD entitled Indiana. If you like Ben Folds and John Mayer, then I'd recommend you try Jon McLaughin's work. All of the songs from his Indiana CD are available DRM-free from Amazon.

Fuji Finepix Z10FD

I've done it! After years of using a hand-me-down digital camera, I've taken a big step forward purchasing my first-owner camera. I initally ordered it on Oct 16th through Amazon for $175.25. I was suprised to see that it wasn't going to ship until Oct 22nd. So I started looking around at other merchants. I found it listed on Buy.com for $165.99 and another $10 off if you use Google Checkout for the first time. Since Amazon was taking so long I thought I'd cancel my order with them and put one in with Buy.com. I did that on Oct 18th and to my surprise, it shipped on the 19th and is supposed to be at my home on Tuesday (23rd). Take that Amazon! They had me scheduled to receive the camera by Nov 2nd.

It seems like a good camera with some cool new features. I'm sure I'll write more about it once I get familar with it. And it should help make some good new posts!

Brooks Design Associates

A friend of mine, Darrin Brooks, from "the mission" is a designer and is currently teaching at the Utah State University. I've recently redesigned his website. In the past I've only done straight html/javascript websites for him. This time I got to use a little more of my current skill set by writing the site using ASP.NET 2.0 and css layout. The results are much better. Check it out by visiting Brooks Design Associates.

Beef and Beer Chili

With colder weather approaching and having recently received my September issue of Cooking Light, I decided that their Beef and Beer chili looked like it would be great for the cooler weather. I tried it a few Saturdays ago and liked it so much that I made it again a week earlier. I've just finished off the leftovers I had frozen and since I'm still thinking it's a good receipe, I'm posting it here. Enjoy!

Beef and Beer Chili

Cornmeal helps thicken the chili to a satisfying consistency. Serve with a chilled lager. Time: 41 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups chopped red onion (about 1 medium)
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper (about 1 small)
• 8 ounces extralean ground beef
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (19-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (14-ounce) can low-sodium beef broth
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle beer (such as Budweiser)
• 1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Preparation
Combine first 4 ingredients in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes or until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in chili powder, cumin, sugar, and salt; cook 1 minute. Add oregano and next 4 ingredients (through beer) to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in cornmeal; cook 5 minutes. Stir in juice.


Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)


Nutritional Information
CALORIES 261(20% from fat); FAT 5.7g (sat 2.1g,mono 2g,poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 18.3g; CHOLESTEROL 30mg; CALCIUM 74mg; SODIUM 799mg; FIBER 8.3g; IRON 3.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.3g

Jackie Mills, M.S., R.D. , Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2007

Darin & Rachel Johnston

Darin Johnston & Rachel Borup

married September 27, 2007
(Photo from the recption October 4, 2007)