Time Slice

I went for a walk around the block today at work and saw this house. It has cameras all over the place. There are 5 just in this picture alone, but as you can imagine there are a ton more.

Bumblebee Soup – Bacon, Black Bean, Corn Chowder from Foodwishes on Vimeo.

See more of his recipes at http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/

Courtesy of Food Porn Daily (it’s not what it sounds like).

This is pretty cool, a basic use of technology that is saving lives in ways that you would never think of. From Mail Online

“Elephants in Kenya are sending text messages to warn wildlife rangers that they are heading for the crops of neighbouring villages.

The elephants have a mobile phone SIM card inserted into their collars that automatically sends a text message if they stray too near farms.

The rangers then use spotlights to frighten the elephants back inside the 90,000-acre Ol Pejeta conservancy.

The Save the Elephants group is using the system after the Kenya Wildlife Service reluctantly shot five elephants from the conservancy who refused to stop crop-raiding.

They first used the technique on a huge bull elephant called Kimani, who was the last of the regular raiders. They set up a virtual ‘geofence’ using a global positioning system that mirrored the conservatory’s boundaries. When Kimani crossed this line the chip in his collar alerted rangers who used torches to warn him back.

Kimani has been intercepted 15 times since the project began. Once almost a nightly raider, he hasn’t been near a farmer’s field for four months.

It’s a huge relief to the small farmers who rely on their crops for food and money for school fees.

Basila Mwasu, a 31-year-old mother of two, lives a stone’s throw from the conservancy fence. She and her neighbors used to drum through the night on pots and pans in front of flaming bonfires to try to frighten the elephants away.

‘We had to go into town to tell the game (wardens) to chase the elephants away or we’re going to kill them all,’ Mwasu said.

Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants, said the project is still in its infancy – so far only two geofences have been set up in Kenya – and it has its problems.

Collar batteries wear out every few years. Sometimes communities think placing a collar on an elephant implies ownership and responsibility for the havoc it causes.

And it’s expensive work – Ol Pejeta has five full-time staff and a standby vehicle to respond when a message flashes across a ranger’s screen.

But the experiment with Kimani has been a success, and last month another geofence was set up in another part of the country for an elephant known as Mountain Bull.

Moses Litoroh, the coordinator of Kenya Wildlife Service’s elephant program, hopes the project might help resolve some of the 1,300 complaints the service receives every year over crop raiding.

The biggest bonus so far has been the drop in crop raiding. Douglas-Hamilton says elephants, like teenagers, learn from each other, so tracking and controlling one habitual crop raider can make a whole group change its habits.

Elephants are ranked as ‘near threatened’ in the Red List, an index of vulnerable species published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

You know you’re in a bad spot when it’s 8:30 in the morning and you’re already looking at food blogs. Today I was looking at my favorite overall food site, tastespotting.com. One item in particular caught my eye, the link to the Croque Madame. What is it you ask? It’s the french version of a grilled cheese sandwich but made the French way…….REALLY GOOD AND GOOEY, with a FRIED EGG on TOP!

Here’s the recipe so that you can make your own:

Croque Madame
Serves 2

2 slices pain de campagne*
2 slices of applewood smoked ham
Enough Gruyere to cover each slice of bread
2 eggs
Butter (about 3-4 tablespoons depending on the size of the bread)
Salt
Pepper
1 tomato

Place the oven rack about 10 inches from broiler. Turn the broiler on high. Butter each slice of bread. Place one slice of ham on each slice of bread. Layer each slice with Gruyere cheese. Broil for about 4 minutes.

Heat a nonstick pan over a medium flame. Coat the pan with about a tablespoon of melted butter. Crack each egg into the pan gently, so the yolk doesn’t break. Cover the pan for one minute. Uncover, and cook for two more minutes. Slide each egg on top of each slice of bread. Season the egg with salt and pepper. Garnish with tomato slices. To make it a full meal, serve with a lightly-dressed green salad.

*Pain de campagne, or “country bread,” is typically a large round loaf made from a natural leavening that is similar to American sourdough but not as sour.

Recipe and images are from www.angelasfoodlove.com

I stopped by El Tonayense Taco Truck today after running into Best Buy and this isn’t just a regular Taco Truck, this one’s been written up in various reviews (for good things) so you know it’s good. I had the regular carne asada burrito and a water for only $6.50 and it was pretty good. Usually I don’t like burritos, they’re too much of a gut bomb, and I stick to the tacos but today I went all out….. To read more about the truck click here and here.

Being a former food photographer, I enjoy looking at good food photography. That said, I stumbled upon this site: Food Porn Daily (I found it through tastespotting.com, not while Googleing food+porn, as you might be thinking) and it is SFW (something for work) safe. The site is run by two Russian Bikini Models…..JUST KIDDING, it’s run by a couple of different couples, whose work you can find in the “About” section on their site, or by clicking here. Their photography is nice and very inviting. Take a look and I’m sure you’ll agree and you’ll be hungry.

Above: This is where you walk up and place your order.

Above: If you’re unclear about the menu, it’s right above you…..

Above: My co-workers placing their orders.

Above: Another version of the menu. I think I might try the Ojo (eye) sometime, NOT! I’ll eat tongue but only if the taste buds have been removed……..

Above: The tortillas being heated to order along with a big ol’pot of carnitas and boy was it good. The carnitas were a little too greasy but the chicken and al pastor were killer.

If you’re in the city here is where they’re located:

El Cachanilla
2948 21st St
(between Folsom St & Harrison St)
San Francisco, CA 94110

For more info on Yelp, click here.

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime® 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime® Player. Note: During the download process when asked to choose an installation type (Minimum, Recommended or Custom), select Minimum for faster download.