KCRW Engineers’ Neighborhood

Fuchsia Dunlop

I've been making delicious Hunanese chopped salted chiles for the last few months.  I've apparently been lacto-fermenting and didn't realize!  The recipe is in Fuchsia Dunlop's book "Revolutionary Chinese Cooking" if you're interested, although it's not the most complicated recipe--just chiles and salt.  As condiments go, salty, spicy, sour can't be beat.

Ok, so here's the recipe: 
 
1 lb very fresh red chiles
1/4 cup salt
 
1)  Wash the chiles and dry thoroughly.  Cut off their stems and bottoms and chop coarsely with the seeds.  (Wear rubber gloves if you're sensitive.)  Place the chopped chiles in a bowl.
 
2)  Add 3 and 1/2 tablespoons of the salt to the chiles and mix thoroughly.  Place in a glass jar and cover with the remaining salt.  Seal with a tight-fitting lid.  Leave in a cool pace for a couple of weeks before using, then store in the refrigerator once opened.  The chiles will keep for months.
 
Ms. Dunlop says this as well:  "(The chiles) are used in stir-fries and steamed dishes (steamed fish heads with chopped salted chiles is currently one of the best-known and most popular Hunanese dishes), and also is offered as a relish with noodles and other snacks."
 
I used short red jalapeno chiles because that's all I can find around San Diego.  I very rarely see long chiles ( I guess they're Korean or Thai) but never red ones--only green.  The red jalapenos have a pointy end and are pretty hot, but I can't say what the authentic Hunanese chile would be like, heat-wise. 
 
I basically throw a spoonful in with stir-fried tofu or veggies or whatever.  But the thing I like the most is to eat it with steamed, short-grained Japanese Haiga brown rice that I've mixed with a pickled mustard-green Japanese condiment called pickled takana (or karashi mentai takana).  You can find it in the pickle section of Japanese markets like Mitsuwa and it comes in a flat plastic puch.  It looks like a chopped up mixture of greens with a little red from red pepper (but it's not hot) and has sesame seeds, cod roe (although it doesn't taste fishy), and spices.  I don't know if it's supposed to get mixed with just-steamed rice, although I think I've seen bowls of something that looked like it at the ramen places, but I think it's a good way to get more veggies (pickled or not) into me and it's super tasty.  I just mix a spoonful of pickled chiles into my bowl of rice and cry my way through dinner.  I don't know what it is about the chiles I like so much:  you're chewing on some rice and get a little nugget of salty/sour/hot that is such a kick in the butt. 
 
So, I hope you try the chiles and let me know what you think and if you come up with another way to eat them.  Maybe I'll add them to my sauerkraut and make the world's tastiest Hunanese German weenie...
 
Jennifer

Tally Hall at KCRW

On Wednesday, July 9 we are putting on a KCRW.com Presents Showcase at the Knitting Factory Main Stage with Tally Hall, Little Jackie and Salt & Samovar, hosted by KCRW Music Director and MBE host Nic Harcourt. You heard them first on KCRW and now we are bringing them to you live! This is going to be an incredible evening of music – don’t miss it.

Tickets to the showcase are $12 in advance and available at the Knitting Factory website. We want nothing more than to fill this room with KCRW fans. We also have some ticket giveaways so check the box on the bottom right at KCRW.com.

You can find more details at www.kcrw.com/lamc and below.

If you can’t make it out, don’t forget to tune in to Morning Becomes Eclectic on July 10 and 11 as we broadcast live from New York, with performances by Alla and Ximena Sarinana.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, JULY 9

WHAT:        KCRW Showcase - hosted by Nic Harcourt

WHO:          Tally Hall, Little Jackie and Salt and Samovar

WHERE:      Knitting Factory – Main Room (SoHo)

                    74 Leonard St
                   New York, NY 10013-3437

TIME:          Doors open at 8pm

TICKETS:    Tickets on sale now, $12 in advance

This is an all ages show!

More about the artists:

Nic Harcourt played Ann Arbor quintet Tally Hall years before they signed to Atlantic, who released their CD “Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum” in April. The band has been compared to everyone from the Beatles to the Beastie Boys, with charming pop, upbeat melodies and whimsical lyrics.  Little Jackie received their first-ever radio airplay on KCRW and will be celebrating the release of their new album “The Stoop,” which blends old-school R&B sound with a quirky hybrid of hip-hop and pop. Salt & Samovar recently made their second Morning Becomes Eclectic appearance, debuting brand new bluesy, foot-stomping songs. The band’s revival-like performances are striking and they sound just as good on record -- their 2007 release was among Nic’s favorite CDs of the year.

We are headed to the East Coast for the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) and we’d love to see you while we are there!

First up, a Happy Hour Meetup at Botanica on Tuesday, July 8 from 5 to 8pm. Music Publicity Director Rachel Reynolds will be there and is bringing lots of goodies to give away. Also, t-shirt artist Dan Rollman will be “teejaying” -- creating personalized shirts based on brief conversations with attendees. Check this out! Snerko.com

There will also be great drink specials and, of course, the music you love courtesy of DJ Raul Campos. It’s a free event with a cash bar. Come meet fellow KCRW fans in the city!

DATE: TUESDAY, JULY 8

WHAT: Happy Hour Meet Up

WHERE: Botanica
47 E Houston St
New York, NY 10012 
Cross Street: Between Mulberry Street and Mott Street

TIME:          5 to 8pm
 

Rachel and Duffy sm

Duffy made her U.S. debut on Morning Becomes Eclectic during SXSW earlier this year and since then it has been an upwards climb on the charts for the Welsh soul singer who has drawn comparisons to Dusty Springfield, among others.

Her album “Rockferry” is a solid debut and almost every DJ at KCRW has been spinning it for the last few months. She has won over our hearts for sure and if you check out her live performance from SXSW, she might win over yours too.

If you have some free time over the weekend, dig into our archives and check this one out.

Duffy

RR

Patriotism; Is Obama Shifting to the Center? John McCain's Campaign Shakeup

 A substantive discussion amongst the panelists about what patriotism means. Bob Scheer expounds on George Washington’s farewell speech; Tony Blankley talks about how the theme plays out politically; Matt Miller shares thoughts by Peter Beinart in Time Magazine that the right says “America’s great,” the left says, “Here’s what would make America great;” and Arianna Huffington mentions the USA Today poll that says 2/3 of Americans think that protesting is patriotic. Are Barack Obama’s moves to capture the hearts of swing voters going to win him votes or just the animosity of his base? And will John McCain’s campaign recover its footing with new guy, Steve Schmidt, at the helm. That's him, pictured above

HI - here you go - sorry I couldn't get the set list for the other bands that night...thanks to Phil at ESL for this! GD

1    Sound the Alarm    03:34
2    Facing East    03:48
3    Lebanese Blonde    04:56
4    Revolution Solution    03:43
5    Shadows of Ourselves    04:21
6    Sol Tapado    04:45
7    Hare Krisna (Seu Jorge)    03:39
8    Liberation Front    05:53
9    Illumination    04:43
10    Exilio    05:24
11    The Heart’s a Lonely Hunter    04:45
12    Radio Retaliation    03:17
13    Assault on Babylon    04:30
14    Warning Shots
15    Ponta De Lanca Africano (Umbabarauma) (Jorge Ben Cover)
16    Richest Man in Babylon 03:54
17    Coming from the Top    04:42

Matt mentioned Peter Beinart's piece, The State of Patriotism, in Time Magazine; here's the link:

Bob spoke about George Washington's farewell address, with some pithy quotes that define his idea of patriotism: find the whole speech here:

http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/farewell/text.html

(This is an excerpt he read on air:)

In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course, which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself, that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated.

Tony wrote about Obama and McCain this week, it appears in the Washington Times:

BLANKLEY: Barack Obama's patriotism

Arianna offered free campaign advice to Obama at Huffingtonpost.com, here's the link for that:

And here's that USA Today poll about patriotism that she also mentioned:

Okay, your turn!

Peter_blog2

“Hancock” Director Peter Berg dropped by our Santa Monica studios a few weeks ago and shared his favorite songs with KCRW DJ Liza Richardson. I was really impressed. He not only admitted he had a “man crush” on a musician (Paul Westerberg --  I mean,  who wouldn’t! ), he also chose two bands based out of Austin (I went to college there so I’m totally biased about them having the best music scene) and was the first guest to include a hip hop song. His selections truly were “eclectic”and you should check them out if you haven’t already.  

KCRW’s Guest DJ Project w/ Peter Berg

Happy 4th of July!

RR

Garth Djing

GLOW is a FREE, all-night event taking over the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday, July 19 from 7pm to 7am. From the sand to the sea up to the Pier and Palisades Park, there will be 20 multi-media art installations, music by KCRW DJs and much more.  

GLOW is the ONLY event to have ever received permission to use the historic Santa Monica Pier and beach as an all-night venue – this is an INCREDIBLE event and you won’t want to miss it. DJs Garth Trinidad, Raul Campos, and Jeremy Sole will provide the soundtrack on the Pier from 10pm to 4am.

Internationally-recognized artists will create engaging sights and sounds from dusk till dawn. The solar-powered Ferris Wheel will host a revolving orchestra, “tumbleweeds” of recycled material will float on the ocean illuminated by LEDs, SASSAS with dublab will take over the carousel to present Tonalism, an ambient sound and projected image environment, and Shih Chieh Huang will turn the path under the Pier into Neptune’s Net.

Details on ALL the art projects can be found at www.glowsantamonica.com. See you there!

RR

Here's what we're thinking about talking about on the July 4 edition of Left, Right & Center:

The Patriotism Debate [Obama speech, Wesley Clark questioning John McCain's military credentials, Independence Day), The Fight Over Obama's Move to The Center, and McCain's Campaign Shake Up.  

KCRW locals will have to listen ONLINE this week (www.KCRW.com/ live stream at 2:30 and 7 pm PST) -- we're pre-empted for all-day holiday music programming on July 4th, a wonderful 10-hour doc on the history of Rockabilly (Details here: http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/mx/mx080704whole_lotta_shakin

But pick up the LRC podcast or listen on-demand here: www.KCRW.com/news/programs/lr

Your homework: listen to Obama's speech on patriotism and review Wes Clark's comments:

Wes Clark:   http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080629/pl_politico/11425

Obama Patriotism speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMbBuEoEYnk

Then DISCUSS! You can start without us. Happy 4th! Exercise your liberty!