Don’t Know Much About Geography, and the First in My Recipe Series

Now I know a fair amount about music (or more than a fair amount, as some might argue). Pandora is a great site, if for example I wanted to know that the Shins’ Gone for Good is similar to Iron & Wine and Calexico’s A History of Lovers because it features a folk influences, vocal central approach with major key tonality, subtle vocal harmonies and a slide or pedal steel guitar. Pandora also selected Peter Breinholt’s People Moving Slowly because it features a busy horn section and acoustic sonority.

What if I wanted to see similar artists presented visually? For that, we have the Music Map. Plug in a band like the Afghan Whigs, and you’ll find that they’re obviously similar to the Twilight Singers, but also the American Music Club, Bongwater, and Duke Ellington. Not necessarily associations I would have made, but hella cool nonetheless.

And here’s that recipe for guacamole (serves 6-8, depending on whether used as a dip, a condiment, or both):

Preheat the broiler. Place the peppers on a broiler safe pan, and brush them liberally with vegetable oil (I prefer olive oil). Roast the peppers underneath the broiler for 5-10 minutes, until the skins start to blacken. For these next few steps, I suggest you wear gloves. Peel and de-seed the peppers underneath running water. If you want to avoid my mistake, place the peppers in a blender or food processor with the cilantro leaves and the juice of one of the limes. Otherwise, carefully dice the peppers finely and throw in with everything else. Peel the avocados, and dice the tomatos, onions, and the cilantro leaves, and toss in with the lime and lemon juice and other seasonings. For combining all the ingredients, the old standby rubber glove or a potato masher seem to work best.

Other items you can add and/or substitute include ground coriander seeds (best ground fresh, but pre-ground will do). Coriander is the dried seed of the cilantro plant. Celery salt, essential for the Bloody Mary drinkers among us, can also be substituted for a portion of the salt in the recipe.