Archive for July, 2004

Strawberry Habanero Barbecue Sauce

Sunday, July 18th, 2004

Considering that the Summer is a great time to grill, my good friend Sam is always sending me recipes. The following is an awesome marinade/barbecue sauce that can be used for anything, but tastes great on chicken or pork.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C Strawberry Jam
  • Zest and Juice of 2 Limes; Finely Grated
  • 1/4 C Thin Soy Sauce
  • 1/4 C Finely Minced Ginger
  • 1/4 C Fresh Mint Leaves; Minced
  • 2 Tbs Habanero Hot Sauce

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients and mix well. This sweet and spicy sauce works great as both a marinade and a barbecue sauce. Since it has sugars in it, do not brush onto grilled foods until they are almost ready to leave the grill.

Sam offers a small tip when preparing this sauce:

“Since the author points out concern with the sugar base ingredients and brushing, I would offer up this little tip, pre-cook the meat on the stove or in the oven before putting it on the grill (I always do this to insure full doneness and minimize the chances of bacteria). You might want to consider using fresh fruit anyway in our house “sugar” is not our friend so I tend to shy away these days from processed foods.”

Mega Mail

Wednesday, July 14th, 2004

A co-worker/friend of mine gave me an invite to Gmail the other week. Since the service is still in beta, not everyone can get an account. The only way to get one is to receive an invite from a friend that has Gmail. The trick of getting an invite once you have an account is something I have yet to master. I’ve had Gmail for over two weeks now, and they keep telling me that I should get some invites within a week of doing the initial setup, but I still have not got any invites. I’m guessing it is contingent on how often and really how (feature usage) you use your account.

Regardless, the account is totally kickass and I couldn’t ask for a better email service. I love the way it categorizes everything and allows total flexibility to the user for sorting emails and searching through content. The DHTML and CSS behind Gmail is just awesome. It’s by far the fastest HTTP based email I have ever used. They really thought of the little things when they put this system together. For instance, when replying, you can separate the reply box into its own window. This way, the user doesn’t have to hog their screen up with the entire application. Once you hit “Send,” it closes the window for you as well.

It’s all about the little things for me when it comes to web applications. I have to say, Gmail, to date, is the best free email service on the web. If you can get an invite, please take advantage of the service. You will not be disappointed.