Monday, April 20, 2009


Nice little playlist tonight, while making Swiss Chard and Onions.... and then eating Swiss Chard and Onions... and then cleaning up after Swiss Chard and Onions... and then laying on the floor staring at the ceiling while meditating on the wholeness that is Swiss Chard and Onions....

Richard Ramirez & MSBR Negative/Offensive (A Tribute to the New Blockaders) LP (ECSTATIC PEACE) Side A is perfect for making Swiss Chard and Onions, seriously.
Current Amnesia Shadows of the Estate CDR (LEAF LEAF) Another good one by this dream-tone ambient not-noise artist - edition of 30, check here or here I guess, it's not listed yet.
David Ackles Subway To The Country (coworker laid a CDR on me of this dude's 1970s downbeat orchestral rock and it wasn't American Gothic aka "the one most people know" aka "the first album Greg Ginn ever owned"... weird stuff... I think it's good and epic but not in a way that I really enjoy while it's on)
Eat Skull Wild & Inside CD (SILTBREEZE) Ah, nice to get back to this after 2-3 days off. Sounds especially rich and varied coming after that David Ackles!
Oren Ambarchi Grapes From The Estate (TOUCH) Speaking of stuff "from" or "of" an estate and "dream-tone ambient not-noise," wow -- I've really never heard Ambarchi's solo stuff and I thought this 2004 album would be deep guitar drone or something like that -- instead it's a collection of four chilling/beautiful electronic mood epics.
Mammal Distant Days CS (IDES) Like a sketchbook for Lonesome Drifter and in many places just as good...

  • 3 pound organic green Swiss chard (about 2 large bunches)
  • 2 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons organic grass-fed unsalted butter
  • 2 medium organic onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
  • 2 to 4 organic garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • salt & pepper
  • other spices optional
Wash chard then pull leaves from center rib & stem. Chop stems and ribs crosswise into bite-size pieces. Stack chard leaves and roll lengthwise into cylinders. Cut cylinders crosswise to make 1-inch-wide strips.

Heat oil and butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat until foam subsides, then cook onions and garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, covered, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to soften, about 8 minutes.

Add chard stems and ribs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (as well as 1/4 teaspoon any optional spices if you'd like, still delicious without) and cook, covered, stirring occasionally. Add chard leaves in batches, stirring until wilted before adding next batch, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until all are just wilted (a little crunchy is good).

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I always have wondered how many people would have heard of David Ackles if it weren't for Greg Ginn. I'm no Byron Coley but I've been into music fairly heavy since the mid-80s and I never heard of Ackles until reading This Band Could Be Your Life.

This is not a judgement on David Ackles' music, which I still have never heard, just a philosophical pondering of how an artist can practically vanish and then decades later become known almost solely through an obscure biographical detail about another artist who is pondering his beginnings in a book about a totally unrelated musical movement.

Larry said...

Good comment, man... that is strange about Ackles. I just came across this review of the album on a promising blog where some guy is writing about his record collection in alphabetical order. It's an accurate take (though I didn't specifically notice the wild subject matter, I definitely got that creepy Scott Walker feeling):

http://tinyurl.com/cgewpa

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