I mentioned good news last time. I'm on a grand adventure right now. I'm stopped in Denver escaping the Las Cruces heat. I'll be in New York City for the fourth of July! Then I'm on my way to Madrid. I'm obviously excited for the Spanish team's win against Chile and I'm rooting for them against Portugal tomorrow. If Spain wins the World Cup, I'll be there.

I also have three poems coming out in July. Two in PANK and one in Strange Machine. I'm really happy about both of those. I think PANK always has really hot stuff and Strange Machine, for such a small magazine, puts out amazing poetry (Zachary Schomburg, and This Poem).

On a similar note, my friend Mike Meginnis and Tracy Bowling have started a magazine called Uncanny Valley and said they really liked some of my tweets about fatherhood. He said I should re-write it and submit it. We should all submit some cool stuff. Their taste in literature is amazing so I trust that they'll have a great magazine as long as enough people submit work.

I'm also really happy to say that I just accepted a Graduate Assistantship. I had kind of given up on it after last spring, but I was offered one earlier today. It's a huge raise and looks good on a CV.

So this recipe and this one are amazing. Other than adding a lot of basil to the pesto, follow them exactly and pair them together with a G&T. Best Summer Meal Ever.

Uh, Sorry. Here's A Burrito And Pictures.

So it's summer and it's hot. I haven't posted in over a month. But it's really hot. Like this hot.

I have had a chance to go to the mountains and see some music. That's right ICP, I saw it.

I was doing the roady work for my neighbor and colleague's band, Railroad Gin, at the BAMMF.

I got really homesick and so I made some burritos in the fashion that my Dad makes them. In the spirit of Father's Day I've named them Dad's Burritos. As I've said before, I always have Ranch Style Beans and this recipe is what created my dedication to the particular brand.

Dad's Burritos

What you'll need:

1 can Ranch Style Beans

1 lb ground beef

salt + pepper

Fixings: grated cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, etc. (I used cheese, spinach, 505 Salsa).

This is the simplest recipe ever. Brown the meat, add salt + pepper, add the Ranch Style Beans, simmer 2-5 minutes.

My Dad also fries the tortillas too, which makes them more delicious and more supple when folding the burrito.

It's my brother's first ever Fathers' Day. Here is his baby, my niece, Awbrey:

She had a bit of jaundice but she's better now.

A very summer recipe coming soon, lots of good news, and my summer reading list thus far.

Swiss Chard Quiche

My trip to Central America has been significantly delayed due to the eruption of the volcano Pacaya in Guatemala, as well as tropical storm Agatha, so I've been hanging out in Baltimore for a bit longer than I originally planned. Check out the sinkhole caused by the storm in Guatemala City:



!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luckily, I anticipate spending most of my time in Guatemala in the city of Antigua, which is (so far) sinkhole-free. Since I've had a longer stay in Baltimore, I've had more time to cook, and I have successfully converted my family to liking swiss chard. Last night, I made an onion-chard quiche for dinner; I'm a big fan of quiches because they're easy and easily customizable. Quiche also seems appropriate at any time of day; it's not at all like eating a hamburger at 9 am, which always feels weird to me. If you eat a quiche at 9 am, it feels like breakfast. If you eat it at 7 pm, it feels like dinner.



Swiss Chard Quiche

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 (to 1.5) cups of grated cheese (I used a mix of cheddar and some weird artisanal sundried tomato cheese I found in the fridge)
1 cup milk
3/4 bunch of swiss chard, chopped
3/4 onion, chopped
1 pie crust
couple tablespoons of olive oil
splash of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Finely chop the onion and cut the stems off of the chard. Saute in the oil until soft, 5-7 minutes or so.
2. Roughly chop the chard into bite size pieces, add to the pan.
3. Add a splash of lemon juice, cook until chard is fully wilted; it will become much smaller and a much darker green. I added salt, pepper, and garlic powder here, as well.
4. As the chard wilts, blend the milk, eggs and cheese together in a bowl.
5. When the chard is done, stir it into the eggs mixture.
6. Pour mixture into pie crust.
7. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes.



8. Let the quiche sit a few minutes before cutting.

We ate the quiche with a tomato, avocado and parmesan salad. This recipe could easily be modified by using spinach in place of chard, leeks in place of onions, adding green onions on top, adding fresh basil, adding tomato, adding green peppers, adding cooked bacon, adding broccoli, you get the picture. Basically, you can modify this recipe to suit your particular tastebuds, using any vegetables you want; just saute them a little before you add them to the egg mixture. I should add I've made basically the exact same quiche without a crust, so if you don't have a pie crust or just want a lighter version of the recipe, it's just as good without. This quiche tastes even better the next day, especially for breakfast.