Fame by Association Stuffed Red Peppers Along With Mile Me Deaf, Echoes De Luxe and Trails and Ways
At least five mornings a week I wake up and my third thought (after why does it sound like a hockey match in here and what happened during the night that all my pillows are still on the bed but I am on the floor) is why didn’t my brother marry someone like, I don’t know, a Kardashian. Don’t get me wrong, his current wife is fabulous, she has given him two healthy boys, she knows how to deal with his moods better than anyone else I’ve ever met and she is always willing to help others. But if he had married a Kardashian, just think what I could’ve gotten out of it. I’d be famous by association. And with that fame would come perks. Like, for starters, the picture to the right in this post wouldn’t be all washed out and weirdly fluorescent because I would’ve had Annie Leibovitz take it for me. I mean I am the brother of the guy who just married a Kardashian. The typeface for my blog would probably be made out 24 karat gold, I could get my idea for a zombie workout video face-tracked. Book deals would be signed, television appearances arranged and my own restaurant/dance club named The Vegan Grind would be opening shortly. All of this despite having never done anything worthwhile in my own life.
Which brings me to Pippa. I don’t even need to give a last name because you know who I am talking about. Sure she has a nice ass (at least that is what J-Fur said). Outside of that, what has she done except be the sister of the lady that married a prince? Now she is a published author sharing with us some of her finer childhood memories and even teaching us how to cook. If you are interested in knowing more about Pippa’s life or cooking the way she does, go here. One of the things picture in her book (for which she received six figures) are bean stuffed peppers. Just like Pippa, I stuffed some peppers the other night too. Thanks to my brother, they weren’t worth anywhere near six figures.
Tri-Colored Cous Cous Stuffed Red Peppers
(printable version)
-2 red bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise
-1 cup Tri-Colored Cous Cous
-10-15 grape tomatoes, halved
-2 cloves garlic, diced
-1/2 onion, diced
-1 cup spinach
-salt
-vegan pesto
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the peppers directly on the middle oven rack and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the peppers from the oven and put them on a baking sheet. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cook the cous cous according to directions. Set aside.
3. In a pan with a little bit of olive oil, saute the onion, garlic, grape tomatoes and spinach. After the spinach is wilted and onions are translucent remove the vegetables from the heat and combine with cous cous. Spoon in some salt and pesto. Mix.
4. Scoop spoonfuls of cous cous mixture into the peppers. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Wipe your mouth with fifty dollar bills.
In celebration of their upcoming jaunt through Europe (alongside A Thousand Fuegos) Mile Me Deaf (here) have presented another single for free from their debut album Eat Skull. The pleasures of “Troubles Caught” begins and ends with the way underrated harmonica. It makes one think of the safety offered by Blues Traveler, I See Hawks in L.A or dusty country roads. Once you are lulled into security it attacks with wheezy noisepop wizardry. I like to think of “Troubles Caught” as John Popper getting ambushed by an asthmatic hooker in the middle of the Sahara Desert. I’d pay to see that. Yet I don’t have to:
Echoes De Luxe’s sophomore EP finds them picking up where they left off. 70′s anthemic rock? Check. Progressive sensibilities? Check. Incendiary spirit? Check. Tender Branson slow to the draw? Check. I’ve been enjoying “Don’t Change” for perhaps a month but couldn’t find the right spot to fit it in. Thankfully it has a stuffed pepper type feel to it.
Trails and Ways just released the lead single from their debut full-length (called Trilingual and due out early next year). According to the band, “Border Crosser” is immigration dreampop in it’s purest form. Frontman KBB penned it as a love letter between his grandparents circa 1942. Melodically it swells from the highs of leaving Europe to the tense synths of traveling through the Middle East and across the Alps and finally ends in summery California. For a “like” on Facebook, they’ll trade you the track:
