Stuff. Also things.

[psychochicken]

Some random stuff I am currently in to:

1) Miles Davis. Never really took to Davis. Back when I did my "I'd really like to try jazz" thing and bought a bunch of CDs from Fopp by the greats, I chose Kind of Blue by Davis and it never jumped out. In actual fact what happened was that I played it once, then played John Coltrane's Blue Train that I'd

Comments

[livingarmchair]

Ah, Tofu, it's a bugger to cook. I used to be able to do it a few years ago, and get it all crispy, but I've bloody forgotten how and the last time I tried it just broke up.

I think the key is to get all the moisture out of it by cooking it in small, thin slabs and squeezing it as it's cooked...

I like Bitch's Brew. And weather report - a post Davis group with ex-members of the bitch's brew lineup. Some of their stuff is very chilled out.

[rhythmaning]

I am amazed you weren't grabbed by Kind of Blue first time around. I think it is sublime, and it seems to be most people's first step down the jazz road.

If you like Jack Johnson you might try Bitches Brew - I would recommend the orignal remaster (?) rather than the complete sessions box set - a case of more is less. I set up a playlist on my iPod to get rid of the superfluous tracks!

I am not sure you would get on with Birth of the Cool - it is very structured, and feels dated. But I love the Quintet recordings (with Coltrane) - Cookin', Relaxin', Workin' and Steamin'. You can pick these up cheaply in Fopp... But a warning: they are very "jazz": they are the sound that a lot of people think of when one says "jazz" - classic recordings. My guess is that you might not get on with them too well.

[anthrokeight]

1) My first fall-in-love jazz experience was listening to Thelonius Monk on the way home from my college graduation, in the car, with my brothers. Miles Davis is pretty good too.

2)It is indeed a favorite of K8's.

3) My ex-housemate makes this AMAZING tofu curry stuff. She buys really firm tofu, presses and drains it really well, then fries all in a wok. Afterwards she more or less adds Everything Spicy (curry paste, curry powder, peanut sauce, soy sauce, ginger, garlic etc etc etc) and lets it all bubble into an amazing carmelized glaze that adds crispiness and depth. No marinating involved. And she serves it with coconut rice. Yum.

4) I toss pressed tofu with a little bit of oil, toss under the broiler/ oven and bake for a while. It get's that all over crispy texture sans deep frying calories and is delicious.