Music Friday: David S. Pumpkins

 This isn't necessarily a song, but the video uses an instrumental song. 

In honor of a socially distanced Halloween, I give you David S. Pumpkins.

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup

 This is a variation of a recipe I found on the InterWebs. I changed it slightly because I despise corn in soups, and I didn't want to use cream cheese. 

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts
1 box (32 oz.) of reduced sodium chicken broth
1 large can of mild green enchilada sauce
2-3 4 oz. cans of diced green chiles
2/3 cup of water
2 tablespoons of ground cumin
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of ground roasted garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Process

Start with the chicken breasts. Trim and place them in a slow cooker and add some of the chicken broth to coat the bottom. Set on low for 4-6 hours. 

After fully cooked, pull the chicken breasts and let them cool on a cutting board. Add the sauce, the rest of the broth, the chiles, water, and seasonings to the cooker. Set on high. 

Shred the breasts and add to the slow cooker. After about an hour on high, set the cooker to low and cook for 2-3 hours. 

I served it with rinsed pinto beans, which I added to the soup. As for garnishes, you could use chopped cilantro, shredded cheese, and jalapeños if so desired. 

Sunday Hangover: Tennessee

 After the game ended, I was hankering for a cigar. 

I followed the game via ESPN Gamecast during my son's doubleheader on a chilly day in central Illinois. So when we got back from Decatur, the game was almost over, and I watched the DVR recording of the game. 

Losing Waddle is huge blow to the offense. He does so much, and he's arguably the most explosive player in college football. 

Slade Bolden filled in well for him, but he's no Waddle. No one is. 

The new ad hoc trio of receivers seems to be Smith, Metchie, and now Bolden. But others, the youngsters will have to step up. 

Mac Jones played fantastically. Again. 

Najee Harris, Brian Robinson, and Trey Sanders toted the rock admirably. 

And the defense got stops. 

That's all they need to do: get stops. 

Tennessee has a very good offensive line, but I'm still concerned that the Tide is not getting the kind of pash rush we fans have become accustomed to. 

Let's hope the offense keeps doing its thing and the defense continues to improve. 

Music Friday: "Burning Down the House"

 Talking Heads is a band that I always enjoyed, but I never bought any of their albums (CDs) when they were together as a band. They had this quirky nature that was inspiring. 

I bought their greatest hits album maybe a year ago, but now I'm contemplating how much I had missed by not going full album on them. If I remember right, over the space of 11 years they produced 8 albums. That's some mighty productivity. 

Last night instead of watching the final presidential debate, I watched David Byrne's American Utopia, which is a quite stunning film produced by Spike Lee. The film and performance is quite stunning. There are parts of it that are downright inspiring. 

Here's a live performance of the show doing this famous song. 

Sunday Hangover: Georgia

 Shutting out an offense in the second half was a welcome sight after the debacle that was the Ole Miss game. Georgia's offense, particularly the running game, did too much damage against the Tide in the first half, however. 

Mac Jones continues to shine as a quarterback with his main trio of targets of Smith, Waddle, and Metchie. 

Foristall getting banged up early was a major concern because he is the top TE on the roster currently. He does a lot of motions for distraction and for blocking purposes. 

Najee Harris reminds me of Derrick Henry in that he seems to get stronger as the game goes on. The more you "feed the beast" the better he seems to play. 

As much as I am pleased with the defense possibly turning a corner (one hopes), I'm troubled by the performance in the first half. 

Kudos to the Tide's offensive line for protecting Jones and blocking well in the run game for the most part. 

Next week the Tide takes on a Tennessee squad that was humbled at home versus the Kentucky Wildcats. They should be motivated. 

Music Friday: "The New OK"

 A friend of mine on FB related the other day that the Dry-By Truckers had put out another album this year. The Unraveling came out in January, and this band full of pluck and grit produced another one this month. 

Here's the title track. 

Enjoy. 

Sunday Hangover: Ole Miss

 I've been an Alabama fan since I went there for graduate school in '98. 

Last night's game was one of the most frustrating wins I've ever witnessed. 

The Alabama defense was awful. 

Downright awful.

A W F U L

The Tide offense was outstanding, and they should have put up another touchdown because Harris got stripped at the goaline. 

But good Gods, I hope to never see a pathetic defensive performance like that again. I know Kiffin is one heck of a play caller, but the defense has got to get it together. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary: Pickle Brine

I made pickles this summer and fall, but I planted the pickling cucumbers too late in the summer and did not get the greatest yield, unfortunately. As a result, I don't have a lot of pickles stored up, maybe eight pints at the most. 

I did, however, figure out a pickling brine that I liked, so I'm sharing it here, so I can reference it in subsequent pickling seasons. 

Ingredients:

3 cups of apple cider vinegar

2 cups of water

4 tablespoons of pickling salt

1 tablespoon of sugar

Music Friday: "Patience"

 I've been hearing this cover on the Sirius XM station on a regular basis. 

Chris Cornell singing a song can make any song good. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Here's some factoids from the September "Harper's Index":

• Minimum number of police killings since 2010 in which restrained victims told officers they couldn't breathe: 32
• Number of those incidents that resulted in criminal charges against the officers: 5
• Number of those cases in which charges were not eventually dropped: 2
• Average number of times per day that Donald Trump tweeted in 2017: 7
• In 2020: 32
• Percentage of Americans who want Trump to tweet more frequently: 3

And here's some tidbits from Harper's "Findings" from that same issue:

• "The depression-prone are less attracted to the political right."
• "The presence of a professional sports team increases a city's seasonal flu deaths."
• "Recent toilet-paper hoarding was more prevalent among Americans than Europeans and more prevalent among the old than the young."

The Premier League had a trio of upsets on Sunday. One was mild. The other two were surprising. My Spurs whipped Manchester United 6 to 1 at Son and Kane both had a couple of goals, and the Frenchmen Aurier and Ndombele had a goal each. West Ham beat Leicester City early on Sunday, and Aston Villa demolished Liverpool 7 to 2 later in the day.

I know it's early in the season, but Everton sits atop the table, and Aston Villa is second. 

Sunday Hangover: Texas A&M

Most people will see the lopsided score and assume that Alabama dominated the Aggies. They did, but they did so primarily through the air and via big plays. 

Mac Jones again was smooth as hell because he was protected and he threw the deep ball exceptionally well. 

I have concerns still. 

The Tide is not running the ball well. The offensive line has been strong in pass protection, but I want to see more success in the ground game. For example, the Aggies outrushed the Crimson Tide in a blowout. That's just plain weird. 

In addition, when Alabama is a national championship level team, they stop the run. They did yesterday afternoon to a certain extent, but the defense needs to improve against the run, and the busted coverages are a major concern. 

But on to positives...

It looks like we found a third receiver in John Metchie. With the defense fixating on Waddle and Smitty, he shone yesterday. I know on the one long TD with blew past a cornerback when he was playing the Z receiver. I can't remember where he was slotted on the second long TD. 

Next up is a journey to Oxford to take on the Rebels, who are now led by Lane Kiffin.  

Random Notes from a Crank

The drama of the summer transfer window has been interesting for Tottenham Hotspur. I didn't know there was so much hubbub about transfers until I started following the Premier League. The Spurs have been active in signing a number of players: Hojbjerg, Hart, Doherty, Reguilon, Bale, and now finally a striker in Vinicius. 

Now it's just a matter of days before Rose gets sold and Foyth and Sessengon are put out on loan. 

Moscow Don got Covid-19. Even though he's known for being a germaphobe, it's no surprise he got it. Apparently, they did debate prep without masks. I guess thoughts and prayers are in order to that douche bag. Still, what a bunch of clowns. 

The debate commission has plans to make the next two debates more orderly. The only move that will help is giving the moderator the power to mute the tRump's microphone when Biden is being asked a question or when Biden is talking. 

The article, "How the Virus Won" or "How the Pandemic Defeated America," in the The Atlantic is essential reading for when the next pandemic hits. It's not a matter of if, but it's a matter of when. 

Music Friday: "Inner City Blues"

This is one of the best covers I've heard in a long while. Living Colour continues to put out great music.