The OS 4.0 upgrade when smoothly, the download timed out once at about 50MB, but easily restarted.  The entire process took about 40 minutes, benchmarked by a commercial free viewing of a Burger Challenge show on Food Network.  So after a couple hours of 4.0 ownership, here’s what I consider the good and the bad:

The Good:

• e-mail viewer.  Revised e-mail experience featuring improved multi-account support, consolidated inbox, and threaded e-mail views.
• New Photos application, showing off the geotagging on pictures (I’m curious if this will be supported in albums, will test with my Yellowstone pictures).  Changed copy function, moved the “action” from the bottom to the top making it a bit cleaner. 
• Updated Calendar.  The calendar looks crisper.  Events like all day OOFs now appear gray instead of blue, and make it easier to digest.  I seem to hit a snag though where dragging the calendar for a day to look across the time spectrum takes a while to load.
• Multitasking (AKA FINALLY Pandora in the background).  When I first tried it, no worky work.  Sad.  A quick update of the Pandora app in the app store and things got much better. I like the execution here, giving play control in the context of the running application without requiring a heavy handed context switch.  Pandora, you’re already a great friend of mine; I’m ready to be your lover. 
• Digital zoom.  This is a feature I have mixed feelings about.  I am happy to see it, as sometimes you know what picture you want to capture and post editing (even with free apps) doesn’t necessarily get you there.  My mixed feelings stem from how it has been implemented.  I tried multi-touch at first, which seems the most intuitive.  The actual control is a slider, which makes some degree of sense, given that one handed operation is potentially simplified.  Rotating the device doesn’t change the slider position, and it shows a heavy bias (or so it seems) to handedness, something I tend to be more sensitive to as a lefty.  I also question whether digital zoom is the right investment over being able to edit photos from the camera roll.  I don’t yet know whether the zoom model is more conducive to “send to” experiences vs. save for posterity, and I would love to see the metrics on 3rd party camera application usage (Gorilla Cam, hipstomatic, etc) vs. the built-in.
• Orientation locking.  I’m not sure about the implementation just yet, but I do like the ability to lock orientation.  The one scenario that is VERY annoying for me is reading e-mail first thing in the morning.  Rolling over and reading “sideways” has often resulted in twitchy rotation and a pretty unusable experience.  At least without moving my body, which I’m not happy to do in the morning. 

The not so good:

• Folders for apps.  While a much needed enhancement, I think the execution is a little poor.  The folder tiles look rather ugly, and don’t fit with the fit and finish for the rest of the device.  I would have preferred being able to choose a folder icon, or having a larger preview of the applications that are inside.  I expect the folders will look much better on the iPhone 4 hardware, but the 3GS just doesn’t add any crispness to the small icons.  I haven’t used iTunes yet to manage the applications, overall the hold, drag/drop model has been a little cumbersome, leaving me in a “remember where I put an application” mode vs. an organized themed set of pages.
• Truncated Folder names.  There is a ghetto ellipsis in the folder names when they are too long to display.  I would have preferred a fixed length restriction to ensure proper display, or a sliding/animated movement on the names.  Instead  “Account Management” appears as “Accou…ment”.  Dumb.  There is enough real-estate in the edit experience that the expected display name could also be shown while editing, although I think this would be likely to lead to user confusion.
• Background wallpaper.  While I’m all for personalization, and agree that this was a much sought after feature, I don’t like it.  My choice of pictures (a Bugatti Veyron) makes the screen appear cluttered and almost unreadable.  I would prefer being able to either choose to gray it out more (as is the case with the search window) or segregate my lock screen picture from my wallpaper picture.  Not on option on the device from what I can tell.  An ideal solution would be per page backgrounds, particularly if it was linked up to  a theme model where I could purchase theme packs to have my backgrounds be different and managed by a theme owner.  I’d pay for Ferrari, Bugatti, or even Porsche on my wallpaper. 
• Multi-tasking performance.  When launching the camera while Pandora is playing the device becomes fairly slow to respond, with the music playback actually stuttering.  This is going to make it difficult to snap a quick shot while in the car, a common task when I see a 3-hub-cap Toyota Corolla.  Not sure if this will persist as a problem, or is intermittent.
• Camera Roll.  The camera roll isn’t the same experience as the photos viewer.  I am not quite sure I understand why the base experience for photos is different when in the camera app vs. in the photos app.  I am hopeful that gets rectified in the future, as having a control like the e-mail/send to youtube in different spots is a nitpick annoyance. 
• Picture resize on send.  Somehow this morning I triggered a picture resize when sending an e-mail.  I’ve gone back and tried to repro it, going through the copy/paste experience from photos, share in photos, share in camera roll and copy in camera roll. 

What’s still missing?

• Bluetooth and wireless management. There are a couple of applications that require use of bluetooth or wireless.  I find that I am constantly (2-3 times per day) turning bluetooth and/or wireless off to maximize my battery life.  I’d like to be able to tailor application usage of the wireless facilities to turn-on when required, and turn-off when not.  For example, I have an A2DP adapter in my car to support bluetooth music playback.  I would like bluetooth to turn on when I am using Pandora or an iTunes application, and turn off when playback is complete (or range is exceeded for a duration, in the case of background appliations).  Likewise, with wireless, I use it primarily at home, and almost exclusively for iTunes remote playback control.  While I think end to end management in this way might be difficult, I would like to see at least an in-app option to turn on the needed wireless device, so I don’t have to bounce all the way out of the app, get to settings, and turn it on.  More importantly, bluetooth and wireless should be more closely linked on the settings screen, instead of bluetooth being buried in general.  For reference, I get about 2 hours less battery life over the day if I have bluetooth on, in use or not.
• Rights management support.  While not the mainstay of my e-mail load, I do occasionally get rights management e-mails, and they generally tend to be time sensitive as much as information sensitive.  Windows Mobile did an excellent job of supporting rights protected e-mail, some degree of parity on the iPhone would be nice.
• Privacy Controls.  While likely too much for the average user (and maybe even for me) I can’t think if privacy data like geo-tags on pictures are desirable to “trim” before sending out, or posting onto a variety of social mediums.  I don’t think turning the feature off is the answer, I like having the data for my own consumption.  I’m just not sure if it should be shared with ‘everybody’.
• Colour Coding e-mail.  I’m not sure how much this will really matter in the long run, but with the new “all inboxes” view I’d like to be able to differentiate between which account an e-mail arrived at, while browsing.  For example, in the consolidated view I’d like to have a visual queue for scanning work e-mails quickly, without having to back out to the work only view.  If I’m going to live and die in the primary experience, I should be able to be productive too.  The colour coding is very much analogous to the current calendar scheme, where different calendar providers are coded in different colour schemes to jointly show appointments in a common view.

This past weekend (June 11 – 13) I had the distinct pleasure of staying at Pebble Cove Farm on Orcas Island, WA.  Pebble Cove, and Orcas Island are completely detached from the main land, making boat or plane the most conducive means of travel.  Our choice was boat, electing to take the ferry from Anacortes to Orcas.  A shocking ~$55 later, we left the port of Anacortes on the 10:30 AM crossing.

Pebble Cove is a delightful spot, holding true to the description “Overlooking Massacre Bay on Orcas Island, the “gem” of the San Juan Islands, our south facing salt water farm offers private suites and an expansive lawn
with a walk out beach.”  We had a suite and the cottage, and “sleeps 4″ means two folks are on a hide-a-bed.  There is nothing really dividing the living room from the master bedroom in the cottage, so if you’d like some privacy reduce the sleeps 4 down to sleeps 2.  Both the cottage and the suite were very clean, modern, and featured adequate patio space for us to enjoy the great weather.  For the 6 of us, we felt like a winter stay resulting in more indoor time would have been difficult with the kitchen table seating 4 making it difficult for a full round of cards.  The large lawn area was an absolute nirvana for Kona, an 8 month old labradoodle that accompanied us.  In addition to chasing some sparrow playmates in circles, a soccer ball, tennis ball and sticks were fodder for play.  A definite dog friendly venue.

While we didn’t take advantage of the farm fresh eggs (4 laying hens and two roosters payed company to two goats and a pony) we certainly enjoyed watching them meander through the property on their morning feed runs.

A day of patio time, followed by a day of walking around Eastsound with lunch and beers overlooking the ocean made for a relaxing weekend, and a sure return destination.  If you do happen to take the row boat for a spin, as we did, learn from our mistakes and take more than a single beer. 

One note for those considering Pebble Cove: The kitchen areas in the suites are particularly small, with a “dorm” fridge in each.  Having food + beer in the fridge proved difficult, and our pre-planning came to the rescue with adequate cooler space.  While there are no ovens in the suites, Lydia and John graciously lent us their oven to bake the requisite birthday cake for one of our guests.  Breakfast was a cynch on the two burner stove top in the cottage.

Pictures from Saturday’s trip to Eastsound:

Jim, I and Bob.  Bob is a good looking man on his 60th Birthday!

Sculptures outside a storefront in Eastsound

A few from a pint.  Out on the patio at an Eastsound bar with Jim.  Drinking Immortal IPA from Elysian.  Nothing like going to the island to get a beer from a brewery that is two blocks from home

The “Labyrinth” walk.  This was painted on the grass of a church courtyard, and is meant as a walk of meditation and reflection.  I got halway through and got bored.

Not a bad picture for a point and shoot

Pretty purple flour

My new sandals and I

The low tide in Eastsound, playing host to an exploratory venue for school children and local forestry folks.  By the time we finished lunch this whole flat was under water as the tide rolled in.

Available here: http://www.smarthome.com/2458A1/MorningLinc-INSTEON-Morning-Industry-RF-Doorknob-Deadbolt-Controller/p.aspx

The MorningLinc RF Deadbolt controller

Of course, this whole thing could have been a coincidence.  We’ll know tomorrow.  At 6:37AM.  Or 6:29AM, depending on what alarm clock time zone you roll in.  Probably one of the more intersting things about the whole experience is that the fire department resides just west on the next block, so we hear the sirens quite frequently, albiet not this morning.

On a related note, the first four tomato plants are doing, and how the 4 on the bedroom side look reasonable, albeit a little stunted.  Thyme and Chives are bolting on the West deck, with the mint having gained about 2 inches.  Aphid situation is almost resolved, parsley seems the latest victim.

Bedroom (South) Tomatos #1 & #2

Bedroom (South) Tomatos #3 & #4

 Update: It turns out the alarm was not “false”.  A compressor belt came under stress, melted, and smoked.  I’ve seen these catch fire before, so a little smoke and an early get-up wasn’t such a bad outcome.

Page 88/89 brings us “caramelized sea scallops”

1 cup (5oz) kosher salt (+ more to taste)
2 cups boiling water
8 cups cold water
12 U7 sea scallops (about 1 3/4 lbs)
2 tbsp clarified butter
1/2 lemon (optional)

We used exactly 1lb of scallops, imported from Canada (yay!)

Combine the salt + boiling water, dissolving as much of the salt before adding to the cold water.  Add the scallops to the brine and soak for 10 minutes.  Pull, rinse with cold water and place single layered on a paper towel lined baking sheet.

Rinsed and pat dried scallops ready for BUTTER

From here  I made some clarified butter which was added to a pan and heated.

Julie helping me make some clarified butter (heat over low temp, scoop off milk solids)

Scallops added to the heated butter, and at 3 minutes a side we were ready to eat.  Paired up with a sea salt seasoned Kale that was lightly fried in Smoke infused Chardonnay Grape seed oil.

After the first flip

While I’ve been happy so far with the Calphalon Unison pans thus far, I wasn’t so satisfied with the carmelization and browning with this recipe.  Could be a product choice, or an employed technique, but until I get a chance to try this out on a straight up steel skillet, I’m going to hold judgment.  Without question, Unison was better here than a traditional non-stick.

Finished Product

(Julie and I were so hungry we munched on the Kale while we cooked the scallops, and plated hastily and almost unnecessarily as they were all eaten up in under 5 minutes)

Susan, McCrea’s (Sales and Marketing Manager was introduced to me (also at Cochon 555) slightly later, through Diane LaVonne.  Bob and Susan are genuinly nice folks, and spending the after party time at Earth & Ocean was a clear indicator we had to stop by for some private tastings.  Susan’s love of food, her previous presence on the 2009 Cochon 555 judging panel, and their joint production of “food friendly” wines didn’t hurt either

Julie and I attended the “June Open House” with the intention of taking advantage of some of the whites that were to be on sale.  While both of us very much enjoyed the 2008 Picpoul and the 2008 Sirocco Blanc our pocket book went where are palates typically favor, into the reds.  We ended up purchasing 2x750ml 2008 Counoise , a magnum of their 2006 Mourvedre, a magnum of the 2007 Syrah, and a 750ml bottle of the 2005 Syrah Cuvee Orleans.

The great thing about McCrea is they truly are an approachable, food friendly wine producer, and carry a unique spread of Rhone inspired varietals and production that lead to locally produced wines with unique character.

Of course, wine doesn’t reach its full potential without food, and Susan totally lived up to her reputation here.

Hummingbird Cake

Pimento Cheese

Goat Cheese (with Tomato Concasse, Basil-Spinach Pesto, Pinenuts)

Goat Cheese (with Wine-Soaked spiced prunes, onion jam, candied walnuts)

]]> http://www.engineek.com/?feed=rss2&p=314 0 http://www.engineek.com/?p=292 http://www.engineek.com/?p=292#comments Sat, 05 Jun 2010 22:28:32 +0000 Chris http://www.engineek.com/?p=292

I had the pleasure of visiting the University District Farmer’s market with Diane LaVonne, a long time market shopper, and a new friend.  I had a few specific goals in mind (aside from hanging with Diane) and charted out the market prior to the 9AM opening to make quick work once things opened right up.  One thing I REALLY like about this particular market is that it is entirely food/farmer focused, so the business is transitional with fewer “browsers” and a steady stream of buyers.  Instead of the 2+ hour tour you get at many trade supplemented markets this small, food only venue is a quick in and out with predictable results…

While there were many highlights, I hope this sufficiently summarizes the most memorable.

Estrella Family Creamery

I coincidentally ran into Connie from DeLaurenti at Susan and Bob’s (McCrea Wines) home on Sunday at one of their tasting events (More on that later).  Connie had nothing but praise for Kelli and Estrella, describing their humble beginnings with her kitchen experiments and curiosity into a world of  intentionally spoiled milk.  Diane is a long time friend of Anthony, who was at the market accompanied by Melody and a host of cow’s milk cheeses. This was the point where my day turned from a-ok to having a grin ear to ear.  In addition to Anthony’s sense of humor and bright personality I couldn’t help but find renewed character in every different cheese, a difficult thing to accomplish in succession.  I had the pleasure of trying three different “Dominoes” variants, age and ash exterior being primary defining elements.  The Weebles cheese was clearly a great choice for a simple sandwich that would promise great flavor, and  the blue cheese, garlic and goupier were equally unique and tasty.  A highlight was getting to sample the very top of the Weebles.    I walked away happy with a whole round Dominoes, the first of the three variants opting for the drier, slightly more aged choice.

Weebles, patterned after a Balkan Provolone

Golden Glen Creamery

Golden Glen boasted a number of Gouda options.  Diane educated me to never trust anybody that pronounces Gouda in the traditional G heavy Americanization, which in turn leads to a logical conclusion that I can’t be trusted.  While the Dill option was a very nice treat, I opted to pick up a still soft aged Gouda, “over 1 year old”.

Golden Glen “Old Gouda”.  There would be a picture of the actual cheese except we had company and it was gone in under 30 minutes…

Port Madison Goat Farm and Dairy

Last but not least on the cheese front is Port Madison Farms.  The fresh chevre is exactly what you expect from Chevre, defining a great benchmark in both flavor and texture.  In addition to a 4oz package of chevre I picked up “beer cheese”, mostly because I like most things that have the four letters b-e-e-r in them.  I’d share a picture of the beer cheese, only it was served to company as well, and a quickly consumed serving.  Beer was mostly used in the outer coating of the cheese, and not added during the actual production of curd and forming in the mold.

Pipitone Farms

Jerry is just a straight up nice guy.  I first knew of Jerry when Diane introduced me to his organic Shallots.  Historically, shallots are one of those things that I just don’t like.  My main issue is that they are a little sharp and they stick to my palate after even a brief encounter for 20 minutes or more.  Most notable was at a scotch tasting hosted by Morton’s of Seattle, a bite of a shallot carrying appetizer over powered Scotch for over 30 minutes.  Anyways, Jerry produces a fantastic Shallot that is actually fully enjoyable, and marks all the great characteristics that warrant the shallots usage as a base in so many culinary productions.  I hope to make the short list for his limited 2010 production, a relationship I’ll have to foster through September when he expects to harvest.  The fridge now has his hot pepper and onion garlic spreads, and the pantry is home to some of his dried chili peppers.  Next trip I will look to pick up some of his delicious apricot preserves.

Taylor Shellfish

I first got to sample the scallops from Taylor at the Sustainable Sushi class hosted by Diane at Diane’s market kitchen, taught by Hajime Sato (www.sushiwhore.com).  It was my first time eating scallops raw, and despite my nervousness it was a taste sensation.  The pound that made it home with me will be done a la Thomas Keller, following his “Ad Hoc at Home” recipe for caramelized scallops.  Yummy.

Skagit River Ranch

Diane introduced me to Eiko and Nicole.  I got to taste their sausage patties first hand, a great addition to the morning and a great grill item if you need an excuse to bbq first thing in the morning.  While I didn’t pickup and of their meet products (I’m growing increasingly loyal to Russ at Rain Shadow meats) I was very happy to meet Eiko and look forward to getting out to their ranch in the future.

Other highlights…

In addition to the clear victory with cheese selections, fresh peas, pea vines (first time I’ve had them), two varieties of Kale, shallots and fresh dill made it into my backpack.

]]> http://www.engineek.com/?feed=rss2&p=292 0 http://www.engineek.com/?p=364 http://www.engineek.com/?p=364#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 01:38:29 +0000 Chris http://www.engineek.com/?p=364 I’ve long been a fan of Jamie Oliver, and it’s no secret I have most of his cookbooks and pull from his published arsenal on a regular.  One of my favorite quick doughs to work with comes from his “jamie’s italy” book (page 58/59), available online here.  The dough is very easy to work with, and benefits from a bit of resting time before rolling or stretching.  The frying can be done in a shallower pan, and oil temperature is the key to having great results.  I take the fried shell and put on a cookie rack over a cookie sheet to cool slightly before dressing with sauce and toppings.

The “sprout pizza” was born after a night with Karen and Julie where table crackers were dressed with Edamame Hummus and topped with home grown sprouts.  Instead of small batch crackers, we went with a larger (10″) fried shell dressed with hummus and sprouts.  Cutting up like a pizza with a cutter left us with a great ~healthy appetizer enjoyed by all.

Flatbread dressed with plain jane Hummus and Sprouts

Pizza Fritta with a variety of toppings

A nice overview of the event, and pictures from the judging room resides here: http://gastrolust.com/2010/05/cochon-555-a-view-from-the-judging-room/

Diane, Ryan, Julie and I spent the 3:30-5PM time as VIPs, networking in the lounge adorned by Long Shadows Wineries, Cordon Selections (Which included Dusted Valley), Elk Cove, and Syncline Winery.  A glorious cheese spread was flanked by breads from Macrina.  Our VIP time ended with a hand made hot dog, although I’m not sure who gets credit for that in the end.  5-8ish was in the main room at Bell Harbor (Pier 66) and we ventured for a night cap at Earth and Ocean for the after party.

In addition to the various chefs at the event I was happy to meet Alex Corcoran (Publisher, Edible Seattle), “Viv” (Seattle Bon Vivant, Blogger), Rebecca Early (Wholesale Sales Manager, Macrina) and several others in the food circles of Seattle.

The funny thing about meeting Rebecca was that I had a dream a few nights earlier (after eating a whole Macrina baquette purchased at Calf & Kid) that I was gifted some of their bread starter.  Ok, so it was a fantasy, not just a dream.  Rebecca told me the story of how Leslie started with champagne grapes and a little flour, resulting in a now 17 year old bread starter that is the heart and soul of Macrina products.  So went the conversation between Rebecca and I.

Matt’s at the Market

In my books, Matt’s at the Market was the best all-round.  EVERYTHING they did was top notch and super tasty.  A starting pulled pork done in banana leaves, anato seed (commonly used to color cheddar cheese) was served along roasted peppers on a from scratch tostada.  This first bite was followed up by a pork sandwich with their hot sauce, a “soup” with lard popped popcorn adorned with truffle salt.  Finished off with mole ice cream (with a touch of cayenne) served on cinnamon chicharrones..  Chet (Chester Gerl) and the staff pulled out all stops, and had the sweaty brows to prove it.

While the voting was aimed at the best “single item”, I had to stick with Matt’s for my vote, given I was part of their entourage as much as a fan of every bite.

Earth and Ocean

Earth and Ocean was the first spread inside the main tasting area.  Adam Stevenson is a super nice guy, and his restaurant doesn’t necessarily get all the recognition is deserves being a little hidden inside the W in Seattle.  In addition to the take home “Oinx Bar” I really enjoyed their take on the bacon BLT and the bacon-tini.

Julie ready to enjoy a BLT from Earth and Ocean

Chow Foods

Anthony Hubbard was the chef for Chow Foods, and when I caught up with him later in the night all he could say was “man, I should have brought more food”.  Their placement at the end of the circuit meant I didn’t get to sample much of their food, except for the exception little chocolate tart that was dressed with a lone cinnamon heart.

Lark

John Sundstrom from Lark prepared what I considered the best single item of the event.  They also had some nice, easy to find signage so it was a little easier to find out what you were about to eat.  The Pork Belly Tarte Tartin with a ginger, vanilla, habanero reduction topped with little chunks of pineapple had me going back for seconds.  And thirds.  And fourths.  Now I know why they ran out, and why I didn’t get to Chow.

Brasa

Great showing for Brasa.  I couldn’t quite bring myself to try the head cheese, but the mini-”burger”, posole verde, sandwich, sausage and ice cream were all fantastic.  Interestingly I don’t think the head cheese was part of the overall plate presented to judges.

4505 Meats

Ryan Farr made the trip up from San Francisco to give a whole pig butchery demonstration, after which they raffled off each of the cuts.  The demonstration was very enlightening, seeing two different techniques for each half of the pig (short ribs on one side, french style on the other).  Bringing in a hatchet, hacksaw, and variety of knives made the demo “primitive”, but loaded with technique and art.

About 1/2 way through working on the pig.  He’s currently stuffing the head skin with diced shoulder, and will tie up for a full on head roast

Ryan and Diane each won a big slab o’ pork too

The Painted Hills bone-in Ribeye comes courtesy of Russ from Rain Shadow Meats, a highlight for me in the newly opened Melrose Project in Seattle.

A quick sear before putting into pre-heated oven, nice browning, not a common output for non-stick

The Unison line has a nice benefit of being oven safe, uncharacteristic of non-stick

Fresh out of the oven, alongside fried-rice production

Mushrooms with a  Lime infused Riesling Grape Seed Oil

Plated with some fried rice, broc/cauli, ‘shrooms and dressed with Rogue Creamery Blue Cheese

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