The books I have finished recently...
Brave New World: Yes, it was about time I got around to reading this.
Skipping Toward Gomorrah: loved every word, and agree with it all.
Can't Buy My Love: scathing indictment of our consumerist culture.
A Long Way Gone: first person recounting of a child soldier of Sierra Leone.
The Truth (With Jokes): current events. And good jokes.
The Guy Not Taken: a bit boring and mundane compared to the review excerpts.
Where the Girls Are---Growing up female with the mass media
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Garden of Mine: End of an Era
The Cliff Notes version: Everything but the mint died.
The longer version: It started out like most other gardening
years of the recent past. We have raised beds and a compost
tumbler so the soil is rich and easy to work with. I planned
for a big salad garden and a not so intense tomato-pepper-cuke
garden for later on.
Everything got planted in on time and well. Then the weirdness
began:
the spinach never ever even sprouted, in spite of two different
plantings, two different types;
the basil never ever even sprouted, in spite of the fact that
for years and years running, it's been the best crop in the
yard;
it hardly ever rained this season, and I hardly ever watered
to compensate. And now, only the mint remains. Perhaps I will
turn it into my science experiment. Hypothesis: plants need
steady water above and beyond what is available to them in the
water table during a very dry season.
Also, I was busy with baseball, CD wrap-up in the studio, a
beach trip here and there, and lite entertaining. I let the
gardening tasks fall right off my to-do list. But I've never
done that before. I find myself trying to figure out if I should
tear it all up and put grass seed down in its place, or only
a major fraction of it. Or better yet, replace it with an
in-ground fiberglass pool. Or, perhaps more easily accepted by the rest of
the family, a batting cage.
In either case, I think that redwood colored swingset in the
middle of the back yard will also have to go. The child was
on that less than his mom was in the garden. Hard to imagine
the yard without those things, but I'm sure we'll find other things
to fill the space with.
The longer version: It started out like most other gardening
years of the recent past. We have raised beds and a compost
tumbler so the soil is rich and easy to work with. I planned
for a big salad garden and a not so intense tomato-pepper-cuke
garden for later on.
Everything got planted in on time and well. Then the weirdness
began:
the spinach never ever even sprouted, in spite of two different
plantings, two different types;
the basil never ever even sprouted, in spite of the fact that
for years and years running, it's been the best crop in the
yard;
it hardly ever rained this season, and I hardly ever watered
to compensate. And now, only the mint remains. Perhaps I will
turn it into my science experiment. Hypothesis: plants need
steady water above and beyond what is available to them in the
water table during a very dry season.
Also, I was busy with baseball, CD wrap-up in the studio, a
beach trip here and there, and lite entertaining. I let the
gardening tasks fall right off my to-do list. But I've never
done that before. I find myself trying to figure out if I should
tear it all up and put grass seed down in its place, or only
a major fraction of it. Or better yet, replace it with an
in-ground fiberglass pool. Or, perhaps more easily accepted by the rest of
the family, a batting cage.
In either case, I think that redwood colored swingset in the
middle of the back yard will also have to go. The child was
on that less than his mom was in the garden. Hard to imagine
the yard without those things, but I'm sure we'll find other things
to fill the space with.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Cooking with Alcohol: Soundside Swiss Sunset Fondue
I enjoy recipes that are enhanced with alcohol. This
past week, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina with
our friends, we had a request from one of the boys for
fondue night. This child has requested fondue night on
each of our last seven beach vacations. And since fondue
requires alcohol, I an only too happy to oblige him.
Only problem: in the outer banks, you must buy specialty
alcohols like, for example, KirshWasser---the required
element for swiss cheese fondue---only at ABC stores. Which
are few and far between in our soundfront dwelling.
We had to improvise.
What we did have: Rum. And maraschino cherries in syrup.
What we did with what we had: Improvise.
Here is the wonderfully tasty result, that even my picky
eater boy gave a taste. It will have a light pink hue due
to the cherry syrup. Think of the sun setting on the sound
when you see the pink.
Swiss Cheese Fondue with Cherry Rum
1/2 pound run-of-the-mill Swiss cheese
1/2 pound Gruyere cheese (required. Get this at Avon Wine and Spirits)
2 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp rum
1 tbsp syrup from maraschino cherries
2 cups cheap chardonnay
1 clove garlic
A loaf or two of crusty, stale french bread
(staleness can be hastened by cubing and placing in a warm oven)
a fondue pot (preferred) or a regular saucepan (bit of a pain)
Cube the bread into 1-inch cubes or smaller.
Cube the cheeses into 1-cm cubes or a bit smaller.
Mix together the rum, cherry syrup and the cornstarch. Set aside
and let meld while you prepare the fondue.
Peel skin off garlic clove. Rub the inside of the fondue pot with
the garlic clove, crushing it a little as you go.
Put two cups of wine in the fondue pot and start it simmering.
Finely chop the garlic, and add it to the wine.
When it is just about to boil, add 1/3 of the cheese cubes.
Maintain this temperature carefully; don't let the wine really boil.
Stir til nearly very well mixed.
Add a second 1/3 of the cheese cubes and stir again until nearly
well mixed.
Add the last 1/3 of the cheese cubes and again stir til nearly
well mixed.
At this point, and while stirring continuously, slowly add the rum-
cherry-cornstarch mixture, and continue to stir, adjusting heat if
necessary, until the fondue has reached a uniform consistency. At this
point it is ready for taste testing.
The taste tester should skewer a bread cube, dunk into the fondue mixture
and see if it is perfect. If it is "not", she should repeat the process. Keep
taste testing it until it is perfect. There is very little you can do at
this point to adjust it. It *will* be perfect, or nearly so. And in a moment,
the rest of your party will devour it. So keep taste testing it while you can,
and tell the folks "yup. It's almost perfect. Just another second or so..."
Serve and watch the feeding frenzy in amazement.
Next time: Chocolate fondue. With, guess what?!, rum!
past week, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina with
our friends, we had a request from one of the boys for
fondue night. This child has requested fondue night on
each of our last seven beach vacations. And since fondue
requires alcohol, I an only too happy to oblige him.
Only problem: in the outer banks, you must buy specialty
alcohols like, for example, KirshWasser---the required
element for swiss cheese fondue---only at ABC stores. Which
are few and far between in our soundfront dwelling.
We had to improvise.
What we did have: Rum. And maraschino cherries in syrup.
What we did with what we had: Improvise.
Here is the wonderfully tasty result, that even my picky
eater boy gave a taste. It will have a light pink hue due
to the cherry syrup. Think of the sun setting on the sound
when you see the pink.
Swiss Cheese Fondue with Cherry Rum
1/2 pound run-of-the-mill Swiss cheese
1/2 pound Gruyere cheese (required. Get this at Avon Wine and Spirits)
2 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp rum
1 tbsp syrup from maraschino cherries
2 cups cheap chardonnay
1 clove garlic
A loaf or two of crusty, stale french bread
(staleness can be hastened by cubing and placing in a warm oven)
a fondue pot (preferred) or a regular saucepan (bit of a pain)
Cube the bread into 1-inch cubes or smaller.
Cube the cheeses into 1-cm cubes or a bit smaller.
Mix together the rum, cherry syrup and the cornstarch. Set aside
and let meld while you prepare the fondue.
Peel skin off garlic clove. Rub the inside of the fondue pot with
the garlic clove, crushing it a little as you go.
Put two cups of wine in the fondue pot and start it simmering.
Finely chop the garlic, and add it to the wine.
When it is just about to boil, add 1/3 of the cheese cubes.
Maintain this temperature carefully; don't let the wine really boil.
Stir til nearly very well mixed.
Add a second 1/3 of the cheese cubes and stir again until nearly
well mixed.
Add the last 1/3 of the cheese cubes and again stir til nearly
well mixed.
At this point, and while stirring continuously, slowly add the rum-
cherry-cornstarch mixture, and continue to stir, adjusting heat if
necessary, until the fondue has reached a uniform consistency. At this
point it is ready for taste testing.
The taste tester should skewer a bread cube, dunk into the fondue mixture
and see if it is perfect. If it is "not", she should repeat the process. Keep
taste testing it until it is perfect. There is very little you can do at
this point to adjust it. It *will* be perfect, or nearly so. And in a moment,
the rest of your party will devour it. So keep taste testing it while you can,
and tell the folks "yup. It's almost perfect. Just another second or so..."
Serve and watch the feeding frenzy in amazement.
Next time: Chocolate fondue. With, guess what?!, rum!
Saturday, August 4, 2007
What a Doll
I love the Ladies. Barenaked Ladies to be more specific.
I'm a huge fan of their talent for not taking themselves
too seriously while writing deeply touching songs about
suicide, loss, relationships and other complications of
life. Here is my favorite BNLadie doing a great solo
performance of a straight-up well constructed song. In
his bathroom.
I'm a huge fan of their talent for not taking themselves
too seriously while writing deeply touching songs about
suicide, loss, relationships and other complications of
life. Here is my favorite BNLadie doing a great solo
performance of a straight-up well constructed song. In
his bathroom.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Hailing Frequencies Open
This weekend, my Chromie homies and I had the pleasure
of performing at the Shoreleave Star Trek convention as
the Masquerade half-time entertainment. The Masquerade
is a costume/skit contest. The half-time entertainment
keeps the room full of sci-fi fans entertained and
occupied while the judges tally their scores. Plenty
of Klngons in the running, and even a Phantom of the
Opera duo. And an amazing Jack Sparrow. They were all
winners in our book.
The guest of honor at the Conn was Nichelle Nichols,
Leuitenant Uhura from Star Trek: The Original Series.
She was gracious, warm, outspoken, chatty and beautiful.
She remembered narrating a planetarium show called Hotter
than Blue, which features our song High Energy Groove.
All the more exciting for us is that we had our Shoreleave
Special Edition of our brand new CD hot off the presses!
It's called Committed, and we still have a few copies left.
go to our Website to get one!
Phew. We're so happy the CD is done we don't quite know
what to do with ourselves. Enjoy the second half of 2007
perhaps.
of performing at the Shoreleave Star Trek convention as
the Masquerade half-time entertainment. The Masquerade
is a costume/skit contest. The half-time entertainment
keeps the room full of sci-fi fans entertained and
occupied while the judges tally their scores. Plenty
of Klngons in the running, and even a Phantom of the
Opera duo. And an amazing Jack Sparrow. They were all
winners in our book.
The guest of honor at the Conn was Nichelle Nichols,
Leuitenant Uhura from Star Trek: The Original Series.
She was gracious, warm, outspoken, chatty and beautiful.
She remembered narrating a planetarium show called Hotter
than Blue, which features our song High Energy Groove.
All the more exciting for us is that we had our Shoreleave
Special Edition of our brand new CD hot off the presses!
It's called Committed, and we still have a few copies left.
go to our Website to get one!
Phew. We're so happy the CD is done we don't quite know
what to do with ourselves. Enjoy the second half of 2007
perhaps.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
My "Trifle" Recipe
I admit it: I only have a vague idea of what a "trifle"
really is, and I am far too lazy to visit Wikipedia to
find out. I don't want to let my vague idea become marred by
reality. But I make a mean "trifle" of sorts, and it is an
easy and crowd-pleasing summer recipe. So here goes:
Go shopping for the following:
Sara Lee frozen pound cake (only store it in the fridge)
A couple cans of whipped cream
whatever kinds of FRESH berries you like (say, 2 cups)
whatever exciting alcohol is not in your possession:
(options: apricot brandy, Chambord raspberry liqueur, Grand Marnier,
you get the idea) Could be replaced by fruit juice and almond
extract if you wanna go virgin.
You probably have a big clear glass bowl or dish. Get it out.
Some of us even got "trifle dishes" along the road of life.
A few hours before dessert:
On a deep plate, mix to taste your alcohol.
Maybe 1/2 cup total? Your call.
Cut the entire pound cake into 1 centimeter-sized
little cubes. Then toss them onto the deep plate
so they become alcohol-infused.
When the cubes are moist, but still fairly solid, transfer
to a bowl and add enough whipped cream so that they kind of
stick together.
Meanwhile, slice your berries into fairly small pieces. In
a separate bowl, mix sliced berries with similar combination of
alcohol (say, 1/4 cup booze, your call). Let that meld a bit.
You can mash any blackberries or raspberries for more effect.
Now, in the clear glass bowl, layer in the following order:
-the pound cake mixture
-the berries mixture
-just whipped cream
-the pound cake mixture
-the berries mixture
-just whipped cream
Repeat those layers til you run out of stuff.
Make sure the top layer is just whipped cream.
Add a few artistically placed whole berries right on top.
Serve and enjoy!
really is, and I am far too lazy to visit Wikipedia to
find out. I don't want to let my vague idea become marred by
reality. But I make a mean "trifle" of sorts, and it is an
easy and crowd-pleasing summer recipe. So here goes:
Go shopping for the following:
Sara Lee frozen pound cake (only store it in the fridge)
A couple cans of whipped cream
whatever kinds of FRESH berries you like (say, 2 cups)
whatever exciting alcohol is not in your possession:
(options: apricot brandy, Chambord raspberry liqueur, Grand Marnier,
you get the idea) Could be replaced by fruit juice and almond
extract if you wanna go virgin.
You probably have a big clear glass bowl or dish. Get it out.
Some of us even got "trifle dishes" along the road of life.
A few hours before dessert:
On a deep plate, mix to taste your alcohol.
Maybe 1/2 cup total? Your call.
Cut the entire pound cake into 1 centimeter-sized
little cubes. Then toss them onto the deep plate
so they become alcohol-infused.
When the cubes are moist, but still fairly solid, transfer
to a bowl and add enough whipped cream so that they kind of
stick together.
Meanwhile, slice your berries into fairly small pieces. In
a separate bowl, mix sliced berries with similar combination of
alcohol (say, 1/4 cup booze, your call). Let that meld a bit.
You can mash any blackberries or raspberries for more effect.
Now, in the clear glass bowl, layer in the following order:
-the pound cake mixture
-the berries mixture
-just whipped cream
-the pound cake mixture
-the berries mixture
-just whipped cream
Repeat those layers til you run out of stuff.
Make sure the top layer is just whipped cream.
Add a few artistically placed whole berries right on top.
Serve and enjoy!
Winner's Circle
The Indians, my son's little league baseball team,
won the Greenbelt World Series last night, taking
the first two games (in the best-of-three series)!
And the boy got his first legitimate hit, which
scored the last run of their season. We are all over
the moon delighted. What an amazing way to end your
first year ever in an organized sport, eh?
There was no big party afterward, and if I'd known
that would happen, I'd have spent an hour decluttering
the house and buying beer, wine, nachos and Gatorade
and hosted one myself. But I wasn't even that prepared,
so the season appears to have ended with a whimper, as
one parent after another slowly gathered their brood,
said goodbye as if it were just another game night,
and drove out of the parking lot of 7 Southway court.
I hear there's an awards banquet in September. Maybe
that'll give me enough time to organize a post-banquet
get together on our deck and in our basement. Maybe we'll
even splurge for a foosball table by then!
Go Greenbelt! Go Indians!!!
won the Greenbelt World Series last night, taking
the first two games (in the best-of-three series)!
And the boy got his first legitimate hit, which
scored the last run of their season. We are all over
the moon delighted. What an amazing way to end your
first year ever in an organized sport, eh?
There was no big party afterward, and if I'd known
that would happen, I'd have spent an hour decluttering
the house and buying beer, wine, nachos and Gatorade
and hosted one myself. But I wasn't even that prepared,
so the season appears to have ended with a whimper, as
one parent after another slowly gathered their brood,
said goodbye as if it were just another game night,
and drove out of the parking lot of 7 Southway court.
I hear there's an awards banquet in September. Maybe
that'll give me enough time to organize a post-banquet
get together on our deck and in our basement. Maybe we'll
even splurge for a foosball table by then!
Go Greenbelt! Go Indians!!!
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