The Pocket Notebook

Yeasts good for apples

2012-01-12T08:27:00.001-05:00

Dc47
Ec1118
V116
To add more later

Weihensteohaner Korbinian Doppelbock

2011-12-27T19:00:00.001-05:00

Dark amber in appearance, thin, lacy head. Moderately sweet nose- I've smelled it before but don't know the proper term- is it malty?

Almost no bitterness. Hints of rotated light cherry, with the same sweet character in the front. Slightly heavy mouth feel at first, but it dissipates quickly after swallowing.

Not bad, good, but not my style, I think.

Stillwater Artisanal American Farmhouse Ale

2011-12-26T15:29:00.001-05:00

Opened to a bit of foaming, but only lost a drop or two. Moderately hazy medium brown, with a touch of amber in its depths.

Belgian yeast notes on the nose, with a hint of spice. Medium roast flavor, very well balanced. Carbonation, followed by roasty notes, finished with a crisp and lingering bitterness. Notes of alcohol at the very end (not bad for 7.2%).

Great twist on a brown ale.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T09:40:00.001-05:00

I keep hearing the strangest sounds coming from under the tree...

Weihenstephaner Vitus

2011-12-03T14:14:00.001-05:00

Very good beer. A little ester-y, suspended yeast, creamy head, very good flavor.

iHelp Origami

2011-11-19T17:45:00.001-05:00

Worried about every fold being as crisp as the last? iHelp quality control kittens will be there to make sure that only the finest models make it off of your work table. Give them a try and put your mind at ease with iHelp Origami.

Wychwood King Goblin special reserve

2011-11-06T19:51:00.001-05:00

Malty bitter balance. Britishy yeast, but light. Good lingering bitterness on the back of the tongue that's wiped away each time you take a new sip.

Warms up nicely.

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Weyerbacher double Simcoe IPA

2011-11-06T17:49:00.001-05:00

Unfiltered. Fine golden head. Unique green hoppy scent. Taste is the same, folowed by nice bitter hit that lingers refreshingly.

Got better by the end of the bottle.

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Name this

2011-11-05T17:43:00.001-05:00

Malty, little sweet, weirdish aftertaste.

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Post Secret live at SCSU

2011-11-04T18:57:00.001-05:00

And this is what we're doing tonight. I suppose we could have had Banik's book autographed if only we'd remembered to bring it.

Weltenburger Hefe-Weibier Hell

2011-11-02T19:44:00.001-05:00

Cidery in nose and flavor. Unfiltered, not a lot of body but lasting pleasant flavor.

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Protecting the rear

2011-10-19T12:32:00.001-05:00

And here is Shade making sure nobody sneaks up behind us in the car.

The very picture of modesty

2011-10-19T12:29:00.001-05:00

I was shocked and dismayed to realize that we've not posted kitten photos in almost two years, so here is Chewbacca demonstrating how flexible he can be.

MIT Glass Lab Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-01T21:00:00.001-05:00

We finally went this year. It was pretty awesome, as evidenced by our aquisitions.

Heirloom tomatoes

2011-09-05T18:29:00.001-05:00

The first batch of larger tomatoes, clockwise from upper left:
Snowball
Ealiana
Caspian
Carmello
Blondkopfchen
Stupice
Hazel Mae
Black Prince

Tomatoes!

2011-08-06T14:48:00.001-05:00

Technically we've had a small Chocolate Stripe and an unfortunate incident that's about to become a fried green tomato, but I think this is the first real harvest. From left to right these cherry tomatoes are: Gardener's Delight, Blondkopfchen, and something incorrectly labeled as Marvel Stripe that may actually be Stupice. There are more green on the vine and lots of flowers, so we look forward to trying everything else in the coming months.

Beer!

2011-08-02T20:53:00.002-05:00

Schneider Weiss Clone
OG 1.073
FG 1.015

Arrogant Bastard Clone
OG 1.120
FG 1.022

Fuller's ESB
OG 1.066
FG 1.016

Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
OG 1.091
Racking: 1.031
FG

Tapas

2011-06-11T09:53:00.001-05:00

Smushed, steamed red potatoes, oil & parmesian, toast, top with baked-potato toppings

Girl Scout Cookie Recipes

2011-02-02T21:50:00.001-05:00

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/voracious/2011/01/make_girl_scout_cookies_at_home.php

So, who wants to try making some girl scout cookies?

Wings!

2010-11-28T21:31:00.001-05:00

So. I like wings. Chicken wings, specifically. There are a couple of places that are supposed to have good reviews, according to the internets; and places I don't want to forget.

1. Archie Moore's Bar & Restaurant 15 Factory Lane, Milford, CT 06460
2. Side Street Grille 15 Dickerman Street, Hamden, CT 06518-2301

That is all

Walnut Beach Creamery

2010-09-17T21:54:00.003-05:00

So I was reading an article and learned that Walnut Beach Creamery is one of the top 10 ice cream shops in CT. I'm not sure what that ranking is based on, but I would like to go there to find out.

Chex Mix Recipes

2010-09-17T21:15:00.003-05:00

While on the drive to Vermont a while back we got to talking about Chex mix, and I decided to search the interweb for recipes. Why make it at home when I can buy it at the grocery store? Because it's better. I remember my mom making it when I was a kid, and it's best when fresh. You can also customize the seasonings and snacking goods. If you take a look at the recipes on the Chex website you'll find upwards of 50 variations on the original mix. As for the add-ins, Banik can add bagel chips to his, and I can have peanuts in mine. I hadn't heard of this until about 15 minutes ago, but apparently Cheerios are also a common addition we'll have to try.

So on the Chex website the (half recipe, interestingly enough) "Original Chex Party Mix" says:

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 cups Corn Chex® cereal
1 1/2 cups Rice Chex® cereal
1 1/2 cups Wheat Chex® cereal
1/2 cup mixed nuts
1/2 cup bite-size pretzels
1/2 cup garlic-flavor bite-size bagel chips
or regular-size bagel chips, broken into 1-inch pieces

Heat oven to 250°F. In large bowl, mix cereals, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips; set aside. In ungreased 13x9-inch pan, melt butter in oven. Stir in seasonings. Gradually stir in cereal mixture until evenly coated. Bake 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool, about 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.

BUT I know that bagel chips weren't in any Chex mix I had as a kid, and I'm pretty sure they were a rather recent addition. Something there is wonky.

So I found a "Real Original Chex Party Mix" based on the recipe off of a 1950s Chex box that says:

1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1-1/4 teaspoons seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
3 cups Wheat Chex square cereal
2 cups Rice Chex square cereal
1-1/2 cups peanuts
1-1/2 cups small pretzel rods

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Melt butter in a shallow pan. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, and garlic salt (not garlic powder). Add Wheat Chex, Rice Chex, nuts (peanuts, pecans or cashews), and pretzel rods. Mix until all pieces are coated with the butter mixture. Place on a shallow baking pan with sides. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

AND THEN I looked at the comments for that recipe and learned that allegedly "Corn chex didn't come out until 1958. The 1952 recipe was wheat and rice chex, worcestershire, butter, nuts, salt and garlic salt. Seasoned salt and corn chex were added in the late 1950s."

So really, I'm not sure if anyone has the original recipe, but these are a good starting point. Now all I need is a real oven in which to try them.

Coffee An' Donut Shop

2010-09-17T19:49:00.003-05:00

I have to thank one of my coworkers for tipping me off about this place. Apparently Coffee An' Donut Shop is so spectacular that its reputation preceeds it, and after a couple visits I can kind of see why. Amusingly enough, they're old-fashioned and don't seem to have a website, so they must have enough confidence in their preparations to rely on word-of-mouth and on earning features in newspapers and on local attraction websites.

After we talked about it at work I stopped in and got the three basic types of donuts to try (glazed, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar), which I then took back to work to cut into quarters and pass around to my favourite tasters. (They were good enough that we got a dozen of each for an office birthday party the next week.) The glazed donuts are from the school of the chewier, doughier type of donut, while the sugared ones are both cake donuts. They also have chocolate cake donuts with plain glaze and several other special donuts that I haven't tried yet.

They aren't Krumpe's, but they're pretty damn good. Certainly among the best that we've tried up here.

No knead bread

2010-09-06T09:32:00.000-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=no-knead%20bread&st=cse

No-Knead bread recipe I want to try one day.

Saurkraut - Day 0

2010-07-14T21:27:00.004-05:00

The inaugural run of saurkraut has been started. Once we got through all the sanitizing procedures it was even kind of fun.

Because we can't do anything new at a reasonable scale we began with 4 heads of cabbage totaling 17.52 pounds, and after removing the outer leaves and core it was probably down 2 or 3 pounds. This was shredded (thank goodness for salad shooters) and liberally mixed with kosher salt, about 13-15 tablespoons we think.
We didn't think to photograph the cabbage heads at the beginning, but here's everything shredded and salted and packed into the crock. It takes up less space than we expected, but honestly it's still more than we know what to do with. Planning ahead ftw.
And here is Shade beside the 6 gallon-ish crock for scale. This was before he decided that cabbage was not made of pork or cheese and therefore beneath his notice.

The cabbage is now weighted down with a plate and a gallon ziplock containing salt water; by tomorrow night it should have released enough water to submerge itself in brine. The crock has been lidded and placed under Banik's desk where the AC register will keep it relatively cool during the pickling process.

My hands smell like cabbage and bleach, and I think it's time for bed.

SaurKraut

2010-07-04T12:37:00.007-05:00

The Real Stuff

Well, this weekend, while on the way to the Round-Hill Highland Games, we stopped at a yard sale. At this yard sale we found three items.

Item the First: A silver tea box with a lion engraved on it. enLethe liked this a lot, so we got it. What will we use it for? Probably put Splenda packets out in the open- they'll look a lot nicer.

Item the Second: A Carnival glass bowl. It's a smokey, silvery glass, with a nice iridescent sheen in blues, purples, and reds. It has a rose motiff, and 3 legs. It's nice. I think the patterns is called, "Imperial Open Rose."

Item the Third: An earthenware crock. It must be at least 5 gallons, with a lid. A small chip or two hidden on the underside of the lid. Great condition, otherwise.

So, the plan? Take the 4 giant heads of cabbage we just happen to have and make some home made, real, live saurkraut.

Let's see if it'll be tasty!

Here are three possible source-recipes:

Alton Brown
Wild Fermentation
Random

pancakes

2010-07-04T12:37:00.005-05:00

Every year we go through the agonizing cycle of "What to get Kris for Xmas." I don't particularly want anything, I say not to get my anything or to make a donation somewhere, and then I get things that I have to figure out how to give away.

Now, if you can figure out what makes that stormtrooper pancake, however, that would be a good gift. I'd keep it forever. Not that Darth Vader pancake, mind you; that one is ugly and only there for the novelty of it. Just the stormtrooper one. Please.

New Haven Food carts!

2010-05-04T09:58:00.002-05:00

http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/27/rolling-with-new-haven-food-carts/#axzz0myJOFf7o

Well

2010-04-02T05:29:00.000-05:00

We're home owners now, for very loose definitions of 'owners.' We have a house, with a deed with our names on it, and we have the debt to go with it. So that's what makes us homeowners, right?

We should be moving in a couple of weeks- after the contracts finish a few things that are best completed before we actually get there.

Huzzah.

so we needed somewhere to put pictures...

2010-03-09T18:54:00.002-05:00

This is from the Kitchen & Bath Ideas website, which is a product of Better Homes & Gardens.
I like it because it's a nice way to use a very shallow space for display and/or storage.

Star Wars in Concert : Wookiee Concept Art

2009-12-30T11:11:00.004-05:00

There were many pieces of concept art, and despite taking pictures of all of them I'm sad to say that the glare off of the plexiglass resulted in many of the photos being less than clearly understandable. These, however, are pretty good. All three are concept art drawings of the Wookies and Wookiee Homeworld drawn for SW3.

never walk into a Polish deli and just ask for Kielbasa

2009-12-19T17:22:00.006-05:00

Despite what most American grocery stores would lead us to believe, there is apparently more than one kind of kielbasa. We've sampled several kinds from the aptly named "Polish Delicatessen" a few minutes away from us, and I have to say that they're all pretty good. Since we can never remember which is which however, a need has developed to make a list.

Swojska
Banik's favourite thus far. It's well balanced and spiced, smokey, and has a good snap.

Mielon
A lighter kielbasa, not very smokey but with a good snap and texture.

Domestic
Similar to the Mielon, but with garlic and more salt.

Weselna
Banik's second favourite thus far. It's a smokey kielbasa with a large grain and moderate density.

Lesna
This is a hard, double-smoked kielbasa with a peppery flavour. It's not good for eating on a bun, but it's great to just eat alone or with cheese and such.

Which is my favourite? I think they're all good in different ways.

Star Wars in Concert : Helmets

2009-12-13T16:41:00.002-05:00

iHelp™ towel service

2009-12-01T22:40:00.004-05:00

Are you tired of getting out of the shower and grabbing a cold towel? Well those days are over thanks to the iHelp™ towel service. Just place your towel on the shelf, and it'll be warmed by a kitten in no time at all!
This Chewbacca model prefers to warm towels that belong to Banik and have been placed on the top bathroom shelf. Just look at him hard at work.

Just don't expect to use the towel ever again.

Star Wars in Concert : Ewoks

2009-11-29T10:41:00.002-05:00

Now look at the Ewok costumes and tell me- what's weird about this picture?
Why yes, these Ewoks are as tall as I am (shut Up- I'm 5'-6") which is funny because Ewoks are supposed to be about 3 ft. tall and a lot of the Ewoks were played by dwarves or children. I'm curious about how this discrepancy in size was masked in the film.

Star Wars in Concert : C-3PO

2009-11-28T22:17:00.003-05:00

The scrim of the Ewok village on Endor is probably not original because people could touch it, but the C-3PO costume is supposed to be original. It was indescribably awesome to be, like, 2 or 3 feet away from these legendary props.

Did I mention that Anthony Daniels narrated the show? Live? He obviously didn't wear the costume, but he did have some quotes in there.
Why isn't this titled "Droids," you ask? Will R2-D2 have his own entry? No. Because they didn't bring R2-D2. >.<

... I am not bitter.

Star Wars in Concert

2009-11-22T19:22:00.007-05:00

Several weeks ago we had recorded an episode of New Yankee Workshop, but when we went to watch it last Saturday there was just a PBS telethon. This telethon just happened to be showing the making of Star Wars in Concert as they attempted to bribe supporters with tickets. To put it mildly, I was intrigued. We were looking at the website immediately after, and I got tickets on Tuesday.

We went yesterday. It was pretty epic.

I'm sorry to say I was so excited that I forgot to take pictures at the beginning when they had Star Wars up on the screen. If I had, it would have looked something like this but from the right a little more and without the borders. Did I mention that they have a really awesome website? They do.

I got my act together at the beginning of the second half, but I didn't really want to be distracted by taking pictures during the show.

The other awesome thing- besides the show itself- was the touring exhibit of costumes and props. We took a couple hundred pictures, so expect them to start turning up in the near future.

foodsheds?

2009-11-10T23:04:00.002-05:00

Good Food Nation, 2009 Nov. 10

This MITnews article is an interesting piece for anyone interested in the relationship between where their food comes from, what they eat, and how much they weigh.

"Obesity is widespread due to our national-scale system of food production and distribution, which surrounds children — especially lower-income children — with high-calorie products. “The problem lies not just in a child, but the whole environment around a child,” says Albright. “To end obesity, we need to produce healthier, more accessible, more affordable food.” As Albright notes, 90 percent of American food is processed — according to the United States Department of Agriculture — meaning it has been mixed with ingredients, often acting as preservatives, that can make food fattening."

"Only 1 to 2 percent of all food consumed in the United States today is locally produced." And yet "during World War Two, small “victory gardens” produced more than 40 percent of America’s fruits and vegetables." Quite an interesting pair of statistics.

Really, none of this is a surprise to me. Local produce in CT is priced for people who can afford nannies- local organic is for people with butlers and maids. Personally I'm looking forward to having a garden so that I can affordably grow the things like heirloom tomatoes and more pumpkins than I can shake a stick at. I'm also allergic to grass which means I won't really miss the lawn.

Jack-o-Lanten Spectacular, Part XXXI

2009-10-31T20:27:00.002-05:00

Jack-o-Lanten Spectacular, Part XXX

2009-10-31T17:04:00.001-05:00

Jack-o-Lanten Spectacular, Part IXXX

2009-10-31T17:02:00.001-05:00

Jack-o-Lanten Spectacular, Part XXVIII

2009-10-30T07:20:00.002-05:00

Jack-o-Lanten Spectacular, Part XXVII

2009-10-30T07:16:00.001-05:00

and now, some kittens

2009-10-26T20:22:00.000-05:00

Jack-o-Lanten Spectacular, Part XXV-XXVI

2009-10-26T07:09:00.001-05:00

Albannach

2009-10-25T09:45:00.004-05:00

We saw Albannach at the Maryland Rennaisance Fair last weekend. They were pretty awesome. Go forth and listen.

Jack-o-Lanten Spectacular, Part XXIV

2009-10-24T16:25:00.003-05:00

Jack-o-Lanten Spectacular, Part XXI-XXIII

2009-10-24T15:23:00.001-05:00

Jack-o-Lanten Spectacular, Part IXX-XX

2009-10-23T23:09:00.001-05:00

Jack-o-Lanten Spectacular, Part XVI-XVIII

2009-10-23T07:22:00.001-05:00

clearly they'd go after the wise men first

2009-10-15T23:52:00.003-05:00

Stores that start selling x-mas stuff in September have little
"career baby Jesuses" for Labor Day.

Jack-o-Lanten Spectacular, Part XV

2009-10-15T06:38:00.000-05:00

Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular, Part XII-XIV

2009-10-14T22:02:00.003-05:00

my pet octopus

2009-10-10T20:46:00.003-05:00

is a necklace on modcloth that I found interesting and surprisingly cute for being... well, a cephalopod. It's unusual and rather elegant, and that makes it kinda cool. Banik agrees.

Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular, Part X-XI

2009-10-10T16:34:00.003-05:00

Yes, actual Halloween pumpkins.

Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular, Part IX

2009-10-10T16:22:00.002-05:00

Although it's easy to focus on the beautifully sculpted showpiece pumpkins, the majority of the pumpkins were smaller pumpkins that filled out the show and created the mood.

They were everywhere, and since each one was unique they were really quite interesting if you looked at them. They were also what made this a Spectacular instead of an outdoor exhibition of some really nicely carved pumpkins. 50 carved pumpkins are nice. 500 are awesome.

Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, Part VIII

2009-10-08T21:49:00.002-05:00

They had pumpkins in places that I didn't think you could get pumpkins. It was a full-immersion pumpkin experience.

Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, Part V - VII

2009-10-08T21:42:00.002-05:00

More of the dinosaurs...

Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, Part I - IV

2009-10-08T20:49:00.002-05:00

Yes, I'm sorry. I suck at life. And I'm very, very sad to report that the Spectacular has returned to its usual haunting grounds in Providence, RI, so we're a lot less likely to make it there this year. /face so sad there's no emote for it

These are from the first section of the path, which was dinosaur-themed.

Southport, CT

2009-09-26T14:00:00.004-05:00

For those of you at home who aren't likely to see this in person, these are photos of the town where I work. Southport used to be populated by wealthy ship captains with big, expensive houses and all the things that go with that lifestyle. Today it's pretty much just populated by other well-to-do people.

This is, in my opinion, the prettier of the two churches.

In many ways this is a pretty typical house here. It's one of the larger ones, but it reflects the nice landscaping, the love of natural shingle roofs, and the bizarre attachment to white paint that exists in Southport.

These are two views of the harbour. It's a very pretty area, and a lot of people take lunch in the adjacent park space when the weather is nice.

Shade vs. smoked turkey leg

2009-09-26T13:41:00.003-05:00

Shade loves food, particularly meat and cheese. Chewbacca is a tad more picky (see lack of enthusiasm in photo below).
Sometimes Shade is a little unsure of strange new things, but we weren't really surprised when he decided that he wanted to eat Banik's turkey leg.

Yes, he did get to eat some of it.

Chewbacca will do Anything to look out a window

2009-09-26T13:29:00.000-05:00

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2009-09-26T12:24:00.005-05:00

So I was reading Popular Science and read about a website called shop4freebies, and since many of the best things in life are free I was obligated to go look at this website. Aside from "yes, I would love for you to send me a free sample" type things they also have recipe books that you can download or ask to have mailed to you for free. One booklet I skimmed was for Sun-maid raisin recipes, and that resulted in:

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (24)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix in a small bowl:
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix in a large bowl:
1 c. brown sugar
6 Tbsp. nonfat vanilla yogurt
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Add the dry mix to the wet and stir until well combined.

Stir in:
1 1/3 c. uncooked rolled oats
1 c. raisins

Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough onto a cookie sheet about 1.5" apart. You should get about 24 cookies. *

Bake 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned. **

Immediately remove with a spatula and transfer to a cooking rack or plate. If you wait they will be harder to get off of the tray. ***

_____

* I used 2 half sheet pans with a 3x4 layout, and the amount of cookie dough worked out perfectly for 24 cookies.

** Doneness is admittedly hard to determine since the brown sugar and wheat flour make the cookies so dark. I look for the cookies to be matte instead of glossy on top and for resiliance when I poke them.

*** To make your life easier you could lightly grease the sheet with butter to make the cookies easier to remove. You could also use a silpat that you can just lift off and move to the counter, the cookies will easily peel off once cooled and set.
______
Feedback: As a first attempt these are quite tasty. I think they have good flavor and texture. Banik finds the cookies to be a bit too sweet. Since we tend to like less sweet foods I may try using half brown and half white sugar next time to see if that helps. They must be decent though- he's already eaten 4 of them.

Tomato, Basil, & Mozzarella Salad

2009-09-06T11:03:00.002-05:00

Happiness is an heirloom tomato from the farmers market, mozzarrella from Stew Leonard's, basil picked from my own plants, and some basalmic vinegar.
For those who prefer it, some salt and good olive oil would also be nice.

Next year I'm hoping the tomatoes will be from the garden, too.

The Victory Garden

2009-09-05T10:59:00.013-05:00

We ran across the Victory Garden on PBS this morning. It's a show that I enjoyed many years ago, and suddenly it's a lot more useful since I'm closer to having my own garden than I was a decade ago. I always watch and say "oh, that's a great idea" or "I want to grow that" so I figured that if I wanted to remember anything I should take notes somewhere.

Today I learned about the "three sisters" method of gardening wherein corn is planted first, then beans are planted at the base of the corn stalk, and then winter squash is planted all around. The corn is the structure for the beans to grow up, the beans are the nitrogen fixer for the corn, and the squash is a living mulch for the whole planting bed. It's really quite elegant.

They discussed the idea of extending the useful life of summer produce without canning or freezing. Slicing thin and then dehydrating makes chips that can be used with dip later, or slightly larger pieces can be used in soup.

They also visited the Herb Lyceum at Gilson's in Groton, MA, and I found out about a bunch of herbs I'd like to have:

shiso, japanese basil (perilla frutescens cv.) zones 8-11
It's unrelated to our basil, but has green or purple leaves that are used in Japan like Europeans use basil. It also has beautiful flowers, but they need to be cut off immediately if you don't want seeds and volunteers everywhere.

Thai/Kaffir lime leaf (citrus hystrix) zones 10-12
When introduced to a little heat the oils on the leaves create the flavour and aroma of fresh lime juice. Apparently the plants are a little difficult to come by.

lemon verbena (aloysia triphilla) zones 8-10
Good in a glass of water, many kinds of confections, or in herb butter. According to Banik's mother it's also quite resilient (read as, hard to kill even when you try).

nasturtium (nasturtium sp.) zones 6-10
This flower grows well in poor locations. It's related to watercress, and the leaves can be substituted for it. The flowers are edible as well.

mexican mint marigold (tagetes lucida) zones 9-11
Looks like a pretty flower, tastes like tarragon.

english lavender (lavandula angustifolia) zones 5-9
Use it to make tea, then mix with cranberry juice and lemonade.

summer savory (satureja hortensis) zones 5-9
This is the common variety that everyone has.

creeping winter savory (satureja montana) zones 4-8
This variety grows easily and like a ground cover. It has lots of tiny white flowers in fall, and you might never guess that it's actually an herb.

It's our anniversary!

2009-08-25T21:44:00.002-05:00

That's right, it's been 6 years.

Man, we're getting old.

look what I found on Flickr!

2009-08-17T21:46:00.006-05:00

Silver and Multigold Vine Box, originally uploaded by MaevinWren.

I was looking for something rather unrelated and found these beautiful little boxes. The craft is so good that it's hard to tell that they're wood or paperboard underneath. I've never been terribly interested in working with polymer clay, but doing something like this might be interesting. You can see more of them here in the photoset.

The Ginger Man

2009-08-16T12:19:00.004-05:00

Our last event of the night was dinner at The Ginger Man with a couple friends. It's sort of a pub atmosphere, but thankfully not smokey. Each of us tried something different, and everyone seemed pleased.
The photo shows their European Beer Flight, which includes-from foreground to background- Hofstetten Kubelbier, Franziskaner Weisse, Palm Amber Ale, Boddingtons, Rodenbach Red, and Youngs Double Chocolate Stout. Samplers like this are a favourite of Banik since he gets to try a bunch of different things at once. Alcoholic beverages are rather lost on me, so I couldn't tell you which ones he liked or why. Maybe he'll post it in the comments.

SoNo Switch Tower Museum

2009-08-16T11:50:00.004-05:00

After lunch we needed to kill a few hours, so instead of being boring and going home we wondered around downtown looking at stuff. The Switch Tower Museum is free and an interesting educational experience for anyone who likes history, trains, old buildings, or random knowledge.
I learned lots of stuff about Armstrong levers, mechanical switching, how tracks work, and in general how much stuff you don't see happening when a train moves between tracks. This placed is staffed by knowledgable volunteers, and they certainly earn their donations.

Cafe Chocopologie

2009-08-16T09:04:00.003-05:00

Our second stop was Cafe Chocopologie. It was about time for lunch, and since we were already in SoNo we figured it would be a shame not to go. We've seen the owner, Fritz Knipschildt, on Food Network (and-believe it or not-at the DMV. Welcome to CT.), and Banik got me a box of chocolates for Valentine's Day from Chocopologie. The experience would be interesting at the very least.

I got the frozen hot chocolate, which is their signature hot chocolate blended with ice and topped with whipped cream. Banik was not a fan, but I really liked it. It was less sweet than most cocoa, and tasted more like dark chocolate. I'm ususally ambivalent about whipped cream, but I enjoyed theirs because had just the right level of sweetness (even so, I allowed most of it to be pilfered from my glass). I'll have to use these as a model in my continuing endeavours to make my own cocoa mix and whipped cream.

He had their take on nachos: thick, fried potato chips topped with melted blue cheese and truffle oil. I had a grilled sandwich: a wheat roll with fresh mozzarella, avocado, tomato, red pepper spread, and grilled portobello. The little salad that came with my sandwich was mediocre, but everything else was very good.

Yes, I'd usually have pictures, but I didn't think about it in time. You can see some pretty awesome photos and read someone else's thoughts on the restaurant here. I shall conveniently have to go back such that I might take my own.

The Maritime Aquarium

2009-08-15T20:09:00.009-05:00

This is what started the whole thing. We'd originally gone to the Aquarium mainly to see Penguins on the Loose, which is an event that lets people see one of the African penguins up close, without glass, waddling around a taped-off square as he or she pleases (under the supervision of handlers). This was a terrible idea on a Saturday during school-year summer vacation. We went to get in line 45 minutes early hoping to be seated right on one of the edges, but there were already tons of people in line with their kids. We ended up skipping it because it would've been really crowded and hard to see all that much. Fortuntely if you just go to their exhibit you can be a foot away from one and the glass just protects you from splashing. Maybe we'll try again on a week day.
Fortunately there's lots of stuff to see. There's a reptile exhibit that's really neat, and includes these little guys. It's probably not a surprise to anyone, but I love the blue ones with little black spots.

The seals were really cute and amazingly graceful. We watched them for a while and then came back to see their first feeding of the day from the floor above.

The jellyfish exhibits are strangely hypnotic. You can watch some of the larger jellyfish swimming about here. There's also a video of seahorses that I think someone in particular will enjoy.

Otters are adorable. I think that says it all.

And the sea turtles. Yes, we all know how I love sea turtles. I was expecting to see the smaller Hawksbills because my sister brought back pictures of them when she went. I was in complete awe to discover that they had a Loggerhead and that she was easily 4-5 feet long. In the above picture she actually looks much smaller than if you were standing in my place. She was also quite shy, and I'm sorry to say I've no videos of her.

It's about time for an Adventure.

2009-08-15T19:54:00.007-05:00

We've had a busy day. After living up here nearly eleven months we decided to actually go see some of SoNo (South Norwalk). Eight hours later we came home, fed the cats, and started downloading photos and videos. I'm way too tired to post everything tonight, but I will start.

We spent a few hours at the Maritime Aquarium, then had lunch at Chocopologie, then visited the SoNo Switch Tower Museum, then wandered around for a while, and finally had dinner at The Ginger Man with a couple friends. A good time was had by all.

Eggplant Parmesian

2009-07-27T21:11:00.002-05:00

What I made:

2 T. olive oil
1 t. minced garlic
1 pinch red chile flakes
3 c. eggplant, purged and cut into strips
2 small tomatoes, diced (or 3/4 c. canned crushed tomatoes, drained)
6 T. plain yogurt, nonfat
1 T. fresh basil, chiffonaded
1 T. fresh spicy basil
4 T. freshly grated parmesan

And the Alton Brown recipe upon which it is based. Prep takes much longer than the 2 minute cooking time, but since I did other things at the same time I don't know how long it took. As a rather healthy recipe we're pleased with this version. With a few minor changes this could also be a really fast ratatouille.

the joy of coloured eggs

2009-07-26T11:43:00.002-05:00

Colouring eggs is fun. Especially in the middle of May. We were a bit disappointed in the lack of vibrancy in the dry colours and the fact that the voilet eggs came out blue, but they were still pretty.

Even the egg shells were interesting to play with...

at least for the OCD among us.

chicken fried steak sandwich

2009-07-26T11:07:00.003-05:00

What to do with leftover chicken fried steak and gravy? Make a sandwich, obviously. It was awesome.

it's blue!

2009-07-26T10:42:00.002-05:00

mexican pulled pork salad

2009-07-26T09:53:00.005-05:00

I was going through older photos and thought I'd throw these up on the blog. This is a salad that I made a couple times with some of the leftover pulled pork that was also used in the burritos.

It was light and flavourful and a nice change of pace.

iHelp™ housekeeping assistance

2009-07-26T09:30:00.004-05:00

What's that? You're trying to change the bedding? Well good luck with that. You'll have to wash this later...

...like sometime tomorrow.

Lupita's Mexican Restaurant

2009-07-25T18:55:00.002-05:00

We made another random restaurant selection on the way home, and I'm pleased to say that it paid off. Lupita's Mexian Restaurant is in a little strip of stores between Fairfield proper and Blackrock. Banik had fajitas and a margarita, and I had enchiladas- one chicken, one veggie. Everything was good, and it's nice to finally have a mexican restaurant up here.

what passes for a renaissance faire in CT

2009-07-25T18:09:00.008-05:00

This faire is apparently replacing the Southern CT Renaissance Faire, which we attended two years ago. Recalling that experience this faire isn't much different except that the site was much more swampy than the last one we visited. Sadly there isn't much of a renaissance atmosphere what with all the skimpy costumes, glittery horns, faerie wings, brightly dyed hair, and elf ears. I'm not even going to talk about the more traumatizing vissages of the day. We stayed maybe 4 hours, and honestly I'm not convinced it was worth the $30 of admission. It was... disappointing.

On a brighter note, it really makes me look forward to visiting the MD Renaissance Festival this year. You don't really appreciate a good thing until you see something the alternatives.

Connecticut Free Shakespeare

2009-07-23T06:08:00.006-05:00

I have finally gotten to see this play (for those who don't know, there's a bit of a history of absurd things coming between me and Skakespeare). =D

It was quite good, often hilarious, and punctuated by a peacock who insisted he stand on top of the stage set the entire time. It was presented by CT Free Shakespeare, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone in the area this weekend or next. Many thanks go to our summer intern for telling me about this and then somehow arranging a sunny day in all this rain.

The only problem is the subsequent "I miss doing theatre" response...

visiting home, part 2

2009-07-20T21:14:00.003-05:00

Banik's parents gave us a blanket while we were down there, and when we got home we put it on the back of the couch and returned to unpacking. While we were busy the blanket was immediately claimed by our resident bedding monsters, and they've been sleeping there a large portion of the time ever since.

visiting home, part 1

2009-07-20T20:44:00.003-05:00

This weekend went home to visit family in WV. It was hectic, but we had fun. One of the awesome things about where Banik grew up is that some of the wildlife has gotten used to having a few humans around (in an "oh it's just you" way rather than a "pet me" sort of way).

The first evening we got there Banik was tossing pieces of apple to a deer off the back deck, but I didn't get pictures of that. The next day I took some videos of one of the hummingbird feeders from about 12 inches away from the feeder. You wouldn't think those little birds could make so much noise.

Rhode Island Scottish Highland Festival

2009-06-14T12:01:00.003-05:00

We went out here yesterday, and although it was two hours of driving each way I think it was worth it. We got to look at a lot of venders, see some SCA folks from the Barony of the Bridge, taste some white honey mead, and look at clan tents. We watched a sheep herding demo, caber toss, hammer throw, and weight for height. We listened to a harp demo, fiddlers, and a couple pipe and drum bands. It was an all-around good time, except for the insufficient number of smoked turkey legs (which has actually plagued Banik on many such occasions). Below is a clip of one of the pipe and drum bands- sadly I don't know their name.

On the way home we also stopped in Mystic, CT to walked around and then stopped in Hamden, CT for sushi. It was a good day.

Chewbacca is most easily photographed when asleep

2009-06-14T11:51:00.001-05:00

because my mom will think it's cool

2009-05-21T18:16:00.003-05:00

This is the sort of thing you see every day in the parking lot behind my office- clunkers mixed with sports cars. My well-loved teal Ford is in the foreground, and there's a Corvette two spaces away.

I know you really just want to see the Corvette.

I still maintain that the back ends look dumb.

And this is the part for Mom. No, it's not just any old Corvette. Yes, when it's warm and relatively dry someone drives this to work every day.

employment causes abandonment issues

2009-05-11T17:46:00.003-05:00

Banik has been a stay-at-home dad ever since we got the kittens. Sure we do stuff on weekends or evenings, and he had evening classes for a while- but he was always home all day.
But he's been gone all day. And now all they're doing is watching the window and running around looking for him.

They're probably blaming me for this. When he's not here and I come home without him, the cats act like I forgot him some place. Apparently I'm careless with their human.

this is what my mom wanted for Mother's Day

2009-05-10T10:57:00.000-05:00

handpies

2009-05-03T10:34:00.002-05:00

We did an SCA workshop yesterday and took four kinds of handpies to share. The savory ones were filled with beef pot roast or chicken molé (which used the leftover sauce from the burritos). One type of fruit pie contained sweet potatoes with toasted pecans and coconut; the other had a mixed berry filling. We used Alton Brown's recipe for the pastry (weighed the flour and shortening, used skim milk), and got a good 15-16 per batch. All were well received, but since it was all rather rushed we forgot to take pictures. I'm sure there will be more later.

why we can't go into wholefoods to "just see what they have"

2009-04-27T21:16:00.008-05:00

"oh look, they have sample sizes of cheese..."
and so we ended up having an improntu cheese tasting

The results:

**** We both ranked the Drunken Goat at the top; it was mild,

rather soft, and not overly salty.

**** Banik's other favourite was the Pyrennes, which I also liked.

**** My other favourite was the Hoch Ybrig, which smells

questionable but tastes good.

*** The Aussie Jack is a good, versatile Jack that we might use

in other things.

*** The Cotswold has chives in it, and might be good in something.

* The Habanero Cheddar was mostly just hot and didn't taste

particularly awesome.

* The Sottocenere has a nasty rind, and although Banik is fine

the cheese itself with it I think it just tastes like mold.

The sourdough is good. Maybe we'll have to try making a starter again...

Fried Calamari

2009-04-26T09:42:00.002-05:00

This plate of calamari is the the only thing we have to show for over an hour of cleaning and prepping and cooking half a box of whole squid. They were delectible with a little red sauce, and eating them took far less time than prepping them.

The little tentacles were both crunchy and pleasantly chewy. They are my favourite part.

pork burritos with mole sauce

2009-04-25T22:08:00.006-05:00

These things were not only awesome fresh but also cold the next morning for breakfast. We just put them on a plate, topped them with baby spinach, tomatoes, and crumbled queso blanco.

The mole sauce was made from:
- 1/2 jar Dona Maria green mole sauce
- a costco-size package of mushrooms, chopped and sauted
- salt added to above cooking mushrooms
- 2c. water
- 1T. chicken bouillon

The burritos themselves were made of:
- wheat tortillas
- refried beans
- seasoned pork, roughly shredded
- queso blanco

cuban-american panini

2009-04-25T19:54:00.005-05:00

Like the Reubans that we posted a while back, we also made something that's sort of like a Cuban but not really. For lack of better terminology, I called it a Cuban American. They were pretty good sandwiches, and though we don't have a recipe I can tell you that to make one you can stack (read down as you stack up):

- wheat bread bottom

- boar's head american cheese

- chunks of pork

- a couple slices of speck (which is similar to prosciutto)

- homemade thousand island dressing for which there isn't really a recipe yet

- well-drained sourkraut

- dill pickle slices on Banik's sandwich

- more homemade thousand island

- wheat bread top

and obligatory cat pictures

2009-04-24T20:53:00.003-05:00

Shade likes places that are warm and has taken to lying under the radiator in the bathroom. Someone (not me) put an old pair of lounge pants down there so he would also be insulated from the cold, cold tile.

And a rare macro of Chewbacca, who is like some sort of ninja at avoiding the camera sometimes. He can be completely asleep, but if you get out the camera he becomes a blur...

Aftershock Cake

2009-04-24T19:56:00.004-05:00

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease and flour selected pan (see below).

Start with:
1 chocolate cake mix + its ingredients, prepared loosely as directed
- devil's food with pudding in the mix works very well
- use milk instead of water
- replace half the oil with applesauce

Then stir in:
- 1c. chocolate chips
- 1c. flaked coconut
- 1c. chopped nuts

Pour into prepared pan, then use a hand mixer to beat together:
- 8 oz. softened cream cheese
- 2c. powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese first to loosen it up, then add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Be sure to start on a low setting so the powdered sugar doesn't fly out of the bowl, and scrap the sides regularly because the cream cheese likes to stick. The end mixture should be smooth and moderately thick. Spoon this over the chocolate cake mix in an irregular pattern; go all the way to the edges.

There are two tested pan sizes for this cake, and both are great for different things.
- 9x13 bakes for 45-50 minutes. It comfortably feeds 15-18 people, and gives everyone lots of topping.
- 12x18 bakes for 30-35 minutes. It feeds a large number of people, and there is variation for people to select if they want more chocolate cake or more topping.

The top picture shows the cooled cake, but as you can see just above it doesn't start to fall until after it comes out of the oven. It had actually started to collapse already in the 60 seconds or so between the cake leaving the oven and the picture being taken. The obligatory closeup is below.

This recipe is derived from the Earthquake Cake made by my great-grandmother Scelena Brown. Enjoy.

New Things

2009-04-20T08:21:00.003-05:00

Good morning everyone.

It's been a bit since we've posted, and I'll pretend it's been because we've been pretty busy. In any case, here's one of the things that we've been into, as of late.

So for a couple nights a week for the past couple weeks, we've been learning how not to kill ourselves underwater. It's been quite an adventure. We'll finish with the opening portions this week sometime, and then have to do 3 open-water qualification dives to get our certifications.

Personally, I'm looking forward to collecting some tasty lobsters, clams, or other tasty denziens of the deep. There's also spearfishing, but we'll have to see how that is around here.

Anyway, all in good fun.

putting CDs in the microwave is fun

2009-03-22T21:20:00.002-05:00

yes, they know they're cute

2009-03-17T21:06:00.001-05:00

reuben panini

2009-03-17T20:54:00.003-05:00

My parents got us a waffle iron/panini press a few months ago, and we have put it to good use. It's especially good for making sandwiches like reubens because it eliminates the problems with the sandwich spilling its guts on the flip.

homemade pan pizza

2009-03-17T19:53:00.005-05:00

Behold the awesomeness of pan pizza made in cast iron. Recently Banik also made a version of pineapple upsidedown cake in the square pan. Maybe one day we'll have a gas stove so that we can use the cast iron pans more.
Pre-cooking. ^

His jalepeno pizza.^

Guess which one is my pizza?

It was good, but would have come out fine with a bit less oil than this first attempt used. I'd forgotten about this until a few days ago, so there may be pizza in the near future.