January 2010
10 posts
Question of the Day
(In order to avoid undue partisanship and party-bashing, I must mention here that I object to the previous administration’s movements to create a stronger executive branch, larger military and more security oversight.)
The current White House administration has two big agendas that are in conflict with each other. I’m looking for a little clarity:
First, they are looking to re-tool...
Plumbers, Donkeys, Elephants, iPads and Prayer, oh...
Oh boy, what a day it was!
First, the plumbers tell me that they’re going to actually be ripping down the inside part of one of our walls tomorrow…yikes!
So our shower was suddenly backing up to near over-flow levels. This led to a pre-liminary investigation by a plumber who, my brute force and I’m sure a minor bit of ignorance, broke something. One broken thing led to...
Walter Day
My wife and I had my parents over to celebrate an official family Holiday: Walter Day! The culinary focus? Two types of chicken legs.
Type 1: Bacon grease coated garlic basil
Type 2: “Tandoori” Style
‘Twas a lovely day, including laughs, ice cream, homemade bread, yummy salad, and farm-opoly.
Return to Normalcy
A number of people have asked about my recent two-week hiatus from blogland. The following is not a list of reasons why I made no posts until today:
My wife and I took a second honeymoon to Cambodia.
While in my research lab, I accidentally inhaled highly toxic chemicals. I was then rushed to the hospital, where I spent the next week and a half being de-toxed.
We’re renovating our...
Gelatin George
After hearing of my new year’s commitment to using new ingredients, my sister suggested that I use gelatin and make my own mousse. Once I got past the rather disgusting nature of the origin of gelatin, I thought that a mousse would provide a respectable challenge.
My wonderful wife purchased Gelatin George for me:
Michael Pollan would be proud of the ingredient list:
Now a mousse is...
Charlie the Chayote
As I stated, one of my goals is to cook with new ingredients this year. More specifically, I am attempting to cook with one new ingredient every month.
Allow me to introduce you to Charlie the Chayote:
Charlie is a native of Costa Rica. However, he has many relatives from other tropical areas, such as southeast Asia. My wife brought Charlie home last week, and it was now his turn to grace...
“…today’s white elephant is often tomorrow’s beloved landmark.”
– Blair Kamin, Chicago Tribune
New Year's Revolutions - Status and Update
It is that time of year again - a time for my new year’s revolutions. For me, they are essentially new year’s resolutions, but the word revolution carries more weight in my mind.
In 2009
I made only one new year’s resolution in 2009: to read 52 non-work related books last year. Sadly, I only made it halfway. In retrospect, this goal was a bit ambitious considering my status...