recent tracks:

CSA P.S.

I'm also going to make another batch of pickles!

Last week I got pickling cucumbers at the farmers market. I quartered them and brined them in a mixture of apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic, garlic scapes, and ground mustard. The result was astonishingly delicious.

Maybe I'll try to make spicy pickles this week...

CSA Time!

I have another post in the works to describe the weekend, but in the meantime I can't contain my excitement--our farm share is finally beginning! The picture above is evidence of why you all should consider getting involved with community supported agriculture.

The following is my preliminary plan for meals:

1)
green salad w/ roast beet, sautéed beet stems, red onion & chickpeas, balsamic reduction
seven stars bread

2)
squash casserole w/ pesto ricotta & fresh mozzarella

3)
huevos rancheros w/ sautéed green pepper & onion, roast tomato
jalapeno cornbread

4)
smoked catfish w/ smoked carrots & apples

Here's a farm that delivers to various locations in New Castle County, DE!

Unemployment

Yesterday was day one, a day of action! I dusted, cleaned the floors and did the laundry, I worked on some job applications, I began working on a budget, and (most successfully) prepared a southern dinner of smoked catfish, collard greens, and jalapeno cornbread. My first experimentation with the smoker turned out wonderfully, the catfish imparted with plenty of flavor from its 5 hour brine (in a mixture of water, salt, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic) and 4.5 hours of low-heat applewood smoking. The catfish remained tender and flaky. I simmered the collards in the leftover brine, and they turned out to be delicious as well. The cornbread, I'm sad to say, was a bit dense and dry.

Today is day two, a day of beginnings. I have accomplished smaller cleaning projects, and I finished a draft budget, but the only job application I've been able to submit was one I finished yesterday. I'm hoping that tomorrow I am in a writing mood, because I have to complete several cover letters, some thank you notes, and some other projects which are currently in various stages of germination. What I have only begun today, I hope to finish tomorrow (along with some other household projects).

Incidentally, we have an axolotl, as my previous post perhaps implied. She (?) remains nameless as of yet. Any suggestions?

What an Autumn!

I have had a fantastic fall. Here's why:

1) The election. Not just the overall result, but also the simple act of civic participation is exhilarating.

2) I passed the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Bar Examinations.

3) In the last ten days, I have seen my two favorite bands of the moment in concert.

   (a) Of Montreal created an amazing visual and sonic experience at a fun but decrepit venue.

   (b) Man Man were their usual frenetic, circus-act selves.

4) My association with Philadelphia sports is actually making me happy.

   (a) I attended my first Eagles game at the Linc.

   (b) The Eagles appear to have recovered from the poor showing they put on at that (nevertheless extraordinarily fun) experience.

   (c) Although baseball is not my thing, riding the Phillies wave to the first major professional championship Philadelphia has seen since I was an infant was pretty great.

5) There have been lots of good times with friends new and old, and with family.

6) I very much enjoy my current employment.

7) Community supported agriculture has enriched our lives and our menu. The experience of turning a native and sustainable bounty into tasty and sustaining meals is pleasantly conducive to creativity.

So here's to the changing leaves, the bit of bite in the autumn breeze, and plentiful apple cider!

Mount Desert Island, Maine

On the way up, we stopped at Red's Eats, where (after a 40 minute wait in line) we split a world famous lobster roll accompanied by some fried fresh-caught clams:



We did good work:



On Friday morning, we went to the Bar Harbor Whale Museum:



Then on Friday afternoon, we went out on a lobster boat (named Lulu) for a tour.

First we saw seals (view image then zoom in and you can see them on the rock):



Then Captain John told us about lobsters and lobstering:



I even got to hold the starfish that came up with the trap!



After that we went to the Atlantic Brewing Company for a tour and tasting.

We hadn't had lunch so we were hungry. Luckily, the brewery also runs a barbecue joint:



Again we did well:



Saturday was mostly devoted to Acadia National Park.

First was a drive up Cadillac Mountain, which afforded some lovely views through the clouds:



Then came Jordan Pond:



Next up was Otter Cliff, which was surprisingly difficult to capture photographically.

After a tasty lunch at the Thirsty Whale Tavern, we wended our way southwest to the less crowded parts of Acadia.

First up was Wonder Land.

In the tidepools we found scuttling little baby crabs, and what were likely the shells of recently moulted crabs:



After Wonder Land we traversed the Ship Harbor Nature Trail.

We were happy:



After getting our fill of nature, we decided to crown our Maine trip with a visit to Thurston's Lobster Pound.

In order to compare flavors, we got a one pound hardshell and a one and a quarter pound softshell:



As usual, we did good work:



Walking back to the car, we got a nice view of Thurston's (in yellow), a pier covered with lobster traps (in dark), and a harbor full of lobster boats.



We finished off the evening with ice cream from Ben and Bill's Chocolate Emporium; Summer's Maine blueberry ice cream was so potent that the drop that landed on my hand, when licked, overpowered my own cone:



The vacation was a success!

A momentous occasion

SEA and I celebrated one year last week! SEA took off just a tad early and we headed out to Horseneck Beach, played in the ocean, lay on the sand and watched people metal-detect, then cleaned up and went to a small certified green restaurant by the water. We split crab cakes, I got delicious fresh fish and chips and a Buzzards Bay Black Lager, and SEA got a lobster roll (with butter instead of the standard mayonnaise) and a Buzzards Bay Summer Wheat beer. It was a nice little celebration.

I Graduated, Then Made Cookies

I am a juris doctor, cum laude.

Pictures from graduation are available at the link posted under "Weekend in NY."

Here are the shortbread cookies I made using Anna's and Neal's homemade strawberry jam:



Now I while away my hours studying for the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Bars.

Raisin Videos

S and I watched this short video about making raisins not long ago. The fact that I find myself thinking about it this morning seems to indicate that it is sufficiently interesting for me to share with you. More raisin videos here.

ALSO
Sarah arrived Saturday; yesterday we went to the zoo. We saw the elephants up close in the barn. I found them completely captivating; I could have watched only them all day I think. They made me rather sad.

Later we went to Colt and took statuesque pictures.

What I Did on My Spring Vacation

Visited Food Country.

A Real Update

Tomorrow I will be one quarter century old.


Summer and I did the Newport cliff walk on Saturday, totaling approximately 6.5 miles (including walking back to our starting point among the wealth-drenched neighborhoods of Newport). All in all this made for a very enjoyable experience.

Approximately a week and a half ago, I went to a job fair at NYU and had an interview, which I think went well. I will have another interview this week. Keep your fingers crossed! While I was in New York, I enjoyed Julia's hospitality, as well as some delicious Ethiopian food and over the top delicious barbecue.

In fact, this weekend has featured some delicious food as well; Saturday we warmed up for our walk in Newport with my own concoction: a baby spinach-pinenut frittata with gorgonzola cream sauce (made from the gorgonzola leftover from our gorgonzola-brie-wild mushroom fondue from Valentine's Day). Saturday night I dined on duck confit from CAV and tonight will end our extravagance with a birthday (observed) dinner hopefully at Waterman Grille, which has an enticing prix fixe menu on weeknights. Delicious.

Sometime soon we will perhaps travel to Amherst, where there are dinosaurs. I don't think I knew that when I visited for undergrad...

Movies: standouts I watched between December '07 and yesterday.

• Juno, (which has lately received some critical backlash) in which Ellen Page plays a pregnant teenager with much more complexity than I think is generally recognized. Michael Cera also gives what I found to be a clever performance as the teenage father.


• No Country for Old Men, an adaptation by the Coen brothers of the spare Cormac McCarthy novel, in which McCarthy/the Coen brothers toy with some literary and cinematic conventions in presenting a bleak but captivating story.


• Michael Clayton, which is about reasons not to work for a big firm.


• The Savages, in which Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney provide outstanding performances as not entirely successful, academically inclined siblings dealing with their aging father's senile dementia.


• Charlie Wilson's War, an interesting depiction of an underachieving U.S. Representative with loose morals, and his efforts to covertly drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan during the Cold War.


• Rabbit-Proof Fence, a wrenching story of three "half-caste" aborigine girls abducted by the Australian government in order to train them as domestic servants.


• There Will Be Blood, which has gained enough press not to demand much commentary from me (see Worlds of Fragments for an apt but uncommon stylistic note). Suffice to say that the strengths are as strong as advertised, and there are plenty of thought-provoking devices to boot!
  

Music: lately I have been listening to a lot of the following.

• Elizabeth and the Catapult [self-titled EP]which is well-worth $5.94 on iTunes. S and I saw them in Boston a few weeks ago (with Old Springs Pike) and I was sufficiently enchanted not only to buy the EP but also to listen to their tracks some 70 times since then by last.fm's count.


• Viva Voce The Heat Can Melt Your Brain, the 2004 album by this indie-rocking husband and wife duo who played The Cave at Carleton way back when.

Another Paper

Here is another paper I wrote this past semester. It is not as comprehensive as the last, because the topic appears just about impossible to understand comprehensively (involving as it does biology, medicine, mathematics, economics, law, and sociology).

Beer-Cheese Risotto

Here is a recipe I made up. It turned out to be really good (albeit probably not the healthiest thing in the world).

Beer-Cheese Risotto
Broth:
3 c. water
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
approx. 1/2 tsp. black pepper
approx. 1/2 tsp. mushroom powder
1 tbsp. soy sauce

Mix all of the above ingredients for a vegetarian broth approximating the flavor of beef broth.

Risotto:
olive oil
1 c. arborio rice
12 oz. beer (I used Rogue Santa's Private Reserve [link])
3 c. broth (see above)
8 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Coat the bottom of a medium saucepan with olive oil and heat to medium-high.
Add arborio rice and cook until browned.
Add beer approximately 3 oz. at a time, just covering the rice. Stir, allowing the rice to soak up all the beer before adding the next portion.
Add broth in amounts sufficient to just cover the rice. Stir, allowing the rice to soak up the broth before adding the next portion.
When all the beer and broth have been added, the rice should already have a somewhat creamy texture. Now remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Now it's ready, and delicious.

For us, I think it made 4 servings. I also simmered some broccoli in a small amount of the broth, which worked quite well.