Vegas Part Two

Just a skeleton to get my blog in today.

Marcy and I went with Bryant to Red Rock Canyon after breakfast at Roberto's, a Mexican fast food chain in town.

Red Rock Canyon was a cool place and it helped to have Bryant, who works with the USGS on that area and others similar to it.

After Red Rock we went to Torino's, the local Husker Bar for the second half of the football game. It was fun to see 400 people gathered in a bar a long way from Lincoln still feverish about the Huskers.

Then we had tacos at Tacos Mexico. These were very tasty. One of my tacos had buche (pork maws) and another might have been cabesa, which I was surprised in this case was beef cheek instead of brain, oh well.

This is where we made a sorta regrettable decision, instead of going home to take a nap, we "had" to go through some more of the Strip, checking out Paris quickly before picking up our "O" tickets for the 10:30 show that night.

Before the show, we ate at Merkata, an Ethiopian restaurant. My first time at such a place and very delicious and filling. Gotta love that ingera (spongy, sour dough type bread).

So because we didn't take naps, recommended if you are going to a show that starts 12:30 AM in the time zone you've traveled from, I dozed a bit during some of the slower parts of the Cirque du Soleil show. In spite of that I did really enjoy it. While the acrobatics and showmanship were very impressive, I was equally, if not more, impressed with the logistics of raising and lowering the stage with dozens of performers diving into and out of the water without any collisions underwater, or even slips on what I'm guessing was a pretty wet surface.

Brunch the next morning was at one of many Original Pancake Houses. I had a baby German pancake (our family calls them egg pancakes with the basic recipe being four eggs, a cup of flour and a cup of milk baked about twenty minutes in a cast iron skillet at 425 degrees Fahrenheit) and bacon pancakes. Our server April? made some cute comment about how "somebody's hungry" after my order and then another when I had eaten what I ordered about how I "actually was hungry," but obviously, five weeks later, I'm over it. The orange juice was very good here.

I might flesh this out later, but probably only if I can't think of other stuff to blog about.

And if you can't tell by my glowing comments about every experience, I really liked this trip and often (in still silent moments at work) I dream wistfully about going back soon (hopefully this winter after the new City Center is opened).

It Isn't Spring Until You Can Step On Nine Daisies at Once

Actually, it's officially Spring because Nebraska played their Spring Football Game, 77,670 in attendance (this is a lot, Pittsburgh had 6,200; Oklahoma had 28,000 and their quarterback didn't think many schools had that many people) Two of those 77k were Allison and me. And to cement Spring's arrival we made a blubarb pie too. It was made with sorta freezer burnt rhubarb and blueberries, but it is still pretty tasty and as per usual, the crust was excellent.

We also went to the NCAA Women's Gymnastics National Championships which were also in Lincoln this weekend. It was fun watching Georgia win their 10th championship in their coach's last year, she's retiring. Included in that was one of Georgia's gymnasts, Kupets, who won the all-around on Thursday and in the individual event finals on Saturday added three more championships to set an NCAA record with nine for her career.

My Birthday:

I had a wonderful day. We went to eat at the Thai Restaurant and I had some always tasty Tom Kha Gai. And not only did I receive a bunch of excellent recipes, someone even asked me for one. One of my co-workers (while that doesn't need a hyphen, I prefer it when reading, because I can't separate the syllables properly, and I end up pronouncing it like a gaucho working cattle.), Mike, brought in a different recipe that he or his wife selected each day of the week following my birthday (the highlight might be a Brussels Sprouts and Red Grape dish). Another coup for me was a mushroom enchilada recipe I've been wanting for ten years. The recipe is from the wife of my principal in academy. Our new accountant at work is her class agent for Union and emailed her my request. Et Voila! I'm also looking forward to trying Ceri's mother's blueberry muffin recipe.

I made Eric's Potato Salad for Easter. Leah's recommendations were all excellent. The toasted pine nuts, roasted red pepper (I love "roasting" these over an open flame on my gas stovetop.), fresh dill, and slightly caramelized red onions all helped to make the dish. We (Angela, Mat, Allison, and Me) also had asparagus milanois sp? (roasted asparagus with an over easy egg on top) with quail eggs that I got from the Oriental Market. So cute.

I intend to blog more, and much of my fodder for that purpose will be my little note book.

BA

Apparently "Beer Advocate" is too much to say, so all the members just call it "BA."

I was trying to find out about some beers that were going to be at the Sunfest. My world wide web search turned up the beeradvocate site, which I've seen online before, but never lingered because all those people judging/reviewing just intimidated me. But I have gotten over that, and after I signed up, I found the BA event at Bread & Cup.

There were a little over twenty people gathered around three or four tables arranged in an L-shape. And fortunately for me, there was a seat open at the far end of the table next to the people I soon realized were the ones I wanted to hang out with. I was right next to a brewer from Nebraska Brewing Company, who was sitting across from his wife, and on my left was a cool guy with a really great beard. After everyone went around introducing themselves, including their BA handle (lame), and finished the beer they got from B&C, the samples started going around the table. Sam, the bearded guy next to me, brought a Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales E.S. Bam from MI. Tyson, the brewer on my right, brought a growler of a weizenbock he had done for NBC. Jason, the guy to the right of Tyson originally from Salt Lake, brought a Wasatch Double Bock that was really great and one of the Flemish Primitive Wild Ales from De Proef. His definitely had a lot of funkiness going on the brettanomyces was in full force adding all the horse blanket you'd want. There were also a couple bottles from Port Brewing in San Marcos, CA, and two of Boulevard's Smokestack Series that aren't on the market: the saison with brett (weak), and a bourbon barrel aged version of their quad (which I liked).

Why I considered myself so fortunate to sit next to the folk I did was because they've been all over where I want to be as far as beer goes. Tyson and Angela just got back from the Craft Brewer's Convention in San Diego at Stone Brewing. They were actually in Wisconsin in January, a month before me, so we both had been to the Great Dane in downtown Madison and New Glarus (but Dan the Brewmaster was on vacation when they were there). Sam seemed to have a great knowledge of some Michigan breweries like Jolly Pumpkin and Dark Horse in Marshall, MI, plus an excellent taste memory of other beers like Three Floyd's Dreadnought. He had a great anecdote about how he visited Jolly Pumpkin with his wife and step son after three days at the roller coaster park in OH and his son wanted to meet the dog Bam that is on a lot of bottles from Jolly Pumpkin, but when they got there the landlords didn't allow dogs, so no dice and no Bam.

Great Success!

So the weather didn't cooperate for the bean bags part of my first Bean Bags and Rhubarb event this summer, but the rhubarb made up for it. I had a 9 x 13 pan of rhubarb crisp with oat flour instead of wheat flour for an allergic guest, a strawberry-rhubarb custard pie, and a brand new one, Party Rhubarb Pie. It is from my Farm Journal's Complete Pie Cookbook. My only mistake with it was putting it in an 8" dish instead of a 9" dish. This meant that when I poured the cream cheese-sugar-eggs mixture on top of the rhubarb it flowed over. But I recovered.

I enjoyed the blend of guests tonight: Hans, Lindsay, Tiffany, Karen, Jim, and Angela. The first three are from work, the next two aren't, and Angela is from forever.

Meet Lincoln.

So I've been in Lincoln since August of 1999. I've eaten at most of her restaurants, shopped at most of her stores, tasted many of her coffees.

Or so I thought.

Monday, I finally toured Empyrean Ales. Yesterday, I finally shopped at Leon's Food Mart. Today, I finally ate at Tina's Cafe and drank coffee at Meadowlark.

I'd always wanted to tour Empyrean, but never was available when they had hours posted for arranged tours, so I just didn't bother. Then I found out about their monthly tour the first Monday of every month and put it down in my mental calendar. Having not been to Lazlo's or had an Empyrean beer for a while, the previous Tuesday I had their LunaSea ESB (Extra Special Bitter) to compare with the Fuller's ESB I had at Yia Yia's. Fuller's was more balanced, tipping to the malt/sweet side. Then Sunday after painting our living room (Ralph Lauren's Dressage Red and Mesa Sunrise) and waiting for it to dry, my sister and I went to Lazlo's again. Monday made it three times in one week with four different beers (ESB, Irish Red, Belgian Wheat, Scottish Ale). Their monthly tours have a theme, and this month's was hops with a sampling of IPAs (India Pale Ale) and some ESBs. It was interesting to compare the LunaSea a second time with a more American ESB from Sierra Nevada (though to be fair, their ESB stands for Early Spring Beer, while their press release admits a nod to the English style.) Empyrean's ESB was much more balanced than Sierra Nevada's.

I had always heard about Leon's excellent meat department, but had never sat down to figure out where they were. Then driving home from work yesterday and wanting to make chili this weekend I caught Leon's sign out of the corner of my eye driving along South Street. So I turned around and got a pound of 93% lean and another of their beef stew meat. It is nice having a person behind the meat counter to weigh your order out for you instead of having it prepackaged in shrink wrap in a big chest cooler [not that I'm one to shy away from big chests ;)]. Fortunately, the meat department isn't the only impressive section of the store. They have a great cheese section and plenty of exotic dairy like two or three European butters and some creme fraiche. I'm sure that won't be my last visit there.
PS The chili turned out great.

Yestere'en after watching Leatherheads (fun enough but not solid anywhere, the seriousness toward the end really drained the comedy, and the love interests weren't developed enough for me to care), Marcy and I were discussing our plans for the morrow. Before thinking about church, we decided on breakfast, and I recommended Tina's Cafe, which is another little place off South Street, near 7th or 8th streets. I'd wanted to go there in the past, but again our schedules never aligned. We enjoyed it, and the cinnamon roll dominated the meal and our stomachs with its 6x6x2 dimensions.

After church, we wanted to stop in to Open Harvest for their spreadable horseradish cheese and acoutrements. But first I wanted to see Porridge Papers' hours, because I have designs on getting some personalised stationery* (notice the 'e' when talking about something you writ'e' on) from them. On our way back to OH we stopped at Cultiva for a Kahlua latte and a normal latte. Both were excellent, and after our visit to Open Harvest we went to Meadowlark where I got another latte so I could compare. Cultiva wins.

I'm not only meeting new business establishments in Lincoln, but also new people. Matt, who I went on the Empyrean tour with, was behind the deli counter at Open Harvest, and Spenser, who you might recall from my previous "Spear Ritual" blog, was in a similar position at Meadowlark.

*This means I'll be needing postal addresses, so that I can write people.

Spear Ritual

It is the artist, not the audience, who should be doing the suffering.

Ivanna Cone's peanut buttered ice creams are great because they use crunchy peanut butter.

Nyx and Niles are a black and grey cat respectively. Nyx is the goddess of night, but Nyx the cat is actually a boy.

Katie, Jesse, Kayla, Tamara, Cassie, Spenser, Amanda, Jemaine, Bret

There was a recent study released by Penn State University that concluded that satisfactory sex can be achieved between 3 and 13 minutes. I first heard this on a sports talk radio show The Herd with Colin Cowherd. Colin said he was happy to hear this because he's already half way there.

The following night Conan O'Brien relayed the same study in his monologue, and his funniest moment of his entire monologue that night was when he said that the 13 minutes for him even includes the apology.

Craig Ferguson was answering viewer email and a rabbit or bunny was mentioned. Craig said he always thought Warren would be a good name for a rabbit. I thought this was brilliant.

I've been sold on Herman as a name for my next pet for a while now, but Norman made some headway today. I don't know if Amy would mind if I used Fred too.

What does Sophonia mean? Can it mean "knowing sound," with double duty from the "ph" or is it one or the other?

Stennett Brooks

Let Me Eat Cakes!

I had a great 27th birthday yesterday.

I started with a shave with my shaving mug glycerin Colonel Conk's Shaving soap applied by my boar hair brush (badger is a little rich for my blood yet, someday). Breakfast was at Bread & Cup and was a cinnamon roll, honey peanut granola, and French press coffee with cream. The reason they haven't had their savory bread pudding for breakfast is because they haven't yet had the turnover in the morning they would like to have a large breakfast menu, but they are thinking they will try to expand on Farmer's Market Saturdays. I'll keep you updated.

I had the opportunity to request anything I wanted for my birthday celebration at work, including the always delicious efforts of a husband of one of our resource consultants. So we had three wonderful angel food cakes with fresh strawberries, pineapple, and fresh whipped cream.

Lunch was at Famous Dave's so I could partake of their Famous Bread Pudding. Still really, really great.

The birthday party had a Better Than Sex cake made by my sister. I also got to have haystacks for the first time in recent memory. Angela, Scott, Wendy, Karen, Jim, Kyle and Cassie helped to make it a fun time had by me.

"All We Knead Is Love"

That is on the shirt of an employee at Great Harvest Bread Co., a bread store that carries Peet's coffee and tea and grinds their own flour each day. The franchise opened in Lincoln about ten days ago. I had a very tasty oat and berry muffin there and a "deici" (just kidding, it was called a large.) cup of coffee with steamed milk.

I suppose Great Harvest is like the Starbucks of bread stores, which could be good, if they provide really good bread. They are located at 48th and Old Cheney, which if you are from Lincoln, you might know that the Grain Bin, one of Lincoln's mom and pop bread shops, is just two blocks north on 48th. I'm curious what effect Great Harvest's close presence will have on GB.

I like St. Patrick's Day. It is one of many American holidays that has found a way to center around eating and drinking. And I'm all for eating and drinking. So I went to Bread and Cup for some very delicious corned beef on rye with a pint of Empyrean's Irish Red Ale. Then Ivanna Cone had a most delicious Bailey's Fudge Cake. The Bailey's ice cream base was Bailier than ever, and the fudge was decadent, and the cake was silky and not crumby like cake in ice cream often is. It was decadent without being rich. So I got a quart of it on my way out.

I was accompanied on my fine evening by Angela and Katie. Thank you ladies for a lovely night on the town.

Food and Friends

So yesterday, I was grumpy, but I wasn't the only one. Turns out Angela was too. So it was fortuitous that we had planned to meet that evening to go to Ivanna Cone. And even better, we expanded our plans to include supper first at Bread & Cup. Angela copied me and got a bowl of their spiced lentil soup with a hearty half of a beef sandwich (it really was a lot of meat). We differed in our beverage of choice. She got their hot chocolate and I got a pint of the Nostradamus Belgian brown ale. I really liked it, and if I'd taken a bit more time with it, I would have appreciated the port notes more.

After eating past our fill there, we went to Ivanna Cone. There was a wonderful flavor I hadn't seen before: Cranberry-Peach. Their eggnog was spot on too.

And while the food was most excellent, it was the company that alleviated the worries of the day. Thank you, Angela.

O Nival Night

I like many Christmas songs, so I've turned to my local soccer mom radio stations more frequently to catch their Christmas format. Today I went to church, and while driving there, O Holy Night played on the radio. The line that I never noticed before that I really like is "Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth." I was disappointed to find that the 1985 version of The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal doesn't include the song.

But back to that lyric, it seems to encapsulate the majesty and power of Jesus so efficiently, reflecting its own eloquence. That Jesus came to save all souls and that they recognized not only His ability to save, but also His glory, wells up in them a value previously unknown. His presence carries twofold meaning, that he is there to die for them, and because he is so great, they are also great.

After church, I went to Grateful Bread with Karen, Angela, Katie Carlson, and Ben Yancer. Their menu item of the day was Moroccan Chili Soup. It was very tasty, but not for everyone. Before I got there, Karen was in line and an elderly woman came in and asked if that was the only soup they had. Karen responded that probably it was, which was greeted with disappointment by the woman who whimpered, "It's too spicy for me." as she left.

Then I took a nap and it was Toaster Streudel at Ben and Ashley's. I could only stay there for about an hour though, because I had plans to play Guitar Hero at Hans' with one of our student workers and Lindsay, his girlfriend and my friend. Guitar Hero is a fun game, and I recommend it.

I was watching The World Stands Up on BBC America and a half Native American comic said that for the Indians Thanksgiving Day is called You're Welcome Day. The other thing he said that caught my attention was, "My father is unique. He has a brother who is his identical twin."

Tomorrow I try to make a woven lattice top apple pie.

Gary Wright 2

So Monday night I watched Planet Rock, which did a profile on the Foo Fighters, on Fuse TV. My friend Brian has been leaving me nice comments on MySpace recently, including invitations to visit him again in West Lafayette. Last week I made my first Thanksgiving dinner. Last night with Klaralyn, we were chatting about her dream, and she was also telling me how I should try to assimilate Cary Grant's style and meet a girl in a bar as such. I think I've laid the subconscious matrix for the dream I had, so here goes.

I was driving on the Interstate and with the vehicle in front of me another car pulled up to them two times while a woman got out of one vehicle and into the vehicle with her presumed beau. So there were two guys in the car in front of me and twice did women climb out of a van type car to get into the car with their mates. Whoever I was driving with, I was trying to explain how stupid it was that they were doing this and that they should have just met at the same exit with the other vehicle and made a much safer transition. Also, at least twice, I saw the drummer from the Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins, on a Ninja/crotch rocket type motorcycle. Most of the time I saw him on his bike, traffic wasn't going anywhere, and he was leaning forward, flat on his bike looking over at me. I would wave and call out his name, but I didn't get much response from him.

After I reached my destination, I was welcomed into the hotel room that Casey, Gretchen, Mindy, Brian, and I had. We weren't ready to go out, so we put in a movie, something that the girls enjoyed. While we were watching the movie, I was sitting next to Brian, and we were like really good buddies. It was a hockey movie with Richard Gere and Rob Lowe. I had managed to be in the movie as well and spent most of my scenes reprimanding Richard Gere. After losing interest in the movie, the five of us decided to go out, so Mindy gave me back my cell phone which she had apparently taken the liberty to take from me and turn off during our movie viewing (I don't actually own a cell phone). I had a text message from someone, sorry I can't remember what it said. I am sure it wasn't from Taylor Hawkins, whom I did see a third time on our way to the night time establishment.

At various times throughout the dream, I would visualize people separating into cubic squares. I think it had something to do with worrying about whether I had made enough turkey for the cubic volume of my guests. Which brings us to the last part of my dream, I was a Thanksgiving meal hosted by our associate accountant at AdventSource, Cassi, who used to be a student worker in my area. Mike from the Production department was also there. She brought out the turkey and was struggling greatly to carve it. She got pretty frustrated, so I offered to help her with it. It was an all dark meat turkey. I guess my dream ended with me offering some turkey to Mike.

So what does it all mean?

My First Feast

Left: This is me rubbing butter, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper in and around my organic turkey. Right: This is our main spread with Wendy's green bean casserole, my butternut squash with fresh grated cinnamon and nutmeg, turkey, creamy garlic mashed potatoes, Tofurky, fresh cranberry compote, and the turkey gravy my sister made.

Green Curry Blue Orchid Ruddy Oat

Before I went to Lust, Caution on Saturday night, I went to lunch at the Blue Orchid with Angela and Karen. This was my first time there, and on recommendation from Mark (de Mill), I chose the Green Curry (bamboo shoots, green peas, and basil leaf in an oak and peppercorn flavored curry). I really enjoyed it, and I really liked the tom kha soup that was my first course.

One of my student workers acquired a self-diagnosed allergy to wheat at Villa Aurora in Italy. Apparently, she ate too much pasta. Well after some good natured ribbing, I needed her to appreciate what an excellent baker I am, so I got some oat flour from Open Harvest (I am now a member!) to make my pie crust with.

I should have asked my resident food scientist at work (literally, she has written her dissertation on one of the egg proteins), but I did not, and the oat flour crust smelled so good whilst mixing it up. It was lacking the necessary gluten to layer with my chilled fats for which to make a flaky, flaky crust. [It was the first time I remembered missing someone while they were still there.*] So after some struggling with the sticky paste, I rolled out the crust twixt parchment paper and plastic wrap (a technique I'm going to use a lot more) and put it in the oven with crossed fingers and stars.

Instead of the flakes that one is hoping to achieve, I ended up with a mealy, crumby crust, which I felt unworthy of the reputation I'd established. So now Marcy and I get to eat a half-ways decent apple pie (I'm getting really good at apple pies, and the fresh shaved cinnamon and nutmeg are nothing to turn your nose at either.) instead of sharing with my coworkers, allergic or not.

*My friend Brian recommended the "very short story" Pet Milk by Stuart Dybek. He says it is his all-time favorite, and after listening to Mike Nussman read it for Chicago Public Radio's Stories on Stage series (scroll halfway down to Ties That Bind originally aired 11.23.02) I can see why.

Parade of Stars

I closed out my summer with a bang.

It started last Tuesday when Katie (my carpool shark) asked me if I was hungry. I said yes and that we should go to Bread & Cup that night instead of Thursday, as we had planned.

Wednesday, as well documented in my previous post's comments, I went to Bread & Cup with Karen and Wendy. It was nice to be recognized by the Mrs. of the establishment, and the cheese plate was good too. I guess seven attendances between the 7th (the second day they were open) and the 29th, managed to make me recognizable at the establishment.

Thursday Bryant and his brother Bradley (and Bradley's wonderful miniature Australian Shepherd dog Sebastian) were in Omaha, so Karen, Wendy, and I went to eat with the Reynolds boys, Bryant's friend Val, her boyfriend Matt, his brother John, and John's wife Sarah. Espana (Omaha's tapas restaurant) was pretty good. I had rabbit, divers scallops, and snails along with Spanish tortillas and cannelloni stuffed with a tuna salad of sorts. Because of Sebastian, who wasn't allowed to stay at Val and Matt's apartment, I was happy to host Bryant and Bradley for the night.

Friday after a busy, busy day at work, I drove to Champaign, IL to visit Ellen.

Saturday Ellen and I went to Allerton Park, Montgomery's in Monticello, Turkish Restaurant Pasha, and Bombay Indian Restaurant. Allerton was great, but has very poor maps. Montgomery's was my first wine and cheese tasting: Danish blue with a syrah and Emmenthaler and a blanco. Pasha had a server, Dila, who really liked the phrase "You're so welcome." At Bombay, I had rasmalai, a dessert I'd never had, but oddly enjoyed.

Sunday Ellen and I had breakfast at The Crepe Cafe, where I also partook in some nocciola gelato (hazelnut). Then we went to the library, and Spurlock Museum, before we realized her amount of homework, and my desire to see Michael and Buffy, since they were only two hours away, added up to me going to Lafayette while she went to her computer.

Sunday night, I got to join Michael and Buffy, Casey and Gretchen, and Brian at Sgt. Preston's on the River. I really enjoyed getting to meet in person personalities I'd only known in the blogosphere and MySpace.

Monday, I stopped in Champaign for lunch at Papa Del's for some super stuffed deep dish pizza with Ellen. I also gassed up in Newton, IA so that I could get some of their local Maytag blue cheese. I haven't tried it yet, but apparently it is the tits.

As for dogs and their names, you already heard about Sebastian. At Allerton there were a sibling pair of fawn boxer/pitbull mixes, whose mother was a collie, named Honey and Baxter or Buster, some "B" name (maybe Ellen remembers). And during a pit stop in Malcom, IA, I met a chocolate laborador named Hershey.

Giddy as a School Girl

Last night, in part to my own seeding and in part to my ancient answering machine, I talked to Ellen, Marcy immediately after, my mother shortly after, Karen immediately after, Wendy (of my own volition), and Katie some time after. Apparently my answering machine wasn't picking up while I was on the line, so instead of giving a busy signal it was just ringing like ten times, so when I hung up after talking to Ellen and my mother, the phone rang right away with Marcy and Karen on the phone. I'll share with you now what I shared with most all of them.

Monday I finally received my copper bowls that I purchased on eBay from Connecticut. This prompted me to read my Farm Journal's Complete Pie Cookbook before going to sleep, for a couple reasons: to make sure I had the requisite ingredients for the recipes I wanted to make on Wednesday night, and to locate the recipe I'd seen earlier that not only required rhubarb, but also some stiff egg whites (the reason I got my copper bowls). I was almost a bit embarrassed at how excited I was for the impending baking session. Like I told my mother, "[her] young man is becoming a woman."

So tonight I'm going to make a Rhubarb Custard pie and a Rhubarb-Orange Custard pie, both open-faced. The Rhubarb-Orange calls for 3 tablespoons of frozen orange juice concentrate, and then after mixing the egg, sugar, spice, and rhubarb, I fold it with three whipped egg whites. We'll see how it turns out, but I'm expecting an almost souffle (a pseuffle, if you will). I'm deciding whether to make my blubarb cobbler tonight or tomorrow night, fresh, before the people arrive for my antepenultimate Thursday night get together.

Now I must go mix my pie crust.

Dial M for Pizza

I saw Dial M for Murder on Wednesday night. I really liked it, probably more than the other Hitchcock and Grace Kelly film that came out later that year, Rear Window, and definitely more than their third collaboration: To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant.

Saturday night after I got back from watching Dr. John Walker at Jones Coffee, I found a styrofoam take-out container in my fridge with two pieces of pizza. I assumed that Wendy had dropped it off in my absence, so I thanked her in a comment on MySpace. She replied that, though she missed me; she didn't miss me enough to give me pizza. This might be a good point to mention that the pizza was really, really good. The crust was great. I believe there was eggplant and Greek olives and maybe roasted red pepper. Very tasty. So when Wendy told me that it wasn't her, I became frustrated because not only did I want to know who was in my apartment, but I wanted to get some of this really good pizza for myself. The only other person I could think of was maybe Scott, so I commented him and asked if he was downtown on Saturday night. I didn't get a response, so I just figured I had a fun little mystery that I might never solve.

Then Wednesday night, Wendy called me and we talked more about this mystery. She said she was going to Scott's that night, so I had her ask him in person. Mystery solved, almost. Wendy was able to gather that Scott had left it there, but couldn't remember where he got it from, "Auggie's or something, and they got the crust from some special place. He'll tell you tomorrow night when he comes over."

So finally tonight, when Scott called to say he wasn't coming over, he told me that he and Tanya got the pizza at Maggie's and didn't want to leave it in the hot car when they were over last Thursday. The special place they get their crust from is Le Quartier Bakery. This means that the pizza was in my fridge from Thursday night to Saturday night without my noticing. This also means that after sitting in a fridge for two days the pizza still tasted really good. I can only imagine what it tastes like fresh.

Tomorrow morning I go to Bread & Cup for breakfast on their opening day.

I made a blubarberryan (blueberry, rhubarb, and blackberry) cobbler for Thursday night this week. It turned out pretty good, but I will make more cobblestones next time, if I use a 9 x 13 pan instead of the 8 x 8 that the recipe calls for (actually a 10 x 6 pan, but I've never seen that size. Must have been real popular in the 60s.)

"Like a Kick in the Head"

I really enjoyed myself quite thoroughly on my trip to Des Moines with Karen, Friday. I'll give you an overview and then Break. It. Down.

We left at 10 and arrived uneventfully right on time to join Nathan for lunch at the Art Center's "five star" restaurant. Then we had a wonderful two hours absorbing the art. After getting a bit derailed by the one way street system, we had twenty minutes to buzz through the Capitol building. We then mastered the aforementioned street system and had supper at Court Avenue Brewing. This left us with enough time for me to 'av a pint at The Royal Mile, a British type pub, and another at El Bait Shop, with 100 taps from which beer comes. We arrived also on time for the Squirrel Nut Zippers concert (the main reason for the trip). The Dex Romweber Duo opened, and the Zippers headlined. And again we arrived uneventfully back at Lincoln right at 2.

Des Moines Art Center was really more than I had hoped for. I remembered that they had an Andy Goldsworthy sculpture from a documentary I'd watched on him. But the rest of their collection was really great and Karen and I really liked it. Some pieces I particularly enjoyed: Man and Pegasus, Women, Bird, Stars; Light over Gray by Rothko, A Panic That Can Still Come Over Me: Salvages II by Jess, Ballet Girl in White, Jasper Johns' Tennyson (a favorite of mine), Phantom in a Wooden Garden, Range by Brice Marden, Giacometti's Man Pointing, another one that was one of my favorites was a Samurai Tree by Gabriel Orozco, but I can't find a picture of it.

I thought it would be interesting to ask what the Art Center's guards' favorite piece was. Three out of five said John Singer Sargent's Portraits of Edouard and Marie-Louise Pailleron. Other favorites of the guards were Childe Hassam's Bridge in Snow, and Gerhard Richter's Landschaft. I liked the other John Singer Sargent they had there, Study of an Old Man, more. My favorite guard was Milton Bruce Jr. who had been at the center for 8 years after working 35 years mixing rubber for tires. He had worked at the same machine in the same room for 35 years. He said coming to the Center was like a kick in the head. I suppose so. It should also be mentioned that three different architects have designed segments building which is compelling in itself.

Karen and I were repeatedly impressed by Jean Dubuffet. We first saw his Villager with Close Cropped Hair on the main floor. And there were a couple others I really liked including The Gardens of the Highway. Another piece I couldn't find images of but enjoyed was Leon Golub's Colossol. And to fully document the rest of the pieces I liked: Ernst Barlach's The Avenger and Ritman's Nude in Landscape.

The Capitol Building was impressive. My opinion was that I liked the art of the Nebraska Capitol and the structure and ornament of the Iowa building.

Court Avenue Brewing was good. Karen liked her Porto Bomb sandwich and I my Black and Tan Reuben. They even had a very good bread pudding for dessert (though Famous Dave's is still tops). I tasted three of their beers and their root beer. I didn't care for the Blackhawk Stout or the Kaplan Hat Hefeweizen, but I did like the Capital Raspberry Wheat and their root beer was quite good with just enough kick. We then hit the Royal Mile where I had Fuller's London Porter. I liked it, but it was really sweet, so much that a whole glass was almost too sweet. At El Bait Shop I had Bell's Oberon, a wheat beer, that had very nice citrus overtones. Bell's is from Michigan.

By now it was time to head over to the Hoyt Sherman Place for the concert. The Dex Romweber Duo opened and did a fine job. I was thinking of how to describe them to you, and I decided that their style and music is what would have happened if the White Stripes (Dex's sister Sara plays the drums.) were born in the early 40's and had matured musically with the rise of Rock and Roll. And sure enough, if you click on my first link to them, there is a quote from Jack White about his influence. Dex is reminiscent of a winner of an Elvis contest at the Kremlin.

The Squirrel Nut Zippers were great. The last few concerts I've been to are Sufjan Stevens, Of Montreal, Ryan Stupe and the Rubber Band, and Gym Class Heroes. Sufjan opened his Austin City Limits concert with butterfly wings on his back, The Of Montreal lead singer opened his Sokol Underground show in a wedding dress so that he could legally make love to the audience. Ryan Stupe plays the fiddle and they have a song about a Banjo Boy.

Well Katherine Whalen opened the show with cowboy boots, a wedding dress, and butterfly wings, oh and she also played the banjo. The wings were the only thing that didn't last the whole show. I must say I was quite smitten. I'm definitely glad that our seats were in the center of the second row with no one sitting in front of us. They played all their hits from their previous three or four albums; this is their first tour in seven years. And then we got to participate in that great charade where they pretend they are done with the show and the audience pretends they have the power to control musicians by merely standing and clapping. Good stuff.

Between Dex and the Zippers I walked around the lobby and noticed the name Mrs. Galusha Parsons. I don't know if that is her husband's name or hers.

Jagshemash!

A maybe better title would be "Salvation a la Mode and a Cup of Tea," but I really wanted to use this post's title on my previous untitled post, so I'm gonna use it now.

I had a full day today. I got out of bed at a quarter to 8 and went to the Farmer's Market, where I purchased not only a couple pounds of rhubarb but also a rhubarb plant. Yes you read that correctly, I'm going to be responsible for a life other than my own. Amy is inspirational. I'd like to maybe not put it in the ground and increase its growth before I let it go dormant. It will take some research and time, but I've made the plunge; can't back out now.

On the way back from the market there was a nice woman with a Basset hound sitting in front of The Mill. I walked past, and then I realized I wanted to know its name.

So I went back, "Excuse me ma'am, what is your dog's name?"

"Oliver."

"Wonderful, thank you."

I've decided that in addition to "collecting" names like Pornsook Tantrarungroj. I'm going to accumulate dogs and their names. If you would like to assist me, please feel free to submit the breed of dog and its name whenever; a quick comment on this or my other blog will be all that is necessary. The other dog that planted this seed of interest was a blue weimaraner named Dexter, who is owned by my sister's 4-H dog training instructor's daughter. I met him the first weekend in July at West Bend. I also met a Visla/Laborador mix named Reba.

Quickly a few other dogs I know right now:

Walker Treeing Coon Hound, Slade
Blue Tick Coon Hound, Hank
French Mastiff, Captain Jack
fat German Short-hair Pointer, Mustafa "Mus"
St Bernard, Colbert "Bear"
mostly Golden Lab, Molly
German Shepherd, Molly
German Shepherd, Smokey
black Lab, Remington
chocolate Lab, Dakota
Lab/Retriever mix, Max
puff ball, Ernie
Husky, Kodi
Pomeranian, Foxy

Now near the bus stop, I sat at a bench to read the Saturday paper I snagged from atop the newspaper vending machine (This is better than the law firm I stole one from last week. Apparently the delivery persons are fined if they get too many complaints. Thanks Ashley.). I was reading the paper when I noticed a butterfly on the ground next to my foot. It slowly crawled onto my shoe and since its right wing was torn a bit near the bottom; I waited for it to die. It was a yellow Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). I decided I was going to wait an hour, and if it wasn't dead by then, I was going to take it home with me. Instead Jose and Joshua, two Catholics from Miami and Dallas respectively, wanted to share with me the happiness and peace they have found in following Jesus. At some point during our discussion, the butterfly flew. :(


Their main reason for me to follow Jesus was to bring myself happiness and fill the emptiness in my heart. I respect their desire to share what they have found to work for them and their ability to not be belligerent in their efforts. Jose identified Original Sin as Selfishness, or Egoism, manifested by wanting to be our own god. I asked how the self love that drives us to want a good life from following Jesus is different from the selfishness of Original Sin. After they left, I thought this was still a good question: What is the line between Self Love and Self ish?

Since I had no butterfly to wait for, I went home, showered, called Wendy, and toured (links on left progress you through the tour) the State Capitol Building. Then we went to a Chinese restaurant and finally Ivanna Cone.

At Ivanna Cone, I had the Meadowlark Sherbert (lavender, honey, lemon, and herbal tea) I had spurned last Tuesday when I went there with Michael, Buffy, and Deidra. I enjoyed it.

Once home alone, I was looking through the classifieds and saw this ad:

BLUE brindle & blue fawn, 7 wks. old, MUST SEE!

I concurred, so I called the number and went over to the owner's apartment directly. They were pit bull pups, and according to the owner, since their eyes are still blue, they will stay that way. There was a stocky boy and a girl pup that were blue with the brindle markings. The girl came up to me of her own accord, but if I were to get one, I would prefer the boy. I think I might be able to talk the guy down to $100, but I'm still reluctant to bring a puppy, or any dog for that matter, into my current apartment. And in case you were wondering, his "blue fawns" didn't seem very blue to to me.

Last night I had a Rogue Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale. I liked it. According to the Rogue website, soba, or buckwheat, is a member of the rhubarb family. I can't tell you how much this news excites me.

Great Success!

That is my summation of my week and particularly Thursday night Bean Bags and Rhubarb.

My week started with the Fleishkuechle feed and late night trip home. Monday Karen called and we went to Ivanna Cone for ice cream. Tuesday Karen and Wendy and Michael and Buffy came over and played Phase 10.

Wednesday was the Fourth and was everything I'd hoped it to be. I started my day making rhubarb crisp and steamed squash with coconut custard. Then Wendy, Karen, and I went to Seward, NE for their Grand Parade. I saw Marsha and Tomas Bartulec and also Michelle Wehling. The parade wasn't that grand but entertaining enough. It helped that we were at the corner where the parade turned, so you got the drama of the different floats having to navigate the maneuver. After the parade, we came back to Lincoln and went to the fireworks at Oak Lake Park where we were joined by Michael, Buffy, Travis, Deidra, Randy, and Becca.

Thursday, as I said before, was great. Michael, Kyle, Scott, Tanya, Ben Yancer, Katie Carlson, Leslie de Flutier, Karen, Pauline Deeb, Wendy, Buffy, and Deidra all came over. I don't know if I forgot anyone; I really hope I didn't. We all played bean bags and ate the crisp and squash with custard that I'd prepared the day before. There was plenty of after party too: hanging out, talking, laughing.

Friday Wendy, Karen, and I went to Yia Yia's for pizza and such (I had a Left Hand Brewery [out of Longmont, CO] Black Jack Porter that was fine, but not close to Free State's Blackjack Porter). Then we came back to my place an played Phase 10, which Wendy won, and Monopoly, of which I was the victor.

Saturday I got some rhubarb from the farmer's market. But I was kinda worried because I only saw one booth selling it. Rhubarb might be going out of season, which changes the dynamics of my Thursday Night Rhubarb and Bean Bags. At the very least, it changes the dynamics of the recipes. Then Karen and I went to Something Else Sabbath School, Michel's Ville Grille (because Alladin's was closed for carpet renovations), the Something Else Sabbath School picnic in Pioneer's Park, and finished our day at Becca and Randy's with Buffy, Michael, Casey, Deidra, and Chris with some singing, talking, and munching of popcorn, fruit and ice cream.

So this week was brought to you by the letters K, W, B, and M, and the number 4.

We Few, We Happy Few

I had a red letter day yesterday.

It technically started with Wendy and Karen playing Go Fish at midnight. After they left I was able to assemble and bake a rhubarb custard pie. I was really happy with how it turned out. I think what helped the crust be "so light" was that I didn't over blend it when I mixed the liquid with the flour/shortening; plus, I didn't refrigerate it as long as normal. Then I went to bed.

I intended to leave at 9:30 to be able to casually (read legally) drive to Glenwood, IA to hear Amy's husband, Tim, preach. I was off by 23 minutes, but still arrived on time (the ol' time/distance value of speed). After church we had a delicious meal (of note was a marinated carrot dish that Amy made) at Tim and Amy's. Then we played bean bags, whilst Ben discussed his dream of a creator coffee collective house.

After some laying about, I went to Shakespeare on the Green to "mark territory" for the group while they gathered the picnic fixings (again Amy came through with a really great peanut sauce). This gave me an hour to read In Praise of Shadows and take an actual nap. Everyone arrived (A pleasant surprise was the arrival of Scott, Tanya, Jessica, and Katie.) and the play soon started.

I really enjoyed the performance of Henry V and was surprisingly touched by two things: first the tragedy of the boys who watched the luggage being killed by the fleeing French and second, that Henry had to ask the French herald whether he had won the day or not.

Because I had no timeline to get back home, I was able to drive the speed limit while thinking about the fine time had by all.

[UPDATE: The peanut sauce is now linked to the recipe.]