How Did We Get This Far?|May 09, 2008
Hello, Gentle Readers. Remember me?
You may recall, many moons ago, that I wrote about how this blog had served its original purpose, and that I needed to strike out in a new direction. I realized that I no longer needed to exorcise the darkness so much, because there was much less of it in me. And this left me a little short on inspiration. I had been writing with that purpose for so long, I wasn't sure how to proceed in a more positive light. Kind of funny, eh?
Of course, like most things we (or at least I) look for too hard, it was right in front of my face the whole time. I have spent the last several months consumed by baking, brewing, herb growing, and cheesemaking. I have awakened to how much happier and more satisfied I am when I am consuming things that I have made with my own two hands. I realized how much badly I want to eventually raise everything I eat. I have a real life goal, which is something I have been operating without for a long, long time. It's a nice feeling.
That is not to say that I am going to become a one story pony; I still have plenty of really fucked up stuff going on with The Old Man, and there will still be my random observations about whatever strikes my fancy. Just in case you were worried.
See you soon, Gentle Readers....
Posted by El Oso at 09:12 PM in Blogging & Musings & Out of Town | permalink | (0) Comments
Homemade Butter|March 02, 2008
I made butter yesterday.
I didn't do it all Olde Timey style, like with a churn (not that I don't want to- I just don't have one. I bought one on Ebay a while ago, but I got stiffed). I have a small food processor that it turns out is the perfect size for a pint of heavy cream.
Making butter is really simple, and I have done it before, though not for a very long time. I had kind of forgotten how it all worked, and how cool it is to see the transformation happen. And it is, of course, way tastier than what you are getting at the grocery store. I highly recommend you give it a whirl.
Butter from the Blender
- 1 Pint Heavy Cream
- Salt to Taste
Blend the cream on high in your blender or food processor. In fairly short order it will become whipped cream. Nothing will appear to happen for the next 5-10 minutes- just keep blending. The volume of the whipped cream will begin to slowly decrease, and you will feel, rather than see, the solids start to collect into butter. Shortly after this, and very quickly, the cream will collapse and separate into butter and buttermilk. (mmm... pancakes, anyone?)
Strain the buttermilk into a container and discard or refrigerate for later use.
Take the mass of butter and rinse under cold water, gently kneading with your hands, to rinse out any large pockets of trapped buttermilk. Transfer the butter to a bowl and add salt, if desired; I used about half a teaspoon, and I found it to be a little less salty than store butter. (Salt will also make your butter keep longer). Now would be the time that you should add any other herbs or flavorings that you might desire, in lieu of (or in addition to) the salt.
Using a rubber spatula, work and smear the butter against the sides of the bowl until all the buttermilk is extracted and the salt (or whatever you ended up adding) is thoroughly mixed in.
Place in a covered container, refrigerate, and enjoy!
One pint of heavy cream yields what looks to me like a little less than a half a pound of butter, and around 3/4 cup of buttermilk, more or less.
Posted by El Oso at 08:51 PM in Food and Drink & Recipes & The Home Front | permalink | (3) Comments
Lay Down Your Weary Tune|February 25, 2008
You're going to love this, Gentle Readers.
A few weeks ago, I got a text message from The Old Man. This, in and of itself, is not really anything of note. I get a lot of them from him (mostly after he has had a few too many daiquiris), and they are run of them mill text messages from a tipsy parent. Which probably isn't really all that run of the mill in and of itself, but that's another issue, for another time.
In any case, this one left me floored, mouth open, and incoherent. I present it here in its entirety, because I just don't know how I could possibly do it justice otherwise.
By a series of improbable coincidences a daughter I was unaware of and I have found each other. Her name is [redacted], 33 years old. We have grown very close over the last few months. I am adopting her, we truly love each other.
Let me repeat: this was a text message. My sisters The Rockette and The Star got the same one, as I nearly instantly learned, since there was much talking on the phone between the three of us. It became clear shortly that all of my siblings (wait, scratch that- all of The Old Man's children; I have siblings that are not his) got the same message.
Obviously, this is a large and complex issue, and we will be returning to it several times over the coming weeks, but here are the things that, at first gloss, really blew my mind...
a) Did I mention this news was delivered via text message?b) [redacted] is 33. The Rockette is 32. Which means that Redacted's mother was already pregnant with her when my mother got pregnant with The Rockette.
c) Except for The Rockette, The Star, and myself, none of the other siblings had any problem with the fact that this news was delivered via text message.
d) Um... adopting? At 33? If The Old Man had any assets, I would be worried this was some kind of scam.
So, yeah. Wacky, right? This has been rippling around for a while- as I said, it was weeks ago. And I have lots more to say. But I think I will pause here and let all that sink in a little before I go on.
Posted by El Oso at 03:14 PM in Family Matters & The Old Man & WTF!? | permalink | (2) Comments
Tales of Yankee Power|February 20, 2008
One of the things I love best about my job is that sometimes I get to work on things that are really cool and interesting, and actually see things I would not get to see otherwise (learning something in the process), all while getting paid to do a job that is fairly fun and interesting in and of itself. Doesn't that rock?
This dispatch is from just such a job, Gentle Readers. I am sitting in The Catholic Church of St. Peter, which is the oldest Catholic church in New York City, while a group of Buddhists rehearse the ceremony that they are going to perform here tomorrow morning. It is all part of this week's activities centered around the opening of a show of sculpture by Shinjo Ito, a renowned Buddhist artist and the founder of the Shinnyo-en order of Buddhism.
Not a bad way to spend a couple of days.
Posted by El Oso at 08:23 PM in Working | permalink | (1) Comments
The Waves at Night|February 19, 2008
I realized this week why I have been having so much trouble writing here lately.
It's not that I don't want to write- I most certainly do. And it's not that I am burnt out on the internets, or blogging, or any of the other internal things that sometimes causes a writer to stop writing in the public forum, though I did examine that possibility. The problem I have been having, Gentle Readers, is that the reason I started this blog is no longer valid.
Wait, that's not quite right. What I really mean is that it has served it's purpose, and helped me to air out a great deal of the darkness that was in me. Now that that has been done, I have to approach it, and the writing, in a different way. Which I haven't been doing, because it took me a while to catch on.
I am not saying, by the way, that there is no darkness left; those of you that have been with me for a while must know that that would be very unlikely. What I am saying is that it is no longer the driving force in my life. Which is a pretty fucking awesome realization, let me tell you.
So I need to strike out in a new direction, or at least have a new focus. And I am not sure what that will be. But I think now that I have stopped approaching it in the old way, the defunct way, the words will flow and the direction will become clear.
Thank you, Gentle Readers, for coming along for the ride thus far, and for continuing on with me.
Posted by El Oso at 09:57 AM in Blogging & Musings | permalink | (1) Comments
The End of Outside|January 10, 2008
Gentle Readers, I decided what to do about my Haiku a Day project. I am going to put it up on Twitter. You can follow it online at my Twitter page, and/or you can sign up and follow me, and you will get the Haikus delivered to you via text. I will start today.
Perhaps I will do something more permanent later, but I think this will be fun and immediate, sort of keeping with the tone of the project (at least, the way I see it). And I thought it might be fun for you, if you chose to sign up, to get random bits of poetry on a daily basis.
I mean, who doesn't need more poetry?
Disclaimer: I am not in any way affiliated with Twitter- I just think it's a cool service that suits my needs...
Posted by El Oso at 10:44 AM in Artistic Endeavors | permalink | (1) Comments
