August | 2006 | in re:

In re: Boiled in Beer

Posted on August 30, 2006 by ed

So I found myself with an almost empty keg of Miller Lite on the back porch and to lighten it up for the trip back I thought I’d drain out the rest into a huge stock pot I have. After filling the pot with almost two gallons of warm beer I figured that this should not go to waste – but what to do with two gallons of warm Miller? I started thinking sausages and boiling them in the beer, normally I wouldn’t dump gallons to cook such things, but I have in the past used a few cans.

After walking Charlie and finally getting around to going to the store the thought of cooking the sausages seemed like too much after a long day, so upon getting to the store I bought the best hot dogs I could find, some pierogies, onions and set about getting the beer up to boiling. Now I’ve never heard of beer boiled pierogis, but I figured this was as good a time as any to give it a shot. I cut up the onions, dumped them into the boiling water–oops i meant beer and started them up, then the frozen Mrs. Ts pierogies. I transferred all of these to a skillet with some melted butter to brown up the onions and piergoies and tossed the hot dogs into the beer.

Unfortunately I didn’t make a test batch of pierogies to compare the beer boiled to ones more traditionally prepared, but I think they did taste different and in fact better? Normally I am not a big fan of Mrs Ts, but I swear they were a lot better then usual. The hot dogs were also quite good, although I assume the beer had nothing to do with that, but they were in natural lamb casing with angus beef (I think I’ve mentioned my mistrust of that campaign on here before) and with some of the onions, some relish and some Cleveland Stadium Mustard, they were top notch.

So do I recommend you buy a keg with which to boil up everything in sight? Well as long as your getting one anyway, I figure you might want to give some cooking with the leftovers a shot.

Filed under: Cooking | Leave a Comment »

In re: So long segway?

Posted on August 29, 2006 by ed

Segway’s were hyped up, so much so that they were supposed to change the world. Instead they’ve remained only a strange, niche product that you see only on the rarest of occasions. That was at least until they opened a Segaway store (dealer?) on High St. here in Columbus. Since then I’ve seen at least 8, count them 8 (4 were driving together) riding around the town. Part of the huge appeal of the Segway is that they are legal to drive on sidewalks, seems logical, but then you are walking through the park with your dog and you hear shouts behind you to watch out and you are forced to step off the path to allow two Segways to pass whizzing by at high speed (the 12 mph is a lot faster in the park then you’d think). So the question begs to be asked are these really safe for sidewalks? Of course when there are three people in your whole city driving the things its no problem, but imagine 100 of them whipping by on the sidewalk and the possibility for pretty severe injuries when one of these things whacks someone in the head.

Just while I was going through all this exciting thinking someone sent me a link to a story about England and how they recently changed the laws on Segways, banning them on sidewalks and effectively destroying a future for them. On a side note I once was suckered into looking into renting a Segway up in Montreal, but the store despite its 40 foot high billboard had gone under (or away) and we were left walking. I later thought that actually the Segway might be a good way to site see for those who wanted to see a whole lot in a day, at their own pace but faster then walking and without burning those pesky calories.

In Britain, the Department for Transport has welcomed the scooter with a double whammy, invoking the Highway Act of 1835 to ban it from sidewalks and EU vehicle-certification rules to keep it off roads.

See the story “Blow to inventors as Segway banned” in Times online (UK)

Interesting legal note, that they actually didn’t pass a ban, but instead a strict reading of an old law on the books concerning highway transportation was actually the source of this.

Filed under: Law, Tech | 1 Comment »

In re: Late night dip making and miscellany

Posted on August 28, 2006 by ed

So been busy, apparently too busy to post on here – well maybe just needed a bit of a break, or I was too busy being caught up in a week long birthday celebration, or getting re-accustomed to spending time in the law library.
Other things I’ve been up to include taking Charlie to his first vet appointment, where he was very good while getting some shots and other prodding that I would have gotten pissed off about. Also got hit with the reality of the costs of dog ownership, not that Charlie isn’t worth it.

The weekend also involved a little law party at my house for which I didn’t get to produce the usual food spread that I would do, I had intended to serve up soft pretzels with some dips, but didn’t get around to making them til most people were gone and we had gone through a couple kegs, but despite that I thought the recipe for the horseradish cheese dip turned out well. (some remarked to me that I was the only person they knew whose late night snacks involve a food processor – I’ll treat that as a compliment) So in hopes of encouraging you as well I thought I’d mention how to make your own dip:

Cut up a sharp cheddar or any other cheese you feel like into a medium/small dice and place in small food processor.
To this add mayo, mustard (I used a Danish sweet/hot mustard from trader joes), prepared or fresh horseradish.
Let the food processor do its bit and you’ll end up with a smooth, creamy and quite tasty cheese dip for some soft pretzels.

So that was about the extent of my cooking this weekend, had a few good meals out at restaurants, including a night out with my folks at a steakhouse.

Filed under: Cooking, Misc | Leave a Comment »

In re: Rising 3L

Posted on August 21, 2006 by ed

This past friday was the last full time day for me at work, and I’ll admit it was a bit of a strange feeling to be done (although I’ll still be working part time) but losing your routine, starting a new one can feel like a bit of adventure, even when it really shouldn’t be. Somehow though the reality that this is my last year of school-something I haven’t been able to say ever and the fact I need to find work, possibly move to a new city and make new friends again and make really large life choices is a bit daunting. Thankfully none of this has really set in and instead I’ve only really thought about this upcoming year of school, the classes I’ll be taking, etc.

While I would think I’d be thrilled to switch to a part time working schedule, there is a strange feeling knowing that people are working away in the office without me, and that I am now reduced to a novelty, popping in 10-15 hours a week, instead of the fixture I once was.

Filed under: Law School, Minutiae, Misc | 1 Comment »

In re: Truth in advertising

Posted on August 21, 2006 by ed

Heard about this on cartalk (you can hear it in segment 8 if you visit this week) the other day, probably the best classified ever, supposedly coming from the Ashland Daily Tidings, OR – couldn’t find it on their classified site, so you’ll have to take their word for it.

“1994 Plymouth Voyager Minivan, 265,000 miles, one new headlight, I would rather drive a railroad spike through my face then drive this car for another month”

Filed under: Misc | Leave a Comment »

In re: Big talk

Posted on August 16, 2006 by ed

Here we are in the biggest struggle of our lives and we are funding both sides — the U.S. military with our tax dollars and the radical Islamists and the governments and charities that support them with our gasoline purchases — and you won’t lift a finger to change that. Why? Because it might impose pain on the oil companies and auto lobbies that fund the G.O.P., or require some sacrifice by Americans. (Thomas Friedman “Big Talk, Little Will” NY Times [subscription req'd])

In this editorial I thought Friedman hit on one of the issues that bothers me with the current Middle East strategy, kinda like the Guns & Butter, we want to fix Iraq, but without using Powell’s ‘overwhelming force’ and troop numbers, we want to fight the Islamic terror, but continue to allow ourselves to remain energy dependant in such a way that we fund it.

While radical changes in energy will be painful, spending massively on new technologies and energies, mass transportation (trains?) and the like instead of rebuilding Iraq would possibly have put us in a position where we would have been less likely to be experiencing what we are.

Filed under: Editorial, Politics, Trains | Leave a Comment »

In re: Coffee

Posted on August 16, 2006 by ed

You may or may not know it but I love coffee. I’ve been made fun of for my over-priced, spill proof, insulated mug (which by the way I’ve been using now for two years and have gotten well more then the $35 it cost in savings by making it myself, having to buy less coffee as it stays hot for hours and being able to toss it in my bag) anyway, back to the whole story and enough defending my cup.

Coffee is the best way to start my day, in fact I can’t imagine waking up and not having it, is it the caffeine that has addicted me to the taste of coffee or is there something else in the dark drink? Well for one I don’t opt for the highest caffeine versions, going instead with dark roasts which have the heavier and more complex flavors I prefer, but still what is it about coffee that makes me so in to it?

Well it sure hadn’t been health reasons, but its nice to find something every now and again in favor of something you like (although I am sure next week they will find something else wrong with it). Nevertheless there was an interesting article that talked about the antioxidants in coffee and the health benefits to be possibly gained

“Still, after controlling for age, smoking and alcohol consumption, women who drank one to five cups a day — caffeinated or decaffeinated — reduced their risk of death from all causes during the study by 15 to 19 percent compared with those who drank none.” NY Times “Coffee as a Health Drink?”

Unfortunately I used up the last of the Kona I had from a gift, but there are plenty of other great beans I can get at Staufs, my favorite spot for buying them. Still it leaves the question who bothered to roast, grind and put in hot water coffee in the first place? Well either way its good and possibly good for yah.

Filed under: Drink, Misc | 1 Comment »

In re: Most expensive apple pie?

Posted on August 15, 2006 by ed

Today at work they are holding a ‘dessert auction’ to raise money for the troops overseas, and that led to a co-worker mentioning a pie he saw on the Deen brothers cooking show (the two son’s of Paula Deen) which by the way I’ve been told isn’t a very good show. In general I am less keen on the shows that go around and show you places, versus teach you how to cook, but nonetheless, the pie “The Levee High Pie” is named after the flooding in the early ninties and costs $164.95, although actually only $29 is for the pie and the 18 apples it contains, the rest is for the shipping and dry ice–so not sure this really qualifies at all for the honor. You can see it or order it for yourself from the Blue Owl near St. Louis.

Update: So I didn’t order the Blue Owl pie, but I did end up going to the auction where I bought an apple pie for the modest price of $10 (I was the only one who bid, now I am not complaining but I was surprised to find myself in the minority on apple desserts) I left after a bit due to the length of the auction (over an hour–wow) I missed it but apparently a peanut butter cream pie went for the astonishing $200, all for a good cause though but still is my apple pie really worth so much less? (glad it is)

Filed under: Cooking, Expensive | 2 Comments »

In re: Sense of Smell

Posted on August 14, 2006 by ed

I’ve long read and known about the fact that our sense of smell is the only one of our senses that is directly connected to our brains. For this reason smell can an often is extremely powerful at invoking memories or causing us pleasure or discomfort. Just recently while reading Making of a Chef, which mentioned this.

With that in mind I realized this early this morning when I took Charlie outside to the yard to let him go to the bathroom to have the sensation that I had while camping on the banks of the Mississippi in Iowa during high-school (we were driving further out west, Buffalo Iowa was not our final destination, I also have fond memories of a stay in Iowa where our campsite flooded!) The smell in the air had a hint of the bread that I smell every morning from the nearby Wonder Bread factory, but also had a misty & musty scent, which coupled with the just breaking dawn transported me back to a morning that I had some 8 or 9 years ago. I can’t remember if we were coming or going on the day I seemed to remembered, but I felt the sense of adventure that always accompanied such travels. Either-way it was an exciting way to start off the day.

Filed under: Minutiae, Misc | Leave a Comment »

In re: Better than Glazer

Posted on August 14, 2006 by ed

I posted earlier about the possibility of Randy Lerner (owner of the Cleveland Browns) buying Aston Villa (Birmingham, England) of the English Premier League, but since then his bid was pulled, only to come back later in the bidding stage as a favorite. Part of the reason he makes a good owner is his personal fortune of over a billion dollars, as well as the company he owns which is planning to manage the team.

Many British who criticised Malcolm Glazer for buying Manchester United did so not only because it was an American, but also due to the fact he was buying the team based upon a risky financing structure that put the team in a lot of debt. In the case of Lerner no debt is involved and he is planning to significantly improve the teams training facilities and then work on building up the team, rather than quickly buying talent. Further unlike Glazer he is taking a team in decline with the hope of bringing it back to glory, so it is much more likely they can get behind him.

Aston Villa in many ways mirrors the Cleveland Browns in that they both have had great past successes but have had long dry streaks, for Clevelanders like myself it would be nice to see Aston Villa promoted as some-type of sister team, with a summer friendly being played in Cleveland. Anyway, the bid is still open for counter offers over the course of the next three weeks, but it is believed that he will be tough to beat out.

See story on BBC here

Update: Always interesting to see a BBC story: Learning about Lerner, interviewing a Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter Tony Grossi, who covers the Browns, see it here and what seems to be the very positive reaction to Lerner. Also on SKY Sports News, interviews with Aston Villa fans showed how happy they are about Lerner.

Filed under: Sports | Leave a Comment »

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