Jul 17

Streetus Interruptus

I mentioned the small number of bridges between downtown and north Seattle in an early post on The Montlake Mess. There are other “features” that drive new drivers in our area nuts. Chief among them: Streetus Interruptus.

In theory, Seattle’s thoroughfares are set up as a grid. Streets run east-west, avenues run north-south. Then we have regions: Northeast, north, northwest, southwest, south, and east. (No southeast in Seattle. Don’t ask me why.) If you think northeast 90th street should logically connect with north and northwest 90th, you are sadly mistaken. We found this out the hard way when we looked at a rental house on northeast 90th street. The street dead-ended at a stairway. To get to the house from our car, we had to walk down the stairs. We wound up living there for nearly ten years. We got used to the number of cars turning around in our driveway at all hours of the day and night because the drivers didn’t see the dead end sign before getting on the street in the opposite direction.

The causes of Streetus Interruptus can be categorized as natural and human-made. Bodies of water, cliffs, ravines, and other geologic features can necessitate dead ends. By far the major human-made reason is arterials such as Lake City Way and Interstate 5. You cannot take northeast 90th street across either road. When I was teaching at North Seattle College (off north 92nd street), I’d have to get on Lake City Way and get to 92nd street in a zigzag route through the Maple Leaf neighborhood. I opted to take the bus my last quarter teaching there. Much less stressful.

As much of an inconvenience as Streetus Interruptus can be, it pales in comparison to the closure of the West Seattle Bridge. This structure is out of commission until next year, which means that folks in that neighborhood have to drive the long way around to get to the rest of the city. Now there’s a real Streetus Interruptus.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2021/07/17/streetus-interruptus/

Jul 17

Quote of the Day

Seen in this New York Times article on post-pandemic awkward encounters: “My eyebrows always go up when I’m lying to be polite, which is how you can tell I don’t use Botox.” – Rosie Perez

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2021/07/17/quote-of-the-day/

Jul 06

Georgia on my Mind

One of the peak experiences of my adult life was accompanying a friend from college to the Republic of Georgia when she adopted a baby girl. In addition to seeing my friend realize her dream of being a mother, the breads of Georgia were a revelation. Some were flatbreads baked on the sides of giant tandoors. Khachapuris were cheese-filled breads. Some were similar to calzones, others open-faced. We devoured them all.

Last Saturday we were downtown and passed the Georgian coffee house we found back in April. Julian turned to me and asked, “So when are you going to make me a khachapuri?” I resisted the urge to exclaim, “Poof! You’re a khachapuri!” However, the thought of trying it grew until yesterday morning when I had a day off for the July 4 holiday.

Yeast Mode needed to be fed, so I used the discard to create a sponge. After a bike ride, I finished the dough with a little added yeast. The dough rose a couple of times, then I made the cheese filling by mixing together some mashed goat and sheep cheese, grated Monterey Jack, the dregs of some bleu cheese, beaten egg, and sour cream. I shaped the bread dough into the traditional boat shape and filled the middle with the cheese. After about 30 minutes of rising, I baked it at 375° for 30 minutes. Julian liked it so much that he thought that I should use this “recipe” for future pizza crusts.

Dinner was also in a Georgian theme. I grilled some chicken and slathered it at the end with tkemali, a Georgian sour plum sauce. I’d bought a bottle at Skalka in April. Quite tasty.

Yes, that’s the Georgian language underneath the Russian.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2021/07/06/georgia-on-my-mind/

Jun 28

BRUTAL

There’s no other way to put it, friends. The heat wave in the Pacific Northwest is unprecedented and ugly. It reminds me way too much of summers in Dallas – except in Dallas I had (mostly) central air conditioning and ceiling fans. Here at Casa Sammamish we have a floor unit air conditioner in the master bedroom. The office on the ground floor is reasonably cool during the afternoon. The main floor, with south-facing picture windows and a sliding glass door, is an inferno.

There is one upside to this heat wave. My padron pepper plants are blooming and beginning to set fruit. Maybe I can harvest my first crop next week.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2021/06/28/brutal/

Jun 11

The Slow Schlep Back

As America crawls its way out of the hole that Covid-19 and the initial botched response dug, Julian and I have celebrated a few landmarks.

Vaccines? Check.

No more shopping at “old folks hours?” Check, thankfully for Julian.

Social gatherings in our home and others? Check, with fellow vaccinated people.

Interstate travel? Check, for me.

Last night’s landmark was a trip to the Seattle Symphony. Benaroya Hall was about 10% capacity. We didn’t have our usual seats in a second tier box, as the concert was being live-streamed and the box contained cameras. Masks were required. We had our temperatures taken before our tickets were scanned. No food or beverage service. (No worries there – Julian kvetches about the bad coffee at Benaroya.) The orchestra was socially distanced, and the music didn’t require many brass or wind instruments. All in all, another baby step on the slow schlep back to normalcy.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2021/06/11/the-slow-schlep-back/

May 31

Ithaca Therapy

The day before Mom’s funeral, I made a spur of the moment trip to Ithaca. I had lunch with a former roommate at her home just north of the Cornell campus. She got takeout from the Collegetown Bagels store/restaurant near her home. This place was the usual Sunday brunch location for Julian and me when we started dating. I even ordered one of my old favorites, the Lindsay. This is a turkey and Muenster cheese sandwich served on a bialy. (For you non-New Yorkers who don’t know from bialys, read this prior post.) I stopped at a Mennonite store on my way down to Ithaca and got some oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies for our dessert.

When I started out for home, I took a route around the Cornell campus because construction is everywhere. I saw the new North Campus dormitories under construction, which have all the architectural interest of state penitentiaries. They make the post-World War II married student housing across the street look good, which takes some doing. Collegetown was even worse. Three buildings just off campus are being torn down for more soul-less, high-rent apartments. I had to detour down Seneca Street to get downtown. At least my old church is still intact. And Purity Ice Cream is still open, but only for curbside scooping – not breakfast or lunch.

Most of townie Ithaca looked similar to previous visits, although the shopping mall is hurting badly. I picked up a couple of provisions I’d forgotten to pack at the Target there and walked around a little. The pandemic is partly to blame, although I’m sure Amazon can take more credit. I didn’t check out the downtown Ithaca Commons. I hope the increase in vaccinated people can help businesses rebound, in Ithaca and elsewhere.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2021/05/31/ithaca-therapy/

May 24

Bittersweet Homecoming

I’m back east for my mother’s graveside service on Wednesday. Everything was arranged by my sister and niece, all I had to do was fly back.
Flying these days is even more of a slog than it was before Covid-19. It’s not just the masking, other “details” have been added to maximize your misery. Airport security takes longer to negotiate. Folks had to take off their shoes unless they were in the TSA PreCheck program. I flashed my newly-minted Trusted Traveler card (with the photo that makes me look like I got roughed up by the photographer beforehand) so I could wear my shoes. Computers and tablets also had to come out of bags again.
More misery-making: If you’re not in First Class, forget about any food or beverage service (free or paid). I had an hour layover in Charlotte between flights. I thought I might be able to grab a quick breakfast. No.Such.Luck. I had to traverse most of the airport to reach the connecting flight gate. The restaurants on the way had long lines, which negated the chance to get anything to eat or drink. Luckily, I was able to sweet-talk the flight attendant to bring me some water on the flight to Syracuse so my kidneys wouldn’t shut down.
The upside to this trip is getting to see family and some friends. My niece’s kids are growing fast. The older one is about to become a Known Teenager. On Wednesday I’ll meet my nephew’s toddler, who was in utero when I last flew east. Thursday I’ll go out to lunch with three high school classmates. And I may need some Ithaca therapy. Stay tuned.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2021/05/24/bittersweet-homecoming-2/

May 09

Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes

Yeast Mode, my sourdough starter, needed a workout. I also had a hankering for pancakes for brunch. So I hybridized a recipe for sourdough buckwheat pancakes.
I started with the recipe on the Bob’s Red Mill buckwheat flour bag, then took liberties. (Yes, Julian, this was a gemisch. Deal with it.) I added 1 cup of buckwheat flour to 1/2 cup of Yeast Mode. I then stirred in 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoon oil, and 2 tablespoons of molasses. I left this to rise on the kitchen counter for about 6 hours while I read the papers and email and went for a 16-mile bike ride.
There didn’t seem to be much action in the bowl when I came down after my shower. I then stirred in a beaten egg and 1/3 cup of nonfat dry milk powder. Suddenly, POOF! Bubbles! Apparently Yeast Mode contains some bacteria that loves lactose. I also stirred in 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in a little water to amp up the rising. This recipe made 14 pancakes. I cooked up the rest of the batter and refrigerated the leftovers for future breakfasts.
One note: These pancakes will brown very quickly. You may need to adjust the heat under your frying pan or griddle accordingly.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2021/05/09/sourdough-buckwheat-pancakes/

May 01

Getting Cheeky

Last month we checked out Double DD Meats, a butcher shop in nearby Mountlake Terrace. This place is a hoot. Not only do they have regular beef, pork, and lamb, but they have game and unusual cuts that you won’t find in the neighborhood Safeway. Double DD Meats also has aisles and aisles of hot sauces, barbecue sauces, and rubs. As an experiment, I found some beef cheeks in the frozen section and decided to try them.

Beef cheeks are as advertised, from the head of the steer/cow. Since cattle are ruminants and chew cud when they’re not eating, beef cheeks are quite tough and require braising. I found the basic method and timing for cooking on epicurious.com, from an old Gourmet magazine. (Obviously this was posted before the site managers decided not to include any more beef recipes.)

I browned the cheek (there was only one in the package) with some onion, garlic, carrots, and parsnips. I added some fresh thyme and rosemary, a bay leaf, and glugged in some red wine. When the wine came to a boil, I covered the pan and set it in a 325° oven for three hours.

The result was underwhelming. The beef could have benefitted from additional cooking time to get more tender. The wine had evaporated down to a thick purple syrup. The vegetables were good, though. The parsnip cores were very tender. In the future I’ll stick to chuck, brisket, or rump roast.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2021/05/01/getting-cheeky/

May 01

Life with the Nag-O-Matic

Julian and I both have Apple Watches. He uses his more for the Apple Pay app – “Watches are so 20th century.” I use mine for activity monitoring, hence the name Nag-O-Matic.

At 50 minutes of each hour, I get the message, “Time to stand.” If I’m in the office, I walk around for a minute. Or I time my trips upstairs to the bathroom to coincide with the stand command. I get extra calorie points if I go two flights up to the master bathroom.

The move and exercise features have some glitches to them. I’ve had the exercise feature undercount my minutes of activity when I’m out for a walk or bike ride. Sometimes it will ask if I need to pause my workout; other times it doesn’t. The watch will gently remind me that a brisk 25-minute walk will help me reach my goals – just before I’m ready to turn in for the night.

Every so often I get notification that the watch has bestowed some cheesy award upon me: “Congratulations! You met your stand goal all last week!” Alternately, it’ll entice me with the promise of another cheesy award: “Just burn 3000 calories in the next two days and you’ll reach your exercise goal for the month!” This morning it enticed me with the promise of a cheesy award for the month of May: “Surpass 21 days of workouts of greater than 15 minutes!” Maybe…

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2021/05/01/life-with-the-nag-o-matic/

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