Tuesday eating from your yard tip ~ there are many basils with different tastes, colors of leaves and flowers. I have it on good authority from two elderly tipsy Italian women that purple opal basil is the key to a good marinara. Both the basil flowers and leaves are edible. A traditional basil pairing is tomato, …
The Mint Julep – recipe below. Horse racing and drinking have had a symbiotic relationship – likely since someone was drunk enough to try to jump on the back of a wild horse. There is some irony in this, considering the term cocktail (cock-tail) comes from the 17th and 18th century (illegal) practice of shoving a peeled ginger root up an …
Tuesday eating from your yard tip~the tomato glut is upon us! The go to is of course BLT, salsa or slices of tomato, motzerella and basil drizzled with olive oil and basalmic vinegar. How about~stuffing cherry tomatoes with pesto? Combine onion, ginger/garlic paste curry, sugar and vinegar cooked down to make lovely tomato chutney or …
There are very few rules in the bartending world. Since the cocktail was invented in 1803, bartenders and drinkers have been on a 200-year search for the best cocktail. Men and women have been mixing alcohol with virtually everything (there is an entire series of drinks that mix alcohol with beef broth!) and experimenting with any crazy technique they can think …
It is wise to eat the garlic chive flowers, otherwise left to their own devises these prolific self seeders will take over the garden. The leaves and flowers are edible garlic goodness. I look forward to their flowering to put a couple in my cooking wine to infuse some garlic into the wine. It is …
My grandson with his first cucumber crop. My most favorite use for cucumbers is skinned and thrown in a blender with limeade frozen concentrate substituting mint tea for the required water ~ optional alcohol of your choice. When I worked at a local garden center I noticed older men would come in looking for burpless cucumber …
Pearl Diver – recipe below. During the early 1970s I lived in Salt Lake City for several years in my late grade school/junior high years. As a gentile living in the land of LDS, we would occasionally visit an iconic restaurant in SLC called Johnny Quong’s The Hawaiian. The crazy Polynesian themed Tiki restaurant had lightning storms every 20 minutes where lights would flash, thunder would …
This past weekend, three months after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd, which sparked national protests, and protests which are continuing in Portland, a white police officer in Kenosha , WI overreacted and shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, in the back multiple times as he walked from the officer to get into his car with his children inside. …
In 2019, Iceland’s Hatari (meaning “hater” in the native tongue) qualified for the Eurovision music contest, which was created in 1956 in the aftermath of WWII. Tel Aviv, Israel, hosted the event that year, a year that also included the non-violent Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to support Palestinians trapped in the Israeli apartheid state. …
Happy National Rum Day Old Cuban – recipe below. In honor of National Rum Day last Sunday, August 15th, it seems to be a great time to take a deep dive into the spirit. Most people think – and loudly proclaim – that whiskey, and more specifically Bourbon, is America’s national spirit. But to be honest, that title should be …
Tuesday eating from your yard tip~ ground cherries, not to be confused with Japanese/Chinese lantern plants, which are not edible. Ground cherry plants and flowers are not a garden show stopper, but the tan papery husk hides a little amber ball of custardy goodness inside! Euell Gibbons talks about finding ground cherries while in Hawaii. …
Being a musician, especially a cellist, is not just all fun and games – it comes with a responsibility too, and one of these is maintaining the cleanliness of your cello bow. Precautions Before jumping to the sanitation process, a cellist must know some of these precautions first. It is significant to know that cellos …
Tuesday eating from your yard tip~Okra is eaten in most warm regions of the world ~ all those people can’t be misguided in their love of okra. I was first introduced to okra by some friends from Ghana with it cooked in spicy tomato gravy served over rice. Then I tried tempura okra and what …
A cold gin and tonic is one of summer’s pleasures, as you sit on your porch or patio, enjoying the sunshine. But the G&T has a rich and old history that begins in Ancient Greece and becomes the drink we know today thanks to the Royal British Navy. Gin is a very old spirit, and likely has roots all the way back to Greece. …
Debut episode features an intimate chat with close friend and Chromatica producer BloodPop®Tune in to the first episode this Friday, August 7 at 11am PST only on Apple Music at apple.co/_GagaRadio The inspiration for Lady Gaga’s hyperactive NUMBER ONE ALBUM Chromatica came from one magical place: the dance floor. Now, every Friday on her brand new GAGA RADIO show on Apple Music, she …
Elderberry heads collapse when they are ready to harvest. Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis) are not a berry you pick and pop in your mouth. While birds can eat elderberry off the bush, it is best for us humans to remove the seed and heat it up a bit before eating them. Elderberries are ready to harvest when …
08/03/20 On July 31st, 1970, the Royal British Navy ended their daily ration of rum for all active sailors on ship. At 6 bells (11:00am) upon the call of ‘Spirits Up! sailors lined up and got their last daily ‘tot’ of rum. The day was referred to as Black Tot Day and ended one of the oldest military traditions in naval …
I coordinated volunteers and drove a long van (now deemed unsafe due to being prone to tip on its side) and a short bus to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which is located near Chicago’s Midway airport. The present facility’s size will boggle your mind! Philanthropist Ann Lurie donated money to help construct the building, …
Eating from your yard tip~what better time to eat garlic than when most folks are wearing masks and social distancing. Garlic has long been celebrated for its many medicinal and culinary attributes! Garlic was one of the ingredients in the legendary thieves vinegar. The story goes that during the black plague four thieves robbed those …
There is a long and somewhat intellectual debate as to who (which country) gets to lay claim the title of creator of the cocktail (hint: its America). The British play a large part in the effort, but from the beginning it was considered an American creation and recent research seems to place it squarely in the front yard of the upstarts across the pond …
I have been doing cocktail research for over a year now for a book I am writing – which is probably the lie that many drinkers tell themselves. As an architect, and not a bartender, I have always been fascinated with the making of the drink – ingredients, glassware, history, etc. The stuff you don’t necessarily think about when sipping a cold one, but affects the overall experience …
Eating from your yard tip ~ Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) crushed in your hand and left in a pitcher of water overnight in the refrigerator makes a lovely “mother’s little helper” infused waters to calm and brighten the mood of both mother and child. In the days of old the catholic monasteries created closely held …
Eating from your yard tip~Anise hyssop helps us deal with the heat and recover from heat stroke. Not only is anise hyssop an effective expectorant it also lifts the spirits when horrible heart breaking things have happened. All this making anise hyssop the ideal herb to use for 2020. The anise hyssop leaves and flowers …
My beautiful wife and our precocious children were off to a neighboring state for an extended trip to her mom’s, so I immediately cranked up a movie they would never have watched — Dolemite is My Name. A biopic starring Eddie Murphy about an oddball cultural figure from the ’70s, it mystified and repelled me …
Eating from your yard tip ~ just step outside and odds are good you will find wood sorrel growing. Gladys Jeurink, a respected gardener in my town (Lincoln, NE), advised me to leave the wood sorrel in my garden because the rabbits prefer it over other plants, so they will leave the other plants alone. …
Eating from your yard tip~I had used calendula primarily for skin care, but Jessie Nielsen Krikac introduced me to eating calendula. She mixed cream cheese with 3 T honey and calendula petals~beautiful heaven in a spread. Turns out I was late to the party. Calendula has been used for over three centuries to amp up …
Eating from your yard tip~Purslane has more omega 3 than any other leafy green. Look no further than the crack in your sidewalk to find purslane thriving. While many Americans view purslane as a lowly weed, purslane is eaten all over the world. It is baked in bread, pickled and added to soups, stews, a …
This dog got so attached to one of his foster kittens — watch him reunite with her months later 😍 pic.twitter.com/aiLFcUL6Vf — The Dodo (@dodo) June 21, 2020 View this post on Instagram This blind puppy and her “seeing-eye” dog brother are finally going home with their forever family thanks to @hwac ❤️ A post …