Why aren’t all beer bottles screw-cap? I’d even extend the question to include wine as well.
We have the Harold McGee book, v interesting and often useful. Right up his alley I reckon!
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Good news!
Goooooood news! You remember that job I was going for? I have another interview next Friday.
Read and add comments: Good news!10 responses
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Congrats to Tony and Molly!
Remember my cousin Tony and his girlfriend Molly, who visited us while they were studying here a few years back? They just had a baby girl! I think some congratulatory Tim Tams are in order.
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Porn for thirtysomethings
Wisdom from my friend Sharon: “Reno[vation] photos are porn for the thirtysomethings.” Too, too true.
In related house news, things are still progressing. The bank is sending someone out to do a valuation, which seems to be the last big hurdle. Sadly, I can feel my my hopes for a Halloween Housewarming party slipping away. I just don’t think we’ll be in there in time.
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Race Photos
The official Race photos are up, and once again I’m giving everyone the big thumbs-up. Why do I always do that? I must run that way. And jeez, I’m all hunched over in this one. That’s probably when my legs were killing me. (No photos of the Snook, sadly.)
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Kavalier and Clay
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
I forgot to mention that part of my sluggishness at the race yesterday may have been due to the six hours of sleep I’d had the night before. Why? Because I was up til 1am devouring this book! Thank you guys so much for recommending it. I was trying to describe it to a friend today: “Well, it’s about comic books. But wait, no, it’s more about the guys who write this comic book. And they’re cousins, and they’re Jewish, and it’s all taking places in the 30’s and 40’s, so it’s also about WWII and Nazis and Hitler and families and radio serials and Orson Welles and Houdini and escapism and surrealism and love and madness… And Golems. Big mythological Jewish superhero thing made out of clay. Just trust me; it’s a really good book.”You know, I’m kinda glad that I didn’t read the book before now. While you don’t have to know anything about comics to appreciate it, I felt like my recent forays into the world of superheroes (and Bryson’s memories of comics in Thunderbolt Kid) really put me in the right frame of mind. I just found it so fascinating. And now I really need to find some of those Escapist books…
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Baby Yoda Hat
As part of our barter arrangement for the Baker’s Edge pan, I’m knitting a Yoda Halloween costume for Kristen’s son Alexander. I found a great pattern for a felted Yoda hat along with a crossover Yoda sweater. I finished knitting the hat last week, so it was finally time to felt the sucker. I was a bit nervous… but it worked! Check out the before and after:
How cool is that? I blew up a balloon to the size of Alexander’s head, and that’s what the hat is blocking on in the second picture. Now I just need to get some fabric stiffener so I can make the ears stick out properly. And the jumper’s all knitted; all I have to do is sew it up. I can’t wait to see what it looks like on him!
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Witches’ Jars
Another possible Halloween decorating idea: Witches’ Jars. Creepy!
Read and add comments: Witches’ Jars4 responses
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Run the Bridge!
The Snook and I staggered out into the early morning light today for a bit of running… along with 20,000 other people. We caught the train to Milsons Point and joined the crowd waiting for the start of our second 9K Bridge Run. (Last year’s blog post.) It was cool in the shade, but the sun was warm and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Soon we were off. We did pretty well getting up onto the bridge, and going downhill onto the Cahill Expressway is always fun. We hit the first drinks station at 3.5km, and that’s where I somehow lost the Snook. It was rather unbelievable really. I mean, we’re both giants and we were both wearing bright red baseball caps, but somehow he’d just vanished. I persevered onwards. I hit the 5K mark at about 33:00, so I was on track for the same pace as last year. Unfortunately that’s where the course veers into the Domain, and I ran into some serious trouble on those hills. It’s not just that my legs felt like rubber; for the first race ever, I was actually having some significant chafing issues. I’m pretty sure I wore the same shorts in the City 2 Surf, but today they were just KILLING ME. So I ended up walking a fair bit of the latter half of the course. Once I got back out onto the main road with a straight shot to the Opera House, I picked up the pace. My speed was also helped by the fact that I passed right by Julian from The Chaser standing at the side of the road with a bloke with a video camera, and nothing motivates like the fear of the entire nation seeing your chubby butt walking towards the finish line. I crossed the line at 62:00, which is about four minutes or so slower than last year. I can live with that. I found the Snook not long after, and we had a laugh at discovering that he’d only finished two minutes before me. We must’ve been within sight of each other the whole time yet somehow I never found him. I’m happy to report that the post-race organisation was much better this time, and it didn’t take us long to turn in our timing chips and receive our medals. Unfortunately none of the buses were running yet (because the marathon was still going) so we had to walk the whole way home. Dudes, my thighs KILL.
Read and add comments: Run the Bridge!4 responses
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Sausage and Bean Stew
A couple years ago, my old Epson buddy Kiri invited me over to her place for a birthday party. One of dishes she had was a sort of gourmet beanie-weenies. “Mmm, what’s the magic ingredient in this?” I asked. “Fennel,” she replied. My jaw dropped. Fennel, you see, is also called “aniseed,” and it’s basically the stuff that gives licorice its taste. I hate licorice. But evidently cooking fennel reduces that strong medicinal taste. It was yummy! I asked for and was granted the recipe, which I’ve made a few times since… most notably last night.Sausage and Bean Stew
4 thick Italian style sausages (I used 6 thin ones)
2 T olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large bulb of fennel, trimmed and finely chopped (I whizzed mine in the food processor)
1/2 t. dried chili flakes
1 T tomato paste
400g tin chopped tomatoes
440g tin canellini beans, drained and rinsed (which I am incapable of referring to as anything but “cannelloni” beans)
1/2 c. chicken stock
1 small sprig rosemary
2 T. chopped flat leaf parsley
shaved parmesanPlace sausages in a saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for two minutes, then drain well. When cool, cut on the diagonal into 2cm pieces.
Heat olive oil in a heavy-based flameproof casserole. Add sausage pieces and cook over medium-high heat until browned, then drain on absorbent paper. Reduce heat to low-medium, then add onion, garlic, fennel and chili to pan and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes or until soft. Then stir in tomato paste and cook for another five minutes. Add tomato, beans, stock, and rosemary, then cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Stir in sausage pieces and parsley and season to taste. (Pull out the rosemary.) Serve topped with parmesan with a crusty bread on the side.
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