"Sing to me, oh Muse..."

It isn't that I haven't been writing, it's just that I've been writing crap. At best I've usually only posted about one in three or four of the items I write. So, if you roll your eyes at what's posted, just think of the suffering I've saved you!

I've developed an appreciation of people who crank out something on a regular basis; be it a daily column, once or twice a week or even monthly. I'm sure having your paycheck based on your output is a great motivator. I write mostly as an outlet. I have no aspirations of writing the "Great American" novel. I'm not sure I have anything that profound to say.

One of good and bad things about the blog format is that it's totally free form. Some of the stream of consciousness posts out there are a little "too out there" to suit me, but essentially a blog is for the person writing it. If it make the writer happy that's a wonderful thing. If it makes other people happy that's even better and a blog that generates income might be a real bonus. But I digress.

I started out today to write a Father's Day Post. I've been thinking a lot about my Father lately. Actually I've been thing about both my parents lately because their age is showing.

I call my parents frequently. My dad loves to have a little chat; only rarely does it go longer than ten or fifteen minutes. My mother on the other hand is not one given to talking on the phone, at least not to me.

My call to my mother on Mother's Day went something like this.

Me: Hello mom, Happy Mother's Day!

Mom: Oh hi, thanks for the call, would you like to talk to your dad?

I guess she had other fish to fry.

My upbringing was pretty Ozzy and Harriet. My father worked outside the home and my mother was a housewife. In my childhood hometown in the late fifties and through the sixties this was the norm. I only knew a couple of kids my age, that had mothers that worked outside the home.

One of the things we did a lot of was camping. We had an old tent trailer that we drug around behind various vehicles. Later we had an Aloha Trailer and then we went upscale with an aluminum skinned Avion.

We put a lot of miles on those trailers. On weekends often went out just for a night or two at a nearby state park or just someplace off in the woods in the nearby Wallowa Whitman National Forest. In the summer we always took a couple of weeks for a family vacation. We'd alternate years; one year traveling to someplace out of state and the next year heading for the coast.

Dad was a Boy Scout and therefore so was I. He was involved in Scouting in one way or another for nearly seventy years. We spent a lot of good times together on Scouting activities and though I didn't appreciate in as much then as I do now he kept me on track and I got my Eagle Award.

My father was also involved in the community. He served on the vestry at church and was always hauling me over to the church to make a repair of a faucet washer or some other little item. Perhaps the most thrilling thing I remember about church chores was him taking a pellet gun into the basement of the church and shooting a rat.

He also had a four year long stint in politics as a City Commissioner. I think we were all glad that he did it and were even happier when he was done.

My mother was and inveterate planner and our itinerary was well laid out. We'd have reservations in campgrounds with power, water and sewer connections, so we never really had to rough it too much.

My mother always sewed a lot and still does. She used to make clothes for the whole family, but the prized products were quilts. Originally, they were frugally made of scraps from the clothing. Later on she started buying fabric specifically for quilts and makes them in patterns she sees in the quilting books.

The other thing my mother did was cook. We always had home cooked meals. Going out for dinner was a rare treat. Much of what we ate was supplemented with home canned pickles and fruits. We didn't live high on the hog, but we never lacked for the essentials.

Another memory from my childhood is perhaps a different awareness of the seasons. We would plan a trip to the coast for clam tides - my father was a very efficient stalker of razor clams. At work he'd schedule projects around the seasons too. He always seemed to be in Walla Walla when the farmers were bringing in the sweet onions. Magically he'd be in the Blue Mountains when the mushrooms were out. He wasn't a big game hunter or a fisherman, but we did go after pheasant, chukars and the occassional quail. I remember that he and the other guys on his survey crew always seemed to have they're shotguns in the truck when they were going to be over around Pendleton in the fall.

Summer was canning time. Cherries from orchards near Cove. Peaches, pears, plums and apricots too, although I don't remember where they came from. Hard to keep a house cool when you've got a canner and pans full of syrup boiling on the stove.

I have a much greater appreciation for the home processed and wild harvest goods as an adult, than I ever did as a child. We were part of the slow food, locavore movement when it was life, not a lifestyle.

Here's a cocktail that I make that makes use of a couple of my homemade ingredients

Mystic Wood - from Mix Magazine - From Reach for the rye, by Liz Colie Gadberry, Jan/Feb 09

This is the original recipe

2 ounces rye whiskey (Sazerac 6-year-old)

½ ounce cherry liqueur (Heering)

½ ounce apricot brandy (Rothman & Winter)

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir ingredients over ice and strain into a small chilled cocktail glass or champagne coupe.

- From Kelley Swenson, bar manager at Ten-01

The first few times I made this cocktail I made it with some homemade apricot liqueur (recipe later in this post) and Cherry Heering and it was pretty dang good. I was having a hankering for it the other day and I ran out to Pearl Specialty and bought a $25 bottle of the highly touted Rothman & Winter apricot brandy that the recipe calls for, frankly I thing the homemade version is as good and with a few tweaks might be better.

The Home version

Mythic Wood

2 ounces rye whiskey (Wild Turkey 101 of course)

½ ounce cherry liqueur (liquid from homemade Maraschino Cherries - any version)

½ ounce apricot brandy (Housemade - Recipe Below)

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir ingredients over ice and strain into a small chilled cocktail glass or champagne coupe.

Housemade Apricot Brandy

1/2 pound of dried apricots
1 cup of boiling water
2-3 cups of brandy or vodka
1 cup of simple syrup - two parts sugar to one part water
5 apricot kernels (the seed inside the pit) or five raw almonds or a couple of drops of almond extract.

Pour the boiling water over the apricots to plump them.

After 10 or 15 minutes drain off the excess water into a measuring cup and add liquor to bring the total to 3 cups.

Put the apricots, liquor/water mix and the kernels or extract in a jar and let it set in a cool dark place for a minimum of two weeks.

Strain the liquid from the apricots and add the simple syrup.

Bonus Factoid: Apricots are related to Almonds. Apricot pits have trace amounts of cyanogenic glycosides which release cyanide when digested - now, before you think I'm trying to kill you or myself, it should be noted that bitter almonds contain a much higher amount of this compound and the lethal dose of them is considered to be in the neighborhood of 50 to 70 kernels

The Bitter Truth

My son has joined the Army. He reports to Basic Training on Tuesday. He currently resides in Georgia, will drive to some Fort in Alabama to report for duty and then get sent to Fort Jackson SC. The distances in his part of the world seem smaller than around here.

He lives in Trenton Georgia, which is in the extreme northwest corner of Georgia. The closest city of any size is Chattanooga Tennessee. Many of his co-workers and customers (he's been working as an assistant manager at McDonalds) live in Alabama.
I've got mixed feelings about him joining the Army. Career wise it's probably a good move. He scrapes by on his wages, but the long term outlook is not bright in a small, four franchise company. He's risen about as far as he can go anytime soon in his corporate world. So, he's enlisted in the Army for a six year stint.

He tested well and got his choice of schools. His choice is Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) - oh boy, my baby (soon to be 26) is going to play with bombs! He'll undoubtedly get an all expenses paid trip to Afganistan and/or Iraq. I've been reassured by a friend that more Marines die on motorcycles than in combat. Whew, that makes me feel better, but at least at this point he doesn't own a motorcycle.

Upon successful completion of the EOD course he'll be entitled to wear the EOC Crab patch - this is apparently a big deal, as it one of the only or the only specialty that gets it's own patch. It also means he's made it this far without blowing his ass to kingdom come.

He flew into town on Monday for a final visit with friends and family before reporting. He stayed at my house last night so that I could have him at the airport at 0430. I picked him up at the car rental place at about noon. I asked him what he wanted to do and he quickly recited a list; he wanted a giant salad made by me, he wanted to veg out and watch movies, he wanted to see a decent liquor store and he wanted Thai food. All of this was fairly easy to accomplish.

We hit Movie Madness and picked up an assortment of videos. Hit the grocery store and got a bunch of salad fixings and headed for the house. I put him to work repairing one of my computers while made a salad. He packed away about 10 pounds of salad, so I guess it met his approval.

After watching a movie we headed to the Thai Restaurant and Rose City Liquor. We ordered up an assortment of food at ChaBa Thai - Angel Wings, Pad King Sod, Pad Thai and Green Curry.

He thought the liquor store was a big improvement over what he's used to - he said the selection was about four times what he was used to. The down side - he gets a 10% discount at his store with his newly minted Army ID and we don't get that here - didn't matter though, I was paying.

I'd needed to make a trip to the liquor store anyway, so of course he didn't have to twist my arm to get me to stop. I picked up a bottle of the usual Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth. I was getting low on bitters and was delighted to see that in addition to the usual Angostura and Peychaud Bitters; they were now carrying Fee Brother's Bitters! I also grabbed some more Angostura Bitters and a bottle of the Fee's Old Fashion Bitters.

Thai Food, Movies and Manhattans with Junior at home! - Living the good life!

Fee Brother's Manhattan
Ingredients:
1 Dash Fee's Old Fashion Bitters
1 Oz Sweet Vermouth
1 1/2 Oz Whiskey
Directions:
Stir with ice. Strain into a 3 oz cocktail glass.
Garnish: Cherry

This was a good starting point - but these folks are in business to sell bitters! Use some bitters dammit! And garnish with a cherry? That will not lead to anything good. Accept no less than homemade!

These bitters have a much different flavor profile than Angostura Bitters. They have a big hit of cinnamon, hints of allspice and a big bitter taste on the palate from gentian. I really like the bitterness of the gentian in a Manhattan. I'm a bit on the fence about the cinnamon, but I really like the allspice. Not necessarilly a better Manhattan, but a nice change from the usual.

Improved Fee Brother's Manhattan
Ingredients:
3 Dashes Fee's Old Fashion Bitters
1 Oz Martini & Rossi Rosso Sweet Vermouth
1 1/2 Oz Wild Turkey Rye
1 barspoon juice from homemade maraschino cherries (1 1/2 teaspoons)
Directions:
Stir with ice. Strain into a 3 oz cocktail glass.
Garnish: 2 homemade cherries

Stop and Pick Up the Litter - An Earth Day Post

I awoke this morning to the sound of a flicker drumming on the street light by my driveway. I assume this is some sort of "This is My Turf" activity because sometimes it gets a reply. One time another flicker drummed on the the furnace vent of the house across the street in reply - the behavior went on for several hours and while I found it amusing the neighbors didn't. Studying up for this post I discovered that I have Red Shafted Northern Flickers (Pictured). There is also a Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker.

Tomorrow is the start of Spring and the date of the 39th Earth Day. All day long today I've had the lyrics to Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" playing in my head. It seems appropriate somehow and I hope that the idea of Earth Day does stay Forever Young.

May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

When I was younger I remember "Don't Be a Litter Bug" public service announcements on TV. It always seemed like the obvious thing to me to not litter, but I do remember a semi-traumatic experience riding back from a baseball tournament where the family I was riding with bagged up all the trash from our fast food meal and heaved it out the window as we drove down the highway.

Today I drove to the liquor store to pick up some Campari. Driving down the street I noticed that not only is this week the start of Spring, it's also the start of Garage Sale season. People are big on putting up signs for their garage sale, but most seem to lack the follow through on pulling down the signs when the sale is done. I guess we're supposed to just ignore the sign when the date has passed.

I stopped by the Post box down the street to mail a couple of things that I'd missed getting into today's mail. There on the utility pole by the Mail Box was a fluorescent green garage sale sign. I pulled it down and threw it into the litter sack in my car. I pulled down another ten signs over the rest of the trip to the liquor store and library. It felt good. The neighborhood looks better. It probably added ten minutes to the trip, but when all was said and done, it was time well spent.

This isn't just something I did today. I pulled down a few more than usual and I'm more inclined to stop and pull down pole litter on a sunny day than on a day when it's pouring rain. The point is that if we'd all just pick up a couple of pieces of litter here and there, the world would be a better place.

Negroni

This is the Classic Recipe
1 ounce gin (I used Tanqueray)
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet vermouth (I use Martini & Rossi)
Garnish: Orange slice.

Shake or Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail class.

Garnish with an orange slice

For a less sweet, stouter drink try David Wondrich's Version

Perfect Negroni

1 1/2 ounce gin
3/4 ounce Campari
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
Garnish: Orange Peel Twist.

Shake with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist

Spring Break

I'm still battling the laurel hedge in my front yard. The more I hack away at it, the more I want to cut it down to the ground.

When we first moved in to our house thirty plus years ago the road was a thoroughfare (note to self - don't buy a house on a road with striping down the center). Luckily they built a freeway a couple of blocks down the street a few years later and now I live on a dead end street.

The hedge was a barrier to sight and sound in those early, more heavily trafficked days. Now it hides the lawn when I neglect to mow in a timely fashion and provides a cloistered feel to the front of the house.

Yesterday morning I hauled a trailer full of hedge prunings to the yard debris recycling center. I had good intentions to fill the trailer and make a return trip this morning. I found several other things to do instead. Perhaps I'm feeling a bit unsure about what to do with the other larger part of the hedge. Pruner's remorse perhaps.

So here I am, sitting inside on a beautiful spring day, sorting through books and magazines, clearing the bookshelves of clutter.

Taking a break from the sorting - I've got salmon in the oven. I think I'll dine outside.

Salmon en papillote with preserved lemons and fennel

This is the grown up version of the Hobo Lunch (hamburger patty, carrots and potatoes wrapped in tin foil and pitched on the campfire)we used to take on Boy Scout day hikes.

Preheat the oven to 425F while preparing the packets

A couple of squares of parchment paper lubed up with olive oil
2 - boneless skinless salmon filets - about 6 oz each and seasoned with salt and pepper
1/2 a preserved lemon - finely diced - you could substitute a couple of thin slices of lemon
1/2 a red bell pepper - cut in thin strips
1/2 cup of fennel fronds finely chopped
1 small zucchini coarsely grated

Divide the zucchini between the two pieces of parchment paper

Lay the salmon on top of the zucchini

Spread the red peppers on top of the salmon

Cover the red peppers with the fennel fronds

Sprinkle the preserved lemon over the top of the fennel fronds

Fold the parchment over the goodies and roll up the edges of the paper, crimping it as you go. Put a couple of slits in the top of the packets.

Bake for 12 minutes on a baking sheet.

I served this up with a fennel slaw made from a finely shredded fennel bulb dressed with a simple slaw dressing of mayo, rice vinegar, a dab of Dijon mustard and a bit of salt and pepper.

I was wishing for a nice bottle of a good German Spatlese with this, but settled for a glass of iced tea

Homonymy

One of the signs of specialization in modern society is our junk mail. Since I own a few rural acres and have been known to attend Oregon Horticulture Society meetings; I get junk mail for farmers. Farmer junk mail consists of advertising for seeds, fertilizer, land use issues and several small advertiser supported agricultural magazines that specialize in the latest and greatest farming techniques using products advertised in the magazines. Got a nematode problem? Have we got a product for you!

It's been a long week. I worked hard in the yard last weekend in a burst of energy, incited by a couple of nice Spring days. I managed to aggravate old injuries in my knee and shoulder. Today I had one of THOSE DAYS! and came home with a splitting headache and wallowing in self pity over my decrepitude.

When I walked through the door, the phone was ringing. Caller ID showed an area code unknown to me. My luck seemed like it was due for an uptick, maybe it was Publisher's Clearinghouse calling to tell me I'd won a million dollars! Hey, it could happen.

No such luck. I'm not a millionaire and we're not having a big party to celebrate. Don't give up hope though, I dropped a couple of bucks on lottery tickets this week.

Me "Hello"

Guy "Is this Keith?"

Me "Yes"

Guy "We're calling about the information request you sent in for our new weed killer"

Me "I don't use weed killer" note: I'm a lying bastard - I use weed killer and I would have hosed this guy down with it in an instant if he'd been standing in front of me.

Guy "Let me ask you this; Do you own a farm?"

Me "Yes"

Guy " Well what do you use to kill weeds"

Me "Goats and Hoes" note: I'm a lying bastard - I've never used a goat for weeding - I'd like to, but at this point I haven't. I have used a hoe and I would have whacked this guy in the head with it in an instant if he'd been standing in front of me.

Guy excitedly and volume going up "Ho's! You use Ho's to weed?"

Me "Not Ho's, Hoes - You know Garden Hoes!" Images in my head of Female Garden Gnomes plying the world's oldest profession...........

Guy - still excited and loud "Oh, well those aren't the kind of Ho's I use!"

Me laughing "Well to each his own"

When I was a kid, my dad used to make hoe cakes - I haven't had them in forty years. Seems like it might be time to make them myself. These were called Hoe Cakes because the field hands would cook them on their hoes.

Hoe Cakes

A couple of handfuls of cornmeal, a teaspoonful of salt. Mix with cold water (all my dad ever did) or buttermilk and soda if preferred. Make a thick batter; pour 3 or 4 inch sized hoe cakes on a hot greased griddle (this is a perfect use for that stash of bacon grease in the fridge) or for a more authentic experience go get your hoe and build a fire in the garden.

Serve with a bit of butter and syrup or if you're like my father you'll skip the butter and syrup and splash them with a bit of Tabasco.

If this seems too mundane or trailer park to you, jazz them up by calling them "Grilled Polenta"

Some Like it Hot!

Last Sunday we had sunshine, wind, rain and hail. This weekend's ending on warm and dry note. I've got daffodils and my few remaining hyacinths in bloom. The fruit trees are starting to bud and I'm late pruning the grapevine along the fence. Hopefully the late pruning will cut back on the vigor of the grapevine.

After a fairly hard winter by my wussy Portland standards, I'm ready for spring weather. I'm not ready for the spring yard work that's needed. I took a trailer load of yard debris to the recycling yard yesterday. I can't say that the yard looks any better for it. The first load and the next are just getting rid the winter debris and accumulated junk in the yard and garage.

Spring is the season for rebirth and renewal. I've got big plans for the yard this year. The laurel hedge out front is reaching for the sky, the lawn is full of moss and weeds and the old garden plot has been overwhelmed by blackberry vines. I'm afraid that I'll be taking a load a week of yard debris out of this place until the end of September of next year.

After getting the trailer cleaned out I came home and loaded up the back of the Suburban with recycling and boxes for Goodwill from the basement.

This morning after unloading at the recycling center and dropping off boxes at Goodwill, I hit Cash and Carry for some supplies. By the time I got out of there I'd purchased all the ingredients I needed to make a megabatch of Hot Sauce. The habaneros were a bit spotty and when I mentioned it to the guy he gave me a second pound for free.

By the time I got done with all of the things I wanted to get finished before starting on the Hot Sauce it was 2 PM. I should of been taking a nap and I was starting a frigging canning project. What a dumbass!

Picking through and cleaning two pounds of hot peppers took about an hour. You've got to have everything in place and be prepared to ignore the phone and anything else. These peppers are so frigging hot that you don't want to get the smallest amount in you eyes or on your nether regions. Once I got done with the peppers the pressure was off. For once I managed not to get peppers on any tender places.

So now it's quarter to 10 and the last batch of Hot Sauce is in the canner. Twenty Quarts of goodness to share and consume. I'm glad I'd scheduled a vacation day for tomorrow!

This is a recipe for a Caribbean style habenero hot sauce inspired by Portland's own Secret Aardvark Sauce. I'd been a fan of it for a couple of years and I heard a rumor that the guy that makes it was going to stop production. I bought a bottle and read through the ingredients. A couple of batches later I had a reasonable facsimile at a fraction of the cost, at least if you don't count labor! Secret Aardvark is still making sauce locally and so am I!

I've posted the recipe on eGullet, but I'll save you the click.

Sorta Secret Aardvark Sauce

1 – 14.5 oz can of roasted tomatoes chopped - include the juice

1 – 14.5 oz can of rice wine vinegar

1-1/2 cups of peeled and grated carrots (packed into the measuring cup)

1 cup of finely diced white onion

1/4 cup of yellow mustard

1/3 cup of sugar

2 teaspoons of Morton’s Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper

13 small Habaneros – seeded and membranes removed. (This was 2 oz. of Habs before cutting off the tops and removing the seeds and membranes)

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 cup of water when cooking

5 or 6 cloves of garlic - roasted if you've got it

Put it all in the crockpot on high until everything is tender. About 3 hours

Whirl in food processor – Don’t puree until smooth – make it lightly/finely chunky.

Makes 3 pints - To can; process pint jars in a water bath canner for 15 minutes

Feast of the Longhouse

My buddy Jeff and I met for coffee Saturday morning at Blend, our new favorite coffee shop. We’d been looking for a new favorite coffee shop for a while. Our old favorite spot moved to a new spot across the street from the old location. The old location was homey and low key, the new location is much larger, glitzier and too noisy for us to hold a conversation. We needed to find a new "Go To" place.

I saw a piece on local TV a few weeks back filmed at Blend showing local baristas in action and getting ready for the National Barista Championships that were held here in Portland. Blend is close to where I work so I decided to give it a try. The folks there seemed genuinely happy to see us and the coffee is very good. So now happily, we’ve got a new favorite coffeeshop – woohoo!

My buddy Jeff is a hunter and fisherman. Actually, he’s a great hunter and fisherman. He’s also a generous hunter and fisherman, which means I get to share in his success and reap the benefits via a share of his harvest and the stories that go with it.

Spring in the Northwest means one thing to a serious fisherman and that’s Spring Chinook. The Spring Chinook is the Cadillac of salmon. The fish are fresh from the ocean and headed upstream. They’re also all fattened up for the trip upstream to spawn and have the richest flesh of all the salmon. This time of year you can just about walk across the Columbia River on the wall to wall fishing boats when the fishing is good.

Jeff has a tradition of sharing his first fish of the season with a privileged few. He calls it "Feast of the Longhouse". The idea being that by sharing the first fish of the year it ensures a good catch for the year. I don’t know the origin of Jeff’s tradition, but I assume it’s got its roots in the First Salmon Feast that is a tradition among the Columbia River Tribes. The reason we’d gotten together for coffee this morning was so he could carry on his Feast of the Longhouse tradition and present me with a piece of the first Salmon of the year. That's Jeff's fishing buddy holding the first fish of the year.

I served up the Salmon with some Spicy Daikon Slaw, Brown Rice Pilaf and a 2005 Sparr Gewurtztraminer

Feast of the Longhouse Spring Chinook Salmon
4 – 6 oz pieces of Fresh Spring Chinook
Old Bay Seasoning
Lemon

Season the fish with the Old Bay Seasoning

Put the fish skin side down in a hot cast iron skillet and sear the bottom for two minutes.

Transfer the skillet to a preheated 350 degree oven for another 10 to 15 minutes until the fish is just barely cooked through.

Serve with lemon wedges

Spicy Daikon Slaw
A pound or so of peeled Daikon Radish – grated with a medium grater
1 Tablespoon Grated Ginger
2 or 3 Tablespoons Unseasoned Rice Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
Sambal Olek or Chili Garlic Paste to taste
½ teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon Toasted Sesame Seeds

I just winged it this and made it to taste, so the amounts are approximate.

Sprinkle the Sesame Seeds on the slaw when you plate the meal.