Archive for the ‘food’ Category
Back in the Saddle
Posted on: March 21, 2013
- In: birthday list | drink | food | shopping | travelling
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Wow, I’ve been gone awhile. I’ve been busy doing who knows what. I also went to Freeport, Maine, for a weekend and subsequently got a cold and hacking cough. The food alone was worth it, though.
Best fish sandwich EVER
Handcut donuts for St. Patty’s Day breakfast
Peanut Butter. Banana. Whoopie pie.
The shopping was good too. There’s a British goods store in Freeport. Mary watched in awe as I gasped and squealed at every other item I laid eyes on. I bought a can of Shandy Bass. I had never heard of it…apparently it’s a soft drink with a wee bit of Bass ale. I haven’t tried it yet but will let you know when I do.
I seem to have forgotten that I have something called A BIRTHDAY LIST…I will have to make up for lost time. I may attempt to squeeze in four items this weekend. Stay tuned.
Fish Heads
Posted on: March 11, 2013
- In: birthday list | food | music | random
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I never thought I would see the day that I would eat fish eggs. But strange things happen when you have a birthday list to complete.
Over the weekend, a local seafood restaurant was offering a special Icelandic menu during an annual Iceland festival. My friend asked me to go, and when I saw that the first course had fish eggs in it, I was sold.
To be precise, I ate arctic char roe. I can’t say they tasted like much. They were gelatinous little bubbles. I did bite into one that burst and that was a little shocking.
The first course was OK…a lot of raw salmon, which I am not used to. A bunch of onion and other crunchy veggies were smothered in a dill sauce and wrapped in the salmon.
The second course was very good: Icelandic cod and mussels in some type of awesome sauce. Dessert was Icelandic tiramisu, which tasted kind of like gingerbread cake. It was a fun and adventurous meal.
As I reflected on the fish eggs later, a tune floated into my head. I thought to myself, is there a song about fish eggs? Oh no, it’s fish heads.
Wait, what?
Yes: “Fish heads, fish heads, roly poly fish heads. Fish heads, fish heads. Eat them up, yum.” I loved that song when I was a kid. I think there was a corresponding hand gesture involved as well, but I can’t be sure.
I had to learn more. Where did this song come from? Was it from an ’80s cartoon? The Muppet Show? How could it be…it’s such a strange song. And all I could recall was the chorus.
Well, I just searched for the song on Google and up came a link to the music video. I have never seen this video, as I know I would have remembered it. It’s in turn fascinating, cringe-inducing, and just plain bizarre. Which means I love it.
Does anyone else remember this song from 1979?? There’s no music until about 2:10 in…
Tea cakes and geniedom
Posted on: March 5, 2013
- In: birthday list | food
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I had never been to a Chinese bakery in Chinatown, so my coworker took me to two last week. I was seeking a pineapple bun, but neither bakery had one that particular day. So I settled for a hot dog bun and a scallion bun. They were quite delicious. I rarely eat hot dogs, but this hot dog bun looked like a huge pig-in-a-blanket and I couldn’t resist. I also bought a green tea cake. It looked so cute, and I like tea.
Not a fan of the cute tea cake. It had the consistency of a block of powdered sugar and I was not feeling it.
But I’ll be going back for the hot dog bun!
I also attended my first genealogy workshop. It was an all-day workshop. There were four separate lectures and a a Q and A session. The presenters were engaging and I learned a lot. And I got sucked in to joining the local genealogical society, New England Historic Genealogical Society. I hope to check out its 8-floor library this weekend.
I haven’t had time to do much genealogical research lately. But I am raring to go with all of my new tips.
So for those keeping track, I have completed 12 items. So that means I have 2.5 months to finish 26 things. Hmmm….
Candy-Making Lesson
Posted on: February 27, 2013
- In: birthday list | cooking | food
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I tried to make hard candy the other day so I could put it on the birthday list. I ended up with a pool of badly burnt sugar.
It was going fine at first. I heated up sugar, water, and corn syrup. The mix had to get to 310 degrees, and it took FOREVER to get to around 260. I literally tried a second thermometer because I thought the first one might be broken. So I thought I had all the time in the world between 260 and 310 degrees. I was wrong. Dead wrong.
When I went back in the kitchen, the concoction looked very dark. Too dark. I took the temp and yelped as it climbed past 320 degrees. All of a sudden I noticed that the air was hazy. I was smoking the place out. I frantically opened windows and turned on the ceiling fan. I didn’t know what to do with the burnt liquid, so poured it on aluminum foil like I was supposed to, and then threw it out after it cooled.
Lesson of the day: If you are making hard candy, watch it like a hawk!
State of Emergency
Posted on: February 8, 2013
- In: birthday list | food | nature
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Boston has come to a standstill due to the impending snowstorm…many businesses were closed today or closed by 2:00. The subway is stopping service at 3:00 today. The governor has told people to stay off the roads after 4:00. We better get two feet of snow after all of this!
Mary and I went to a local diner for brunch this morning and made it just in time to grab a bite before it closed. I’ve passed by the Busy Bee Restaurant twice a day for the past 3+ years and have never been. So I was looking forward to checking it out. As we walked inside, we were greeted by a faded poster of a young Elvis Presley. It had me at Elvis.
It’s a small place. The food was good and cheap, and the atmosphere is quintessential diner. It’s run by a Greek family, so I enjoyed hearing random Greek being yelled from the kitchen. There seemed to be some regulars. The waitstaff was no nonsense, but friendly. Everything one wants in a diner.
This excursion was #7 on the birthday list. I’m feeling a little behind at this point!
