A friend and I had lunch the other day at Ian's Pizza at Garver. My dining companion ordered breadsticks and we were asked what kind of dipping sauces we wanted. The helpful and friendly counter helper ran through the list of what was on offer: bacon queso, marinara, green chile ranch...
Wait!
Green chile ranch?!
I immediately took her up on that option as it was something of a vestigial reflex from my recent trip...
I grabbed a taxi a bit after midnight at the Albuquerque airport. It had been a long day of travel. A light wouldn't turn off on the plane in Madison which meant we sat on the runway for an hour or more and so I got to O'Hare late and missed my flight which necessitated a long layover. Hours and hours of interminable layover. I wasn't sure I'd be able to catch a flight that night as apparently there was a power outage at the Denver airport and the effects of that were cascading down to O'Hare. But the plane took off a bit after 9, thankfully.
Despite the lateness of the hour, my cab driver offered an important culinary lesson: in Albuquerque you have the choice of green chile, red chile, or both. This last option is called Christmas.
What a wonderful thing! As the trip wore on, I would learn just how significant the chile was to Albuquerque's identity, just how ingrained the humble fruits are in Albuquerque's psyche. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that public schools give kids a day or 2 off at harvest like Chicago students get Casamir Pulaski Day off or kids up north can take a week away from school for gun deer hunting season.
Green chile granola? Yes, I bought some.
While there I learned that the official state cookie is the biscochito. My stepson and his fiancée took me Celina's where they had a variety of flavors on offer including those with chile.
I think the use of lard and anise are the distinguishing features of this cookie. Very tasty!
The duality of chile even went beyond foodstuffs. Got a pain in your back? There's a chile for that.
Methinks a return trip is in order to further investigate the green-red dichotomy.
********
After 4 or 5 days of eating at restaurants, I did some cooking at home. First was a loaf of Polish rye beer bread.
Misshapen, perhaps, but tasty.
In addition to the staff of life, I finally got around to making shrimp creole.
The poor shrimp had been in my freezer since I moved in here back in October. Prior to that, they were in the freezer of my marital residence for a short time. This batch of shrimp creole had been a long time coming.
It turned out well. Nice and chunky with extra Holy Trinity.
I need to grocery shop today and am thinking about what I want to eat in the coming week. If I recall correctly, I have most of the ingredients for bigos, including venison, and just need some cabbage.
I remember watching the dough get perilously close to the window on the lid of my breadmaker. She was really risin'.
**Jim Morrison voice**
Mr. Jalapeño Rising
**end Jim Morrison voice**
With about 10 minutes before the rising was to give way to the baking, the top collapsed.
Gah!
Oh well.
I brought it to gaming and sampled it there. I thought it turned out well and so did my gaming compatriots. Earthy jalapeño with a little zip and some cheddar goodness all brought together by tasty Maillard reactions.
A couple weeks back I had a conversation about Kaiser rolls, those round rolls with the starfish-like slits on the top. When I was growing up the Kaiser rolls we ate may or may not have had poppy seed on them but they were all crusty on the outside while being light & fluffy on the inside. My interlocutor had a similar experience in their youth.
We both lamented that Kaiser rolls in Madison lack the crusty exterior. Here's a photo I took of Kaiser rolls, which may have been labeled as Hard Rolls, at Hy-Vee.
Look at how that crust gives! It was soft and not crispy crusty. Oddly enough, the same goes for those from Clasen's whom you'd think would make them "traditionally", i.e. - with a crispy crust.
Am I wrong? Is the crusty outside an optional thing with the Kaiser roll? How can you have a hard roll that is squishy when you poke it? So you don't make the slits to give it that crown-like appearance but you also don't put the "hard" in hard roll? This is just odd to me.
Despite Piper's death and a large cat-shaped hole in my heart, life goes on and there really are many wonderful things in mine. Sometimes it is difficult to enjoy them or even recognize they exist when I get bogged down in my sweetpea's absence. For instance, it was very difficult to come home from work that first day after her death. I walked in the door and tearfully stared at the couch waiting for her to walk around the corner and jump on it to patiently wait for me to give her a pill pocket.
It gets better a little every day but I still miss her greatly.
I baked a loaf of rye bread recently.
I used some insta-sourdough dust.
It was nice to finally give this stuff a go as I had bought a packet last year when I was still living with my wife but never used it while in the grip of divorce miasma.
It turned out well with a nice rye flavor and a good tangy zip to it.
Look what arrived a couple days ago!
I simply adore this picture. Winter! A kindly cat! Birds!
This was a gift given to me maybe a week or so before Piper passed. I need to get it framed so that it can sit on my desk.
Another recent gift was some coffee from Puerto Rico.
Very tasty stuff. Very roasty and a bit nutty.
I hung my print of Grabby.
One of Piper to follow.
Lastly, for now, I'll mention that Shemekia Copeland put on a great show last week.
Lousy picture, I know. One thing I love about her is how positive she is. In addition to catchy melodies and booty-shakin' grooves, her songs are often about hope and being kind to one another. She certainly recognizes hardships in life but she emphasizes beauty.
She mentioned that she'll be back here in Madison this summer at one of our numerous festivals.
Last month I tried my hand at a loaf of chocolate cherry bread and failed miserably.
It did not rise very much and I'm not sure why.
My guess is that the water I used wasn't warm enough.
The cookbook said to put the dried cherries in after a particular cycle and, while I thought I followed directions, the cherries largely ended up at the bottom of the loaf.
The bread tasted fine, though. A bit on the rib sticking side but it had a nice, mellow chocolate taste without much sweetness. Plus who doesn't like tart cherries?
My next attempt at brot was another loaf of herb bread and it turned out well. You'll have to trust me here as no photos exist. The crust was crispy while the inside was light and fluggy a la Wonder Bread. My previous attempt had rosemary in it but this time I had the prescribed tarragon as well as some dried chives that were liberally applied. I really enjoyed my piece while the rest was given away. The recipients were most pleased.
Today I baked buckwheat bread. I was inspired by a loaf from Ideal Bakery that was found at Woodmans. Perhaps the moistest bread known to man, it was like Tres Leches cake but in bread form. And without the milks. And not sweet. The stuff was essentially toaster-resistant. I'd put a slice in for 2 rounds on the darkest setting and it'd pop up and feel toasty to the touch, though it didn't brown much. Upon taking a bite I found that the interior was still extremely moist - like a sponge. As if it was made of those Damprid crystals. It was a most singular bread.
My loaf was not 100% buckwheat, although I did double the amount of buckwheat flour in the recipe from 1/3 of a cup to 2/3 and adjusted the wheat accordingly.
I like how it turned out.
It's got that buckwheat tint to it, has a crispy crust, and a wonderful roasty, earthy taste to it. Doubling the buckwheat was definitely a good call.
My bread machine keeps churning out the staff of life unabated.
A loaf of herb bread turned out well.
The recipe called for tarragon but I had none so I threw in rosemary instead.
I don't dislike tarragon, but I prefer rosemary. Tarragon has an anise/licorice thing to it which is not my favorite whereas rosemary is more like mint. The brot made for some tasty sandwiches at a friend's place.
Most recently I tried my hand at challah.
It turned out well except I misread the recipe and attempted to decorate the top of the loaf with poppy seed at the wrong time. Oops.
I was pleased with how it turned out beyond a paucity of poppy. Light, fluffy. Eggy. This stuff makes some fine toast.
Earlier this month I got the craving for Italian food. I suspect I just didn't get enough at my Italian uncle's home over Christmas. A stop at the Willy Street Coop yielded some smoked mozzerella tortelloni from RP's Pasta. Next I made a trek to Fraboni's as I had a hankering for their XX hot sausage.
It had been a while since I'd had their sausage as my wife doesn't care for it. The grind is too coarse for her taste. Fair enough. Now that I am no longer cooking for her, I indulged myself. Also, I bought a quart of their marinara and voila! It was a fairly quick and easy dinner.
While at Fraboni's it was brought to my attention that they now offer Mystery Sausage Coils.
Who knows what lurks in the heart of mystery sausages? The Fraboni knows...
When dining out, it's been Mexican lately.
It had been a while since I'd been to El Pastor. The fajitas were fine. Grilled jalapenos are da bomb.
Is there a 12-step program for choco-flan addiction?
I love this stuff!
More recently I ate at Enrique's Market for the first time. It features a small selection of groceries, including a brand of salt & vinegar potato chips that I'd never encountered, as well as a kitchen offering a smattering of Mexican staples.
My asada torta was simple yet very delicious.
I really like Enrique's. The food was good, the staff friendly, and it had a wholly unpretentious, hole-in-the-wall vibe that I adore. It's a neighborhood joint, not a Michelin starred destination for the well-heeled. As Douglas MacArthur once said, I shall return.
Lavenders blue, dilly dilly, lavenders green When I am baking, dilly dilly You will be eating
I baked more bread yesterday. With a mostly full bottle of buttermilk in my refrigerator, I opted for a loaf of buttermilk lavender bread. It turned out well.
I ate a bit simply with butter but think that honey would be very tasty as would making French toast with it. That bread machine cookbook I took out from the library explained the various types of yeast so I went out and bought some of the instant stuff. My hope is that this will help my next loaf of rye to rise correctly.
Addendum: this bread goes very well with tuna salad.
For some reason I thought it was be a good idea to get a bread machine cookbook from the library. A witchy librarian checked me out yesterday and today I baked my first loaf from the book. Hours after it had finished, my kitchen and living room still smelled of cardamom for I had baked some cardamom tea bread.
Sitting in the pan it looked and smelled delicious. Unlike my bundt cake, I managed to get the loaf out of the pan without a hitch. I was rather surprised at this point because after I had put the ingredients into the pan, the directions said to select the "Quick bread/cake" setting on the bread machine.
Well, my machine has no such setting. Some internet site helpfully explained that not all bread machines are built to accommodate recipes that use baking powder and soda as leavening agents. Yeast only, please.
After reading a bit more at this website about the experience of one gentleman with this type of bread machine, I made my best guess and selected a setting that I hoped would get me into the ballpark.
Cutting into it, I found that it looked properly risen and not dense like a neutron star.
How did it taste?
Marvelous!
A bit sweet and every bite was loaded with luscious cardamom. With a cup of sour cream and no small amount of oil, it was very moist.
I busted out the breadmaker yesterday and tried my hand at making a loaf of rye bread. Well, "making" is a bit of an overstatement since I was, after all, using a breadmaker.
The recipe was from the manual that came with it and called for a ratio of something like 2.5:1 wheat to rye flour. I tweaked it to roughly 1.5:1 and am proud to say that this loaf turned out much better than the last one:
Chewy crust, tender & juicy inside - it was rather tasty. But it still needed more rye taste so I will continue to increase the amount of rye flour in subsequent loaves. I believe using fresh yeast is what made the difference here.
My boss is not always the most prompt person. He expects us to show up early and finish our work before it's due but he has a much more lenient sense of punctuality and timeliness when it comes to his own responsibilities. For instance, while we all appreciate that he takes out our entire unit out for a year-end holiday lunch, the meal is not always taken near Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia, and whatnot in December. I think our celebratory meal came when the year was well underway last April and this year it came in May. Soon things will come full circle and we'll actually have this lunch in the proper month.
Just as we did last spring, we went to Petra Bakery & Restaurant this month, a Middle Eastern joint on Madison’s west side.
To start the meal, we had the deep-fried halloumi (cheese made from goat and sheep milk) which was really tasty with a crispy outside and a smooth, creamy inside. This being Wisconsin, land of the fried cheese curd, I assume this is a big seller. Deep fried cheese seems to be something that transcends cultures. It's like a universal culinary language. Well, at least amongst those of us who are neither vegetarians nor vegans.
For the next round of Vorspeise, we were treated to stuffed falafel, deep fried balls of chickpea filled with onion, sumac, and chili paste. Oh, these were excellent too, I can assure you. Not very spicy but they did have a little bite. They reminded me that we have a jar of sumac at home so I must figure out some way to cook with it.
For my main course, I ordered a Fattoush salad topped with chicken shawarma.
While I probably, well, definitely, didn’t need the large size, I cleaned my plate anyway. Without any flatbread, rice, or other starch, I figured that I wouldn't slip into a particularly deep food coma when I got back to my desk. Underneath all of that chicken was the salad comprised of lettuce, tomato, and cucumber dressed with olive oil, garlic, maybe some sumac, and lots of lemon juice. Quite tasty and just perfect for a rather warm day.
In a feat worthy of Hercules, I restrained myself and did not order any baklava for dessert despite it looking very alluring and highly tasty in a display case that, curiously enough, is close to the entrance and catches your attention right as you walk in the door.
********
When the work week ended last Friday, my Frau and I went out on a date night to the North Street Cabaret, just a couple miles from home. For one of Chicago’s finest bands, The Claudettes, were in town.
They are led by Johnny Iguana, a pianist with a blues pedigree. While there is a definite element of blues, barrelhouse and otherwise, in some of their songs, particularly their older material, there is much besides including R&B, cabaret pop, hints of New Wave, et al.
With them was their new singer, the willowy Rachel Williams.
I am kicking myself for not having snagged a copy of the setlist but I can confidently say they did a mix of originals and covers.
Bassist/guitarist Zach Verdoorn sang on a fine rendition of “Cosmic Dancer”, originally done by T. Rex, while the night ended with a rockin’ “See Saw”, a classic Aretha Franklin song. The band composition “Pull Closer to Me” was dedicated to a friend of my Frau who was sitting next to us. She has seen them several times and they now recognize her as a fixture of their Madison shows. And they've gotten to know her favorite songs.
“Terms and Conditions” brought tears to the Frau's eyes while we both laughed out loud to a song poking fun at a CNN reporter who, when reporting on the death of the bassist of the band Bon Jovi, pronounced his job title like the fish and not the musical instrument.
Iguana augmented his wonderful tinkling of the ivories with humorous between song banter; Verdoorn effortlessly switched between bass and electric guitar, his playing tasteful throughout. Drummer Michael Caskey kept things moving along and did some great work on the toms. Plus he has the best facial expressions. One moment he’d be pounding away on his kit with a maniacal look on his face, as if he was going to hurt someone, and the next he is smiling and laughing like he'd just been told the world's funniest joke.
For her part, Williams looked to be having fun. This was one of her first gigs as the new singer and so there were times when she appeared to be working on her front lady routine. Similarly, the band seemed to be figuring out just which songs from their back catalogue suited her best. Williams' predecessor, Berit Ulseth, was no less talented but had a Scandinavian reserve to her while Williams seemed more inclined to let go occasionally and just belt it out.
I ended up buying 3 CDs and Johnny Iguana came over to chat with us after the show. My inner fan boy was like, “It’s the guy who played piano on ‘Infernal Piano Plot...HATCHED!’!” That being the first song of theirs I heard back in 2014 or so and got me hooked on them.
It was a really fun night and I was impressed with the North Street Cabaret as it was my first time there. While it may be a small joint, it is cozy and colorful with the exposed wood lending a warmth to the atmosphere. In such a space the performance was intimate. The band were right there instead of being indistinct figures off in the distance of an arena. They could see us just as we could see them.
Iguana said he’s trying to land them a spot at the AtwoodFest, a block party an easy bike or bus ride from our house, this July. Fingers crossed.
********
My pursuit of the ideal loaf of rye bread continues. I found a promising recipe online that contained cocoa powder and molasses and it was once more unto the breadmaker.
It turned out alright.
The loaf didn’t collapse, which I was proud of. But how did it taste?
It was good. Not great, but good. I liked the earthy bitterness of the cocoa as it made a nice contrast to the wheaty sweetness. Plus, I think the molasses added a little something to bolster that earthy taste as well. The crispy crust was great.
But it just didn't have enough of that spicy rye flavor.
While an improvement on my previous loaves, I still have much to learn of the way of breadmaking.
********
My Frau and I went to the Northside Farmers Market on a recent Sunday morning that was grey and a bit glum.
Despite this, there were some lovely colors to be seen.
There were some great looking mushrooms to be had.
The Frau ended up buying summer squash and broccolini. While I was sorely tempted to get some pastrami, I managed some self-restraint. Another time.
********
A week or so ago I went south to St. Charles, Illinois to go see the band The Musical Box at the Arcada Theater. I saw them there last year but couldn’t turn down a chance to see them perform The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway once again. Since I wrote about their previous show at the Arcada back in the spring, I won't go on at length here. I will, however, note that it was a great show despite a loud drunk guy a couple seats to my right who would occasionally turn on his phone light to look at the pills he was going to pop.
The guy just kept talking and talking. At one point, he was basically yelling at his friend about something that happened the last time he went to a Roger Waters concert. I felt like Roger Waters at that 1977 concert in Montreal when he went off on the audience.
"Oh, for fuck's sake. Stop letting off fireworks and shouting and screaming!"
But I may have witnessed evidence for the existence of a higher power that night. The song that I was most looking forward to hearing was "Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats". I mean, I was looking forward to all of the songs but my musical mind was keen on sitting there in the dim glow of the projections at the back of the stage and just letting those waves of Mellotron chorus wash over me. At previous performances of The Lamb I was eager to feel the rush of air over my face as every instrument came crashing in during "Fly On a Windshield" or to feel that unsettling feeling as the bright lights shine directly into my eyes and Death rises on the screen in back.
This time I just wanted a moment of serenity, of calm. To be overwhelmed by voices. And, by the gods, the drunken loudmouth allowed me that much.
The song was just beautiful.
Despite having been to the Arcada several times, I’d never really investigated St. Charles much and so I availed myself of the opportunity to trek around town the next morning.
It has a very pretty downtown with the Fox River splitting St. Charles in twain.
The St. Charles Municipal Center sits on the shore next to the St. Charles Dam. Built in 1940, it features a neat tower. Is this Art Deco? I’m not sure.
Here’s the Osgood Building with a fine turret, an architectural feature that has sadly (if you ask me) gone out of fashion.
There were murals along one side of it and I just had to take a photo of the one with a cat. The artist has captured the naughty look and demeanor of the feline creature here as this tabby looks ready to cause trouble.
There was a neat ghost sign a few blocks down the street, although the new occupants are in the same business as the old.
I found this mural with some timeless words of advice.
St. Charles is home to Ghoulish Mortals, the source for all of your monster and horror needs. Don’t mess with the flowers outside its windows.
There are lovely paths along river for a scenic stroll.
For dinner, I went to Alter Brewing which called a newer building home.
With my dinner I had a glass of their golden ale, Center Line, which was very tasty. A nice grain flavor with just a dash of fruitiness before the some spicy hops came in for a dry finish. It was light and refreshing and a very pretty brew.
On my way back to the interstate, I passed through Elgin. I don't think I'd ever been there before. It's always just been a sign that meant that I was getting close to Chicago and the traffic is going to get crazy soon. My impression was that it had something of an industrial past, judging by the buildings. St. Charles, on the other hand, seems to have had more of an agricultural history.
Cruising down the highway, I went by a building with a really nice ghost sign. I had to turn around and park to get some photos.
********
Bonus photo. Here’s Piper relaxing in the sun while I was hard at work.
