The Corona Diaries Vol. 118 - Prelude: Look at the animals - aren't you glad to be one?

 

 

{Now read more in #118.}

They say that elderberry is the healer: Elderberry Healer by NessAlla Kombucha

I continue to work my way through NessAlla Kombucha's brews. It's a Madison company where brewers ply their trade just across Starkweather Creek from me so I get to support a local business as I indulge my fancy for kombucha.

With a name like Elderberry Healer, I was expecting my sampling to provide some pukka health benefits.

While I haven’t been ill since I drank this stuff, I am not convinced that I can attribute this wholly or even in-part to it.

Elderberry has a reputation for being a good treatment for colds and probably other ailments. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, it’s possible that elderberry will make you feel better if you have a cold or the flu, but the jury is still out.

So, with the salutary effects being questionable, I am left to consider the gustatory ones.

In addition to elderberry, this kombucha features hibiscus, ginger, licorice root, and oil of grapefruit. Regardless of whether it’ll help with a cold, it sounded very tasty.

The brew was a lovely red color – hibiscus is good that way – tinged with brown and a bit hazy. On first sniff my nose caught mildly sweetened tea with a great floral element. It also smelt of elderberries with just a hint of anise.

My tongue was quite pleased to be greeted by a healthy fizziness and tasted of elderberry, hibiscus, a hint of ginger zing, and, thankfully, slightly sweetened tea. I say “thankfully” because I’ve had kombuchas that could compete with the sweetest teas of the South for sheer cavity-inducing terror. The ginger became more prominent on the finish and the anise flavor reared its head here too.

This is an excellent brew! I appreciated the restrained sweetness and adored the elderberry-hibiscus combo. I am not a big licorice root person and, luckily, it was not a major player here but did add some nice contrast as did the zip from the ginger.

The Corona Diaries Vol. 117 - Postlude: Holy crap, there's a marzipan museum!

(Don't forget to read entry #117.)

The Corona Diaries Vol. 117: Another Year Comes to a Close

(late December 2023)

You may recall from an entry or two ago that I had received a photograph from a friend of mine last month that depicted lefse being made. Well, December began with the promise of homemade Norwegian flatbread being fulfilled as he stopped by on the first of the month with a few sheets for us. Well, for me as my Frau is avoiding gluten these days.

If that wasn’t enough, the lefse was accompanied by a host of canned vegetables, sauces, and jams courtesy of his sister who, I was told, had "gone apeshit with the canning this year" and was perhaps going to parlay her food preservation skills and open a business. Wisconsin law was changed fairly recently allowing folks to sell home-canned foods without a license on a small scale.

There was pear jam and hot sauce; there was pickled watermelon rind, garlic, and peppers. If we had a pantry, it would have been stocked for the winter. I celebrated the bounty by whipping up a Virgin Mary garnished with the pickled garlic which was quite tasty and kept the vampires (and the Frau) away.

Living in Wisconsin, you know I had to also garnish the drink with cheese, finely aged cheddar, in this case.

The next day, the gang of turkeys that stalks the neighborhood traipsed through our backyard. They seemed appreciative that there was no snow as they pecked away at the ground.

On the following day, my Frau and I hit the road in the morning for Chicago. Our plan was to meet up with my mother and then head downtown. The drive was uneventful and we made good time as many faithful were at church and the Bears had a bye week allowing less faithful fans to go to church or just sleep in. We arrived at my mother’s place, put her in the car, and then drove down to the Jefferson Park El station where we caught the train.

Our first destination was the Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza. The Blue Line’s Washington stop is at Daley Plaza, which was quite handy. Exiting the train, we made our way up to the street, and voila! We were at the market. As were hundreds and hundreds of other folks who were getting into the holiday spirit.

Truth be known, I should probably not be allowed at Christkindlmarkts as they have many – too many – opportunities for me to be led into temptation by all of the marzipan on offer. I am a sucker for those marzipan pigs, Glücksschwein. The line for the nearest sweets shop was out the door but I waited patiently as people slowly wended their way through the store. My mother and Frau remained outside as facing my inner marzipan demons was something that I alone could do.

Once inside, I eagerly scanned the shelves for the precious sweets amongst other cookies, candies, and a plethora of holiday themed trinkets. When parents weren't looking, I darted in front of small children to get a better look at the shelves and make sure they didn't attempt to get their grubby paws around the last of something I wanted.

I cannot recall when I became addicted to the luscious mix of sugar and ground almonds but I blame my German blood. The Germans love the stuff and view it with Teutonic seriousness. Hell, they even claim that it was invented in the German city of Lübeck. Marzipan made there is apparently recognized by the EU as a traditional regional specialty which I suppose makes Lübeck the Marzipan Capital of the World.

Due to our second destination, I wasn’t able to buy shopping bags full of the stuff and so I settled on this.

I love stollen. I love marzipan. These are two of the best foods ever invented. I just had to have them. And oh mama, were they good!

Having confronted my marzipan demons and lost, we headed to a stall and got some mulled cider. Further wandering found us in front of a stall selling paper stars that you could illuminate. Like a junkie to the needle, my Frau’s eyes grew wide and she stepped up to the counter determined to have one. Perhaps more specifically, have me buy her one. And so I did. It came nicely folded and fit in a purse just fine.

Show time neared so we left Daley Plaza for the Cadillac Palace Theatre where we were to see The Wiz. My Frau loves The Wizard of Oz in all, well, most of its incarnations. She has very fond memories of watching The Wiz as a girl so this production was a must-see for her.

Our tickets were e-tickets and of course I found that I could not get to the website to retrieve them and neither could the Frau. And so I went to the box office head bowed in shame to plead my case. Paper tickets were issued and in we went. I don’t recall ever having been to the Cadillac Palace Theatre and found it to be a lovely old place.

The production was a hoot. I am not a big fan of musicals but even I couldn’t help but get into it and sing along to "Ease On Down the Road". My mother enjoyed it too and my Frau, of course, loved it. The music and performances were wonderful and it was also just a big, colorful, melodic spectacle.

********

As December wore on, the days got colder and shorter. A few decorations, including the star I bought at the Christkindlmarkt, went up. My newest holiday tradition is getting a stollen from Batch Bakehouse here in Madison. A few days after placing my order I zipped over there and picked it up.

Although Batch does not lace their stollen with marzipan, their dough is light and fluffy and extremely tasty nonetheless.

********

One day an invitation to go out for dinner came from a friend of mine. I first met him back in the early 90’s when I landed a job at a cafeteria in a private dormitory. Eventually he would teach me how to cook after I had graduated from dishwasher to prep cook. He, my Frau, and I spent a dark, chilly evening at Toby’s Supper Club, tucked away on the far southeast side of town. The place was packed.

Oddly enough, it was my first time there. Or, if it wasn’t, it had been decades since the last time. After 20 minutes or so, we got a table in the no smoking section.

It’s been a couple decades now since we had genuine no smoking sections at restaurants. I suppose the sign must draw the attention of Millennials and Gen Zers who are incredulous that people were allowed to indulge their tobacco habits inside restaurants in the not too distant past.

Once seated, we were treated to an archetypal Wisconsin supper club experience. Beer, Old Fashioned cocktails, relish tray, and so on.

Since my friend and I no longer work or bowl together, we don’t see one another anywhere near as much as we used to. And so we all passed the time in good company chewing the fat and catching up.

********

It was the solstice on the following day so I celebrated by hiking Morton Forest, which I’ve written about previously.

Most of the trees were bare and there was a definite chill in the air but, fortunately, it wasn’t particularly windy. Walking through scattered copses of evergreens, I could smell their brisk scents.

Much of nature had closed up shop for the season as these withered berries (wild grapes?) attest to. 

I ran into no other hikers on the trails and I can certainly understand folks not wanting to walk them in the cold or to spend time amongst the leafless trees.

There was an occasional squirrel or bird, but the place was fairly still and quiet except for the crunching of leaves beneath my feet.

But I still need to be out in the forests, leaves or not. While the scenes had a sense of death, of ending, walking them now will make traipsing the trails come the spring even more sweet as life in the woods is renewed.

********

I rounded out the day by heading down to Olbrich Park for the annual winter solstice bonfire held by a local neighborhood association.

From a distance I could see the flames roaring and hordes of people milling about as the rhythm of a drum circle grew louder as I drew nearer.

The primal soundtrack was perfect for doing what human beings have been doing for thousands of years: staring at a fire and taking comfort in its warmth.

The same group does a summer solstice bonfire and these events are really nice with families aplenty in attendance. They aren’t commercialized with vendors everywhere hawking their wares or with lots of other activities going on. Instead they’re all about socializing with your neighbors and enjoying the decidedly offline and fairly simple pleasure of a bonfire.

The local news outlets came down and I was caught on camera. My boss spied me on the nightly news.

********

Bonus photo. Back in June 1977, Elvis was on what would prove to be his final tour and he played here in Madison on the 24th. On his way into town, his limo drove by a fight at the intersection of Highway 51 and East Washington. Elvis had the driver pull over and he leapt out to break up the fight. Here’s the marker.

 

 

(Now watch the astonishing postlude!)

The Corona Diaries Vol. 117 - Prelude: Point the way to better days

 

 

(Now read #117.)

Biały Filip: Koźlak by Giant Jones Brewing Co.

After seeing Black Philip on a can of hard apple cider leading us into dark temptation, we now have a label featuring a white goat snuggling contentedly with a young Polish gal beckoning us into inter-species conviviality. This comes courtesy of Giant Jones Brewing here in Madison.

The beer is called Koźlak and it conjures in my mind images of a detective, likely because it is close to Kolchak and Kojak. While "Koźlak" may look mysterious with its exotic diacritical mark, it is, as I have just discovered, a rather mundane word and simply means bock. Giant Jones calls it a Polish-style bock as it was brewed with Marynka hops.

I don't know if Polish brewers actually brew their bocks with Marynka hops or not. Since Giant Jones' brews are organic, this variety must be fairly common, at least in Poland, if there's an organic version. My knowledge of Polish hops extends no further than Lublin/Lubelska.

My assumption here is that, since my bottle was filled back in April, that this was meant to be a spring bock. I am not sure how long it was lagered but it sat around for 6+ months after bottling. Hopefully it was taken good care of during this time.

My pour produced a rather nice loose, tan head but it went away quickly and I fumbled with my camera so I wasn't able to get a decent photo of it. And, as you can see, I wasn't able to get a decent photograph of even just a tad of foam. The brew was a lovely amber color, which seems only fitting for a Polish beer, and was quite clear allowing me to spy a goodly number of bubbles inside. My initial sniff caught caramel and a fruitiness that I can best describe as a generic berry scent - something akin to Boo Berry cereal. My mind may have caught this latter smell because there was a box of that very cereal atop the refrigerator when I pulled the bottle out. Beneath all that was a hint of lemon and a dash of hay. That green aroma grew as the beer warmed.

Seeing all of those bubbles made me think my mouth was in for some nice fizz and indeed it was. Good thing too as the body was medium-heavy. I was surprised that it wasn't very sweet, though caramel and stone fruit were prominent flavors. The hops added something herbal. On the swallow, those malty flavors faded allowing a moderately potent hoppiness to emerge. Marynka must be a bittering hop as the finish was quite brisk with hefty doses of both bitterness and dryness.

Koźlak was a fine brew. Those hops surely added the lemon and hay scents, which I really liked, and their bitterness made for a very nice contrast to the big malt flavors. I am left to wonder what this beer tasted like fresh. As it was, Koźlak's 7.9% A.B.V. left me feeling nice'n'warm on a chilly fall evening. Maybe I can try it again next spring.

Junk food pairing: Pair your Koźlak with a bag of potato chips. I find that Jays Hot Stuff with its bold paprika heat stands up to the big bock.  Plus Old Dutch Dill Pickle chips provide a nice contrast to the mega-maltiness.

Madison Metro Transit Adventures

On a bus ride home some night last week, I stepped aboard and found that the driver had decided on mood lighting.

After a short time, he turned the lights on and I was able to get some reading in. They remained so until towards the end of my ride when they curiously went dark again. Luckily it seemed that the passengers were young and had eyes that could work well enough in the Stygian gloom.

On another ride last week, a C bus broke down at University and Lake. Patiently we waited for a replacement. It eventually came but, instead of picking up where he had left off, the driver sped up E. Johnson. We passengers looked at one another in confusion. The driver turned down Ingersoll and took us to the bus barn at E. Washington where we waited even longer.

Although our patience was strained, we sat there quietly. For my part, I got some more reading done. After too long what we thought was an eastbound bus finally departed. But it only went a few blocks and dropped us off at Jenifer & Ingersoll and then went west. An eastbound C came after about 10 minutes and we were all on our way. But we were absolutely flummoxed as to why the eastbound bus had abandoned its route.

The lesson here is to catch a D bus, if possible, when your C bus is crippled.

Wouldst thou like to drink deliciously?

Something to quaff while you watch The Witch.

My daily dose of apple cinnamon vinegar

Last summer I sampled Bragg's lime citrus drinking vinegar and now, a bit over a year later, here I am drinking what I presume to be their autumn seasonal, Apple Cinnamon.

What we have here is a fairly simple drink that is largely water, apple cider vinegar, and apple juice. There is also cinnamon and "natural flavor" of unknown origin and taste. Plus some stevia. You'd think that you could balance the sweetness between vinegar and juice without added sweetener but I am no food scientist. And what is the "natural flavor" doing in this drink? Is it apple flavoring? Something to boost the cinnamon taste? I still don't know what "prebiotic" means.

The stuff is very pretty with its light yellow hue and just a touch of haze. It smelled just as you'd expect with healthy doses of apple and cinnamon with a little vinegar tang in the background. It tasted much the same way with the spice leading the way. I really liked how the vinegar taste built to a tangy climax on the finish as the fruit and spice flavors faded.

It was indeed refreshing just as the label promised and was full of fall flavors. Good squishie.

Put this Polish music in your ear holes

Some performances by fine Polish performers are coming to Madison.

Coming Soon 23 November 2024

I went to see Conclave over the weekend and enjoyed it quite a bit. To my mind, it's a humanist tale and I cannot get all of those shots of hands out of my head. Maybe I'll write more about it later.

Here are the trailers:

The final trailer was for Last Breath, directed by Alex Parkinson and starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu and Finn Cole. I cannot find the trailer on Youtube.

Coming Soon: On Becoming A Guinea Fowl

Those of us at UW Cinematheque last night for the screening of Dahomey got a taste of next semester's schedule as they showed a trailer for On Becoming a Guinea Fowl. It's ostensibly a Zambian movie, but it's a co-production with the U.S. & U.K. Looks to be a drama/dark comedy.

And then, hey, Presto!

It was on this day in 1989 that Rush released Presto. This was about 2 years after I had taken the plunge into their catalogue. Not as strong as 1987's Hold Your Fire, in my humble opinion, it nonetheless has some great songs.

My first Rush show was on 17 June 1990 on the Presto tour at Alpine Valley and they played 2 of the best songs from the album, "The Pass" and "War Paint". Here's that concert.

A Salt & Vinegar Miscellany XVI - Ecce cashew!

Last week I wrote in black distress that I hadn't seen Planters Salt & Vinegar cashews for some time and feared that they had been discontinued. Much to my delight they were back on the shelf at my local supermarket last weekend. Now that I think about it, I should have bought more than one bag as who knows how long before they go missing again?

I tried to find out how many varieties of cashews there are and all I could come up with was one. Many different grades of cashews but I found no evidence of multiple varieties. Perhaps I need to hit up some hardcore botany sites.

On the other hand, I learned that the cashew originated somewhere in the Amazon region, although it has since spread, and that it looks like this when still attached to a tree:

The nuts hang from this apple fruit bit. The apples can be used for cooking or made into vinegar or booze, presumably. Cashews are cousins of poison ivy and the shells around the nuts are poisonous. Picking and processing these things must be a pain.

Eating them, however, is painless.

These puppies were rather lightly seasoned. If you pop just 1 or 2 in your mouth, you get that luscious sweet-fatty taste of the cashew and a lingering sense that something is different. I didn't taste much more saltiness but you do get a hint of vinegar tang. It was only when I put several in my mouth at once did my tongue get something approaching a healthy dose of acetic acid.

I suppose Planters has a fine line to tread here. When appealing to a broad audience, one nut shouldn't be super-sour tasting and, since many people eat several at once - something approaching a handful - that approach shouldn't be deadly.

As someone who loves vinegar, I found these cashews to be on the mild side. Having said that, they were plenty tasty. When I needed something more potent, I ate about half a dozen at once to get that tanginess level up to where I like it.

They'll stone you when you're lying on the couch

Piper played with a catnip toy last night.

As she chewed on it, I could smell the pungent aroma. I think she got rather high as she didn't mind the toy lying on her side as she relaxed.

First snow

We got a dusting of snow last night - our first of the season.

It's either snowing out now or it's very windy.

I must get the shovels and other winter accoutrements out of the shed.

Slaar? Is it you?

Have you seen the poster for the movie Dahomey? It's a documentary about the repatriation of artwork to Benin from France. And it screens tonight at UW Cinematheque!

Does anyone else see the Ice Warrior commander Slaar from behind?

The helmet, the color, the jaw-like hand.

I look forward to seeing the front of that statue tonight.

The Lamb deluxe

News is out that Genesis' opus The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is getting the super deluxe 50th anniversary (which was earlier this week) treatment with a massive box set out in March. A remastering will surely make it sound wonderful, assuming it isn't compressed to the gills, and an Atmos remix is a glorious proposition.

A live version of it is included but it's the same show that was included in 1998's Genesis Archive 1967–75 and that had contemporary overdubs which need to go away. At least the encores will be included this time.

And there is a trio of demos to be had as well on a "download card" - not sure what that is. There are hours of demos/rehearsals from the Headley Grange sessions that produced the album out in trading circles. Highlights for me are a 12 minute version of "Fly On a Windshield" and 23 minutes of the band working on "The Waiting Room". Plus there are various instrumentals whose music was never utilized and so on.

I am waiting on more specifics before making the decision to buy or not.

The Lamb turns 50!

And it was only 11 when I first heard it. Tempus fugit. But it has aged well. Still a classic.

The closest The Lamb tour got to Wisconsin was Chicago with shows there bookending the U.S. leg. Recordings from the first couple on 20-21 November 1974 have never surfaced, to my knowledge, but we have audio and a bit of video from the 4 February 1975 show. This is 8mm film footage with synched audio.

And this is most of the show audio only.

A Salt & Vinegar Miscellany XV - A leap into the gluten-free

My wife has renounced gluten so I spend time in the gluten-free aisles at grocery stores and have come to know which pizzerias offer a crust sans gluten for those times when a DiGiorno GF pizza pie just won't cut it for her.

While the gluten-free food industry has gotten much larger and offers a rather wide array of foods that would have been a dream not that long ago, it is woefully behind on salt & vinegar snacks as this is the first I've encountered. Milton's was unknown to me before I spotted them in Woodman's gluten-free aisle. They are out of California and offer many products without gluten but not exclusively.

Ridding these crackers of wheat, we instead get a whole panoply of flours including rice, corn, and millet along with potato starch. Since my wife dropped the habit, I've eaten various GF foods and I have to say they have been very tasty so I am not predisposed to look askance at crackers without wheat. Let's check these puppies out.

Milton's deviated from the norm here as the crackers are hexagons. They were nicely browned around the edges with some have brown spots closer to the center as well. Fairly thin, they're light as well as crunchy.

The chips taste mostly like rice with little of the sweetness I associate with wheat or even corn. The salt level was indistinguishable from a normal dose for a cracker. The vinegar was barely there, sadly, and you have to eat a lot of them for your tongue to register any acidic goodness. I guess it's no surprise as these ingredients come under the "Contains 2% or less of:" heading.

While these crackers taste fine, they barely register on the Vintner's Scale. I've been eating them with dips and salsa.