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This is my blogchalk:
United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.
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Paul Hinrichs:
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Tuesday, November 18, 2003 |
Confederate flag photo evidence to the contrary, I’m not a southern boy. The first time I ever saw grits was in the army, when a sweaty mess hall sergeant in a tank top T-shirt slapped some on my metal tray in basic training at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. “What’s that?” asks a fellow Yankee draftee from Henry County, Ohio. “I don’t know,” I answer, “looks like cream of wheat.” The Mess Sarge overheard me and immediately bellowed out, “Them’s GRITS, boy!”
I’ve never was a fan of grits until I discovered cheese grits and shrimp about 10 years ago. Now I am. Country ham, I’ve been a fan since the first time I tasted it at Bob Evans’. The way I’ve taken to fixing it is to cover it with about half an inch of water and then simmer it down until the pan is dry. This produces lots of “fond.” Though I doubt they call it that here. In Tennessee, they deglaze the pan with coffee and call it red eye gravy. Here’s something almost as good. Deglaze the pan with a cup of water, add ¼ cup Quick grits (don’t get “authentic” on me!), and cook them up until they’re of a consistency suitable to repair cracks in your driveway. Them’s grits, boy.
8:39:05 PM 
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"Even Mums never called me 'Chuckie-Boy'..."
8:08:27 PM
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Got the salmon and a haircut too, completing the prerequisites for my day of lowered expectations. As a bonus, I stopped by The Carolina Brewery for a deuce of Copperline Amber Ales and a bowl of smoked chicken/potato soup. The brewskis were only $2.50 each – it just so happened to be $2.50 Tuesday.
It’s always fun to stop by there and sit at the bar when they’re brewin’. Today, they emptied out a primary fermenter amid much noise, which ain’t really noise – it’s the music of beer brewing. The pumps were loud, but I scarcely noticed, reading the bar copy of the Wall Street Journal and learning that the pace of redemptions at Putnam funds has slowed since the trading scandals broke. $7 billion cashed in, that’s bound to have put some pressure on the market. Does it amuse you that these sales are called “redemptions?”
Here’s a pic of the salmon, shiny side up, and a woman mimicking pregnancy with a pumpkin, from the cover of recent arrival Gastronomica in the foreground. Wonder if she had sex with Peter, Peter? I have no brown sugar right now, so the salmon won’t hit the brine until later: 10 hours to brine, several hours (whatever it takes) to form a pellicle, then 12 hours of smoke. But that can all wait…
2:19:39 PM
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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
If you set your goals low enough, chances are you’ll succeed. The two bubblies aren’t pictured here because they were too fat for the rack. No, I didn’t drink them, but now that you mention it that could be another of the day’s accomplishments. Cheapest wine was $7.49 (La Vielle Ferme Grenache Blanc – the only CA today) and the most expensive was $19.99 (twice, B&G Chateauneuf du Pape and Biltmore Blanc de Blancs bubbly – that “blankety-blank” champagne). The French were additional represented by Haut Medoc, Saint Emilion, and Margaux – all is forgiven, you guys, come on home!
The selection wasn’t great, but I still took an hour picking out my twelve bottles. Most of them were already marked down $1 to $3, even before the 15% discount. Total bill was just under $160, with case discount savings over $26. I feel thrifty, oh so thrifty, I feel thrifty, and witty, and bright.
12:07:55 PM
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Blackhawk en regalia
8:54:26 AM
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Today is a day to get back to food. Work and squirrels have complicated my life beyond the simplicity my mind can grasp. Today is the last day to get a 15% case discount on wine at Harris Teeter. I’m torn between Mad Dog and Red Lady 21. No, no time for inner conflicts – I’ll get 5 whites, 5 reds, and 2 bubblies. Today is also the last day for $4.99 salmon. I’ll buy today, brine tomorrow, and take Thursday of to smoke ‘em up. Today is the day to dub Mark Hoback’s 45 vinyls to CD (In case you haven’t visited Virtual Occoquan #44 yet, you can download his MP3 of All Hopped Up there, totally legal, Mark wouldn’t sic the RIAA on you, he wants you to hear his music – he is crazy like that). Maybe a haircut today. Anything goes - just no work.
7:39:46 AM
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