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United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.

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Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Just A Position   Lancet claimed 100,000 casualties in Iraq.     BBC says tsunami toll may also exceed 100,000.     Sister Ruth sent me this message from Arthur C. Clarke in Sri Lanka. In short, he’s okay but the island is desperate.   Without trivializing it with his own sentimentality, as I am apt to do, Mark Hoback offers this link.   The image ingrained in my mind is that of children, attracted by the novelty of fish flipping on the rapidly receding sea, being drawn there as the deadly wave silently approached. Hungry children. Food, daning on he sand. Thousands more died just by being at the wrong place.   It only happens once after three average lifetimes, why plan for a disaster so rare?   If you can do anything to help, do whatever that is. I thank you for your time.   And you probably thank me for my time. Good. 4:34:17 PM    comment []

Remember Gulf War I and Bush Presidency I? Without getting into a discussion of disappointing sequels, focus for a moment when Bush père (or maybe it was James Baker III, or another of his toadies), contemplating the possibility of Saddam Hussein using chemical weapons in the Mother of All Wars (sweet nostalgia), said he would “rue the day” he did that.   Remember that? I do.   Have you ever rued a day? Me neither.   Maybe there is a "disconnect" (ah, sweet 90s) between rhetoric and the things we all normally experience in daily life?   It is with deep regret that I continue...     Today I am making a mother sauce. You might remember that there are 5 mother sauces. Though some include a tomato sauce instead of vinaigrette, Espagnole is the only one that has tomatoes from the New World. So, by the time Georges-Auguste Escoffier published Le Guide Culinaire in the early 1900s, European gastronomy had over 4 centuries to absorb wonderful delicacies such as coffee, chocolate, capsaicin pepper, potatoes, corn, and tomatoes – but only the ”love apple” made the grade as a mother sauce ingredient.   So much for that, all prelude. You start this sauce with a roux based on carrot and onion, and then you add beef broth, a little at a time, then celery, garlic, tomato paste (still vaguely optional at the source cited), peppercorns, and bay leaf. It’s not as clear as the mystery of Pernod and rock salt, but I roux the day I made this mother sauce.   Above: the beginning. Below: as the 45 minute simmer begins.   4:01:07 PM    comment []

He Who Hesitates   Okay, I didn’t have a hunch, it had just occurred to me that checking tenderloin prices yesterday and again today would double my chances of catching it on sale. The strategy paid off. Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods have the best cuts here outside the butcher shops. They are also the most likely to have sales on premium cuts. Angus beef at Harris Teeter is $9.88 a pound, so I might go with that. I’ve always felt that the Angus label is more marketing hype than real quality, so I’ve shied away from it. Then, on NPR’s Morning Edition yesterday, I heard that these cattle have special “taste good” genes they’ve developed, perhaps on the road to evolution that will end at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Anyway, this strategic savings on the beef paid for 2 of the bottles of wine.   I celebrate the randomness of fortune.     6:43:33 AM    comment []