Food
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Kombucha for Beginners (Using a Starter Kit)
About a week (and a little bit) ago, I started a 1 gallon batch of kombucha. I was given a starter kit last Christmas, an am only now getting around to it! In any case, I bottled today after church, producing 6 Grolsch bottles worth of kombucha. Used a bit of sugar water in each to prime (probably under-primed, but I . Now we wait a couple days before sampling the finished product. I should have sampled prior to bottling, but I forgot. The smell was right, so I remain hopeful. I did start a new batch, using Earl Grey Crème from The Spice and Tea Exchange. A little citrusy,…
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A Retreat to the Mountains
A have the great blessing to have a couple days to myself up in the mountains. I’ll be spending it working during the day, but it does afford some evening pleasantry. Currently, I’m making chili, starting a puzzle, and marveling at the Creator’s work. But I think I am going to try to get a head start reading for my next class (Intro to OT 1), as well. As I said, chili. This burner does not want to offer a stable “low” heat: And a puzzle. This one is my father-in-law’s, and I’ve been meaning to finish it so I might return it: And what beauty (and a critter living…
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Pastries
In his discussion on “Qualifications of Inerrancy” in 40 Questions About Interpreting The Bible, Robert Plummer encourages pastry-making informed by appropriate sources: 7. Inerrancy does not mean that the Bible provides definitive or exhaustive information on every topic. No author in the Bible, for example, attempts a classification of mollusks or lessons in subatomic physics. The Bible tangentially touches on these subjects in asserting that God is the creator of all things, marine or subatomic, but one must not press the Scriptures to say more than they offer. If you want to learn how to bake French pastries, for example, there is no biblical text that I can suggest. I…
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M.L. Rose Burgers and Brews
We stopped on our way to Aberdeen at a lovely little place in Nashville, Tennessee. Mmmmmmmm. Time to get back on the road!
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The Day Before Thanksgiving
So, to begin, it’s my mom’s birthday. So, Happy Birthday! Look forward to being there in December for Christmas! I’m holidaying now in beautiful Banner Elk, NC. And, since it was open, it was the perfect opportunity to visit the book exchange in the historic school. I came prepared, with books that Mr. K’s in Greenville, SC has passed on, books I was glad to part with (or at the very least, was not overly sad to part with). So, a couple nice looking cook books, some witty poetry, a couple of interesting looking Dan Brown novels (he may not be historically, or otherwise, accurate, but they can be a…
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Anniversario
So, this June will be 20 years. My father-in-law offered us a week through his timeshare. After a laborious search on a timeshare site in need of some serious development hours, we narrowed it down to two, and then eventually one. It was quite the toss up between a TradeWinds excursion (half spent on a catamaran trek and half lounging at a beach resort) and a rustic Italian village/resort (or their more English-friendly site) to be used as both peaceful retreat and base camp for exploring the green center of Italy. The catamaran sounded interesting, even exciting, but the all-inclusive fee of $200/person/day, for a 7-day jaunt by two people…
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Busy Morning
The girls both have a military ball to attend this evening, Jenna got up super-early for a guard competition, and Kim left to go see it. I took some time to do bills and make some changes on my laptop. OneDrive does not impress me, by the way. And, plates swirling in the air, it was requested that I drive Julianne to a friend’s distant house so that they could get ready for the dance early, before taking photos at the local botanical garden. I told Sean to drop the device he had been on all morning, decide on a place for lunch, and jump in the car with me.…
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Blue Ridge Wonderland
I made a much needed break from home for the weekend, and took wife and kids to Banner Elk, North Carolina. It’s cold, and the leaves are off, of course. But it still has its own sort of beauty this time of the year. Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, almost to Blowing Rock, we took Boone Fork Trail beside a partially frozen creek. Lovely. Not a very long hike, but that was fine for today. It was enough for Kim to break in her new boots, at the very least. And then, we followed it up with a visit to Blowing Rock Brewing Company, where we had a fairly peaceful…
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Indian Wednesday
That is, food. My wife is not the biggest fan of lamb, but my daughter likes it much as I do1. Since my daughter was left home with me over this past weekend2, I had intended to make us something with lamb. Even got it from the local Publix. However, Jenna kept on going out and doing teenager-y things, and it just didn’t happen. However, that meant I still have lamb. And, well, it wants to be eaten! And in respect of my wife, I chose two dishes to make for dinner, one lamb and one chicken. Those choices? Aloo gosht (Delhi-style lamb cooked with potatoes) and Murgh aur masoor…
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Sausage & Peppers
When I want a simple meal, with a lot of color, this is my go-to. Well, if I want a simple meal and I am playing the part of a bachelor. My wife and her pitiable lack of gall bladder disapprove of the peppers, so this is a dish I only get when I am on my own for a weekend, as I am now. This is probably one of the first meals I ever made on my own. And I won’t claim that it originated with me; no, I learned by watching my mom make it for the family. It isn’t so much a recipe as an idea. Meat,…
