Cookbooks

In the US, there is a certain fetishizing of cookbooks. There are several "legendary" or "essential" cookbooks in the US that every chef is supposed to have:

"Mastering the Art of French Cooking", "The Joy of Cooking", Alice Waters' "The Art of Simple Foods", "On Food and Cooking"all spring to mind right away.

We collect them like grigris warding off the potential of a failed soufflé or a hollandaise gone bad. I know there are others, but they sit central in the American mind as the backbone of any essential aspiring gourmand's basic education in food.

And that begs the question in my mind, do they do this in other countries? Are there a handful of deadly important cookbooks in France that get handed from parents to children, or stolen with a passel of notes and scribblings inside? Do the Germans have some cookbook that is a bastion of tradition? Do the Japanese read the recipes in some revered cookbook like they're gripping narrative?

Or is this a uniquely American invention? And if so, where does it come from? Why these books? What does it say about who we are as Americans?

Give the Whole Month of December Off

I am hereby making a proposal that, as a nation, we grant the entire month of December off, with pay. I know there are some kinks to be worked out here. People still need to eat, people get sick, people do like to shop for the holidays, but...

There's a part of me that wishes we could and would give all Jewish people the entire eight days off for Hanukkah. And then you have the Christmas season, Kwanzaa, and sometimes, Diwali. It's almost an entire month's worth of reflection, rest, and celebration.

Maybe we could say "If your celebration is this week, you have it off, and you work half-time the rest of the month." That way people are still working half-days so stuff stays open, but you have more time with family and friends.

Who's with me?

You Cannot Please My Wife

Heather's suffering from swine flu. It was really bad, though with a round of Tamiflu, codeine, and a rescue inhaler, she's already feeling much better, which I'm happy about. BUT...this entire experience, my wife has been saying, over and over again:

"I DO NOT HAVE SWINE FLU!"

"Why not?"

"I hate that term."

*sigh* "Alright, I hereby declare it. You have 'Coughing Pig Death'."

"I do not *cough*cough*weeze* have Coughing *hack* Pig Death."

"Why not?"

"That's even worse! I'm not going to die!"

"Right, it's Coughing PIG Death. You'll be fine."

"It's still so morbid."

"oooohhh, you need a cutsey name, like 'Rubella.' You got it. I hereby declare that you have the 'Itty Bitty Piggy Sniffles.'"

"*cough*hack*cough*cough*cough*I DON'T HAVE THAT EITHER!"

There is no pleasing that woman...

Roasting My Own Coffee At Home

I've decided to start roasting my own coffee at home. I drink a lot of coffee as it is, and I've found it more and more difficult to find a good whole bean roast that I enjoy. I took to mixing certain brands that I liked for a good balance of flavors but this last time I bought two bags of beans at BJs and they're just mediocre at best.

So I've been looking into home roasting, and I found a ton of good resources online. I'm most excited about The Coffee Project. They offer you the opportunity to get free coffee beans and instructions on how to roast them on the stove top.

Once I get the beans I'll talk about the whole process and take pictures.

What a Weekend! Camping and Car Crashes Oh My!

It was one hell of a weekend, let me tell you...

• McKenna and I went camping with the Adventure Guides Saturday night into Sunday. This was her first event with the Adventure Guides and her first big sleep over and it went swimmingly!
• On the way to the event I ran into a concrete pole in the Giant parking lot. Bent the tire rod and strut for our van, so she's in the shop now getting worked on.

It made for a very uneven weekend to have the joy of seeing my little girl having a great time with friends up in the woods in a lodge hanging with the girls and to just keep replaying my own stupidity in my head and seeing the crash into the pole. Luckily, I didn't hit the pole head on or the damage would have been a lot worse. All I did was hit it with the driver's side tire. Still, I felt like a complete idiot because I didn't even see the pole until it was too late.

Oy.

But we were all alright so it works out, and the car will be fine. And I am fine, and so far, my wife's not threatening to kill me, so that's good. :)

Still...oy.

It's a Good Thing I'm a Red Sox Fan

because the crushing disappointment from that has tempered me for this complete joke of a football season the Redskins are putting together.

At this point I'm picking against my own team in the football pool because I MIGHT AS WELL WIN SOMETHING.

No Ass for Old Men

There is that persistent joke about old men somehow waking up without asses, and if you ever look at old men, it appears to be true. The backs of their jeans are always hanging flat off the back end. How does that happen? When does that happen?

Apparently in a man's 30's, because Heather walked up behind me and today and made a comment. I reached around and verified, to my horror, I was...half-assed.


Damn.