It's is hilarious. The Baker City salt lick art contest made national news: http://www.npr.org/2012/12/22/167698817/the-joy-of-salt-licking-contest-turns-farm-animals-into-fine-artists
Unfortunately they didn't mention the provision in last year's contest that "all licks must be done by animals and they'll be tested for human saliva and DNA." Whit is a pretty good tongue-in-cheek promoter.
I've thought about the possibilities of sawing or sandblasting your block to establish form in advance of final finishing by the official lickers though. As far as I know no one has tried that yet.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
On voting
I get to comment on voting because I tried a new (to me) method here in the District. Well actually I voted on electronic machines in the primary too, but that was a light test and didn't highlight the problems. As someone who voted on a touchscreen machine with a voter verified paper audit trail I can verify that the paper audit trail is not worth much. At least speaking as the voter I had to trust that it was recording the right thing because I could barely read it and it scrolled too fast to do so anyway.
I think the bigger problem is that the electronic machines are clunky and expensive and you can't scale them and people don't know how to run them. Long line? Too bad, we only have six machines at this polling place and some of them are set for different precincts. Now if you have paper ballots that's no problem. Set up some more tables on the other side of the gym and voila more voting stations. Everyone from the same precinct? No problem. You can fill out any ballot at that table.
Now electronic machines do have a couple of advantages. They can have big clear font and accommodations for people with visual impairments. Most importantly I think they can help avoid certain voting errors like overvoting (where you vote for more than the allowable number of candidates in a race), undervoting (not voting in a given race or measure, of course you don't have to vote in every race), and just plain messing up a paper ballot. All of those situations lead to a person's vote not counting.
But in my opinion those aren't good enough reasons to use electronic machines. They flat didn't work very well in the recent election here in DC. I suspect their expense is likely to keep poll administrators from having the funding for really good paper ballots too.
I think the long lines that discourage people from voting at all are a much worse problem. Those wait times (up to 4 hours during some of the early voting periods, and I heard directly from people who waited more than an hour on election day) prevent more people from voting than would conceivably lose their votes due to ballot errors.
So in the future I'm going to register as a permanent absentee. I've tried the voting machine thing and I don't like it. Despite the civic fun of going to a physical polling place I think Oregon's civilized vote-by-mail system is a much better way to run an election that really eliminates artificial barriers to voting. And I think our record on voter fraud issues is pretty good too. Plus there's a paper trail. What's not to like?
If you want more commentary on the concerns regarding electronic voting machines, here's a piece by Brad Plummer on the Washington Post. Generally I think the concerns of deliberate electronic fraud are probably pretty low. But given what I saw in DC I'm more concerned about the machines just messing up on accident and people not realizing it and not knowing how to fix them.
I wanted to analyze voter turnout in the context of electoral votes but I couldn't find the data easily. So that's going to have to wait until I get around to copying each state's numbers off the Huffington Post. In the meantime here's a factoid for fun: Voter turnout was 126 million, about 93 million eligible citizen did not vote. Apparently the hotshots at the Center for the Study of the American Electorate put out a report but I guess they only gave it to reporters since I can't find a copy online. As an interested data geek I don't approve. What good is your research if you don't share it? They are at American University if you want to give them a bad time too. And no they don't get hyperlinks because they don't have any recent information on their webpage.
I think the bigger problem is that the electronic machines are clunky and expensive and you can't scale them and people don't know how to run them. Long line? Too bad, we only have six machines at this polling place and some of them are set for different precincts. Now if you have paper ballots that's no problem. Set up some more tables on the other side of the gym and voila more voting stations. Everyone from the same precinct? No problem. You can fill out any ballot at that table.
Now electronic machines do have a couple of advantages. They can have big clear font and accommodations for people with visual impairments. Most importantly I think they can help avoid certain voting errors like overvoting (where you vote for more than the allowable number of candidates in a race), undervoting (not voting in a given race or measure, of course you don't have to vote in every race), and just plain messing up a paper ballot. All of those situations lead to a person's vote not counting.
But in my opinion those aren't good enough reasons to use electronic machines. They flat didn't work very well in the recent election here in DC. I suspect their expense is likely to keep poll administrators from having the funding for really good paper ballots too.
I think the long lines that discourage people from voting at all are a much worse problem. Those wait times (up to 4 hours during some of the early voting periods, and I heard directly from people who waited more than an hour on election day) prevent more people from voting than would conceivably lose their votes due to ballot errors.
So in the future I'm going to register as a permanent absentee. I've tried the voting machine thing and I don't like it. Despite the civic fun of going to a physical polling place I think Oregon's civilized vote-by-mail system is a much better way to run an election that really eliminates artificial barriers to voting. And I think our record on voter fraud issues is pretty good too. Plus there's a paper trail. What's not to like?
If you want more commentary on the concerns regarding electronic voting machines, here's a piece by Brad Plummer on the Washington Post. Generally I think the concerns of deliberate electronic fraud are probably pretty low. But given what I saw in DC I'm more concerned about the machines just messing up on accident and people not realizing it and not knowing how to fix them.
I wanted to analyze voter turnout in the context of electoral votes but I couldn't find the data easily. So that's going to have to wait until I get around to copying each state's numbers off the Huffington Post. In the meantime here's a factoid for fun: Voter turnout was 126 million, about 93 million eligible citizen did not vote. Apparently the hotshots at the Center for the Study of the American Electorate put out a report but I guess they only gave it to reporters since I can't find a copy online. As an interested data geek I don't approve. What good is your research if you don't share it? They are at American University if you want to give them a bad time too. And no they don't get hyperlinks because they don't have any recent information on their webpage.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
I bake for hurricanes
As you know Sandy visited last weekend. I meant to post about it sooner, but here's some really brief info. Maybe more later? Anyway no problems for me. I stayed home from work for two days and had to mop water off my balcony, but that was about all. Just lots of wind and rain.
So I made monkey bread!
It's the sticky, gooey one. I figured I shouldn't pour butter and sugar over the whole batch so I made a normal loaf too. Then I shared it with the neighbors which was a good excuse to meet people.
Here's a Sandy shot from my room. You really can't tell much about it other than cloudy.
So that was about all. Go look at the NASA satellite photos. They are way cooler.
So I made monkey bread!
Here's a Sandy shot from my room. You really can't tell much about it other than cloudy.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Not Pictured
So my blog turns out to be mostly about what I'm eating. Not the most scintillating for you perhaps but it keeps me entertained. I'll add stories to go with it. Check out my dinner tonight. Wasn't I good at eating my veggies?
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| Tuesday's dinner: eggplant salad, squash, corn, and Ethiopian flatbread. |
The eggplant is the Indian eggplant salad from page 48 of The Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen. It's a very excellent vegetarian cookbook and that particular recipe is delicious. I broke it out to help handle the eggplants coming out of the garden. So far I've only had to compost one that rotted before I could eat it, but they are starting to build up and I need to apply myself. It's far to easy to have an apple, some bread, and cheese for dinner which isn't terrible nutritionally but probably leaves my short of my five servings of fruit and veggies a day. This dinner had three servings all by itself though and when you add that to the blueberries and oatmeal for breakfast (the blueberries were from Canada by way of Costco but they were really good with an almost huckleberry flavor) I'm doing pretty well.
The other thing I'll be eating a lot of for a while is the squash. That's the one crop that did fabulously in the garden this year. I've got 10 butternut squash sitting in my big basket and I bet at least that many more still in the garden. I even bought a heavy duty vegetable peeler at Eastern Market to help deal with them. Fortunately I really like squash so this should not be a problem.
Here's my other really excellent dinner plate of recent days.
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| Sunday's dinner: A Cherokee Purple tomato with chevre, lettuce salad, and Alaska salmon. |
Of course what's not pictured is the leftover chocolate cake I had for breakfast. I make a layer cake, vanilla cupcakes, and chocolate cookies for the bake sale at St Augustine's end-of-summer fair. That was Saturday and it was also the SW Art Fest. We spent a while tabling about the community garden project. It was a fabulous day. Here's a couple of pictures I took down by the church so that you can see how nice it was.
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| Looking across the street to Arena Stage |
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| St. Augustine's, if you look closely there's an airplane flying out of DCA |
As a bonus for reading to the end of this rather rambling post, here's a provocative NY Times article arguing that bike helmets are bad for cycling. Basically the author is making the case that requiring helmets is a major barrier to cycling becoming normalized and the risks of brain injury from falling off a bike are no greater than the risk of falling off ladders or slipping in the shower. Requiring helmets for biking makes a relatively safe activity (statistically) appear much more dangerous so people just don't do it. Leading of course to the greater dangers of automobile congestion, air pollution, obesity, and heart disease.
So what do you think? To helmet or not to helmet?
Thursday, September 20, 2012
The Breakfast of Revolutionaries
Last Saturday Elizabeth and I biked down the river to Mount Vernon. This is of course George Washington's estate. The current area is 230 acres of Washington's original 8000 acre farm complex. Of course more than half of that 8000 acres was in woodlot, not active cultivation. It was a totally perfect day for biking and exploring the estate. The mansion house and some of the outbuildings are originals and they have restored or reconstructed a number of others. Pretty well done historical interpretation too.
I'll probably post more about it later. But right now we're talking about breakfast! One of the interpretive things on display was a number of household items from GW's time. And they had recipes! The one I liked the look of best is hoecake's--Washington's favorite breakfast. A Southern word for griddle was apparently "hoe" so therefore a cornmeal pancake was called a hoecake.
Here's mine:
This quote from Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis (his step-granddaughter) describes them:
They're tasty! Here's a link to the recipe on the Mount Vernon website: http://www.mountvernon.org/visit-his-estate/plan-your-visit/touring-estate/selected-outbuildings/kitchen
Of course I did not use 8 cups of cornmeal! In fact the handout card I picked up at the show has instructions for 2.5 cups of cornmeal and I scaled that back even more. It also called for white cornmeal and I used fine yellow corn flour instead. I might have to try it with coarser cornmeal too once I finish this batch of dough. They are very filling so that might take a couple of days.
I'll probably post more about it later. But right now we're talking about breakfast! One of the interpretive things on display was a number of household items from GW's time. And they had recipes! The one I liked the look of best is hoecake's--Washington's favorite breakfast. A Southern word for griddle was apparently "hoe" so therefore a cornmeal pancake was called a hoecake.
Here's mine:
This quote from Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis (his step-granddaughter) describes them:
He rose before sunrise, always wrote or read until 7 in summer or half past seven in winter. His breakfast was then ready--he ate three small mush cakes (Indian meal) swimming in butter and honey, and drank three cups of tea without cream.So I actually ate my hoecakes with butter and honey and hot cocoa (spiked with cinnamon) but I feel very revolutionary anyway.
They're tasty! Here's a link to the recipe on the Mount Vernon website: http://www.mountvernon.org/visit-his-estate/plan-your-visit/touring-estate/selected-outbuildings/kitchen
Of course I did not use 8 cups of cornmeal! In fact the handout card I picked up at the show has instructions for 2.5 cups of cornmeal and I scaled that back even more. It also called for white cornmeal and I used fine yellow corn flour instead. I might have to try it with coarser cornmeal too once I finish this batch of dough. They are very filling so that might take a couple of days.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
For my sci-fi fellows out there
I started this post a while ago and then somehow it got lost. But it was a good one so I'll finish it from the draft.
...
Remember when Aral and Cordelia drank champagne for dinner every night for a week? That's a real test of your sci-fi geekiness since it was a story we only heard secondhand from Miles in A Civil Campaign.
In fact, thanks to the magic of Google, here's the quote from the Barrayar history page:
There is actually a point to quoting a completely fictional tale. Ok, other than the fact that I adore Lois McMaster Bujold's books and if you haven't read them you should run right out and get one. Now.
The point is that particular line has stuck in my mind for a long time (and clearly other people's too given that it was quoted online where I could easily find it) because there is a lot of truth to it, particularly the importance of human mobility as part of an economic and political system. I was reminded of this reading an interview with Austan Goolsbee "on why the euro zone won't survive."
He raises several concerns, but a big one is the lack of mobility. This is one significant thing that distinguishes the Euro economic union from the United States economic union. In the US we can pick up and move from one state or one coast to another. There are certainly barriers like geography and distance from family, but you know that wherever you go you will speak the language and automatically have residency and voting rights. Assuming of course that you're a citizen. Non-citizens may have bigger hurdles. Of course that's the point. In Europe if you move 1000 kilometers you won't be a citizen anymore. Here I moved more than 3000 km and that wasn't an issue.
Goolsbee argues that we are a workable currency area because people can move around. (And because there are a lot of automatic subsidies like Medicaid and Social Security that transfer resources from rich areas to poor ones.) There are a lot of reasons for Euromess but this is a fundamental structural one. And things haven't changed. This original article was from November of last year.
...
Remember when Aral and Cordelia drank champagne for dinner every night for a week? That's a real test of your sci-fi geekiness since it was a story we only heard secondhand from Miles in A Civil Campaign.
In fact, thanks to the magic of Google, here's the quote from the Barrayar history page:
Among our father's early reforms, when he was Regent, was that he managed to impose uniform simplified rules for ordinary subjects who wanted to change Districts, and switch their oaths to their new District Count... Effectively, the new law gave every Imperial subject the right to vote local governement with their feet. Our parents drank champagne with dinner the night the vote slipped through, and Mother grinned for days. I must have been about six, because we were living here by then, I remember.I didn't quite get the reference right off the top of my head, but close.
There is actually a point to quoting a completely fictional tale. Ok, other than the fact that I adore Lois McMaster Bujold's books and if you haven't read them you should run right out and get one. Now.
The point is that particular line has stuck in my mind for a long time (and clearly other people's too given that it was quoted online where I could easily find it) because there is a lot of truth to it, particularly the importance of human mobility as part of an economic and political system. I was reminded of this reading an interview with Austan Goolsbee "on why the euro zone won't survive."
He raises several concerns, but a big one is the lack of mobility. This is one significant thing that distinguishes the Euro economic union from the United States economic union. In the US we can pick up and move from one state or one coast to another. There are certainly barriers like geography and distance from family, but you know that wherever you go you will speak the language and automatically have residency and voting rights. Assuming of course that you're a citizen. Non-citizens may have bigger hurdles. Of course that's the point. In Europe if you move 1000 kilometers you won't be a citizen anymore. Here I moved more than 3000 km and that wasn't an issue.
Goolsbee argues that we are a workable currency area because people can move around. (And because there are a lot of automatic subsidies like Medicaid and Social Security that transfer resources from rich areas to poor ones.) There are a lot of reasons for Euromess but this is a fundamental structural one. And things haven't changed. This original article was from November of last year.
I was in the BicycleSPACE video
Check out the recap of the full moon ride last month: http://www.bicyclespacedc.com/blog/2012/6/7/moon-river-reverie.html
It was a fun ride of the "bikes take over" variety. There were probably more than 200 people. I even show up in the video montage!
It was a two hour ride from 8 to 10 Saturday evening with a picnic at the end. Brent (fellow OMPH-er and biker) was there too.
It was a fun ride of the "bikes take over" variety. There were probably more than 200 people. I even show up in the video montage!
It was a two hour ride from 8 to 10 Saturday evening with a picnic at the end. Brent (fellow OMPH-er and biker) was there too.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Biking and food
You know the two key things to do on the weekend. So I went on a long bike ride this morning with Elizabeth. It was about three hours and we wrote up the capital Crescent Trail to find a hill for a good workout. I will wiped! I don't usually ride that much or that hard at one time.
After that it was down to Megan's to hang out and consult on dessert making. She ended up with a berry crisp with pine nut topping for an event tonight. It looks really good. The only problem with making a crisp (rather than cookies) was that we couldn't sample it.
So to make up for that I made myself cookies once I got home. At least that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.
I also made a very tasty Caesar salad with croutons and fried tilapia for dinner. I will give you a picture of both the salad and cookies.
Now it is back to work for the week. At least this one doesn't have as many disruptions as last week.
After that it was down to Megan's to hang out and consult on dessert making. She ended up with a berry crisp with pine nut topping for an event tonight. It looks really good. The only problem with making a crisp (rather than cookies) was that we couldn't sample it.
So to make up for that I made myself cookies once I got home. At least that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.
I also made a very tasty Caesar salad with croutons and fried tilapia for dinner. I will give you a picture of both the salad and cookies.
Now it is back to work for the week. At least this one doesn't have as many disruptions as last week.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Fireflies!
I was in the garden this evening. Lots of stuff grew while I was gone for the weekend. Check out this basket full of lettuce and greens.
Then walking back I saw fireflies! We don't get fireflies in Oregon so that is pretty cool. I might be able to watch fireflies all summer.
Well now I had better wash my lettuce.
Then walking back I saw fireflies! We don't get fireflies in Oregon so that is pretty cool. I might be able to watch fireflies all summer.
Well now I had better wash my lettuce.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
A new use for radishes
I made braised radishes to go with pizza for dinner. Here's the recipe and a picture since I didn't take one. Mine looked very similar though.
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-spring-radishes-braised-48969
I can eat a lot more radishes that way than raw. It's a pretty good side dish, rather different and a good way to use up those radishes that you planted because they would come up and grow quickly and give you the sense of garden accomplishment even if you don't really like them.
I will try stir frying the greens tomorrow. Maybe this recipe: http://www.thekitchn.com/dont-toss-those-radish-greens-145724
Or this one: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/radish-top-soup/Detail.aspx
Actually the soup sounds interesting and a good way to disguise them.
I took a nap then worked in the garden this afternoon. Yeah, made another raised bed on the side. I just can't help myself. I want to plant everything! That takes space. Planted watermelon, cantaloupe, and buttercup squash today. They can grow out to the side.
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-spring-radishes-braised-48969
I can eat a lot more radishes that way than raw. It's a pretty good side dish, rather different and a good way to use up those radishes that you planted because they would come up and grow quickly and give you the sense of garden accomplishment even if you don't really like them.
I will try stir frying the greens tomorrow. Maybe this recipe: http://www.thekitchn.com/dont-toss-those-radish-greens-145724
Or this one: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/radish-top-soup/Detail.aspx
Actually the soup sounds interesting and a good way to disguise them.
I took a nap then worked in the garden this afternoon. Yeah, made another raised bed on the side. I just can't help myself. I want to plant everything! That takes space. Planted watermelon, cantaloupe, and buttercup squash today. They can grow out to the side.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Embassies and pear crisp
Now I'm trying the Blogger app on my iPad. So far I don't like the keyboard it has.
Today Kori and I visited 6 embassies that were open as part of the EU Open House. So we semi-technically were in Finland, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, and Germany. Crowded but fun. The Belgians were passing out waffles and raspberry beer (well they had non-raspberry beer too but we went for the raspberry).
Then I made some pear crisp when I got home. You get a picture of that...assuming the picture loader works.
Today Kori and I visited 6 embassies that were open as part of the EU Open House. So we semi-technically were in Finland, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, and Germany. Crowded but fun. The Belgians were passing out waffles and raspberry beer (well they had non-raspberry beer too but we went for the raspberry).
Then I made some pear crisp when I got home. You get a picture of that...assuming the picture loader works.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Garden Triumph
Yay! I got manure! Now I realize you have to be a gardener to appreciate this but I found local horse manure for my garden. Another Sarah was very nice and met me at the corral right away so I could fill my tubs with manure. I've been worried about my garden this summer because it has relatively poor soil but this should totally take care of it. My tomatoes will be ecstatic. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures for you because it was raining and getting dark. But you will get to see lovely garden pictures later.
In other garden news, Brent, Kori, and I visited the White House Garden today for their spring tour. I do have pictures of that but you will have to wait until my computer gets fixed so I can upload them. It was a perfect morning and we had a good time. You don't realize how big the grounds are from outside. Not a whole lot of flowers, mostly trees and grass, but very nice nonetheless. The Portland Rose Garden has way more roses than the White House one though!
Then we sat on Kori's rooftop deck and ate cinnamon rolls that I made last week. (they were in the freezer so nice and fresh) A nice day all around although I was incautious and got a sunburn on my shoulders. I'm typing this from my new iPad. I wanted one anyway but the month long breakdown of my laptop turned out to be a significant push to find another way to check my email. So any tablet tips from my iPad-using family members out there?
Bother, I can't add formatting so you get it all run together. Sorry about that.
In other garden news, Brent, Kori, and I visited the White House Garden today for their spring tour. I do have pictures of that but you will have to wait until my computer gets fixed so I can upload them. It was a perfect morning and we had a good time. You don't realize how big the grounds are from outside. Not a whole lot of flowers, mostly trees and grass, but very nice nonetheless. The Portland Rose Garden has way more roses than the White House one though!
Then we sat on Kori's rooftop deck and ate cinnamon rolls that I made last week. (they were in the freezer so nice and fresh) A nice day all around although I was incautious and got a sunburn on my shoulders. I'm typing this from my new iPad. I wanted one anyway but the month long breakdown of my laptop turned out to be a significant push to find another way to check my email. So any tablet tips from my iPad-using family members out there?
Bother, I can't add formatting so you get it all run together. Sorry about that.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Impressive comparision
This will be brief because it is late. But thanks to the Incidental Economist blog I would like to share this table from the Tax Policy Center.
Check out number three at $88 billion. The entire budget of HUD in 2010 is only about $50 billion which includes something like $10 billion in mandatory programs. I'm not entirely sure how indirect things like the FHA insurance programs are counted in budget costs. (And of course this doesn't count Fannie and Freddie which are a significant costs lately.)
But my overall point holds: We spend more government money on supporting housing through the mortgage interest deduction (a regressive approach with much greater benefits at higher incomes if I've ever seen one) than we do on any kind of housing assistance for people who need help finding a place to live.
I don't think this is justifiable. If we want to support housing let's actually spend the money on people who need help rather than hiding it in the tax code and applying it regressively. Neither is #1, the exclusion of employer health insurance contributions. For scale, the state and federal spending on Medicaid is in excess of $360 billion according to KFF.
Goodnight! Don't have tax nightmare from this.
But my overall point holds: We spend more government money on supporting housing through the mortgage interest deduction (a regressive approach with much greater benefits at higher incomes if I've ever seen one) than we do on any kind of housing assistance for people who need help finding a place to live.
I don't think this is justifiable. If we want to support housing let's actually spend the money on people who need help rather than hiding it in the tax code and applying it regressively. Neither is #1, the exclusion of employer health insurance contributions. For scale, the state and federal spending on Medicaid is in excess of $360 billion according to KFF.
Goodnight! Don't have tax nightmare from this.
Monday, February 20, 2012
What winter looks like in DC
I will start with this picture:
That sure looks like ice or snow doesn't it? But surprise! No it isn't. The street is actually white with salt. This was on February 12, the day after the latest storm warning fire drill. They clearly were really excited about salting things in preparation for the forecasted storm.
Here's what the actual snow accumulation looked like.
Yep. That was about all the snow we got. I think people get way too excited about it. They should just prepare to stay home for an hour or two if it is icy in the morning. We had salt dust (I think it is usually magnesium chloride rather than sodium chloride, isn't it?) blowing around the streets for three or four days. We finally got some rain to clean it up but that makes me wonder about the impact of those chemicals on the water treatment system and ultimately on the river.
In more cheerful news, here's a picture of the flowering plums in front of the Hirshorn.
That was on February 11.
Here's the Washington Monument too.
I don't know why it is on it's side! I can't seem to fix it either. Argh. Oh well. I guess you will have to look at it sideways.
Here's what the actual snow accumulation looked like.
In more cheerful news, here's a picture of the flowering plums in front of the Hirshorn.
Here's the Washington Monument too.
I don't know why it is on it's side! I can't seem to fix it either. Argh. Oh well. I guess you will have to look at it sideways.
Corn waffles for President's Day
Yay vacation! It is rather nice to have these federal holidays now and then. *grin*!! I celebrated by sleeping in and then making sourdough cornmeal waffles. They were so good that I am going to share the recipe. The cornmeal gives them an extra-crispy crust, even compared to the regular excellent crispyness of sourdough. So here's the recipe:
Sourdough Cornmeal Waffles
Make regular sourdough except use 3/4 cornmeal (a whole-grain type is best, these usually don't have even grain size but are a little variable) and only 1/4 flour. It could be white or whole wheat flour--I've been making more sourdough with whole wheat lately and liking it. Add enough water to make a medium-thick batter. Set overnight in a warm place, you know, the usual. In the morning heat your waffle iron and mix up the following batter.
Beat together with spoon or whisk (I like a nice stiff whisk)
1 c cornmeal sourdough (nice and sour and active)
1 egg
2-3 T powdered milk (you don't think I actually measure do you?)
2 T oil
1/2 t salt
1-2 t sugar (or honey or whatever you please, I'll try honey next time)
Once that is mixed up well, blend in 1/2 t baking soda
That's all. Now make your waffles. The batter is fairly runny which helps to make light waffles. This amount should be enough for 1 to 2 people. I admit that I ate the entire batch but I didn't need to so take that however you please.
Here's a picture. The one on the left is the extra-crispy version. The one on the right is relatively pale. It's still good but not as amazing.
In other culinary news I am sadly out of good cocoa powder. :-( Boo hoo. I am going to have to keep looking for a source around here because it is pretty silly to be importing it from Oregon! I don't know why it is so hard to find a source for bulk cocoa powder but it does seem to be.
Sourdough Cornmeal Waffles
Make regular sourdough except use 3/4 cornmeal (a whole-grain type is best, these usually don't have even grain size but are a little variable) and only 1/4 flour. It could be white or whole wheat flour--I've been making more sourdough with whole wheat lately and liking it. Add enough water to make a medium-thick batter. Set overnight in a warm place, you know, the usual. In the morning heat your waffle iron and mix up the following batter.
Beat together with spoon or whisk (I like a nice stiff whisk)
1 c cornmeal sourdough (nice and sour and active)
1 egg
2-3 T powdered milk (you don't think I actually measure do you?)
2 T oil
1/2 t salt
1-2 t sugar (or honey or whatever you please, I'll try honey next time)
Once that is mixed up well, blend in 1/2 t baking soda
That's all. Now make your waffles. The batter is fairly runny which helps to make light waffles. This amount should be enough for 1 to 2 people. I admit that I ate the entire batch but I didn't need to so take that however you please.
In other culinary news I am sadly out of good cocoa powder. :-( Boo hoo. I am going to have to keep looking for a source around here because it is pretty silly to be importing it from Oregon! I don't know why it is so hard to find a source for bulk cocoa powder but it does seem to be.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Flowers!
I went for a jog on the Mall this evening and noticed the plum trees in front of the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden are actually blooming! I know plums are earlier than cherries, but February 10th seems a little ridiculous. I'm meeting Kori tomorrow at the American Indian Museum for "The Power of Chocolate" special event. If I remember I might walk down and take a picture of the trees for you. Of course we are supposed to have a 100% chance of rain or snow tomorrow so I don't know if it will be very nice outside.
I've seen some of the small snow crocuses and Tete-a-tete daffodils blooming around the neighborhood too but somehow that doesn't seem quite as ridiculous as a flowering tree.
Since I don't have a picture of the current flower I'll put up this one that I took at Arlington with Laura in December.
Yes that is a cherry tree and yes it was blooming in Arlington in December up on the hill by Robert E. Lee's house. I think it was just totally confused.
Here's a more Christmas-y looking picture from the same day.
Interestingly a some big parts of Arlington are not all tidy perfectly white marble headstones like this but the standard mix that you often see in cemeteries. I was actually kind of disappointed to learn that!
But I'll send you away with a classic Arlington shot. There are plenty of those too.
I've seen some of the small snow crocuses and Tete-a-tete daffodils blooming around the neighborhood too but somehow that doesn't seem quite as ridiculous as a flowering tree.
Since I don't have a picture of the current flower I'll put up this one that I took at Arlington with Laura in December.
Here's a more Christmas-y looking picture from the same day.
Interestingly a some big parts of Arlington are not all tidy perfectly white marble headstones like this but the standard mix that you often see in cemeteries. I was actually kind of disappointed to learn that!
But I'll send you away with a classic Arlington shot. There are plenty of those too.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
It's raining so I have to bake
At least that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. I am currently roasting some beets and carrots and I just put some chicken-cheese biscuits in the oven. What is that you ask? Well if it is as tasty baked as the dough was I'll give you the recipe shortly. Basically it is a batch of biscuits made with chicken fat (left over from making soup last week while I was sick) and some cheddar cheese mixed in.
It's cold and rainy today. It was fairly nice earlier in the week though. I got some good biking in over the weekend. Actually I got some baking in too. I helped Megan make cookies for her party Saturday morning and then I had to make some cookies for my coworkers on Sunday. Here's the respective pictures:
At work I finished my second underwriting review today. This was what we call an (a)(7) for the section of the act that authorizes HUD-insured refinancing of properties that are already HUD-insured. Since it is already in the portfolio we already know more about the property and the insurance fund is already at risk for their mortgage. So it is supposed to be a shorter and simpler review. I seem to keep getting complicated ones that take longer though! But they are good learning opportunities I suppose.
We also had to pack up and move the office today. They are renovating the air and ventilation systems in the HUD building and the section I am in is the next area of work. So we are all moving down the hall, luckily they managed to find us space in the main building and we don't have to shift to the infamous Capitol View swing building. I suppose the fact that the 6th floor office is relatively small made it easier to squeeze us in too. So hopefully my computer will be hooked up and working tomorrow... The tech people are supposed to be handling it.
On a cheerful note, here's my antidote to the rain:
The biscuits are very tasty. I tried one Mimi-style with strawberry jam on a cheese biscuit. I bet apple butter would be really good too.
Here's the biscuit recipe I used:
Cut together:
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup ww pastry flour
1.5 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
4 T rendered chicken fat
Toss in some finely chopped cheddar cheese (how much? some, whatever looks good)
Add 6 T cold milk and stir until just blended.
Drop by tablespoonful onto cookie sheet.
Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees F.
If you use low protein flour it is too sticky to roll so just drop it in blobs. The cheese stuck to the sheet. I think parchment paper would be helpful.
It's cold and rainy today. It was fairly nice earlier in the week though. I got some good biking in over the weekend. Actually I got some baking in too. I helped Megan make cookies for her party Saturday morning and then I had to make some cookies for my coworkers on Sunday. Here's the respective pictures:
 |
| Megan's black and white cookies |
 |
| Cranberry cookies that I took to work |
At work I finished my second underwriting review today. This was what we call an (a)(7) for the section of the act that authorizes HUD-insured refinancing of properties that are already HUD-insured. Since it is already in the portfolio we already know more about the property and the insurance fund is already at risk for their mortgage. So it is supposed to be a shorter and simpler review. I seem to keep getting complicated ones that take longer though! But they are good learning opportunities I suppose.
We also had to pack up and move the office today. They are renovating the air and ventilation systems in the HUD building and the section I am in is the next area of work. So we are all moving down the hall, luckily they managed to find us space in the main building and we don't have to shift to the infamous Capitol View swing building. I suppose the fact that the 6th floor office is relatively small made it easier to squeeze us in too. So hopefully my computer will be hooked up and working tomorrow... The tech people are supposed to be handling it.
On a cheerful note, here's my antidote to the rain:
 |
| Cheese biscuits |
 |
| Roast beets, yellow beets, carrots |
The biscuits are very tasty. I tried one Mimi-style with strawberry jam on a cheese biscuit. I bet apple butter would be really good too.
Here's the biscuit recipe I used:
Cut together:
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup ww pastry flour
1.5 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
4 T rendered chicken fat
Toss in some finely chopped cheddar cheese (how much? some, whatever looks good)
Add 6 T cold milk and stir until just blended.
Drop by tablespoonful onto cookie sheet.
Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees F.
If you use low protein flour it is too sticky to roll so just drop it in blobs. The cheese stuck to the sheet. I think parchment paper would be helpful.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Flight day at the National Building Museum
I had a fun day today. And yesterday for that matter. It was 65 degrees on Saturday, can you believe it? I went for a bike ride in a T-shirt and enjoyed the evening sun going down over the Potomac River.
Today I started with the usual Sunday morning volunteer gig cooking at the St. Augustine's meal program. I like making the pancakes. This was an extra-special morning though because we also had a performance by the saxophone choir! It was an ensemble of 8 saxophones (2 each soprano, alto, tenor, and bass I think) plus a drummer and a pianist. I was very impressed by the care and restraint shown by the drummer. He made sure he backed up the music without ever overwhelming it. He even played the snare with a brush at one point! Here's the YouTube version of the song I liked best (Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol). It was actually a lot better with saxophones and without lyrics, but you get an idea of the harmonies which were gorgeous this morning. They stood all around the room for this song so music came from every direction. I'm afraid I didn't think to take my camera, so you only get verbal pictures. They played a concert Saturday evening too which I sadly forgot about, probably because I was distracted by the bike ride and the sunset. But I caught a little of it Sunday morning so that was very nice.
Here's a little background info on the concert project:
Then this afternoon I met Chelsea at the National Building Museum. I suggested it because Tom and Linda said it was so nice and there is an exhibit on display right now called "Unbuilt Washington" about the serious and not-so-serious designs that were proposed but never built in this city. Including the Lincoln ziggurat. But actually we never ended up seeing the exhibit because they were flying model airplanes in the main atrium and it was really fun to watch. Again I forgot my camera though. Sorry about that. We'll just have to go back another day to see the actual exhibit.
Anyway the planes were balsa wood and plastic models, one to two feet long mostly. The building is almost 5 stories high with the entire central core open from the ground to the roof and galleries you can walk around the first three levels. There are six huge pillars with highly ornamented tops and windows all the way up. It is really light and open. Apparently it was originally built as the record storage and office space for the US pension department in 1880. It was the green building of the time too with "healthful light and air" for the clerks. They even had document rails around the edges (rather like Paul's meat rails in the cooler) which would be used to slide baskets of documents back and forth. It had to be built of brick so it would be fireproof to protect the pension documents.
They were flying airplanes all over this space. One end was the rubber-band-powered section where, I think, they were having contests to see who could stay in the air longer. Those planes were adjusted so they flew up and up in big circles. The other end was electric planes which would buzz around and do loop-de-loops as they were actually steerable. It wasn't clear if they were having any kind of contest or just having fun. There was even a dragonfly with flapping wings and a Nemo-fish blimp. That was pretty cool; it was an oblong helium balloon, about 2 feet long, painted like a clown fish with attached fins and a tail. It had a small weight on a rail along its belly that could slide fore and aft to point the nose up or down. The weight was adjusted to just a hair less than neutral buoyancy for today's air pressure. All this meant that Nemo slowly sank when his tail wasn't moving. However the driver could slide the weight back to point the nose up and flap the tail back and forth which generated just enough of a force to make the balloon rise. It could also turn side to side. So it was really fairly maneuverable in a slow and stately way. The electric planes were more zippy and exciting but the rubber band ones were really meditative and relaxing to watch, particularly the larger ones which leisurely spiraled up toward the light.
All in all that was a wonderful time at the museum and we had a good talk as well. Chelsea is another 2011 PMF at SAMHSA.
Today I started with the usual Sunday morning volunteer gig cooking at the St. Augustine's meal program. I like making the pancakes. This was an extra-special morning though because we also had a performance by the saxophone choir! It was an ensemble of 8 saxophones (2 each soprano, alto, tenor, and bass I think) plus a drummer and a pianist. I was very impressed by the care and restraint shown by the drummer. He made sure he backed up the music without ever overwhelming it. He even played the snare with a brush at one point! Here's the YouTube version of the song I liked best (Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol). It was actually a lot better with saxophones and without lyrics, but you get an idea of the harmonies which were gorgeous this morning. They stood all around the room for this song so music came from every direction. I'm afraid I didn't think to take my camera, so you only get verbal pictures. They played a concert Saturday evening too which I sadly forgot about, probably because I was distracted by the bike ride and the sunset. But I caught a little of it Sunday morning so that was very nice.
Here's a little background info on the concert project:
Connie Friego's ROC Ensemble features eight saxophones, one jazz piano and one percussionist playing songs of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Radiohead!
Ms. Friego received a small grant from the Friends of Southwest DC (FOS), a nonprofit organization which supports educational, community development and charitable activities in the city's southwest quadrant. Last year, she had received a grant from FOS for her quartet to play a similar musical residency in the community and it was so well received that she applied and received a second one in 2011.
Also, Connie Friego is a former resident, July 2009 to August 2011, of Southwest, and for two years now she has organized these free concerts for the enjoyment by all residents of SW. The ROC Ensemble will also play early Sunday morning for the breakfast mainly served to homeless people at St. Augustine's.After that Elizabeth, a friend from HUD, and showed her around the neighborhood a little because she is looking for a new place to live and is thinking about Southwest. We had to go see the Titanic Memorial statue because it is just so mind-boggling. With soooo much cultural baggage on display.
Then this afternoon I met Chelsea at the National Building Museum. I suggested it because Tom and Linda said it was so nice and there is an exhibit on display right now called "Unbuilt Washington" about the serious and not-so-serious designs that were proposed but never built in this city. Including the Lincoln ziggurat. But actually we never ended up seeing the exhibit because they were flying model airplanes in the main atrium and it was really fun to watch. Again I forgot my camera though. Sorry about that. We'll just have to go back another day to see the actual exhibit.
Anyway the planes were balsa wood and plastic models, one to two feet long mostly. The building is almost 5 stories high with the entire central core open from the ground to the roof and galleries you can walk around the first three levels. There are six huge pillars with highly ornamented tops and windows all the way up. It is really light and open. Apparently it was originally built as the record storage and office space for the US pension department in 1880. It was the green building of the time too with "healthful light and air" for the clerks. They even had document rails around the edges (rather like Paul's meat rails in the cooler) which would be used to slide baskets of documents back and forth. It had to be built of brick so it would be fireproof to protect the pension documents.
They were flying airplanes all over this space. One end was the rubber-band-powered section where, I think, they were having contests to see who could stay in the air longer. Those planes were adjusted so they flew up and up in big circles. The other end was electric planes which would buzz around and do loop-de-loops as they were actually steerable. It wasn't clear if they were having any kind of contest or just having fun. There was even a dragonfly with flapping wings and a Nemo-fish blimp. That was pretty cool; it was an oblong helium balloon, about 2 feet long, painted like a clown fish with attached fins and a tail. It had a small weight on a rail along its belly that could slide fore and aft to point the nose up or down. The weight was adjusted to just a hair less than neutral buoyancy for today's air pressure. All this meant that Nemo slowly sank when his tail wasn't moving. However the driver could slide the weight back to point the nose up and flap the tail back and forth which generated just enough of a force to make the balloon rise. It could also turn side to side. So it was really fairly maneuverable in a slow and stately way. The electric planes were more zippy and exciting but the rubber band ones were really meditative and relaxing to watch, particularly the larger ones which leisurely spiraled up toward the light.
All in all that was a wonderful time at the museum and we had a good talk as well. Chelsea is another 2011 PMF at SAMHSA.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Brrrr...
It's cold in DC today. And yesterday. I think the weather report said it got down to 15 degrees Fahrenheit overnight. I don't actually think it will stay this cold for long, but it sure feels like winter now. It's supposed to get up to 40 tomorrow. I brought my parsley plant inside off the balcony last night. I really should have done it the night before but it is only somewhat battered. Parsley gets a little misshapen but it doesn't really freeze significantly. I've been glad to wear my big fuzzy coat to work lately.
I stopped by Safeway on my way home and got a bag of split peas and a ham hock. Split pea soup is really a great addition to a cold night. Or day. I also just took a loaf of fresh bread out of the oven and cut off the crust and ate it with butter and honey. Yummy as always.
It works really well to start a batch of bread (two cups of water makes one good-sized loaf) in the morning before I leave for work. I use the usual recipe (which isn't a recipe at all, more of a method) and just cut back on the yeast. Then it rises all day and I knead it when I get home. You let it rest a bit and then make into a loaf. It probably takes longer to rise in that shape too, but I'm not going out again tonight so that doesn't matter. Then bake and enjoy fresh, hot bread at the end of the day.
I went home to Oregon for Christmas. Really nice to see everyone and spend time with the family. I managed to eek out a full week of vacation using my credit hours in addition to annual leave. Strangely enough though, it was warmer in Halfway than it was when I got back to DC! My apartment heat is not that warm at the moment. It's not cold exactly but it just doesn't get quite as warm as I'd like, even when I turn up the thermostat. I think it is because I am on a corner and the building is not particularly well insulated. A guy who lives on a higher floor in the building told me a couple weeks ago that he scarcely turns on the heat all winter. He probably gets mine.
This is a rather rambling post, but that's what I'm up to today. At work I'm catching up with my underwriting reviews for two nursing homes and we're still working on the hospital assessment. It seems like questions keep coming up there. And I'm writing responses to Congressional inquiries. (Don't worry, other people review them too.) That's kind of interesting. You see some of the issues that people want help with.
Goodnight for tonight. I'll try to post some pictures soon. Maybe I should check out web albums. Any suggestions? Picasa is linked to Google I think so I might start there.
-Sarah
I stopped by Safeway on my way home and got a bag of split peas and a ham hock. Split pea soup is really a great addition to a cold night. Or day. I also just took a loaf of fresh bread out of the oven and cut off the crust and ate it with butter and honey. Yummy as always.
It works really well to start a batch of bread (two cups of water makes one good-sized loaf) in the morning before I leave for work. I use the usual recipe (which isn't a recipe at all, more of a method) and just cut back on the yeast. Then it rises all day and I knead it when I get home. You let it rest a bit and then make into a loaf. It probably takes longer to rise in that shape too, but I'm not going out again tonight so that doesn't matter. Then bake and enjoy fresh, hot bread at the end of the day.
I went home to Oregon for Christmas. Really nice to see everyone and spend time with the family. I managed to eek out a full week of vacation using my credit hours in addition to annual leave. Strangely enough though, it was warmer in Halfway than it was when I got back to DC! My apartment heat is not that warm at the moment. It's not cold exactly but it just doesn't get quite as warm as I'd like, even when I turn up the thermostat. I think it is because I am on a corner and the building is not particularly well insulated. A guy who lives on a higher floor in the building told me a couple weeks ago that he scarcely turns on the heat all winter. He probably gets mine.
This is a rather rambling post, but that's what I'm up to today. At work I'm catching up with my underwriting reviews for two nursing homes and we're still working on the hospital assessment. It seems like questions keep coming up there. And I'm writing responses to Congressional inquiries. (Don't worry, other people review them too.) That's kind of interesting. You see some of the issues that people want help with.
Goodnight for tonight. I'll try to post some pictures soon. Maybe I should check out web albums. Any suggestions? Picasa is linked to Google I think so I might start there.
-Sarah
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