Boo!

Happy All Hallows Eve! I was just carving up some jack-o'- lanterns and I thought "Hey! I should take some pictures and post a blog post." So I am.

I love squash. It is very good for you. I mean pumpkins are chock full of good stuff for you. And the seeds? Don't even get me started!

Soaking in salt water after a rinse

Of course while I was doing all this, I was also cooking a meal for myself. For some reason, even though I have never had it before, I was particularly craving beans and toast. So I toasted some bread, buttered it up, heated up a can of black beans with some spices (chili powder, onions, oregano, onion powder, salt and pepper) and placed a heaping spoon full on the buttered toast. See...

Mmmm...

It was delicious! Of course, being the pro protein person that I am, I also added a dollop of cottage cheese on top of these as well, of course, after I took the picture.

Now for some scenery!

Tree

Leaves

Boo!

B-eats (a subtitle for my blog)

The Crocodile, Seattle WA

Given the nature of my time spent these days as well as my availability to make it to the great outdoors to do some trail hiking, I have chosen to focus on music as well as food. A while back while hiking with some friends at Rattle Snake Lake, this issue came up and we started bouncing potential names around, and that is how the blogs new subtitle was concocted:

"B-eats"

Get it? Music and food, beat/eat...how very clever my friends are.

I have written music reviews in the past for a now defunct web site called Dark America, which got me into some great places such as Graceland (now called El Corazon) to see The HIVES when they first came through the US in 2000 with The International Noise Conspiracy. Somehow I was able to parlay this into getting a monthly press packet kit from Epitaph records to review CD's from them and become a live show reviewer for Skratch magazine. These two sources placed me on the press list for many local shows in the Seattle area which allowed me to see bands in exchange for writting reviews about them and their performance.
One of the last shows I went to go review was at the Crocodile in 2001, and somehow even though I was supposed to be on the press list, I was not. I was being a bit stubborn about it so I opted not to pay my own way in, and obviously submitted no review for the show. I lost that battle with Skratch. As it turned out, there were many local music writers in Seattle that were willing to take my place.

(Personal history: I played drums in a punk band while growing up in Iowa called The Doppler Effect. We played many shows at the local venue The Cattle Club (from what I understand, it is still around, in a new location and new ownership, in Sioux City Iowa). My now brother in law taught me to play drums. He still plays drums in a band called Hawn Swamp. I took a hiatus from playing drums, until last year when I bought a new kit and started playing for Blind Cartographers.)

So that was the last time I was at the Crocodile. It was closed for awhile, and has since been refurbished and reopened. The Dutchess and the Duke played a show there on Oct. 9th. I was excited to go to, basically, a new place and see a band I really like.

But before you ask, yes, I did have some food of sorts that evening as well. Right next door to the Croc is Via Tribunali , and I indulged in a double shot of Maker's Mark, neat, and pint of beer. While this is not food per se, it is how I consumed my calories for the evening. The setting at Via Tribunali's was...well...dark.

The Chandelier at Via

I mean really dark. Like "can not read the menu unless it is so close to the candle it might catch fire" dark. Usually I would have no qualms about this setting, but I was there to eat, well drink, as opposed to doing shady things in a high backed leather booth.

But the drinks were strong and the show was starting soon, so it hardly mattered.

The Stage

The show was really good. I was very happy to visit this old friend and check 0ut the new attire. Besides plying myself silly with shots of spiced rum and PBR's, I listened to the music and watched the crowed. And man was there a crowd. I did not take a head count but from what I could tell, that place was purty durn near maximum capacity. A sea of locals had filed into the Crocodile, drinks in hand, eagerly anticipating the promises of the evening.

The first band, Meth Teeth, was okay. They had a pretty good sound overall and I would say for the most part I liked them. I would be open to explore more of their work.

Meth Teeth

The second band, Dead Ghosts, played well, I just did not care for their sound. Even though by the time they came on the stage, I was pretty well lit up. I mean I was well on my way to having a very bad hang over at this point. Luckily I did not drive, so it was back to the bar for another drink for me.

Isn't the name "Dead Ghosts" redundant?

Then the THE DUTCHESS AND THE DUKE came on and they were great. I mean, I already liked them. Seeing them live was a treat. I highly recommend them.

D&D? I think not.

So that about wraps it up, as you can see, there was not a food installment in this episode. My hopes is to start again having food entries, very soon.

p.s. The Strangers new Happiest Hour guide is just out and my personal goal is visit all the listed establishments before my next birthday. That means by February. Feel free to join in the libations.

Love in the time of H1N1

Immune defense boosters

Just a quick note about what one can do to avoid this malady as many of us are coming into contact with the masses who may be carrying this particular virus as we go about our daily lives of doing those things we love.

In the photo: fresh brewed green tea, 5 garlic cloves, about a inch of fresh ginger and a orange.

I peeled and diced the garlic, and just diced the ginger, put it on a spoon and washed it down with a few swig of green tea. Than I ate the orange.

Not only do I feel this is great for prevention of flu and cold, but just even doing this as daily maintenance would seem to me to have enormous benefits overall. (I may even be vampire proof if I am luck)


Also, if you have not heard about elderberry extract, but it is very anti viral as well. (In fact, so is eating with real silveware ((I heard you can find authentic silverware at pawn shops and consignment stores and save some $$)) and zeolites).



Speaking of elderberry's, if you think about it, elderberry mead/wine is kind of like the first NyQuil. Strong antiviral and alcoholic enough to help sleep through the night. Those monks who invented it were very smart indeed.

In fact, I am pretty sure eating any type of brightly colored edible berry is healthy for you. But wait! Now it is fall, and fresh berries are hard to come by. So now what you ask. Well, the answer is simple: squash.



Pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Cinnamon, pumpkin pie, and spiked hot cider also may help alleviate the flu. (course, I always have been a sucker for egg nog rather than cider)

Umami

Auguste Escoffier 1846-1935 (image from NPR)

I have been reading lots of Jonah Lehrer recently (well, that and some scintillating text books), specifically "How We Decide" and "Proust Was a Neuroscientist" . For what it is worth, I highly recommend both these books.

How I cook (notice the Library bar code, holla!)

In "Proust..." there is a part about Auguste Escoffier and umami. After reading this I became inspired to try it myself.

Step One
Rendering the Marrow Goodness

I purchased some beef shank bones and some cubed beef for making stew, baked them in a pan with copious amounts of vegetables at 350 for about 5 hours.

Step Two

Step Three

After the baking, it all goes into a pot with some red wine and some water, and gets reduced. I repeat this step, minus the wine, four more times.

The Result

I then strained out all the solid stuff, so just the liquid remained, and reduced this still until it reached a desired consistency.

It took some time to complete but the end results were decent enough. No one complained and the aromatics it gave off while it was baking, cooking and rendering was absolutley ambrosial. I am very sure that this concoction was very nutritious as well as yummy. I used it to accompany steaks and rice. Not just any rice, I might add. But lime nori green tea rice (organic white aromatic jasmine rice, Whole Foods, bulk # 6706). What? All that in rice? Absolutley, make it as good as possible. Antioxidants, polyphenols, Lime Juice, it is all good and essential for living well. (If you have not caught on by now, I regard eating well an essential staple in this communial experience we all call living.)

The Ingredients...

...in a pot...

...on a plate!

And of course, a little bit of celebration at the end of a meal never hurt.

Mmmmm, beer.