If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants. ~ Isaac Newton

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Thank You, Ervin.

A few weeks ago I saw this commercial. It would be the worlds greatest understatement to say that this is only the greatest commercial ever made. Admittedly, the first time I saw it I got so excited I got goose bumps and welled up a little. Now I just goose bump and cheer when the ball falls through the net. So here is to the greatest basketball team ever. (I'm sure with all of the modern technologies one could do this a little less archaic, but not this one. I just filmed the TV screen.)


Tuesday, May 26, 2009

"Break Even's" Update

One of my dreams is to have my own restaurant. I'd work the grill, bark at the waitresses, chat with the customers, much like Mel on the TV show Alice. It's like a retirement dream. I don't think it would be fun if I depended on the income, so the food will be affordable and good. It will be called, "Break-Even Stephen's", and it's Menu will be a dry erase board that will change upon what I feel like whipping up that day. It will be a hoot.

Every so often I will play in the kitchen working on menu items. This weekend seemed to be a spare rib weekend. I do ribs about three times a year, the last time was a debacle: overcooked and over seasoned. The only thing I didn't over-do was love. They were a classic case of under loved and neglected meat. What a pity. Most of the time I eat what I cook and it is fine. Sometimes I taste it and I don't want anything else to do with it; Not because it's gross, it's just because I don't have a desire to eat it, it's a complicated emotion. It is rare when I feel like I make something really good. Monday's ribs were one of those rare times that I did good. I couldn't get enough of them. I was very pleased with them. They may be a regular menu item.







I rubbed them, stacked them, wrapped them and let them rest overnight.
After about 6 hours of braising I finished them on the grill.
Horay for me.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

The Law of the Harvest

It goes a little something like this,
.
When you put very little effort in...






....you get very little tomatoes.






I am not ashamed of this, I am proud of the fact that this plant is not dead, yet. Me, this plant, and my green thumb are a work in progress. And progrees is never something to be ashamed of. By the way, I cut these tomatoes up last night and put them in our salad and they tasted great!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

My wife is a bargain hunter. She is a wheeler and a dealer. She knows that somewhere there is a better deal to be had and is determined to find it. She is a garage sale enthusiast. Every Friday night her spidey senses heighten as the the little signs and fluorescent arrows begin to appear on lampposts and street signs. She has taught me alot, because I used to think that garage sales and second hand stores were a little creepy. I am okay with garage sales, but second hand stores, still not so much.

The turning point on garage sales for me was when Rachel decided to host one. I vehemently opposed it, I didn't want to turn my front yard into a flea market, but then I remembered that my opinion only counts when it is line with hers and we had that garage sale. As the morning wore on I noticed that my yard and garage were being cleaned out...cleaned out at no cost to me! As a matter of fact, the cleaners were leaving money behind. People came to my house, gave me cash, and took my junk! Fascinating!

Garage sales are one thing, but there is another phenomenon that takes place on a monthly basis that I have not figured out. It's called bulk trash day. The third week of the month our town provides a bulk trash service. Simply place any large unwanted items at the curb and the waste management bubs come around in the old fashioned trash trucks and dispose if it. Well, they dispose of what ever is left after the rummagers have picked through it. Most of my bulk trash never makes it to a landfill.

Yesterday we set out an old broken lawnmower, a computer monitor, a broken printer, a corner desk, and broken computer chair, two trash bags of palm frawns, and a rickety old armiore. When I got the armoire to the curb one of my neighbors hollered from the park across the street, "That one's mine!". Awakward but sure enough, this morning when I left for work all that was left in my pile was the monitor, the corner desk, and the two bags of palm frawns. UH-mazing!