Sorry I Can't Come to the Blog Right Now . . .

I have escaped wild, wacky Washington for a weekend respite at the beach. I had no desire to be in DC this weekend with the masses descending upon the city for a rally. So through the benevolence of a great friend we are staying in a very nice condo (where we have stayed before) in the ocean block and will recharge our batteries with some sun, sand and surf.

LBA will start Kindergarten on Tuesday - something I still can't quite wrap my head around yet, and SoBA will finish out his second week of "vacation" at my MIL's house. Here at the beach the wi-fi is spotty (I think we are glomming off some adjacent condo building - the Econo Lodge across the street reserves its signals for guests, the lousy warts) and it is not clear how much access we will have to the "tubes" this weekend. But in a way, that may be just as well, because that is also a break one needs now and again.

I am going to use the time away to work on my book, which I have been working on for several years, but sort of feel might be coming to a conclusion. I have a few gaps to fill yet, but with luck, I could start shopping it around in the next year or so. Want to publish it? Let me know.

I will actually do some reading this weekend, too. I am going to try and avoid the TV as much as possible. I watched a little Nationals baseball tonight, but that seems to have the same ending each evening, so there isn't much point in watching that, either.
Tomorrow is planned to be a full beach day - hopefully we will see how much salt water I can avoid swallowing in the surf. With Hurricane Danielle swirling far out in the Atlantic, there are forecasts of heavy surf and rip currents. My kind of beach time!

So while I frolic in the water with my family, here's a little graphic that has been sitting in my Google Reader, waiting for me to share it with you. Enjoy, and we'll talk next week!

What to Do with a Pork Tenderloin

I really want to grill it. But then again, what Scott did with his sounds really good, too.

Here's a grill recipe that I might give a try. If you have a particularly good one, let me know!

"7-6-5" Grilled Pork Tenderloin
This master grilling recipe works perfectly, no matter how you flavor the pork. Choose one of the glazes I suggest for a beautiful crust, or use your own favorite dry rub, as long as it’s low in salt. Be sure to buy pork tenderloins that haven’t been treated or soaked in any kind of solution by the producer. Serves four to five.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 pork tenderloins (about 2 pounds total)
• 1 recipe concentrated fruit glaze
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 recipe Fruit Salsa, Orange Balsamic Sauce, or Mango Chutney Sauce for serving (optional)
  

Brine the tenderloins
In a medium bowl, mix salt and sugar with 1 quart cool water until dissolved. Trim the tenderloins of excess fat and silverskin and submerge them in the brine; let stand about 45 minutes. Remove the pork from the brine, rinse thoroughly, and pat dry.

Season and grill
Rub the brined tenderloins all over with the glaze and then season with the pepper. Or, season to taste with another flavoring of your choice.

Heat a gas grill, turning all the burners to high until the grill is fully heated, 10 to 15 minutes.

Put the pork on the hot grill grate. Close the lid and grill for 7 minutes. Turn the pork over, close the lid, and grill for another 6 minutes. Turn off the heat (keep the lid closed) and continue to cook the pork for another 5 minutes. At this point, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the thickest end of the tenderloin should read 145° to 150°F. (If not, close the lid and let the pork continue to roast in the residual grill heat.) Remove the pork from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes before carving. Cut across the grain into 1/2-inch slices and serve immediately, with the sauce of your choice.

Man I'm Old

Every year since 1998 (itself a year when I was already out of college), Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin publishes the Beloit College Mindset List to put in perspective certain issues that have helped shaped the incoming freshmen, this year being members of the class of 2014.

Here, mostly without comment, is the full list for this year's class.

The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2014

Most students entering college for the first time this fall—the Class of 2014—were born in 1992.

For these students, Benny Hill, Sam Kinison, Sam Walton, Bert Parks and Tony Perkins have always been dead.

1. Few in the class know how to write in cursive. (a very unfortunate art - lost)
   
2. Email is just too slow, and they seldom if ever use snail mail.
3. “Go West, Young College Grad” has always implied “and don’t stop until you get to Asia…and learn Chinese along the way.”
4. Al Gore has always been animated.
5. Los Angelenos have always been trying to get along.
6. Buffy has always been meeting her obligations to hunt down Lothos and the other blood-suckers at Hemery High.
7. “Caramel macchiato” and “venti half-caf vanilla latte” have always been street corner lingo.
8. With increasing numbers of ramps, Braille signs, and handicapped parking spaces, the world has always been trying harder to accommodate people with disabilities.
9. Had it remained operational, the villainous computer HAL could be their college classmate this fall, but they have a better chance of running into Miley Cyrus’s folks on Parents’ Weekend.
10. Entering college this fall in a country where a quarter of young people under 18 have at least one immigrant parent, they aren't afraid of immigration...unless it involves "real" aliens from another planet.
11. John McEnroe has never played professional tennis. (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?)
    
12. Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry. (Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do ya?)
13. Parents and teachers feared that Beavis and Butt-head might be the voice of a lost generation.
14. Doctor Kevorkian has never been licensed to practice medicine.
15. Colorful lapel ribbons have always been worn to indicate support for a cause.
16. Korean cars have always been a staple on American highways.
17. Trading Chocolate the Moose for Patti the Platypus helped build their Beanie Baby collection.
18. Fergie is a pop singer, not a princess.
19. They never twisted the coiled handset wire aimlessly around their wrists while chatting on the phone.
20. DNA fingerprinting and maps of the human genome have always existed.
21. Woody Allen, whose heart has wanted what it wanted, has always been with Soon-Yi Previn.
22. Cross-burning has always been deemed protected speech.
23. Leasing has always allowed the folks to upgrade their tastes in cars.
24. “Cop Killer” by rapper Ice-T has never been available on a recording.
25. Leno and Letterman have always been trading insults on opposing networks.
26. Unless they found one in their grandparents’ closet, they have never seen a carousel of Kodachrome slides.
27. Computers have never lacked a CD-ROM disk drive.
28. They’ve never recognized that pointing to their wrists was a request for the time of day.
29. Reggie Jackson has always been enshrined in Cooperstown.
30. “Viewer Discretion” has always been an available warning on TV shows.
31. The first home computer they probably touched was an Apple II or Mac II; they are now in a museum.
32. Czechoslovakia has never existed.
33. Second-hand smoke has always been an official carcinogen.
34. “Assisted Living” has always been replacing nursing homes, while Hospice has always offered an alternative to the hospital.
35. Once they got through security, going to the airport has always resembled going to the mall.
36. Adhesive strips have always been available in varying skin tones.
37. Whatever their parents may have thought about the year they were born, Queen Elizabeth declared it an “Annus Horribilis.”
38. Bud Selig has always been the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. (and isn't that a shame)
39. Pizza jockeys from Domino’s have never killed themselves to get your pizza there in under 30 minutes.
40. There have always been HIV positive athletes in the Olympics.
41. American companies have always done business in Vietnam.
42. Potato has always ended in an “e” in New Jersey per vice presidential edict.
43. Russians and Americans have always been living together in space.
44. The dominance of television news by the three networks passed while they were still in their cribs.
45. They have always had a chance to do community service with local and federal programs to earn money for college.
46. Nirvana is on the classic oldies station. (now that hurts)
47. Children have always been trying to divorce their parents.
48. Someone has always gotten married in space.
49. While they were babbling in strollers, there was already a female Poet Laureate of the United States.
50. Toothpaste tubes have always stood up on their caps.
51. Food has always been irradiated.
52. There have always been women priests in the Anglican Church.
53. J.R. Ewing has always been dead and gone. Hasn’t he?
54. The historic bridge at Mostar in Bosnia has always been a copy.
55. Rock bands have always played at presidential inaugural parties.
56. They may have assumed that parents’ complaints about Black Monday had to do with punk rockers from L.A., not Wall Street.
57. A purple dinosaur has always supplanted Barney Google and Barney Fife.
58. Beethoven has always been a good name for a dog.
59. By the time their folks might have noticed Coca Cola’s new Tab Clear, it was gone.
60. Walmart has never sold handguns over the counter in the lower 48.
61. Presidential appointees have always been required to be more precise about paying their nannies’ withholding tax, or else.
62. Having hundreds of cable channels but nothing to watch has always been routine.
63. Their parents’ favorite TV sitcoms have always been showing up as movies.
64. The U.S, Canada, and Mexico have always agreed to trade freely.
65. They first met Michelangelo when he was just a computer virus.
66. Galileo is forgiven and welcome back into the Roman Catholic Church.
67. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has always sat on the Supreme Court. (and that's a good thing)
68. They have never worried about a Russian missile strike on the U.S.
69. It seems the Post Office has always been going broke.
70. The artist formerly known as Snoop Doggy Dogg has always been rapping.
71. The nation has never approved of the job Congress is doing.
72. One way or another, “It’s the economy, stupid” and always has been.
73. Silicone-gel breast implants have always been regulated.
74. They've always been able to blast off with the Sci-Fi (SYFY) Channel.
75. Honda has always been a major competitor on Memorial Day at Indianapolis.

Chicken Roulades

It's possible that C in DC may have to start with her own recipe blog - as she keeps "feeding" me recipes.

This one comes from Simply Recipes.

Chicken Bacon Roulades Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 shallots, thinly sliced
• 10 bacon slices (about 1/2 pound)
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
• Lemon pepper seasoning to taste (or ground black pepper with a little lemon zest)
• 6 Tbsp grated Parmesan (about 1 ounce)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 Tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
  

Method

1. Working in batches, cook the bacon over medium heat in an ovenproof heavy skillet, until lightly brown but still flexible (not crisp). Place the bacon on paper towels to drain. Cook the shallots in the remaining bacon fat over low heat, stirring, until softened. Transfer shallots with a slotted spoon to a small bowl and leave any fat remaining in skillet. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. With smooth side of a meat pounder pound each breast to 1/8-inch thickness. Discard plastic from boned side of each breast. Sprinkle chicken with lemon pepper (or ground black pepper and a little lemon zest) and salt. Place 2 1/2 slices of bacon lengthwise (parallel with grain of flesh) along middle of each breast. Top with shallots and Parmesan. Using plastic wrap to help you, tightly roll up each breast lengthwise, tucking in the ends to enclose the filling. Secure seams with wooden toothpicks.
3. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to reserved fat in skillet and heat over medium high heat. Brown roulades on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer the skillet to middle of oven and bake roulades until just cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. (Note: we found that our skillet didn't fit in our oven, so we transferred the roulades to a smaller pan.)
4. Transfer chicken to a plate with tongs and keep warm, covered with aluminum foil. Pour off fat from skillet. (Careful! The handle is hot, use an oven mitt.) Add wine to the skillet and deglaze over medium high heat, scraping up brown bits. Boil wine until reduced to about 1 tablespoon. Add garlic and butter. Cook mixture over medium low heat, stirring, for 1 minute. Add flour and cook roux, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth and cream and bring to a boil, whisking. Simmer the sauce, whisking, 2 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Keep sauce warm. Remove the wooden toothpicks from roulades and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Spoon some sauce in center of each of 4 plates and arrange roulade slices decoratively on sauce.
   

Serves 4.

Forget Spring Cleaning - It's Almost Fall

I really want to be better about doing stuff around the house, really. Unfortunately, there is a lot of "out of sight, out of mind" going around at the Brave Astronaut launchpad. There is a tendency by Mrs. BA (and to a point me) that if you stick something somewhere and close the door/drawer/box, you will forget about it.

That needs to change. As I think I have said before, I have become the custodian of the Brave Astronaut family archives. There are projects that I need to get to as my father has been after me to get him some things that belonged to my mother. There have been some sentimental struggles over this, but I really need to deal with some of this stuff, soon. Most of this stuff is in the "vault," with the rest of the archival materials - also known as the alcove under the stairs.

I recently went after my desk, which sits in the living room. It became a surface upon which to pile things after the computer died and I got my laptop. That only meant there was more room to cover up with crap. A lot of the stuff then got stuffed in the drawers, so I went after them and cleaned things out. I need to begin a systematic purging of stuff that has gotten stuffed into drawers, boxes, cubbies, etc. to determine their value and retention. There might be a virtual yard sale coming up on Craig's List soon.

In order to get more organized, I might need one of these. I could put it in the boy's room, but they wouldn't get it. I certainly need to make more lists to chart my progress, so maybe I should get a stack of these, do you think they come in left-handed style?

A Very Special Day

As is usually the case, I (and Mrs. BA) are in the middle of our annual meeting of our national organization, which usually falls at the same time as her birthday, which is today.

Most of you know that my birthday is in December (I've noted that here before) and our two sons are also December babies. Mrs. BA is the outlier, with the August birthday.

I prefer to think of it as special.

I really cannot think of what my life would be like if she were not in it. Actually, I really don't even want to think about such a circumstance. So I won't.

She is the best person I know.

She is the best mother to two wonderful boys, who love her very much (despite SoBA's urgings that Daddy do everything for him and not her).

She is the best wife ever.

She is a great daughter, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, and any other familial relationship that applies to her.

What amazes me most every day - is that she puts up with me, loves me, and accepts me.

Mrs. BA - I love you more and more every day. Happy Birthday

Be Cool - Ice Cream and Popsicles

I recently remarked to Mrs. BA how I missed the popsicles of my youth. My mother had Tupperware popsicle molds, to which one added syrup and water and soon you had yourself a great frozen treat.

Today marks the beginning of the Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archivists, so it sure to be hotter than H E double hockey sticks, as it usually is during the week of the conference. Popsicles, ice cream and other cool items are sure to be in demand.

The Washington Post food section on August 4, profiled the popsicle (including a recipe on how to make a grown-up Bomb Pop) as well as offering some really easy homemade ice cream recipes (without using an ice cream machine!). Stay Cool and Enjoy.

Todd Thrasher’s Bomb Pops
The Washington Post, August 4, 2010

Ingredients:
For the raspberry layer

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed mint leaves (from 10 stems)
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 1/4 ounces vodka
  

For the lemonade layer

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 3 large lemons)
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups cold water
• 1 1/4 ounces non-smoky silver tequila, such as Patron or Don Julio
  

For the blueberry layer

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried culinary lavender (or 2 tablespoons fresh lavender)
• 1 cup fresh blueberries, stemmed
• 1 1/4 ounces rum
  

Directions:
For the raspberry layer: Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Add the mint and steep for 4 minutes. Strain.

Combine the raspberries, mint mixture and vodka in a blender. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, discarding any solids, into a liquid measuring cup to yield 1 1/2 cups.

For the lemonade layer: Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Add the rosemary and steep for 4 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, discarding any solids.

Add the lemon juice and sugar water to a pitcher. Add the cold water to taste, then refrigerate for 30 to 40 minutes. If it's too sweet, add lemon juice to taste. Add tequila to 1 1/2 cups of the lemonade.

For the blueberry layer: Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Add the lavender and steep for 4 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer to yield 1/2 cup.

When you're ready to fill the popsicles (don't do it ahead of time), puree the blueberries and syrup in a blender and pass through a fine-mesh strainer. Return the mixture to the blender, add the rum and puree a second time. Pass through a fine-mesh strainer to yield 1 1/2 cups.

To assemble: Pour the blueberry mixture about a third of the way into the mold. Add the stick and make sure it stands straight. Put the cover on the mold and freeze for 3 hours. Repeat with the lemonade, then with the raspberry.

To serve, dip the bottom of the mold briefly into lukewarm water so the popsicle releases easily.

Makes 6 to 8 popsicles

Recipe Source: From Todd Thrasher of Restaurant Eve and PX Lounge in Alexandria.

Ice Cream with Honey and Thyme
The Washington Post, August 4, 2010

Summary: Gastronomer columnist Andreas Viestad likes to make ice cream using a combination of cream and milk, and quite a few egg yolks. This no-machine ice cream also can be made with fewer egg yolks, more milk and less cream - a good idea if you count calories, but the texture will be a bit grainy.

Most commercial ice cream contains a lot of air; this has very little, so servings can be small.

MAKE AHEAD: You can process more than one bag of ice cream at the same time, as long as the larger bag of ice and salt can accommodate it.

Makes about 1 quart (8 servings)

Ingredients:
For the ice cream

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups regular or 2 percent milk
• 2 to 3 sprigs thyme
• 4 to 6 tablespoons honey
• 8 large egg yolks, at room temperature
  

For processing

• 3 quarts crushed ice
• 3 cups salt
• Water, as needed
  

Directions:
For the ice cream: Combine the cream, milk and thyme to taste in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the honey to taste; stir until it has dissolved. Cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes close to a full boil and has picked up quite a lot of thyme flavor. (You'll know by the fragrance; our taste receptors pick up more sweetness and flavor when subjected to a hot substance, so the mixture should be quite but not unpleasantly sweet, with a distinct thyme flavor.) Discard the thyme.

Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks in a mixing bowl. First, whisk in a third of the beaten yolks into the almost-boiling cream mixture to help prevent curdling; once that is well incorporated, whisk in the remaining yolks. Keep whisking; the heat should be enough to thicken the mixture to the consistency of pancake batter. (If you prefer a thicker texture, transfer the mixture to a bowl placed over, but not touching, the water, of a saucepan containing a few inches of barely bubbling water over medium heat.)

Let cool to room temperature, then transfer to a 2-gallon resealable plastic food storage bag, press out all of the air, seal and refrigerate.

For processing: Combine the crushed ice and salt in a larger plastic bag. Add water a few tablespoons at a time as needed; this will speed up the melting of the ice, which in turn will help freeze the ice cream.

Nestle the bag containing the ice cream mixture inside the larger bag so it is surrounded by the ice. At this point, it's best to wear gloves or use a towel to protect your hands. Close the ice bag and shake or massage for 10 to 14 minutes, until the ice cream has firmed up to the desired consistency.

Remove the bag of ice cream. Give it a quick rinse to remove most of the saltwater on the surface, open and serve.

Recipe Source: From Gastronomer columnist Andreas Viestad.

Another Food List

Following up on that list of foods that can kill you, or at least clog your arteries irrevocably, here is a list of foods one should eat before one actually dies. I've done OK here, but that in no way means I am ready to shrug off this mortal coil. Comments?

From Shine on Yahoo:
"When it came time to compile our culinary bucket list, anything was game, from street meat on the corner to the finest offerings at a four-star restaurant. Our list includes the usual suspects - caviar, decadent desserts, in-season produce at the peak of freshness - and some surprises, too.

If today were your last on this earth, would your tummy be satisfied? Or do you have some eating to do? Without further ado, our list of 50 Things to Eat Before You Die . . ."

1. Chicago-style deep dish stuffed pizza with every topping imaginable - not with every topping imaginable, but I've had it (and enjoyed it with Mrs. BA a long time ago on a special night)
2. Caviar (local and sustainable, of course!) - Know that scene from Big? No thank you.
3. Fried chicken and waffles - together? really?
4. Just-picked, vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes with fresh basil and mozzarella di bufala on crusty bread - I've had it, but I don't think it was necessarily death-worthy
5. Perfect scrambled eggs with crème fraiche and chives - not with the extra ingredients, but my father's scrambled eggs are pretty darn good.
   
6. French press coffee with real cream - I own a French press. I should use it more often.
7. Champagne and strawberries - um, yeah.
   
8. Steak tartare and fresh arugula with a drizzle of oil - I prefer my meat at least a little cooked.
9. Hot dog from a street cart with all the fixings - it has to have been in that good, dirty, New York water for at least several days . . .
10. Authentic Vietnamese pho soup with beef, rice noodles, sprouts, fresh herbs, and sriracha (perfect for when you're feeling under the weather!) - Had the pho. It's pretty good. But I guess if one is going to where it's perpetually hot when one dies . . .
    
11. Spicy tuna sushi roll topped with avocado - I don't mind sushi, but for the most part, it's bait to me.
    
12. Fried soft shell crab - there's too much left to the imagination here to eat this and really enjoy it.
    
13. Mayo-rich lobster roll - eaten at a place, called "Lunch" no less
14. Baklava (Middle Eastern filo pastry filled with walnuts and honey) - sometimes I score the good stuff when I eat at Marathon Deli.
15. S'mores by the campfire - c'mon, my mother was a girl scout for like, a hundred years.
16. Churros dipped in melted chocolate - now we're talking.
    
17. Bagel with cream cheese and lox - thanks, but I prefer my bagels lightly toast with butter.
18. Ice-cold sake - I have a hazy recollection of a very long night at Benihana - but that might have been plum wine and not the rice variety.
19. Sweet potato fries fried in truffle oil - I've eaten them, but I prefer the savory potato.
20. Anything with truffle salt - OK, I figured it was salt made from truffles, but I still went and looked it up.
21. Escargot drenched in garlic butter - pretty much, if it's on the menu, I'm ordering them.
22. Beignets right out of the fryer, dusted with powdered sugar - I've made them at home, but getting them hot and fresh from here still takes the "cake."
23. Real strawberry ice cream - the lunch table crown was just discussing homemade ice cream the other day and I was reminded that I should really get out the maker that is hiding in a pantry cupboard at home.
24. Fresh-caught, head-on prawns over homemade pasta (preferably eaten in Italy) - there are a number of jokes that could be made here regarding the shrimp / prawn (see Good Morning Vietnam or Jumpin' Jack Flash) but I'll leave it alone.
25. Chocolate-filled croissants with cappuccino on a Sunday morning - I've had them on a Saturday morning (fresh at the market) with coffee, is that close enough?
26. Pork belly - OK, so I've now learned that bacon is made from pork belly.
27. Tandoori lobster with garlic-butter naan - yes, please.
28. Tiramisu - my mother made a great tiramisu, her recipe came from the Waldorf-Astoria.
29. Honeycomb - I've eaten pollen (for my allergies), I sometimes put honey in tea, but have not tried honeycomb.
30. Kansas City-style BBQ ribs dripping with sauce - did they have to be eaten in Kansas City?
31. Salted caramels - I'm intrigued but have not yet had them (though I have had a salted caramel topped cupcake).
32. Fried Twinkie - have we not mentioned that I am not allowed to have a deep fryer? [head in hands] yes, I've had one of these.
33. Homemade cannoli filled with ricotta - multiple places. Plus, my father's girlfriend? Her brother runs an Italian Bakery, so yeah.
34. Nutella-filled crepe with fresh strawberries - I could eat this. I've had all of the ingredients but not together.
35. Full-fat eggnog dusted with freshly ground nutmeg - I've had it, but it's not something I will reach for.
36. Greek yogurt with honey and fresh raspberries - again, I've eaten all of these separately, but not together.
37. Southern-style shrimp and creamy grits - courtesy of OSG, no less.
38. Mexican grilled corn with lime, crema, and chili powder - sounds exquisite, but it has not yet crossed the Brave Astronaut palette.
39. Fresh-made guacamole with blue corn tortilla chips - with the guac made table side!
40. Grilled summer peaches with brown sugar - very peach melba-ish. Sounds de-lish.
41. Fried green tomatoes - see #32
42. Big Mac - you mean the two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun? that Big Mac? [see below]
    
43. Baked Camembert - now, if I could figure out a way to deep fry it . . .
44. Homemade gnocchi in tomato cream sauce - just like penne a la vodka, but not.
45. Butter lettuce from the farmers' market drizzled with balsamic vinegar and a few drops of really good olive oil - I can get behind this as well.
46. Just-made glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut - multiple times. I have been known to swerve across lanes of traffic upon spotting the "hot" light.
47. Mussels steamed in ale - oh, yeah.
48. 8-hour (or longer!) braised osso bucco - not my thing, but I won't deny the pleasure to others.
49. Duck fat French fries - wow, those sound sinful.
50. Bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with Gorgonzola - you lose me at dates and then again at Gorgonzola, but the bacon's good.
    

It's Almost Here - Everything!

Next week at this time, I will be in the middle of the Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archivists (SAA), which is being held this year here in Washington DC. As is often the case when SAA meets here in DC, this will be a joint meeting with the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (NAGARA) and the Council of State Archivists (CoSA).

There will be lots to do and I have a pretty full schedule of sessions and events that I will be attending. As most of you know, I usually bring a group of attendees to a local baseball game and this year is no exception. With SAA's help, I have 175 people attending a Washington Nationals game on Saturday evening (want to come? let me know, I might have an extra ticket). It is the highest attended event in the history of my planning and executing these events. I hope that all will have a good time.

Following next week's festivities, LBA will enter his final week of daycare, before starting Kindergarten at the end of the month. I am not sure about how I feel about this, although I think it is safe to say that Mrs. BA is a little unsure about it. I just can't believe that he is all of a sudden old enough to be in Kindergarten. We shall see how that all plays out.

Before that, we will hopefully get away for a few days of relaxation. If that plan falls through, we might initiate the "staycation," lounging at the pool and taking some day trips out of the DC area. Stay tuned.

At work, I am working hard to make headway in my various work responsibilities as I will be working in another division for most of the fiscal first quarter. It is sure to be exciting and challenging and I am looking forward to the experience.

I still haven't forgotten about you all, my faithful readers. I know the recipes get a little boring, but rest assured I have a number of things sitting in my Google Reader feed that I am hoping to get out to all of you soon. Stay with me and enjoy the ride. It hopes to be an exciting fall.

Rhubarb Pudding Cake

I had this cake courtesy of C in DC for a recent summer evening out. It was VERY tasty.

Rhubarb Pudding Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 two-layer yellow cake mix (Get the one where you add butter, it's better.)
• 4 cups chopped rhubarb (I added strawberries, 'cause strawberry-rhubarb pie is the best!)
• 1 cup sugar (I think with other fruits less sugar would be okay.)
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
  

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Chop rhubarb (and fruit, if desired) into small pieces, combine with sugar and let sit while preparing the cake.
3. Grease a 9"x13" baking dish. Prepare yellow cake mix according to instructions on the box and pour into pan.
4. Spread the rhubarb-sugar mix evenly over the top of the cake. Be sure to get rhubarb out to the edges for more even baking.
5. Pour the cream over the top of the cake.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes.
   

As the cake bakes, the rhubarb and cream will sink to the bottom, creating a fruity, pudding like layer that is thick but runny. The cake will bake like a normal cake, in that when a toothpick is inserted to test done-ness it will come out clean. However, the cake will slide around a bit on the bottom layer, so it will seem as though the cake is not done. Test the cake before removing from the oven.

My notes: (a) The addition of strawberries to the rhubarb was a great combination. However, 1 cup of sugar was a little too much sugar, as the cake and fruit mixture was very sweet. Granted rhubarb is very tart, but I think having more of the tartness would have been better. I'll be experimenting with sugar levels. (b) I think there are a lot of great fruit possibilities this cake: peaches & blackberries (I'm making this tomorrow morning for a work potluck.), or raspberries.

Elvis has left the building

I get a variety of trivial information delivered to me via email each morning (this day in history, birthdays. etc.). One email service I signed up for at some point (call it morbid curiosity) is from Dead at your Age, where you can enter your date of birth and find out who died at your exact age. They also have an email service where they send you an email when someone died at your exact age. Today I got to work and had the following email:

You are exactly 42 years and 220 days old today.
	At your exact age, Elvis Presley died of a heart attack. He was a the immortal King of Rock 'n' Roll.

So to honor the King, I will stay away from the PB and Banana sandwiches today. But that doesn't mean that I will avoid some of these foods(seen on BuzzFeed, where the link goes to an, in this case, ironically named blog called ShareitFitness.com.

Herewith, a list of the 50 Fattiest Foods in the United States, with comment where appropriate:

1. Alabama - Bacon-wrapped meatloaf (One 3-ounce serving of 80% lean meatloaf has roughly 14 grams of fat. Each slice of bacon will cost you an additional 3 grams of fat) - OK, I don't have a problem with this, it's how I eat my meatloaf now.
2. Alaska - Eskimo Ice Cream - yum, reindeer fat.
3. Arizona - Quadruple Bypass Burger - um, wow.
4. Arkansas - Catfish - hey everything tastes better when deep fried in oil.
5. California - In-N-Out Burger Double Double - I have yet to enjoy an In-N-Out burger (41g fat), but Five Guys (43g fat) is pretty good. It must be the fat.
6. Colorado - Jack-N-Grill’s 7-pound breakfast burritos (7 potatoes, 12 eggs, a pound of ham, a whole onion, cheese, and chili) - hold on a minute, I need to take a knee.
7. Connecticut - The Two-Foot long Hot Dog (The average foot-long hot dog has about 24g of fat, 10g of it saturated. And this is double that, plus it has bacon, chili, and cheddar cheese.)
8. Delaware - Deep Fried Pastry - yet another reason why I am not allowed to own a deep fryer ("Hey, I wonder what this will taste like deep fried?").
9. Florida - Empanadas - surely there's something fattier available at Disney World?
10. Georgia - The Luther Burger - Paula Deen took this one step further (burger on a Krispy Kreme "bun") by adding a fried egg to the sandwich.
11. Hawaii - Loco Moco (two hamburger patties, two eggs, three scoops of jasmine rice, plus onions, fish, and mushroom gravy, 43g fat).
12. Idaho - Bacon Blue Cheese Dressing - not feeling it at all for this, even with the bacon.
13. Illinois - Deep Dish Pizza - yeah, this is why I prefer NY-style pizza, it's healthier.
14. Indiana - Fried Brain Sandwich (A 6-ounce scoop of beef brain batter contained about 24g of fat. The now used pork version is estimated at 18g) - so this would be brain food in its truest sense? I guess if you are a fat head, wow, bad joke.
15. Iowa - Hot Meat Sundae (Mashed potatoes, roast beef, beef gravy, cheddar cheese, tomato) - that's just blasphemy to ice cream lovers everywhere.
16. Kansas - Charred Ends (crunchy cubes of the fatty end of a barbecued brisket) - is it wrong to just want to have a big bowl of these?
17. Kentucky - KFC Double Down - I still haven't tried one of these. I don't have an EMT that follows me around.
18. Louisiana - Beignets (about 11g of fat, the same as in a McDonald’s cheeseburger) - yeah, so?
19. Maine - Lobster Roll - I'll give you this one. Lobster Rolls are good, but if you're having it, eat 'em steamed with drawn butter.
20. Maryland - Smith Island Cake - which is evidently the Official State Dessert of Maryland. Wait, there are official state foods?
21. Massachusetts - Chocolate Chip Cookie (The average weight of a commercially prepared cookie is about 12g. The weight of a version from fast-food chain Carl’s Jr. is 71g, with 19g of that being fat)
22. Michigan - BLT - nothing wrong with a little bacon now and then. This particular version however, from Tony's I-75 uses a whole pound of bacon (for 192g of fat!)
23. Minnesota - Dairy Queen's FlameThrower GrillBurger - why must you be mean to the meat?
24. Mississippi - Mud Pie - Mississippi has held the title of the state with the highest obesity rate in the country, at 32.5%, for five years in a row.
25. Missouri - Hardee's 2/3 lb. Monster ThickBurger (Two 1/3 pound beef patties, 4 strips of bacon, 3 slices of American cheese, mayonnaise, sesame seed bun) - OK, this meat you can be mean to.
26. Montana - Rocky Mountain Oysters - OK, only going to point out there's no ocean near Montana. You want to know more about these, google it.
27. Nebraska - Eskimo Pie (Vanilla ice cream with Nestle Crunch chocolate coating and a relatively tame 13g of fat per bar)
28. Nevada - Buffets - 'nuff said.
29. New Hampshire - New England Clam Chowder - I'm really not getting into this debate, but I think I know someone who reads this blog who might. New Hampshire gets the Chowder, really?
30. New Jersey - the Fat Darrell (Chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, marinara sauce, French fries, lettuce, tomato, roll and an estimated 45 grams of fat) - I think I might weep.
31. New Mexico - Frito Pie (estimates vary based on the toppings you add) - Um, I have been known to salt Fritos.
32. New York - The Garbage Plate (A base of home fries, macaroni salad, baked beans or French fries, topped with choice of meat (hamburger, cheeseburger, hot dog, sausage, chicken tender, fish, fried ham), and drenched in mustard, onions, and hot sauce—all amounting to about 3 pounds of food!) - now I need to lie down.
33. North Carolina - Livermush (Pig liver, assorted other pig parts (usually fatty), cornmeal, pepper, salt) - never, ever, and I eat bologna.
34. North Dakota - Fleischkuechle (a meat patty smothered in a fried dough wrapping) - so like a pierogie.
35. Ohio - Bob Evans Sausage Biscuit Bowl (Home fries, eggs, sausage gravy, sausage, cheddar cheese, scallions, margarine, in a biscuit bowl) - wait, wasn't margarine good for you at one point?
36. Oklahoma - Chicken Fried Steak - All I'm saying is steak is steak, chicken is chicken, and gravy is not white.
37. Oregon - The Redonkadonk (which is being peddled by a Portland Food Truck, contains egg, ham, Spam, bacon, and American cheese on a beef patty, between two grilled-cheese sandwiches on thicker-than-normal Texas Toast bread in the place of a bun).
38. Pennsylvania - The Cheesesteak - I will hear no criticism of this food nirvana.
39. Rhode Island - New York System Hot Wieners - (A beef hot dog drenched in yellow mustard, onions, celery salt, and ground-beef sauce and about 28g of fat)
40. South Carolina - The Turducken
41. South Dakota - Frybread - from the picture, it looks a lot like funnel cake.
42. Tennessee - Ruby Tuesday's Triple Prime Bacon Cheddar Burger (115g of fat)
43. Texas - the Corn Dog
44. Utah - Scone - no, not this kind of scone, the one that more doughy and gets deep fried.
    
45. Vermont - The Ben and Jerry's Vermonster (20 scoops of ice cream, hot fudge, banana, cookies, brownies, and other toppings of your choice).
46. Virginia - Ham - not the best meat for you, but not the worst either.
47. Washington - Crab Louis Salad (Salad greens, tomato, hard-boiled egg, celery, crabmeat, with dressing made of mayonnaise, chili sauce or cocktail sauce, green peppers, sweet pickles, onion)
48. West Virginia - Hillbilly Hot Dogs 10 lb. burger (about 800g of fat).
49. Wisconsin - Fried Cheese Curds (Milk or beer, egg, flour, sugar, salt, baking power, cheese curds, oil for frying)
50. Wyoming - Lamb - lamb, really, that's what we end with?
    

Mini Sliders!

The Brave Astronaut clan is making the most of our pool membership this summer. The trick is making sure that we have dinner ready to go for the pool, so we are not dependent on the snack bar, although the freshly grilled burgers are especially delicious.

Here is a recipe forwarded to me by C in DC for sliders, which would be perfect for the pool. There was no ingredients list up front, but it's pretty straight forward.

"Take a cookie sheet and cover it with parchment paper. Sprinkle the entire surface with dried onion bits. Use a lot of them because they are a big part of why this recipe is so wonderful.

Take 2 pounds of ground meat and sit it right in the middle of the pan. Do not use lean ground meat because you want these to be juicy.

Put a sheet of plastic wrap over the meat and begin rolling it out to the edges of the pan and covering the dried onions.

Remove the plastic wrap.

Sprinkle the surface of the meat with a seasoned salt. Don't skimp on the salt. You don't want to have to salt these while eating. Place the pan in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes

I made homemade miniature buns. Some stores now carry slider buns or you could also use the mini potato rolls from the store but homemade is best!

After 20 minutes remove the pan from the oven and turn the oven off. The meat will have shrunk a bit while cooking.

Sprinkle the entire surface with cheddar cheese. You can use any kind of cheese that you like. Sit the pan back in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts.

The meat re-hydrates the onions while cooking and actually sort of sucks them up into the meat.

Cut the meat into squares to fit the buns. Top with some ketchup, mustard and a couple dill pickles.

These are the best sliders I have ever had. Plus, you get about 40 of them from one cookie sheet so you can feed lots of people very simply and inexpensively. These are sized so that you can eat them in about 2 bites. They can even be made in advance and gently reheated right before serving."

It's Not Soup Weather, But . . .

It's always a good time for Avgolemono. You don't know Avgolemono? Not up on all of your Greek cuisine? Avgolemono is Greek Lemon Chicken Soup and it is outstanding. When I get a chance to visit Marathon Deli and have a gyro - if it is Avgolemono Soup Day, I'm having some of that, too.

This recipe comes from a blog friend, whose blog I read. She doesn't usually post recipes, but this one was worth disseminating further. Enjoy!

AVGOLEMONO SOUP

• 6 cups of chicken stock
• juice of half a lemon
• 2 Tbsp water
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup orzo pasta
• meat from chicken bones
• black pepper and sea salt to taste
  

Put the stock and orzo in a pot and heat. Once it reaches a boil cover it and simmer until the pasta is al dente.

While the stock is coming to boil whisk the eggs thoroughly in a big bowl, not massive but eventually the bowl will have about 3 cups of fluid you need to be whisking around so it has to accommodate that unless you're fond of having this mess fly all over your counter. Mix the lemon juice and water together then slowly add it to the eggs as you continue whisking them. This is the part where you practice that slow adding and whisking at the same time. You're going to be doing a lot of that for this recipe. It's really important later on.

Once the pasta is al dente take the pot off the heat and remove 2 cups of the broth. VERY SLOWLY add this to the lemon/egg mixture as you continue to whisk. When I say very slowly, I mean it. If you go dumping all that boiling hot broth into your eggs willy nilly just forget it. Slow down! I mean add it drip by drip, seriously. It took me several minutes to add 2 cups of hot broth to the eggs. And don't stop whisking.

Now that you've practiced that you get to do it some more. Take that broth /egg/lemon mixture and VERY SLOWLY add it back to the pot as you stir the soup constantly.

After all the mixture is added back into the pot, add salt and pepper, toss in the meat, and reheat the whole thing on medium low heat until it SOUNDS like it's boiling but isn't actually having bubbles break the surface. Stir it occasionally. Once it sounds boiling take it off the heat and stir it gently.

Ladle it into the bowls, slurp it up enjoying the slightly lemony tang. Congratulate yourself on a fine pot of soup.

What am I doing?

Too much, obviously.

I stayed home sick today. I woke up with a crushing headache (I think it's weather related - it had nothing to do with the earthquake that hit the DC area this morning - really, I slept through that), the same type that I have had on several mornings this summer. I took some Advil and then went back to sleep, waking up around 10:00. I gave some thought to going into work, but the dull ache was still in my head somewhere, so I decided to take the day. I settled into the family room (the coolest in the house as it is below grade) to watch the British Open and relax. There was no shortage of things I could be doing (as you will see in a moment) but I needed to just take a little Brave Astronaut time.

In Part I of this "I don't have time for anything" ongoing saga, I laid out what a normal day looks like for the Brave Astronaut clan. Part II concerned what I was doing with my father and his girlfriend when they came for a visit over the Fourth of July weekend. As I like to say about family visits, "No one cried, and no one died."

So what is it that I'm doing that leaves me feeling that I'm not getting anything done?

In my full time job, I spend my day working on processing archival records and providing reference service to researchers. It keeps me busy and I manage to get things done most of the time. I'm successful at making To-Do lists and get a sense of accomplishment by crossing things off the list. There are some times that I wish that I got more done, but then again, who doesn't.

Professionally, I am fairly involved. I feel very strongly about professional development and like to volunteer. Within my agency, I am currently the Treasurer of the professional staff association, a position I have held for the past three years. As I have written here before, I am also active in my regional professional organization, most recently I have volunteered to serve as the Local Arrangements Committee Co-Chair for the upcoming Spring 2011 MARAC Meeting, to be held in Alexandria, VA next May. At the national level, I am on a Task Force for the Society of American Archivists, which is planning for the 75th Anniversary of the Society, which keeps me busy with those things. The Annual Meeting this year is taking place here in Washington DC and I am organizing my regular outing to baseball. As of today, I am up to nearly 150 people. Wanna come? I still have some tickets available.

Locally, I was recently elected to the Board of the local pool and then was named Treasurer. It's a good gig and the perks of being a Board member are pretty good. And I feel it's my duty to go to the pool as much as possible. Personally, I am, of course, the father of two very active boys, which as previously noted, keep me very busy and leave little time for the things that I would like to be doing after they go to bed.

As an archivist, there are lots of records around the house that are in need of processing. But much like the cobbler's children, often the last thing I want to do is deal with records here at home. But as I am in custody of some of the family records, including some that my father would like to see, I think I need to get going on that project. I would also like to undertake a photo scanning project. In addition to my own personal photo collection, again, I have custody of the Brave Astronaut family photos and would like to capture those photos digitally before they are lost to the ages. I would also like to lessen the footprint of the Brave Astronaut. One reason for buying a house was because we needed more room (with SoBA on the way), but now we've crammed stuff into a lot of its crevices and it's time to de-clutter.

While I do try to keep my end up on the household chores, I would like to be more helpful around the house for Mrs. BA. As one might expect (and if you have children, you know) there is always laundry to do and lunches and snacks to make, cleaning, dishes to do, and all of the stuff that one needs to do to keep house.

My problem is (as Mrs. BA and I discussed just last night), starting any kind of project after the boys are in bed, that may take several hours will push bedtime into the wee hours of the morning. It is hard enough to just keep up with the daily routine. But I'm going to try harder. Maybe I'll give up sleeping.

Trees, Eggs, and Cheese

I like asparagus. I do, however, prefer it cold with a mayonnaise sauce. But this recipe could make an appearance on the table and I wouldn't object. The other residents of the launchpad might though, as asparagus is not high on their vegetable like list. The recipes come from the New York Times Magazine, reprinting a 1977 version that closely resembles an asparagus quiche and the modern equivalent is more the pairing of eggs and asparagus. Try them both and see what you think.

RECIPE: 1977, Asparagus Alla Fontina
This recipe appeared in an article in The Times by Mimi Sheraton.

• Salt
• 2 1/2 pounds thin asparagus, trimmed and washed
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/3 cup grated Gruyère (see note)
• 3/4 cup finely minced or slivered prosciutto
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3 to 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan.
  

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender. Drain and cut into 1-to-1½-inch lengths. Return the asparagus to the pot. Add the butter and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Set over low heat and stir to melt the butter. Remove from the heat.
2. Turn the asparagus and the melted butter into a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Arrange in an even layer. Sprinkle with the Gruyère, prosciutto and parsley. Pour the beaten eggs on top, gently shaking the pan to distribute.
3. Top with the Parmesan and bake until the eggs are set into a custard and a golden-brown crust forms on top, about 35 minutes. Serve hot or warm. Serves 4 to 6.
   

Note: You may use fontina in place of the Gruyère.

Recipe: 2010, Asparagus, Prosciutto and Egg
By Carlo Mirarchi, the chef and co-owner of Roberta’s in Brooklyn

• 20 stalks medium-thickness asparagus, washed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
• Sea salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 5 large eggs (chicken or duck)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 4 large, thin slices La Quercia prosciutto (see note)
• 4 to 6 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino Romano
• Freshly ground black pepper.
  

1. Prepare the asparagus: trim the ends off the asparagus where they break naturally. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the asparagus and season with sea salt. Turn frequently and cook until the spears are crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. When the asparagus is almost ready, add 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and use it to baste the asparagus. Squeeze lemon juice over the asparagus, and lay the stalks on a paper towel to drain.
2. To cook the eggs, heat 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Once it is melted, crack the eggs into the saucepan and add the cream. As the whites of the eggs become visible, slowly whisk the eggs with a fork until they have a soft and creamy texture. It is important that they remain very creamy and soft. They will continue cooking off the heat, so stop before they are fully cooked. Once the eggs are the desired texture, add sea salt to taste.
3. To assemble the dish, divide the asparagus among 4 warm plates. Drape a slice of prosciutto over each bundle of asparagus. Spoon the soft scrambled eggs over the prosciutto, followed by the grated pecorino and black pepper. Sprinkle with olive oil and serve immediately. Serves 4 as a first course.
   

Note: La Quercia prosciutto is available at Whole Foods and at laquercia.us.

It's Not Flag Cake, but it's close

Today is the federal holiday for Independence Day, which was yesterday. As previously noted, my father is visiting for the weekend and we are wrapping up his visit with something surely designed to keep us cool.

Years of 4th of July parties growing up would always feature Flag Cake, a creation of any cake, frosted with whipped cream and then strawberries and blueberries in the shape of a flag. (The Fourth is also my father's birthday - so there were usually candles, or sparklers on the cake.)

I spotted this recipe in the Food Section of the Washington Post last Wednesday. Now if my raspberry bush hadn't died, I might have actually been able to make this. But I still might . . .

Raspberry Frangipane Cake

Summary:
This cake is so rich and moist that it needs no icing. Serve on its own, or with whipped cream and berries. The batter can be combined in a food processor, up to the point of adding the flour.

MAKE AHEAD: The cake can be stored, covered, at room temperature for up to 3 days.

12 servings

Ingredients:

• 14 tablespoons (2 sticks minus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
• 1 cup sifted cake flour, plus more for the pan and berries
• 14 tablespoons (7 ounces) almond paste (do not use marzipan)
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (berries cut in half, if desired)
  

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use butter to lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan, then dust with flour, shaking out any excess.

Combine the almond paste, the 14 tablespoons of butter and the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held mixer; beat on low, then medium speed until smooth and light. Add the vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

By hand, gently fold in the flour until barely incorporated.

Use a little flour to coat the raspberries, then fold them into the batter; avoid overmixing, or the cake will be tough. Pour the batter into the prepared pan; bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool completely before removing from the pan.

Recipe Source:
Adapted from "Cooking From the Garden," edited by Ruth Lively and Courtney Jordan (Taunton Press, 2010).

So What Are You Doing With Your Free Time?

Part 2 of why I have no time for anything else. Read Part 1 here.

Tonight I picked up my father and his girlfriend at the airport, as they have decided to visit with the Brave Astronauts for the holiday weekend. I suggested to Mrs. BA that we invite them, not expecting them to accept and then they did. But we are going to have a good weekend, with lots of things to keep us busy. Here's the weekend line-up:

• Friday - as close to a normal day as we will have. Both Mrs. BA and I will go to work and the boys to daycare. Neither of us is expecting an early dismissal (although the chances for Mrs. BA are better than mine). I have already told my father they will be on their own for much of the day, unless they decide to venture out. We might cap it off with a visit to the pool in the evening. I'm also planning on suggesting that perhaps someone might make dinner for us tomorrow night. (If I ask here, it's like asking her, right?)
• Saturday - we have a picnic at a local park for the boy's daycare. It will surely be controlled chaos, with lots of kids, lots of parents, and hopefully some good food. The pool will close at 8:00 on Saturday night for "Adult Night," which is not as seemly as it sounds. It's just the one night out of the pool season, where no kids are allowed, and alcohol is served. So no pool on Saturday night.
• Sunday (the Fourth) - I am going to be one of several "float escorts" for the parade down Constitution Avenue in Washington. My employer is going to have a float in the parade this year and several staff were selected to walk along with the float. I am given to understand there will be sashes . . . That's my morning. In the late afternoon, the Brave Astronaut clan will head east for the Annapolis parade, in which OSG will march with his fife and drum corps. So Sunday will have not one, but two parades, and likely several very tired people, and fireworks. There needs to be fireworks.
  
• Monday is still up in the air (it's the federal holiday, Independence Day Observed). It might involve the pool for much of the day, which would be fine. We will see if something else presents itself. My father and his girlfriend will head home on Tuesday morning.

Free time? I'm sorry, what is this thing, free time, of which you speak? Now, this post was supposed to be about all the other things I am involved in, but I've already taken up too much time with one weekend's activities. Stay tuned for Part 3. Happy Fourth everyone - and to my Canadian friends out there - Happy First! (also known as Canada Day!)

Everything's Better With Bacon

Even salad. The New York Times Magazine food column had an article by its food critic on how he manages his "work" schedule and how he incorporates salad into his "diet." Here is the recipe for salad that he makes and three dressing choices to put on top.

Big Country Salad

• 1/4 pound slab bacon, cut into 1-inch-long lardons
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup good-quality blue cheese, crumbled
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 head romaine lettuce.
  

1. Fry the bacon over medium heat until almost crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Reserve a splash of bacon fat.
2. Return bacon pan to heat and add the bread crumbs, tossing until just golden. Remove from pan and reserve.
3. 3. Combine the lemon juice, vinegar, garlic and mustard in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and reserved bacon fat until dressing emulsifies. Add a tablespoon of blue cheese and whisk again. Season to taste.
4. Roughly chop the lettuce and put in a salad bowl. Add bread crumbs and remaining cheese, then the dressing. Toss to mix. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Basic Sunday-Salad Dressing

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  

Combine the lemon juice, vinegar, shallot and mustard in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the dressing emulsifies. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk again before dressing salad. Serves 4.

Slightly Creamier Sunday-Salad Dressing

• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  

Combine the vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard and shallot in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the dressing emulsifies. Season to taste. Whisk again before dressing salad. Serves 4.

Italianate Sunday-Salad Dressing

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons good-quality balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Scant handful basil leaves, chopped
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Combine the lemon juice, vinegar and garlic in a small bowl. Add the basil and stir to combine. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the dressing emulsifies. Add the cheese and whisk again. Season to taste. Whisk again before dressing salad. Serves 4.

Grilled Italian BLTs

Ask LBA what happens when we have overnight visitors and the response will usually be, "we have pancakes . . . and bacon." It's possible that he has been indoctrinated into the Royal Order of Pork Fat Rules.

In the Washington Post Food section on May 12, there were a number of good recipes, including this one for a BLT variety, which uses Pancetta instead of regular bacon. It's worth a try.

Grilled Italian BLTs
The Washington Post, May 12, 2010

Summary:
Traditional BLTs can be delicious, but sometimes they're lacking. Apart from the usual caloric overload, there doesn't seem to be enough acidity in the sandwich to balance the fat.

My alternative offers a dose of vinegar to achieve that balance. To be sure the sandwich has enough bite, I use baby arugula, a wonderfully bitter green that is readily available this time of year. Instead of regular, fatty bacon, I use pancetta, an unsmoked Italian bacon that is meaty and mild-tasting.

This open-faced sandwich is built with care. Slices of Italian or country bread are grilled, then topped with a lightly dressed salad. Grilling the pancetta instead of placing it under the broiler will keep it from shrinking. To seal the deal, a thin slice of fresh mozzarella melts from the heat of the grill or a hot oven. For me, it's lunch.

4 servings
Ingredients:

• 2 ounces (about 4 cups) baby arugula, washed and spun dry
• 4 ounces vine-ripened tomato, peeled and seeded if desired, cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces (1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 slices Italian or country bread (about 3/4 ounces each)
• 8 thin slices pancetta (3 to 4 ounces total)
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 8 thin slices
  

Directions:
Prepare the grill for direct heat. If using a gas grill, preheat to medium-high (450 degrees). If using a charcoal grill, light the charcoal or wood briquettes; when the briquettes are ready, distribute them evenly under the cooking area. For a medium-hot fire, you should be able to hold your hand about 6 inches above the coals for about 4 or 5 seconds. Lightly coat a grill rack with oil and place it on the grill.

(Alternatively, position an oven rack 4 to 6 inches from the top broiler element; preheat the broiler.)

Toss together the arugula, tomato, oil, vinegar, salt and the pepper to taste in a medium bowl.

Grill or broil the bread for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until it is lightly browned or has good grill marks. Transfer the bread to a large piece of aluminum foil.

Top each slice with one-quarter of the arugula-tomato salad; distribute the pancetta and then the mozzarella evenly to form open-faced sandwiches.

Return, with the foil, to the grill or broiler and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the cheese melts. Serve hot.

Recipe Source:
From Nourish columnist Stephanie Witt Sedgwick.

Clarification Needed?

Mrs. BA pointed out to me last night that my most recent post was a little too whiny and that perhaps I was leaving people with the impression that I don't like the way my life is. Quite the contrary. I am very happy with my life, I just would like some more time to do things.

Mrs. BA and I celebrated eight years of marriage in May and I have never been happier than I am when I am with her. Tomorrow is of course, Father's Day and I am blessed to have two wonderful boys.

Part 2 of yesterday's post will likely come next week and it will layout all that I am involved in and hopefully explain why I am so tired. Unfortunately, being tired, leads to being cranky, which sometimes expresses itself in whiny blog posts and I apologize, specifically to Mrs. BA, if she was upset by last night's post [which she was].