Baking though is Intrinsically Different than Cooking.
So if you depart from the recipe when baking, one has to calculate it precisely.
Such as this Sunday when I really wanted more cookies.
I will no longer purchase Cookies in the Supermarket.
I can make 'em SO much better than that.
I wanted to give them a deeper flavor than the last time I made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
So I soaked the raisins in Jameson's Irish Whiskey.
And let me tell you. It's not as simple as it sounds.
Okay...I was an Altar Boy for Five Minutes as a Kid. I can hear the Shots lining up from here. It's not about Booze in a Cake to Get People Drunk. It's also not like the European bottle-shaped chocolate filled with liqueur.
What I did was to fill a pan up with 8-9oz. of Jameson's...
Bring it to a boil...
then very fucking Carefully in the middle of my kitchen...
Set it On Fire.
For about 2 minutes.
Really.
It's kinda scary. You feel the heat, you smell the whiskey, there's a tactile rumble through the handle.
Imagine if you drop it??? Fire everywhere there was spilling liquid but iDigress...
I learned a good baker's hint. Soak your raisins in Hot Water for a Minute when baking Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Drain water off, reserve a few ounces for the dough and that's that.
A Sublime Way to Ensure Quality Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
Yet I thought this...
What if I soaked the raisins in Whisky.
My first thought was a Smoked Whisky...and I still might do it but it would be expensive...
What you want is the flavor of the Whiskey and for me it was Irish Whiskey this initial venture.
And you DO NOT want a Boozy-ness to it. That's not the flavor or intent of the cookie.
It's meant to be a delicious treat for an adult palate.
So you need to literally cook or burn the alcohol out of the liquid. I chose to ignite the Whiskey in a sound vessel and have a lid to snuff the flame when need be; I only snuffed it twice.
I also had to hold the quart sauce pan I was using at waist-level as not to set off any Fire Alarms.
The goal is to reduce the alcohol down to a level that the raisins don't taste boozy yet one has to burn off enough of the liquid. I yielded 5oz from a 9oz start. And I tasted it too. For boozy-ness. If it tastes boozy then set it alight again safely for another minute.
I guess boiling it does the same thing...but without the Pyrotechnics.
I reserved a bit of the liquid leftover. It tasted like Pruney Whisky-Lite. But Not Boozy!
I added this in the mixing stage of the cookie dough, a little at a time, not to loosen the dough but to add the flavor.
Back in late 2007, I picked up the first of a six-issue mini called...
THE INFINITE HORIZON.
A result of perusing the shelves at the FunnyBook Bodega for the Awesome...
A modernization of Homer's The Odyssey with the Odysseus/Ulysses lead character known simply as "the Captain". We never know his name, it's not mentioned and in the end not necessary. Like the Protagonist in Paolo Coelho's The Alchemist or Clint Eastwood's famous Gunslinger With No Name.
The story is framed in a technique I've dubbed "Almost Tomorrow", used in the Second, Weird season of the late 80s sci-fi syndicated "War of the Worlds", set in the Not-Too-Distant Future with a scary accurate sense of "What If..." but iDigress...
Finally ended in December2011 #6 out of 6!
Somewhere along the way between issue # 3 April2008 and #4 April2009.
Then again between issues #4 and #5 October2011 we suffered a Two & a Half Years Long hiatus.
My first question is "What Happened?" There's a Story there.
DC Comics has a great place called Limbo which is a part of the Multiverse, somewhere out beyond its Fringe, in the Void.
Sometimes it happens and a title you love ends abruptly. In the Big Two, in smaller prints that go belly up. I don't want to name names. You can RTFM this and see for yourself if interested.
Even mentioning "the Red Star" I feel bad...I know they really tried.
Interlude in Context: I got into Hot Water with one of my Literary Heroes. Warren Ellis pointed his Evil Tweet at Me after I made a Ill-Received Joke. Mike Avon Oeming, the artist of POWERS is collaborating with Unkle Warren, the IntrePoop Jesus You Should Read Every Day (found in OCHO's very own Links!). POWERS hasn't shipped in a Year. This week the POWERS Loving Public was informed by the writer Brian Michael Bendis that fresh POWERS start next week and the whole "Who, What, Why" Explaining the Lapse. Thanks for the Explanation. After I made my Jan 9 Tweet to Oeming & Ellis with the razz of "I hope you're sick of hearing it ;P", Oeming tweeted back to me saying "Working Hard on POWERS and other Owner Created things with @BrianMBendis" and I can see Unkle Warren shaking his head at me with those evil, beady cold eyes, breath sinking of cigarettes, red bull & whisky, spittle getting in my virtual eye, "I'm presuming this was supposed to be funny" and another saying "good because I'd hate to think you were treating my friends as your personal employees". I was like "owch!" of all the ways to have Warren respond to one of my tweets it's gotta be with Negative Attention Seeking Behavior. Sheeesh... So when it came to POWERS for the Last Year, Almost the Same Diff. Beloved Magazine then like Kaiser Soyze in the Usual Suspects, "Poof! He's Gone..." Newsarama here has their Top 10 Unfinished Projects. Got any of your own?
Speaking of Warren Ellis, check out the Soundtrack of my Sunday AM
SpektrModule #4. Where Warren talks about "20 Minutes Into The Future", which is "Almost Tomorrow" in the SciFi parlance. My Sunday Synchronicity So Far...the day's still young.
And lots of Electronic Music. The Sounds of Cool.
Whatever the reason, the delay with Infinite Horizon is Ironic.
Because it takes Odysseus years to get home.
And it takes our Captain years to get home.
And his faithful wife, Penelope kept hope and waited the years.
And as Penelope waited years so did I & anyone else tuned in.
IMAGE Comics after all these years finally produced the last few issues for sale.
I was kinda flabbergasted. And appreciative. Most Very Appreciative.
Bringing me to bed last night. Tough time finding sleep and I pulled a longbox out to file the past few months of new releases, including Infinite Horizon #s 5 & 6 which are New Releases since October 2011, and have yet to be filed in the longbox.
I re-read the whole thing.
Soon to be collected into its eventual shape of a Trade Paperback or even go down noticed later on as a "Graphic Novel". April 11, 2012 is the release date of the TPB. Perhaps an English teacher would use it as a tool to convey the Odyssey to a 21st Century Classroom?
As a Comix Fan I can notice things over its literal years of production, most noticeably Phil Noto' drawing style. The images have notes of Pop Art & Lichtenstein Pixelations. Light & Colors are very important as well. Lighter, almost dreamlike pastel tones are used for the Captain overseas in the Middle East and starker bold colors are used for Penelope at home in the Catskills, upstate New York. In the Odyssey, Odysseus' kingdom was the rocky island of Ithaca. Get it?
Mr. Noto is doing such current things such as a few upcoming BUFFY SEASON 9 covers and also the stand-alone spin-off ______ & FAITH #5, featuring Harmony. Fun stuff, captures the essence of the character without being too photo-realistic. He's doing lots of DC & MARVEL covers too lately. Got a great style and sense of drawing people.
Overall, a satisfying read. This was my first time reading the story complete in one sitting so the complete story makes better sense, with the narrative voice caption of the Captain himself, the passage of time most noticeably through his son Terrence, the Telemachus character.
As a huge fan of the Odyssey, I really appreciate the adaptation. I know the original like a great song, air guitar solo & all. So I was looking for the lateral characters, which were mostly overt and then there were characters who were missed probably because they just didn't fit.
I was looking for the Nausicaa character who might have been the young, pretty blonde in the Cyclops' cave.
An omission which was a macabre favorite of mine was the morbid fate of the housewomen who were favoring the the suitors of Penelope. It was the most Hardcore Scene of the Final Bloody Battle: its Aftermath & the ruthlessness of our hero, showing perhaps a not-too-heroic side by our modern sensibilities.
The Comic does Nail this side of our Captain, literally stringing up suitors on the Interstate.
STAY OUT.
Brilliant yet Harrowing.
The Odyssey is simply an ageless story.
The Infinite Horizon simply proves this point.
Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto finally see their collaboration complete and like their hero the Captain, it took us all years to get him safe in our homes.
Thanks for finishing the story. It matters to me as a buyer of these serialized magazines that the publisher finish the promise & deliver the story. Or end it. It's called Satisfaction.
Checking in with Meathead for Super Bowl Sunday. Too late for good plans yet never too late to say good morning. Voice Mail.
Mario, flying in from DC Sunday Night will be lucky to catch the 2nd half in his own living room after his weekend of National Guard service (swadeshi!...sorry, wrong article ;P).
Posty...let's see what El Post got "brewing". More Voice Mail. He lives in some Singularity of Bad Phone Reception so I SMS instead. We got a plan to brew a beer soon enough...perhaps a Taddy Porter we'll call the "Teddy" Porter using Black & Gold Grains but iDigress...
I got a nice invite from the family in Quincy.
An offer to watch the Super Bowl with my Ma & Aunties. Awww...that's sweet of them.
But I'm off to Mike's Place. His Condo. Which will also be my new residence as of April 1.
Making some stuffed mushrooms & oatmeal raisin cookies too. Fill the table with a bounty of finger foods, I say. Mike's planning wings & tacos.
On Super Bowl Weekend, today, the Bruins host the Penguins in an afternoon matinee.
Meathead texted they were at the game and his stepson, the Little Green Man got to ride on the Zamboni during one of the Intermissions. Wickid Pissah!!!
Then on Sunday the Last Football Game of the Season is a Patriots Game.
Oh and the 1PM Bruins @ Capitals tilt before the Big Game.
Huzzah.
BTW: The Bruins played the 15th place Carolina Hurricanes the other night and got shutout 3-0. But Feature This: the Bruins had 47 Shots On Goal that game. I know I usually claim, "Losing Sucks but Getting Shutout Means You Suck" nonetheless I cannot claim that here. The Old Hartford Whalers always seem to bring it against the Black & Gold. 47 Shots on Goal...Do the Math, Mouthbreathers!
Then share your answers with me because I suck at Math.
Time to Meditate. 5:25AM. 20 minutes. Before Work.
It's Starting to Help. Sure the Mind still is a chatterbox yet...it's getting Better.
I feel better and more centered, especially at the Job where Stress gets to me & I make choices in behavior, pre-conditioned responses in a usual, predictable pattern of Stimulus/Response.
Some people are unflappable. Some people are like Flags. I'm a bit of both and okay with it.
My Mantra this week...or perhaps until permanently internalized are great succinct Sanskrit words that I repeat during the day to remind me; Slow Down, Calm Down, Gear Down, Frown Down, Smile Up.
^_^
My Magic Words are... Swadeshi: the principle of putting others first with service, especially to those distant to you (emotionally) Ekagrata: Single-Mindedness, one-pointedness. Focus!
and a giant word I got from the Bhagavad Gita 3:20. Lokasamgraham: The Job We Are Here on this Earth to Do, the Job We Are Intended to Do.
I also repeat the passage from the Gita 2:14 still also repeat one of the Sanskrit names of the Lord...
When I wake up at night and can't fall back asleep? I repeat, "Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama..."
When I get stressed at work now? I breathe in and silently repeat "Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama..."
Whatever your faith or creed, place the most familiar name of the Lord in here and see what it does to your day. Jesus, Buddha, Mr. Belevedere. You know...just call and he'll be there.
It's funny. It works.
I am a Chef. I live to Serve. It's quite simple. The rest is just noise & distraction. Stressors.
I've always been tightly wound. I've always suffered for it in a way. I let my Stress get to me. Being a Chef is a stressful job outside of anyone's job being a stressful job. ^_~
I'd like to say "no more" to stress yet the Metaphor of the Battlefield in the Gita is a Daily War. Preparing, arming and centering.
Stress comes from my Needs not Being Addressed. So...I evaluate my needs. I pass them through a different filter now.
So every AM I now can be found, before the Sun rises, meditating like a little Buddha, trying to stay still in Body & Mind so my Spirit can reconnect to it All and I can find more Bliss in this Suffering World.
Just something I got off the IntrePoop via Twitter from one of my favorite daily reads, @wilw
Wil Wheaton, apparently one of the writers of the IntrePoop.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
5:31PM EST
January 29, 2012
the speck on the Moon's left is Jupiter and the bright object near the horizon is Venus.
Imaging Being that Poor Goalie who faces that Slapshot on the Power Play any given game.
This is what I call my Bruins Corner, aka the Wall of Voodoo!
I had this going last year too and remember what happened then, huh?
As Last Year it's directly opposite to my little Meditation Altar so there is always an Energy percolating between the opposite space/times in my bedroom.
But Let's Also Get Some Energy for the New England Patriots!
Super Bowl Next Week!!!
In-between my my family photos, my self-portrait (2002) and my bookcase (off-panel to relative Left).
All Season Long, (mostly) Every Game in my Game Jersey I got from Billy in 2004, his former game jersey. This jersey is an artifact of love & championships. #24 Ty Law. Billy didn't know it then but Defense is my favorite side of the Ball & Interceptions are my favorite play.
Phase II of the Cup Defense starts Tuesday PM when the Real Team (Daniel) Alfredsson face the True Team Chara!!! Ottawa comes to town closing out the month that featured 5 of the 7 Canadian Teams.
A Few Moments in Time to come, a dropping PUCK and the Best of the NHL this year in a usually Wickid Awesome Game! Hockey truly is unique having the Only Fun All-Star Game, fun for the Players & fun for the Fans. Prove me wrong if you can? ^_~
the Powers That Be in Marin Co., CA (aka LucasFilms, Arts, Arse, et al)
have decreed that We Have Not Suffered Enough!
The MasterfecesStar WarsEpisode I: The Phantom Menace is being re-released in Theatres Everywhere on February 10, 2010!
This time...in 3-D!!!
::the sound of tumbleweeds rolling by::
B.F.D!
Who Frakkin' Cares?
Only if the thing was re-shot and directed by Irvin Kershner's corpse would I think I'd go...but iDigress...
So for Clarity's Sake. For the Sake of Taste, Art, and Cinema.
I bring you the Uber-Funny Episode II Review by Red Letter Media.
A little while back, this scathing series of reviews forever changed my opinion on all things Star Wars Prequels to two words... Pizza Rolls!
You Have Been Warned. Come and check it out. Remind yourself why you should just stay away and stop giving George Lucas anymore of your hard-earned money.
