Great thoughts of Fleeting substance

Not terribly much more to report, actually. It’s been a nice, slow couple of weeks. I’ve gotten some more writing done, played some games, and done a lot of reading of Terry Pratchett books. I finally figured out that an easier way of reading them, rather than buying them myself, is simply borrowing them from my friendly local library. So last weekend when J(5) and I went swimming, we strolled over next door to the library and I picked up a library card and a couple of the earlier Terry Pratchett books, one that contained the first four books about Rincewind (incompetent wizard extraordinaire) and the first of the books about the witches, Wyrd Sisters. Good to get some of that early Diskworld history under my belt, and good readings all around.

So, yes, there’s been a lot of reading, some writing, some playing of games, and some cooking. I was planning to experiment with some fish dishes, but I found myself light on ingredients and so, per the tradition of the dish, I decided to make a roast. Not a crockpot roast, though the method ends up being very similar, I bought a cut of meat off the shoulder, seared it, and then used the drippings and a collection of *completely random* items out of my kitchen to make the ‘sauce’. That’s the idea, really, just use whatever you happen to have around. My roast braising sauce contained:

Onions
Carrots
Garlic
Red wine
Tomato Soup
Rasins
Artichoke Hearts
and Cumin

I cooked it in a tin foil pouch and, and this is my most favorite clever part, drained the juice and added some of the bits and pieces from the roast, smacked the thing with my food processor and BAM! Instant gravy. It’s another Good Eats recipe. Turned out all right, but next time I’m preparing it in the morning and letting it cook all day. It was good, but not totally fall-apart-y, like I really like my roasts to be. You still need a knife to eat it. But all the randomness totally came together. Okay, it wasn’t totally random. Wine and tomatoes go great together, and the artichoke hearts all went into the gravy. There’s a system at work, here.

Next up, promise, is fish. I was going to do it next, but I felt the spirit of the roast calling me, being the sort of thing that you generally just make with whatever is lying around an ill-stocked kitchen. But next time, fish, promise. I’m thinking pan fry of a filet or broiling of a steak. Simple to start out with. There’s some Good Eats recipes for both of those methods, though I may diverge a bit for my first run with ‘em. There’s a lot of butter in the pan fry.

What else, hmm…

Writing is coming along, not doing quite as much drumming as I might otherwise like. I always feel bad doing it later in the night. They’re electronic, but it still makes a noise when you hit a pad with a stick. I’m also starting to look into building the audio studio especially as Electronic Musician (magazine) just came out with their ‘editors choice’ awards for 2005. Good place to get a list of some of the best the industry has to offer. Probably a good time to get my subscription to them going again, too. I’m starting to get excited about music again. This is good stuff!

J(5) and I continue along. She really likes that I’m learning to cook. Repeated for emphasis: she *really* likes that I’m learning to cook. She also sends out a grand THANK YOU to sister S for the redicu-awesome egg nog French toast idea. They came out great, and much more solid, being as the bread was a little stale. Good idea, stale bread for that.

Starting to toss around ideas for my first Valentines day EVER with a girl to celebrate with. Exciting, no? I have some ideas, clever ideas, I might even go so far as to say. Don’t want to go too overboard, though; simplicity and perfection over quantity and gaudiness.

Well, an excellent life continues along. I’ll keep you all informed.

-N