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James's Journal

james
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03/29/2009 22:34 #48233

Kumquat Simple Syrup
I need to remember to take pictures when I am in the kitchen experimenting.

So tonight, around 8:30 I get hungry and go into the kitchen to do something about that. Two hours later I have made borscht, broiled some frozen smelt, and made a kumquat simple syrup.

(e:tinypliny) wrote about delicious kumquats at PriceRite. I couldn't resist. They are such a delicious and underrated fruit. So, I chop them up, squash them under a chef's knife, and drop them into water. I let them boil for a few minutes, then add sugar and simmer for two minutes.

Best part, after I strained the syrup to take out the kumquat rind. So now, as a product, I have candied kumquats! I put them in the fridge and they are delicious.

So, now I have kumquat flavored syrup for making cocktails or toping a dessert. The sweet citrusy flavor is in there, but the sugar killed the tartness I love so much. Tomorrow, if I am productive, I will mix something up and give a big toast to Pliny.

Cheers!
tinypliny - 03/31/09 20:56
AREN'T THEY THE AWESOMEST FRUIT EVER????!!!!


I knew you were the one person who would truly realize the sheer awesomeness of Kumquats!

03/27/2009 19:35 #48216

Infused Vodka
Howdy,

I told the good folks in my office that I started this two weeks ago. And I should have, I had the bacon in the fridge. But I didn't have a handle of vodka and just saying I had started it was sure to get me to actually do it. Now that the confession is out of the way...

Let me confess something else. I hate vodka. I mean, the flavor is alright and it mixes well. But it is such a pedestrian liquor. Now I am done confessing...


What happens when you have this
image
image

and you add this
image

why, you get this
image

and this
image


so I am infusing Vodka with a vanilla bean in one jar and bacon and pepper in another. Three weeks in the dark cupboard until it is ready. Expect a future post.
tinypliny - 03/31/09 20:57
All of these look very uncomfortably similar to the jars outside pathology labs...
james - 03/28/09 09:19
OH! You remind me mike that the writer of that song, Thomas Dolby, is coming out with a new album this year!!!! YES!
mrmike - 03/28/09 08:30
You're gonna blind us with science
james - 03/27/09 20:54
I really wanted to infuse a bourbon with bacon. But it has too much flavor on its own for me to judge how I need to alter the infusing process in the future. Boring old vodka is a near tabula rasa.

And saphire. I think I might have me some to get this vodka near-flavor out of my mouth.
jason - 03/27/09 20:47
Damn. Now I really want that Aquavit, which actually has caraway in it as well. It has to by decree of the Swedish government. I look forward to your future infusion posts. More of a Sapphire guy myself, or perhaps a good bourbon.

03/23/2009 21:35 #48173

PriceRite
I bought a whole 14lbs frozen turkey.


FOR $3.98!

The place was so crowded I couldn't even check out the aisles, just the produce, meat, dairy perimeter.

Oh, and I just ate crabs I got there for $4. And I am not talking about the ones I got from the checkout clerk. HEY-OH!!!!

Seriously, that place is crazy awesome.
tinypliny - 03/24/09 19:24
This post totally screams HOGGING! LOL
metalpeter - 03/24/09 19:17
I love the crabs Line, I just hope you passed them onto someone else and aren't hogging them to your self, HA.
jason - 03/24/09 10:57
OH HELL YES to E-Strip BBQ. Why the hell haven't we done that before?
james - 03/24/09 10:09
The crazy thing is, there were clerks unloading bales of ribs into refrigerated cases. Customers would ask "well, how long are these prices going to last?" I heard that question half a dozen times and the clerks responded the same "these are our everyday prices. No sale."

It is now affordable to become a carnivore.

Did I mention I ran into the always delightful James Beatty? We were both fawning over a $20 leg of lamb the size of a keytar.

estrip BBQ
tinypliny - 03/23/09 21:46
Wow - are they going to go out of business because of this sale??!

03/19/2009 09:24 #48117

Stabbings on Elmwood
I was walking home yesterday and saw a bunch of police cars in the parking lot of the Wilson Farms on Elmwood near summer. The trunk of one car was open with a tree branch hanging out of it. A detective was questioning someone in the back of a patrol car. WTF?

Two people were stabbed and were treated at the hospital. But what was up with that branch?

Besides the pair of stabbings, Howard and Grayson were also charged with smashing the windshield of a woman's vehicle at 400 Elmwood and threatening her with a 5-inch steak knife.



I also saw an officer questioning the poor Wilson Farms clerk, from whom they got this hilarious bit of imagery.

They also face charges for fighting with each other around a nearby Wilson Farms store before entering the store and spraying blood all over Slim Jim products inside, police report stated.



Magic.
tinypliny - 03/31/09 21:01
That has got to be "dripping blood all over slim jim" unless they slashed an artery - in which case they would have been spraying blood.
lauren - 03/24/09 11:56
holy hell. i was on my way to work and saw the swarm of police cars...thanks for satisfying my curiosity!
metalpeter - 03/19/09 18:07
Great now all I have to do is worry more on my way home from places that not even that lot is safe when Just Pizza and Wilson Farms is open. In terms of the branch maybe that was what got used to smash the window or what ever was broken.
james - 03/19/09 11:37
Mike: That very pun was made when I told someone else about it.

Ho: That sentence was the whole reason I posted it.

I can't help but see Macho Man Randy Savage (I had to google it. I am not a freak.) jump out of a beverage case and get blood splattered all over him.
hodown - 03/19/09 10:39
"Spraying blood all over Slim Jim products.." Best part of the story.
mrmike - 03/19/09 10:39
He snapped into it
ladycroft - 03/19/09 09:57
Oh delicious.

03/17/2009 17:47 #48088

Birthday Party!
Ya, Matthew is having a birthday party this weekend. WHO CARES!

(e:Jim) will be celebrating second annual 29th Birthday! It will be at Bistro Europa on April 7th at 7:30. We will have the whole restaurant reserved for us, so I need to know if you are coming or not. So sign up here.
mrmike - 04/01/09 20:20
I'm in
ladycroft - 03/19/09 09:58
Wish I could but won't be in the neighborhood :(
heidi - 03/18/09 19:34
I'm in!
jenks - 03/18/09 08:35
dammit! I was all excited to say I'd be there (I love bistro europa, not to mention haven't seen any of you guys in ages) and then remembered- I will be in belgium. But happy 2nd annual 29th bday!
james - 03/17/09 18:48
It is a tuesday, the greatest day of all!
janelle - 03/17/09 18:07
Yes. And yes for Drew, who is really typing this.
tinypliny - 03/17/09 18:02
Its a tuesday.