Category Archives: Blather

Four San Diego Photos

Not necessarily the best, but since I just got back from San Diego, I thought I’d show you four fun photos I took.

I suspect this will be Bill’s favorite photo. It shows just how far I’ve come since the days we started dating and I didn’t like coffee. Now I’m taking the hand-grinder, aeropress, and whole beans when traveling alone. My friend Jen had a comment on that. (She’s not wrong to wonder.)

I have no idea how large the brewery who makes this beer, Warsteiner is, but I know they are German (though that page is USA), have been passed down to (through?) their ninth-generation of owner, and make a damn tasty pilsner. Not as hoppy as some would prefer, possibly from too big a brewery for some (there was some implication of that around), and with a faintly funky aroma.… Continue reading →

Throwback Tuesday

Well, I’m in San Diego, having just finished attending Beer Bloggers’ Conference. I’m spending a few days checking out the zoo, pondering and discussing the con, and otherwise checking out this fine town. As such, I thought a quick post of links from December 2012 or later might be fun reading. My thinking is one for each category.

They’re not inherently the best posts from the first two and a half years of the blog, but they’re ones that are memorable, or interesting, or something. I hope you enjoy.

… Continue reading →

Relish. Relish Friends. Relish Food. Relish Life.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley arrived at my house about two days before my birthday last year, with a gift note saying Rick apologized if he missed my birthday, because he was pretty sure he had.

Obviously, he hadn’t. And I was floored, because I would never have expected a gift from Rick. And not only did I have one, it turned out to be a perfect gift. I didn’t know it at the time. My birthday is the day before Christmas. I sat down Christmas day and picked up this book. I picked up this book in that Christmas moment, after the major festivities are over, dinner’s still awhile away, there’s some sort of delightful, warm beverage in a holiday-themed mug on the coffee table, and all just feels right with the world.… Continue reading →

Random Tidbits

Starting today, I’m trying to go lactose-free for two weeks. Avoiding milk, cheese, yogurt, and milk stouts is no fun, but it’s actually fairly simple in practice. What’s already stymied me (but not yet thwarted me) is butter. I basically have to assume all restaurants use butter in all things, don’t I? So a quick pastry as I dart from place to place is going to be a non-starter for awhile. I have dinner reservations with a friend on Thursday, and I wonder if this is going to be a problem. It’s a little stressful. I’m sure I’ll manage it, but I’m going to be stressing about it until it’s done. Maybe it’ll just help me get into and stay with the habit of carrying nuts or similar as a snack at all times.… Continue reading →

I Need Your

Recipes for sage, nasturtiums, pomegranate molasses, and lentils as a summer dish.1

Suggestions for things I should put in my smoker, now that I’m home again for awhile.

Book recommendations. Any kind. Ignore the fact that I am in the middle of Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward2, have three more books from Octavia Butler in my stack from Powell’s, just bought two more books yesterday at the bookshop in my neighborhood, and generally have all of Bill’s books to read. Yes, ignore those facts and tell me other books you’ve read recently that are delightful.

Tequila suggestions. I’m out and I’m looking for a new sipping/mixing tequila. I have one that I’m about to go back to, but I’m curious if you have another suggestion.… Continue reading →