The Father's day Miracle

On Thursday, Elliott developed an incredible diaper rash. He didn't seem to care at all but it was pretty ghastly. I was able to avoid a complicated doctor's visit by just having them call in a prescription cream for the sores he had. Unfortunately day care will barely give a baby food without a signed document from a pediatrician so we resorted to only applying at home.


Since this suddenly came on we've enjoyed some nude time after baths recently. Friday night Elliott got to crawl all over our apartment to let his rash air out. By some miracle he did not pee all over the floor. In that regard I feel like Jen and I are particularly lucky. Personally I've only been peed on once or twice by the babies. They have shown amazing restraint in that area.

I'm just hoping this doesn't mean they're going to be pee on us all the time when they're teenagers.


Jen was in the mood for pizza so after getting them to bed on Friday I made this pizza with ricotta, mozzarella, roast chicken, roasted tomatoes, roasted peppers, and balsamic glaze.


To enjoy with the pizza I opened this bottle of Brux, a collaboration between Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and Russian River Brewing Company. It was recommended to age this beer but I've had it for about six months and just wanted to have it right away. I'd highly recommend it if you can find a bottle.


After dinner I had a small glass of this Solera Aged Bourbon from Hillrock Estate Distillery in upstate New York. This was an anniversary gift from Jen as it is aged in wood for our wood anniversary.

This was easily the best bourbon I've ever had. Truly incredible. I had to look up what "Solera Aged" meant and after reading all about it I now realize that I still don't understand what it means.

It's damn good though.


Saturday morning was their last swim class of the season. I'm glad they are unable to understand this because if they knew that this was the last class for a while I have a feeling they'd be pissed. They love swimming so we're going to see about how we can get them back soon.


After class we got a visit from Nana STIM, Grandpa Butch, Auntie Debbie, and Uncle Dave. We took them to the park by the beach and had a nice lunch and some playtime. They were a little cranky from having to wear sunscreen and hats but they still had a pretty good time.


When we got back they got to open presents. Grandpa Butch got them some shirts from his trip to Arizona and a book about Rabbits that Martin is in love with.


Uncle Dave got them some Bruins Jerseys which they wore propelling the Bruins to tie up the Stanley Cup Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks. That was a sound investment.


Nana STIM brought some incredible moussaka.


To me it looked like it had been made by someone who had confused our group of six normal adults with a group of 12 NFL linebackers, however, there was barely any left when we were done with it.


After a long day of routine-breaking it was time to attempt getting the guys to sleep.


Grandpa Butch got it all on tape. However, what he didn't get on tape after leaving was one of the worst bedtime wind downs of all time. After a long day of getting riled up and being off routine they were not interested in sleeping at all. Eventually, after much wrangling, they drifted off to sleep and we were left stunned, bruised, and ready for sleep ourselves.


I worked on Father's Day but got home early enough to hang out with the guys before their bedtime. When I got home I discovered that Jen had done all of the laundry. I'd pretty much planned on spending all day Monday doing laundry and was now at a loss with how to spend my day knowing there were now zero loads that needed to be done. That may have been the best Father's Day present (or any kind of present) ever given to me.




I also had time to feed them their first nectarine, amongst large quantities of other foods.

In a start contrast to last night we just bathed the babies, fed them their bottles, and they both instantly fell asleep with absolutely no protest. It was possibly the best Father's Day gift I will ever receive.



For some reason I was desperately craving burgers so we ordered some take out from Ruby's Oyster Bar & Bistro and had one of each of their burger options.

It was incredible. If you haven't done it in a while I highly recommend getting two burgers and just eating every last bite and all of the fries. But you have to eat all the fries. Just do it. You'll be glad you did.


To go along with the burger I had this Peche Mortel from Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!, another from our Quebec trip back in February. It's a coffee stout that is barrel aged for a year and it's fantastic.


To top off the evening I enjoyed a small glass of this High West Whiskey from High West Distillery in Utah. This was the other half of my anniversary gift. While not quite to the level of the Hillrock it was still very, very good.

I now have more whiskey and bourbon that anyone has any right owning. If you want to come to my place for a whiskey and bourbon tasting please give me a call.

And do not drive.



When we went to check up on the Bubses after dinner we found the secret to their fuss-free bedtime. Apparently it involved working themselves ito the most uncomfortable positions imaginable. The key to a good night's sleep is apparently in jamming your feet and legs through the slats of your crib.

Hey, whatever works.

Milk Not Jails

Yesterday a knock came at the door. It was a representative from Milk Not Jails to deliver a bundle of goodies to us. I had almost forgotten that we'd made a contribution to their efforts back in August through their Kickstarter campaign.

Milk for Jails is a great organization. I'll try to explain without getting too political. Basically they have the radical idea that maybe rural New York is better served through supporting local agriculture than through continuing to support the largest prison system on planet Earth. Maybe a dairy farm is a better idea than another prison so that America can continue to have more of its own citizens imprisoned than any other country on the planet.

What a concept!



The great thing about having paid for this in August is that it was like getting a special early Christmas gift!

We got butternut squash from African Zion Organic Roots Farm; lemongrass tea from Evolutionary Organics in New Paltz, NY; a dozen eggs from pasture raised hens from Tellos Green Farm in Red Hook, NY; Chocolate raspberry truffle ice cream and mango drinkable yogurt from Ronnybrook Farm Dairy; garlic from Streetlight Gardens in Albany, NY; Adirondack Red Potatoes from Conuco Farm in New Paltz, NY; Sauerkraut from Greyrock Farm CSA out of Cazenovia, NY; braising greens from 5 lbs. of Dirt Farm in Montgomery, NY; baby bok choi from an unspecified location; lettuce from Finger Lakes Fresh in Ithaca, NY; apple butter made by Bed-Stuy Farm Share in Brooklyn, NY; Pea Shoots from Evolutionary Organics in New Paltz, NY; and honey almond granola from Hawthorne Valley Farm.

Wow. That's a pretty good haul. We actually just donated because we supported the cause. I wonder how much they're making from our donation after they gave us back all this stuff? Did we donate to their cause or did we just shop with them?



As I looked at all these ingredients to try to figure out something to make I had some of this Imperial Pale Ale from Captain Lawrence Brewing Company. I figured this was the right way to go in keeping with the local New York theme of the meal.

I have to say, I'm warming up to IPAs. I was never much of a fan but now I actually find myself looking forward to them. Perhaps my tastes are being refined. Maybe I've reached a new level in my appreciation for the ancient beverage of beer.

Maybe I'm just getting old.



For a first course I sauteed up some shrimp with garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and fresh basil. When they were just about done I sliced up some freshly boiled Adirondack Red Potatoes and fresh sliced basil from our window box.

I also tossed the pea shoots with some lemon, shallots, honey, toasted poppy seeds, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I worked in a restaurant where we used pea shoots (or pea tendrils as we called them) all the time for garnish. I've never actually eaten them before tonight.



For a side dish I cooked the braising greens with some olive oil, butter, bacon, onion, garlic, molasses, the remaining beer, water, salt, pepper, and cayenne.



For dessert we were quite well taken care of by the chocolate raspberry truffle ice cream from Ronnybrook.



On this day, in 1933, we saw an end to prohibition in America with the ratification of the 21st amendment to the Constitution. Even though I wasn't really in the mood for it I figured there was no better way to celebrate than by having some gin. And what better way than with a gin and tonic made with the finest ingredients?

To cap off the night we celebrated with a screening of A Christmas Story/. Well, we watched it. It just makes us seem like asshole film buffs if we call it a screening.

We also like to listen to things on vinyl. We're that kind of jerk.

A Very Belgian Christmas

Yesterday, in the midst of my annoying sickness, we traveled out to get our Christmas tree. My initial plan had been to get the tree on Saturday so we didn't have to go out at all on Sunday. The idea was that my normal disinterest in decorating the tree could be avoided if I didn't have to go out, cut it down, and lug it home all in the same day.



For the third year in a row we went to Maple Row Tree Farm. Jen and Fred were able to mend their broken relationship after last year's falling out.



I tied my side of the tree to the roof pretty well. Just look at how tight that twine is!



Not to pass judgment but Jen's side left a little to be desired. The guy at the farm felt so bad for us that he help us by re-tying her end.



For lunch today I used up a remaining baguette with another of Mark Bittman's Thanksgiving leftover recipes this year. It was simply a grilled cheese with Gruyere and cranberry sauce and it was quite delicious.



After lunch I discovered that the flood had damaged more strands of our Christmas lights than I'd thought. I had previously tested them but apparently they were waiting until I had the tree up to blow out completely. This lead to an I-told-you-so-filled trip to the nearby hardware store to get the last three remaining strands they had for sale.



After stringing up the lights I settled in to make carbonade flamande, a Belgian stew. I based this off of the recipe in Culinaria and made it by browning the beef stew meat in a little butter then removing it and cooking down some onions, then adding the beef back with salt, pepper, bay leaf, thyme, sage, cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and beer.



For beer I chose to use this Leffe for added authenticity.



I served the carbonade with stoemp aux carottes which is simply boiled potatoes and carrots mashed together. I added some salt, pepper, butter and freshly ground nutmeg.



To match the theme of tonight's dinner I chose this Bush De Noël from Brasserie Dubuisson in Belgium. I've had their regular Bush beer before and it was one of the best beers I've ever had. When a friend gave me this Christmas version I was excited to give it a try.

The beer is not labeled as Bush in the United States because there is a flavorless American beer called "Busch" and they don't want to confuse the general public. Apparently there is a huge problem with people walking into the tiny import wall of fine beer stores and picking up a single 8 ounce bottle of this beer for $7.00 and thinking that they're getting a can of Busch Light.

Surely we can understand that confusion. Good on the American legal system!



I mean, look at the packaging. You can barely tell the difference between the two.



It's like one of those "Spot the Difference" puzzles where you have to figure out what's different between the two pictures. Can you spot the differences between the two beers or the two Christmas scenes?

Hint: one of the Christmas scenes is flavorless.



After decorating the tree we settled down for a nice little seasonal celebratory drink. Jen's drink of choice: hot apple cider. At the Christmas tree farm yesterday there was a woman marveling at the hot cider available. She was chasing after her children telling them: "This is amazing. You've got to check this out. It's from apples but it's hot! It's like apple juice but they serve it hot!"

The kids seemed as shocked as we were that she had never heard of this before.



I went with this egg nog from Ronnybrook Farm Dairy, a splash of brandy, and some fresh nutmeg.

With that we settled in to watch some of our growing Christmas movie collection. Tonight was the perfect night to watch the short ones: Charlie Brown Christmas, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and The Muppet Family Christmas.

All this while fumbling with ornaments around the tree and swearing.

True meaning of Christmas = discovered.

Cold Remedies & Leftovers

We returned home to New York only to find that I was stricken with a terrible cold, the kind of cold that makes me even more cranky than normal. I had most of the early part of the day to kick around, grumble, and drink ginger, lemon, and honey tea so by the time Jen got home I was only mostly insufferable.



As I've mentioned many times it is nearly impossible to pair beer or wine with soup. Since I'd planned to make soup I decided to have a beer about two hours before the soup to make things easier.

Tonight I selected this Hibernator from Long Trail Brewing Co. As we roll into the near winter months it will be all about Christmas and winter beers. There are probably 400 different varieties that I will see this year so I'll need to be extra selective about what I choose to pair with dinner and what I don't get around to sampling at all.

Given my love for Long Trail I thought this was a good way to kick off the winter season. And by winter season I mean winter beer season, not actual winter.



With my cold lingering I decided soup would be a good move. I took some of the remaining turkey from Thanksgiving and spent most of the day making turkey stock. With some of the stock I made this turkey soup with garlic, ginger, onion, carrot, celery, egg noodles, parsley, and lots of black pepper.

I also put in a dash of Worchestershire sauce at Jen's recommendation and I'm pretty sure all of that added up to clearing out my sinuses nicely.



Jen's not a huge fan of soup as a main course so I also took the remaining stuffing and added an egg, some Gruyere, parsley, and a little milk before baking it in the oven to make a savory bread pudding.



I was going to go straight back to tea and add a little brandy but then I decided that leaving the tea out may be a better idea. I did cut the brandy with a little Bénédictine for the herbal and medicinal qualities of the drink. Then I sipped it over the course of about two hours. Bénédictine is made by monks so it has a long tradition and closely guarded recipe.

Besides, I just like anything made by monks.

The Future is Now!

Today we awoke to some alarming news.



That's right, the pope has been acquired by Apple. We found about it when the pope tweeted that he will not be referred to as the iPope. We were able to glean all of this using only the meager German skills we've picked up in the past few days. Not too bad, eh?



After letting this new settle in we began our day with a ride into nearby Rapperswil (pronounced "Rappers-ville" much to the delight of visiting English-speaking tourists). Sadly there were not too many rappers. There was someone playing a recorder in the square but unlike so many on YouTube he was not beatboxing at the same time.



We explored the medieval portions of the town and I even got to do my favorite thing: pretend I was one of the king's archers firing on a mob of unruly peasants!



After I practiced putting down a rebellion I stumbled upon this graffiti and determined that the Swiss underground didn't appear to be all that big a threat. See the way they ran out of space at the end and tried to squeeze in the 'N' before the edge of the building? Weak.



Then I rounded the corner and ran into this little gem. Yeah, I don't think my archery skills are going to be necessary against this lot.



After all this rebel suppression we went to a place called Jakob for lunch. I got a recommendation on a Swiss beer to try (another lager) from our waitress who was delightful. Since the message was entirely in German we asked her to translate but her English was a little weak. Twice she told us that dishes on the menu were made with 'garbage.' We later learned that she meant 'cabbage' but by that point we were not too keen on trying those meals out.



Jen had another veal wurst with a smothered onion wine sauce and pomme frites.



I had the Scottish Lox which is my usual standby.

Ross had a pasta made with 'peperonicream' which is not anything like what it sounded like.



After lunch we headed to Eisiedeln. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside which is unfortunate because it was breathtakingly beautiful. Inside there is a little chapel build around a 'black Madonna' and they were having a service where they whipped out a guitar and started playing Bob Dylan songs in German. Not at all what I was expecting.



In lieu of purchasing any Black Madonna replicas I got this souvenir which is an herbal liqueur made by the monks of Einseideln. I can't wait to try this. It might even be better than my last risky European liqueur purchase when I purchased that truffle flavored liqueur.



After a quick stop off at Ikea we picked up Gregg and the four of us went into Zurich for dinner. As usual Ikea was the point at which the clouds cleared and sunshine came back into our lives. Much the same as our American Ikea experiences.



We were able to use our charm (most of it Ross's) to get a table at Terrasse for dinner. It was great and we were introduced to a new drink: aperol spritz.



Our waitress was fantastic. When Gregg asked her about the Swiss pinot noir on the menu she said it was terrible. Then she recommended this Swiss wine. I was excited because one of my goals was to try Swiss wine on this trip since you can't really get it outside of Switzerland.



Then she said they didn't really have much beer but recommended this Swiss beer -- the Halden Krone -- to me. Another lager! Then she told me that after dinner she often goes to the place across the street to have beer because they have a better selection but sometimes it gives her a headache.





I had the veal with porcini cream sauce and Jen had the turbot with Lobster tail. Both were excellent. But it's getting really late and I think we need to go to bed now.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz.


Kathy says: "I thought he'd NEVER stop writing about his stupid meals! Check back tomorrow when they go and check out how authentic Swiss cheese is made. Personally I don't eat dairy because I don't think the human digestion system was designed to process lactose. It's a poison, people. You're killing yourselves!"



____