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Sunday, September 30, 2007

20 weeks
posted by klake at 8:45 PM (0) comments


Plake is 20 weeks old, which means his mom sat him down for a big old pile of pictures. If you would care to see the results check out clakeklake.shutterfly.com

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Friday, September 28, 2007

Songs of Innocence
posted by clake at 7:49 AM (0) comments

In this week's Randy the Cat comic, we join Nigel and Randy on another trip to the store that sells T-shirts.

Speaking of T-shirts, here's a picture of little Plake sporting a Randy the Cat onesie. This is very likely the only RTC onesie in existance.

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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Rookie Card
posted by clake at 2:17 PM (3) comments


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Sunday, September 23, 2007

Oktoberfest in September
posted by clake at 9:05 AM (0) comments

Yesterday was the Iowa City Brew Fest, which Klake, Plake and I attended. Attendees are given a four-ounce tasting glass and tickets for free samples of beers from around the globe. Here are the results:

Clake:
  • Golden Draak (Van Steenberge, Brouwerij, Belgium) - Old-time Flemish pirates used to get wasted on this stuff out at sea. Then they would raid British ships and steal every packet of crisps. A bit sweet, sort of bitter, very strong (over 10% alc by volume).
  • Cherish Raspberry (Van Steenberge, Brouwerij, Belgium) - One of those really sweet lambics. The ladies dig it (see Klake below).
  • Tomas Watkins OSB (Tomas Watkin, Britain) - I like a bitter beer, from time to time.
  • Chocolate Stout (Fort Collins Brewing, Colorado) - I was hoping to find Youngs & Co.'s Double Chocolate Stout, but I couldn't locate their booth at the fest. This is an okay substitute, but I do find myself wondering about the Youngs.
  • Black Jack Porter (Left Hand, Colorado) - Porter is a very tasty sort of beer. This is a porter, therefore it is very tasty. The color is almost completely black.
  • Fat Tire Amber (New Belgium Brewing, Colorado) - My first taste of the day. An enjoyable start, and I got a free bottle opener!

Klake:

Plake:

  • Breast Milk (Breasts, Iowa) - Sweet and fatty, this drink is like a meal.

Plake was a very good boy throughout the event. He chilled out in his carrier, and made quite a few (slightly tipsy) friends. In case you are wondering, his drink came out of a bottle. Klake isn't into public displays of her boobs, unlike the 11-foot-tall Teutonic statue of a girl in a slutty version of traditional German dress who was wandering around the fest. Her butt peeked out from under the skirt. (Note to J.H. - Yes, this was awesome.)


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Saturday, September 22, 2007

Pine-Apple
posted by clake at 8:09 AM (0) comments

In this week's Randy the Cat comic, a party is almost ruined by the unexpected presence of a rectangle.

Speaking of Platonic forms, I just recently watched the Doctor Who serial "Meglos", wherein a dodecahedron is stolen by a villain who is a cactus. The plot was a bit haywire, and seemed to have a far more elaborate back story than appeared on screen. It's possible the cactus was stealing back his own dodecahedron, O.J. Simpson style.

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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

A Drink with Jam and Bread
posted by clake at 11:40 AM (0) comments

I finally received a recent free shipping coupon from the English Tea Store (coupon code: Fall07, if you're interested), which means I'll be getting my grimy mits on some loose leaf Lapsang Souchong. My order includes:

  • Lapsang Souchong China black tea loose leaf 4oz (Pictured right - Smokey!)
  • Scottish Breakfast tea loose leaf 4oz (Sounds fun - described as "malty" and "robust")

And then, to get the order up to the $10 required for free shipping, I decided to experiment with a selection of various, British, flavored crisps:

  • Walker's Steak & Onion Potato Crisps (As vegetarian as McDonald's fries)
  • Walker's Roast Chicken Potato Crisps (Can't be any weirder than Chicken in a Biscuit, from right here in the U.S.A.)
  • Walker's Monster Munch Pickled Onion Potato Crisps (The item name says "potato", but the listing says "corn". Either way you look at it, it unmistakably says "pickled onion"!)
  • Walker's Prawn Cocktail Potato Crisps (From Wikipedia: "Prawns are distinguished from the superficially similar shrimp by the gill structure which is branching in prawns... but is lamellar in shrimp.")
  • Walker's Sensations Thai Sweet Chili Potato Crisps (Just pour on some flat lager with cigarette butts in it and you have Dave Lister's morning bowl of cereal.)
Yes, they do indeed have a large selection of potato chips with meat flavors in Britain. I may or may not get around to writing some reviews in this space in the future.

On a (tangentially) related note, my son will likely start trying out some solid foods here and there in the near future. Sweet Chili Potato Crisps are not on the menu, but I'll let you know if he wants to write an online review of "bland rice cereal sort of mushed into a generous portion of human breast milk". Little Plake is growing so much. He gives real hugs now!

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Friday, September 14, 2007

Oocka-chacka-oocka-chacka
posted by clake at 10:08 PM (0) comments

Fair warning: this week's Randy the Cat obliquely implies the existence of butt sex.

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Museum Day
posted by klake at 3:32 PM (0) comments

Saturday, Sept. 29 has been declared museum day, and many museums are offering free admission to visitors who print out a ticket from the Smithsonian website. Check it out, it includes the Mississippi River Museum in DBQ!

Museum Day

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Monday, September 10, 2007

Mit Pommes oder Brot???
posted by clake at 12:46 PM (0) comments

I am currently eating peanut butter and jelly on this wonderful beer bread. This recipe is outstandingly easy to make, easy to customize, and can have the happy result of you eating a sandwich at work with subtle beer undertones.

(Post headline makes reference to this comic strip.)

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Friday, September 07, 2007

Randy the Cat moves again
posted by clake at 12:49 PM (0) comments

Adorable hijinks and precocious swearing now on Blogspot
Mayor linked to homoerotic juggling organization: "I didn't do anything!"

Iowa, USA - Randy the Cat has packed up his belongings and moved to the coast -- the coast of Blogspotland, overlooking the Sea of Hilarious, that is! The long-beloved silly comic about a household pet who shits in a box, which has become as synonymous with America as stock car racing and the concept of a "petty God", has officially moved its internet presence to the fine weblog hosting services of Blogspot.com. Readers can now follow Randy's adventures at randythecat.blogspot.com, beginning with a new strip for Saturday, September 8, 2007 wherein a mouse tells a joke. The mouse is wearing a hat.

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Thursday, September 06, 2007

Snoopy
posted by clake at 10:25 AM (0) comments

Today's fun activity during downtime is reading old Peanuts comics from the 1960's.

I'm struck by how expressive Snoopy is. I think seeing too many snoopy t-shirts in my lifetime temporarily blinded me to just how dynamic and interesting he can be. Watch his legs when he walks: it's a still image but it looks a bit like he's actually moving.

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Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Pan-Roasted Broccoli
posted by clake at 12:19 PM (1) comments

Last night for dinner I made this adaptation of a recipe seen on America's Test Kitchen (free registration required). Klake has never liked broccoli, but when we saw this being made she thought it looked delicious. I made certain substitutions to the original receipe - mainly due to not bothering to buy special ingredients I don't normally keep around the house. The secret to this dish's deliciousness comes from the star ingredient of most popular restaurants: fat! I'd seriously like to see how this dish compares with french fries.

-----------------------
Pan-Roasted Broccoli with Lemon Browned Butter
Serves 4 as a side dish

For Broccoli
3 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 3/4 pounds broccoli , florets cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut on bias into 1/4-inch-thick slices about 1 1/2 inches long (about 5 cups florets and 3/4 cup stems)

For Sauce
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons minced red onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (I would have loved to use 2 cloves fresh garlic, but had none on hand)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1. For Broccoli: Stir water, salt, and pepper together in small bowl until salt dissolves; set aside. In 12-inch nonstick skillet with tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke. Add broccoli stems in even layer and cook, without stirring, until browned on bottoms, about 2 minutes. Add florets to skillet and toss to combine; cook, without stirring, until bottoms of florets just begin to brown, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

2. Add water mixture and cover skillet; cook until broccoli is bright green but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until water has evaporated, broccoli stems are tender, and florets are tender-crisp, about 2 minutes more. Transfer broccoli to medium bowl and set aside.

3. For Sauce: Melt butter in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat and continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until butter is browned and releases nutty aroma, about 1 1/2 minutes. Off heat, add onion, garlic, salt, and pepper, and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in lemon juice and thyme. Add broccoli to skillet, toss to coat with browned butter, and serve immediately.
-----------------------

The main difference from our version is that on Test Kitchen they used shallots instead of onion. They also used fresh thyme and garlic.

We served this with a nice, lean piece of breaded tilapia. On the show, they served it with Chicken Kiev, which is a chicken breast wrapped around a big hunk of butter. The only meal with more fat that I can imagine would have to include a steak cut from a butter-sculpture cow.

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