Urban Farm-to-Table Feast

portrait, girl with mayo

posted by Melissa

I finally made my own mayonnaise!  I absolutely love mayonnaise, but I had never made my own before.  I was making some deviled eggs for a cookout we had here at the apartment building, and I needed mayo.  Since it is homesteading month, I thought, why not make it myself.  It was super easy (see recipe below) and tastes really good.  Since I woke up this morning I have been pondering, what can I eat with my mayo today?

The set table, right outside in the city.

The weather was gorgeous yesterday in Seattle and we decided to have a cookout.  We set up a table in front of our building and brought out the grill.  As soon as Amy laid out the tablecloth, I knew it was going to be special.  Next she brought out a catering set with white ceramic plates and silverware.  Who has a catering set?  I was glad she did.  It totally transformed our small yard in front of the apartment building into a farm-to-table like setting I have coveted in photo spreads in many fancy food magazines.

I made a marinated kalbi (a special cross-cut of beef short ribs) and seriously, they were the best thing I have ever grilled, ever.  You really have to try this recipe yourself.  I also made a kale caesar slaw, a side dish of zucchini, corn and basil, the blackberry buttermilk cake I mentioned yesterday, and of course, the deviled eggs.  Others brought homemade sauerkraut, chicken, steak, vegan hot dogs, a beautiful salad with edible flowers, honey from Bob's Urban Bee Company and veggie kabobs.

We all savored the food, the company and the opportunity to laugh among friends.  The kids climbed a nearby cherry tree.  The adults sipped wine and sparkling juice.  And when people passed by and smiled, we joked about how we were finally the cool kids on the block.

After the feast was over and plenty of wax was left in the candles, a few of us stayed outside and played a game of poker.  Yes, we still keep poker month alive from time to time, with an impromptu game of Texas Hold 'Em.  I think for the first time, last night Bob didn't win.  Amy did.  I still have not won.

Best meat ever, kalbi.  

Recipe for Homemade Mayonnaise
from Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller


4 large egg yolks
2 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons kosher salt

Put the egg yolks in a food processor and process to combine.   With the motor running, begin adding the oil very slowly.  Blend until emulsified and thickened.  Add the lemon juice and salt.  Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 1 week.
Makes 2 cups.

Résumé

Résumé

Behind where I blog.

By Dorothy Parker

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
you might as well live.

One of my favorite poems yet.  I cannot wait to read more of her works.

Last night I hosted a night of Poetry and Poker.  We fired up the grill out behind the Boathouse (the name of our apartment building), we used the one that sits near the flagstone patio that Amy built.  It is such a sweet little spot.  We feasted on grilled burgers and sausages, grilled corn, coleslaw, tomato salad and an amazingly beautiful salad from lettuce that Amy grew.

After dinner we all sat around the table and shared some poetry.  Amy started us off with a piece by Jack Prelutsky called "The New Kid on the Block."  The kids in the room shared a few pieces, Lily read at least four of her original works.  Carol also read an original poem, with vivid imagery of a soldier's cemetery and reflections on war.  I found an old notebook from when Jamie and I lived in Bellingham and read the lyrics to one of Jamie's songs he wrote back when he was first learning to play the guitar.

There was lots of snapping and hushed clapping, you know poetry kind of noises.

At that point is was time for poker.  There were five weary, bleary stragglers left at the table and we all anted in.  Mostly, we played Texas Hold 'Em and at one point, about an hour in, I made a fatal mistake.

"Wow!  I think I might actually win my first game of poker." I said aloud, my self consciousness wishing I hadn't before the sentence was over.

The choice to fold on a crucial hand, where had I stayed in I would have won, started my decent into Loser-ville last night.  But how could I have known that Bob was working on a piece for the "Bluffington Post."  (a pun from Jamie last night...we contemplated pun month during the night.)

In the end, I lost.  And here, a poem on losing (sounds more like baseball, but still fitting.  And especially if you are a Mariner's fan...)


Losing the Game
BY DIANE ACKERMAN

Ichiro.

On the face of this midfielder,
a saint’s passion.

Sweat brilliantines his hair
flat as a seal pup’s fur.

Thorns rake one knee, and fatigue
is a train whistle that never quits.

In his mind, the falcon of defeat
slips off its own hood

and sails into the vapory cold December,
hangs like a crucifixion over the field,

then slants down the wide thermal
of his shame. Today 2 + 2 is algebra,

and nothing will transmute
his base metal to gold leaf.

When crowd and players have gone,
he watches the sun set

under a tumultuous bruise of sky,
below the empty grin of the bleachers,

deep into the valley,
a ghastly, yellow bile draining out.


-Melissa

Lotta strands in the ole Duder's head

posted by Melissa
Things on my mind:

I never updated on the therapy vs. poker experiment.  It sorta worked for a bit.  I found out the when you want to be "princessed" (i.e. treated like a princess) for 2 weeks, you should probably have a concrete idea of what that means.  Otherwise, you will never get what you want, likely because you have no idea what the hell it is in the first place.  (ps...I have no idea where this princess thing came from, and am more than a little bit embarrassed to be writing about it.)

And your husband will fail, through no fault of his own.  (I can't believe I admitted that last part.)  Men need lists, whether it is for the grocery store or for treating you like you want to be treated.  And this is especially true if you are making up a new word for what you want, it's not like he could even look it up in the urban dictionary.

OK, I just looked up "princess treatment" (because it was the closest thing I could find) on the aforementioned urban dictionary.  Holy shit, I had no idea.  And no thank you, Jamie.  My two weeks is about a lack of touching, and licking.  Ok, TMI.  Moving on.

Beets and Collard Greens, grown from seed.
I also forgot that I wanted to mention in May that I continued on with last May's topic, Growing our own food.  I replanted my little garden plot out front.  It seems to be doing quite nicely and I even have room for more plants.  More lettuce?  Kale again?  So far I have sugar snap peas, sun gold tomatoes, beets, collard greens, spicy lettuce mix, dahlias, a sunflower or two, bee's friend flowers, thyme, sage and marjoram. 

On the bowling front:  Jamie and I went to the Garage on Saturday night to try and get a game of bowling in.  The place was so packed that we never did get a lane.  The frustrating part for me was that there were empty lanes.  It's just that people were chatting or eating and not bowling, but paying for the lane.  

On the upside, we heard lots of good music, Eazy-E "The Boyz in the Hood" being one of my faves of the night.  I learned that the lyrics are "talking that trash we'll pull your card."  I always thought they were working in a car shop or something and they would come and "pull your car."  Like tow it or literally I pictured all these gangsters lifting the front of some big ass car and pulling it down the street.  Wow, all these years, singing Eazy-E all wrong.

My school quarter is almost over.  And unlike my lyrical rap skillz, I hope to do much better when it comes to remember the quadratic formula or naming ionic compounds.  I have finals this week.  I do love math and chemistry, but today I'd rather be outside in the sun.  Or at the bowling alley.  Or reading a novel, or poetry.  Or maybe cleaning out my closet and doing laundry.  Or blogging.  I just have to sit my ass down and open the book and get to work on some problems.  Once I am there and in it, I do love it.
And finally, I have been thinking ahead for the blog.  Next month is reciting a classic poem.  I have a few in mind.  Wondering if you all have any ideas?  So far I am thinking: T.S. Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" or something by H.D. or Denise Levertov or Shakespeare.
Who are your favorite poets?
(damn Blogger, I cannot get this centering to change, it is not an artistic touch, more a technical ineptitude)

There you have it, a tiny glimpse into my mind, at the moment.  And now onto studying, if I don't get an A in all three classes (and fine, I'll settle for an A-) I know I'll be disappointed.  Wish me luck!

-Melissa

Take me to the River

posted by Melissa

This was the biggest money pot we had so far, $70.00 going to the winner.  The cream puffs weren't too bad either.  

We played Texas Hold 'Em for the first time.  At this point "the flop" was out on the table, the first three of the five shared cards that every player get to use in their hand.  

Carol gathering her chips after a big winning hand.  Carol is always a good poker player, no matter what game we play.

Here is Bob, with his signature lined-up stacks of chips.

These are the cards after "the turn" has been laid down, the fourth of the five shared cards in Hold 'Em.  The last one, not shown here is called "the river."  From those five cards, along with the two cards that you have "in the hole" (the two you got at the beginning, face down)   you make the best five card hand and hope you win.

Count 'em up.

Matt, seated to my right, walked away the big winner that night.  It was a close game after the last hand, which is what typically happens at our poker games.  By the last few hands, people start betting it all and the chips move dramatically from player to player.  Carol had been winning, and then after the last hand it was between me and Matt.  

Someone was holding a lot of chips at this point.  Probably me, sadly they were mostly the whites and blues, which were the lowest values, $1 and $5 respectively.

There you have it, one of our last poker nights.  I really enjoyed Texas Hold 'Em, and likely will host monthly poker nights playing the game.  Who's in?

cheers,
Melissa

Location, location, location

Yes, I do think this setting makes everything easier.

I am sure you are all asking yourselves the same question...."How is the bet between Jamie and Melissa going?  Is it really better than therapy?"

The answer is..."Yes!  It is better than therapy, so far."

Paradise

The update:  So far Jamie has had his two weeks, wherein we live in our marital bliss by his standards.  I would have to say it has gone very well.  Considering that the weeks prior were spent arguing talking about our relationship at every given free moment, having two weeks of relatively "talk" free bliss was heaven.  Now is the fist day of my two weeks, and all I can say is let the Princessing (as I have coined my two weeks) begin.  

It could have made it easy for me to be the one to give in and let things go my spouse's way, given that we spent the last week in the Bahamas.  Yes, we were taken to the beautiful resort called Atlantis on Paradise island.  It was so fun and sunny, lots of swimming and time spent looking at the unbelievably blue water.   Why did we move to Seattle????

Dianne scooping up her chips!

And we did get a game or two of poker in while we were away.  Jamie, me and his Mom, Dianne, all sat down for a night of poker.  She shared a lot of stories about how her and her friends used to get together and play poker quite a bit.  I really enjoyed listening to her and thinking of how generations can enjoy the same things, I bet her parents had poker nights too.  What I did not enjoy though, was the fact that I was the big loser again.  Dianne took the pot that night, but luckily we didn't play for money.  And lucky for me, I was the big winner anyway, just for being able to be there on vacation with everyone.  Thanks, Pete and Dianne!


We have a couple more poker nights coming up this weekend, so stay tuned....
Melissa

Who needs therapy when you've got poker?

Poker: Winner for 'Best Couples Therapy'.

Poker has infused the Baumgart home in many ways.  Not only have we been hosting the somewhat weekly poker nights, but we have taken to using gambling on poker games as a way of solving family quarrels.

Last night, after  years of arguing over some relationship issues, Jamie proposed a new plan of attack:

"How about this?  Why don't we play poker and whoever wins gets to have things their way for two weeks first.  Then the other person gets to have things their way for two weeks."

"Hmmmm," I reply.  "Sounds good to me.  We both get what we want, but who has to give in first?  I can play for that. "

"Totally.  And then we'll just keep going like that, two weeks on, two weeks off."  He says somewhat assured of some success in the endeavour.  "I mean, therapy didn't work, but maybe poker will."

We set up the chips and started playing.  We called an hour limit to the game.  And I knew I was going to win.

I didn't.

Today started day one of my two week, things go Jamie's way lifestyle.  So far, it ain't so bad.  And now we can be pretty much guaranteed four weeks of not arguing.  We have to at least honor the poker table.  I actually think that this is going to be great.  We get to get our way, without fighting about it, and maybe...just maybe we will see the beauty that is held within the other's needs and desires.

Next up, was another hour long game...but this time with the kids, the older ones.  The stakes: the apartment building chore.  We live in a community oriented building where every apartment has a monthly chose.  This month our is cleaning the back stairwell.  Vacuuming, dusting, sweeping.  With three minutes left to play, and one more hand of poker, Levi (in the losing seat at this point) decides he is out.  He wants to stop playing, and therefore, not be held to his wager.

That's my boy.  He whined and negotiated and tried to talk his way out of it.  In the end, his big sister, you know "the good one", she stood up and took it on.  Today she did the chore, and somehow got Tallulah to help her.  And while I still want Levi to get that he needs to follow through on his word, I am pleased to see how one of my kids stood up and took care of the other in what seemed to be a place of utter pain.  Being faced with a chore.

So, you see, poker just might be the solution to many dilemmas here at the Baumgart home.

And some people say it is unhealthy to gamble.  We'll just see about that!

Tonight we are hosting a Mother's day edition of Poker Night.  I say house rules are: You better let the Mama of the house win!

-Melissa

 

 

 

unpredictable Highs & lows

Bob, our teacher.

Our neighbor, also Amy's husband, Bob, taught us a new game of poker last night.  It is called High Low.  Or at least that is what he called it.  We started the night with five card draw, simple, straight forward.  It was much like the simple five card stud and seven card stud we played the prior poker nights.  High Low on the other hand, is dynamic and unpredictable.

We played it like five card draw, only at the end the player with the highest hand and the player with the lowest hand split the pot.  And those pots were huge.  I guess because people knew their odds were greater, or because you could win with a losing hand, or it was the fact that the night was nearly ending; something definitely upped the ante, so to speak, in that game.  The pots were at least triple what they had been earlier in the evening.

Every player gets five cards dealt face down, with a round of betting following. Then you get to trade in up to three cards, after which you have to choose whether you are going to be trying to a "high" hand to win or a "low" hand to win.  When you choose, you need to mark your choice at that point, so there is no cheating/changing minds at the end of the game.  We used a chip, and either held it in our hand or put it under our leg on our chair.

So, now the big betting begins.  You place your cards in the order of your choosing and sit them in a stack in front of you.  The order is important because, if you are actually going low, you may want to psyche out your opponents by putting some higher cards in the same suit first...maybe they'll think you have a high flush and bet more for their low hand.  Also, a big factor is that aces can be high or low, a big game changer. (and how I won my one hand last night)


So, with every player having chosen their goal, high or low, and having their cards in a stack in front of them; we start the revealing.  Starting to the left of the dealer, you flip up your first card.  A round of betting ensues.  This continues with each of the five cards, and at our house, with lots of raising.  The pot grows and grows.


Finally the last card is revealed.  And after all the hands are inspected, who's suspected to be high?  and who is low?  Then we show what our intention was...was it what everyone thought?

The pot is then split between the person with the highest hand that was going for the "high" and the person with the lowest hand that was going for the "low."  Hands reach in and start grabbing, in an orderly fashion, of course!

Amy showed up late, so she didn't get to join in the big people poker game, and opted for a little penny ante five card draw with Tallulah.  I never did hear who won that game.  Amy?  Did you let her win?  Or did you get beat?

If you read my prior post, you already know that Carol was the winner last night.  She pretty much swept up the chips, all night.  Although Bob did give her a run for her money.  Karyn had a few big wins towards the end once we started the high/low game.  Pete had a few good hands, although I think the words most often heard when he showed a hand was, "I got nothing."  And Jamie and I were simply, well, the biggest losers.

I wonder how tomorrow night's game will turn out.  We are going to add in a few new variations to the five card draw.  Also, every time we learn a new game, that gets added into the mix and the dealer can then call a game from those we know for each hand.

It's getting exciting, folks.  And between now and tomorrow, I'll be reading up on poker strategy.  So, watch out.

-Melissa

"They call it poker, because the word f*#k was taken"

"Nice to beat you, er, I mean meet you."  Says Carol to Karyn.

posted by Melissa
I didn't win again last night.  Let's just get that out there in the open at the beginning.  Our neighbor, Carol, was the big winner.  Here she is grabbing all her money.  My money.  I really, really wanted to win.

It is interesting to notice the thoughts as I play along throughout the night.  When I start the evening, I am very hopeful, the faith that I will be a winner swells in my chest.  And then the first hand, I lose.  Second hand, I lose again.  "Hahahaha.  Isn't this fun?"  I say out loud.
While inside, I am deflating.

Then after a few more losing hands, I start to give up.  But wait, it's a good thing.  I am neither high, nor low, but now able to just have a good time.  Perhaps I can practice some of what I learned throughout yoga, and meditation month, and breathe in and out right from the beginning of the game and remain unattached to some outcome. (*winning*)  Just be in each hand.

"Let the chips fall where they may." This phrase comes to mind when I contemplate the above situation.  A mantra to not be so attached, so high on the outcome of winning.

It is a cliche in our vernacular,  and I always assumed it originated from the game of poker.  I decided to look it up online and it appears that it actually came from wood carvers.  Letting the wood chips fall "where they may" as they carved and chopped wood, hewing is a word they used for the art of turning a log into a squared piece of wood for building.

So, there must be some good poker phrases that have stood the test of time.  Any ones you all can think of?  Here are some quotes about poker that I dug up.  Not that I have heard of any of them, but some are a bit funny:

• There are few things that are so unpardonably neglected in our country as poker. The upper class knows very little about it. Now and then you find ambassadors who have sort of a general knowledge of the game, but the ignorance of the people is fearful. Why, I have known clergymen, good men, kind-hearted, liberal, sincere and all that, who did not know the meaning of a flush. It is enough to make one ashamed of the species.  Mark Twain
• They called it Poker because the word 'F*#k!' was taken.  ~Phil Hellmuth
• I guess if there weren't luck involved, I'd win every time.   ~Phil Hellmuth
• If, after the first twenty minutes, you don't know who the sucker at the table is, it's you.  ~David Levien and Brian Koppelman, Rounders
• Poker is the game closest to the western conception of life, where life and thought are recognized as intimately combined, where free will prevails over philosophies of fate or of chance, where men are considered moral agents and where - at least in the short run - the important thing is not what happens but what people think happens.  ~John Luckacs
• The poker player learns that sometimes both science and common sense are wrong; that the bumblebee can fly; that, perhaps, one should never trust an expert; that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of by those with an academic bent.  ~David Mamet
• Industry executives and analysts often mistakenly talk about strategy as if it were some kind of chess match.  But in chess, you have just two opponents, each with identical resources, and with luck playing a minimal role.  The real world is much more like a poker game, with multiple players trying to make the best of whatever hand fortune has dealt them.  In our industry, Bill Gates owns the table until someone proves otherwise.  ~David Moschella
• Most of the money you'll win at poker comes not from the brilliance of your own play, but from the ineptitude of your opponents.  ~Lou Krieger

So, perhaps I am inviting the wrong crowd.  Or that I don't have inept friends.  Great for friendship and life, bad for winning poker.

-melissa

Five year old beats Mom at poker, this and other news.

posted by Melissa
Tonight is another poker night.

"Let the chips fall where they may."  (please be in my pile!)

So far, it has been super fun to learn, or re-learn, poker.  We start out with five card stud.  We learned it from a book aptly named, The Big Book of Poker, by Ken Warren.  We didn't try any of the variations, just trying to get the basics down at this point.  In five card stud you start by putting in the ante, a forced contribution to the pot required by every player that wants to be dealt in for that hand.  Next every player that's in gets dealt on card down and one card up.  At this point there is a round of betting.  Next everyone gets another card face up, and consequently after each new card that is dealt face up, there is another round of betting.  This goes until everyone has a total of five cards.  After the betting is finished, everyone that is still "in" (i.e. didn't "fold" their cards and drop out of the hand) shows their cards and the winner is called.  The winner gets everything that was bet during that hand.

The way you win at poker is to have the highest hand, or combination, of all five cards.  Here is a list of the rankings, as learned from the aforementioned book.  Listed from highest to lowest.

• Royal Flush  This is a straight, all the cards in sequence and in the same suit, and being the 10, jack, queen, king and ace.  If four players were to have a straight flush (ha!) then the suit ranking is spades, clubs, diamonds and hearts.
• Straight Flush  This is a straight, all cards in sequence, and in the same suit.
• Four-of-a-Kind   Like it says, four cards of the same face value.
• Full House  Three-of-a-Kind and One Pair.
• Flush  All five cards are of the same suit. (do not need to be on any order)
• Straight  All five cards in sequence, but are of different suits.
• Three-of-a-Kind  Three cards of the same face value.
• Two Pair  Two cards of the same face value and two other cards of the same face value, for a total of four cards.  The fifth card could serve as a tie breaker.
• One Pair  Two cards of the same faec value.  The three other cards can serve as tie breakers.
• High Card  If no one has any of the above rankings, then the player with the highest card wins.

The next poker night we had we played seven card stud.  It is very similar to five card stud, and yes, like you guessed, with seven cards.  You get dealt two cards face down, a round of betting, then four cards face up with a round of betting after each card.  The last card is dealt face down.  There is a final round of betting and then all players that have not folded how their hands.  Same rankings apply.  

Amy came down one night this week and we played some penny poker to learn how to play five card draw, the game we will be playing tonight.  The kids joined us, and while it was fun at time, we also had to deal with pre-adolescent upset at times.  wow.

Then yesterday, while waiting for Lily and Levi to get their cavity filled teeth worked on at the dentist, Tallulah and I played some five card draw in the waiting room.  It kept her focused for the whole 2 hours, without asking for treats.  If you knew Tallulah, you would know what a miracle that is.  Maybe it was because she was winning most of the time.  So, if I don't win any money this month, at least maybe I found something that entertains my kids.

(Note - We did't gamble with money at the dentist.  The other moms maybe thought we were playing an innocent game like War.)

I remember loving poker as a kid.  Maybe that's why I picked it.

Cheers!

Melissa

Who's in? Welcome to Poker Month!

Here are some highlights from May's first poker night.  

The book we used for reference.

Matt brought his chips.  Pretty sweet.

Matt is quite serious about his poker.  Too bad he lost.

Bob, the big winner, a secret poker expert.  Who knew?

Looking forward to more games, and hopefully being one of the winners...

Melissa and Amy

Pairings

I was at my friend's new shop yesterday, Sugarpill.  A truly lovely little spot here on Capitol Hill....herbs, salts, chocolate, bitters, (I got the Blackstrap bitters and Karyn jotted down a cocktail recipe for a gin flip using said bitters and the drink was amazing...thanks, Karyn!) sweet perfumes, local honey, caramel, jam,  soaps, so many sweet little things.  She was asking about what I was doing with the blog and I shared with her it was writing a business plan month...and I kept talking about my leftover pork sandwich.  I don't know how it happened, oh yeah, she said maybe I should make one month about pulled pork sandwiches, and I said that maybe if next month (Tai chi) gets boring I'd add that in.  And then she said...I could create activity "pairings" on the blog, since everyone is into pairing different foods and drinks together these days.  Tai chi and pork.  I kinda love it.

The card Jamie gave me for our anniversary

Relationships are another kind of pairing.  Friendships, marriages, family, business partners.  The older I get I learn more and more and more about how I pair with different people, or how I don't.  How what I bring to the table...maybe bitter, but sometimes sweet, and usually bubbly; how that goes with maybe someone else's flavor, if you will.  I find there is an intuitive thing that happens right upon walking into a room, when you know if you will be a good pairing.  At least that is how it works for me.  Usually.  I have just been thinking a lot about relationships lately.  How we blend together as humans, and sometimes repel each other....and even with the same two people some days can be the best bite of steak you ever had followed by a sip of perfect red wine, and other days can be like milk and sushi (that would be gross.)  I am so grateful for all the relationships,  I have in my life, how they ebb and flow.  They are like the mayonnaise of my life, they go with everything.

And then the "pairing" comes up again when I think of this blog.  Something about doing it with someone else brings so much to the experience.  I couldn't imagine doing it alone, and in fact, when Dina moved away and was blogging less...I felt that loss, I missed having my partner.  And on the other side of that, I think more than two would be too much.  Too many cooks in the kitchen, isn't that the saying?  I love, love, love having Amy be a part of this blog.  I do believe we pair well together.   Like pop-rocks and fun-dip.

So here are some of my first brainstorming ideas on the activity pairings for the blog:
tai chi & pork
mushroom foraging & LSD
poker & praying
bowling & white russians (come on, I had to)
memorizing a poem & mozzarella cheese sticks
hiking & soft pretzels

more to come.  any other ideas???  Please share...

enjoy the sun, if you're in Seattle
-melissa

oh and PS...FYI the vegetables on the blog did have to do with our original business plan, but probably not so much with the actual one we have ended up with.