UniBrain Trust

Pacific Wonderland Cocktail

Nadya — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:30:32 +0000

Oregon started issuing a special run of Pacific Wonderland plates today and yesterday Jim came home with two pairs. We’ve always loved this old plate style and were excited they are being reissued.

To celebrate I invented a Pacific Wonderland cocktail. I was shooting for all Oregon products, but had to fudge as I needed sugar, and a twist of lemon. I started playing with the idea of a Vesper variation, but the Old Tom Gin is so herbacious that in this it worked better as an accent than as a main ingredient. This might be improved by a bit of lemon juice – it’s good but we think it could be better.

For two moderately sized cocktails:

2 ounces Medeyoff Vodka

3/4 ounce Clear Creek Distillery Pear Brandy

1/4 ounce Ransom Old Tom Gin

1/4 ounce simple syrup

Stir with ice and pour into cocktail glasses. Twist a generous lemon peel over, and drop in. Celebrate Pacific Wonderland!

Fajita Chilaquiles Casserole

Nadya — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:44:30 +0000

I had a busy week last week with with four new recipes. This week it’s simple things like sausages and sauerkraut and leftovers from the freezer!

I started reading a new blog that links to reviews of Rachael Ray recipes. (I know, I know! Hey, either she can cook, or she’s hired good cooks.) First up was Fajita Chilaquiles Casserole.

I made this with steak, and halved the recipe. I thought there were too many tortillas, though maybe mine were bigger than the ones intended. Jim suggested that next time I serve it on top of lettuce as a salad, and I thought that would be great.

Although I’d halved the recipe, I made the full amount of the spice mix. So instead of chopping up fresh garlic to season the veggies I tossed the veggies in the other half of the spice mix, which worked well. Topped with Pico Pica hot sauce and Mexican Sour Cream.

I’d definitely make this again, but either reduce the tortillas and add more veggies, or reduce the tortillas and serve on a bed of lettuce. Half the recipe made three servings.

Roasted Chicken Thighs and Vegetables

Nadya — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 03:21:25 +0000

I made this tonight. Definitely a keeper. I used two white sweet potatoes, three carrots, two parsnips, a good dozen garlic cloves (on the grounds that they were small), and added an onion cut in sixths. I used a bit more seasoning and rubbed some on the chicken under the skin.

Next time I’d cut back on the olive oil (but I eyeballed it so the recipe may be right), try boneless thighs, and maybe skin some of the chicken to see how it comes out.

USS High Point coming to Portland

Jim — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:32:56 +0000

When I was a kid, yeah that long ago, I read everything I could about the Navy Hydrofoil Patrol Craft USS High Point. High Point was decommissioned and eventually stricken from the US Navel Register. According to Wiki, she was purchased in 2002 with the intent to restore her. Today while out for lunch I saw a flyer asking for volunteers for the restoration crew. According to the website, she is moored on the Columbia and will be moved to Portland to make it easier to work on and to have a greater pool of volunteers.

Nadya said I needed another hobby.

Morning sky

Jim — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:10:08 +0000

Some mornings the sky looks better than other mornings. Today is one of those days.

Funniest thing I've read about punctuation today

Nadya — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:52:17 +0000

“Alternately, the random appearance of capitals in inappropriate places makes us wonder if you don’t secretly wish the Germans won World War II.”

Thank you, John Scalzi. Read his full post.

Jupiter, Earth and the Moon in the same photo taken from Mars

Jim — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:54:29 +0000

I saw this picture on the net today and had to share. Think of this as a twitter moment.

http://starryskies.com/The_sky/events/mars/earth_jupiter_100.jpg

Weekend in Theaterland

Jim — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:11:09 +0000

We just got back from our mostly-annual trip to Ashland for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. This years plays were Henry VIII, Macbeth, Equivocation and Much Ado about Nothing.

The disappointment of the weekend was Henry VIII. The production was first rate and the company didn’t have much to work with. This is just a bad play.

We’ve already started to pick plays for next year. Any suggestions on what to see?

Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ; adapted for the stage by Joseph Hanreddy and J.R. Sullivan
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams
She Loves Me, Music by Jerry Bock; l
Throne of Blood Adaptation by Ping Chong based on the film directed by Akira Kurosawa World Premiere
Well by Lisa Kron
Ruined by Lynn Nottage
American Night by Richard Montoya and Culture Clash World Premiere
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Henry IV, Part One by William Shakespeare
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare June

Big Pan o' Yummy

Nadya — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:20:51 +0000

One of the blogs I read posted this recipe, with credits to Mark Bittman, he of the 101 Summer Salads.

If you make this, and you should, right now, I highly recommend the following:

Use Corn, Onion and Parsley from your local Organic Produce outlet. Mine happens to be open Thursday evenings, right around the corner from where I work.

Use roasted Hatch Green Chile that your friend just couriered back from New Mexico.

Use an Heirloom tomato from some friends’ garden, picked for you just last night.

Use Parsley instead of Cilantro, because that’s what the produce place had, and because parsley is vastly underrated.

Don’t worry if you don’t have Avocado. We didn’t and we didn’t miss it. Especially since SOMEONE mostly likes Avocado as guacamole, not in salad.

With all this going on, next time we’d cut the bacon in half. Never thought you’d hear us say THAT, did you? And really, even with supermarket produce, and no substitutions, this would be great. Serve it forth.

Oh, and if you need a serving suggestion: Split a steak with someone, and a bottle of 2004 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.

A Weekend in New York

Jim — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:31:27 +0000

For my mother’s 70th birthday we went to New York City. How do you get more than 20 must-dos done in less than 60 hours?

Left pdx at 6am and arrived at Laguardia 4:25
Crying started at 4:15 when we first saw Manhatten. So what are those cool bridges and what neighborhoods did we fly over?
Dinner at a Carnegie Deil. Meat poisoning
Sat. Up too early. A quick breakfast then the subway to Battery Park. Nadya and Edis didn’t want to explore the battery. Somehow they were more interested in the statue.
Wall of Honor. Mom walked upto the panel and immediatly found the family name. Just as quickly she lost it!
Wild cab ride to rock center then to the roof. Wow!
Back to the hotel for a drink and nap.
Out again to comix and cheesecake and walking to times square. Lots of people
Sleep. Eight hours and wanted more
Up for a walk in central park, breakfast at Tavern on the Green then to shop.
Fao and a live ugly doll.
Dropped Nadya and Edis off at Bergdorf Goodman. Promptly found a watch Jaquet Droz. Grand hour. $24k
Coffee and more shopping. Sent Nadya into Bloomingdale’s with my water.
Back for a nap and booze
Dinner at Craft
More sleep
Another wild cab ride to the airport.