adoxograph

Do you have any idea how tricky it is to download and resize pictures while eating barbeque shrimp????? All I can hear from the other room is "Aw...aww.....ew...aw...euw ew....it's like poopy tentacles." That's what he gets for playing Everquest during dinner.

Yeah, but sometimes it's difficult to get the flour out of the JAR. All right, the travel times say 67 minutes, I've got sunscreen, and I'm out the door. Maybe barbeque shrimp and biscuits? We'll just have to see....

Nope, she hasn't made her way on as a member yet - but I just got an email saying I can pass along her biscuit wisdom to those who need it. I suspect someone's lurking....

Nope, biscuit-making is a skill entirely co-opted from my Sister the Scientist. She married a sweet Nashville boy, and didn't have the heart to condemn him to a life without biscuits, and set about with charts and graphs and proper measures to learn herself some biscuits. I just reap the benefits from the fruits of her labors. Ronnie, you too can be converted! Me, I'm a bread girl. So here is my bread confessional. My great Aunt Helen was a Taggart, which puts a direct line of decendants between me, and, well, Wonder Bread. Yes, the family line is tainted by sins against bread. So I'm trying to right that wrong in my own small way. I buy bread as rarely as possible, do all my bread completely by hand or spoon and persevere with my starter despite the tangy-but-flat loaves, the air-pockets-all-on-top loaves, and the loaves that come out well. It's been going well lately, maybe because I have this It was my dad's mother's flour jar. The mouth is too small for a cup measure, but how could I not use it? I think it's helping balance the bad kharma. :)

Never should a tomato be allowed near clam chowder.

Mmm, lunch. A quick general poll. If you are allowed to plan your own lunch time, do you try to have lunch before your work day is half over, after your work day is half over, or right smack dab in the middle? I'm definitely an after half girl - I like returning to my desk thinking, "Only 3 hours left to my day." Had lunch upstairs in our cafe, which usually happens once a week. Galileo's is run by Food for Thought and I would say that it's the best food on the Museum Campus. The Field has a McDonald's that was closed for health code violations, and a Corner Bakery. The Shedd has their little cafe, but it's nothing special - and the staff there comes here to eat pretty regularly. Since getting off the campus is not really an option (takes too long, traffic and parking issues, etc) it's nice to have a decent option here in the building. Like most museum food, it's pricey (6 dollars for a wrap/sandwich and bag of chips) but I get a discount, so I'm willing to indulge. Today I had the veggie wrap - greens, cucumber, artichoke hearts, tomato, parmesan cheese with a sundried tomato vinegrette - and cheetos. Always go for the cheetos or fritos. Melissa, one of my fellow informalites, had the cobb salad which looked OK, but I liked my wrap better. The other thing I like about Galileo's is the folks who work there. It's free week, which means it's busy upstairs, but not only are they getting the food out, but also they're nice to everyone coming in. I made a point of giving them some of my cinnamon rolls yesterday, so I'm feeling like a good person. Oh and my sister in Nashville has informed me that yesterday was the 143rd anniversary of Tennessee's succession from the Union, and has insisted that I make biscuits with whatever I'm making for dinner. Not one to mess with my sister, rest assured that buttermilk biscuits will be appearing on tonight's menu. Just have to decide what else I'll make.

Oh and Nullo, about that tuna - actually I'm smack in the middle of your spectrum. It was Starkist, but it was packed in olive oil. I love it when they mark down the oil-packed stuff because of how bad for you it is. :)

Suddenly, I am tired. Maybe it's that whole not enough sleep thing? I've broken out the last of a tea I picked up when I was in California - the mix is called french floral bouquet and contains green tea, lavender and rose petals among other things. I'll post a picture later. I'm hoping that it will get me through the rest of today's meetings. In case you think I'm insane for having hot tea, well, yes, it's bad outside, but my desk is underground and on the lowest level of the building. Nothing but A/C down here, and my fingers are actually cold. Layers. We always wear layers. In fact, we have been known to run upstairs to warm up during the summer months. Crazy Science.

Excellent! No winner this round in the neverending popculture Sarcasmo-Adoxograph trivia contest. I thought the Doozers ate the radishes, he thought the Fraggles ate what they built, but didn't think it was made of radishes. Now you may be thinking, "OK, adoxograph, I saw your black- dot- on- the- Sun- for- the- first- time- in- 120- years. Now what have you got for us?" Well, for one thing, I suspect that I will eat something before the end of the week. Also, I have 5 boxes of gourmet magazine going back to 1978 which I will be rummaging in. Tomorrow, I'm taking a tour of nightscotsman's alma mater, the French Pastry School, and we'll be finishing the week with a road trip into the real Illinois, ending in a town 35 miles southwest of Springfield called Taylorville. Taylorville is interesting - one of those towns where the Super Walmart is the grocery store, where the farms are all big commercial soybean and corn ventures, and where we can find out what exactly is a Bill's Toasty. Today, at 9 am it was 80 degrees with 75% humidity, chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. Mint tea to start my morning, and we'll be heading up to Galileo's for lunch. Now, I have a meeting to develop some fabulous surveys about what exactly the public thinks is a "Big Telescope". Mmmmm... big telescope.

So, we looked at the cats, looked at each other, looked outside, and decided to go out for dinner. We weren't feeling fancy, so decided to head over to Thai House in Schaumburg. Thai House used to be called Kumpaar, and it was great Thai food at reasonable prices. Then, we saw the sign in the window saying it was for sale. We were sad. When we saw it was re-opening as "Thai House", we were more sad. A few weeks ago, we were told that it had a new owner, but the same chef. We rejoiced, with skepticism. Tonight, we decided to see what had changed. Before, the first thing that sold me on the place were the spring rolls. Wonderful rolls of the not-fried variety, filled with veggies, shrimp, tofu and, surprise of surprise, fresh mint and cilantro. So, that was a must have tonight. I was also a big fan of their spicy squid, and that seemed exactly what my stomach needed. Sarcasmo wanted something a little spicy, a little chickeny and decided on what was called Ram Chicken - chicken and broccoli topped with their "special spicy peanut sauce". The first change we noticed was the decor. The layout of tables was the same, but now the walls were decorated with the kind of knickknacks that either suggested someone's country-style home, or screamed "YOU ARE IN A THAI RESTAURANT! LOOK! ETHNICITY!". However, we were soon distracted by the music. "Hey, that's from Xanadu." A few songs later. "It's Olivia Newton-John's Best of Greatest 'Hits'. And you have to put 'hits' in quotes." "No, I don't." "Yes, you totally do." I'm not sure what amused him more, the music, or the fact that I knew all the words to every song. The spring rolls broke into my superlative rendition of 'Suddenly' from the Xanadu soundtrack. I really need to see that movie again, it's so bad. The presentation was better than it had been, but no shrimp, no cilantro, no mint. Bean sprouts, tofu and cucumber. OK, but we still made sad faces. Not even "Let's Get Physical" could cheer me up. Entrees came soon after. First his: which turned out to be chicken pieces on broccoli, topped with satay sauce and sesame seeds. Not at all spicy. He thought it was ok, but still fished out a gristly bit during "Hopelessly Devoted to You." Then, he started talking about how he wanted Chicken Littles from the KFC across the street. He left half the broccoli behind. My spicy squid looked a little different than before. It had been chunks of squid, as opposed to the scored pieces that now graced my plate. The taste, however was the same. Good level of heat, nice pepper pieces, lemongrass and ginger adding to the flavor. Sarcasmo was fascinated by the squid. We found a Thai place within walking distance while Kumpaar was closed. Most of their dishes are ok, but their squid appetizer is fascinatingly tender. This squid wasn't as melting, but it certainly wasn't tough either. Overall, though, I'm disappointed. It was the little fresh details that made Kumpaar great, and it seems those may be gone. Will I go back, probably, but not without the wave of nostalgia that only Olivia Newton John's 'Hits' can bring. One question lingers - anyone know who ate radishes on Fraggle Rock? We argued about it over dinner, but I need sleep more than to watch the videos.

The warrior climbed down the hill, following an obvious trail of broken twigs, footprints, and partially gnawed leaves. He found her near the base of the hill, considering a stalk of asparagus. "Well, I could pan roast them, a little balsamic..." she muttered to herself. "What is up with you and the vegetables, already?" The warrior shouted. She looked up, startled at his outburst. After all, he was usually so sterotypically stoic. "You aren't fooling anyone." he continued, "You know you like meat." She pointed up at the sky, "Look, Transit of.... damn." "Nice try." She sighed. "I never said I didn't like meat." "So what's the deal, you big wuss? Take it like a man and eat bacon." "You really want to know why I don't eat meat?" "Not particularly." "Ok, well, see, I have a number of allergies, mostly to synthetic things, like acrylic..." "I said I didn't care." "and I found out that some of the hormones, pesticides, etc exacerbated my allergies, worsening my bouts of things like psoriasis, swollen throats.." "Still not caring..." "Now, I could eat organic meats and veggies no problem. The problem is in budget. I can afford organic veggies, I can't regularly afford organic meats. So, I made the decision to cut out the meat. So, since I won't compromise for lesser quality meats, you can say my diet is based on extreme food snobbery." "Lalalalalalalalala." "Ok, I'm done." "You eat fish, you big wuss hypocrite." She looks down at the ground, contrite. "I really like fish." then she considers it for a moment. "And I eat wild fish. Not like they give them injections." It's the warrior's turn to roll his eyes. "I can't believe you gave up meat by choice." "Well I still have it, maybe a couple times a year. At restaurants where I know I'm dealing with high quality meat. But you know what? I really like vegetables, I always have. You know, you should really try some of this arugula." The warrior snorts in disgust, and then turns away from her, almost stomping as he tromps off into the woods. "Come on! There's so much variety! I bet there's something you like!" A voice called out from the woods. " Yeah, maybe. If it's cooked with pork!."

Enough astronomy! How about a tuna sandwich? I call this picture "What cat toy?". Tuna sandwiches are one of those food items that I believe can only be properly enjoyed at home. Really, now, ask yourself, where do you consistently get the best tuna sandwiches - home or out? I always doctor mine. The only real constant in my tuna sandwiches is LIGHT MAYO. I hate hate hate goopy mayonaisse laden tuna. Today's sandwich included sliced pickled onion for crunch, lemon, Tabasco. Havarti with dill and lettuce on the sandwich and the wheat bread was a loaf I made a couple days ago. The chips are Tim's wasabi potato chips -an Sarcasmo-induced impulse buy at Cost Plus. Normally, there wouldn't be chips around here. Our budget is such that since I do the shopping and really, I don't much like "junk food" we don't often have such things. But hey, they had 2 vanilla beans for 6 dollars. I was feeling thrifty. :) Sarcasmo likes the chips, but they are too spicy for him. I've found him, his hand in the bag, frothing wildly at the mouth saying, "Please eat these so I'll stop!" They go very nicely with the tuna, I have to say. I'm thinking, crumble these up and roll a tuna steak in them - that's got potential. Now as for dinner, you know those days where the cosmic forces align, all the gods and angels together saying, "Today! Today is the day that you grill outside!" Today is one of those days. We have no grill. Stupid apartment with no balcony. So now, I need to decide if we turn on the stove in the hot house (the cats melted hours ago) or we go out to eat. Any votes? :)

It's 4 am, and what are you holding? These... When I got to the Planetarium, it was just before dawn. There was a ton of cars in the lot, but this was my first view. then I went around the corner... One of our guards was counting visitors and stopped at 909, which was not at all what we expected - we were thinking 50. Seriously hardcore. But then the sun started to rise, and we were all distracted. You can't look at the sun directly, of course, so most people were viewing via projection, or with eclipse glasses. I was in charge of the live feed telescope, so I got to watch in the video camera screen. The black spot on the sun is Venus - for those of you who have never seen a transit before, this is a huge spot compared to Mercury. It really was beautiful morning. Before the sun completely rose out of the haze, you could almost glimpse Venus with the naked eye, as long as there weren't astronomers around to lecture you. :) After the transit at the late hour of 6:30 am, the news crews were still around. I got to hear the weather report firsthand - which was great since I got advance warning that it would be ridiculously hot today. On the left side of the picture is the telescope I was using. I was in the Doane Observatory, but we couldn't use the scope in the Doane, because the sun was too low in the sky - the scope couldn't get down low enough for good viewing, so I got to track it by hand. The power, mwah hahahahaha. So there's some transit pictures for those of you who didn't get to see it. Now, back to the food!

Lady T gets the literary reference prize! (You even got the correct book in the series.) I'd love to try another variant, send it along. No, the accident wasn't on Thorndale - but close. Devon and Nerge. When the officer asked me where I live, I got to point across the street and say, "There."

Well, I'm more awake now. I was about 50 yards away from our apartment when I witnessed a car accident. I called it in, and luckily neither party was 1. severely injured or 2. me. There was another witness besides myself, and both of us thought that the person in the car that caused the accident was totally going to make a run for it. Luckily, that didn't happen. However, this accident happened in the middle of an intersection on the town line. It's 86 degrees right now with 65% humidity, and we got to wait for a good long while until it was decided whose jurisdiction it was. I was right. Moral of the story? Don't get into accidents in intersections on town lines. Oh and side impact airbags are a good thing. So, no need for a cup of real coffee for a while. Tuna fish sandwich? That's another story. Oh, and the cats are fed, and are attempting to become two dimensional. Or fuzzy puddles. One of the two. The excitment never stops!

Oh dear. I just realized I forgot to feed the cats before I left this morning.

Best thing about coming in at 5am? Leaving at noon and having lunch at home. And a nap. Too bad that's still an hour and a half away. I've actually got some great transit photos I'll post later. For those of you watching Chicago news, if you see any live-from-Chicago footage of the transit, I was working the telescope that provided the live feed. Of course, they didn't tell me that until I'd been futzing around for half an hour. After that tidbit was revealed, no one else wanted to do it, afraid they would hit the wrong button and send the telescope whizzing away from the Sun. Wusses. The brain has started spooking in Speanerisms. Soon I shall have a REAL CUP OF COFFEE. The best part about the Adoxographian Cinnamon Roll Appreciation Society is that those are the raw rolls you are looking at - they look, er looked much better cooked. I suppose I should have warned you low carb types. Oh well. However, I shall endeavor to post a recipe. Bleu, I first had Masala Chai, called simply "chai tea", at an Indian restaurant I went to as a kid. Inspired by this thread I started mixing up my own about, oh, two weeks ago. :) I have tasted many good and badbadbadevilpowdered masala chai variations, so I just started playing with the blend. I think I sweat clove juice after my first batch. "With a light hand" would have perhaps been more prudent. Ronnie, I get my fish hookup about once a month, sometimes more depending on the catch. I don't ask about getting more, I figure I'm lucky to get what I do. That trout was good. Dude, I am so having a tunafish sandwich for lunch when I get home. Maybe.

Ok, here's where the language gets a little blue.... HOLY FUCK! There were NINE HUNDRED PEOPLE here at five am to watch the Transit of Venus. My cinnamon rolls went over very well.

One more quick update before I head out for the Transit. I love spices, and refuse to leave well enough alone, so I use a recipe for vetabrod, swedish coffee bread, for my cinnamon rolls. I love the cardamom in them. The recipe starts with melting butter in milk. Really though, I just wanted to show my one Le Creuset. I got it at a thrift store, with its lid, for $25. Yay me! The recipe calls for 7 or 8 cardamom seeds. Hah! I scoff at thy timid use of spices and use 7 pods. The dough is wonderful to work with, warm, elastic and not at all sticky. After a couple rises, I roll it out, slather it with butter and cinnamon sugar, and roll it up. In the bottom of the baking dish I do a layer of butter, brown sugar, honey and corn syrup for extra sticky goodness. This is what they looked like before they went in the oven. Now, in an act of civil disobedience our apartment smells fan-fucking-tastic, with no nicer way to say it. Take that building management! I should go to work before I get too fiesty.

Rolls are on their first rise, and it's a pleasant 2:30 am, so I'm going to catch up on answering a few questions: Ronnie and Lady T - Yes, please, come to the Planet-arium! If you ask for Kathy in Education at the box office, they should be able to drum me up if I'm around. I'm usually either on the floor doing something goofy and loud for a small crowd, doing something goofy and loud in the theaters for 250 screaming 9 year olds, or at my desk, located under Solidarity Drive, beneath the statue of Copernicus. It's great when people are skateboarding. And yes, Ronnie, I do most of the cooking. Sarcasmo's beginning to try things like chili, which I think is terrific, now I just need to get him away from spice packets... Foodie - I did nothing to pose them. They wanted me to know they were STARVING to DEATH. Those faces start about an hour before they get fed and continue until I give in. And Pan gets the award for finding out what adoxography is. "Fine writing" may be a bit of hubris on my part, but I've always thought it was a great word for someone who spends most of their time writing about food, traffic... um, astronomy. :) Back to my cinnamon rolls, with a bit of Futurama on the side. Current favorite Futurama quote, from Zap Branigan, "She's built like a steakhouse and rides like a bistro." I'll try and update one more time before I leave for work and the Transit!

No, no I didn't forget to mention dinner and its details. You see, I have a master plan. After dinner, I took a nap. Now, I am going to stay awake through the rest of the night, and my workday tomorrow. I'll be leaving work around 1 or 2 pm, and since I don't normally indulge in caffeine, I'll have a CUP OF REAL COFFEE if I need it. You realize, of course, that this is simply my strange and perverse way of allowing myself a CUP OF REAL COFFEE which I know will make my natural, energetic personality even more entertaining and full of interesting word usements I'll structure, thus gaining more fans. My trip to Valli was a simple stop in, less than 15 dollars, upkeep trip. Since there is just two of us eating most of the food, I tend to do many small upkeep outings. Grocery bags filled with - whole milk, a/p flour, phyllo sheets, baby white potatoes, apricots, the best dried tomatoes ever, lemons, a head of romaine and two garlic bulbs. I'm sure you'll see me make use of all of these things before the week is out. For dinner, I decided to go pretty straight forward with stuff in pans. Did I mention it was 88 degrees here? Pan-fried trout, "hash browns" a la John Thorne and a salad of greens, fennel and parmesan with a simple lemon dressing. The trout is caught by my friend's ex-husband. He's a big fishing geek, and was so excited to find someone equally excited to eat his catch that he cleans and freezes a portion for me the day he goes out. Free, fresh fish in the Midwest? Sold! All I'm doing to it is thawing, scaling, dredging in flour, and dropping it in a properly buttered pan. The trout are each single serving size. Maybe I'll pull out the Coho he caught later this week. Now the potatoes, I wouldn't call them hash browns. Hash browns to me, involve bigger chunks, onions, and should be served with breakfast. In one of John Thorne's books (Not Outlaw Cook. Maybe Serious Pig? I don't remember)they involve small cubes, a great deal of butter, and a long low cooking time that eventually gives them a breautiful brown color. I don't call them hash browns but they are damn tasty, and most of the cooking gets done while my trout thaw. When the trout are done, I put them in the pan on top of the potatoes, add lemon juice, tarragon, and a bit more butter to the pan I cooked the trout in, then pour it over the fish and potatoes. The salad, like I said, is sliced fresh fennel, mixed greens, a bit of parmesan and topped with a bit of almond oil and fresh lemon juice. This is currently my favorite salad, adapted from one I saw in a video of a Julia Child special. Sarcasmo (Mr. Adoxograph sounds silly, and that's who he was when we first met online) doesn't like fennel. I regularly sneak stuff into his food that he doesn't like, because I am evil. I also want to point out his dinner plate, the one in the back of the picture. He has a bone thing. I should get the grand supreme cool person award for even attempting to debone small trout for him. I wasn't completely successful, but since I only heard an "aw sweetie..." once, I did pretty well. Washed it all down with a Newcastle, because fish and potatoes need beer. When asked how was his meal Sarcasmo replied, "There was fennel in the salad, wasn't there? That part was assy, but the rest was good." He ate the fennel though. Currently, I am eating cherries in honor of his purpleness, and will start my cinnamon rolls. There will be more before this night is over, to be sure. For now, Courage.

I got home about 45 minutes ago and realized that 12 hours from now, I will have been at work for two hours. I love that. That having been said, let's backtrack a bit. First, a bit of anti-nostalgia for anyone who has left the Chicago area: total time in car today - about 2 hours. That's a good commute. :) I had lunch with Zee Germans in Galileo's, the cafe in the Planetarium. Green salad with balsamic vinegrette, fresh fruit and a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. I'll get more in detail with the food at Galileo's later in the week, but I think the best thing about it is the view - I'd even suggest my lunchtime view is better than nessa's :) Zee Germans were great fun. They have a musical planetarium show they are going to do for teachers of German in November. Imagine lasers, live musicians, and a "space shuttle" visit to the Man in the Moon. They said when they come back, they'll bring us wine and chocolate. Lunch was fun, especially when they asked "What is the best pizza in Chicago?" No decision was reached on that one. I stopped by the Valli produce on the way home. I really, really don't understand how anyone shops at the big grocery stores. The Valli by me has great selections, and a good portion of their signs say things like "49 cents/pound". Plus, it's all so pretty: So now, dinner is in the works. We're having rainbow trout tonight. Can you tell?

Yes, sadly, not everyone will be able to view the transit - indeed here in Chicago we will only see the last hour of it. It begins at 5:13 am UT (that's GMT for those of you bound here on Earth), visible primarily in Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia. Australia isn't going to see it at all. Transit ends at abot 11:25 UT, which is about 6:30 am Central. We can call this a twice in a lifetime event, since it will happen again in June of 2012. As for folklore, the transit of Venus has little astrological impact, since it doesn't happen often enough. There was a French scientist, Le Gentil in 1761 who travelled halfway around the world and saw it, but couldn't figure out exactly where he was in the Pacific when he made his observations. He decided to wait the eight years for the next one. When he returned to France, he discovered he'd been declared dead, and all of his stuff had been sold. Ah, the world before the Internet.

First off, happy birthday to his purpleness, Prince. I will eat a cherry today in his honor. Now, I should know better than to follow someone like nessa - definitely puts the pressure on, but I will say that yes, there will be pictures, and yes, I'll get pictures of, if nothing else, the Transit event (And you were correct, bleu, the last Transit of Venus was in 1882). This is real world Chicago astronomy, after all, which means a decided possiblity of clouds, rain, fog, etc, etc. The joke around here is you can see <insert phenomena here> everywhere else in the city but at the Planetarium. I'll do my best. OK, food! The only morning food consumers in my house are the cats, known as Fat Cat and Rat Cat. At the vet's we call them Callie and Chloe, but since I didn't name either one, I feel no real compulsion to use those names. They are on Atkins. Seriously, the best diet to get Fats less fat was high protien, less carbs, so now they are eating more canned food. Me, I make myself a cup of tea to drink in the car. This morning I burst into wakefulness at about 5:30 with a muttered obscenity. My alarm goes off at 7:04. I tried to pretend I was sleeping, but the cats weren't buying it. After a few flying leaps on and off the bed, I got up, so the boy might continue his slumber. He doesn't have to get up until after I leave. Since I had extra time, I made Masala Chai for myself. I've been playing around with mixing the spices and tea myself and today's was very tasty - assam tea, cloves, star anise, cinnamon stick, ginger and plenty of cardamom. I made myself wait until Mannheim - the spot on the Eisenhower express where traffic stops each day - to start drinking it, and by the time I got to work I was wishing I had made an extra cup. Speaking of work, this is where I work: I should go and do some work, but I will say that anyone in the Chicago area should come down to the Museum Campus this week - it's Free Week here, at the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum. Enough PSAs! I have to meet the Germans!

Now that I've scared almost everyone away... :) A few particulars before I begin in earnest tomorrow: I'm currently residing in Elk Grove Village, IL - which, surprisingly, has elk, and less surprisingly, is one of the many suburbs outside of Chicago. I started this lifetime as a stolid New Englander, which explains why I don't understand the salad folks around here put on their hot dogs. I've been in the Chicago area for almost five years and am starting to believe that maybe I've almost scratched the surface of all the good food this city has to offer. I work downtown at the Adler Planetarium (no, I am not an astronomer, but I can play one on TV). My 30 mile commute takes me through 2 of the 10 worst traffic jams in the U.S., so I spend a great deal of time considering what to eat for my next meal. This week is going to be, well, interesting. Tomorrow, I'll be spending the day with a German Planetarium group who have a musical planetarium show they'll be doing - the Man in the Moon singing in German to a heavy drumbeat. I'm intrigued. Tuesday, Venus will be crossing the sun for the first time in about 120 years, so I'll be getting to work before 5 am, and, crazy person that I am, I promised them fresh cinnamon rolls. And that's just the next 48 hours. See you tomorrow morning!