eG Foodblog: SethG - Brooklyn, Bread and Back to Business

[SethG]

Eastern Market indeed.

After I had a bagel and some coffee yesterday morning, we packed up the kids and drove down to Capitol Hill, to visit a couple with three kids. Capitol Hill is probably my favorite neighborhood in D.C. I just love the feel of it. After hanging out at their little house for a while (where I had a chocolate chip cookie), all nine (!) of us trooped off to the Eastern Market.

I was expecting a greenmarket, but the Eastern Market is more of a craft fair/grocery store/flower shop. Most of the food vendors are selling mass-produced supermarket fruits and vegs. You have to look for little signs advertising the few vendors who are selling local produce. Those vendors had some nice stuff. There was attractive asparagus, strawberries from West Virginia, some cantaloupe.

There's also an inside space where you can find butchers, fishmongers, bakery and deli stuff. The butchers had impressive piles of various types of bacon-- I took a pic that I'll post later.

Lunch for me was a spicy, half-smoked hot dog, something that I'd never seen before. I thought it was pretty darn good actually. And I had half of a pretty nasty turkey sandwich. And I picked up some strawberries and had a couple of those. And I bought some chocolate ruggelach (sp?) to bring back to my mother, and I had a couple of those too.

No cheese, hillvalley, sorry.

We sat outside and ate, and then Leah started to have a bit of a meltdown so we decided it was time to go.

Once we returned to my mother's place in the mid-afternoon, my wife and kids all took a nap while I baked a loaf of 20% whole-wheat sourdough to bring over to some other friends we were to visit last night. This loaf came out really well (I'll post a picture later). I have to admit at this juncture that my mother's electric oven may bake bread better than my gas oven at home. The electric oven browns the crust better, for some reason.

After everybody woke up, we continued with the visiting. We saw another couple (friends of mine from high school) who have three kids, plus another couple of friends of mine who have two kids. This made for a house full of six adults and seven kids, only one of whom was over three years old. It was pretty crazy. We ate.... more meat! I think this week has to be a record for me. I'd be on the Atkins diet but for all the bread. We had burgers, dogs and brats, and a southern baked bean dish that was very sweet and bacony. And there were raw carrots and cucumber, dipped in salad dressing.

Today I'm planning to bake more sourdough-- although my mother complains about flour on her counter, she wants another loaf of bread before we go! I also want to figure out a way to start a loaf that I can finish in the morning in NYC. Our friends down the street who just had a baby are having a Bris tomorrow, and I'd like to bring a loaf.

It's been a fun week of blogging. I done tagged somebody a few minutes ago. I hope it works out, since I may not get back to post until very late tonight.

We're driving back to Brooklyn this evening, which brings me to another topic: what do you listen to when you're on a road trip? I bring a book of CDs with me, but I find that if I'm driving at night, the music is what I use to stay alert. I need surprise, and if I play a CD I don't get it. Even if it's my favorite, uptempo record of the moment, say This Years Model, my attention will wander eventually and I'll start to get tired. So what I do is I keep flipping the radio dial looking for a familiar song to which I know the words-- and it doesn't have to be any good. It's more like Karaoke; I'm looking for singalong stuff, and I'm definitely singin' along. On the way down from Brooklyn, I had a good run in which I stumbled on "Piano Man," "We Are the Champions," Steely Dan's "Dirty Work" (which almost doesn't count because it's so truly surprising and good), "Tom Sawyer" (which I thought was hilarious, but since everyone else was sleeping, I had no one to share it with!), and "Band on the Run."

What do you do?

Edited May 31, 2004 by SethG (log)

[hjshorter]

That must have been quite a performance, Seth. Tom Sawyer? Rush?

I do something similar, especially late at night. It has to be upbeat, especially late. All the disco favorites from my Jr high roller rink days usually do the trick, stuff like "Funkytown" and "I Will Survive." Cheesy lite metal singalongs (think Def Leppard's greatest hits) work too.

Sorry to hear that Addie's entrees disappointed.

[docsconz]

Using an iPod or similar device with a radio tuner goes a long way in providing good driving music to your specifications while on a long road trip. This helps to keep one's attention from being diverted from finding a good roadside food stop (obligatory food reference ) by looking for radio stations.

[Rebel Rose]

Yep, "cheesy" rock songs and a cup of Starbuck's keep me rollin' on late night drives.

Seth, your blog has been so much fun!! I was inspired to make some bread along with you, although not brave enough (and not enough time) to make a real loaf. Still, I made some coriander bread with whole coriander seed, which I really like, although one tasting room customer was concerned the the little bolas were mouse turds. She wasn't much happier when I said it was coriander seed.

I'll be watching for your pictures before you sign off!

[GG Mora]

I'm in an Elvis Costello sing-along phase meself. Lots of Elvis on the iPod & I just randomize it. It's great in the car. Trouble is, I've been doing it on bike rides, too & we all know that singing along with headphones is a no-no. That must be why I get such wierd looks when I'm on my bike.

Faves:

Motel Matches

Man Out of Time

Baby Plays Around

The Only Flame in Town

Peace in Our Time

Oliver's Army

Okay, Seth. Who's up?

[SethG]

It's been a fun week of blogging. I done tagged somebody a few minutes ago. I hope it works out, since I may not get back to post until very late tonight.

Here it is, late Sunday night, and the person I tagged has not responded. I could tag someone else, but seeing as it's so late I don't think that will do any good until tomorrow.

Here's what I propose: it is a holiday. I'll give the person I tagged until noon tomorrow (Monday), and if I hear nothing I'll tag someone else. I would've tagged someone else tonight if I hadn't been in transit.

But whenever it happens, someone WILL be tagged. I ain't gonna be the one to break this chain letter!

[SethG]

That must have been quite a performance, Seth. Tom Sawyer? Rush?

What about the voice of Geddy Lee? How did it get so high? I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy.

I was in camp when "Tom Sawyer" was a hit. For some reason, I remember that "All Those Years Ago" (the George Harrison tribute to John Lennon) and Styx's "Too Much Time on My Hands" (see Note 1, below) were also in heavy pop radio rotation at the time.

I didn't know what I was talking about, but I told some other kid that I didn't like Rush. His response: "Neil Pert is a poet."

That always cracks me up when I think of it.

But he was right. I still don't know much about Rush, but their hits are amazing pop songs. The lyrics are pretty damn good. They use more funny meters than Dave Brubeck, and they've got serious chops.

Note 1: Whatever happened to Tommy Shaw? Anybody remember "Girls With Guns?" I heard it recently and thought it really wasn't that bad.

Sorry to hear that Addie's entrees disappointed.

Only a little bit. We'd go back.

I thought I would take some hits for my generalization about all restaurants outside New York. But I guess what I said must be a generally accepted truth.

[SethG]

Faves:

Motel Matches

Man Out of Time

Baby Plays Around

The Only Flame in Town

Peace in Our Time

Oliver's Army

I've always been fond of "Motel Matches." You're pretty bold there, going with Goodbye Cruel World material. My strange choice for favorite EC song, from King of America: "Suit of Lights."

[SethG]

By the way, on the drive home tonight I stumbled on some more good tunes. I'm posting some lyrics here. Can you name the songs?

"'Cause tonight (TONIGHT) is the night (TONIGHT); we always knew it would feel so right."

"One floor below me, you don't even know me, I love you."

"This dance ain't for everybody, only the sexy people."

"But listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness."

"Is there gas in the car? Yes there's gas in the car!"

"For every kiss you give me, I'll give you three."

If you use Google, you're cheating!

Edited May 31, 2004 by SethG (log)

[SethG]

Can you tell I'm back home, with my DSL connection?

What did I eat on Sunday? Isn't that what I'm supposed to be talking about?

Breakfast: bagel, cream cheese, lox.

Lunch: assorted leftovers in my mother's house.

Dinner: my mother served some salmon fillets, some baked potatoes and a salad. I wolfed this down in seconds, since I was trying to get all our stuff together so we could get out the door.

Tomorrow I'll post a few pics: some bread, and a couple shots at the Eastern Market. And that'll be it.

[nessa]

"This dance ain't for everybody, only the sexy people."

Oh man, that takes me back to high school! Push it!!... Push it good.... Salt and Peppa

Thanks for a trip down memory lane!

[Squeat Mungry]

"For every kiss you give me, I'll give you three."

I always think of it as "Beam-eye Baby", imagining some super-powered infant with magical laser-eyes. Go Ronettes!

Thanks, SethG, for the enchanting blog, and my best to you and your family!

Cheers,

Squeat

[SethG]

"For every kiss you give me, I'll give you three."

I always think of it as "Beam-eye Baby", imagining some super-powered infant with magical laser-eyes. Go Ronettes!

That's very funny.

Here's the picture appendix:

Fig/anise bread:

Sourdough boules (the one on the right went to Heather's house):

Sunflowers for sale at the Eastern Market:

BACON for sale at the Eastern Market:

Twenty percent whole wheat sourdough batard:

[GG Mora]

"One floor below me, you don't even know me, I love you."

"Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me, twice on the pipes if the answer is 'no'..."

You can't be serious.

[SethG]

You can't be serious.

See my criteria for a good road trip song above. Quality is not necessary. Anyone here besides me ever watch the Tony Orlando & Dawn variety show on TV? I used to watch the two women and wonder which one was Orlando and which was Dawn.

I've decided to go ahead and tag someone else. I can't stand the anticipation.

[bloviatrix]

Thanks for sharing your last week of freedom with us.

[bleudauvergne]

It's been really nice, Seth. Thank you for sharing your week with us.

[SethG]

So now I have TWO PMs just hanging out there, with no response. What is this, a holiday or something? Tcik, tock, tick, tock.

[binkyboots]

Twenty percent whole wheat sourdough batard:

can I just say,

that looks fantastic, round is my default sourdough shape as I'm very poor with shaping

thank you for the delicious blog, I'm just sad it's over so fast, lol

Edited May 31, 2004 by binkyboots (log)

[hjshorter]

"But listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness."

"like a heartbeat drives you mad, in the stillness of remembering what you had..."

Great blog, Seth. Thank you!

Edited May 31, 2004 by hjshorter (log)

[SethG]

Okay-- one of the people I tagged has taken up the torch! So I officially bid you farewell. Good luck to all future bloggers. May the blog be with you.

Check out nessa's foodblog here.

(Feel free to post the name of either of the two songs that remain unidentified from my list of five. They aren't exactly obscure, but you don't hear either one on the radio that often.)

Edited June 1, 2004 by SethG (log)