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eG Foodblog: adoxography - transiting Venus and Taylorville driveby


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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 Fraggles ate the radishes.

The Doozers built with radishes.

The Gorgs grew the radishes.

I didn't have HBO growing up and was so bitter about it. My parents would NOT cave. I used to go to a friend's house and she'd want to play games and stuff, but all I wanted to do was watch Grease 2 and something scandalous listed as "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Sex..." (which I later learned was a Woody Allen flick, NOT an instructional segment) on HBO.

The kids at school were always talking about Fraggle Rock and I couldn't keep up.

:angry:

So now I'm off, living on my own and have not one but like 8 HBO stations. Happy times, right?

And my parents? They have HBO plus Cinemax, Showtime, all of it.

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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.

--adoxograph

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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 scored pieces tell me that it's not squid now, but cuttlefish. Not that it matters, really. But you don't have to score squid. And the less it's cooked, the better. More than a wave over a hot pan of water, and you have rubber bands and a good week's worth of chewing to do.

Pity that the food didn't taste as good as it looks. Good Thai food is a revelation.

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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Today, at 9 am it was 80 degrees with 75% humidity, chance of thunderstorms this afternoon.

Sounds like DC. Quite hot, very humid - UGH. You should see my hair. It is BIG. I look like a Solid Gold dancer.

Plus we have the whole State funeral thing going on...DC is, well, it's DC.

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87 degrees in New York as of 11:51 am EDT. I've inaugurated my air conditioner for the season but must shortly go outside. This morning, when it was 72 degrees, the weather report was warning about an ozone and heat alert, and my allergies started to act up. Summertime in the city. :laugh:

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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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.

--adoxograph

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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. :)

--adoxograph

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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.

Actually, NYT had an article containing tips for the troops from iraqi residents about dealing with the hot weather, one of which was to drink lots of hot tea.

Would you like to borrow my hat? It was 5 below zero when that pic was taken. :wink:

"I took the habit of asking Pierre to bring me whatever looks good today and he would bring out the most wonderful things," - bleudauvergne

foodblogs: Dining Downeast I - Dining Downeast II

Portland Food Map.com

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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.

--adoxograph

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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.

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.

Ditto. I like to be on the downhill side of the day after lunch. Nothing worse than 4.5 hours of work left after the highlight of the workday :biggrin:

Food For Thought operated the cafeteria in our former office building (not sure if they still do). It was surprisingly good and even drew the occasional outsider because of its quality.

I've never made biscuits. It biscuit-making an adoxographic proficiency?

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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I've never made biscuits.

Ronnie! I am taken aback and left speechless at this confession. :blink:

As for lunch, adoxography (can I call you adox?...less typing :raz: ), I'm with you. The later I can take it, the better. I think I've been able to push it to 1:30 but later than that I might as well go home and have dinner. :laugh:

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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I've never made biscuits.

Ronnie! I am taken aback and left speechless at this confession. :blink:

I figured if I buried it in someone's blog, no one would notice - DOH! :biggrin:

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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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 i8102.jpg

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. :)

--adoxograph

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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....

--adoxograph

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I've never made biscuits.

Ronnie! I am taken aback and left speechless at this confession. :blink:

I figured if I buried it in someone's blog, no one would notice - DOH! :biggrin:

=R=

Ronnie,

Don't worry, I won't tell a soul. :wink:

Adox,

Technically speaking, not being able to scoop out flour with your measuring cup is a good thing. Scooping flour can pack the flour into the cup giving a false measure, supposedly.

I am looking forward to your biscuits!

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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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....

--adoxograph

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In the "small world" category, I used to live in Taylorville, IL in the early sixties where my ex and I worked at the local radio station WTIM. This was way, way before WalMart, and there was an excellent grocery store and butcher. Also an excellent restaurant which we patronized once or twice a month or as often as we had saved enough pennies. I think it was called "Country Kitchen."

The owner cooked everything herself, and I always ordered her fried chicken (battered and deep fried version) and special baked potato. The latter was baked in individual ceramic dishes in potato shapes. The texture of the potatoes was very smooth, almost runny, and it tasted of garlic, maybe a little cheese, very elusive. From the smooth texture you would imagine that some sort of mixer might have been used, but the consistency wasn't gluey. I never did figure out how she made them.

With the meals came homemade rolls that looked as though they had been formed from ropes of dough wrapped into ball shapes, willy-nilly, baked in muffin tins and dipped in honey butter after baking. Those I duplicated many times.

(After Taylorville, we both went back to school in Champaign. Before Champaign we lived in Chicago--and over 23 years in Nashville later on. Ole stompin' grounds and memories here.)

Enjoying your blog--and your humor!

Ruth Dondanville aka "ruthcooks"

“Are you making a statement, or are you making dinner?” Mario Batali

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MMMMmmmmmmm. Biscuits!!!! Good ones are hard to beat.

As for lunch... I'm a scarf it down whenever I'm hungry and get back to work so I can leave early kind of gal.

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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.

Secession calls for a celebration? You Rebel. :laugh::raz:

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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Definitely a late lunch. I used to eat 7th period out of a 9 period day. Only two classes left to teach after lunch! Although it is late for the kids, they adjust pretty quickly.

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I unforunately must eat on a rotating schedule, as I am split between two schools, and have arranged my schedule in such a way (due to my own stupidity mainly ;) ) that the two schedules rotate in opposite directions. My lunch tends to vary anywhere between 10:30 and 2:30 because of this.

He don't mix meat and dairy,

He don't eat humble pie,

So sing a miserere

And hang the bastard high!

- Richard Wilbur and John LaTouche from Candide

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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.

--adoxograph

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Now that I've washed my hands....

Backtracking a bit through my day, here is the tea I made that kept me awake long enough to completely gross out Sarcasmo.

i8149.jpg

Here is my lunch, which provided me with enough vegetables so I didn't feel the need to make some with my fabulous dinner.

i8151.jpg

Dinner details coming soon, if I can get him to stop squirming and start downloading

--adoxograph

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