You Don't Say

My friend and colleague John McIntyre is now my friend and former colleague. It's an unfortunate result of last week's newsroom purge at The Sun.

Many of you know that I've frequently referred to John's excellent blog on the language, You Don't Say. Fortunately, John was able to carry the blog with him and set up shop at a new location. You can find the new site here.

Drop in and spend some time with John's blog. You'll be all the smarter by doing so.

The Worst Days

My former colleague, Dave Ettlin, paints an accurate picture of what our newsroom suffered through the past couple of days.

In case you were wondering, my job was spared, but I am not okay.

Austin, Texas

I made my first trip back to Austin, Texas in nearly eight years last week. It was technically a work trip, but it's hard to go to Austin without making time for a little fun, food and music. I pretty much summed up the good stuff in my weekly post on Rob Kasper's beer blog.

Another personal imperative while there was my quest to obtain a dozen Round Rock Donuts to bring home to the family. Anybody who lives in Central Texas knows the addictive qualities of these sticky, orange, melt-in-your-mouth donuts. Every Sunday - and some Saturdays - found us waiting in line with the other RRD junkies waiting for a score.

I was without a car for this trip, so was unable to make the run up to Round Rock to pick them up. I also struck out with a couple of hopeful rendezvous with old friends who I had hoped might be able to pick up a box and run them down to me. And my search downtown for RRD resellers also proved fruitless. However, bless their little cholesterol-clogged hearts, RRD now sells their product at the Austin airport. I was able to grab a dozen before boarding the plane.

When I got home, the family was much happier to see the donuts than the man bearing them. But that was okay with me. I got to eat them, too.

Drinking the "Backbone of a Puppy"

This week's guest post on Rob Kasper's beer blog looks at the Beer Activist blog and explains why South African's drink the "backbone of a puppy."

Why Don't the Big Beer Companies Blog?

That's the rhetorical question I ask in this week's guest post on Rob Kasper's beer blog.

Black Bean Feijoada

When Mo asked what I was making for dinner tonight, I said, "Feijoada."

"Fishwater?" she replied.

I guess it does sound a little like that, but that's not how it tastes. I've seen feijoada credited to Portugal and Brazil, and the traditional dish has meat and beans, usually served over rice. The recipe we use is vegetarian, just a simple but spicy black bean stew, served over brown rice and topped with roasted red peppers, avocado slices and a dollop of sour cream.

The recipe below comes from Annemarie Colbin's classic, "The Natural Gourmet." It's a great recipe, but if you're going to make it, start early. Cooking time is almost two hours if you count preps.

Black Bean Feijoada

2 cups dried black beans, soaked
2 tbl extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium yellow onions
2 tbl fresh grated ginger root
1/2 tbl cayenne
1/2 tsp ground cumin
6 cups water
3 tbl umeboshi vinegar or 2 tbl brown rice or apple cider vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
3 sweet red peppers
4 cups cooked brown rice

Drain the beans. Chop the onions. In 4- to 6-qt pot, heat the oil. Add the onions and saute over medium heat. Stir in the ginger, cayenne and cumin, then add the drained beans and the 6 cups water. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours.

Add the vinegar and salt and cook for 10 more minutes.

While beans are cooking, roast the red peppers over a gas burner or put them under the broiler until they are charred black. Place in a paper bag or covered pot and let "sweat" for 10 minutes. Then wash off charred peel under cold running water. See and slice the ppers into thin strips.

Serve over rice, garnished with the red pepper strips. We're also adding a few slices of avocado.

- From Annemarie Colbin's "The Natural Gourmet"

Beer Commercials

My weekly guest spot on Rob Kasper's beer blog deals with the amusing and memory evoking world of beer commercials.