Review Notes: June 2010

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Make 1,000 lovely things -- Blueberry pie with freshly-picked blueberries

This morning I went to a farm in Maryland to pick my own blueberries. Then I made a pie.

The recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen. Instead of their full-proof pie dough (which uses vodka and which I should have used since it's FULL-PROOF), I tried their basic pie dough recipe. Let me tell you, handling that pie crust was the most stressful part of my week. And it came out a little rough around the edges. Still, delicious mission accomplished.

Pick blueberries at your co-worker's farm POD

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Pig roast = life goals

A blog post caught my eye recently and got me thinking. It was titled "How to Roast a Pig on a Spit". Believe it. My world was turned upside down as I realized that I needed to reexamine my original Mighty Life List immediately. Here is the updated list [some of these have already been accomplished, go me!]:

1. Participate in a pig roast. Obviously.

2. Visit in person all 36 painting by Dutch artist Vermeer. (12/36)

3. Cook Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon.

4. Read major works of Russian literature in Russian. I'm looking at you, Crime and Punishment.

5. Learn to ski.

6. Go to a World Cup game. Possibly make do with a DC United game.

7. Buy a super expensive bottle of champagne. Like those rappers.

8. Own a dog. One to whom I can say, "You cut to the core of me, Baxter" or name Cosmo.

9. Live in another country.

10. Go on a cruise. Maybe to Alaska so that I can see Russia.

11. Visit the Acropolis in Athens.

12. Sign up for a ballet class.

13. Learn some ballroom dances.

14. Watch the sun set behind the Great Pyramids in Giza.

15. Watch the sun rise at Stonehenge.

16. Go to a kabuki play in Japan. Eat sushi.

17. Make cheese.

18. Brew beer.

19. Grow basil or a tomato plant.

20. Publish something. Even if it's nerdy tax stuff.

21. Buy an original piece of art.

22. Take a painting class.

23. Take a golfing class.

24. Own a business. [A nerdy tax accounting business?]

25. Teach a course.

26. Become fluent in French.

27. Know basic Spanish.

28. Take a course at Oxford.

29. Learn what all of the buttons and settings do on my SLR digital camera.

30. See an opera at the Met.

31. Spend a day at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

32. Spend a day at the Louvre in Paris.

33. Go to Oktoberfest in Munich.

34. Go to Carnaval in Brazil.

35. Become a better swimmer.

36. Go to a petting zoo in Australia.

37. Have afternoon tea at the Ritz.

38. Learn to play guitar.

39. Learn to play the drums.

40. Learn to make my mom's favorite recipes.

41. Take a special someone to Russia with me.

42. Own a summer home. Or start with becoming a homeowner.

43. Participate in a tea ceremony in Kyoto.

44.Wait by the stage door after a concert and meet one of my favorite bands.

45. Go to a taping of the Daily Show.

46. Go skinny dipping.

47. Take a road trip across the U.S.

48. Make my own strawberry jam.

49. Make a quilt.

50. Ride in a helicopter.

51. Have tapas in Barcelona.

~~52. Go to a wine festival.~~

53. Own a pair of authentic cowboy boots.

54. Make a pie from scratch.

55. Make a pizza from scratch.

~~56. Bake bread.~~

57. Commission a portrait.

58. Go mushroom hunting.

59. Get my wisdom teeth pulled.

60. Cook in a Le Creuset dutch oven.

61. Learn to drive a standard.

~~62. Organize a book club.~~

63. Resurrect the Finer Things Club.

64. Learn to play a few Christmas Carols on the piano. Host a Christmas sweater party.

65. Go sailing.

66. Read Les Miserables.

67. Make more traditions with friends and family.

68. Try hot buttered rum.

69. Letterpress something.

70. Get my master's degree.

71. Be admitted to practice in front of the Tax Court.

72. Work in a winery.

73. Host a fancy pants dinner party.

74. Go to the Stanley Cup finals.

75. Take a cooking class in France.

76. Meet an alpaca.

77. Spend a night on a train.

78. See a drag queen show.

79. See all of Frank Lloyd Wright's houses that are open to the public. (1/??)

80. Fire a gun.

81. Really learn wine.

82. Give a heartfelt, touching, and witty toast in public.

83. Spend a week on a farm.

84. Host a Thanksgiving dinner wherein I cook the turkey.

85. Pick out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.

86. See a drive-in movie.

87. Have a Wikipedia entry.

88. Go to Vegas.

89. Buy a stock on my own.

90. Participate in CSA, community-supported agriculture.

~~91. Walk the Golden Gate Bridge.~~

92. Go on a serious hike.

93. Make 1,000 lovely things. (1. Blueberry pie with freshly-picked blueberries. 2. Slideshow for my dad's 60th birthday. 3. Homemade bows.)

94. Try 1,000 new things.

95. Learn how to eat a crab.

96. Cover my fridge with magnets from places I have visited.

97. Be able to parallel park with confidence.

98. Order the tasting menu at a fancy pants restaurant.

99. Wear a dirndl.

100. Read every book I own.

photo from Serious Eats, "How to Roast a Pig on a Spit"

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

We Are Scientists present ... the rules of wine

There are two basic types, or "varietals", of wine: red and yellow. Not surprisingly, there are different words for red and yellow wine in different countries. The French call them "bordeaux" and "sancerre", respectively. The Australians say "shiraz" and "chardonnay"; Italians, "nero d'avolo" and "pinot grigio." Germans, refreshingly, call everything "riesling".

Study these rules while listening to WAS' new album, Barbara.