sullicom

You Don't Say

2009-05-04T06:13:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-30T09:57:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-21T06:04:00.007-04:00

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"

2009-04-14T06:51:00.002-04:00

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?

2009-04-07T07:48:00.001-04:00

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

Black Bean Feijoada

2009-03-28T17:56:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-24T09:27:00.001-04:00

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

Spring is Here!

2009-03-20T05:52:00.003-04:00

Thank God!

Bye Bye, P-I

2009-03-17T09:32:00.003-04:00

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer published its last edition today, becoming the second major daily to go under in the last few weeks (Denver's Rocky Mountain News folded in February).

I won't dwell on the reasons why, but news consumption patterns and advertising preferences - not to mention a lousy economy - are likely to lead more papers to follow suit. And don't think it's not on the mind of me and my colleagues here in Baltimore.

The P-I was a paper I knew more from reputation than from ever having read it. A solid source of information in the Northwest that was a breeding ground for talented writers and artists. This latter fact I learned from one of the newspaper's alums, Ray Collins, a cartoonist who wrote and drew a strip called "Cecil and Dipstick." Ray left the P-I in the late '70s, following family east, and wound up in Columbus, Ohio where he landed as a graphic artist at the interactive QUBE cable system, where I was cutting my professional chops as a young producer. We got to know each other well when, I was in charge of a weekly kid's game show called Quizzles and Ray's cartoons were a huge part of the show.

We'd often go out to lunch together and Ray would entertain me with stories of his days at the P-I, when he was a drinking buddy of Frank Herbert, who went on to author the Dune sci-fi series, and Tom Robbins, who wrote Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and other novels. It was Ray's stories that brought the P-I to life for me.

Good luck to all the journalists who lost jobs as a result of this paper closing. And good luck to the readers in Seattle who have lost a valuable voice in the community.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
-Dylan Thomas

Clipper City Beer Blog

2009-03-17T06:16:00.004-04:00

I'm celebrating St. Patrick's Day with a guest post on Rob Kasper's beer blog. Today I give a nod to Hugh Sisson's blog on Baltimore's Clipper City Brewing site. Check out the post, the blog and treat yourself to one of Clipper City's brews if you get the chance.

Beer Haiku Daily

2009-03-10T06:39:00.002-04:00

My post this week on Kasper on Tap is about one of my old faves, Captain Hops' Beer Haiku Daily.

Beer in Baltimore

2009-03-03T06:03:00.000-05:00

On Tuesdays I guest post for my friend Rob Kasper on his "Kasper on Tap" blog. This week I wrote about Alexander Mitchell's Beer in Baltimore blog.

Chocolate Chip Goopies

2009-02-27T06:03:00.004-05:00

Today I'm the guest dad on my colleague Kate Shatzkin's Charm City Moms blog, talking about MoJo's efforts to bake cookies.

UPDATE: Last Monday was a snow day for the kids and Mo was back in the kitchen. This time she nailed it and we had cookies instead of goopies!

The (almost) perfect food

2009-02-25T07:31:00.004-05:00

When the mid-afternoon munchies kick in, one of the best places in the newsroom to troll for snacks is over by our features department. Frequently the gang who works on the food section will lay out remnants of recipes they've tested or samples of snacks that have been sent in for them to review.

A couple of days ago I wandered by and there was a box featuring a photo of a slice of bacon adjacent to a square of chocolate. It was Mo's Bacon Bar! Inside were squares of creamy milk chocolate-covered Applewood-smoked bacon crumbles.

I'm not sure why nobody thought of this before. It was a nice juxtaposition of sweetness, saltiness and smokiness. The only thing keeping this from being the perfect food was a liquid center filled with beer.

Mmmmmmmm!

Awakening from hibernation

2009-02-22T09:19:00.003-05:00

Just waking up from my long winter's nap. Ironically, this note aside, my first post since the beginning of the year will appear Tuesday, Feb. 24, on my friend Rob Kasper's beer blog.

I'll be dropping in on his blog once a week to share some findings from other beer bloggers out there, so if you have any suggestions for Rob or me, please don't be shy.

Happy New Year

2008-12-29T08:59:00.004-05:00

Prescription for a happy 2009...

Embrace the good times and kick the bad times in the ass. Then embrace the good times again.

Keep your head up, eyes forward and try to see beyond the end of your nose.

Do more listening than talking.

Be quick with a kind word and good deed.

And, did I mention embrace the good times?

(What's Left of the) Chocolate Fudge

2008-12-21T11:57:00.004-05:00

Yesterday the spirit moved me to make chocolate fudge. This is something I've never done before, so it was somewhat of an adventure, wedged between MoJo's basketball game and the Ravens/Cowboys football game.

I found a recipe in old faithful - James Beard's American Cookery. And, as luck would have it, we had all the necessary ingredients in the house, so it required no runs to the store. And while the recipe calls for nuts, we skipped those and went with only the bad-for-you stuff.

Now, me making fudge is akin to an arsonist making matches. In the end, it's a dangerous proposition. But fortunately, with a house full of kids and a wife with a chocolate addiction, I was mercifully spared the possibility of eating the entire batch all by myself. I did, however, share in the indulgence.

Again, keep in mind this was my first effort. I'd welcome hearing from any of you black belt fudge makers with suggestions on how to improve on my next attempt.

Chocolate Fudge

2 cups sugar
2 Tbl corn syrup (light or dark)
2/3 cup rich milk or evaporated milk
2 to 4 Tbl butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup corsely broken or chopped, lightly toasted nutmeats
1 to 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate

Combine the sugar, corn syrup, milk, butter, chocolate and salt in a 3 or 4 quart saucepan. Stir and bring to a boil. Cook to 234 to 236 degrees (use a candy thermometer).

When it hits the proper temperature, remove the saucepan from the heat and place on a rack to cool.

When the bottom of the pan is cool enough that you can put your hand on it without shrieking in pain, take a spatula and slowly work the fudge from the outside to the center of the pot. When it cools to a point that it starts to look dull instead of shiny, stir in the vanilla (and nuts if you're using them).

Pour out the fudge onto a sheet of wax paper or aluminium foil and let cool. Cut into squares. Eat and enjoy!

The Pirate Life for Me

2008-11-20T05:40:00.006-05:00

As the newspaper biz continues to fold in on itself, I think it's time to consider a fallback career.

Piracy seems to be a growth industry right now. And from what I can tell, the Chesapeake Bay represents a market opportunity.

I've got an 8-foot dinghy and a trolling motor to attach to it. All I need is a scurvy crew. And a few bottles of rum. And an oil tanker to hijack.

Aaargh!

Michigan at Ohio State

2008-11-19T12:26:00.001-05:00

It's that week again. This year's Big Game will be played in Columbus this Saturday with less at stake than usual. Michigan is suffering through perhaps its worst year ever and Ohio State, with two losses, is still in the chase for the Big Ten title but is (mercifully) out of the running for a national crown.

To get you in the mood for the game, here's a link to last year's post, which is chock full of links to the history of the rivalry, and the recipe for delicious peanut butter buckeye treats.

Go Bucks!

Black Eyed Peas (not the band)

2008-11-09T09:40:00.002-05:00

Time to get back to important matters on this blog, like good food.

Lately I've enjoyed rediscovering a favorite of my southern upbringing - black eyed peas. Last night the Remarkable Marcy pulled a Vegetarian Times recipe for Black-Eyed Pea Patties with Corn and Cilantro. We served it with a side of Collard Greens prepared with a recipe off my friend The Chef From Hell's blog. Great stuff!

One of our favorite BEP dishes actually was the result of a mix up when I screwed up the recipe of the traditional Hoppin' John dish. I can't remember exactly how I managed to use bulghur instead of rice, but the result was terrific. Here's the recipe for Hoppin' Sully.

Hoppin' Sully

2 T canola or olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
3 cups cooked bulghur wheat
2 cups cooked black eyed peas

Heat oil in large skillet and saute onion and garlic.
Add tomatoes, water and spices. Simmer covered for 5 minutes.
Add bulghur and beans, pinch of sea salt and pepper.
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until golden-brown crust forms on the bulghur.

A liberal shake of Tabasco atop this really helps warm body and soul on cool autumn and winter nights.

Enjoy!

The Real Deal

2008-11-05T06:43:00.002-05:00

The (un)official, (un)scientific Sullicom Presidential Poll proved remarkably accurate, as Nov. 4 saw an Electoral College runaway for Barack Obama in the presidential election.

Among the key states captured by Obama were Ohio, Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, California and New York. Some of the states that went for Sen. John McCain were Texas, Indiana, Brigadoon and Munchkinland.

It was an historic night.

Yes We Can

2008-11-05T06:38:00.002-05:00

I knew that "Bob the Builder" post was prescient.

Sing along.

Presidential Poll Results

2008-11-03T07:54:00.004-05:00

The (un)official, (un)scientific Sullicom Presidential Poll is closed and the voters have chosen Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. John McCain and long-shot Food Network candidate Alton Brown.

With 98 total votes cast, Obama gathered 46 votes (46%), McCain 34 votes and Brown 18 votes.

So, this bit of fun is done. Thanks to all of you who voted. To those of you who didn't, I hope you were simply holding back for the real deal.

Tomorrow's the day - get out there and vote!

Regurgitating Tales

2008-10-30T06:35:00.002-04:00

Halloween is tomorrow and I thought I would spit up a couple of stories I posted last year at this time.

First is "The Curious Case of the Mandy Tree," a story about a ghostly tree in my hometown of Madisonville, Kentucky.

Then there's "Ghost Story," the tale of my personal encounter with a spook at the Buxton Inn in Granville, Ohio.

Have fun tomorrow night. Don't eat too much candy.

Congratulations Tampa Fans

2008-10-30T06:28:00.002-04:00

You have successfully completed Part 1 of your application for true baseball fandom. Your team's loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series has given you your first taste of losing at a high level, falling just short of ultimate success. Yes, we know it hurts. But it's a good hurt. Success followed by failure. That will make ultimate success all the sweeter when it comes.

Now for Part 2 of the application. Put some meat in the seats of that sorry stadium before the month of September next season. You've got an exciting young team that deserves to have more fans at home games than the opposition. Show your support, win or lose. Upon receipt of this portion of the application you'll have earned street cred among the real baseball fans out there.

And now, I leave you with words of wisdom from a life-long Cubs fan - "Wait 'til next year!"