Recently in Evil Category

Last week Chilebrown of Madmeat Genius offered up a new place in Berkeley for some tempura fare, he mentioned Tempura Cheese Pizza. Yup, it's like that.

He and Ms. Goofy (his wife) stopped by at noon on Saturday to haul my lazy ass out of the house and on a food adventure. I figured downtown Berkeley, noon, on a Saturday would be something of a snarl for traffic & parking. Traffic caused us to hit the back streets, but parking was right around the corner. We entered!

Sumo Grub is nice, clean, cute and had a handful of tables for in-house dining. The menu to the left was done on a chalk board, it was laid out well, very legible. Under burgers they have their 1/4 lb Angus beef and something called, "Vegan Meat", I thought that was very cool. The woman running the front was exceptionally kind, helpful and cheery. The best part though? Is that they have a backyard for outside seating! It was awesome! Loved it.

The prices are exceptionally affordable, probably due to the location directly across the street from Berkeley High. So, ordering a bunch of goodies is of no concern for those of us that haven't attended such a school for 30+ years. I ordered a cheese burger with onion rings, tempura mac & cheese and bottled water.

I really liked the onion rings, but the burger fell short. The poor beef patty was cooked beyond its life expectancy. But after meeting the owner and chef, I'm sure he's working out the kinks and won't hold that against him. I was the one that ordered a burger in an Asianny restaurant. Other than that, the bun was absolutely stellar along with the lettuce, and the green fleckled sauce stuff.

Here's a shot of Chilebrown's Chicken, Apple Sausage Tempura.

Here's the Tempura Mac & Cheese. I'm a hard core mac and cheese guy, if it ain't a home made southern mac & cheese, I'm not interested. I should be reviewing on its own merit, but I can't.

When we were nearly done with our lunch, Chilebrown got up and ordered us a Tempura Heart Attack for dessert, it serves 3? This would be Tempura Oreos, Twinkies and ice cream.

I really liked the Oreos and the ice cream, the Twinkies were good. The owner really knows how to Tempura anything. This was the piece of resistance, what really tied it all together. The bread crumbs varied from item to item.

To sum it all up, Sumo Grub really shines in a few areas and I will go back to try some more dishes that compliment his skills.

Sumo Grub
2235 Milvia Street, at Kittridge
Open Monday through Saturday from 11am until "The freaks come out"
Closed on Sunday

xo, Biggles

Biggles having some fun today, is all.

Blind Melon - No Rain

Ooooo-oo-oo-oo-oo, oo-oo-oo-oo
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watching the puddles gather rain

And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
And speak my point of view
But it's not sane, it's not sane

I just want someone to say to me no, oh, oh, oh
I'll always be there when you wake, yea-ah
You know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and I'll have it made

And I don't understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that there's no rain
And all I can do is read a book to stay awake
And it rips my life away, but it's a great escape
Escape......escape......escape......

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
You don't like my point of view
You think that I'm insane
It's not sane, It's not sane

I just want someone to say to me no, oh, oh, oh
I'll always be there when you wake, yea-ah
You know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and I'll have it made

And I'll have it made
And I'll have it made, oh
Lord no no
You know I'm really gonna, really gonna have it made
You know I'll have it made
Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh, ahhh

What fun! Love you all, Biggles signing off.

xo

Yeah, like I'm not supposed to use words, nor am I supposed to post it on a Tuesday. Ah well. Applewood smoked/grilled beef burgers with a slice of Tillamook Cheddar on the top to melt.

xo, Biggles

Smoke your goodies, over halfway. Load the firebox up, then let it go for a few hours.

Hooyah !!!!

Z and I awoke this morning, I was the early bird at 6am. Our plans for later in the morning were to head out to the mall to find a jacket that fit the boy proper like. We both understood we had to get this done, but also knew there was a city wide garage sale going on a few miles to the south of us.

Sheet fire! GARAGE SALE HO !!!!

Sure the addresses were published, but we only decided to go that minute. Just drive around, up and down. We found a nice group of older folks living in a home selling grilled dogs, popcorn and drinks for a buck fifty. A block down and around, some young hipster selling off a 78 record player console and a 60 year old camera that looked clean. But some other hipster grabbed it, was totally in to it. I wondered if they knew it didn't have a lightmeter.

Just down the road we landed on Richmond street, a pretty good little thoroughfare. A hot chick and her dude had a dufflebag of VHS pr0n including a gas mask. I told her point blank that my brother inlaw would be interested in this, right here. She said, "Whatever floats your boat." Then giggled, flushed and got in to someone else's business.

Z and I headed out and around the corner, got in touch with my sister and let her know the scoop. Brother inlaw called me back and asked for an accurate locale. Within a few minutes, this poor hotchick was approached by my sister and husband asking if a tall, Norwegian looking, red headed and bearded axe murderer looking guy was here checking out her pr0n and gas mask. "Uh, yeah. It's over there." Keep in mind, brother inlaw is bigger than me. It was all a pretty fun encounter and will probably be told a few times over the next day or two.

A good time was had by all and I ended up at the end of the day with a gas mask (found on top of a Russ Meyer movie), a 60 year old flashlight, an abused chopping block along with a few LP's (Barry White) for about 6 dollars. OH yeah, and we totally scored a dozen doughnut holes from another hotchick that was selling a few macrobiotic cookbooks and trucker hats made from hemp.

Garage sales rule.

xo, Biggles

Anyone that has read Meathenge for any length of time knows that I love photography or digital capture and food. This has been the case for more than 35 years, a little more. Out of passion and the plea from my friends & family I set up my blog (actually my sister did) so they'd stop getting routine emails from me showing them what I was eating and they were not. This was back in '03, a young blogger was born. It was tough for me to not give people a hard time about their images, I bit my tongue. More often than not though I ended up sticking my comments where they didn't belong. Such is life and I learned my lesson, learned the zen of enjoying people for who they were and what they presented. It's actually pretty peaceful to watch bloggers grow in both craft and voice, I love it.

Earlier today Jlee sent me this Wikipedia entry and I've been getting madder and madder as the minutes roll by. It offends me on every level that I hold sacred, food, photography and respect for the internet. What pushed me over the edge was the fact that the author of this post on WikiP actually published what he did to achieve such a wonderful shot. At this point picture me kicking tin cans around the yard hurling obscenities to the universe.

At first, it was the art, the photography that made my bowels erupt. Bite my tongue, but the blast of light from one direction and the fact the author went out of his way to edit out the shadows? Okay, let's remove any depth or perception. The lone strawberry with red smudges on the plate? This lead me to the store bought sliced bread with uneven toasting and bacon that's clearly been seared to near black death. My eye then went to the "tablecloth"? Why not just toss your wet dream stained bed sheets for luster, would have been more interesting. Not to me of course, but some people pay a lot of money for such things. Where's the mayo? Where's the black pepper and crystals of salt to glisten? Hot sauce? How the hell is one fricken little 'berry going to add nutrition, happy breakfast or for crissakes Chi !!! GAHHHH !!!

Okay, so sure the fact the author published his editations pushed me further, but why you're seeing this here to day is the fact he published this hideous monster on Wikipedia. That sealed the deal, he stepped over the line. This instantly went from a friendly food blogger type of situation to a worldwide encyclopedia entry that states this as truth and love both in the culinary arts and digital capture.

Don't give me, "But the yolk is the perfect color and runny looking". You know damned well this "human" needs to be drawn and quartered. Oh sure, I can hear your response, "Alright smart guy, if you think you can do better, go ahead." Charley Manson could do better, don't mess with Manson pal. In the last 7 years I've never, ever seen a food blogger do this poorly. We rule, you suck and I'm here to testify that I can totally kick your ass. Get this shit off the Wiki and leave us alone, hate doesn't even remotely describe the feelings I'm having at this moment.

Yours truly,

The Good Reverend Doctor Biggles

Alright picture this, it's Saturday and it's nice outside. No place to be, no responsibilities. Perfect for watching TV and taking naps, agreed? Agreed. Later in the afternoon I had a few cool, refreshing beverages and fell asleep watching a movie on my computer, in my bedroom.

A while later I heard someone at the front door knocking, gave it no mind and went back to sleep. Not only did I not care, was too snuggly and happy, didn't want anyone ruining my trip.

Cut to Sunday morning to find 3 pounds of Tilapia fish, fat ones too, in my fridge. Along with a good sized bottle of good hot sauce on the dishwasher. I may have had a few drinks, but in no damned way did I go shopping for fish and hot sauce!

Nope, Creepy E had gone shopping, he mentioned something about getting me some on his next trip. But I never expected him to come in through the unlocked front door and install the goodies in my fridge while I was napping! But that's exactly what he did, thank you! Score.

xo, Biggles

You're correct! "The Swamp" is the answer and the name of their tent where they spent a few seasons before Winchester showed up. In any case, they lived in a tent named The Swamp and I live IN a swamp.

I'm still dealing with high-moisture content in my home and a pretty nasty mold situation. I've got about 90% of it taken care of. I removed the last remaining carpet in the house, it was in the boy's room. 10 years of little boy use and it was more than time. It wasn't good and spent more than a week scrubbing furniture and applying an anti-mold growth formula my boss came up with. I bought another dehumidifier (this makes 2 now) and a hygrometer to give me an idea as to what room needs dire attention at what time. It's been a nightmare to say the least and Tiny E is still suffering.

My only solace has been permitting weather to allow me to grill dinner every night for the last 3 days. The smell of the wood, the hickory, to enjoy the flavors of simple, grilled food. It's all I have at the moment and I simply do not have any time or inspiration for Meathenge at the moment. Know what I mean, Vern? Yeah, it's like that.

Hoist a cool one for us, fry some bacon with love. We'll be back in and online here pretty soon.

xo, Biggles

I remember way back when, nearly 30 years ago. My mother went through a few crock-pots and recipes, I did my own searching. Mostly I escaped the grasp because I wasn't able to fuss with my food during the cooking period. You get what you get, no chance for tasting, changing direction and/or redirecting to a final end that tasted as good as you could do in the oven or stove-top.

As with any situation, time changes everything. I need help. No longer do I have hours in the late afternoon and evening to give what I want to eat and serve to my boys. I would really like to have something tasty and somewhat healthy at the end of the day wherein I would really like to only serve or cook rice, er mashed taters. I figured maybe the crock-pot would have another life here at Meathenge Labs.

Earlier today I picked up a large 5 quart rig, it was time. They feel as cheap as they ever were (no longer in the color of an avacado) But with the internet, I figured I could find some guidelines to use the damned thing. Nope! Between the included recipes and what I've initially found on the net is quite the contrary.

So far, it's all about the canned, the packeted and then again, the can. Sure you can use the fresh vegetables and the meat, but if you truly know what you're doing? The onion soup packet or the mushroom soup is an ingredient. If you're really a Home Chef, you'll add the fancy "Brown Gravy" packet.

It's 2010 and was just only then 2009, so dreamed maybe the cooker would come with decent recipes. The first one I viewed about pork chops and rice included a can of mushrooms. A can of mushrooms?

My brother inlaw Darkleynoone, a skilled cook and crock-pot stud interjected that I needed to lower the moisture addition, it's tough to do dried herbs in a crock-pot and to maybe cook the starches separately. I totally understood.

But what's with the large glut of complete crap in regards to the crock-pot and ingredients?

xo, Biggles

UPDATE 6 hours in the pot:

I work maybe a 6 minute drive from home, decided to come home to see how things were going. As I opened up the front door, the smells were really good. Nothing compared to my traditional pot roast, but still quite good. I probably added too many veggies, but wanted enough to use them to eat and not just a disposable addition. I did add a cup of chicken broth, maybe next time I won't. If you click on the image, you can get a little larger idea and can see there's plenty of moisture in there. Dang, those meat additives release a lot of moisture! And considering how little evaporates during cooking, I may end up reducing them later in a sauce pan. Yeah, pull meat and let it rest for a bit. Strain veggies from broth, reduce. So far, so good.

Biggles

ps - And two hours after that? It's done.

Update a few hours after that - Dinner was served:

I'm blown away, completely. This was better than good and for a Wednesday evening meal. I totally kicked your ASS. This isn't to say it didn't take some effort, it wasn't something I just threw together and walked away. I'd added too much moisture (1 cup of chicken broffs). At nearly 8.5 to 9 hours I set the cooker to warm for another hour while I drove for 1.5 hours to pick up Z from school. When I got back I separated the meat, and then the veggies from the broth. I reduced the broth until it tasted how I wanted, then added a slurry of cold water and corn starch to give it some consistency.

If you learn the cooker's ways, positive and negative, and can stay away from canned and packets, this cooker is Meathenge Approved. It may take a few tries, fortunately it only took me 1 try to make a National Class meal. I'm huge and need to go take a nap.

xo, Biggles

I, um, well, er, um, yeah it's like that. Kelly Williams the marketing & pr coordinator in Chicago for Big Ass Hotdog sent me a press release a few days ago. I just sent the link to my sister who immediately poo pooed it. I sent her the press release and stated this must go up immediately.

I, um, well, er, um, yeah it's like that.

STATS:
7 Lbs +/-
16" Long
4" Diameter
100% veal, beef, pork
50 servings per dog
Made to order every Tuesday

It's a real hotdog that feeds 50 people and it's only 30 bux! Don't believe me? Click through to read the press release!

I just found this in my freezer. Tiny E says, "All you do is take some toothpicks, stick them in. Then, put it in the freezer!"

Makes sense to me, non?

xo, Biggles

Yup, you heard it right. I spent over 5 hours today with Chilebrown and his wife Ms. Goofy in a classroom getting fully instructed while eating chicken, pork ribs, sliced/pulled pork and beef brisket. Neat, eh?

The class started this morning at 7:30 in Fairfield California, just 30 minutes from home. I signed up a month ago or more, they don't come to town often and the chance to attend wasn't an option. While I did guest judge the 5th Annual West Coast Championships, I felt it was time to make it legal.

Don't get me wrong, sure it was fun and the food was really good. But it was an instructional class in every sense of the word. We were schooled in every aspect of judging BBQ by KCBS rules. And brother, or sister, that ain't no joke. These people take what they do very seriously. The sheer volume of respect they have for the teams is huge. They go way out of their way to make damned sure it's fair.

You sit a specific direction when judging, no talking, no sitting next to friends. You must be on time and if you don't show? You're very well bloody likely to never judge again. Green lettuce, parsley and cilantro are your only garnish, use the white part of iceburg and you're marked as disqualified for Appearance. If the pork rib meat falls-off-the-bone? Marked down, it should come clean with a tug with your teefs. When a judge reaches for a pork rib and two come away? You get 2 and the 6th judge gets none, everyone marks this team as 1 (disqualified) for Appearance. For me, the most important part of the judging is to rule your decision based upon the merit of that BBQ. You cannot judge it based on how well you cook, or whether you prefer something different. I like that part.

Soon I will be receiving my card, a judge polo shirt and a certificate stating my place in the circle of true BBQ competition judges. I'm a greenhorn to judging and competition, but not to good barbecue.

If you'd like to see a few more pictures from the day, please visit KCBS Judging Class 2009.

Biggles

editors note: This image is from the back of the book, it was far cooler.

The little book is titled, The New Banana and it hails from 1931. Looks to be an introduction to this new fruit, national news, foreign news, scientific, daily menus for the week & recipes too!

Which leads me to the Bananas and Bacon recipe, no really. If'n you're interested in a scanned original from the book, please follow the link below.

Bananas with Bacon

6 Bananas
1/4 pound bacon

Roll half lengths of peeled bananas in strips of bacon. Secure with toothpick, if necessary. Broil under flame; or bake in oven-proof dish in a hot oven, 450 degrees F., about fifteen minutes, or until bananas are tender and bacon is crisp. Baste at least once during the baking ... Whole bananas may be wrapped in bacon and cooked in the same way.

xo, Biggles

Please read my lengthy prose, I do have a point to it.

I met my little sister when she was born. I remember bringing her home from the hospital in our new 1968 VW camper bus, no selt belts. I remember holding her in my arms as we made our way back home, she got passed around, it was pretty awesome.

Over the years we didn't get along very well. In fact, I was pretty evil and she was very ingenious about being antagonistic. Even as teenagers, the love wasn't there (on my part) and I was old enough to move out and do my own thing. After some time and having close friends knock me around some, I knew she loved me, and I have to admit I loved her too. But it wasn't the time or place to settle such things. We enjoyed out time and/or place, for the most part, as best we could.

As we aged and mellowed a tad, we've had great fun together, sharing with each other. I introduced her to computers, and she let me in the door at 1am to show her how to play Steam Roller. This is a game where you've been sound asleep for a few hours, and some assailant jumps in to bed with you and rolls over you, repeatedly. Then, they grab a cardboard box and make a sled to use as vehicle to get from your upper apartment to street level. At 1am. Ain't she just the best to put up with me?

Yes, she is.

To make a long story short, this woman has always been one of those artists that we only dream of being. Her pencil, charcoal to digital artwork has been online and published in many formats for over 20 years.

What happens then? You get plagiarized. Tee hee, this something I've only dreamed about.

How many times have you been to a web site or visited a blog of some sort and the author is complaining of plagiarism, content scraping or something related? Nearly every day right?

But in those instances, how many of them are collecting $1000.00 a print, getting magazine articles, praise from every angle all based upon your artwork? Not many I would think. But this is the case for my little sister.

My little sister's artwork is being plagiarized to the point where this woman is collecting thousands of dollars and garnering tons of praise for something she digitally traced and added some vector graphics to. You do need to know my sister isn't the only victim of this crime, she isn't the only one.

If you'd like to see the comparison of my sister's artwork versus what this woman selling, please take a gander, mijn schatje & blastmilk comparisons.

xo, Biggles

ps - We are looking for legal ways to handle this situation. If you have solid, concrete knowledge, please let me know. The woman is in Paris, France and we're in the states. Ultimately, we really want her to stop stealing other artist's work and profiting from it. A little shame wouldn't hurt either.

ppssspssspes - Above all, we must keep this civil.

This was and is completely unexpected, Country Fried Bacon.

Our internets has been going up and down, they were expected to come fix between 4 & 6pm. Didn't have anything planned for dinner, had the hankering for something deep fried.

Found enough oil, two bunches of asparagus, taters ... and bacon. Whupped up some beer, flour & salt. Dredged the "veggies" and deep fried at 360 degrees F.

Country Fried Bacon rules. So clean, so perfect, so not greasy and easy.

xo, Biggles

Hi Everbody!

I was flarking along through the nets and ran across a new technology, a new web site. Chef2Video. Basically, they allow you to run a streaming video or a saved one of your working kitchen. They're trying to get chef's and such to join in. Which, personally I think is a great idea. But they're also willing to let nitwits such as myself in.

Speaking of nitwits, I was inspired to start something of my own. Here is the first video I've ever done in any arena for any reason. There's no content and it's only 13 seconds!

xo, Biggles

If I had to take 1 piece to cook with out of my kitchen, it'd probably be this one. Soups, stews, burgers, roast chicken, gumbo, beans, for pasta, bacon and even have done pancakes in it. Deep fry, shallow fry or pan fry, it's good to go. Simmer some greens? Steam some veggies if you prefer, it can do it.

If you enjoy cooking and have been at it just a little while, you have one. If not, you know you want one and will have it some day. They're that good. I was lucky, I found this one at a local thrift store for 10 dollars about 16 years ago. I figure it's about 40 + years old, Descoware (Danish) it says on the bottom. I loves it.

The same day I bought this one, I bought a smaller one, it had chips knocked out of the finish on the inside. Who cares, it was 7 dollars! At the time, I would wash and put the pot on the stove to warm over a flame to dry it off. I noticed that if it got too hot, the enamel would pop off like popping corns. Pop! Okay, so don't do that. Don't dry these old things over heat, not a good thing. But time passes and we forget such wisdom.

Until 2 days ago. Had planned on making some onions translucent and warmed some oil in the bottom of the pan. I saw something shiny in the other room and forgot about it for a few minutes, not long. But enough time for the oil to over-heat and cause a chip to fly free from the bottom of the pan.

Click on and check out the picture, it's really cool how the cracking and crazing has formed over the years. Especially where the chip came off, check that out! Spiffnoid, eh?

Made me sad, but it's not the end of the world. The ol' Danish Oven will function pretty much as it did. Just no storing food in it like I did before. Be wary of highly acidic food, probably not a good idea. But this piece will live on for another however many years. Or until I chip a tooth on an unseen bit of enamel.

Cheers!

Can you tell I used a tripod and UV balanced studio lighting? Mebbe, just wanted you to know this isn't something I just walked by and snapped a few off. The contrast and detail isn't possible without pod & lighting.

Along with yesterday's still life post, here's the inside. Jlee sent me an link to the Buddha's Hand, I don't think this is it. Chilebrown has an entire tree devoted to that citrus. Mac put up that it's a fruit fly and to check for webbing. While I did find a few things in there, I got no idea what's going on.

It smells like lemon, tastes like lemon, but doesn't look like lemon. Lydia, I think the stuff you're seeing at the market is a real Buddah's Hand. Mines is a freak of my very own nature.

xo, Biggles

Ahhhh, the coming of fall. The sun gets lower in the sky and the crisp breezes begin. The cool, moist smell of the trees' leaves turning along with the absolutely brilliant colors that come with are only available once a year. The summer pace turns to one of the coming winter months as we plan for the holidays. The skies darken far earlier, the food gets heartier (gravy) and the relatives, cards and local parties arrive with wild abandon. Even the political climate is changing! The holidays go and leave us with a nice easy lean in to the new year. Some vow on the resolutions and some breathe a sigh of relief that 2008 is gone forever.

Now it's time to set in for the winter and maybe catch a Sunday ball game with snow falling on the aggressive field of play. Even here we've had the heater on more than a few times and most certainly all night long to keep us all from getting the chivers. Bring on the winter! I have a huge pot of leftover great northern beans in the fridge to keep me warm. Bring. It. On.

Um, dude, it's 75 degrees outside and the grass is bright green and full. wtf?

Take note, just because I mentioned I was wearing slippers the other night to catch the moon doesn't mean I was wearing anything else.

Behold the glory that is The Good Reverend Doctor Biggles !!! All bow (or avert your eyes) and pay homage. It is warm, ask no questions, fire up all grills.

I have spoken.

Biggles

Hi Everbody!

We're still alive here at Meathenge Labs, just recouping after the holidays and basically being lazy as gosh. *-SNORE-*

As many of you know, the last few nights have produced an amazing full moon, just as it first popped up on the Eastern horizon. Per usual, I was 20 minutes late and didn't get the detail I was looking for. Even with a tripod & circular polarizer, feh. Dumb moon picture. It was most spectacular live though, that was amazing and worth the effort. This would be walking out the back door and standing there like a loon with slippers on.

xo, Biggles

Alright, so I knew I was going to be late in to work this morning because I had to wait for the phone guy. Tiny E showed up sick on Sunday and knew Monday would be at home, okay. Z and I got up and were ready to hit the road at 6:45 and I decided to clean my glasses, like I do every morning.

Ping! Why do I have my glasses in my left hand and a lens in my right?

Sigh, no driving for Biggles this dark and early morning. Fine, I'll just cruise the net. No, the screen was a complete waist of time. Okay, I'll just watch tv! No, even with a 36" tube that didn't work either. Dammit! See, I'm nearly legally blind in my left eye and my right isn't much better, glasses bring me back to 'normal', at least my vision anyway. Do I have a spare? Sure, at work!

The sun came up and wore my prescription sunglasses to go get them, yay. No yay, the prescription is so old I'm nearly typing this by silhouettes of the letters. Grrrrr. And speaking of prescription, the phone number of the place where I buy my specs has been disconnected or is no longer in service. Phlesbsbsbsbsttt !

Mondays, right?

What didn't suck? Last night's supper, that's what. I procured me a top sirloin beef steak from Ted the Rancher (Highland Hills Farm) at the Berkeley Farmer's Market on Saturday morning. Ted's herd is the true organic, grass fed, heritage breed situation. Usually I find grass fed beef not to my liking, the grain does give a distinctive flavor that I adore.

Pulled it from the fridge Sunday, let it sit out for an hour with a kosher salt rub.

The cast iron griddle with grills up, super heated. Rub bacon fat all over steak.

Grill hard until done, a rare medium will do nicely, thank you very much. Wow, and double wow. I really have to admit Ted's top sirloin was absolutely divine. I'm going to do this again soon, I can hardly wait. I apologize for any illnormal writings or editing of the pictures. I had to do it based upon feel and silhouettes, I can't see worth a pinch of moon poo.

Biggles

Where would you put it?

This fat rub went on a beef roast, rosemary, salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice.

xo, Biggles

Oh Biggles, don't you cook anymore?

Um, no. No I don't, only run the dishwasher once a week or so. Mostly full of cups, flatware and a whisk or two. Been up to other things and food hasn't been a part. Don't sweat it though, I'll be back and am eating well in spite of not cooking.

Guess where I went Saturday morning? The USS Hornet at Alameda Point (old Naval base & home to St. Georges), that's where. I knew the Red Oak was in Richmond, just needed to get off my ass and get down there. But I had no idea that Alameda housed a real aircraft carrier. Much less an aircraft carrier museum!

It ain't cheap though, not like the Red Oak. This one is 14 bux per adult to get in and you must be led about by a docent. No wandering around on your own to stick your nose in here and in there, pull this and open that. Which is fine, it's a dangerous place and you don't want to die er nothin'. Especially when you pay 14 bux to do it. It kinda reminds me of the Winchester Mystery House. A huge place with tiny rooms & even smaller walkways.

If you're interested in visiting, check out the link above. And if you're interested in the history surrounding the Hornet, go for it. I'm not going to pretend as though I'm someone I'm not, this would be an American history buff. I know how to build a fire and cook food over it. History to me is a fire pit filled with pork rib bones and beer cans scattered about.

Here are a few snapshots of the USS Hornet I took along the way. And yes, that's an escalator. It goes from the flight deck down a few levels. I spose the pilots were all woozy from flying and needed a safe way to descend to rest. And the cool exposure was a "mistake". I had my camera all set from a small studio shoot I did Friday morning. It was after this shot I sat down for a bit and reset all the dials, buttons and menu choices.

Biggles

Yow, been really busy, can you tell?

Early Saturday morning I found myself making coffee, quiet house, sun not quite up yet. All that could be heard were my feet across the creaky old floor and some clanking of dishes. With the kitchen door open to the outside, crisp bay air was flowing through the house with glee.

Oh boy, I can hardly wait for that first cup!

No half and half, oh well. Chores & coffee, the day was looking up. I set my cup on the butcher block table to the right of the stove. This table houses large jars of wooden and shiny metal implements, salt pig and a scattering of items that either need washing or putting away. On the wall at the back of the table are at least a dozen kitchen knives and 4 sharpening steels, looks cool and very functional. Above, is an open cabinet filled with boxes of cocoa, oatmeal, coffee supplies, all kinds of kitchenny stuff. This, is my command center.

I stand at this table and go for that last glug of coffee. You know the one? The last slam of goodness that signals the next step in the day. The one that sends you in to overdrive, inspiration to get your day on!

GLUG, ... hiccup, burp, COUGH. All at the exact same moment.

Normally, it's not such a big deal. Gross, I'll admit. But with a mouthful of black coffee? That's right, I got a 3.5' cone of black coffee spewed over all. Up in the cabinet, covered the knives & steels and whatever was on the surface of the little table was covered.

If that wasn't bad enough, it began to drip. Yup, drip. So, not only now was everything splattered, but it was now running down the wall, down the blades, down the wooden spatulas and in to the jars and gently soaking in to my kosher salt.

Bring it on Monday, I can totally kick your ass.

Biggles

Um, we're in the middle of some kind of summer thing, heat. Oh sure, we're near the bay (a little cooler) and the inland areas are shooting upwards of 109. But our fog is gone since last week and there hasn't been our usual wind storm in the afternoons either. This means we just sit and bake. We don't usually get our warm days and evenings until October, and it's mild even then. Nope, I just checked the thermo meter at about 4pm and it's 86!

Dude, I'm totally sweating. Just sitting here, sweating. I don't get it and I don't like it.

What does one do in such desperation? Cut the legs off yer jeans. Problem solved. This is a Meathenge Approved Tech Note and I approved it personally.

Biggles

ps - Yeah, I have 4 pairs of speakers in the living room. There's 5 more pairs on the property. And yes, Spongebob Squarepants is also Meathenge Approved.

You heard that right, myself, Chilebrown and Ms. Goofy will be officiating this food related event. How'd we get to hold such a position? We were asked, that's how. We've never done such a thing, so we're really looking forward to it.

Our day starts early, but you don't have to. I think the judging starts about noon, so you'll wanna come by a little earlier than that to see what all the hubub is about. Where?

The general vicinity of Texas and Jefferson Streets (and surrounding areas), Fairfield, CA. Comon by and enjoy yourself, there's tons of stuff going on, tomato festival, vendors, games & clamato.

xo, Biggles

ps - Am writing this at 4am and not quite right with the world yet. Am taking the boys to the mountains, 8600 feet up! Whar's muh coffees foo?

This last weekend I made it in to our local, pretty large, grocery mart. I required a few things that Omar, 2008's shopkeeper of the year award worthy, didn't stock. I perused the isles of said largish mart, and there were products in attendance that were noticeably not there previously. What struck me first was the Bariani Extra Virgin, my favorite green extra virgin. Then, opposite that, on the top shelf I spied a jar of Marmite? Red Mill flour! 3 times the organic produce (Feel Good crap, but even so), the list goes on. I don't care that much, and grab my 3 paper sacks (for $110.00) and skeedaddle.

I was left with this haunting thought, "That store doesn't suck as much as it did a few months ago." I won't be frequenting any more than I did last week, but damn an shit. Ya know? Even way out in El Sobrante, where the demographics meander. Maybe, ever so slowly, things could very well be looking up.

Then Ear Ache wanders in to work with this in tow. A box of Oscar Mayer Fully Cooked Bacon, wtf? I suppose it's kind of a relief, knowing that The Man is still a fucking idiot and has about as much cohesive thought as a near death, bed ridden, 5 legged badger on morphine. But I have my hopes ya know. Or maybe this is their attempt at making a technological advancement up and over from bacon bits. The world may never know.

I can see there's a heading, or direction. But where are they going? Do they even bother to look? This my good people, be some rhetorical questions.

Biggles

No yay. Anti-yay. Last year it never got over 80 here in Richmond. My outdoor kitchen area topped out at 102 around 4pm. At 5:25? The kitchen was 94, what's up with that? Yeah, okay I'm a weenie. But I don't need yet another reason to sit like a lump on the sofa, watching M*A*S*H and pissing vinegar about everything and everyone around me.

Pure & simple, this heat is just plain ol' communism.

Biggles

Created by OnePlusYou

Hmm, well, while I have had my rants I've attempted to keep Meathenge fairly clean and ready for everyone, even vegetarians. So, it didn't surprise me that I rated so low on the cuss-o-meater. But it was fun! For a moment, I think. Thank you to Dagny for showing me the way.

Happy Friday !!!

Yup, as we speak the wagon is getting loaded up and the cooler packed. There's a dozen El Salvadorean chorizos in there, a pork loin roast (Thanks CB!) and a dozen 1" thick pork chops. I needs muh snacks!

bye bye

dot dot dot, we're baaack! Well, okay we got back yesterday about 11am. I went through some of the images I took and thought I'd share.

Here you can see Z, waaaay up on the top of the dune there. The boys spent several hours climbing up and down these dunes. This was the largest and Tiny E decided that maybe when he was older he'd attempt it. Just so you know, the right side of the dune is far less aggressive and not so scary.

And yes, the aquarium is awesome. Changed a lot over the years though, they have penguins now. When I visited years ago they were showcasing Monterey Bay marine life only, now it's all over the map. And they've added 9 million activities for kids. So, obviously it's packed with tons of families enjoying themselves. This isn't necessarilly a bad thing, but damned those strollers are evil. I counted at least 3 gift shops and 1 of which is about the size of a large market. Ahhh, the mighty dollar wins again. Go during the week, not on the weekends.

xo, Biggles

Yeah, huh. Here in our part of the East Bay, the temperatures rarely go below 40 or above 75, it's just that way. That isn't to say we don't get our heat waves, I remember it hovering over 104 a few times and surely in the 80s. But yesterday, and at least this today, it was 94 in the shade.

My favorite part was when Z came running in saying, "Papa !!! It's 120 degrees outside!"

"Um, the sun was hitting that thermometer there sonny boy. Put it in the shade, ya foo."

Well, when the temperatures are high, the house is stuffy what meal really hits the spot? No, not watermelon, salad or tofu. It's that good ol' roast turkey dinner. I fired up the gas oven for 3 hours and made us some juicy roast turkey, mashed taters & gravy! The plates were licked clean and that was pretty much that. And today for lunch, turkey sammiches!

xo, Biggles

And I will, repeat. Uh, whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?

I spied with my little eye, this box on the shelf at our local mega grocer. It's a convenience food, all ready to shorten the time in the kitchen and feed the brood on the quick & easy. But, like it's pasta, olive oil and Italian herb. Couldn't I just take pasta, oilive oil and Italian herb and make my own? Or even do a switchy poo and pull out some French herb? Maybe I should just switch gears and whip out some Hawaiian herb and make it all go away.

Aloha, Biggles

Author's note: There is actually a point to this post other than a poorly written rambling rant.

After giving this another thought, nope. This is a poorly written rambling rant without a point.

Quite a few years ago now, maybe 7, I received my first copy of Cook's Illustrated Magazine. I signed myself up for a few years, was feeling full of myself because we'd bought our first home a year before. Life was going to be grand. Aww, I remember it fondly, one of my first issues and it was spring time, a grilling issue and it was all mine.

Z had been asking to visit a new Candy Shop over the last week or so, being a parent my response was pretty negative. After maybe 3 days I decided to give in and have an adventure.

Happy Easter everyone, it's been a grand weekend out. Z and I spent most of the weekend on bicycles out and about, along with breaks for meat and happiness (farmer's markets and family meat smoking). See?

Admittedly, I don't have any food prose for today. But the photographs came out so nicely, I wanted to share them with anyone that might be interested. And yes, had a wonderful time with friends. We spent our time talking about old times (1985 roomates), relaxing and eating Fatted Calf faire. Luckily enough Jeffrey lives in Calistoga and stopped by Oxbow on his way down.

xo, Biggles

ps - If you click on images you should receive a far larger one in return.

Let's have a little juicy excerpt from Big Brother and the Holding Company on the Mainstream label ...

Peter Albin - bass
David Getz - drums
James Gurley - guitar
Sam Andrew - guitar
Janis Joplin - vocal

Side 2, 3rd cut:

Down on me, down on me,
Looks like everybody in this whole round world
They’re down on me.

Love in this world is so hard to find
When you’ve got yours and I got mine.
That’s why it looks like everybody
in this whole round world
They’re down on me.

Saying they’re down on me, down on me.
Looks like everybody in this whole round world
Down on me.

When you see a hand that’s held out toward you,
Give it some love, some day it may be you.
That’s why it looks like everybody
in this whole round world
They’re down on me, yeah.

Lord, they’re down on me, down on me, oh!
Looks like everybody in this whole round world
Is down on me.

Believe in your brother, have faith in man,
Help each other, honey, if you can
Because it looks like everybody in
this whole round world
Is down on me.

I’m saying down on me, oh, down on me, oh!
It looks like everybody in this whole round world
Down on me!!

I dedicate this post to Kathryn & Gloria.

xo, Biggles

Yay! Zoomie over in Zoomiestation tagged me for a meme, 5 Sordid facts.

Okay, last things first. One of the most evil parts of these things is, once tagged, we get to tag 5 other people who have to go through the same fun we do. Cool, eh?

First off, let's bring in our good friend and colleague Chilebrown at Mad Meat Genius. Then and only then, Monkey Wrangler at sourdough monkey wrangler. If Doctor Jones was here, he'd be next. But alas, Dr. Five Pints is elsewhere. Jerry over at Cooking by the seat of my Pants! needs a little detour from the food network. Oh, Kevin of Seriously Good could use some of my good pestering, for sure. And because it's always nice to be asked to play in someone else's sandbox, I invite Shuna of Eggbeater. If you'd like to be tagged, axe or just take it upon yourself to do one too. Then yell at me in the comments so everyone can visit your playtime. Now, without further ado ..

• I buy a pack of cigarettes each year in an attempt to start smoking. So far, in over 10 years, no luck.
• Once a year or so, I'll freak out and gut something. Such as a room, closet or area. Then, start over clean.
• I let my dish sponge rest on its side so it dries quicker, it's my nature.
• I'm very proud of many things that I do and will mention it until you say, "Great job Biggles! Now go the F away."
• My hobbies/jobs have all included computers & electronics since 1971 (when I took my first record player apart to remove the speaker so I could add them to another rig.) But I hate them all and would rather live on an apple farm and not be bothered.

Alright, so the sponge thing isn't so sordid. But I wanted to mention it until I get praise.

xo, Biggles

Now, about that orange picture. A man with a handtruck loaded with bags of oranges knocked at my door. I bought 15 pounds worf, turned to juice. I condered doing something else with them, but I didn't think they'd have much life left in them (plain jane Oranges) and it was mid-week. No time pally boy!

Muh friend Bart Nagel took this shot with a real polaroid 680 SE. Thank you Cookiecrumb & the most awesome Cranky for hosting the party in which this was made possible. I'm pretty fricken proud and yet most happy of the outcome of this photograph and plan to use it for anything I can.

Not only do I rule, but am one handsome Guy.

xo, Biggles

Whether you grill, smoke or do mostly oven roasted goodness, your cutting board always has some form of delectable juices laying about in the trough around the edges. This is where you'll find lovers of the medium dredging their kill through for extra flavors and textures. It's prized highly and never lasts long.

Well, at a local gathering on Saturday this nectar of the gods went faster than normal. You see, Cameron of Married ... with Dinner was in attendance. I'd never met the guy, or his wife Anita. They're the kind of people that within about one half of a conversation you realize they're no slouches in whatever they do. These people know tons of junk and are keen as a razor's edge. But why was Cameron pouring the meat juices in to a small drinking class, actually 2 glasses?

He disappeared, 1 in each hand. When he returned, a shot of vodka had been added to the slurry. And by slurry I mean, pork, beef, lamb, bacon, goat and andouille. Cameron handed one to me and drank his down. A sip first, then mine followed. Man, it was surely a good meaty, then spiky booze hit, then fatty meat, then booze. It was crazy, it was like gravy, but a booze drink. I dearly loved both the flavors and mixtures and how it finished.

Thank you Cameron, thank you very much.

xo, Biggles

Note: The following may contain adult content and/or adult language, be advised. Be very advised.

I've grown up with your family of products and remember the thrill as far back as about 1971. Since my bedroom was somewhat below ground, moisture and mold were always a problem. Not with your aerosol fueled disinfectant, it was all good in a matter of seconds.

As I aged, it helped to calm the smoky goodness of the reefer. But that was short lived, just made me hungry and paranoid. I've got enough of both, naturally. I spent time talking to and learning from other people who enjoyed the cleaners. It wasn't long before I had a good supply of the best my local grocery could offer, I had it all.

Cheers !!!

This is far more evil that it was meant to be. But so be it, kinda nice actually. Not sure how the fish feel about it ...

Hey Biggles. Where you at son? poke poke

Hey Biggles, you dere? Whut? Hey dumbass, you do remember you have a food related web site you're responsible for, don't you? Where? Keeripes man, Meathenge. Oh yeah. I was wondering why it went quiet a few weeks ago. The amount of time I have available to do such things comes to about 30 minutes from time to time. I use this smidge for watching such mind numbing movies as McBain. It's a Vietnam War era movie wherein Christopher Walken plays Chuck Norris. No really. And I should have used the word rotting for numbing.

Even through my total lack of time for to make Meathenge shine, we've come to our 4th birthday here! That's right, it's been a tad over 4 years since Meathenge hit the streets. Pretty darned cool, huh? That's 28 in Blog Years.

I've made friends I can easily say will be around for a lifetime. Got some photographs published along with some recipes and even mentions in newspapers from afar. Meathenge has top rankings in google for quite a few topics, such as our beloved Andreas Viestad. Adjusting old gas ranges has turned in to a weekly discussion and the topic was posted about 2 years ago! That Caja China roasting box post I did was one of the first on the net. The only site that was of any help was Babalu. Today? It's everywhere, even the food network. Great fun!

Without your cheers with hardly any jeers I've had a great time and hope to continue on in to the glistenny future. Summer is coming am looking forward to a little more time for recipes, pictures & fun. Hang tight, we're not going away. No how, no way.

xo, Rev. Biggles

ps - That's right, I can now bless your meat.

It says there, "The World's First! Appetite Control Toothpaste.

What the hell ?!?! My first thought was, "Do we really need this?" And then, I figured, "Of course we do, look! It's right there!" And yet it's already on the clearance isle. Har har har.

I've been here at the keyboard over the last few minutes. Wrote down a few paragraphs, then erased paragraphs. This is so pathetic ol' Biggles is rant free. All I can figure is that someone was looking out for the tweakers. Now speed freaks can have good teeth too. Cause you know that's the only idiot that'd consider it. So, the next time you see some unbathed, shaky, wild eyed creature with a toothbrush in their hip pocket, check their smile. You'll have the 411 and you saw it first at Meathenge.

xo, Biggles

Oh it hurts, I don't like it. My stomach is hurting and it's only been a minute. Like a chicken nugget with cayenne, bad cayenne. Bad nugget. Oh, I don't like this.

Meathead brought this package of love from the local drug store for to have lunch with. He shared a piece with me. Such a pal, eh? There was another delicious delight, but I let him have his food in peace.

For 1 dollar you get 2.95 ounces of 'bites" in the shape of a boot. There's 5 pieces in there at a calorie count of 230. 22% of my daily fat and 31% of the sodium intake.

Meathead says, "Oh that was awful." And I agree, that wasn't very good and I don't like it.

Biggles

We planted a lemon tree about 7 years ago. Did all the mulchin' and not as much fertilizing as we should have. Even though. Once you see the lemon growing, it takes about 2 years for it to start turning yellow. Then, I leave it for another 3 years until it "looks" mature.

At that point, the pith is inches thick and the 'meat' ain't right.

Anyone got ideas as to making it right? Or is 3,4 to 5 years correct for a ripening lemon?

Here's the tree, taken in February.

Biggles

Oh man, not sure why the HELL I would even remotely show you my refrigerator. Sam over at Becks & Posh showed me hers. If you show me yours, I'll show you mine. Isn't that how it all starts? I can only dream.

Check out the upper right with the Fritos Bean Dip along with the Welch's Grape Jelly, cool eh? Then to the left we have Sunnyside 2% milk along with some nondescript apple juice. Behind that is some "marmelade" that hasn't been touched in years. Below that we find the "cheese" drawer. This is more of an experimentation drawer than anything else. I have Canadian bacon in there from 2005.

As we bounce down there seems to be some dozen eggs of an ilk that I bought last week. Or was it the week before? Some yolks don't spread too badly. At the bottom there's the pile of Tamales that show up at my door every two weeks (breakfast). In the foil is the beef roast I did last night.

It wasn't very good. The spice and cook action was there, but the meat was dead and non-deliverable. Below all that is the vegetable drawer. I don't know what's in there, probably bagged lettuce, spinach and carrots I meant to juice.

Just like Sam's, only different.

xo, Biggles

------------------------------

Snap to the next morning and did this before 9am. And guess what? I set things up so nothing needs to go back on top of the fridge! I'll have to do a collage er somethin'.

Me, again

Dang, was on the freeway heading out at 10:30 Sunday morning. A trip that usually takes me 15 minutes to get to and through, was about 45 minutes. Turns out some gasoline rig turned over, spilled its guts and caught on fire. It melted the steel and the road collapsed. Luckily nobody lost thems lives.

A hard right would have taken us to San Francisco. Light left and we're heading East.

It totally sucked to be in that crap, my clutch leg is still sore. But check out the photograph I got on the fly !!!

I rule.

Biggles

ps - The only photoshop I did was to use the channel mixer and check the monochrome box. Then? A tiny bit of sharpening, only because I was doing 30, one handed, watching traffic and not getting in another collision.

Last few weeks been painfully busy taking care of 2 boys that were/are sick. Now my throat is scratchy and starting to feel wierd. Taking tons of vits and liquids, we'll see how that goes. I'm sure I'll be fine, what could possibly go wrong?

On a lighter side. Many of you have known for quite some time Meathenge's comment system hasn't quite been up to snuff. In fact, it basically junked good comments and I never knew you stopped by. This was especially obvious to Shuna and Kevin. In any case, sister is working on it this very moment. We're getting there, eh.

Except for Tea's visit on Sunday for Meathenge's first Grilling Class, here's how much I've been cooking. See? That's the last onion I bought. Yes, I will be posting about The Visit, you bet.

xo

It wasn't too many years ago when I met Amelia Ray. She was introduced to me through a mutual friend, as it turned out a fan of Meathenge already. Such a small world we live in, eh? She was, and still is, an accomplished musician (she has paying gigs, hoser). Check out her bio and site, she's got talent (the good kind) oozing our her ear holes.

Now we turn to page 2 and she's put up a food blog. And cause she's got creativity, she came up with a pretty fricken unique idea. She interviews people via telephone from her home in Spain and has them do a recipe and cook a dish this way. You can see where this is going, huh?

Page 3 is where we find our plucky hero with a silly headset on using Skype to braise a pork roast in milk. I'd never used Skype before, Mama set it up for me. It uses a broadband connection to connect you to anyone around the world so you can talk for free. It's a lot like using a 1940's radio and transmitter. Or like I remember telephoning my grandparents in Kansas. You had to wait a moment for your voice to reach them or you'll talk over them and get all screwed up. Alright, so anyway it was my turn on Food Operator.

Please be kind, this was my nearly my first time using Skype and I was as nervous as hell. I accidentally talked over Amelia at every turn and only had minimal prep. It's how I am with studying. I have to say though, she knows what she's doing and after listening to the production and editing, I am impressed. Thank you Amelia and surely F.O. will be nothing but fun and high adventure.

Go now: Dr. Biggles' Arrosto Di Maiale Al Latte

Biggles

Well, here's my second draft. The first draft was a pretty well crafted rant about Chowhound. But I think it's all been said before and recently by Sam and Fatemeh and a few others here in the SF Bay Area.

Suffice it to say, "Good bye Chowhound. It was fun for a while, but your lack of thoughtfulness to your posters has caused me to remove you from my bookmarks. And the grief you've caused to chefs and restaurant owners is unforgivable."

Biggles

ps - It's easy to criticize and I thought maybe I should offer up a suggestion or two. If an entry needs to be removed or edited, the poster should receive and email letting them know what's going on and why it should be removed or edited. Offer some support, some ideas, assist your posters in becoming better at what they do. There needs to be some way the restaurant owners, cooks and chefs and/or staff can have a venue too. Why does there have to be such a gap between us and them? It doesn't seem right. There needs to be an open communication so service and food can improve. Instead, it's a bitter chew for the owner who can't stand up for their establishment. Why is this important? Diners can be nitwits too and expect too much or have the concept completely wrong.

There, that sets it right for me.

A few years ago I spent maybe 4 months researching a smoker. If I was going to spend my hard earned scrilla I wanted to make sure I got a decent pit. During my travels around the nation (via my office chair & a computer) I ran across some neat information. Here's something I kept hid away and ran into it recently. It's the story of how Kingsford Charcoal Briquets came into being, and a few added comments from Kit Anderson, Top Pitmaster ...

It's the one to get and this one's signed by the Devil himself.
The Auction to beat

This has to be, if not the most scary, one of the nastiest pictures of meat I have ever done. And let me tell you, I've taken some pretty darned scary meat pictures.