Food

The quest for simple beer

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

I love a good beer.

My first exposure to beer was Dad drinking Budweiser. “Dad, can I try a sip?” “Sure.” “Bleck, eww, that’s gross!!” But yet somehow that sowed the seed. When it comes to beer, wine, or liquor, my preference is beer. Used to be a heavier drinker (college and all that), but now I really don’t care to get drunk. I just enjoy a good beer now and again, like any beverage (find me a good lemonade and I’m really happy). I try to pair my beer with the meal I’m eating, and many times I don’t finish the beer because it’s not that important to me… we don’t always finish the glass of water or soda or tea with our meals, so why should there be any pressure to finish the beer? It’s just a beverage, the alcohol just happens to be there (tho I of course mind it because it will affect you). I’m not a drinker, I just like the taste of good beer.

I recall back in college (or maybe it was high school?) when Sam Adams came out, and drinking it was the first foray into “hoity-toity” beer (no more “Beast” here!). From there, you try other “fancy” things, eventually discovering Guinness and then life is never the same. I certainly love going to brew pubs, micro brewerys, discovering odd beers, adoring all things Belgian styled, preference for ales. I know what it is to be a beer snob. I can appreciate that these days beer lovers have more choices than ever before.

But that’s also part of the problem.

Yesterday I went to Spec’s. What a fantastic place to go as the selection is unmatched. But at the same time, it’s also overwhelming. You can spend hours there just looking at all that’s available, trying to figure out what you’d like to try, talking with the employees to get their opinions, maybe taste tests, maybe you can take home a pack of various singles to try them out. It’s actually quite the adventure.

On the same token, it also demonstrates that things are getting kinda silly. Everyone is on a quest to make some serious sort of beer. There’s gazillions of IPA’s out there, wheat beers, fruit beers, heck… I just discovered a “barley wine style ale” (very strong, very bitter, but good). Then trying to go for some sort of special line that’s even more special than their normal special beers, hand-crafted in small batches, blah blah blah. There’s just so much available, but it’s all trying to be more complex than the next guy, more trendy than the other micro-brewery.

What happened to simple beer?

I’m not talking Beast (piss-water is still piss-water). I’d still like the beer to taste good and have some meaning in the mouth. But can we put away the beer snobbery and try to make something simple? On a hot Texas afternoon, I just don’t find IPA’s to be refreshing… they can be very delicious, but it’s not just something I want to knock back when I’m hot and tired, or just standing around the BBQ pit with my buds while the brisket smokes. I’ve actually found myself drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon lately because it’s simple and refreshing, but still has some decent taste to it.

Maybe it’s the engineer in me that appreciates true simplicity. That to make something complex just to be complex, well, almost anyone can do that…. it’s easy to keep adding things. But to take things away, to strip down until you get to the true essence of something, to have the self-control to do so… there’s a greater beauty and challenge in that, I think.

So to my readers… can you suggest a good, simple beer?

Mmm… sausage

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Just got back from Johnny G’s Butcher Block, where they processed my pigs from my last hunt.

Got about 30 lbs. of sausage made. Got their “regular” sausage, smoked. As soon as I got home I put one link in a frying pan to heat it up and finish cooking it (it’s about 75% cooked).

My my my.

That was tasty. I like that they season things well, flavorful but not so strong that it’s overpowering. It’s very well balanced. Then the smoke… it was just a perfect smoky flavor. Not too much, not too little. As soon as I opened the pouch I smelled the smoke. It was heavenly.

So far, I’m liking the service and end-product coming out of Johnny G’s. Satisfied customer, willing to keep going back.

I still got it

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Had a nice Independence Day weekend with the in-laws.

Up at the father&mother-in-law abode, they have a “tank” — basically, a pond. When they expanded its size about 4 years ago, they stocked it with some fish. My kids have been on a fishing kick lately, so they wanted to go fishing and fishing they got. Actually, this was more “catching” than it was “fishing”, but still great! Oldest caught a catfish and 2 largemouth bass. Daughter caught a catfish. Youngest caught a catfish and a couple bluegill. All the keepers were about 2-3# in size, bass were 14-16″ and catfish 19-21″. Kept 5 total fish, and some were thrown back. It was a big learning experience for Youngest because he’d get some fight on his line then the fish would throw the hook… Youngest got upset about it, but he has to learn that sometimes that’s what happens. A few minutes later it even happened to me and Youngest saw it (just a few feet from shore, and Youngest even got to see the fish throwing the hook) — see? even happens to Daddy!

Nevertheless, a good time catching fish. Brought them back up to the house and I learned that my fish cleaning skills are still with me. I haven’t cleaned a fish since I was a teenager (either haven’t fished or have only fished catch-and-release), but I still got it. We’re going to have some fried catfish and bass for lunch today.

After that, went to my brother-in-law’s place. Kiddos got to swim. Ate good food. Fireworks too. Since we live in the city (Austin only allows things like sparklers and snakes) and typically have burn bans, we don’t get much for fireworks. But my brother-in-law had no such issues so they bought all sorts of things. Kids got to shoot some stuff off, see some rather big shells going off. It was quite cool for them to finally get to experience fireworks beyond the little dinky things that we might get to do on occasion.

It was a hot, tiring, weekend. But ever such a good one. Family’s important. Spend time with them. I don’t often hear people saying “gosh, I wish I spent more time at work” but often you’ll hear that folks wished they spent more time with their kids and family.

Anyway, I’ve got some fish to fry.

Sugar, sweet sweet sugar

/ hsoi

The wife and kids went grocery shopping. They come home, I go downstairs to see what goodies have been brought.

Seems the kids talked my wife into buying Kool-Aid and mini marshmallows.

How do I know this?

I see the children… mixing a purple powder in a glass… then adding marshmallows on top of it.

So… we have sugar drink topped with fluffy sugar pellets.

I think it’s time for the kids to go outside and run a few hundred laps around the house, eh?

A simple pleasure

/ hsoi

One thing I love about being home so much (side-benefit of the work-at-home situation) is my wife’s cooking.

Not just eating it and eating it 2-3 times a day, but smelling it.

I’ll be sequestered in my office. I’ll be deeply buried in code or debugging or some other software development joy. Then it hits me. Some smell… it has crept its way through the house. It might be the smell of garlic and onions sautéing. It might be bread baking. It might be the wonderful smell of bacon frying. Whatever it is, it’s always a wonderful smell. It’s always a pleasant surprise when it hits. Sometimes I’ll head down to the kitchen to see what’s cooking, other times I’ll just savor the aromas from afar and wait to see what else floats my way so I can try to figure out what she’s up to. 

The printer is in my office. I’ll hear it kick in without my initiation, so I know it’s Mrs. Hsoi printing out a recipe she found. I do my best to avoid looking at the printout. I don’t want to know. I don’t want the surprise to be ruined. Let her cook. Let the clues waft my way. The simple please of deciphering the magic she’s performing in the kitchen.

I am a fortunate man. 🙂

Updated: You know how I know my wife reads my blog? I post this. I go get in the shower. I come out of the shower and smell… bacon. Sweet sweet thick cut smoky fatty bacon. She received the above subtle hint.

My wife is awesome.

Breakfast for supper

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

Almost titled this “Breakfast for dinner” but that would be my northerner coming through. 😉

Brigid reminisces about pancakes for dinner. I’m not much of a pancake fan, but I know what she’s talking about. Sometimes we have breakfast for supper. It’s simple, it’s good for you, and yes… the best part is everyone at home, eating together, talking and laughing around the table. Oh, and yes… bacon. How can you go wrong with bacon?

Being at home as much as I am, most of the meals I eat tend to be with the family. I know that’s not a common thing these days, which is a bit sad to hear. All to often it’s scarfing down McDonald’s in the back of the SUV on the way to soccer practice or whatever activity there is tonight. I never was into running around like that. To me, that’s not quality of life. And that’s a nice thing about breakfast for supper: it can be pretty quick to whip up, so if you are tight on time, you can still have a good meal and a good time together.

Try it some time. Try it tonight.

Kids and cooking

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

My daugther just came up to my office with some bread in hand. And not just any bread. It’s a recipe she found herself. She made it, baked it, everything. I’m having a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (never had one before, very hoppy), and the taste of that in my mouth, the fresh-baked bread… and it just needs something like apricot or peach preserves. Mmmmm.

If you don’t know how to cook, you should learn. If you do know how to cook, you should teach someone else how to cook. If you know how to cook and have kids, you should teach them how to cook. You don’t have to be a gourmet, just as long as you like and eat what you cook. With kids it teaches so many things: chemistry, safety, following directions, creativity, self-sufficiency. When you cook together, it’s great time spent together. So much goes into worrying about building up a kid’s self-esteem… teach them how to cook, watch that self-esteem grow. Don’t believe me? Try it.

Duck dinner

/ hsoi

I’ve been encouraging the wife to buy different things at the grocery store. Doesn’t necessarily matter what, just let’s break out of ruts and try some new things.

So this past grocery shop she came home with a duck. This isn’t the first time we’ve eaten duck, but is the first time we’re prepared it at home. We figured to start with a simple recipe: stuffed with apples, some onion, wrap it in bacon, roast it in the oven, and it turned out ok. Gave us a lot to think about for the next time (e.g. gotta make a sauce).

When the Mrs. told me the price of the duck my jaw hit the floor. You know, I can buy a couple boxes of birdshot for my 12 gauge for that. I could come home with more birds and have more fun doing it. 

Yeah, I’m about “this close” to starting hunting.

 

Update: I forgot. I was corrected. Birdshot and duckshot aren’t the same thing (lead issues). Duckshot’s more expensive. Still tho, it’ll be more fun and more satisfying. 🙂

Sugar and butter

/ hsoi

Yes I know, sugar and butter — the root of all evil in foodstuffs, right?  We want all the delicious goodness they contain, but we want none of the bad they contain. Yes… we want to have our delicious cake and eat it too, but not get fat or anything like that.

So we have our long list of artificial sweeteners, which are well-known to have their side-effects. And the latest savior for the sugar-lover is Splenda, because it’s made from sugar, right? Must be good for you!

Check out the latest from PubMed.

Splenda alters gut microflora and increases intestinal p-glycoprotein and cytochrome p-450 in male rats.

Abou-Donia MB, El-Masry EM, Abdel-Rahman AA, McLendon RE, Schiffman SS.

Department of Pharmacology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA. donia@duke.edu

Splenda is comprised of the high-potency artificial sweetener sucralose (1.1%) and the fillers maltodextrin and glucose. Splenda was administered by oral gavage at 100, 300, 500, or 1000 mg/kg to male Sprague-Dawley rats for 12-wk, during which fecal samples were collected weekly for bacterial analysis and measurement of fecal pH. After 12-wk, half of the animals from each treatment group were sacrificed to determine the intestinal expression of the membrane efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and the cytochrome P-450 (CYP) metabolism system by Western blot. The remaining animals were allowed to recover for an additional 12-wk, and further assessments of fecal microflora, fecal pH, and expression of P-gp and CYP were determined. At the end of the 12-wk treatment period, the numbers of total anaerobes, bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, Bacteroides, clostridia, and total aerobic bacteria were significantly decreased; however, there was no significant treatment effect on enterobacteria. Splenda also increased fecal pH and enhanced the expression of P-gp by 2.43-fold, CYP3A4 by 2.51-fold, and CYP2D1 by 3.49-fold. Following the 12-wk recovery period, only the total anaerobes and bifidobacteria remained significantly depressed, whereas pH values, P-gp, and CYP3A4 and CYP2D1 remained elevated. These changes occurred at Splenda dosages that contained sucralose at 1.1-11 mg/kg (the US FDA Acceptable Daily Intake for sucralose is 5 mg/kg). Evidence indicates that a 12-wk administration of Splenda exerted numerous adverse effects, including (1) reduction in beneficial fecal microflora, (2) increased fecal pH, and (3) enhanced expression levels of P-gp, CYP3A4, and CYP2D1, which are known to limit the bioavailability of orally administered drugs.

PMID: 18800291 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Other links talking about the same.

Look folks. I’m not saying you should sit down and eat a sugar-encrusted stick of butter, or twenty. But generally speaking I’ve found that the closer the food remains to nature the more it tends to work out alright. The more we process it, the more it’s engineered in a laboratory, the less good for you it really is.

But whatever you do, just do it in moderation. That’s really the key.