You can spend a lot of money on stuff with which to make tea, if you want too. There are lots of kettles available in steel and copper. There are piles of teapots for purchase in all kinds and colors. There are all sorts of noodley, fiddly tea type things that invariably end up in the bottom drawer, unused and forgotten. I have a teapot, a nice little porcelain one, clean and white. I’ve stopped using it.
Archive for February, 2006
Well Equipped for Tea
February 28th, 2006 by goobTwo Winners
February 27th, 2006 by psuWe went to Ohio to visit some old friends who we knew at CMU. While there, we made two interesting food discoveries.
(more…)
The War Against Cliché
February 24th, 2006 by peterbIt started with one bitter observation, but ballooned, as it always does, into an entire night full of complaining and snarkiness. 50 items about the most common videogame clichés, attached below for your amusement. Some are funny, some are painful, and some are stupid, but each one is marked with its author, so you’ll know who to blame.
Feel free to add on to the list in the comments.
(more…)
Peter's Famous Biscuits
February 23rd, 2006 by psuThese are not my famous biscuits. This is a recipe I found in Peter Christian’s cookbook, named for a tavern that we used to frequent when we lived in New Hampshire. Use them for sweet or savory dishes. But don’t eat too many.
(more…)
Resident Zombie Lull Killer
February 22nd, 2006 by psuThe lesson for today is: shooting zombies is always fun.
(more…)
Star Chamber
February 21st, 2006 by peterbIt was perhaps a year ago that I tried the demo for an early version of Star Chamber. It was a promising game, a mixture of space strategy (a la Spaceward Ho!) and card play (a la Magic: The Gathering). It was clearly more of a proof-of-concept demo than a full-fledged game at the point at which I tried it, and more features were promised “soon.” I set the game aside and forgot about it for a while.
The other week, I read an announcement that Star Chamber: The Harbinger Saga had been released for the Mac. Always interested in games I can play on my laptop on long flights, I took a look. And I would like to say to the authors of Star Chamber: “You’ve come a long way, baby.”
(more…)
Dear Cooks Illustrated
February 20th, 2006 by psuI was interested to read the article titled Perfect Pot Stickers in your most recent issue. The beginning of the article, which described the pleasures of the perfect Chinese Dumpling put into words exactly why I have spent a large part of my adulthood trying to reproduce what I used to eat as a child.
(more…)
Friday Night in Sicily
February 17th, 2006 by peterb…and somewhere, someone is eating caponata di melanzana.
Melanzana, of course, is the beautiful Italian name for the fruit that the French call “aubergine,” and which no one in America eats because it has the revolting name “eggplant.” Caponata is a relish, of sorts, that uses eggplant to carry the flavors of the other items in the mix.
It’s easy to make (except for one annoying part), delicious, and my version is good enough that it can make complete strangers want to hold you and gently sob tears of happiness.
Here’s how to make it.
(more…)
The Package
February 16th, 2006 by psuFirms spend millions upon millions of dollars conceiving, developing, building, marketing, and advertising their wares. They beg us to buy them. Their very existence depends on our whim and desire.
And then, when victory is at hand, and when the cash has been transferred, they show their appreciation for us by making it impossible to actually open the god forsaken package in which the item is stored. For this, someone must suffer.
(more…)
Classical Music: Not Dead Yet
February 15th, 2006 by psuWe went to a PSO concert last weekend. This is the first show we have been to in about a year. In the past, I used my PSO experiences to show why the cultural position of Classical Music in our modern world is somewhat shaky. However, this is not the whole story.
(more…)