A baking and gardening journal. Mostly.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
A few months ago, I posted a link to a video by the folks at Epic Meal Time where they kidnapped Jamie Oliver. Well, Oliver gets his revenge. This may actually be funnier than the original and is a great parody. My favorite part is “Vegan Muscles” at about 55 seconds in.
For your enjoyment:
By Iron Chef Leftovers
Next up in the Stone Collaboration series is the Highway 78 Scotch Ale brewed in conjunction with Green Flash and Pizza Port – making this one an all-California affair. This one came in a 12 oz. bottle for $4.99. I couldn’t find the product page on the Stone website, but I did find their press release, so here is what they say:
Green Flash/Pizza Port Carlsbad/Stone Highway 78 Scotch Ale (named after the 18 mile stretch of asphalt that unites us) is an atypical creation for all three breweries. It’s a very malty (read: NOT HOPPY) style of beer that we formulated with three different crystal malts, chocolate malt, and English pale malt to provide a rich, bready body. East Kent Goldings and Target hops provide a very modest backbone of peppery hops, but the flavor is unequivocally malt-driven. Scotch Ale yeast and a touch of raw sugar called sucanat add a distinctive complexity to this hefty 8.8% abv beer.
I should make the disclaimer now that I am really not a big fan of the Scotch Ale style of beer – I tend to find them heavy and syrupy and not really all that enjoyable. That being said, I really did review this beer with an open mind.
The beer pours ruby in color, lighter than I was expecting from a Scotch Ale. Lots of malt and slight notes of peat and smoke show on the nose – this beer is definitely not going to be confused with any other style. The beer is very malt forward, as you would expect, with a slight sweetness and a long finish with notes of smoked malt and grain. Not as overpowering as many Scotch ales and lighter on the malt than I was expecting, I just wish that there was more hop character present than I got – the hops were barely noticeable. There was balance though and the beer did not drink like the 8.8% ABV that it is. Overall, this beer was pretty darn tasty, especially for the style.
Stone Collaboration Highway 78 Scotch Ale drives down the road to the pizza shop and flashes us with a solid 3 kilts out of 5.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
Out in tiny Poulsbo, Washington, there is an unlikely large grouping of breweries. One of them is Sound Brewery, a brewery that is probably best known around these parts for their use of Belgian strains of yeast. You may not realize it, but they also do a pretty fantastic job with other styles of beer. Ursus Americanus, better know as the American Black Bear, is an American stout. As described on the Sound website:
Ursus Americanus American Stout – 6.5% ABV
Dark, strong, smooth American stout bursting with coffee and dark chocolate aroma and smooth velvety texture.
Availability: Draft only
The beer, as expected, pours jet black with a creamy brown head. There are strong notes of chocolate and roasted malt dominating the nose. The first sip is surprisingly slightly sweet with a healthy dose of chocolate slowly fading into nicely pleasant roasted malt; almost reminding me of a malt ball candy. The beer isn’t done; fading back into a long and lingering chocolate finish. I was surprised by this beer – it smells like it would be heavy and roast dominant, but there is very little in the way of bitterness or heavy roast flavors; they are still there, but they are moderate – this is still by no means a light beer. The beer is extremely well balanced and easy to drink despite its higher alcohol content and dark and malty nature.
This is one that I really wish Sound would put into bottles – I would drink this a lot more often if they did.
Sound Brewery’s Ursus Americanus saunters into your camp and steals your food with a sneaky 4 cute cubs out of 5.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
Food festivals can be great or terrible, depending on how they are handled. Portland has one that does it right – Feast Portland. It runs this year from September 19 – 22nd and gets pricey since all of the events are ticketed, but check out the chef lineup here, then tell me if it isn’t worth it. Those names are some of the biggest in the US and it made me realize that Portland may have once again passed Seattle as the dominant culinary power in the Northwest.
by A.J. Coltrane
Previous post here.
Everything has been staked. The layout got spread out somewhat. Aphids (on the lettuces) and cabbage worms (brussels sprouts) made their first appearances and were rewarded with a dose of this organic solution. [pic of cabbage worm from itsnotworkitsgardening.com]
Marigolds are supposed to be a very beneficial companion plant, so twelve got spread around in the earthboxes. Scallions deter aphids, so some of those got pulled from the main bunch and distributed in with the lettuces. [wikipedia list of companion plants here. Companion plant theory is here.] In the early ’90’s I had read about companion planting in an old Mother Earth News Almanac (1973 edition, 1977 printing), I’ve been meaning to try it whenever I got around to planting vegetables. It only took me 20 years to put it into practice.
First picture, a view of the earthboxes on May 3:
June 9 view. The zucchini got a “throne” to lift it higher off of the ground. The little spots of color are marigolds. Note the new pvc supports for the tomato cages:
June 9 view from the back garage door looking toward the back yard:
Continue reading “EarthBox Update — June 9, 2013. Now with marigolds! And pests!”
By Iron Chef Leftovers
Next up in the Stone Collaboration Series is The Perfect Crime; a Black Smoked Saison brewed with the help of Evil Twin and Stillwater. The beer, as with all of the others I had in this series came from a 12oz. bottle and ran about $5.99. There are still a few bottles of this available at Chuck’s Hop Shop if you want to try it.
From the Stone website:
Evil Twin / Stillwater / Stone “The Perfect Crime” Black Smoked Saison. In a masterfully orchestrated collaboration of the minds, Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø of Denmark’s Evil Twin Brewing, Brian Strumke from Baltimore’s Stillwater Artisanal Ales, and Stone brewmaster Mitch Steele crafted a beer that cleverly exploits the definition of a saison.
Stats: 6.8% abv, 60 IBUs
Hops bill: East Kent Goldings, Chinook, and Cluster
This beer is jet black in color with a cream colored head. The nose has hints of smoke with tree bark, grains and hints of hops. The beer starts out on the palate with small amounts of smoke yielding to a bit of tartness (the farmhouse funk) and citrus – the grains of paradise and hops are definitely noticeable and balance nicely with the smoke giving a sweet/sour/smoky combination. The finish is slightly sweet with hints of sugar and mild hop resin. The beer is slightly hoppy but not dominating in a surprisingly long finish.
They really pushed the definition of saison on this beer and they nailed it. It has enough of the farmhouse funk and grains of paradise notes that you know there is a saison there somewhere, but it is far and away the most hoppy saison I have ever tried, The smoke surprisingly marries well with the other flavors and the brewers did a fantastic job keeping all of the individual components distinctive enough that you can still taste them without being overpowered by each other. A regular saison drinker would probably hate what they did to this beer, but if you are looking for something interesting, you should pick one up.
The Perfect Crime from Stone/Evil Twin/Stillwater gets away with stealing 4 Scott frees out of 5.
by A.J. Coltrane
It was time for some food and beverages in Everett. Many options were considered. Then Annie S. found this place using her phone.
Yes, a gaming tavern!
A place gamers and geeks feel at home? AFK Tavern is that place.
Video games, RPGs, card games, board games, and miniatures, every gamer can play at AFK Tavern.
Our signature gamer themed cocktails will tickle your funny bone while tantalizing your taste buds. The local produce and free range beef on our menu will keep you fortified for any occasion. See if you’re up to the challenge rating of our Dragon Burger, or savor our soups we make fresh daily.
AFK Tavern was made by gamers and geeks for gamers and geeks to game and geek out. Come out and show your colors at our events like Pirate Night, costume contests, release day parties and tournaments of every variety.
Get your game on at AFK Tavern.
The food was solid. The beer selection was good. The service was pleasant. The menu itself featured silly titles for the food, and had “powerup” themed add-ons available. It’s all very tongue-in-cheek, in a good way.
We’re told they have a room full of board games that you can check out. They also have multiple video game systems that you can play on, provided you get some grub.
Recent events at the Tavern have included a Star Wars night, Cthulu night, and a Zelda night.
We’ll be back.
Definitely recommended.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
I have said it before in this space, Reuben’s Brews really knows what they are doing with rye beer. Back at the beginning of the year, they debuted a Belgian version of their Imperial Rye IPA; it has since made a couple of appearances in the tap room, most recently at the Rye Fest they hosted for Seattle Beer Week.
The beer pours hazy orange in color with very little head. There are tons of citrus on the nose with some green hops and hits of sugar and rye. The first sip is a huge hit of hopes that lingers for a long time before moving into a long rye finish that is intertwined with the classic flavors associated with a Belgian beer – banana and cloves. The hop character is slightly more subdued and the rye finish is shorter and less intense that its regular Rye brother, but the Belgian yeast makes for an interesting and complex flavor and finish, making this beer a fine product in its own right. The bold flavors also go a long way in hiding the 8.4% ABV on this monster. It is a heavy beer in terms of flavor, texture and alcohol, but it is well balanced and smooth and you can easily forget how big this beer really is.
Next time the Belgian Rye IPA makes an appearance, get yourself down to Reuben’s and try one of the more interesting beers out on the market – even if you are not a fan of Belgian style beers.
Reuben’s Brews Belgian Rye IPA rings in with a clear 4 calls to prayer out of 5.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
I have said it before in this space, Reuben’s Brews really knows what they are doing with rye beer. Back at the beginning of the year, they debuted a Belgian version of their Imperial Rye IPA; it has since made a couple of appearances in the tap room, most recently at the Rye Fest they hosted for Seattle Beer Week.
The beer pours hazy orange in color with very little head. There are tons of citrus on the nose with some green hops and hits of sugar and rye. The first sip is a huge hit of hopes that lingers for a long time before moving into a long rye finish that is intertwined with the classic flavors associated with a Belgian beer – banana and cloves. The hop character is slightly more subdued and the rye finish is shorter and less intense that its regular Rye brother, but the Belgian yeast makes for an interesting and complex flavor and finish, making this beer a fine product in its own right. The bold flavors also go a long way in hiding the 8.4% ABV on this monster. It is a heavy beer in terms of flavor, texture and alcohol, but it is well balanced and smooth and you can easily forget how big this beer really is.
Next time the Belgian Rye IPA makes an appearance, get yourself down to Reuben’s and try one of the more interesting beers out on the market – even if you are not a fan of Belgian style beers.
Reuben’s Brews Belgian Rye IPA rings in with a clear 4 calls to prayer out of 5.
by A.J. Coltrane
Rolling along. Previous post here.
Our neighbor Kurt has started EarthBoxes! (It’s like a disease, only healthier.) His first post on the subject is here. We share an interest in low-labor container gardening it seems.
Well really, I just try to avoid weeding whenever I can.
The tomato plants got a bird net over their cages this week — four of the six plants are now producing fruit. (The Glacier, Stupice, Siletz, and Sungold. The Roma and Brandywine are holding out, which is to be expected.) The zucchini and brussels sprouts got staked with Ultomato cages. I like the idea of the Ultomato cages, and I’ll be looking to buy more parts either in bulk or on clearance at the end of the season. I know that the “arms” are available as a 36-pack, though I’d buy more at the right price. Getting a good deal may require a little digging.
Among the recent dishes to be partly or fully composed of Earthbox ingredients includes a bunch of green salads, guacamole, pico de gallo, dill “crusted” salmon, caprese salad, and grilled bok choi and scallions. The grilled bok choi and scallions were served with chicken kebabs marinated in greek yogurt, lemon, and Tom Douglas’ Bengal Marsala rub. Very tasty! Also this:
Photos of the plants:
FlatbreadGarden 