Journal

Hinterland Saturday - Avenue of the Saints Amphitheater, St. Charles, Iowa - 8/3/2024

Initially, when I was offered the ticket, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I was actually looking forward to a relatively quiet weekend as the work week was just a lot this week. After I accepted I was more and more looking forward to it. That feeling you get when you are sharing an experience with thousands of other people. Yeah Yeah, I can totally do this. It’s been a bit since I’ve been to 80/35. I listen to Vampire Weekend on the regular and one of my brothers is a big fan of Charley Crockett (already added some of their music to my listen to these). so I figured a live performance would be nice to see.

I got up earlyish, mowed the lawn, got ready, picked up some bug spray and some cash (I did not need to bring cash). and got myself hydrated.

3/4 Mattas’ came and picked me up and we headed down to St Charles. It was fun and that feeling of excitement of going to see a thing. Parked, Shuttled, we got into the first line of the day, to get into the venue.

It started off as fun, some lines were pretty short (booze, climbing kites, cold water for money). but then I think my output of water through my pores started to override the amount going in. Nathan, Jenny and I headed up to get some lunch, and I decided to go sit down and drink water, in this lightly shaded area, with a nice cross breeze. 52 oz of water later I started to feel ok again, and a bit later I got up to get some lunch and sat back down again. Another 26 oz of water later I headed down to re-join the group and listen for a bit more.

I admit we were a ways back from the stage, but I was expecting more people to mostly pay attention to the band. This was not the case. people behind us and in front of us didn’t stop their hum of chatter for a good chunk of the time.

Eventually my water equilibrium got lost again, so I went back up to where I had taken a break before. I realized at this time that even on chairs at work I adjust myself, on soft char where I watch TV from, I often dramatically change positions. Maybe to move my weight around maybe not, but with the lumpy ground it was very hard to swap around.

After a realization, and checking to see how much it would cost to take a Lyft home, I remembered that they had a Des Moines shuttle, and after checking, found it was available for all ticket holders. So I checked with Shannon, texted goodbye to the Matta’s and headed to the edge of the bowl of the area, as to not have to walk all the way down the hill and back up.

While exiting, there were some not great parts. First, I got to the entrance area, and got a bit of crap for not going though the exit (I never say a sign), but he let me go through. Second, my tired ass stood around for a bit deciding if I should cross the street just outside the entrance or walk all the way around. The signs for the Des Moines Shuttle led me to hike down, and then hike back. As someone that was tired, this was quite annoying. Yes yes, safety, crossing the street in a designated area. Eventually I found the right place and got on a bus for kids and had a nice wind flow as we headed back to Des Moines. As I was being cooled down I started to feel a lot better. Shannon picked me up and we headed home, showered, 2 of my big water bottles later I was able to have enough water to go to the bathroom again.

Other thing I noticed, the vast majority of the food vendors were the same company. They had names on the booths to give the impression of a variety of vendors, but they’re all the same group. Interesting niche in a market to fill, I suppose, and probably easier to contract a company that provides their own workers. Being how hot and sunny it was, there were a lot of people wearing black, I did not understand this position to take.

This all being said, I marked Hans Williams, Madison Cunningham, and Red Clay Strays to listen to. I didn’t make it until Charley Crokett, I think he was about to start when I got on the bus. I did make a temporary beetle friend.

2024 - Week 29 Cooking Results

Sausage

Crooked gap bratwurst, all good.

Bierock Casserole

A lot of cabbage, a lot of ground beef and a bit of onion. The dough came together though I did have trouble getting it on top of the dish itself. I swapped out the American cheese for a Monterey Jack. I really enjoyed this and ate the leftovers over the course of the week.

Sheet Pan Chili Crunch Chicken with Corn

I used what I had in the house, which was not the momofuku product, but a less spicy one (good for Shannon) that I picked up was the cheese shop. Not quite the same since they didn’t have the sesame seeds (probably better for me). i used Kewpie mayo (with msg). And it turned out delicious. I tossed the sauce w/ the chicken, and then the rest of it with the corn (frozen) and a chopped onion. It came out well.

Turkey-Veggie Burgers with Lemon-Basil Sauce

At the grocery store, I saw ground turkey with 15% fat, which I found interesting. For this, as they are adding things to make it juicier, decided to go with the 7% fat version as the recipe intends. Things went well, the flavor was nice, especially after the Parmesan add (more than asked for). I skip the zucchini, though. The burgers themselves were enhanced by the parmesan and made juicer by the carrot. Good over all.

Simple Skillet Sausage Pasta

It was fine? The tomato sauce got into the noddles quite well, but the process was a bit much, I could’ve used two pans and been done quicker. I had ordered sausage from Crooked Gap, but with it being county fair time, they were to busy to do stuff, so I had forgotten all about this and then ran off to Fareway to get some sausage. Which was vaguely surprising to me, but fine. Not that far away, in and out right quick.

So the Fareway near me is not a full grocery store, but the meat market. The actual closest to me is quite a hike.

I also made some lemon basil syrup. As in not lemon and basil, but the Thai Lemon Basil or Lao Basil. I haven’t tried it yet, but will in a bit. I used the recipe from one of my cocktail books that I don’t use enough. This one being a digital version of Cocktail Codex. ti said to use stems and I was going to make one with leaves and one with stems, but ran out of sugar (I had just enough sugar, plus a few grams more).

This week I got sign off on my arm from my doctor. No more check ins, released on my own recognizance. I’ll remember it’ll be better to be embarrassing in getting up then fighting a tiger (I also told near the top of my reporting line this story, which was funny).

Pixes, Modest Mouse, special guest Cat Power- Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee, Iowa - 6/24/2024

Nathan and Jenny drove up and we met to go out to eat at Basic Bird. Afterwards, Shannon headed home, and we headed out to Waukee. Most of the same complaints about the venue remain, however the corrected the volume of smell of the men’s bathroom has been corrected from overpowering, to something one would expect as normal.

Cat Power

Enjoyable, though I think she was struggling with her voice a bit, and perhaps leaned on auto-tune on songs where she uses both. I would expect her at a show at a more sit down type of venue, where one doesn’t expect to have to have the assist of sound dampening. I went in blind, and am curious enough to add some of her music to my “to listen”. She had a nice light display and used some of the lights like a mirror ball. towards the audience. Enjoyable, felt like I had a bit of space around me and my body was doing ok.

Modest Mouse

Clearly everyone about our age knows Modest Mouse to one extent or another. I am not super familiar with thier music outside of the most notable items. In support of the band, I suppose, was an extra percussion guy (entertaining to watch, I will admit) and person playing keyboards and various other instruments. For the percussion guy, you can see him get prepared, and then do his percussion part (sometimes a double shake of something, or hitting something else). The light show probably put the lights through the biggest paces. There was a point where they seem to have a sort of color changing very bright light just roll across the stage, and start again with a new color, just cycling through the colors. The crowd had started to close in a bit, my feet and right knee started to complain. Some of the music was enjoyable, some of it was, not my cup of tea? The lead singer was quite expressive, and clearly they are talented at what do. I spent a lot of time watching the lights and the light play on the ceiling.

Pixies

This is who I was there to see. Pixies, for me, were a bit of a high school fascination (a sister’s friend introduced me I think) and a college one, where I spent a lot of time expanding my musical horizons. And went down CD rabbit hole after CD rabbit hole. I still have most of these CDs, somewhere, packed away. I certainly connected more to the lyrics and feelings. After people had left for refills and bathroom breaks, the crowd pressed in again. My feet started to question what I was doing and my right knee was also questioning my choices. There was a nice balance what I knew and loved, knew, and also a handful of items I didn’t know as I’ve slowed down quite a bit on keeping up with bands. I’ve added some newer stuff from the Pixies since last night. For the lights, it was bigger play of the light and the dark, where one was able to step in and out of the light on the stage. My favorite light effect of the whole show was the combination of the smoke from the machine and and the faster and faster twirling of lights which seemed to spin the smoke. I truly enjoyed the show and enjoyed this better then seeing them opening for Weezer.

Afterwards, we collected things and Nathan and Jenny dropped me off and headed back home. I was up for a bit longer as my adrenaline was up a bit and eventually made it to bed just after midnight.

A small part of Where is my Mind performed by the Pixies at Vibrant Music Hall in Waukee Iowa on 6/24/2024

STOMP - Des Moines Civic Center - 6/22/2024

STOMP has been on my vague list of things to see for quite a while. I’ve seen some of the shows on line and the commercials always look cool. We traded tickets from one of the Broadway series shows to STOMP (even losing money), because I still have issues spending money on the intellectual property of that person. We ended up going the same night as Holly and the boys, but weren’t that close to each other. I kept trying to figure out where they were by counting rows back and going over, but I’d get lost and was looking back further then they actually wore, we finally saw them waving.

The set was neat with a mix of an industrial look, but clearly has a purpose.

The show was divided up into, skits or songs, where there was clearly a beginning, middle and end. Most had a humor element, where the foil was usually the instigator of “conflict” or butt of the joke.

One thing I think may have been missed by some, was the shadow play on the walls of the auditorium. Some of the dancing created interesting patterns in shadow on the walls.

We both enjoyed it having a fund time watching people play music on random pieces and the strength of the dance an performance. All without speaking. It was a fun time.

2024 - Week 25 Cooking Results

Sausage

Saw these bras at the Cheese Shop, while I was still in recovery mode. So I avoided buying them, until I thought, hey I can handle a cased sausage now. These were quite good and am happy I bought them.

Taco Salad

Extra beans, for more fiber. Good things.

Kimchi and Ham Steak Fried Rice

Part of me though, hey I should pull a ham out of the freezer, the other part thought, that is a lot of commitment to ham right now. So I picked up some ham steaks and went from there. Made it before, will make it again.

Thai-Style Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry

Vaguely followed the recipe, wanted to add more curry paste, but didn’t have it. I did add sambal olek to mine, which was a nice flavor booster.

Glazed Salmon

Put off from a bit before, defrosted the salmon, cooked it and went forward. Good meal. Served with a salad.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Sausage and Peppers

While we had planned to stay at the Matta’s which means we usually run behind on the weekend, and Shannon has to take off time way in advance. So I used the extra time on the Monday to take the time to make this meal, as it would normally be a weekend meal. But it came together well. I would’ve cooked the noodles a bit less, since they were a wee bit over cooked in the dish (maybe 9 minutes instead of 10). Still good and a nice mixture.

I ordered my new office chair (Steelcase Series 2) and it had been sitting in a box upstairs because I assumed it would be challenging to put together (since June 6th). This past Monday, I ended up unpacking it and we moved the pieces downstairs and put it together.

It was shockingly easy to put together. So much so that I thought I had messed it up. I’ve been using it this week and it’s been a bit of an adjustment as I’ve been sitting on my current chair for at least a 14 years or so. I’ve never been a big fan of the adjustable arms rests, I kind of like them fixed, but so far it’s working out. I’ve been sitting up a bit straighter. So far so good

I went to the Downtown Farmers Market for the first time this year. It was nice to get up early, walk around and see how things are going down there. There has been quite a bit of turnover. I did get an arepa, which I had been missing quite a bit along with some other breakfast things. I brought some veggies to bring home along with some tarts and hand pies for lunch. I showed off my scar a bit, but didn’t repeat the story.

2024 - Week 21 Cooking Results

Sausage

While I was able to get my Crooked Gap brats this week, not in time for this dinner. Still skinless, which is what my wife prefers, me too, and should be easier to digest, in general. So they were ok.

Beef Burgers

Bit of Momofuku salt, crooked gap beef. Good things.

Taco Salad

So this was a mixed experience. I made things more simple, because of recent events. But even so with the beans and the chips they ended up being…unpleasant later on. Spice as well. So I’m gong to claim I’ve learned my lesson, but somehow I doubt it.

Pizza (sourdough crust, for real this time)

I left the pizza dough out a bit of the down to allow it to grow a bit. and it did, to some extent, but not to the same extent that my yeasted version would go. It made it ok to work with, but I wasn’t as much as I expected. So it was a bit smaller than I would make. To make a concession I used tomato sauce instead of pureeing whole canned tomatoes, to avoid the seeds. And this mostly worked out. However, I added to much sauce and to much cheese, which overloaded everything. Even so it was a good attempt.

Thai Style Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

Delayed a bit.

Spicy Chili Coconut Shrimp Noodles

Less spicy, but easy to eat and digest, not a bad dinner.

I mowed the front and side yards on Friday, and then the backyard on Saturday. Friday I was fine, but tired, Saturday, with a Costco run, I was just exhausted by the end of the day. I fell asleep during the new South Park feature and after “making” dinner (purchased egg salad, where I effectively sliced cheese and setup plates for dinner). After we watched the Bob Marley movie, I just went to bed. I feel a lot better this morning, since sleeping from 9:30p to around 7a. So here we are, knowing I have limitations again, of not only food but the amount of effort I can put into a day.

Martha Redbone - Temple Theater - 4/12/2024

We were sitting at one of the comedy series shows and looking at the upcoming items in the Live at the Temple concert series, and just reading the description, without knowing anything about the artist, sounds like something I’d like, so I asked Shannon and she said sure and we bought tickets. As a note, I tried to get tickets for the tables, but several of them had a seat taken and a seat reserved for handicapped, so we couldn’t buy 2 seats at a table, leaving the handicapped seat by itself. So we ended up on the risers. For the most part, we ware on the younger side of those that attended, with a handful, much younger. It was stunningly good. Not knowing what to expect, as I did no research, and Shannon did a little.

We had dinner downstairs and headed up to the concert.

I think we were both stunned. She has an emotive and beautiful voice, and the backing band, including her husband, was quite talented. She moved between classics that she doesn’t want to be forgotten, the album they our touring on, which is based on William Blake poems and the various projects that she’s been involved in.

Of the strong performances over the course of the night, her performance of Blackbird, was fantastic (from another show).

2024 - Week 14 Cooking Results

Sausage

As always, good things.

Tuna Steaks

I went to a different hy-vee in hopes that I would be able to find some ingredients I want for recipes that look good, and was unable to find them, however I did get some tuna steaks that were shockingly similar in size, as opposed to what normally happens, where one is big and one is small. I added a bit of soy sauce to each side and baked them off. I served them with some greens.

Lamb Burgers

Salt, pepper, a bit of momofuku tingly salt, paired with a cheese and we had a bit of delicious dinner.

Egg Salad (vaguely based on)

I recently saw Shannon make an egg salad, and thought it would be a good thing. It was, perhaps, a bit more liquid then I would have liked, but not to much, just enough to be a bit annoying, even so, the flavor was good.

Hummus (for Shannon)

This was a bit different form her last one, and I think looked better. Also I had lemons, unlike last time when I had to use a vinegar (beach rose) as the acid. I once again used the beechwood smoked salt, to get it up to that level, but also dusted it with smoked hot paprika. Which looked nice over the hummus. This more successful, judging by the amount taken, then last time.

Pork tacos with orange salsa

I tried to segment t and remove the membranes, and then gave up and ate the orange and then put the ingratiates as things to add or without he pork. I did not have the sazon, so I skipped that. I thought I had another type, but after a cupboard search it didn’t appear so. Even so, it was still a good combination and pretty good meal, even though I barely followed the recipe.

Meatloaf

Should I have made this, perhaps not as tall as I did. Yes, it would’ve saved on cooking time, but it looked quite good as I used lamb, beef and pork as the mixture., but the rest was mostly the same, I swapped the chili powder and cayenne for chipotle powder. I also made mashed potatoes using the last of the potatoes that I had bought. While cooking the kitchen go a bit warm, but it was nice enough outside I opened a window in the kitchen and two in the living room to create a nice breeze through he house. Great meatloaf, looking forward to having some leftover sandwiches.

During the Action Movie Saturday, for Sisu (excellent), I had intended to sip on some wine, but the movie was fast paced enough that I didn’t think I could take a break. I ended up drinking it later that night.

2024 - Week 13 Cooking Results

Sausage

Deliciousness defined.

Gochujang Sloppy Sammys

I went about making my sort of kind of combination of ingredients with a big add of gochujang. Then I thought hey, I could also add this locally produced ‘hot” sauce that I didn’t particularly like. Unfortunately for me, this went to dominate the flavor with the turmeric. I mean we ate it, but I wasn’t as thrilled by it.

Baked Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

An order of Bread by Chelsa roles, some rosemary ham, and wonderful cheese and baked in the oven for a bit. It made for a good meal. I suppose I could’ve done it during the week, but the rolls were available for pickup on a Saturday. It made for a “I’ve done enough today” meal where it was easy to make and quite good results. With the expected quality of the ingredients, it’d be hard to mess it up.

Sour Cream and Onion Pasta

While the water was coming to temp, I was able to do most of the rest of the work, and then this came together quite easily. A bit of oven time with the chips, and we had a nice dinner. I shouldn’t have used the whole time, as some of the chips started to get a bit over done.

Salmon with Honey Chili Crunch

I probably should have followed the recipe rather than just using the spicy honey. I had to pull off the back skin, since it wanted skinless, which kind of tore the meat a bit. Anyways after baking it was still good and served with some spinach, and just past best by date croutons.

Bagel Breakfast Casserole

What does one do when they have everything bagel seasoning? Make dishes like this, I suppose. I made this on Sunday, since it seemed to require a bit more time and I could start a bit earlier. It was pretty good.

2024 - Week 12 Cooking Results

Sausage

Back in stock in the freezer, back in making simple dinners on short cooking nights. Good meal.

Wagyu Corned Beef Sandwich

I saw that the cheese shop posted about this and I was lucky enough to get the last package after a busy week at work. This made for quite good sandwiches on Bread by Chelsa. This was about all the effort I could make. I was quite happy with them over all.

Smoked Salmon and Potato Frittata

I kind of made a turn here. Having a seasoned salad didn’t sound like it’d go over well, so I I combined it into the eggs. And maybe that’s why it was less than I thought it should be. Perhaps I should’ve just stuck with the smoked salmon and etc. Oh well, I think it was still ok. and ate the leftovers.

Baked Ziti

So there is clearly something in Creole Seasoning that just tickles my nose. This a mild issue, for the over all dish. It was not to much effort of what it turned into. Using fresh mozzarella and high quality Parmigiano reggiano. This turned out well, and leftovers were eaten with glee.

Spicy Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup

Oh it’s a rotisserie chicken that’s 2.5# not 2.5# of meat. The store didn’t have any rotisserie chicken on hand, so I got the pre-picked chicken and went from there. I didn’t end up getting 2.5#, but still more then would be on an entire chicken. This ended up making a super meaty soup. Quite good. Enough so that we both had leftovers.