My best friend wrote a song called "2:16" in high school and it gets stuck in my head on this date every year.
20 thoughts on “February 16, 2014: Two Sixteeeeeeeeen”
Pitchers and catchers report!
My favorite four words during the winter!
I'm still holding out for the words "Santana to the Twins." YEAH, SO I'M SENTIMENTAL
I haven't seen The Monuments Men yet, but I sure do want to. Because it concerns an awesome story. If you ever doubted that 'murica is indeed a special place, this story should restore at least some of your faith in American Exceptionalism. Another link to the story (this one from Haahhhvahhhd Magazine from 2010).
Two recipes today, one for the belly, the other for the fireplace.
NBB Asparagus soup and Chicken sausage
1 lb. of asparagus, woody ends cut off
2 c. chix broth
1/2 c. water
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp butter
some thyme
1/4 c. cream
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 Tbsp dry Vermouth
lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
2 chicken sausages
Quinoa and flax seed country-style bread (no I didn't bake this)
salt and pepper to taste (recipe for two)
Cut off the asparagus tips (1.5") and boil these in salty water for 3 min, then cool off with cool water.
Chop the rest of the asparagus into 1/4" pieces. In a soup pot, cook the onion in the butter until its translucent. Then mix in the chopped asparagus pieces and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the chix broth/thyme/ water, and cook for another 15 minutes. At the very end, add the parsley. Pour into Vitamix blender and puree it until velvety smooth.
While the soup was cooking, I put two chicken sausages under the broiler - when done, cut them into thin disks, put back under the broiler until crispy (but not burned).
Ladle the soup into two large, flat soup bowls - mix into each the cream, some Vermouth, and squeeze in some lemon juice. Garnish the soup with the asparagus tips and chicken sausage disks. Serve with a slice of bread.
NBB Firestarters
(I always felt something was wrong in paying for fire starters…)
Large paper baking cups (like for cupcakes)
Old white-pine pine cones (older the better)
Leftover candles (enough to make 2-3 cups of wax)
In a pan at medium heat, melt down the candles.
Put the white pine cones into a plastic bag, go out into the porch, and stomp on them. Then use a kitchen shears to cut them into smallish pieces (to be able to fit into the cups).
On a cookie sheet, arrange as many baking cups as you can fit. Fill the cups with the pine cone pieces. When the candles are completely melted down, spoon the wax into the cups over the pine cone pieces. Place out into a cold area to set.
For clean-up, rinse the pan and utensils under hot water - the wax will easily melt off.
the soup sounds great. And a recipe for two! I didn't know that such things were possible. I always seem to cook recipes for a crowd.
NBB: culinary challenge accepted. There's a new Appetite post going up tomorrow. But, man, you gotta start writing up yours as posts instead of sneaking 'em into CoCs.
So, bought a headboard. Looking for the instructions in the box, can't find. Spy a piece of paper and say to wife, "what about that?" She rips the paper in half (taped in) yanking on it. Yea!
Tape instructions back together. It has no verbiage, just two microscopic illustrations. Where do the lock washers go relative to the regular washers? Which bolts are which?
Well, we figured out which bolts are which. As I was saying, "uhh, I don't think these bolts will fit," I hear this crunching-of-wood sound from the wife's side as she is screwing in bolts with an allen wrench. Followed TWO MORE TIMES by crunching-of-wood sounds as she screws two more bolts through to the other side. Umm, honey, I think those were the wrong bolts. We needed the shorter ones.
And the Boss wonders why I pay people to do work for me.
This is also why we don't dance -- my wife refuses to let me lead, even though she doesn't know the steps.
See, I've never understood people's strange insistence on having "instructions" before they start. Half the enjoyment of putting something together is trying to do it without knowing what the heck is going on.
And I've always found the instructions much easier to follow if I've failed a couple assembly attempts first.
well, we did put the legs on the wrong sides the first time (holes were not centered on the legs, which MIGHT have been a clue).
Yea, nothing like a 15-minute job taking an hour. I also had to get out a metal file to file down the slots on the frame so that the bolts would fit. This after the wife stripped one of the bolts trying to force it. [Umm, honey, I sez, maybe we should see if the bolts will go through the slots before we try to force them?] Luckily(??) our frame is such that only two of the provided four bolts per side could be installed anyway. Sweet!!!!
The Best Man at my wedding always like to call them them "destructions" which seems appropriate in this case.
My son calls them "constructions". I try to correct him, but it's really hard to explain the distinction to a four-year old.
My wife never helps me. So these types of things never happen.
The halftime show for the NBA All Star Game is miles ahead of most the Grammys music showcase.
Yes, yes it is. Plus, there's something hilarious about Crunch enjoying it from just below the stage. Great show.
Olympic Hockey Trivia.
Can you name the six nations to have won gold in men's ice hockey?
1956 in Cortina. Since then they won 17 of 49 games (35%, numbers do not include results so far in Sochi) and no medals in 7 European olympiads. Over the same period they have won 4 medals in 5 North American olympiads, winning 75% of their games (21 of 28)
When was the last time the men's Olympic hockey tournament had an undefeated team take the gold?
1984. The USSR team went 7-0 and won gold. 15 of the first 16 olympic hockey tournaments saw a team go undefeated. None of the next seven have. A bad trend for Canada, Sweden, and the US if it holds. Anyone betting on Russia or Finland?
Last one - What country has won the most men's ice hockey medals over the last 30 years?
Finland. 5 medals (2 silver, 3 bronze) in the last 7 tournaments. Canada and USSR/Russia have 4 each in that time, Sweden and the Czechs have 3, the USA has 2.
Should be the USSR. Their last gold was 1992, when they were the "Unified Team" (former USSR), so that still counts to me. Russia as a separate nation has never won. I don't know if any of the USSR players weren't Russian, but still...
When the USSR collapsed, it was determined that Russia would inherit the USSR's IIHF ranking and history. A similar decision was made with Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. So Slovakia has no olympic medals, but the Czech Republic has 10 (8 as TCH (1920-1992), 2 as CZE (1994-Present)).
Pretty stupid. I thought the Texas Rangers had them all.
Pitchers and catchers report!
My favorite four words during the winter!
I'm still holding out for the words "Santana to the Twins." YEAH, SO I'M SENTIMENTAL
I haven't seen The Monuments Men yet, but I sure do want to. Because it concerns an awesome story. If you ever doubted that 'murica is indeed a special place, this story should restore at least some of your faith in American Exceptionalism. Another link to the story (this one from Haahhhvahhhd Magazine from 2010).
Two recipes today, one for the belly, the other for the fireplace.
NBB Asparagus soup and Chicken sausage
1 lb. of asparagus, woody ends cut off
2 c. chix broth
1/2 c. water
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp butter
some thyme
1/4 c. cream
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 Tbsp dry Vermouth
lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
2 chicken sausages
Quinoa and flax seed country-style bread (no I didn't bake this)
salt and pepper to taste (recipe for two)
Cut off the asparagus tips (1.5") and boil these in salty water for 3 min, then cool off with cool water.
Chop the rest of the asparagus into 1/4" pieces. In a soup pot, cook the onion in the butter until its translucent. Then mix in the chopped asparagus pieces and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the chix broth/thyme/ water, and cook for another 15 minutes. At the very end, add the parsley. Pour into Vitamix blender and puree it until velvety smooth.
While the soup was cooking, I put two chicken sausages under the broiler - when done, cut them into thin disks, put back under the broiler until crispy (but not burned).
Ladle the soup into two large, flat soup bowls - mix into each the cream, some Vermouth, and squeeze in some lemon juice. Garnish the soup with the asparagus tips and chicken sausage disks. Serve with a slice of bread.
NBB Firestarters
(I always felt something was wrong in paying for fire starters…)
Large paper baking cups (like for cupcakes)
Old white-pine pine cones (older the better)
Leftover candles (enough to make 2-3 cups of wax)
In a pan at medium heat, melt down the candles.
Put the white pine cones into a plastic bag, go out into the porch, and stomp on them. Then use a kitchen shears to cut them into smallish pieces (to be able to fit into the cups).
On a cookie sheet, arrange as many baking cups as you can fit. Fill the cups with the pine cone pieces. When the candles are completely melted down, spoon the wax into the cups over the pine cone pieces. Place out into a cold area to set.
For clean-up, rinse the pan and utensils under hot water - the wax will easily melt off.
the soup sounds great. And a recipe for two! I didn't know that such things were possible. I always seem to cook recipes for a crowd.
NBB: culinary challenge accepted. There's a new Appetite post going up tomorrow. But, man, you gotta start writing up yours as posts instead of sneaking 'em into CoCs.
So, bought a headboard. Looking for the instructions in the box, can't find. Spy a piece of paper and say to wife, "what about that?" She rips the paper in half (taped in) yanking on it. Yea!
Tape instructions back together. It has no verbiage, just two microscopic illustrations. Where do the lock washers go relative to the regular washers? Which bolts are which?
Well, we figured out which bolts are which. As I was saying, "uhh, I don't think these bolts will fit," I hear this crunching-of-wood sound from the wife's side as she is screwing in bolts with an allen wrench. Followed TWO MORE TIMES by crunching-of-wood sounds as she screws two more bolts through to the other side. Umm, honey, I think those were the wrong bolts. We needed the shorter ones.
And the Boss wonders why I pay people to do work for me.
This is also why we don't dance -- my wife refuses to let me lead, even though she doesn't know the steps.
See, I've never understood people's strange insistence on having "instructions" before they start. Half the enjoyment of putting something together is trying to do it without knowing what the heck is going on.
And I've always found the instructions much easier to follow if I've failed a couple assembly attempts first.
well, we did put the legs on the wrong sides the first time (holes were not centered on the legs, which MIGHT have been a clue).
Yea, nothing like a 15-minute job taking an hour. I also had to get out a metal file to file down the slots on the frame so that the bolts would fit. This after the wife stripped one of the bolts trying to force it. [Umm, honey, I sez, maybe we should see if the bolts will go through the slots before we try to force them?] Luckily(??) our frame is such that only two of the provided four bolts per side could be installed anyway. Sweet!!!!
The Best Man at my wedding always like to call them them "destructions" which seems appropriate in this case.
My son calls them "constructions". I try to correct him, but it's really hard to explain the distinction to a four-year old.
My wife never helps me. So these types of things never happen.
The halftime show for the NBA All Star Game is miles ahead of most the Grammys music showcase.
Yes, yes it is. Plus, there's something hilarious about Crunch enjoying it from just below the stage. Great show.
Olympic Hockey Trivia.
Can you name the six nations to have won gold in men's ice hockey?
When was the last time the US won a men's hockey medal in an olympics hosted in Europe?
When was the last time the men's Olympic hockey tournament had an undefeated team take the gold?
Last one - What country has won the most men's ice hockey medals over the last 30 years?
Pretty stupid. I thought the Texas Rangers had them all.