The End of History

The End of History, via Brewdog.com

The End of History: The name derives from the famous work of philosopher Francis Fukuyama, this is to beer what democracy is to history. Fukuyama defined history as the evolution of the political system and traced this through the ages until we got the Western Democratic paradigm. For Fukuyama this was the end point of man’s political evolution and consequently the end of history. The beer is the last high abv beer we are going to brew, the end point of our research into how far the can push the boundaries of extreme brewing, the end of beer.

Scotland's Brewdog has been involved in an extreme beer "conflict" with German brewery Schorschbräu to see who can generate the highest ABV beer in existence. The fruits of this competition on Brewdog's side have recently included the 32% ABV Tactical Nuclear Penguin, as well as the 41% ABV Sink the Bismark. As of today, the final shot has officially been fired.

The End of History clocks in at 55% ABV, a nigh-biologically implausible achievement via fermentation alone. All you need to know about said brew is this:

• it is a blond Belgian ale that has been infused with nettles from the Scottish Highlands and fresh juniper berries
• only twelve 12-ounce bottles were made, each sheathed in the body of a dead-by-roadkill rodent by a taxidermist
• 11 bottles were put on sale to the public today for £500-700 apiece - 7 in well-dressed stoats and 4 in sartorially-elegant squirrels

I... can't follow that up with anything meaningful. Brewdog has helpfully provided the following video, which may provide more context. Or not:


The End of History from BrewDog on Vimeo.

July 15 CSA share

Thank you, weather and Comcast, for letting us finally have our bloody-buggering internet back. Ahem.

The roll call: eggs, plums, blueberries, peaches, corn, onions, cucumbers, eggplant, bread, and tomatoes.

And here, I was lamenting the fact that we had yet to receive any corn yet... and we got some in spades, as they say. Or, rather, ears.

This is also the closest I've ever gotten to a non-cooked eggplant. I keep squeezing its spongy, supple flesh... I'll say no more.

the Ultimate (and Epic Ultimate) Bell Pepper Cocktail

As previously noted, Laura detests the bell pepper, and I am both unexcited & not offended by it's inclusion in various foodstuffs. In picking several up with our recent CSA share, I took this as a challenge to do something deliciously different with what I affectionately refer to as Cthulhu's Filler Vegetable. (Seriously, it's in just about every frozen or easily prepared dish that includes some sort of "vegetable mix.") Giving this a bit of thought, I came to an obvious conclusion:

The bell pepper must be taken roughly by alcohol in a shadowy bedroom and spit forth delicious progeny as a result.

I wasn't sure what form this would take. My first inclination was to find precedent for soaking peppers in an alcoholic beverage, as I didn't expect anyone would be mad enough to attempt a mixed drink with this ubiquitous waxen seed-husk... but a bit of interweb sleuthing proved me wrong, oh so wrong. Behold! The Ultimate Bell Pepper Cocktail:

My initial version used the following:

• 2 bell pepper rings
• fresh mint leaves to approximate 1 tablespoon mint
• 1 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 oz. Dogfish Head Blue Hen Vodka
• 3/4 oz. Galliano liqueur

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the mint and one bell pepper ring with the grapefruit and lemon juice. Add ice, vodka and liqueur. Shake vigorously. Strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with bell pepper ring.

This ended up being far tastier than I expected. The profile of the pepper holds up well with the other flavors, and the result is a sweetly spicy taste of some complexity. Of course, enjoying this requires that one actually likes bell peppers. I offered Laura a sip, and her immediate response was "OMG IT'S HIDEOUS" and to gag and wave her hands in front of her mouth until I brought her a palate-flushing glass of ginger ale.

The original poster noted that serving such a drink out of a bell pepper seemed to be a messy and inconvenient idea... so I clearly had to go there. Behold! The Epic Ultimate Bell Pepper Cocktail:

• a whole bell pepper with a relatively balanced bottom
• fresh mint leaves to approximate 1 tablespoon mint
• 1 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 oz. Dogfish Head Blue Hen Vodka
• 3/4 oz. Galliano liqueur

Slice the top off of the pepper in one even layer, and gently core the central seed area out with a paring knife. Cut the central stem out from the top and discard. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the mint and the remaining pepper top with the grapefruit and lemon juice. Add ice, vodka and liqueur. Shake vigorously. Strain into the body of the bell pepper and serve.

Although admittedly gimmicky, this would be interesting for someone to try who was both "hosting a party" and had a surplus of bell peppers. The added advantage is that cleanup would be both easy and nutritious.

Now, to finish this alcohol-impregnated pepper...

July 8 CSA share

And so it came to pass that there was a CSA share who's contents were not entirely to our liking:

The roll call: plums, blueberries, eggs, bread, tomatoes, peaches, cucumbers, bell peppers, red potatoes, and summer squash.

You see, Laura is not a fan of bell peppers.

By "not a fan," I do mean "revolted by their taste and texture in any method of preparation." That noted, when I picked up the share, I chose not to trade them for something else. (This was only partially motivated by the fact that the trade-in bin only contained cabbage, which we still have plenty of.) While not a massive devotee of the bell pepper myself, I was determined to find interesting way to use said vegetable. Experiments in that vein shall be disclosed shortly.

The rest of the share, of course, clearly meets our global approval. In addition to the usual recipes up on Breezy Willow's main site, I've discovered that our specific CSA drop-off community has it's own blog for recipe sharing, which kind of blows my mind in a meta-algorithmic-subdivision way. Ow.

Creamy Fruit Salad

Finding myself with a wondrous surplus of fruit in our July 1 CSA share, I heavily adapted this recipe for creamy fruit salad as a fruit-based side dish. I used:

• 4 peaches, diced and pits removed
• 8 small plums, diced and pits removed
• 2 cups blueberries
• 1/4 cup trail mix
• 1 (1 1/2 ounce) box sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/2 cup water

Combine the peaches, plums, blueberries and trail mix in a large mixing bowl. In small mixing bowl, combine pudding mix, water and lime juice with a wire whisk until smooth. Add pudding mixture to fruit. Mix gently until thoroughly coated. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

This was incredibly easy and quick to make, and the result was quite tasty. The lime juice added a strong flavor base, but bordered on overwhelming - for the next go-around, I may use 1/3 cup lime juice and 2/3 cup water.

June 24 and July 1 CSA shares

In which I show you our produce pr0n in order to catch up:

The roll call for the June 24 share: summer squash, bread, cherries, blueberries, new white potatoes, lettuce, peach jam, broccoli, mushrooms, and cucumbers.

The roll call for the July 1 share: plums, blueberries, new white potatoes, cabbage, sunflowers, eggs, tomatoes, bread, peaches, green beans, and cucumbers.

As usual, Breezy Willow has been posting some excellent recipe suggestions. Instead of briefly mentioning some of what we've been trying in this post, I'm going to explode several of the recipes out to their own individual posts... selfishly, because that will help me keep track of things better, and look them up easier for the future. And, of course, for your own personal culinary edification.

I've noted a couple of interesting things as we enter the second month of this grand experiment. The first is that there has been very little wastage thus far. Apart from a head of lettuce and a few squash early on that succumbed to wilt and mold, we been doing a surprisingly (to me) good job of keeping up with the produce and using it in a timely fashion. I'm also pleased to see that we're still excited to try new and creative things with what we get, as opposed to "I'm tired it's late here's a whole cucumber *crunch*" This bodes well for the sustainability of us actually, you know, cooking on a more regular basis.

Also, if our kitchen knives were sapient, they'd report feeling as though they were transferred from a nunnery to a brothel for all the use they have been getting since June started.

It's... best I don't extend that analogy. In any way.

eating healthy on less than $1 a day, or epic coupon gaming

Elusive Quaker Tearpad Coupon for $3.00 off when you buy any 5 Quaker products, cc by-sa image by Hotcouponworld.com on Flickr

This fellow was able to eat healthily for 30 days on nothing more than $27.08 and an incredible amount of coupon jockeying. Jeffery's "Eat Well on $1 a Day" challenge turns out to be less about finding coupons for healthy food, and more about gaming the bizarre world that is the grocery coupon industry. Noting that "getting good deals while grocery shopping is a game," he set forth the rules of his month as such:

1. I will begin on May 1 and will have no accumulated food of any kind. I have $31 to spend ($1 for each day of the month). I can start buying food on May 1 and can not exceed the $31. I must document the cost of the food with receipts.

2. I can only use 2 computers to print coupons. Although I have access to more which would make this challenge much easier, we agreed that not everyone will have access to a lot of computers. However, we also agreed that anyone reading this has access to at least one computer and should be able get access to another one using a bit of creativity.

3. I can only use 2 inserts from the Sunday paper each week. Although I have access to many more than this (I usually pick up anywhere from 3 to 5 copies for free from the local coffee shop alone each week), we decided that not everyone would have access to dozens of inserts. We agreed that anyone could get the coupon inserts from at least 2 Sunday papers with a bit of creativity. I am allowed to use up to 2 of previous week’s coupon inserts that I already happen to have.

4. I can use as many coupons as I want that I can get in the grocery store where they are available to everyone.

5. I can only buy food from retail outlets (grocery stores, drug stores, food markets, etc). I can’t supplement what I buy at the store with free food from trees, dumpster diving, friends, food banks, donations, growing my own, etc.

6. I can only use deals that anyone else would have access to getting.

What follows is his fascinating day-by-day account of how the challenge played out. To set the theme for his process, it's worth noting that his first purchase was for cleaning solution, just to get the coupons at check-out who's net worth in food was more than he paid for the cleaner. (As with the rest of the excess product he acquired over this month - a surprising amount - he donated it to a local food bank.) While most people won't have the time or patience to equal this feat, it does show that with some ingenuity and research, frugal shopping for healthy food is possible by gaming the system. Go here to read his account, as well as his follow-up experiments in the weeks after.

June 10 CSA share

And so it came to pass that real life did throw a flaming, tar-coated curveball my way, and I was forced to take the time to catch it with appropriate fire precautions. As such, while we got our second CSA share on time, we were forced to be out of town on family business for the third. All that noted, it is time for life, and food, to get back on track. Our second share:

The roll call: radishes, strawberries, spring onions, eggs, bread, white potatoes, peas, zucchini, and swiss chard.

The June 17 share, which a friend of ours picked up on our behalf, consisted of: cherries, lettuce, spring onions, white potatoes, squash, cucumbers, peas, bread, and eggs. We ended up with the lettuce, onions, potatoes, squash, cucumbers, and peas on our return from travel.

Given family issues, time was more limited than usual, resulting in us using the above in very basic ways. We didn't get a chance to try the week two or week three recipe suggestions, although there are some excellent ideas therein. Also appreciated were their produce storage suggestions. A few experiments:

• baked beets - based on the week one recipe, I used beets, squash, onion and garlic. I haved the onions and cut the squash into rounds, which worked well for both. The beets I left whole, which was an issue - although they turned out acceptably well, they were large enough that halving them would have improved their "doneness" significantly. Although a time investment, this is an incredibly easy veggie dish, and I look forward to revisiting it in the future.

• chard and onion mix - sauteing chopped chard with diced onions and butter over several minutes of medium heat was a quick and extremely flavorful vegetable option.

• squash zucchini soup - I adapted Paul's recipe, opting not to skin the veggies first, adding a copious amount of parsley and cilantro for the herbs, and flavoring with sea salt. The result was refreshingly different and damn good. Just... don't start prep at 8:30pm if you want any sort of "reasonable" dinnertime.

Tomorrow comes share four, and we will be ready. Oh, yes.

June 3 CSA share

Inspired by the experiences of friends I trust in the culinary arts, and the fact that Breezy Willow Farm came recruiting at Sinai, we have joined a community supported agriculture program. Behold, our first share:

The roll call: beets, radishes, strawberries, eggs, bread, squash, spinach, and two kinds of lettuce.

The grander experiment here is in the forced cooking that will result from the influx of fresh foodstuffs each week. While I enjoy cooking, busy schedules and low energy levels lead to me normally relying on quick meal plans that involve, as Thom likes to point out, more "heating" than actually "cooking." One of my intentions behind posting my CSA experiences here will be to see exactly how I end up using the produce we get. It may not be amazing or epic in terms of dishes and recipes, but it will be interesting to see play out. Breezy Willow is being extraordinarily helpful in this regard, as they are posting recipes each week that match up with the contents of that week's share.

Which is good, because beets and I have had a Mutual Avoidance Agreement for some time... and now, I have a bunch.

Since getting the above share on Thursday, the following experiments have occurred:

• strawberry radish salad - chopped strawberries, radishes, and lettuce tossed with a lime juice/olive oil emulsion. Basic, easy, and damn good. The addition of nuts and a crumbled cheese, such as blue or feta, would make this better.

• radish green pasta - sauteed radish greens in a dash of olive oil and butter, mixed with cooked fusilli pasta, dried garlic powder, chunks of breaded chicken, and shredded mozzarella cheese. The flavor profile was fair, but this ended up being far too dry, namely due to lack of having any mayo or adequate dressing on-hand to use as a base.

• Irish cheese, apple, and lettuce sandwiches - also basic, easy, and damn good.

• scrambled eggs with sauteed spinach, onions, bacon, and shredded cheddar cheese - continuing the basic, easy, and damn good trend.

• grated beets with onion - I used Madhur Jaffrey's Grated Beets with Shallots recipe as a base, substituting a medium yellow onion for the shallots (being shallot-less), a 4 ounce can of minced green chilis for the hot chili pepper, and sea salt instead of table salt. The result was surprisingly subtle and flavorful, and I expect to return to this again if beets continue to show up in future shares.

Looking ahead, I seeing squash soup and baked beets attempts in my near future. And then, the next share will be upon us... Until then, I'll point out that not only is Ryn discussing her CSA shares and freezer cooking plans, but Dree is also documenting her own foray into a CSA program, currently in her third week.

two new Balto-DC beer destinations

While I haven't made time to hit all the excellent brewpubs in the Baltimore-DC corridor, that can't stop my glee (yes - unadulterated glee, I tell you) at discovering two new tap sites in the area:

The Biergarten Haus promises to be the District's first traditional beer garden. In addition to a solid lineup of German brews, the Haus promises expansive indoor and outdoor seating, as well as mounted ram's head... because one cannot drink German unless it is in the presence of a beheaded, glassy-eyed ruminant. The official grand opening was slated for May 14, but this appears to have been put on hold for a couple of weeks. Once it does, I sense a field trip to DC in my future.

Biergarten Haus, cc by-sa image by jsmjr on Flickr

A bit closer to me will be De Kleine Duivel, which is slated to open next month in the Hampden area of Baltimore. From their Facebook page:

"A Classic Belgian Brasserie" Featuring a large selection of Belgian beers, boutique wines & spirits, and a select menu of classic Flemish-French dishes, all served in an Art Nouveau inspired setting.

Reports are that they aim to have 10-12 brews on tap, and another 30 in bottles. All will be imported from Belgium, with not a "Belgian-style" American beer on the premises.

Ex-cellent... *rubs hands together maniacally*

[a tip o' the hat to the always-excellent Beer in Baltimore for reporting on these two establishments]