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Discovering Salsa
Winter returned this weekend, reminding us that it’s only February, that March is truly a Lenten month, and it’s insanity to expect Spring-like weather before Oberon Day (27 days and counting). Still, the sun was out and February is almost over, and I wanted to try something new. I had a pretty good-sized flank steak…
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Flirting with Spring
This has been a rough winter. Snow banks piled up 4 feet or higher along the roads (makes turning anywhere a lot of fun), ice hanging 6 feet off my roof, and somewhere between 3 and 4 feet of snow in the backyard. I’ve worked from home 4 times since January 1, which is 3…
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Victory tastes like steak
Filet mignon, as it turns out: Back in October, I made a bet with my friend that I could go the entire month as a vegetarian. No beef, no chicken, no seafood. At steak (get it?) was a steak dinner on my friend when he was back in town next. Despite breaking my leg and…
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Looking back, and looking ahead
2013 is over, and for the most part, I’m glad for it. There’s a snow storm raging outside this weekend, so to distract myself from the reality of yet another winter weather advisory and the thought of single-digit temperatures tomorrow, I thought I’d look back on the last year, and maybe think of a few…
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Welcome to November
I’m so glad to have October behind me. So glad, in fact, that I just had to celebrate last night: I won the bet with my friend and completed the October vegetarian challenge. It wasn’t quite as easy as I had expected, but it also wasn’t a huge hardship (although not being able to do…
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The October Vegetarian Challenge
This is a post I had been meaning to make back at the beginning of the month, or even earlier, but a variety of factors (laziness, procrastination, a sudden glut of time on my hands due to being immobilized) has delayed things until this point. One weekend in mid September, I was prepping a birthday…
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Once more, with style
A lot has happened since July. I’ll get to that later. So, about this time last year, I blew out my knee. Four weeks off, some mild limping, and by December I was back in action on the field…not scoring goals. I did actually eventually score, a few weeks ago, in a game against the…
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Recipe: Dorothy Richards Ribs
When my dad was a teenager, he had a job as a janitorial assistant in a hospital in southwest Michigan. While he was working there, he got to know a lady who hailed from the deep south who had a killer recipe for ribs. She gave him the recipe, which we’ve held on to since.…
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REO Speedwagon in Concert
First, I have a confession to make: until last night, I had never seen a band live in concert. I did see Blast! once or twice, but that wasn’t an arena concert. And so, at the tender age of 25, I went to see REO Speedwagon and Styx in concert in GR. REO Speedwagon was…
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40 Recipe Challenge, Part 35: Shrimp Pomodoro
Pomodoro sauce is essentially a basic tomato sauce, in the same way that an Alfredo sauce is a cream-based sauce. This recipe begins with plain Roma tomatoes and adds garlic, fresh basil, olive oil, shrimp, and crushed red pepper to create a spicy sauce atop al dente penne pasta. Here’s what you’ll need: 1 pound…
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