Free soup at Falafel King

Falafel King now gives free soup with meals. I ordered a hummus sandwich and was initially miffed I didn't get my free falafel. But, my displeasure at missing out on a tasty falafel disappeared when I was asked which soup I wanted. Not only was I getting free soup, but I had a choice of four kinds! I went with the lentil soup, which has some spiciness to it.

Not bad for $5.

Grape Nehi

1 part gin (original calls for vodka, but I used gin instead)
1 part Chambord
1 part lemon juice

Shake with crushed ice. Strain into glass.

This is not Radar O'Reilly's Grape Nehi. This is more like Hawkeye Pierce's Nehi. Although Hawkeye would have used more gin, or vodka, or whatever lighter fluid they distilled in The Swamp.

Overall, it's a pleasant drink, but a touch too sweet. And it felt like it was missing something, maybe some fizz. Or maybe it would be better if I swapped out the Chambord for real grape juice.

As an aside, I have had Grape Nehi soda. When I was a young teen one summer I worked at a place that solde grape nehi in the vending machine, alongside Coca Cola in the old style bottles. I really enjoyed it. That summer was the only time I ever saw Grape Nehi.

Swing-A-Way Ice Crusher

This past weekend I ventured once again to Grand to purchase items from The Boston Shaker. This will be the last time I buy items from there for a bit. I need to cut back, but they have such cool stuff I couldn't resist!

One of my purchases was the Swing-A-Way Ice Crusher. It has a crank on the bottom that vacuum seals the crusher to the counter, making it easier to grind away at the ice. I've used it twice and it works well. The only improvement I'd suggest is adding a way to fasten down the top part, where the blades are, or at least make the lid harder to pop open. The top compartment has a tendency to open, so you have to hold it down tight with your hand while you crank. I'd expect to hold down the top, but it seems to want to open too easily.

French Gimlet revisited

This evening a friend and I taste tested French Gimlets made with three different bases: soju, Plymouth gin, and Bombay Sapphire. She agreed with me that the soju version was definitely sweeter than the Plymouth version. We also noticed that the Bombay Sapphire had less of a gin taste, making it sweeter by letting the St. Germain show through more.

I prefer the French Gimlet made with the Plymouth. I think the stronger gin taste in the Plymouth gave the drink an extra zing. The other versions were fine, but a little bland compared to the Plymouth version.

I think the milder taste of the Bombay may work in a martini or similar cocktail where it's gin with little else. A softer touch would make it easier to drink nearly straight gin.

One peeve: I did not like the bottle for the Bombay Sapphire. The blue color is very pretty, but it was a sloppy pour. In order to pour the Bombay into the shot glass without the gin running down the side of the bottle or the glass I had to pour quickly, which means I'm more likely to pour too much. I think the mouth of the bottle is too wide. I found it irritating.

The White Lady

2 oz Gin
1 oz Cointreau
0.5 oz lemon juice

I actually used closer to 0.75 lemon juice, and a smidge more gin. Overall, not bad, but I think I prefer the French Gimlet. Probably because I have a sweet tooth.

Oxo Cocktail Shaker

Today I received my Oxo cocktail shaker that I had ordered from Amazon. It holds 16 ounces and has double-walled construction, so it's insulated from the ice. The top serves as a jigger, and has marked measurements.

I used the shaker to make two cocktails. I was very pleased that it doesn't leak while shaking, but the top can pop off. I was rather dismayed at the last bit - a few ounces of whiskey and Cointreau down the drain! However, I was able to use it without freezing my hands thanks to the double wall, and that's a very good thing.

Next up on my list of things to get: The Oxo Steel 7-Piece Barware Set.

Mystery whiskey cocktail #1

2 oz whiskey (Jameson)
0.5 Cointreau
a few dashes of orange bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice, serve on the rocks.

This is a variation on a whiskey bitter, which is 2 jiggers whiskey and two dashes orange bitters (The Joy of Cooking - so maybe I need more cocktail books).

It has a pleasant taste. I think the ice and the Cointreau help mellow the whiskey. I haven't tried this without the bitters, but I'm guessing the bitters gives the drink depth. At least that's what bitters is supposed to do from what I've read.

While I can be creative and innovative, I doubt very much I have created a brand new cocktail. I did a quick Google search and found a recipe for the Bairn, which uses Scotch instead of any old whiskey. So perhaps this is an Irish Bairn? Honestly, though, I haven't found a cocktail recipe with these exact ingredients - using whiskey as opposed to the more specific Scotch. So, who knows? Maybe I have created something new.

Chosun French Gimlet

2 oz soju
1.5 oz St. Germain
0.75 oz lime juice

Basically, this is a French Gimlet using soju instead of gin or vodka. I gave this a try tonight before dinner. Overall, it was good, and a little sweeter than the French Gimlet. Since I actually used 0.75 ounces of lime juice, and the drink was still sweeter than the gin version, I think I can conclude the soju really is on the sweet side.

Also, because soju is only 40 proof versus the gin which is 80 proof, the soju version doesn't pack as much of a punch. So, if you want a slightly sweeter taste and a lighter drink, substitute soju for the gin.

A quick note on adding wine to a cream sauce

A few years ago I learned the hard way that you should add wine to a cream sauce at the end, not the beginning.

I was making macaroni and cheese. For extra flavoring I like to add a splash of white wine to the cheese sauce. Normally I did this at the end. However, this particular time I decided to add the wine at the beginning instead. I don't remember why. I had made the roux, and before it thickened I added the wine. Well, the sauce never thickened. I kept stirring and stirring and stirring and the flour never did its magic and thickened the sauce. I couldn't figure out what was going on.

Finally, I decided to throw in the cheese, thinking maybe that would thicken the sauce. Well, the cheese melted, but it stuck together like a gloppy clump in the sauce. It never blended with the rest of the sauce.

It turns out that wine is an anti-thickening agent. And, in a cream sauce, it can actually cause the cream/milk to curdle, keeping the constituent parts of the sauce separate. This is why the sauce never thickened, and why the cheese never blended in to the sauce.

The way to add wine to a cream sauce is to make the sauce as usual, but cook it to a point where it is a little too thick. Then, add the wine. The wine will thin the sauce back to the thickness it should be at, and then you're done.

French Gimlet

2 oz gin (Plymouth)
1.5 oz St. Germain
0.5 oz lime juice

Not wishing to improvise another soju cocktail, I went with the French Gimlet as it was suggested in the little pamphlet that came with the St. Germain. I was very pleased with it. It had a very pleasant tart but sweet taste, and unlike the soju cocktail, it never seemed artificial or too sweet. I attribute that to the wonderful qualities of St. Germain and Plymouth gin.

The New Doctor

After David Tennant exits, Matt Smith will take the lead role in "Doctor Who."

I've never heard of him, either.

You can read more about it here.

Soju cocktail #1

Tonight I improvised a cocktail using soju, a Korean liquor made mainly from rice. It's similar to vodka, but has a slightly sweet taste, or so the internet says. It's been a while since I've tasted straight vodka. I did think the soju had a nice, light taste, but I keep it in the refrigerator. In the past I've noticed that warm soju isn't very pleasant. It tastes much better cold. Also, I find that soju is similar to tequila in its effect -- it sneaks up on you and then BAM. I have not, however, had enough soju to know which brand is better.

0.67 - 0.75 oz lime juice
0.5 oz Cointreau
1.5 oz soju (Jinro Chamisul)
a few dashes Regan's orange bitters

At first, the cocktail tasted fine - like an alcoholic lemonade, but a little on the sweet side. However, as I kept drinking it, the sweetness became slightly sickening, and seemed a little artificial even thought I didn't use any sweetener, artifical or natural. I wonder if omitting the Cointreau, or reducing it to 0.25 oz would help. I also wonder if replacing the Cointreau with orange juice would improve the drink.

Falafel King hummus sandwich

For lunch I had the hummus sandwich from Falafel King. Normally I get the falafel sandwich but I find it too filling.

The hummus sandwich was lighter, but was still filling. It took me a while to eat it, although that was due in part to working while eating.

As a note, I also learned that a wintergreen Breathsaver does not taste good after a hummus sandwich. Just so you know.

Boston Lettuce - new packaging

Actually, maybe this is an old way of packaging and I just haven't noticed it before since it's rare I buy lettuce.

I decided to start making sandwiches for lunch again. And I decided I need to eat healthier, so slapping ham and mayonnaise on two slices of bread wasn't going to be enough. So I bought a head of Boston lettuce.

My grandmother was a big fan of Boston lettuce - she would rave about how it was nice and tender. A few years ago I bought some and it was bitter, so I didn't buy it again. However, I decided to give it another try. This was in part due to the packaging.

Stop & Shop had some Boston lettuce that was packaged in round plastic containers. Not a big deal, but the difference is these heads of lettuce still had their roots. That caught my attention. I reasoned if the head still had its roots, then it might stay fresh longer. That is my big problem with buying the enormous heads of romaine lettuce - I simply don't eat it soon enough and it spoils. I hate throwing out spoiled food. Thus, while the Boston lettuce was more expensive, I might get more out of it.

Last night I made myself a sandwich for today. Naturally, since the roots were still attached to the lettuce, there was quite a bit of dirt on the outer leaves. I just took extra care in washing. Another bonus to using Boston lettuce was that the leaves were just the right size for the bread. I did not need to break the leaves apart.

And, the lettuce wasn't bitter. It had a delicate taste. Weirdly, at least for me, it was reminiscent of raw pie dough. I like raw pie dough, so it didn't bother me, but it is a little odd. But maybe it tasted that way as part of some sort of flavor interaction with the bread (I didn't taste the lettuce by itself - just in the sandwich).

BoA's new ATM desposit process

Bank of America has done away with deposit envelopes for its ATMs. Instead, you just feed your bills and checks into a feeder. It will read in the bills and tally up the cash. As for checks, the ATM attempts to read the amount the check is for, and if it cannot read it, the ATM will prompt you for the check amount.

I discovered this when I went to deposit a check. I think the innovation will save time and money for Bank of America, but not necessarily its customers. I waited longer than usual for two people to make deposits. Some of this may have been due to their unfamiliarity with the process, or it may have been due to them feeding in more than one check as opposed to a single envelope.

Fortunately, BoA limits the number of dollar bills you can deposit to 40. Still, I wouldn't want to be stuck behind the guy depositing 40 bills.... or checks. Or worse, both!

There is one customer benefit to all this. The transaction receipt for a check deposit will have an image of the check on it. I find that to be helpful as sometimes I will deposit a check but forget who it was from. This way I can look at the receipt at home and immediately know who wrote the check and why. Additionally, I wonder if now you will see an image of the deposited check when you view the transaction online or your monthly statement.

Update: You now see the check image when you view your transaction online! Very useful when updating and balancing your check book at home.