BashUp

Update: Since my last entry, I’ve been busy with the usual - working, working, working, baking and following racing. The flan I made turned out well, almost as well as a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake I made the weekend before.

I baked two gorgeous loaves of egg bread while following the Rolex 24 Saturday. Followed it all day Sunday as well - 24 straight hours. Ganassi got his third Rolex in a row; my favorite sports car driver, Alex Gurney, finally had a strong finish with a second; and Penkse was back for the first time in 35+ years and came in third.

I’m also following all the goings on in the presidential race. Of all the GOP candidates, McCain is the one I can tolerate and I’m happy he’s gaining momentum. The Kennedys’ backing Obama was huge, and Teddy’s speech was terrific. It’s energizing to see so many people engaged and interested in the process, especially younger people. The other morning on transit, I saw a kid with an iPhone watching the Florida GOP debate, and there’s all kinds of profiles and groups on MySpace and Facebook. After so many years of apathy, it’s heartening to see all the engagement.

At work, we got a new writer on a contract-to-hire basis and he’s already impressed us with his smarts. He’s a great fit with the team as well - good sense of humor and he loves chocolate and cake.

It’s been pretty cold here lately and that means more time in the bath - reading two books right now and finally getting through February’s edition of Racer Magazine (back to racing again - figures!). I’m currently in the middle of a great article about Alex Zanardi. You may remember comical Target commercials starring Alex and Jimmy Vassar back in the 90s. Alex lost his legs in a racing accident but is still active and vibrant. The guy got a custom racing hand bike a month before the New York Marathon and decided to enter it. The bike broke on the morning of the race, and he raced anyway, finishing fourth in that class. That’s Alex!

The cats are being pampered even more than usual lately - I got out my old heating pad for my back the other day, and ended up slipping it under a towel that tops a little table they sleep on. The table is next to my computer desk and in front of a heat fan. When the fan and the heating pad are both on, my babies are in hog heaven.

Yummy!: Well, I hope so. I made a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake today with my brand new springform pan and three of those 30 eggs I’ve been typing about. Baked it in a water bath and left it in the oven an hour after it was “done,” then let it cool further before popping it in the fridge. This is supposed to prevent cracks in the top and the center caving in. Can’t try it until it chills overnight, but it sure smells good. Guess who’ll be having a slight sliver of cheesecake along with her breakfast oatmeal? *grin*

Rolling in Dough: Spent the weekend baking bread for the week. Could not locate bread flour anywhere last week, so my loaves are a little flatter than normal. Went out today and restocked my bread flour, so will be good for next weekend’s bread. Made a sourdough using Starter Joe yesterday - this is the second loaf from him and it has a bit stronger tang. He is developing nicely and back into the fridge until next weekend. Made a nice, eggy (2 more of the 30 used up!) sweet bread today, so we’re good to go.

Flan’s the Plan: Also brought home evaporated and sweetened condensed milks, along with half and half and heavy whipping cream. I’m set to make all manner of custard-like dishes in their jiggly, eggy glory. I’ve even seen some savory custard dishes with cheese and bacon - denser than a souffle and helped along by the same baking techniques that I used for the cheesecake. Calories? Cholesterol? Fat? Oh yeah, plenty. I’ll be taking these dishes to the office to share…

Whew!: Goodness, it’s been a busy time. Getting lots done, hearing from lots of folks via email, and my phone’s ringing off the hook - mostly recruiters looking for my skills. Still haven’t come up with a plan to use all those eggs…better spend the weekend cooking!

Zeppidy-Doo-Dah: It’s everywhere - since the reunion show in December, I’m running into Led Zeppelin music everywhere I turn. So, joining in, I’ve been watching DVD a bit lately and struggling with a decision about which format to buy The Complete Led Zeppelin in. I’d love to have the artwork and whatever else comes in the boxed set, but as distracting as life is right now, it may take me a year to rip them all. Then again, it may take that long to download it all.  I’ve owned it all before, on vinyl, cassette and some on CD, and it’s time to get it all into my iPod. It’s startling how powerful the impact of their music is on so many levels, and the fact that it never feels old or worn. And it all started way back when…when I was a young kid in Indiana, first hearing “Stairway to Heaven” on WLS-AM out of Chicago.

Chillin: It’s cold here tonight - rushed home, had dinner, took a huge grocery delivery and got that all put away. Me and Joe the Sourdough Starter will be hanging some more this weekend - I’m all supplied with flour and everything else I need for baking! Joe made a nice loaf of bread last weekend, but since he was a new starter, it wasn’t very tangy. He’s resting in the fridge now, but will be out for extra feedings and stretching out in a warm location. I’m learning more about care and feeding and have a plan to keep him out of the fridge and maturing faster over the next week or so. Then we’ll try another loaf.

Egg Overload: Meantime, I was surprised to find a few extra eggs in my grocery order. Usually I buy 6 at a time, since it’s just me and the cats. But in the winter I tend to bake more, so I ordered a dozen. Lifted those out of the bag and looked under some arugula, and there at the bottom was a family carton of EIGHTEEN more eggs. I checked the receipt and wasn’t charged for them - freebie eggs are not a terrible thing, but now I have 31 in the fridge to make use of in the next week or so. Guess I should hit up Allrecipes.com and find some custard and quiche recipes. Maybe try an egg nog. The possibilities are darned-near endless!

Very Sad: Just read a moment ago that Christopher Bowman, a former child actor and obscenely-talented US figure skater active 15-20 years ago, was found dead in a SoCal hotel room overnight. He struggled much of his life with addiction, and a possible overdose is suspected. Bowman was so blessed with natural athletic and performing ability that, despite a career-long cocaine habit and spotty work ethic, he would pull out performances that usually put him on the podium even while he was grossly under-trained. All the top skaters of his time - Canada’s Kurt Browning and the US’ Todd Eldredge included - knew that Bowman could blow them away if he ever harnessed all that ability with hard training. It never happened, but he sure put some wildly entertaining and dramatic performances on the ice. He would drive his coaches mad by deviating from planned choreography and making up half his routine as he went along - sometimes it faltered, but often it worked. His post-skating life saw him battling rounds of trouble and entering rehab and it’s sad that he never seemed to find an anchor. RIP, Christopher, and thanks for all the memorable moments you gave us.

Still Wringing Out: Managed to get to work today, and it was quite a ride. I rode shotgun in the shuttle and had a bird’s-eye view of the obstacle course the driver had to negotiate. There were small trees completely snapped in half, large sections of larger trees and all manner of sticks and branches laying on cars and blocking lanes of traffic. I saw A-frame construction signs, traffic cones, dozens of mangled and trashed umbrellas and a recycling bin in the roads. All this between sheets of rain and hundreds of leaves swirling the whole way - it reminded me of a ticker tape parade. The office was pretty quiet - a lot of folks stayed home to deal with power outages, school closings or to avoid dealing with flooded roads and closed bridges. Our main building on Sierra Point is the Dakin Building - Dakin of the plush/Garfield the Cat toys fame. If you follow the link, you’ll see that the building is a good deal of glass, including an glass ceiling over the 5-story atrium in the center of the building. All I have to do is look to my left while seated at my desk to see out the north-facing side for a view of Candlestick Park (Monster-schmonster!). We call our building The Love Boat and today it felt like we were sailing through the world’s largest car wash. Many emails were sent out by Facilities and Security about roads flooding on the point and all over the bay area, lots of road closures due to accidents and debris, transit stoppages and dangerous bridges. Half a million people lost power and we’re in line to get another, colder storm tomorrow. I have a feeling I’ll be in for the weekend, baking. *grin*

Speaking of Joe: Well, only alluding to him until now….but anyway, meet Joe, the sourdough starter. Anyone who’s made and fed and nurtured a starter understands that they become their own beings. Joe was born four days ago so he’ll need to grow a little longer until he’s the perfect tartness, but I may bake my first loaf of sourdough this weekend to gauge where he is in his development. My cats are both bread fiends, and there’s been a slight yeasty-sour scent in the kitchen due to Joe’s presence that tantalizes them. Sebastian in particular wails at me every time I go into the room - he thinks I’m baking just for him.

Raucous Caucus: Pretty wild in Iowa tonight - the vibe in the Obama campaign is really rocking. The speech he gave after his win was memorable - recommend catching it if you haven’t already.

Swimming: We’re getting wet, windy, wild weather here, and the worst is yet to come. About 4 am or so, the next blast comes, with 2-5 inches of rain and winds up to 60 mph. The height of it is due to hit while I’m trudging from bus to train to shuttle to get to work. Ugh.