The 50 Plus Cafe, Pub, All-Nite Greasy Spoon and Dive Bar

[Missk_2022]

I'ma havin' a(nother) sammich.


The meeting with the real estate team went well. Wat likes those kids. They were early, seemed prepared, and seemed to know their Collective Fecal Matter.


Of course, this means there be work ahead. Now there is a bit more idea of a timeline, so it can now be more urgent.

Well a step in the right direction....

 

[likes2watchU]

quick catch up while I can...

It's officially pothole season.

Yes, yes it is

My problem is in applying basic common sense.

knowing and admitting... problem solving steps 1 & 2
I doubled back for Smarty Pants, Common Sense, and Practicality when god was handing out gifts. May have skipped the lines for Tact and Patience

Every week?

Me: Daily Mantra

Why do chocolate cake recipes ALWAYS include coffee as an ingredient???

I know they say the coffee enhances the chocolate flavor. Well, you know what else enhances chocolate? MORE CHOCOLATE!!!

They also say one can't taste the coffee. I can always taste the coffee!

I'll try this cake but substitute a cup of strong cocoa.

If you don't like an ingredient or are sensitive to the flavor, there's no hiding it.

Maxine is my spirit animal!

Maxine

Oh goody…the first dusting of pollen wafted down so looking forward to hosing the porch off everyday. Don’t even think of washing a car during the next month.

TIL - there are places where you need to actually clean every day because there's so much pollen
Note to self: Always check for this before booking a vacation. You are not compatible with this type of ecosystem!

The Palladium, New York City on 21 September 1979, Paul Simonon, bassist, getting ready to wreck his instrument. Taken by Pennie Smith. Has been voted the greatest rock photo by more than a few outlets.

I always feel bad for the instrument getting smashed to smithereens

Headway is being made. One foot in front of the other . . .

Uphill through waist deep mud carrying a 100 lb weight

After literally a week of cold and rainy weather, we got a really nice sunny day. 65 Fahrenheit, maybe 20 Celsius…

That was our forecast prediction a week ago... now we're 10 degrees cooler. Still a glorious day! Shorts and sandals weather!!

Right!!
People trying to get all fancy

I love watching stuff like this!
Do I want to make this? No!!
Do I want to eat this? No!!
Will I watch it again and maybe look for a slightly longer version that this short? Yes

At least its for me

I was hoping you'd say that!

My chicken was delicious.... stomach is full

The meeting with the real estate team went well. Wat likes those kids. They were early, seemed prepared, and seemed to know their Collective Fecal Matter.

Of course, this means there be work ahead. Now there is a bit more idea of a timeline, so it can now be more urgent.

Excellent news!! Yeah - there's a lot of speeds involved. Hang on to your hat and hope you cross the finish line in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[PersonalFavors]

Ah the time change effect finally reveals itself.

Apparently, I don't fix dinner until after dark. Everything is an hour late now.

 

[Missk_2022]

Might as well go to bed

 

[PersonalFavors]

Might as well go to bed

I feel the same way. I might wake up and use the whole day. I got almost all the way thru my taxes today. Amazing what you can do if you don't sleep till noon. Really 1030 or 11, but after morning ritual and shower, its noon no matter how I sliced it. I'm hoping I broke a bad habit.

 

[Wat_Tyler]

Well a step in the right direction....

Yeah, I think so, too. Maybe a few steps, one after another.

 

[Wat_Tyler]

Might as well go to bed

Not far behind you.


I did get my new-to-me stereo pieces connected. We can haz tunes.

 

[likes2watchU]

Maybe a few steps, one after another

 

[PersonalFavors]

Who invented cheese?
I can't tell if it is making me gain weight. Or if it is an enabler such that I eat all kinds of things I can find to put it on and have no idea how much I ate it until I feel some semblance of full. By the time I get there its too much and I feel strongly some kind of chocolate or something sweet on bread is my reward for finishing dinner. Hmmm I know who taught me that.

 

[Noor]

Not far behind you.


I did get my new-to-me stereo pieces connected. We can haz tunes.

I’m joining you guys. My mom is running me down so much I fell asleep during a phone call today!

 

[likes2watchU]

I’m joining you guys. My mom is running me down so much I fell asleep during a phone call today!

@Noor I'm so sorry. Caretaking can really take it out of you!

 

[Noor]

Who invented cheese?
I can't tell if it is making me gain weight. Or if it is an enabler such that I eat all kinds of things I can find to put it on and have no idea how much I ate it until I feel some semblance of full. By the time I get there it’s too much and I feel strongly some kind of chocolate or something sweet on bread is my reward for finishing dinner. Hmmm I know who taught me that.

It can also cause inflammation that can make you hold fluids.
My favorite fresh fruit like Sump tangerines, watermelon, cherries or the flatter persimmons are a good reward.

 

[Noor]

@Noor I'm so sorry. Caretaking can really take it out of you!
View attachment 2601878

Sully! Reminds me of Byron too!

 

[Wonderer67]

Don't get me wrong, I love sweet things to be sweet, and chocolate is one of them. But I like the flavor that coffee adds to chocolate. There's something those bitter undertones add, that's sort of missing with just chocolate. I think the buttermilk/sour milk ads some acidity to the balance too. I find the same thing with chocolate chip cookies, if you mix semi sweet and milk chocolate it really brings out the flavor. Something about the bitter tones in the semisweet vs the milk. I don't know that I understand why, but it does.

Maybe there is something other than coffee that has bitter flavors you could try? I don't know how a really black tea would work, it's a different flavor profile, but can be similar to coffee. It might work too (if you don't mind tea).

I think it’s a good combination too.

One of my favorite combinations is girl count thin mints with coffee… or here’s a good mix of roasted flavor and chocolate: girl scout thin mints and Guinness stout!! Especially frozen!

 

[likes2watchU]

I think it’s a good combination too.

One of my favorite combinations is girl count thin mints with coffee… or here’s a good mix of roasted flavor and chocolate: girl scout thin mints and Guinness stout!! Especially frozen!

You make Guinness slushies?!?

 

[Wonderer67]

Quick skim and a catch up. Sunny and really windy today. The commercial forest near by was logged, which means less trees on the slope leading here for prevailing winds to slow down in. So, I think we're in for more wind this summer than normal. Last cutting was 20+ years ago, so it was due.

We're a ways from pollen here yet. Still 2 feet of snow on the ground. Driveway is starting to show through, but long time before grass appears. Probably need to start thinking about pruning the apples and cherries for the year.

Off to the grind again. Have a good day.

My wife has been pruning blueberry bushes back for the last few weeks. She would have liked to do it FEB but there was just too much snow on the ground.

 

[Wonderer67]

There are so many different things you can play with when cooking with chocolate. Mind boggling amounts of variations IMO.

Depends on what you want to enhance/add to the mix
Here are some of the most common ones:
View attachment 2601807
Here's a similar table for tea:
View attachment 2601806
To infuse liquids like tea or wine into your chocolate batter without ruining the consistency, you generally use one of two methods: liquid replacement or flavor extraction.
The goal is to maintain the total "wet-to-dry" ratio of your original recipe so the cake doesn't become gummy or sink.

1. The Liquid Replacement Method
If your recipe calls for water or milk, you can replace that volume 1:1 with your infused liquid.

For Tea: Brew the tea at triple strength using the water or milk already required by the recipe. For example, if a recipe needs 250ml of milk, gently heat it and steep 4–5 tea bags for 10 minutes.
Pro Tip: Re-measure the liquid after straining, as the tea leaves or bags will absorb some of it. Top it back up to the original required volume.
For Wine: Simply swap out a portion of the water or milk for your wine. For a subtle depth, replace about 25% of the liquid; for a "Red Wine Chocolate Cake" style, you can replace up to 100% of the liquid with a bold red.

2. The Flavor Extraction Method (The "Bloom")
In chocolate baking, adding hot liquid is a secret hack to "bloom" the cocoa powder. This releases the natural oils and intensifies the dark chocolate flavor.

Blooming with Tea: Instead of just using boiling water to bloom your cocoa, use boiling hot, high-strength tea. This provides both the chemical "bloom" and the aromatic tea undertones simultaneously.
Infusing the Fats: Tea flavors are often fat-soluble. You can gently heat the butter or oil from your recipe and steep the tea leaves directly in the fat for 5–10 minutes. Strain carefully before proceeding with your recipe as normal.

3. Dry Infusions
If you don't want to mess with the liquid ratios at all, you can add flavor through the dry ingredients:
Microground Tea: Finely grind tea leaves (like Earl Grey or Matcha) into a powder using a spice grinder and whisk them directly into your flour.

Sugar Blitz: Pulse tea leaves with your granulated sugar in a blender before creaming it with butter to distribute the aroma evenly throughout the crumb.

Wow - this is pretty interesting.

 

[Wonderer67]

Most of these things ruin good chocolate.... i am good with my big elm chocolate mayo cake and my ghiradelli back of the bacg choc chip cookies with guittard choc chips..... hahahaha
Lilianna and i had this convo last night.... no herbs, sticks, plants, veggies or vinegar in the sweet stuff.

I had to look up guittard choclate.

Thought it was a Missk-ism!

 

[likes2watchU]

I had to look up guittard choclate.

Thought it was a Missk-ism!

definite Top Shelf chocolate

 

[Wonderer67]

Everyone is outside.....

I am baking chickenView attachment 2601832

It was that kind of day. First nice warm day of the year. Everyone outside walking.

Mrs wonderer and I ate dinner outside. Heard neighborhood kids hollering and yelling. We went for a walk, saw a. Load of neighbors. It was kinda nice!

 

[Wonderer67]

I'm doing chicken again tonight. But I am doing it outside. Its 7pm and still light outside! Feels like summer and we haven't had spring yet.

I marinated some chicken at lunch time but glad we had leftovers, so it could marinate for a few more days. I’m doing a dive bar dinner tomrrow nite w some friends from work, so I’m thinking I’ll grill on Wednesday nite.

Charcoal!!

 

[Wonderer67]

I'ma havin' a(nother) sammich.


The meeting with the real estate team went well. Wat likes those kids. They were early, seemed prepared, and seemed to know their Collective Fecal Matter.


Of course, this means there be work ahead. Now there is a bit more idea of a timeline, so it can now be more urgent.

Sounds a lot like progress to me!!

 

[Wonderer67]

I always feel bad for the instrument getting smashed to smithereens

It gave its life so other could live!!

 

[Wonderer67]

Might as well go to bed

Nite k!!

 

[Wonderer67]

This is the best Rankin Bass Christmas special by far.