Cinnamon Craisin Bread

SD-YD250

1.5lb | 2lb | 2.5lb

2-Pound Loaf

  • 1 cup raisins (2 cups crasins, one cup in with initial ingredients, 1 cup near end of kneed cycle)
  • 4 cups bread flour
  • 3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Spice Islands® Ground Saigon Cinnamon
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons Fleischmann’s® Bread Machine Yeast
  • 2 tablespoons butter OR margarine
  • 1-1/3 cups water (70° to 80° F) [1 cup + 78ml]

Bake Raisin, light crust, Large size (middle)

2016.08.23 – Very successful. I used craisins instead of raisins. Turned out great.

2017.01.22 – After making it many times, I’ve found that I think it is moister than I prefer and it isn’t sweet enough.

Sous Vide Ribeye Cap

This might be the best part of a cow: Ribeye cap. I have 2 USDA Prime strips from Costco. The most expensive uncooked meat I’ve purchased.

I will target 130F for 1.5 to 2 hours. No salt in the bag but pepper will go in. Season with salt before searing on the grill.

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Costco USDA Prime Ribeye Cap

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Bagged up with just pepper.

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Out of the water bath. Dried. Lightly seasoned.

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I had a terrible and cold grill.

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So much fat content.

The results were disappointing only because I had a cold grill to work with. It was a gas grill and it did not get hot. It was barely warm. I couldn’t get remotely close to a proper sear. I wound up doing almost 3 hours at 130F because of timing issues with the grill not being ready and not knowing when people were expected over. The beefiness was fantastic. It was very tender. It was very rich. While I do not expect to buy much if any wagyu, I do think this is worth revisiting… especially properly seared.

2016.8.20

For my son’s first birthday, I did ribeye cap again in a bath of 131F for about 2.5 hours. I made sure I had a hot grill this time. And the results were fantastic. The cut is just amazing. But I’m actually not very interested in it. It is too easy to throw a lot of money at a great cut. I want to make a cheap cut amazing.

2016 Camping Trip Checklist

General

First Aid
Candles
Matches/Lighter
Insect repellent

Clothes

PJs
Swim
5 changes of clothes
Shoes

Shower gear

body wash/shampoo
Towel
Flipflops

Camp gear

Cook stove
cookware
utensils
plates/cups
cooking fuel
lantern
flashlight
tent
sleeping pads
umbrella
dish soap
paper towels
trash bags/bin
can opener
toilet paper

Food

??
Beer
charcoal

Pancakes

Pancakes are easy. At least all the ingredients look easy. I am taking a try at it from scratch.

Attempt one

  • 2 cups flour
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 2 eggs, beat them separately before adding to mixture
  • 1⁄4 cup butter, melted (1/8 of a pound)
  • 1 3⁄4 cups milk

Mix the dry items first.
Combine the eggs and melted butter to the milk and slowly stir into the flour mixture.
Let sit at least 10 minutes while heating the pan.

Results one

Quite successful. Very nice and fluffy. Much more so than premix. But a bit of a bitter aftertaste. I did a half batch by cutting the ingredients in half.

Baby Bottles

I expected to like certain bottles more than others. This expectation was set before the baby arrived. My wife had the following kinds lined up.

  1. Born Free Glass
  2. Born Free Plastic
  3. Dr. Brown Glass
  4. Mam Plastic
  5. Munchkin Latch Plastic
  6. Gerber disposable Plastic

I expected to prefer the glass bottles and I thought I’d like the Born Free ones best.

After using them, I prefer the Mam bottles by a lot. The anti-colic mechanism seems reasonable with a bottom of bottle intake for airflow. It is not difficult to wash and assemble.

mam_076_1_1

The Born Free ones put air from the baby’s mouth into the milk so it is not so dissimilar to a simple bottle.

The Munchkin has a fantastic nipple. It is large and flexible and I loved using it for feeding. But the bottom valve never worked as I expected and I had to move it with my finger every 30 seconds or so to vent air in.

The Gerber disposables were actually great. I think it was the greater milk flow. My boy likes it to flow quickly.

The Dr. Brown ones are hard to clean. Both the mechanism and the small opening. It requires a special tiny brush to clean. I do not enjoy using or washing them.

Michigan Beer Trip 2016

Scheduled for the weekend of April 16, 2016.

Confirmed attendees:

  1. Frankson
  2. Edward
  3. Kaushik
  4. Scott
  5. Henry
  6. Michael
  7. Chuy

Hotel

My goal is a room within walking distance. Again we are staying at

Holiday Inn Grand Rapids Downtown
310 Pearl Street NW
Grand Rapids , Michigan 49504
Hotel Front Desk: 1-616-235-7611

We have 2 rooms. We can fit 8 people. There is an additional easy chair in each room for 2 people to also sleep uncomfortably to make 10. With all the taxes, it is about 240 per room. At 6 people, it will be about 80 per person. If we get 8, it will be 60 per person.

Update: It wound up being ~480 for both rooms. Seven people = ~70.

Vehicles

I will be driving a 7 passenger crossover type minivan. I expect it will seat 6 in reasonable comfort. Or if we have a 4/4 split, I might take my little hatchback. I believe Chuy will also be bringing a similar GMC Arcadia.

 

Proposed itinerary. Suggestions welcome. The ? means optional. I’m skipping a few that I’ve mapped, too.

Saturday – I’ll start picking people up at about 8am. Kalamazoo is about 2.5 hours and a time zone away so we will get there about lunchtime. We can stop for breakfast along the way too.

  1. Bell’s, Kalamazoo – Lunch
  2. ?Arcadia, Kalamazoo or Battle Creek
  3. Dark Horse, Marshall
  4. ?Brewery Vivant
  5. Hotel – Holiday Inn Grand Rapids Downtown
  6. Hopcat, Grand Rapids
  7. Grand Rapids Brewing Company, Grand Rapids
  8. Founders, Grand Rapids

Sunday

  1. Odd Side Ales, Grand Haven
  2. Greenbush, Sawyer
  3. Three Floyds, Munster

Update: We wound up going to Greenbush first on Saturday. Then Bell’s for lunch. Dark Horse then Grand Rapids (Hopcat, GRBC, Founders during the Black Party). Sunday we hit Odd Side and Vander Mill Cidery that we ran into while going to Odd Side. Perfect 80 degree days with sun.

Boulevard Love Child No. 4

Cellared 2014.07.14 750ml

Drank 2016.02.27

Boulevard Love Child No. 4

Love Child No. 4 fresh is my favorite sour beer. It was so very complex and interesting. I find too many sours to be very one note. One flavor. Love Child No. 4 was rich with a ton of different flavors from the first sip and it changed as I let it linger in my mouth and swallowed it slowly. It was amazing. I thought Lolita had similar qualities but not to the degree present in Love Child.

With a year and a half spent in the cellar, all I get is sour. And a touch of funk. But mostly just a ton of sour. I ruined the best sour beer I’ve tried to date.

I’m winding down my cellar and I consider the experiment a general failure. But the experience has been valuable. It just doesn’t seem like it is for me.

New Holland Night Tripper

Cellared 2013.11.27 650ml

Drank 2016.01.01

New Holland Night Tripper

Roasty. Good. Nice mouthfeel. Wasn’t expecting that as it pours thin. Bitter. There is a slightly odd taste to it immediately on the tongue. The aftertaste is better than how it tastes. This took a few sips to discover. New Holland is sadly still one of my least favorite Michigan breweries. This I would count as moving that needle in the right direction but only a bit.

Halfway in, I get aspartame. Yuck. It isn’t overpowering but it is absolutely removing most of the pleasure.