bierkergaard

Lina and I were at a Micro Brewfest at Stoudt's two Saturdays ago. The best brew by far was Ommegang , a Belgian styled ale made in Cooperstown, New York. It was a man among boys. Yesterday, I stopped by a beer store that I had not visited before. It has an interesting and wide selection of brews that are not easy to find. They had Ommegang. How much for a case? Over $ 90 dollars! At that price, it should be called "Liquid Gold" because not only will it taste awesome, it will also cost obscenely exorbitant. Ridiculous.

Well, tonight I grilled up bacon and Ribeye kabobs. Kind of like the meat lovers pizza from Pizza Hut minus the dough and tomato sauce and cheese. Not much anti-oxidants in this dish. In fact, a meal like these kabobs is why one needs antioxidants. Every so often, I go through our freezer and see what has been in deep freeze for a while and cook it up. You know something has been in the freezer a long time when it has gone bad at below that 32 degrees. Now, that is some serious cryogenic status (like Walt Disney). What I found yesterday was two ribeye steaks and half a package of bacon (cook the bacon 3/4's first in a pan before putting on the skewer). Hmm...steak and bacon, bacon and steak. It sounded like the Dream Team. I did toss something that looked like possum road kill. I can date the food in the freezer. It can't be more than three years old because that is how old the fridge is...although it is possible that it came with me when I moved from my bachelor pad. And, if t...

The title of the blog entry sounds kind of obvious. Yet, like everything else under the sun, simplicity ain't so simple. If we are ignorant of something, like painting, we can look at a painting and go, "OK, it some dude posing with a bowl of fruit on the table." An artist would say, "Oh, the colors, the angles, the capturing of setting and space, and so on." A horticulturalist might see the fruits in the bowl and make note of the variations presented of "Why that apple variety?" and such things. An economist might grasp the socio-economic realities of the painting in the sense that only the highest class could even have a painting done from that era. So, it is with everything. So what has brought on this expectoration of the mind you might wonder? I have been back to trying to make my lawn presentable and to meet the minimum acceptance of the neighborhood. I have found crabgrass to be a truly worthy foe. It attacks the regular grass like a mugger poun...

The Apostle Paul called out the loafers and freeloaders in the Thessalonian church by writing that "If a man does not work he should not eat." This seems to conflict with what Jesus said in Luke 6:30 " Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back." I have been thinking about this recently....

I see a lot of what the Christian "gurus to youth" (speakers, musicians, writers) produce. Honestly, I have to wonder if us acting like goofballs to try and convey life lessons is self-defeating. It seems that we are more intent in garnering laughs and applause than in making a significant contribution to the well-being of kids' lives. It is like an all desert and no peas approach. I won't get into why I am on this rant but I have good reasons. I am convinced that kids need less entertainment...even what is now termed "edutainment." It is not that we can't have fun and joke around but it should be in the context of seriousness. Sheesh, act like an adult already. Our culture seems intent on mastering the art of irony and sarcasm and we think that when we develop this posture that kids when be more attentive to our message. Well, I have news for you. The media moguls of the world will always beat us at that game. They will be funnier, hipper, and more sarc...

I was just reading the Bible for a bit and I got to thinking. There is this new film out called "Julie and Julia" about some woman (Julie) who finds a sense of meaning in cooking all of Julia Child's recipes in her book about french cooking in a year. Now, don't get me wrong...I love food. And my wife is a food critic. I enjoy many a good meal because of her gig. But, compared to the recipes of Julia Child, how much more does God's word provide meaning and purpose? How about reading the whole Bible in a year...not some Cliff Note version which cuts out large swaths of the Old Testament...the Levitical laws, the history, the genealogies. We ask ourselves, why did God ordain man to include all of this stuff in the Bible? Could He just given us a Hamburger Hostage (er, Helper) recipe of "You are a sinner, Christ dies for you, you should live for him." No, God must provide a history...break it down...His Story. All of the ingredients season the Biblical stew...

I have been on a kick of reducing my caloric intake. Fortunately, coffee (unlike beer) is calorie free if one drinks it straight black (as I do). I am trying to adhere to the principles of the South Beach Diet where the first phase of the diet is to strictly reduce the Carbs to under 25 grams a day. After switching the body over to the fat burning mode to reduce one's weight to the desired level, one can reintroduce good Carbs (non-refined...think white) back into the diet. The Adkins Diet espouses some of the same principles but generally advises to stay away from all Carbs in general (which is unhealthy in my book). Carbs are the gas in the body. No Carbs, no gas. But as long as one has layers of fat to lose, fat is excellent fuel. The South Beach Diet generally works for me but I have to watch dropping the weight only to put it back on through all those tempting refined Carbs that the American food industry peddles like crack.