On a recent long weekend, the Kirsches from Austin went on a quick trip. Our goal was to stay within short driving distance. We decided on Corpus Christi because beach.
I had never visited Corpus Christi and didn’t know what to expect – I don’t think a Selena Shrine is a good enough reason to plan the trip.
But the USS Lexington is. I am embarrassed to admit I didn’t even know it was there. It’s an old WWII-era aircraft carrier turned into a museum and it’s just as cool as you would imagine.
Airplanes everywhere!I need help identifying that little brown computer or dumb terminal.
Not only was it extremely interesting to learn about the history of the ship and see its insides and look at the planes… they even have an Escape Room. That’s right: an Escape Room inside a 70 year old aircraft carrier. We couldn’t solve it though.
Every time they were out at the store I would fear that the product was no more. That’s why I‘d keep the freezer in my garage I bought just for this stocked up.
RIP: Shakshuka StarterMaking Shakshuka and Turkish coffee for breakfast.
After nearly two years of bullet dodging, being fairly cautious, and three mRNA vaccines, my luck ran out and I tested positive for COVID-19. I feel perfectly fine. My kids got it too. So far and as far as we know, that’s it.
Me and (a replica of) the James Webb Telescope during SXSW 2013.
The telescope launched this morning and didn’t explode. Only took an eternity. Hope it unfurls successfully. I saw the replica en 2013, the photo deserves a repost.
Ever since I moved to Austin almost 20 years ago I’ve been missing and craving profesional soccer.
The long long wait is finally over. Today the Q2 stadium, Austin FC’s home was inaugurated with a friendly between the USWNT and Nigeria. Final score 2-0 to the locals.
Of course Ilán and I were there tonight, last weekend for the soft opening, and will be here this coming weekend to see our new team’s first ever home match.
Me, my 1994 USA jersey, and my 2014 USA child. The line to USA vs Nigeria. Note to self: get there early. Looks like a video gameSoft opening
I don’t like jelly hamantashen (Yidish המן־טאַשן; in Hebrew Oznei-Haman / אוזני המן). Those are for sissies. But everywhere you go, that’s the only flavor!
What I really really really like, and this should not come as a surprise to long time readers, are the mohn aka poppy seed ones. It was time for me to take matters into my own inept cooking hands! And I capture it here for all posterity and because I sort of made it up as I went but want to remember some details for next year.
My beautiful and tasty hamantashen. Black is poppy seed, brown is Nutella. The ugly and tasty ones not depicted.
To make the poppy seed filling: Grind a bunch of poppy seed in a coffee grinder until you think it’s enough. Melt a bunch of butter (I did like half a bar) in the microwave. Then add the poppy seed. Finally add sugar. How much? If you are not an experienced baker, then imagine an amount that sounds like a crap load. Add twice as much. Mix it until you have a paste.
To make the dough: Take out the pre-made pie crust, unroll it, use a cup to make circular cutouts. Roll the remaining dough then make more holes. Repeat until you have no more dough.
To make the cookies: This is the hardest part. Using a teaspoon, put a bit of filling in the middle of each circle. Fight your instincts to add lots of poppy seed because you love it: it it makes the things behave like Shrinky Dinks when in the oven. Fold it into a triangle, leaving a little window to showcase the black gold. Make sure to squeeze the corners real tight or more Shrinky Dinks! And don’t forget to make a few with the Nutella for your snotty little kids who should know better. Use a brush to cover the hamantashen with egg so they come out nice and shiny.
The chef in action.
Bake Put the hamantashen on a tray on top of parchment paper. Or don’t use the paper. I don’t know. But I did and it worked out. Bake at 400 ℉ for about 10 minutes. I highly recommend waiting for them to cool down before eating.
Make sure to not over do it with the filling and squeeze those corners tight or your hamantashen will blossom in unexpected ways.
As if a global pandemic wasn’t bad enough, February decided to bring us a record-breaking insane polar vortex.
I don’t even know what records were broken. But it was bad enough to bring the Texas electrical grid to its knees, break countless tree branches, and make pipes explode everywhere. We aren’t ready for it.
All temperatures in Celsius, of course.
How did we fare? Not too terrible: Schools were obviously cancelled for a bit over a week. We live in a very hilly neighborhood, and have a very steep driveway, so for a week our cars were stuck as everything was covered in ice. We had running water for the first half of it, but then lost water pressure. A leak in the roof became very apparent as the snow accumulated and started to melt. We lost power intermittently, but never for more than maybe 8 hours which means temperatures never dropped enough inside the house to force me to use the emergency wood for the fireplace.
But it was from from all bad: I enjoyed long walks around the white neighborhood using my makeshift snow shoes and we all had a blast sledding down our neighborhood park using an inflatable raft!
