Monthly Archives: June 2007

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Adventures in Heavy Whipping Cream

by Luke Abbott on June 30, 2007 in Blog. 3 Comments

Yesterday at Costco we picked up a quart of heavy whipping cream. Why, I’m not exactly sure… I know Papa wanted to make half-and-half for Gema’s coffee, though. In any case, it’d be the first time we’ve had a quart of heavy whipping cream sitting around.

This morning, as part of our usual Saturday morning ritual of making some unusually tasty breakfast (like pancakes or waffles) we decided to make french toast with hot chocolate, and a bowl of whipped cream to top it all off (literally). I wasn’t sure how much cream to whip up, but guessing it would expand about 200% I poured a cup and a half into a chilled bowl. (I read that if the whipping cream gets too warm from the friction, it’ll turn out worse.) I was planning on using a whisk, but I couldn’t find it so I went the electric-eggbeater route. I took a little taste as it was getting close to done and it was alright but not the greatest. But then Kyle added a dash of vanilla and a couple tablespoons of sugar, and maaaaan… it was so good. I had a couple small spoonfuls but knew that I should hold off until the french toast was ready.

Bowl of Whipped Cream

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to really experience… Continue reading ‘Adventures in Heavy Whipping Cream’

Pulverized Lunch

by Kyle Abbott on June 29, 2007 in Blog. 1 Comment

Papa likes to drink Green Tea. It’s pretty bitter. Not sure why he likes it. I guess since he’s such a sweet, jolly person, he needs to drink bitter tea to keep that bitter/sweet balance in his life.

Pulverized LunchAnyway, he used to squeeze a lemon in his tea which made it a bit better. Recently though, he decided to use the pulverizer attachment that comes with our electric egg-beater/mixer (it mixes more than just eggs of course, but it kinda looks like an egg beater with the rotating whisks). The attachment is a round container with a blade in it. When you connect the mixer to the blade/container thing and turn it on, it spins pretty fast (as you would expect. I’d feel ripped off if it didn’t spin fast). The stuff you put in it gets blended into a pulp. So Pa throws a whole lemon in there and blends it up, rind, pith ‘n all. … Continue reading ‘Pulverized Lunch’

Spongebob’s always smiling down

by Leslie Abbott on June 29, 2007 in Brief and Photo. 2 Comments

SpongebobA neighbor left a Spongebob pinata on our doorstep a while back. Bob is now strapped to the ceiling in the room where Carl and the boys do yoga every morning. Luke finds it creepy because whenever he does shoulder-stands, Spongebob is staring right down at him… (And there’s something creepy about a guy who is always smiling, don’t you think? —Luke)

Kyle’s New Accordion

by Leslie Abbott on June 27, 2007 in Blog and Video. 2 Comments

Well, we got an accordion the other day. I never thought that would happen. It all came to pass because Kyle is into Tuvan throat singing. He listens to it and imitates it. Sometimes there is an accordion for accompaniment. Have you heard it done? Wow. I’d never heard anything like it. It involves getting harmonics going in the throat. There is a whistle sound that comes so that a whistle is coming out from down deep…not by blowing out the lips. It’s interesting and soulful. D’vora, a friend, was selling her accordion because her back couldn’t handle it. Have you picked one up? Accordions and banjos have more in common than being the butt of countless jokes. They weigh a ton! He tried hers out and it was definitely a fit. I’ll admit, the singing can get pretty deep throaty, loud and intense! I have to leave sometimes. Most times it is beautiful. Kyle has a real feel for the music. I don’t know how many polkas he’ll be playing. Stay tuned.

Grass Valley Bluegrass Festival Adventures

by Luke Abbott on June 27, 2007 in Blog and Music. 0 Comments

A couple weeks ago, I was in Grass Valley, CA at the California Bluegrass Association‘s 32nd Annual Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival. Here’s the full report:

The Grass Valley stage area, where I spent about 1% of my time...

The Grass Valley stage area, where I spent about 1% of my time...

Luke’s banjo-cart

Wednesday

I got there in the afternoon, set up my tent and then walked around reconnecting with people I hadn’t seen since last year. You meet so many nice people from so many different places through this music — but I pretty much only see most of them at bluegrass festivals (meaning, a couple times a year). Needless to say,… Continue reading ‘Grass Valley Bluegrass Festival Adventures’

Botched Fiddle Recording Sounds Better Than Original

by Luke Abbott on June 23, 2007 in Blog and Music. 4 Comments

I’ve made an amazing discovery! So, I was mixing a new recording of Worried Man Blues for a CD. Sometimes I record extra instruments on after and “fill in the holes,” so to speak. In this case, the mandolin and guitar and all voices were done in one take, banjo and fiddle were added on separately after.

What’s the discovery? My audio equipment has the nasty habit of recording overdubs out of sync, usually ‘late’. The fiddle track on this particular recording was clearly late and off-sync, but it happened to be exactly the distance between the on and off beats in the measure (about 0.3 seconds, I think). You’d think it wouldn’t fit so well — the backup chops certainly didn’t — but listen to my break (first the normal version, then the out-of-sync):

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Cool, eh? I think it actually sounds better the “wrong” way! More old-timey. I especially like the part around the 4 chord. I gotta learn to play like that! :-P

Kyle the Channel Surfer

by Leslie Abbott on June 22, 2007 in Blog and Photo. 5 Comments

On Saturday nights at 10:30pm Kyle and I watch Seinfeld reruns. He also likes to watch “Whose Line is it Anyway?” a half-hour earlier at 10:00pm. However, sometimes there’s a movie on instead, so he starts his ritual of ‘channel surfing.’

Kyle

Basically, he holds down the “next channel” button which makes the TV switch channels about once a second. He says that it “sharpens the passive staring skills” but it drives me crazy! I want it to settle somewhere! Five-hundred miles an hour is hard on the eyes when the scenery is constantly changing. To be honest, I usually get up anyway because I don’t really want to watch anything besides “Whose Line is it Anyway?” I’ll admit, I’ve done a little surfin’ in my day but I don’t let that get in the way of telling him to “Stop!!!”

I’ve heard that men channel surf more than women. I wonder if it’s true or if men just do it when women are around to drive them crazy!

Pineapples are not fruit

by Kyle Abbott on June 21, 2007 in Brief. 4 Comments


When did Pineapples ever enter the fruit family? They are the last fruit I’d expect to see in a fruit salad (besides tomatoes). I’ve had them so much in stir-frys that pineapples have become vegetables in my mind.