backyard Alabama Shakes sxsw picnic

~55 ppl backyard Alabama Shakes beautiful outdoor Omer sipped live taping, a photo by .solo. on Flickr.

one of the best of 2012 sxsw.

only one year ago I began a 'small' transition: moving from my decade-long condo home above barton springs to a new home on the colorado river in east austin. closer proximity to east side fun & farms; having a yard; kayaking adventures balance out the greater distance from quaint 78704 neighborhoods and the burgeoning s first & s lamar cultural scene.

over one year there have been the full swings of life, love, death, & discovery; not all pleasant, but progressively constructive. hopefully the next year will be full of more life & love edifying adventures.

Garden Time

Garden Time, a photo by .solo. on Flickr.

whilst January is not traditionally spring; this year promises a breadth of opportunities for alternate cycled plantings (actual winter rain vs. scorching summer drought). let's see if hearty plants can establish themselves before the sweltering begins...

Smoked pork shoulder

Smoked pork shoulder, a photo by .solo. on Flickr.

~$2.40/lb bone in pork shoulder smoked at 225deg for 6+ hours is most likely the best multi-day meat meal protein ever.

Market farm house; morning roundup

Market farm house; morning roundup, a photo by .solo. on Flickr.

just another summer saturday: tomato season fully sprouting regardless of inferno temperatures and continued lack of rain.

X Factor acquisition

X Factor acquisition, a photo by .solo. on Flickr.

river proximate motivations now realized. a dream has always been to live on an estuary, ocean, or large lake; but river explorations should suffice for the moment.

now to figure logistics of house to river kayak put-in. that and lola fishing training...

Fractals & bubbles

Fractals & bubbles, originally uploaded by .solo..

patterns of nature

repetitive consistent random modeled events: math + food.

Still white city

Still white city, originally uploaded by .solo..

the joys of northern bred pre-dawn inklings of fallen snow...

pristine blanketed streets commuted; warm quiet office productivity and stories of foreboding and woe from natives attempting regular activities balanced with shouts of glee from those for whom an inch and a half of powder is impressive.

this is winter in Austin

Culinary muses

Culinary muses, originally uploaded by .solo..

Prohibition era gin, dub 45, ad hoc Keller inspirations: all muses for culinary creativity.

I'm getting more and more comfortable making pie dough (this time it was goat milk butter and local Richardson Farms flour). This comes with the realization that there are exceptional permutations of fillings to explore. Yesterday's filling was pureed roasted squash and fennel with sauteed greens, onions, carrots and herbs (seared pork, fennel fronds, and eggs completed).

Many many cultures have already fully explored this media but for some odd reason winter creativity currently strikes in this vein. It'll likely last till spring where fresh vegetables and simple preparations again overtake the warm hearth of oven wintered creativity.

Crispy Pig Trotters

Crispy Pig Trotters, originally uploaded by .solo..

another year beginning and the realization that restaurant openings coincide with the new year. unfortunately so does the post holiday exhaustion that accompanies family congregations, travel, and general merriment.

new places to visit: Haddington's, Barley Swine, Backspace, Second Bar & Kitchen, Trace at the W, as well as others; three down two to go

also difficult to stay loyal to those bars & restaurants that are favorites; one can only go out so often...

Tasty cross section

Tasty cross section, originally uploaded by .solo..

Finally found a muse for recipe following creativity. Excited appreciative nights and days of kitchen and other room fun await

Graceland Lola

Graceland Lola, originally uploaded by .solo..

the usual turkation extensive adventures entertain:

2661 miles of thanksgiving marathon festivities complete: czech elvis bbq blues; beignet country parthenon jellystone christmas; opry duked charcoal whiskey blue ridge winding leaves; waterfall apple gamed fish powering cribbed settled trains; appalachian three forks fog turkey toasts; porch sammie campfire frozen friendly fall.

it's amazing to reminisce about year five in Blue Ridge and previous adventures of Big Bend, Redwoods, Hot Springs, & Durango. many friends and relationships and the growth, progress, fading, and adaptation of each.

the virtual opposite to christmas traditions of static family structure but a perfect bookend for self exploration and balance.

Garrison Brothers tejas finest

Garrison Brothers tejas finest, originally uploaded by .solo..

fresh & local - only available in the county it's manufactured in. craft excellence

sandwich section

sandwich section, originally uploaded by .solo..

one of my most favorite flavor combinations & sandwiches: the banh mi. an excellent balance of tastes combining french and asian influences.

shown: local dai due head cheese, boggy creek spinach, basil, springdale farm chilies, full quiver farm pickled ginger carrots; fresh bread (traditionally served on a banquette but deviated for fresh local purposes here).

livestrong signage

livestrong signage, originally uploaded by .solo..

Oktober & fall: transition of colors, slow rolling clouds and wind. Also the re-emergence of cycling season and charity ride events. This weekend it was the Livestrong Challenge (previously Lance Armstrong's Ride for the Roses before it expanded to multiple cities and expounded in its charity fundraising goals). Livestrong always surprises in its scope and appeal: people from all over the US and even a few international participants (Italian, Spanish) come to Austin to ride and now run to support the fight against cancer. Livestrong along with the Hill Country Ride for Aids (my favorite spring charity ride) focus on the survivors, the cause, and the participation of a wide variety of riders.

A perfect weekend of clouds, headwind & hills. I rode with a team of very good friends (Anne, Jess, Kristi & Amity) and started out early to get some miles in before meeting them at rest stop #8 (65 miles of happy hills for me; 45 amazing accomplished miles for them). Flickr has all photos but suffice to say it's extremely rewarding to pedal through beautiful challenging hills while thinking about those one rides in support / in honor of (for me it's my Aunt Kathy who went through breast cancer and had her last chemo session last year). Seeing that there are people who conquer the disease and then continue with riding and living strong (as the motto says) gives strength to those who are faced with the seemingly insurmountable challenge of cancer.

It's a bit motivating.

Kartoffelsalat

Kartoffelsalat, originally uploaded by .solo..

oktoberfest - a cultural annual tradition of friends and merriment with the finest of foods and music (all kinds of polka; an acquired tasted, yes).

kartoffelsalat is a family tradition I was raised on (I was completely unaware of the yellow mustard based potato salad of the south and was perplexed as to why they were identified the same at friends' picnics and at restaurants). For everyone knows that all good potato salads have bacon, onions and a cider vinegar sauce as their base.

regardless; I have now taken this familia dish as my own and present it proudly every oktoberfest for friendly enjoyment and appreciation (with tasty tweaks added over time).

wine food art: performance pile

IMG_9619, originally uploaded by .solo..

La Dolce Vita - my favorite event of the year. Austin Museum of Art's premier fundraiser benefiting its art education programs. Nothing finer than merging my preferred triad of interests at one of the most beautiful venues in this fare city; La Guna Gloria.

Favorites of the night:
- running event logistics and overseeing a smooth operation
- east side show room lamb rillettes and squash terrine
- balcones distillery new releases
- back porch end-of-night lake overlooking relaxation
- san palo's puerco nopalitas cheese & avocado perfect bites
- paggi house oyster soup
- llano winery

Road trip favorites

IMG_9328, originally uploaded by .solo..

the usual position of anticipatory joy and west tejas adventures.

tdf 10 vista

tdf 10 vista, originally uploaded by .solo..

with world cup done (viva espana; alas hup nederland); classic grand entertainment now moves to tour de france. this clockwise year quite entertains with hills, cobbles & mountain categories to challenge. and oddly enough; I'm glad that the lance isn't in maillot jaune contention as it allows almost neutral passionate coverage.

celery reduction

celery reduction, originally uploaded by .solo..

corn stock; celery stock; lamb stock...

things to play with and insert as a background for sauces and dish creations.

lamb box

lamb box, originally uploaded by .solo..

Johnny G's - a local butcher that sources farm raised fresh animals and sells to the community. A great service that's no longer really prevalent in the supermarket driven culture of today (large companies have minimum orders and supply chains that often prohibit local fare).

I still prefer getting meat directly from farmers / ranchers at the farmers market but it's a nice alternative to have.

Now it's time to find enough various recipes for half a lamb...