Some nights you have big plans for a date night with your spouse, and some nights the universe steps in and sits your butt down right at home. Tonight was the latter. (Do you too get confused as to which is the “former” and which is the “latter”?). Luckily, there are also nights when you have a great meal planned and decide to fudge it and go out to eat, well, because your house is clean and the thought of trashing your kitchen gives you angina. So, the universe being my bff that it is, I had a great dinner on deck today when our plans went to shit. This meal comes from my most favorite food blog iwillnoteatoysters.com I have yet to make anything of hers that I do not love. Each thing I have tried is a cornucopia of savory deliciousness. There’s usually an unusual combination of deep rich earthy flavors that just really satisfy and this Kale Salad Bowl is no exception. This was my first recipe from the site that I had tried and it’s still a favorite. Kale, roasted sweet potato, chick peas, quinoa, topped with a lemon dressing, tahini sauce and feta cheese. There is so much fun salty, tasty goodness in this bowl, that I just keep coming back.
Beer Pairing
We recently picked up a six pack of Epic Brewing’s Hop Syndrome Pils Lager, a place that ferments tasty treats out of Salt Lake City, Utah. I have to admit, as a designer, this can really appeals to me. I love the simple, bold look. Sans-serif font, in your face vector image, it’s happiness to my eyes. And the beer! The bitter bite of the hops is a welcome contrast to the Kale bowl of goodness! And the fact that it’s a lager rather than an ale adds to the refreshment factor in this case (for the record, I do believe hoppy lagers had their moment in the spotlight, and it did not last for good reason, but that’s another post).
Kale + Roasted Sweet Potato + Quinoa + Chickpeas
Music Pairing
Vinyl front
As today is Record Store Day, I pulled out some vinyl that would have been a teenager by the time that fad started in 2007. Dinosaur Jr.’s Where You Been debuted in 1993, you know the year grunge took over. J Mascis and company had already released four albums by the time I found them plus Lou Barlow had already left the band. Either way, the two of them were the epitome of garage rock.
Reading the liner notes, you know the insert that came with records, then tapes, then CDs reminded me Bob Ludwig was involved with this album. His resume is top notch for rock n’ roll as he’s engineered everybody from Zeppelin, Queen, Hendrix, Springsteen to Daft Punk.
Now onto some important tracks…
Out There – The album starts off with some G minor crunch with a nice lead that sounds like Richard Lloyd of Television could have been playing.
Start Chompin’ – This was the first single from the album starts with some catchy guitar work, more likely J’s Jazzmaster plus a killer solo comes in at 2:30. No doubt this is about a breakup and still sounds fresh 23 years later.
I Ain’t Sayin’ – The original closing track starts with some pounding drums and a catchy intro. From there the moody lyrics start right up to finish side 2.
Keeblin’ – Is it me, or does J Mascis prefer the “in'” over “ing”? I’m not really sure if this deserves in my review as it’s a bonus track from the Rhino re-release. Either way, J pulls out his acoustic along with his inner Neil Young on a song that should have been there all along. To me it’s the perfect end-note to this album over I Ain’t Sayin’.
Lastly, I sometimes get confused of latter, later and ladder…