This unmanipulated photograph was shot at Peavine Alley during a John Elliott show on 17 August 2017. It has been slightly cropped from the original.
Wistful Drooler
All posts by JamesIsIn
Val Mr Mustache Kleitz Taken by Cancer
I used to build and repair bicycles for Velocipede at 10th or 11th and Pine on Capital Hill many years ago and I worked with this crazy hoot of an enthusiast named Val. Turns out he was struck down by cancer, but as you know when you get struck down it only makes you more powerful.
RIP: Val Kleitz helped us all stay “rubber side down”
Here are a couple of images of ol’ Val sporting his signature mustache and dressed as he fucking pleased (taken from the above linked article).
You can find more pictures of Val here.
One time this old dood brought us his bike for some minor service. The bike was an old hulking steel monstrosity already destined to destroy your spine should you take a second floor walk-up. But what really made it the talk of the shop was the fact that everything was connected to this frame using hose clamps. Dozens of them. Good times.
Rocket Pizza! Ciao, Val.
Adrift
This unmanipulated photograph was color corrected and cropped from the original shot 4 July 2016 at friends Bill and Karen’s apartment overlooking Lake Union.
Chains on Our Eyes
This unmanipulated photograph has been rotationally adjusted and cropped and was shot 1 July 2016 at my studio.
Transport Mechanism
This unmanipulated but cropped photograph was shot 2 June 2016 in my garden.
Improving My Rock and Roll Lifestyle
This unmanipulated but cropped photograph was shot on 1 April 2016 at the Substation in Ballard. The musician on the right is Megan Slankard and the musician on the left I will have to check the roster for that show and post it later.
Salad for Today
- purple cabbage diced
- feta crumbled
- 2 fresh tomatoes diced
- honeycrisp apple diced
- pistachios
- my favorite dressing
- salt and pepper (pinch)
Approximately Salmon
I mostly sort of follow a recipe. Sometimes I do follow a recipe more strictly. I tend to be more strict when I’m doing a Paul Prudhomme recipe for whatever reason. Perhaps it’s because those recipes of his I work tend also to be longer and more complex. Reasons. They always exist.
Anyway, I made some sous vide salmon tonight. I fucking love salmon. It’s amazing. I do what I am able to support the wild salmon market. It’s really unbeatable. After 122f bathing for 30 minutes a very quick grill over an open fire made for an excellent evening delight. And, borrowing from Chef Paul, just salt, black pepper, and cayenne. What can I say? Life is good.
Mostly I followed this recipe as my guide.
I didn’t bother with the curing step. Why bother? You can almost eat the salmon raw it’s so good.
As for an accompanying beverage, I made a little something appropriate to this excellent summer weather. I took some of my homemade limoncello and put that in a tall glass of ice with one of these flavored (but unsweetened) seltzer waters that are so popular now. Lemon, of course. Very light and refreshing and certainly nothing to interfere with the salmon.
Now I’m sitting next to the fire I cooked with and eating my simple meal. Eat a nice green salad after.
Am I missing out on something, do you think? Is my life somehow incomplete? Maybe. But I’d say I’m doing pretty well.
Friends of the Jackson Reinhardt Urinary Traction Fund
The great Jackson Reinhardt, friend to many and beloved by all, has encountered some blockage in his urinary system. It is unclear at this moment how serious this is, but the current projections place the expenses at around $2500. This could rise if more complicated surgical procedures are required.
He is spending the day at a small veterinary surgical clinic here in Ballard. This evening I will need to transport him to an overnight surgical facility in Shoreline where he will spend another half a day. At that point we will know whether the expenses rise above that $2500 mark.
Jackson, as you have probably guessed, is not a rich cat. He comes from humble beginnings and largely stays out of the limelight, with only brief forays across the lighted stage. He wears a simple harness, and his leash retracts just like anybody else’s.
If you are able, please consider donating to the Friends of Jackson Reinhardt Urinary Traction Fund by sending money to that aloof baffoon who feeds Jackson.
Thank you for taking the time to read this plea.
(Please feel free to share this page.)
Black Rice, Sausage, and Peas
Mostly one pot…
- package forbidden rice (about 2 1/4 cups)
- 4+ cups chicken jello (or your own weak-assed chicken stock)
- salt, black pepper, white pepper, and cayenne
- package frozen peas
- several dried mushrooms
- garlic confit
- four link sausages (sliced)
You can find my garlic confit recipe in another Ink.
I cooked my sausages sous vide (which you can find in yet another Ink), but you can cook your sausage any way you’d like. (You could even try cooking the sausages in the rice cooker).
I cooked the peas in the rice, but they turned purple (everything cooked in the rice turns purple). Next time I will cook them separately and add them after.
I put everything in the rice cooker (except the sausages), mixed it thoroughly, and started the cooker. Once the rice was cooked, I stirred in the sliced sausages.
Fucking delicious.
Have fun!