I'm sitting on the couch now, the day cooling off, but still feeling like late Spring. We just returned from a nice long walk around the neighborhood, working off the corned beef and cabbage I'd made earlier in the day. When not prepping and cooking, eating or walking, I found time to nearly complete a book I'm having trouble parting with and even made a new batch of home-roasted coffee. In fact, with the day I've had, I wanted to share a bit about what life is like for me on a good Saturday.
First, the Book
I love everything Christopher Moore has put out, in fact, he has one of the most entertaining blogs I've ever run across (don't believe me, check out his Christmas story). I first realized his genius with the book The Stupidest Angel, then confirmed it with Lamb - hand's down the funniest book on Jesus you will ever (EVER) read. These days I've been obsessed with his book, A Dirty Job, about a man who sorta-accidentally-kinda becomes death. I started this on a plane to Philadelphia and had to finally put it down when I couldn't stop laughing under my breath, drawing strange looks from the very sweet woman sitting next to me. More than a couple times these laughter fits came on, luckily for the good people of the world, most of these happened at home. I'm a bit sad at the prospect of finishing the book tonight, or tomorrow, unsure where I'll turn to next. If you're a fan of funny and you haven't already read his works, pick up one of his books. Several of his works tie in with others, so if you don't start with Lamb, consider starting with his earliest works.
Up Next, Coffee!
I just finished roasting a Nicaraguan coffee, Limoncillo Est, a Java Longberry. I didn't roast this as long as some of the most recent batches, hoping bring out the bean's acidity - which when brought out in the right beans will remind you of lambic - if only lambic was like coffee, and that coffee spontaneously roasted itself. Seriously, the lime, lemony qualities can be intense. Sometimes this acidity is overpowering for me, although my wife loves it, so this may be a batch that requires cream in the morning cup.
Hopefully you've experienced better coffee in your life. I admit it's sorta new to me, but it doesn't take long to make you realize just how duped you've been with Starbucks or something worse. I am sure I've mentioned it before, but if you're looking for something better in your coffee, check out Redshoe Roasting. The coffee's sold here are made by hand by friend of Pacific Brew News, a man of many names, we'll just call him Dave.
Finally, the Beer
I had a mixed bag of beer goodies today. First I enjoyed a Big Daddy, by Speakeasy - a light, easy to drink IPA from San Francisco. With dinner we had Rogue's Irish Lager, Kells. This just didn't work for me, and it wasn't until after tasting it that I read the bottle, which happened to boast of the green apple finish. Sorry, that just didn't work for me, it seemed like an off-beer they found a way to market. Unwilling to finish the Rogue, I moved on to Furious by Surly, which was an absolute gem of a beer, a strong and full-bodied double IPA from a can.
I've sort of been out of it lately, just not driven to type and often lacking time. However, there's a lot of great stories out there and I hope you're keeping up. Additionally, I just have to say I loath the new Guinness campaign/joke to make St. Patrick's day a national holiday - or whatever it is they're doing. It's odd really, turning what really is a celebration of a religious figure into a day that holds little more meaning than the drink in front of you. Also odd, I've read that Catholics in Ireland used to prefer a Murphy's over the Guinness (while protestants leaned toward Beamish, my particular choice for dry Irish stouts). I'm no expert on such matters, haven't even made the trip to Ireland that seems obligatory for anyone who takes beer too seriously.
So, in closing, go out and read a good book, make a good meal and enjoy a good coffee, as well as a good beer - or, eat, drink and be merry.
