Concessions:
Every once in a while you’ll have someone jump on your train trying to sell something. Yesterday it was a young man selling cold drinks and popcorn. Someday I hope to be on a train where they’re selling bacon wrapped hot dogs. That would be [...]]]> We had both concessions and a Bejeweled expert.

Concessions:
Every once in a while you’ll have someone jump on your train trying to sell something. Yesterday it was a young man selling cold drinks and popcorn. Someday I hope to be on a train where they’re selling bacon wrapped hot dogs. That would be amazing.

Bejeweled Expert:
Across the aisle from me a young woman sat quite contently playing a game on her cell phone to pass the time. It’s a pretty normal sight on the train, and usually people will leave you alone if they see you occupied with something, but not yesterday. Yesterday was different. A gentleman sitting behind the previously mentioned young woman looked over her shoulder in a very obvious fashion and asked if she was playing Bejeweled. He proceeded to announce to the train that he knows that there are 3 versions of Bejeweled not including the “ethnic” ones. The version the young woman was playing was apparently an “ethnic” one. For the next several stops he sat there looking over her shoulder commenting on her moves. I was amazed at how friendly she was with him. I don’t think I could have continued to play with someone watching over my shoulder. Too much pressure… especially when you’re in the presence of someone so knowledgeable about the game.

Last night’s dinner experiment is one of my favorites. I made croque monsieur and roasted asparagus. It’s really easy. It just sounds fancy. Croque monsieur is essentially a grilled ham and cheese sandwich covered in rich creamy béchamel. My mouth is watering as I talk about it. Oh, I’m ready to have it [...]]]>

Last night’s dinner experiment is one of my favorites. I made croque monsieur and roasted asparagus. It’s really easy. It just sounds fancy. Croque monsieur is essentially a grilled ham and cheese sandwich covered in rich creamy béchamel. My mouth is watering as I talk about it. Oh, I’m ready to have it again… But, before I get to that here’s what I did with the asparagus.

Asparagus
Trim cut ends and wash.
Place in baking dish and lightly drizzle with extra virgin olive oil
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and parsley
Bake at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes

Now, to the Croque monsieur…

First you assemble your sandwiches.

Sandwich
Lightly butter one side of a piece of bread (I used sourdough)
Place one piece of bread butter side down on cookie sheet
Layer with cheese (I used smoked gouda), ham (I used black forest ham), and more cheese. You can also throw a tomato in there if you want.
Top with another piece of bread lightly buttered with the butter side up.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy. (You can also grill them in a skillet on the stove)

While your sandwiches are baking start the béchamel.

Béchamel
Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat
Once melted, stir in 1/4 cup of flour until smooth.
Slowly whisk in 2 ¼ cups of milk until smooth
Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and continue simmering for 20 minutes
Season with salt, pepper and paprika

Once your sandwiches are done and your béchamel is ready to go, plate the sandwich and cover with béchamel. I topped mine with a little of the shredded smoked gouda.

Enjoy!

2 tablespoons pan drippings, bacon grease or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste

Combine fat with [...]]]> Last night I tried something new. I tried to make gravy. I followed this recipe from homesicktexan.blogspot.com pretty closely but wasn’t thrilled with the results.

2 tablespoons pan drippings, bacon grease or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste

Combine fat with flour in a hot skillet, continuously stirring, cook on medium for a couple of minutes until a dark roux is formed.

Add milk slowly to skillet, and mix with roux using either a whisk or wooden spoon (be sure and press out any lumps). Turn heat to low and continue stirring until mixture is thickened, a couple more minutes. Add pepper and salt to taste.

It seems pretty hard to go wrong with this recipe, but somehow I think I did. Maybe I was a little shy on the bacon drippings. Maybe more salt would have helped. Maybe bacon is the wrong way to go. It was just kind of flavorless.

Any suggestions? I’m thinking about trying sausage drippings next time.

Friday
Got off work early. I have early Friday’s through the summer. Pretty excited about it.
Stopped by Amoeba Music on my way home. I picked up new releases from the Civil Wars and David Bazan.
Did a little yard work.
Went to the movies [...]]]> Time to recover from my weekend.

Friday
Got off work early. I have early Friday’s through the summer. Pretty excited about it.
Stopped by Amoeba Music on my way home. I picked up new releases from the Civil Wars and David Bazan.
Did a little yard work.
Went to the movies with the wife. We watched the new Woody Allen film, Midnight in Paris. Unbeknownst to us, it had a strange correlation to our San Francisco trip.

Saturday
Breakfast at Mimi’s
Shopping at Costco and Nordstrom
Memorial Day BBQ in Irvine with the in-laws.

Sunday
Lead worship at Glendale Church of Christ
Took a much needed nap
Small evening gathering with friends. Wine, cheese, tortilla soup… good stuff.

Monday
Found an entry table for the house. Now we need to stain it.
Cleaned. The house was a mess.
Played electrician. Replaced a few light switches and outlets.
Erin bought a new fridge. Good sale. It should arrive next week.
Late Memorial Day dinner at Outback.

I’m sure it happens all the time. It’s almost unreasonable that food and drink are prohibited aboard the [...]]]> Today while waiting for the Metro Red Line a security officer approached a young woman and asked her to put her food away. He said something like “you aren’t going to make me ticket you, are you?”

I’m sure it happens all the time. It’s almost unreasonable that food and drink are prohibited aboard the metro. But, for some reason it is a ticket-able offense.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve longed to bring a cup of coffee along with me for the ride. I can drink during the commute in my car. Why not aboard a train?

My guess is that it has something to do with keeping the trains clean. It’s like those friends who have new carpet and refuse to allow you to wear shoes when you visit. They are trying to keep their investment new and clean for as long as possible.

I get it. I treat new stuff the same way. Unfortunately, it can’t be new forever. Things get old. And, the trains are definitely looking old. Maybe it’s time to give in.

Or, perhaps there’s another solution. Hear me out.

Give tickets to people who litter.

Give tickets to people who don’t pay to ride.

If we control both of those issues I bet food trash will cease to be a problem and I can enjoy my peaceful commute with a warm cup of coffee. It’s a win win situation. What do you think?